Making Money Online - Myth, Dream, Reality?

Guest post by Mike Primer

I will explain my experience with a little humor. I was selling online nationally before Google even existed. It was a time when cell phones still came in large black bags the size of a small shoe box. If you're scratching your head because you don't remember those trust me, it was a long time ago.

Over the years I have watch the internet take many crazy twists and turns, but I will admit it has been a fun ride. I hope to give you REAL insight about making money online.

Starter Rules…

1) Find Your Passion
A friend of mine started a deer hunting website a few years ago. It was a "fun hobby". He enjoyed working on it because it was a "passion" and he was an expert. People came to the site because they enjoyed it. Soon he had over 100,000 people a month coming to his website and it now generates him over $1200 a month. The same applies to you. If you don't enjoy it, it won't work.

2) Would You REALLY Buy it?
If you wouldn't buy something and don't TRULY believe in the "product or service" why would you expect others to do the same. A "program" designed to make money will net you nothing. A great product or service will.

3) Is there a Large Audience?
A friend of mine loves soccer. His kids play and he coaches. He ordered training videos from http://www.SoccerU.com and loved them. He found they had an affiliate program and he posted their banner on all his sites. Guess what? None of his sites were "soccer sites". However, everyone from bank presidents to janitors have kids in soccer. Soon he was generating enough income to pay for his kid's soccer expense. Don't get too narrow.

4) Keep Your Goals Low
Start off thinking you're going to make $10,000 next month and you'll be down in the dumps very soon. Use your efforts as a learning experience to start with. Set your goals VERY low. Make $10 the first week, and then double that the following week. The one thing I have learned is that "learning" is expensive.

Making a NET PROFIT, not just sales…

Finally I think you should make sure that you try and make a net profit. Now, having said that, most people forget to add in their time.

Let me explain. If next month you put in 80 hours into your "new internet business" and made a profit of $600, would you be happy?

Well if you spent $250 on program costs, hosting and advertising that would leave you with a net profit of $350. Divide that by 80 hours and you are getting paid $4.37 an hour. Do this for 5 years and you made $14,800.

Now go get a part-time job making $8 hour for that same period and you would have $38,400.

My point is pretty simple. If you need some extra income, the web is not always the best solution. Find your niche and it will work. Simply "do it to do it" and your better off getting a real job. Pick your passion, fall in love with it, and STICK with it.