This guest post is by M.Farouk Radwan of http://www.2knowmyself.com.
As of August 11 last year, I celebrated making my first million selling books and products online. I’m not saying that I’m an Internet guru, but I do believe that my experiences in making money online might help you get to your first million.
1. People are sick of marketers—especially online marketers
How many times did you close that long sales copy page a few seconds after it popped up unexpectedly while you were searching for something? People are already sick of such pages, and they would never want to come across one unless they were intentionally searching for it.
This means that in order to sell something, you should never let people land on these pages without warning. Instead, consider providing some kind of free content first that can assist in building trust. Once trust is built, you can sell anything to your customers.
2. Provide something different
How can trust be built online while the Internet is full of copycats, amateurs, and inferior websites? The only way to establish trust is to provide some kind of different content. You don’t have to be Einstein—you just have to do things differently.
- You can provide more in-depth information.
- You can organize your information in a better way.
- You can back your information with research, numbers, and charts.
It won’t make any difference how you decide to be different; what really matters is being different.
3. AdSense can help you buy a small car, but not a Lamborghini
I make less than $1,000 a month using AdSense, even though my site gets 500,000 page views per month. Okay, maybe my website is under-optimized, but even so, I don’t believe there’s enormous potential in AdSense. How much could I have earned if I’d optimized my site? $2000? $2500?
Four months after introducing on my site three ebooks that I wrote, my earnings increased almost ten-fold. Unfortunately, this is not some kind of magic tip that will help you become a billionaire over night—before I launched these books, I was busy building trust for two years, by applying the points above. But ultimately, you’ll need more than AdSense to make good money from your blog.
4. There’s no such thing as getting rich quickly
When I started my blog three people were working on it and we were all partners. After to years of very low earnings (a few dollars per day), the people who used to work with me decided to quit.
Fair enough. But today, one of the popular search key phrases on Google is “how to become a millionaire overnight” or “how to become rich fast”.
Blogging is not like the lottery, nor is it close to gambling. It’s the art of building with small bricks, and being patient to wait until the building is finally completed.
It might take a year or more before you start making a decent income from your blog, but as long as you’re following a plan and seeing good signs along the way, you’ll know that you’re on the right track.
5. Don’t listen to negative comment
In 2006, I was mad enough to tell people about my intentions. I was inspired by bloggers who made a lot of money at that time, so I told people what I was about to do. Here are some of the responses I got:
- A close friend: People don’t like to read. Starting a website is a bad idea
- Relatives: Focus on your career, son, and stop wasting time on your site.
- A friend behind my back: Farouk is wasting his time on projects that bring him nothing.
There were others. I received condemning email. My website was banned from Wikipedia because an editor their didn’t trust the information, and told me so in a horribly sarcastic email. We all have examples of discouragements like these.
Today, my site attracts 500,000 impression per month, makes me a five-digit income, made me a dot com millionaire, and silenced all of those who said bad things about it. Believe in yourself, forget about what others say, and you will succeed.
What other lessons can you add for the beginning blogger?
M.Farouk Radwan is a full time blogger who makes a living selling his Ebooks online. He is the founder of http://www.2knowmyself.com a website that has more than 1200 self help, psychology and personal development articles and that gets more than 500,000 monthly hits.
Hi Ben,
Thanks For That Information You Have A Well Contented Blog.
I am Also Started My Own Blog.
Please Write Some Basic Tips That Really Works in Getting Traffic In Website And Subscribers.
Regards
Gaurav Garg
Great an really inspiring post! Thanks for sharing. I will print this article and read it over and over again and then paste it on the wall near my computer. This is really something to keep in mind :) All the tips are great :)
Congratulations Farouk on your success and thank you for a very inspirational post. I love reading other people’s stories and learning from their experiences. Being new to blogging I am always to keen to pick up tips and advise from the more experienced and you have provided some really good ones here. Thanks again
Joy
Awesome post! That’s just what I needed to hear today – thank you!
R
I agree with most what he said, but one thing really hits home with me too: making money online when no one would think you’d do it.
I started my webmaster career 9 years ago with a small site. My folks thought I’m wasting time ‘playing’, until I started earning some money. Now my entire business is online, I work as a full time web designer at my small business I started from my online earnings.
No one thinks I am playing anymore. To be more exact I am earning a living from my “not normal job” and can take 6 months off to go to another country, just because I want to. I’ve never been more independent in my life. I travel A LOT and also keep on earning money.
So, if anyone says you can’t do it, keep on doing it :D
Really nice post right here. I liked reading your story and how people were negative towards what you were trying to do and you still excelled at what you are trying to do.
Thank you so much Justice , to be honest it was really hard but thanks God i managed to continue :))
Your words re-arouse my passion of blogging…really appreciate your words.
Thank you for the motivational pep talk and inspiration : ) It’s comforting to hear how a well-established site like yours that gets 500,000 views a month once started off. Knowing you experienced similar patterns to those that we are experiencing at the beginning is encouraging! I guess it’s not just good content but also perseverence, patience and self-belief that are key for success in the world of blogging!
Point 5 is something everyone can relate to if they have launched their own business or website idea.. The ones that listen to that negativity I feel sorry for.
Yes Brad
it becomes very challenging to move against everybody but in the end it pays off
i wish that everybody can do the same
Farouk I can relate to Point 5 very well. People looking at you with dubitative looks (thinking: there must be something wrong with her). It can be very difficult to keep moving ahead for many people because 95% of people around you are negative and you also know that 95% of new businesses as a whole fail within the first 2 years.
You need to be strong enough and not be looking for approval from others, whether your friends or your family.
It is also helpful for new bloggers to know that most people who are negative in fact don’t want you to succeed because it would prove them that success /new lifestyle / freedom etc is actually possible and that they also could change their lifes. Really, do not listen to them. Listen to the very few people who will be positive and will encourage you and keep them in mind. It will help you in the bad moments.
Thank you for your addition Ann :)
that’s so true, being able to stand in the face of such negativity is one of the important keys for online success
Hey Farouk, very engaging post – I’d expand on point 5 by saying that it isn’t just about ignoring negative talk from others, but also providing yourself with positive talk
You need to have belief in what you are doing and plan with an end goal in mind – most people find that difficult, which is why it is easier for them to criticise your plans
Exactly Simon
you need to stick to positive people or the ones who already succeeded in order to protect yourself from the negative words
Really nice post, talking about:
A close friend: People don’t like to read. Starting a website is a bad idea
Relatives: Focus on your career, son, and stop wasting time on your site.
A friend behind my back: Farouk is wasting his time on projects that bring him nothing.
I get that all the time, one of the mistakes I made was to close my forum in 2006 as a result of such side comments, judging with other forums that started the same time I started under the same niche, that forum could be making close to at least $250,000 p/a by 2011, I am being conservative with that figure here.
It’s very important that we listen to those that understand the game (the business) and not friends and family that doesnt know how most online businesses make their money
Yes John
the worst thing happens when people who understand the business (but didn’t manage to make it work) attack you too, but in the end if you didn’t give up you will make it :)
Thanks for the great post! A lot of good information.
you are most welcomed Dana :D
Great to see stories of those who truly weathered the storm and kept on creating.. every thing worth doing comes with its share of setbacks, but its nice to see there is hope on the other side. Thanks
you are most welcomed Jay
keep in touch :)
A very inspirational post my friend. I really enjoyed that and think that it can provide dreams for a lot of people. Even if becoming a millionaire is out of reach for some, the dream will still keep them going and trying their best every day. Great job on your success and good luck with the future.
Really an inspirational story here. So many bloggers have ups and downs and in the beginning the ups are few and far between.
Very genuine post from personal experience. Thanks!
You are most welcomed
that’s so true, success is not about avoiding setbacks but its all about going through them successfully
Very Inspiring and motivational post. ” Believe in yourself, forget about what others say, and you will succeed.” this is really true. Many people got discouraged when they heard negative comments from other people. Even me, I usually listen to what they will be saying rather than listening to myself. But it changed, I’m learning. I realized that some people will throw negative comments on you because they don’t want you to be successful. So instead of listening to them. Listen to yourself and do what you want because you are the only one who can help yourself in reaching the goal of being successful :)
That’s right Aurelius
you know what
i thought about quitting midway!!!
thanks God this didn’t happen , my life would have been ruined by now!!
Wow very moving. I agree with Aurelius Tjin you have to believe in yourself and stay strong no matter what some people might say. “Sticks and Stones”
you are most welcomed Smith :)
thanks for your nice words :)
you able to earn lot of money , but with one blog is impossible to let you become billionaire. Ofcourse you need lot lot lot of blog like this blog so that you able to earn that much money for Lamborghini. You cant do it personal, you need lot of you that why you need to hire few people that do have same ability with you to conduct more blog like you and for you.
I think the differential is even something more for the visitor, but the key would be even building trust.
I love this article however I must disagree with the not responding to negative comments. I think it is more how you respond. If I were running an restaurant and I had a complaint would I ignore it or address it in a professional manner. I believe the same should be said for most negative comments as long as it is constructive and not flaming.
Thoughts feedback?
Yes you are absolutely right about Adsense not having the potential to make you rich overnight. It is useful for those bloggers who do not have the right knowledge to implement some different on their blogs and skyrocket their income. I’m slowly parting ways with Adsense and so far the results have been overwhelming.
I must admit that I am a little disappointed with your claim that adsense advertisements can only earn you $1000 a month if not optimized and up to $2500 when optimized. Is this for one blog only or for multiple sites? Thought it’s highly likely that what you are saying is true, the paltry income from adsense may be misconstrued.
Anyway, I hope that I could be just like you and make money online.