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5 Lessons from an Internet Millionaire

Posted By Guest Blogger 12th of March 2011 Blogging for Dollars 0 Comments

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.

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Comments
  1. Good for you Farouk, I made it clear to people in my life that if they don’t have any positive feedback, don’t say anything at all. Follow you passions and keep plugging away at it. What’s the alternative, working for someone else and making them rich.

  2. Good sound advice. I have been trying to focus on the building of good content as my primary goal but what I do need to work on is my building trust through my emailing campaign.

    • Hey John.. you are absolutely on the spot. Good content is a must have for a blog to be successful. I too have been trying the same lately. @Richard.. finding a niche is quite difficult a task. I think most of the newbies here like me will agree.

    • Good luck Deepak, i am sure you will do it , just stay persistent

  3. I don’t agree with #3 (Adsense).
    Adsense can help you buy a Lamborghini if you are in a niche where advertisers invest money.
    I have a sweepstakes site and I make between $10,000 and $20,000 per month.

  4. Great advice! It should help people to open their eyes!

  5. Great article Farouk! Thanks for sharing some of your secrets.

  6. Hey Farouk!

    Great to see you here! As always your insights are incredibly encouraging and your advice solid. The best part about your journey is that “the proof is in the pudding” so to speak. You’ve made great achievements and you really help people (which is a huge part of your success IMO).

    Thank you for always being so positive!

  7. Hi Farouk,

    I big thumbs up.

    I love the fact you’re writing a article with such passion. It’s always good to hear advice from people that have experienced it.

    The online marketing world is so-hyped and glamourised.

    Great article.

  8. Thanks for the encouraging words and congratulations! I just published my first eBook on SEO and plan to write more around the topics I blog about.

  9. Tell me you bought a Lambo! I am dying to hear of a blogger who bought one! That would be awesome inspiration!

    • Hi Dear
      to be honest i didn’t yet, though i bought a BMW 316i out of the money i made from the site, hopefully i can buy a Ferrari soon :)

  10. Adding value is the key to all marketing online..we get tired of things quick..so you must think different and approach people different..

    “Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”

  11. i like the quote ”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.” I will working hard on it to achieved my intentions.

  12. Farouk, I thought it was just me regarding the long sales copy page, I can’t stand them!! When a guru has one of these pages, I jump off and lose all respect for them. I wish that they would cut the BS and get to the point. Just tired of endless scrolling, but apparently it works for the gurus. Yes, it will probably work short term, but long term is it sustainable? I don’t know, maybe it is, I’m just starting out, so who am I to say? One thing I do know, I have a conscience and mutual respect is something that I would strive for in maintaining long term relationships with readers and customers. Just because you can do something to make a profit doesn’t mean that you should do it. It refreshing to hear someone who feels the same.

    • I agree with you 100% Nixon
      maybe i am wrong but i strongly believe that these long pages will ONLY work if trust was established first through free content (newsletter for example)

  13. Hi Daren, I just recently started to follow your blog, and I’m already glad that I am! Thanks for the good advice, and please keep em coming!

    Regards from South Africa!

  14. Good, solid advice. Although the odds were stacked against you, you kept moving forward. Good lesson in not giving up. I hope the naysayers you encountered along the way, read this article. :)

  15. A lot of people are quick to pass negative judgement on things they don’t understand. I agree, that it is important to look past all that and continue to do what you know and feel is right. If you follow your passions, the rewards are sure to follow.

  16. I love all 5 of your tips, particularly the business rule that it takes 2-3 years to profit, layering bricks of trust, and providing value in your work. I’m a new reader of your blog, but I have yet to read a post lacking in value. Thank you greatly!

    • You are most welcomed Megan :) ps: its not my blog, i just submitted a guest post here, Darren is the owner of this blog

  17. Farouk, thank you for this post. Its an awesome straight to the point read which every single blogger should read and potential bloggers also read this before they start. Just awesome!

  18. Congratulation for hitting the mark.

    I normally regards the long sales page as a scam. But it depends on whether I know the author well enough. If the author always provide valuable information rather than being pushy, I would consider the sales page as genuine.

    key to success, dn give up until you success

  19. Nice Post! I agree that adsense is not the best way to earn more money blogging.

    But what is the best way? Affiliate marketing or selling ad spaces?

    • Hi Praveen
      According to my opinion both affiliate programs or selling your own products can bring money the most
      wish you the best :)

  20. You mentioned you need to be different, but I will go a step further and say you need to be drastically different than the other sites in your niche. People are getting fed up with the same stuff being recycled and spued out by blogs on a regular basis. Take a totally different approach and you will find that not only will you get more attention to your site but you will also get more natural links. I’m glad you mentioned negativity too. Sometimes the biggest part of negativity can come from an unlikely source too… yourself. Keep plodding on everyone.

  21. Congratulations on your accomplishment and thanks for sharing your tips with us! I agree that is good to ignore the negative voices if you really believe in your dreams/what you are doing. There will always be small-minded people who want to discourage you. The point is to ignore them :)

  22. Nice article! Thanks so much.

    You’re right, it seems like there’s tons of negative encouragement (if you can call it such). The fact is, it’s unlikely that anyone in your life is going to have the background to give POSITIVE encouragement unless they’ve been successful at becoming a millionaire (or at least moderately successful) on the Internet, themselves. And that just ain’t too many people, is it?

    Bloggers are a group that must find the courage and tenacity from within themselves to keep plugging away – because they believe in THEMSELVES, and don’t depend on other’s input to make their decisions about what has value.

    I particularly like your point about providing something different. There’s lots of INFORMATION out there . . . but what does it all mean? What unique comparisons and conclusions can we draw from it? THAT makes for interesting content.

    • Hi Lea
      thanks for your comment :)
      you know when you google a topic then go through the first 18 results to find usless/boring/repetitive advice until you reach the result number 19 and find something useful? your blog should be that result number 19

  23. Thank you so much for sharing this information – and most importantly your story! The examples of negative feedback really made things clear for me. Anything worth having requires hard work, investment, desire and persistent effort. You made that plain and kept it real in your post :). Building trust with a blog is a huge and vital task – and it takes time.

    Congratulations on your multi-million dollar success! And many more!

  24. That shows what incredibly different paths we are all on. I’d be thrilled if I made $1000 – $2000/month in passive income from adsense.

    • I used to say the same but when you will make 2000/month you will fell like you want to make 4000 :D
      human nature :))

  25. Great tips and great story Farouk.

    People are inspired by stories like yours and that’s why you are successful. I don’t believe by being different will make you rich but I believe that by being different will get you noticed thus you stepping in the correct direction..

  26. I love this statement, “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.” You’ve verbalize what I think every time I think “why isn’t this growing as fast as I think it should”.

  27. You could put it another way: you either will or you won’t.

  28. Thank you for sharing the great inspirations. :)

    I can relate with you about the set backs and problems with regards to relatives and friends. In the end, overcoming those obstacles only makes you stronger. :)

    Cheers,
    Allen

  29. This is so true! People always say that you are wasting your time on your blog. I blog not so much for money, as it is something that I like to do to take a break from my intense school work.

    I am happiest when I’m blogging or shooting…and when I’m not doing either, I feel like I’m missing something.

    Congrats on your accomplishments, to those of you who make millsions on your blog.

    To all beginning bloggers: Worry less about money, and more about the uniqueness of the content you produce, the relationships, and best of all..LOVE WHAT YOU DO, and DO WHAT YOU LOVE, and the rest will follow.

    ~Aviva

    • Hi Avivia
      you are lucky!!
      if you like blogging then you can certainly be very successful
      wish you all the best :)

  30. Good stuff Farouk, I always had a not-too-impressed feeling about Adsense.

    You just made my day

  31. Even though I’m still wet behind my marketer’s ears, I fully agree with the notion that there are far too many copycats online, and people looking for ready-made formulas rather than putting their own spin on things.

    The problem, of course, is how going off the beaten path is often a dangerous and time-consuming adventure, whose ending is usually uncertain. With persistence and determination, great accomplishments can be made, and Farouk is a good example of this principle….or even Darren for that matter.

    Online or Offline… the really successful people are often those who have endured enormous trials and hardships for the sake of realizing their vision.

  32. Thank you for the great article! I agree, you can’t listen to negative people. It seems no matter what you’re trying to do, people try to talk you out of it…maybe because they don’t believe they can do it?

    Another huge thing related to this…you have to be able to handle rejection, and lots of it!

    Great points, and congratulations on your success!

    • Thank you so much Tony :)
      yes you are right, one of the main reasons people attack others is that they think that they can’t do it themselves

  33. Many people think like earning money on the internet is way cooler than working a job. Yet few realise that blogging is a job as well.

  34. Excellent Post! Thanks for sharing these tips with us.

    To have a successful blog, you must invest a lot of time and effort. Clever bloggers also can not create a successful blog in just 1 to 3 months

    • Yes David,
      i think people should work hard for at least a year before they can judge whether they succeed or not in creating a good blog

  35. Inspiring stuff for sure. I just would like to know if all the ebooks were written by you or you had them outsourced.

    • Hi Benny
      while i wrote all the books still you don’t need to be a writer to succeed online
      simply you can sell any books or products related to your website using affiliate programs :)

  36. Agree with Aviva. Enjoy what you do the rest will come. If you do not enjoy it, do not waste your time.

    • Yes that’s right
      1) if you enjoyed what you are doing you wont give up
      2) if you don’t give up you will make it

      so from 1 and 2 we can conclude three 3) if you enjoy what you do you will make it :D

  37. Seriously I had the EXACT same thing happen to me from close family. I know they mean well but one in particular really ticked me off, she said things like: “It’ll NEVER work, you’re wasting your time with imaginary friends on the internet, don’t come to me when it all fails” I’m not kidding — she literally said that! Whatev, it felt so good when I made my first $105.00 sale!!! I was like “IN YO FACE!!!” — to myself of course. :) I’m quite as a lamb until I start making at least 6 figures on a regular basis. Thanks this post really got my heart strings and it was informative too! <3

    • Hi Najah
      you just made a very important point clear,
      some people put you down while thinking they are doing you good
      for example i am sure my mother wanted to see me the best person in the world when she tried to let me focus on something else other than blogging , but in the end even if the person puts you down out of good intentions you shouldn’t be discouraged :)

  38. My reaction to this post in 3 words – “I am inspired”

  39. Very useful lessons Farouk and congratulations on your first million. Fortunately, I don’t have negative speaking people around. My family supports my “sitting in front of the computer making blogging all time” with their full moral support and positive, encouraging words.

    I am with you on Adsense and yes there is no get rich quick scheme at least with blogging.

    Cheers,
    Jane.

  40. nice and useful information i will try to adopt all the points,actually i am new comer to the field not have much experiece

    • Its great that you are reading from the beginning of your journey, i wish you all the best dear :)

  41. Farm Spotter says: 03/13/2011 at 12:04 am

    Umm, did any of you follow the link to his site? THAT is a content farm if I’ve ever seen one.
    The “Advice” is just BS and the grammar is terrible.
    I understand that English is his second language, but still, the content is simply horribly simple.
    LOL

    • Thank you! I was reading through these comments, wondering how there could be so much positive feedback.

    • Just another Negative voice :)
      Don’t let jealousy force you to attack others, do your best and you will succeed , direct your efforts to what’s bothering you instead of directing it towards people who did nothing to you

      i know what you are going through, good luck

  42. Another Inspirational Post. I agree with you, Adsense won’t make you earn big. The quality in your work will.

  43. It is good to see someone being honest about the amount of work it takes to succeed. We always hear about the one in a million person that got rich quick. But most people need to follow their passion, find their niche and work hard for a long time before large financial rewards come their way.
    Thanks
    Christopher

    • That’s So true Christopher,
      and even that person who got rich quick might have failed many times before in different businesses before he found the one that made him successful

  44. It was good to read this article. It gives me added strength to carry on.

  45. Hey Farouk,
    Your post was very inspirational.
    Thanks for providing it. I’m working on a couple sites myself and am starting with the small bricks at the moment.
    I’m continually hoping that I am going in the right direction with my website’s plan and strategy.
    Thanks again for the post.

  46. hi nice information i will follow these points and just keep on providing such useful information,thanks

  47. Very motivating article Farouk! I loved #3 the best on how Adsense may pay your bills… but you launching your own products is what made the real bank! HEy I went to your site and tried to find an RSS feed on there so I could subscribe to it on Bloglines… and never found one??? -Daniel

    • Thank you dear :)
      i currently run a newsletter instead if rss
      you will find a link to it on the top menu in the main page

  48. Farouk,

    Thanks so much for this article. Straightforward language and obviously based in real-life experience!

    Robert

  49. Absolutely brilliant information about blogging and i try to follow these and and most beautiful thing i noticed is that one has to be patient and be confident about what u r doing then perhaps one can become millionare

  50. Inspirational, man! I went to your site and I am impressed with all the content. Thanks for sharing your tips and good advice.

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