I haven't made a post to this blog in over a week. I've been distributing my online income efforts elsewhere - sorry kids. That doesn't mean that I've given up or taken a break. In fact, it's been exactly one month since I started this money making blog capade, and last week was probably the most productive thus far.
On my first post, I mentioned that my goal for the first month was 50 articles, and $25. Before I elaborate with an army of justification and excuses as to why I didn't meet my goal, let me give you the breakdown of my first month results:
Income (
goal $25.00)
Adsense: 450 cents
eHow: 263 cents
Total: 713 cents
Posts (goal 50)This blog: 19
eHow: 4
EZine: 2
Niche sites: 10
Total: 37
If you go back and read the first few posts from this blog, you'll notice that I was planning on generating most of my
online income from eHow articles. Well, I've definitely shifted focus, and with that change in direction, I've had to do a lot more research than I'd originally planned.
Initially, I wanted to devote most of my efforts to eHow because I was already familiar with the system, I'd had good luck with it, and though I couldn't expect to make a killing, it was money I could count on - if all 37 of the articles that I produced this month were published on my eHow account, I have no doubt that I would have crushed $25...maybe even $26.
But, I didn't make $25...I didn't even make $10. I shifted focus due to a series of events that six months from now, I'm condfident I'll be grateful for. In one early posting,
eWho?, I discussed some major issues that eHow was having with their system (that they've since fixed). The problems ranged from the inability to add images to difficulty publishing articles. While waiting for them to iron their issues, I tried to adapt by looking for alternative ways to earn some online income.
Scott, a friendly commenter on this blog, suggested I take a look at some posts from a guy named Griz, a
make money online expert. It was quickly made evident that Griz has a freakin' truckload of great information, a lot of which focuses on niche blogging (blogging on smaller, non-mainstream topics and industries) to bring in revenue with targeted traffic.
One of Griz's posts lead me to another blog, also jam-packed with
making money with Adsense tips, 'Working On the Go'. This is a blog authored by a gentleman known as the Road Warrior, who is embarking on a similar trek as myself - making a living off of online income. The Road Warrior has a bit of a head start on me, pulling in around $200/month, but he's still close enough that I have a challenge to relate to.
Griz makes mention in several of his posts of a team of Adsense experts named Mark and Court, who run a paid membership site called The Keyword Academy (TKA). The Road Warrior is a member of this group, and most of the strategies that he has employed have been a result of Mark and Court's teachings. After reading about TKA nearly everyday, and having a few brief discussions with the Road Warrior, last week I decided to give it a shot - the first month is only $1, and you can cancel anytime.
TKA has quite a wealth of online income resources. They offer 10 core videos which teach the basics of niche blogging for money. They supplement the core videos with frequent webinars, a helpful message board, and a custom directory service. I've learned a freakin' crapload so far - I wish I'd found this site a year ago. Yes, I could have been writing content with the 10 hours it took to watch the core videos and a few webinars, but again, I think I'm going to be pleased with my decision in the long run.
I can't give you the details of what TKA teaches, as Mark and Court are trying to run a business, but I can tell you that it makes sense. It's basically everything and then some that I've learned so far, all rolled-up in a tightly packaged, easy to follow blue print. I have the tendency to bounce from one idea to the other without really accomplishing anything (see Duke Laserwood). Although I still have love for eHow and social media optimization, I'm going to put most of my time in effort into following the TKA SEO model. By the time I update you in November, my goal is to report the creation of five niche sites, $25 in revenue (builds exponentially), and at least 50 additional articles.