Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Is Making Money On The Internet Still Possible?

As a blogger, I would have to answer that question by looking into my personal earnings from blogging. Between Google Adsense,Pay-Per-Post, and other various affiliate links, I manage to bring in an additional $1000 - $2000 a year from just being a part time blogger. I am nowhere near being in the neighborhood of the greats such as John Chow or Darren Rowse however I still do better than many bloggers out there without really applying myself.

Last night I read an article that stated that by the time a money making opportunity hits the internet, it is obsolete as tens of thousands of people rush to copy and exploit the technique, quite simply it stated that we are all fighting for the same tiny piece of pie and in that aspect I have to agree so I want to focus this post on the real question I just asked. Is Making Money On The Internet Still Possible? Nowhere in that question do I mention blogging so lets step back from that scenario for a moment and examine a few other methods that the internet can bring you money.

Lets start with online surveys, although they do pay, I have found them to be quite boring and time consuming however they still have more potential than Google Adsense for the majority of people wishing to earn money online. A personal favorite of mine would be Treasure Trooper. My son still uses that and brings in some decent cash doing so and yes that is his referral link above, click it, don't click it, I don't care.

Next we can take a moment to check out domain name flipping. The concept is nice however when you get umpteen thousand people going after the same domain name and more than half using some kind of program that buys them up as fast as they become available, well it's just a little too nerve racking for me. Best of luck to those that attempt this method.

Lastly comes the area where I find myself most interested in and that is due to several things, first it has the greatest chance for failure. I know your thinking that I must be crazy right about now so let me explain. The greater the chance of failure quite often is also the greater payoff if you succeed. When I started my business I knew that most new businesses fail in the first year. Now into my second year, I wouldn't change a thing. Knowing I had a really big chance of failure it is just something I had to do which brings me back to the greatest chance of failure but also the highest payout for success on the internet. Web Site Development. I'm talking about designing a website for the masses that if successful, will provide the site owners and developers with more money than any blogger is making.

I know that not everyone is creative enough to think of a good idea much less design it and what I am talking about,in many cases takes a team working together and yet I still see it as the greatest chance for making money on the internet. Lets examine Craigslist for a second, Fortune magazine estimates that Craigslist had an annual revenue of 20 million last year. Now exactly how complex is that design? All it takes is the right idea, some hard work, and a little luck thrown in for good measure.

What if I have no ideas? Anyone that asks that should first look at their blog, where did that idea come from? If it is a "make money online" blog or a "how to increase your PR blog", the answer should be relatively simple. Steal It. Just as your was not the first blog to think of those niches, Facenbook was not the first social networking website yet it was valued as high as 700 m last year and who doesn't know that it is nothing more than a MySpace ripoff. I'm not telling anyone to go reinvent the wheel, I am just saying find a way to make the wheel better, promote it like crazy and start selling wheels. How many pizza delivery places are there in your town? Do they all make money? So, who invented the pizza delivery idea?

For anyone that still believes there is no money left to be made online I want to include a list of some websites and their annual revenue as of last year. It also lists the web site owners name as well as their age.

  1. Mark Zuckerberg [ Facebook ] 23 years old | $700M
  2. Andrew Gower [ Runescape ] 28 years old | $650M
  3. Blake Ross and David Hyatt [ Mozilla ] 22 years old | $120M
  4. Chad Hurley [ Youtube ] 30 years old | $85M
  5. Angelo Sotira [ Deviant ART ] 26 years old | $75M
  6. John Vechey [ PopCap Games ] 28 years old | $60M
  7. Alexander Levin [ WordPress ] 23 years old | $57M
  8. Jake Nickell [ Threadless ] 28 years old | $50M
  9. Sean Belnick [ Biz Chair ] 20 years old | $42M
  10. Kevin Rose [ Digg ] 30 years old | $31M
  11. Ryan Block [ Engadget ] 25 years old | $20M
  12. Aodhan Cullen [ Stat Counter ] 24 years old | $18M
  13. Tom Fulp [ Newgrounds ] 29 years old | $15M
  14. Rishi Kacker and Matt Pauker [ Voltage ] 24 years old | $12M
  15. Markus Frind [ Plenty of Fish ] 29 years old | $10M
  16. Catherine and David Cook [ My Year Book ] 17 & 19 years old | $10M
  17. Fredrik Neij [ The Pirate Bay ] 28 years old | $10M
  18. David Hauser & Siamak Taghaddos [ GotvMail ] 24 years old | $8M
  19. Jermaine Griggs [ Hear and Play ] 23 years old | $5M
  20. Jay Westerdal [ Domain Tools ] 29 years old | $5M

12 comments:

Hawksdomain said...

Inspiring yet sad - perhaps some of us are just too old after looking at this list! But definitely something I will keep in the back of my mind as I feel myself out on the 'net.

Anonymous said...

Interesting post!

I believe it is still possible to make money on the Internet. Some of us may not make the type of money of those listed above but I believe that what we put into our blogs/ websites we get in return.

Hard work, dedication and lots of traffic equals a profitable business.

Jimmy A. said...

If you are in this business to make a quick buck or get rich overnight then you will get absolutely nowhere.

You don't make money on the internet, but you do make money using the internet.

If you can provide people who are searching for solutions to their problems with quality content and solutions, bring in targeted traffic to that content, build a list of subscribers you will have a greater chance of converting them into customers.

It takes consistency, effort and time.

Of course, that is if you are looking to build a long term and successful Internet business.

Good post.

Jimmy Adames

Anonymous said...

A blog in the make money online niche certainly has lots of competition online. However, as you had mentioned, every town has numerous pizza delivery services. You just have to stick it out, evolve your blog into a style that suits you personally, and stay motivated.

Don Dousharm said...

I believe that the internet is like a large city. If you carve your nich out of it, you will make money. It's the same as a brick & mortar business. Everything works the same. The difference is the internet is cheaper and you have access to the whole world.

In answer to your question, I would say yes

Unbalanced Libra said...

I agree with your post. I manage 5 blogs and make money from them all. I am nowhere near rich from it though, only about $500-$700 a month but, it's only been a year!

Here's to success!

Dr. Annmarie Edwards said...

Thanks for your advise. What you said make sense. Thanks again.

BleepSec said...

Great list. Inspires me to get making money, still younger than some of them :)

Don't you oldies get discouraged though. Col Sanders of KFC fame - became a multimillionaire at about 55...

Anonymous said...

nice post. sure there is still some money to earn in the net. maybe we should take a closer look at 1k per month than 5m or more. on the other hand big goals are good to aim to. nice post.

Anonymous said...

Making money online is many times harder then I ever expected. I do not make much, but I only post 3-10 times a month per blog. Taking a niche and adding your own twist to it can be successful and is good advice. Enjoyed reading this post!

Anonymous said...

It's amazing the different ways one can earn money via the internet. It's also inspiring to see the young ages of those business owners. I believe the internet is a recession proof business if working with the right mentors!

Naomi
http://passive3kpaydays.com

Anonymous said...

Absolutely right. A good idea and hard work and some initial investment can definitely make you more money from internet.

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