My Pathetic Making Money Online Journey

I started off with blogging when I stopped work to have a baby. At first, it was merely for fun and I began my blogging journey with the free Blogger account. Then I found out that there is such a thing called paid post. So, I got my own domain and began earning some money online.

Fast forward one year later, I'm still writing these silly $5 posts that range from diet pills to horse supplements to sexy costumes. Actually, my blog's PR was on an upward climb when the Big G god decided it should be condemned eternally to an insignificant existence for all those paid posts done. So, after more than 6 months of hardwork, I have to accept the fact that my worth as a blogger is a pathetic $5 per paid post.

Anyway, along the way, I took the initiative to learn more about making money online. I got, ahem, smarter and started a niche blog on love poems. But poems certainly isn't a profitable keyword and all I earn from adwords is probably just enough to pay for the web-hosting fees. Should have known that poets usually just live above (or is it below?) the poverty line that no one would be rich enough to invest in pay-per-click advertising. Grrr!

To make up for the lack of adwords earnings, I tried to sell relationship e-books through the love poems blog which is my foray into affiliate marketing. But so far, I'm experiencing a pathetic selling rate of one book a month.

My latest website, Baby Crib To Toddler Bed, is just about a month old and talks about nothing but baby cribs and the subsequent transition to toddler beds. Niche is the way, right? Thus far, my affiliate sales for this site is 1 bed and 1 pillow but... ZERO crib. A pathetic start but hopefully, it won't end up as another pathetic story!!

OK, I'm aware of keywords optimization, competition, copywriting, e-mail list, marketing, etc. I have read many articles and e-books by those so-called internet gurus. Basically, if you read one, you have read them all. Most of them offer more or less the same advice with perhaps, only one or two additional small points.

There is even one internet "guru" who sells his wares on Clickbank and all he wrote in one of his e-books about the "3 secrets" of making money online are skimpy points on selling on eBay, affiliate marketing and selling your own product. Those are the secrets?!? I think I can write a better e-book than that but he is definitely earning more, much, much more, than me. So, am I stupid or what? I guess I'm since I bought the book. Sob! Sob!

I have come to realize that all those so-called internet marketing gurus usually say the same thing. That making big money online is possible. They are smart enough not to put it in writing that it is easy but they imply so by emphasizing that it is DOABLE. They make you think that everyone, including YOU, can achieve success and make tons of money because they want you to buy their products or subscribe to their newsletter.

The point is you see a lot of people showing you the amount of money that they make online but you hardly read of "stupid" people like me struggling to even pay the web-hosting fees. I don't know; maybe people are just unwilling to reveal their inadequacies when it all seems so easy to others. Or perhaps, everyone is really happy with their efforts making money online except... err, YOURS TRULY?!? What can I say but...

I'm lucky that my husband earns a decent wage and my ventures online are basically extra pocket money for myself. The only thing that costs me is my time.

And I'm also fortunate that I like to write. If I have to pay for all those contents that I need to churn out for my sites, I would be losing quite a lot of money by now. This is also one of the reasons that kept me going and made me start a few lenses on Squidoo.

It's funny in a way because making money online is addictive to me and yet I have not really made any decent money. I suppose it must be the greed. Oops! Then that makes me stupid AND greedy. No wonder my husband tells me I should stop dreaming and wasting my time. He thinks I'm being unrealistic with this making money online addiction but luckily, he hasn't said anything about me being stupid... yet!

Anyway, I find it hard to give this up. I can be stubborn and I may be hitting my head against the wall. But I will persevere. If I actually make enough to pay taxes on it, good on me. But if all I can manage is a few McDonald's meals, so be it. At least, I'm using my brains and my typing skills will not go rusty.

I know success online is about how hard I work and how much effort I put in. That's understandable. So far, I have no problems writing articles and creating content. But I find that I'm utterly lazy when it comes to social networking. Maybe this is an area that is holding back my online success.

I have yet to learn how to stumble or dig although I have registered for an account. I'm in Facebook but I hardly log in. I'm beginning to try to get to know other lensmasters in Squidoo but it is slow-going.

I know internet gurus say networking is important. But if I'm spending my time creating content, that doesn't leave me with much time to network. I have a life and a kid!! An excuse, but a valid one, really.

Anyway, tell me how much time should you spend networking? Go round the block and say 'Hi!' to everyone. Leave a comment that says their site is great, their picture is beautiful, their kid is cute and all that BS. Don't tell me I'm the only one guilty of that and everyone else leaves enlightening comments each and every time? Oh dear!

To be honest, right now, I lead a very lonely online existence with few friends. So, if anybody wants to be my friends in Facebook, Stumble Upon, Digg or whatever else is out there, let me know. Let us all share our money making online experiences.