Making Supplemental Income in a Down Economy with AdSense
We've all been hearing how the credit crunch is hurting small businesses that need to borrow money to make payroll. We've also seen over 700,000 jobs lost this year instead of 1.5 million created. The price of gas is high. And. Everything feels a little spooky. Chances are your financial situation is tightening like it is for millions of people around the world. Some people will ride it out. Others will take on a second job. Some will turn to the internet.
I hope you find this useful.
How Can I Make Money Online?
I always tell people it's easier to save money than to make it. When it comes to making money online, the best stuff is free.
Rule #1 is you can't buy success when you're starting out. No eBook, guru or work from home that costs $19.95 to get started is going to show you the road to riches. If they had the secret, they would do it themselves. Please save your money when you are starting. After you have the basics, there are opportunities to spend small sums of money that will have a positive ROI. But you'll need to have a firm grip of the basics before any of that is appropriate.
If you want to make money online without spending a dime, you need three things.
- First, you need at least one monetization vehicle.
- Second, an area of expertise or the ability to do deep research.
- Third, the ability to market a piece of content.
The key when just starting out is learning. The good news is the best online resources that can be applied to making money online are free.
I believe the best monetization vehicle for just about anyone starting out is AdSense. AdSense will pay you for every time a legitimate person clicks on an ad served on your website. It's free to signup for AdSense, and they pay their publishers as reliably as anyone. Again, you should never pay. AdSense is free and there are no secrets to making money with AdSense. You just have to learn how to put ads in a page in a place people will click on them. If this doens't make sense to you. Just look at how AdSense ads are placed in HubPages. These are the little text ads that say "Ads by Google." Anyone can get an AdSense account from Google by signing up through HubPages. Again it's free.
Step #2 is being able to research or have knowledge about something you can write about. This takes a lot of commitment and isn't easy. The only advice I can truly give is to make an original piece of content that is so thorough and detailed, that if you compared it to any other article on the internet that everyone would agree that your page was the definitive guide online. Follow this rule. Make the very best page of a topic on the internet. If you do, people will come. If this is confusing, go to about.com and find your favorite topic. Read the articles there and pay attention to the topics they write about. Pay attention to how they use words and phrases that people search using google to find. Then look at Wikipedia. See how WikiPedia links article after article together and how they all relate to each-other. This is what you need to do. You need to go very deep on a subject. Link all your pages together and when you link your pages, you need to use the keywords and phrases in your links. Just like WikiPedia and about.com do. If you want an example of a Hubber that makes over $100 per month for nearly the last two years, you can see James Montgomery's series on Rolex Watches. He has made 50 Hubs. He gets about 500 visitors a day and has made well over $100 per month for almost two years. If you were to take 50 designer sunglasses, or 50 styles of shoes, or 50 designer purses and create pages as detailed as James's you to would earn a $100 per month. Read James's Hubs. Pay attention to the titles of his hubs and the style of his writing. He uses facts, he interlinks his hubs, and he has made them very useful. This is the secret that's really not a secret.
After you have one and two down, it's time to learn about online marketing. I suggest doing steps one and two first, before tackling this. Many people leap to marketing in the hope of finding a shortcut. The truth is there is no shortcut. If you want to make money from AdSense, and sustain it, you have to put in hard work. When you do, it will pay off over a long period of time. Look at James again. 50 Hubs. He's made over $2,400 dollars, but it took two years. He may very well earn another $2,400, but it's going to come in chunks of about $100 until the point his hubs are no longer relevant.
When you're ready to learn about online marketing, learn about natural search engine optimization at webmasterworld - real experts there will answer your questions for free about getting traffic from search engines. Read. Read. And. Read. Ask questions there and listen. Natural search engine optimization is free and is the single most powerful tool for a person learning to make money online. Again. Don't pay for natural search help. Don't buy links. Don't spam Digg or Reddit. Go to webmasterworld. Read the forums. Ask questions. And learn. That's all there is to it.
If I can reiterate one point. When you are just starting out online, you should never pay a dime out of pocket until you have some success. Use AdSense. Create your own content. Learn natural SEO.
Comments
Paul, I registered at webmasterworld but when I try to read anything it takes me back to the subscribe/donate/payment page. Isn't there a portion of the site that is free?
Yes, webmasterworld has a free portion. There are some threads that are for subscribers, but I'm pretty sure the main google forums are free.
Paul,
Excellent HubPage and advice. I sufferred informational overload during the first two weeks of studying on-line marketing and Affiliate commissions with Adsense.
Had an opportunity to travel to BlogWorld Expo 2008 by offering my videography services in exchange for a pass to the conference. Won a dinner with Shoemoney and John Chow and my Market Leverage Affiliate manager.
Met Ryan Hupfer there, and recently had a lunch meeting to dicuss how I could help HubPages and in turn, gain a modest income from my writing.
Adsense is still a mystery, even though I have a friend, Jonathan Volk, www.jonathanvolk.com who is now at $270,000.00 gross per month in Affiliate comissions, after four years of hard work. He nets a six-figure monthy income after click-budget costs.
Thank you for HubPages! I have enjoyed writing four Hubs, and will continue to do one per day on a variety of subjects I am passionate about.
Here is one I wrote about HubPages.com:
http://nicholas-thehubpagesblog.blogspot.com/
Respectfully,
Nicholas Chase - newbie Hubpager
yes, this is good for me.I have spent $$$ in the past for adsense on websites and didn't need to! thanks
Ya know, I was just about to write this article! You beat me to the punch! Man, we're exactly the same, you and I.
Thank you Paul for sharing some of your know how. I'm forever trying to learn but my non-teck-savvy brain is very slow at absorbing.
Your hub is very great and straight to the point thank you for that.
regards Zsuzsy
One of the main reasons I am on hubpages now is because supplemental income is precious in these difficult times. Great post!
Hey Paul,
Excellent information and I agree, spending a bunch of money at first is not always the best way to go. Learing SEO, how to create a blog or webpage, email marketing, social marketing, all of that will help put the pieces together so that when money needs to be spent it will be more directed at exactly what is needed to take a person's business to the next level,
Thanks for the great info,
Mike Witt
Thanks for the great hub. Maybe people can stop falling for those "make money fast and easy" schemes on those infomercials!
Great hub! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
Thanks Paul. I'm off to do my homework you just gave us!
Very useful information Paul. As I've always suspected, it all comes down to doing the work, and making the effort. There's no get-rich-quick gimmick involved here.
Interesting
Nice hub. You have given good tips for getting money online easily. Your presentation is nice.
Hi Paul,
Great hub! Your explanation is clear, well structured and concise. It follows your own advice, giving us a great example of how to write a winning Hub page. I appreciate what you've done here and will definitely use your advice. Cheers!
advice you feel you can trust, anyone looking around the internet to make money online will certainly be grounded visiting this hub , i bet you could have saved many a hopeful with a now empty bank account , if they had of come here first
Paul, thanks for the 3-step process. As hubpages writers, we really only need to focus on steps 2 and 3. Thanks for helping me think about writing deep.
Thanks, Paul for this very informative, common sense article.
Great hub! Thanks for sharing.
thats why i'm here..
Good info, I will have to check out James Montgomery's hubs out.
thanks,
James
I hghily recommend checking James Montgomery Hubs out. It's a very good example of how HubPages can be used for profits. He writes about products in deep details. AdSense supplies good ads and there are excellent items that can be purchased on eBay. He may actually be one of the few writers that makes similar amounts of money from AdSense and eBay since he's sold more than a few expensive items.
Since I am a marketer by trade, this is a very useful article and one that people should really think about. I wish there was a 19 dollar ebook that tells all but unfortunately...its not. Great stuff!
Good Job! I usually learn something every time I read an article about making money online - I did here. Thanks.
this article is great. i wish i would have seen it some time ago tho, as I have spent a little more than I wanted on those darn "get rich quick" schemes. but now, everything seems to be working out great. This adsense seems to be a great idea. I'm gonna keep up with it and see how it pans out. =]
Good Info. Thanks
Thank-you for your informative and well written article. I am trying to gain some expertise in on-line publishing and revenue building and I appreciate your tips. You've got a new fan.
Interesting article. I hear online that some people make thousands from blogs, etc. However, unless they are big names who blogs on high traffic sites, I find that at times challenging to believe. As far as writing goes, I'd go with article writing for known online or/and offline magazines.
All the best!
Denise Hubbing It Up!
thanks for the info.
Yes, webmasterworld has a free portion. There are some threads that are for subscribers and high traffic sites.
Great hub. It's nice to see someone turn negative news into something positive. Also really like how you tell people not to spend a dime... it really is about doing (and learning while you take action), not buying products that promise to make you a millionaire overnight. Thanks for the info!
If you work hard, and if you are patient, internet business is right for you. There's no "work 4 hrs/week and become a millionaire" on the net.
Thanks for the great hub.
Thanks for sharing your information. It was clear and should prevent one from spending unnecessary money because of ignorance
Some good information, especially for those starting out and who haven't quite got a foothold in internet marketing yet. The best advice I can give is to persevere with it, don't give up and turn your attention elsewhere. You will make money eventually and Paul's advice is spot on.
If anyone makes a set of Hubs like the James Montgomer set, I'd be happy to take a look and see if I can help tune them up. Just drop a link in here to your main hub and i'll follow the internal links and tags.
Great information -- and great of you to share it. I will definitely check out the Rolex series. And will have to think about anything I might remotely have sufficient interest/background in to write that many hubs about. Unfortunately, my brain is totally random and seems to want to come up with non-commercial hubs. Maybe I can train it.
Meantime, Paul, you have GOT to figure out a way to make $ off that ADORABLE piece with your daughter reciting the presidents of the United States. Or at least put her on Letterman or Leno:-). That remains the best piece of entertainment of the week (second only in my book to last night's comeback from 7-0).
Politicians and government leaders work to resolve political crises; environmentalists proclaim solutions to environmental crises ...
I completely agree with you Paul. You should not have to pay to start a home business. It really is too risky to start a business and later fail in it. That is why I use a system that is free to use with no start up cost. Great information. Keep it up!
Paul thanks for the information. You realy know the score.
I have been marketing for 4 years now and i did it the hard way.!
i have only just worked it out in the last three months
so look out for my hub
keep up the good work
Paul,
This was a very informative Hub! Thanks for sharing.
Donna Wells
Thank you for pointing out that it will take time. Many start online thinking they can publish/do things and they will make lots of instant cash...Thanks for the truth!
Excellent stuff - why not sell it in an e-book?
Only joking! - The bottom line is there is lots of good free advice here and on the web. The best advice (like your Hub) is free.
You say that AdSense is the best place to start for people that are getting into the online business, i really disagree here, when you see what kind of crap newbies are taught to build to sell their traffic for pennies, it makes no sense at all.
When a newbie ask me for advice i always say start with affiliate programs like clickbank and really learn of the bath how to monetise your traffic and how to funnel it into even more sales.
Adsense is really a waste of time and money, teach newbies the right way to make money, not true Ad sense.
Interesting article, there is probably more than one way to "skin a cat" - I agree not to spend money in the beginning - or maybe ever, there are plenty of free marketing avenues to gain traffic, tho some are slow. =)) good info, I'm a fan!
@SquidooMaster - I strongly recommend staying away from low quality offers when starting out.
For people that are interested in monetizng their knowldege they need to be focused on the content. It's high quality originial content that creates longterm sustainable value. For most people this means writing about things you love.
This is not the fastest way to make money online, but by building up a library of knowledge, this is one way to create a supplemental income stream.
Again, I recommend studying the James Montgomery Hubs on Rolex watches. These are a very good example of what it takes to have success.
Great article which lays it all out on the table. I am glad I decided to go ahead and read it. Thanks Paul.
Thanks for the info Paul. I'm going to check out webmasterworld.com ASAP!!!
Thanks a lot Paul. Very good Hub!
Thanks much. I can use all the help I can get :)
Very informative. I'm new here and this is the second article I read and I'm already impressed with hubpages. Thanks for the info!
Your very hub, is what you're suggesting people use as a guide. Follow a leader and you'll not go far wrong.
Andy
great info man! SEO is the key to any online business.
Very informative and interesting
Thanks Paul for a great hub - will follow your advice. cheers.
what great advice...you really know your stuff...thanks
very handy, thanks a lot Paul.
I really enjoyed this hub.
This is a good hub, with lots of useful information. Thanks!
hai paul, thanks for sharing great informaton,
thanks for the good ideas alnd realistic approach. I agree that the first step is learning--and more learning.
Hey Paul,
Excellent information that we all can use. Thank you for sharing.
Joe
Paul,
Most of my learning has come from HubPages and, here I go again. I have refused to fall for the get rich quick. if it were true we would not be feeling the pinch now! Great, to the point hub. C.S.
Great hub! I'm happy to say that after a year of trial and error the income generated through adsense more than supports my hosting fees now. I know Google doesn't allow us to disclose how much we can make but thanks to a very supportive and tech savvy husband I have seen a steady increase in my adsense income without me spending a dime on marketing. And no, I don't ask friends to click. AdSense, to me, is the answer in this economy. It does take a lot of work but it is also kinda fun. I've tried lots of things on the internet and this by far has been the best.
nothing special...
Great informational hub, Paul! I need all the info I can get on SEO.
Excellent hub! I appreciated the research and hard work you put forth in creating this great hub.
marketingmergenow
Hello,
Yes, there is no quick route. It is rather as you suggest; accumulating the right info. and taking the right steps.
There are some things to consider when putting adsense on your own website For example: do you really want your visitors to click away? - the answer may be yes, unless you are trying to sell something on your site (which will pay you more - in that case do not put adsense on you site). If you are only making money off adsense, then it "pays" to know that Google decides what ads go on your site based on keyword relevance to your site (you only get to pick where the ads will appear). With that said, it is worthwhile paying attention to which keywords pay the most and then generate relevant content (and quality content - as you mentioned)to those keywords so Google will populate your site with higher click paying ads.
P.S. Your daughter is adorable:0
An easy guide. I am writting in hubpagesas a hobby. It is true that there is no short cut.
Jyoti Kothari
Thanks for the hub... After years of trying and losing at the get-rich-quick schemes, I've finally stumbled upon the truth. I hate that I had to learn it the hard way, but I tend to be hard-headed sometimes. Your article is right on the money. I hope that I can build a hub/article base over the next year or so that will help me earn what John's earning a month. Thanks for the tips and the resources. Happy hubbing!
P.S. You've got a new fan. :)
Great Information especially for a newbie like me. Insightful and I have already bookmarked webmaster. Wasting enough money already, I need your awakening. Thank YOU
This is a great hub - great advice. Once we are not focused on the survival basics, food, clothing, shelter, we are mentally and emotionally free to find our ideal business. Your information will allow many people to earn that extra money without spending on hollow promises, that will free them to find their passion and purpose.
Regards,
Steve
$100/mo on affiliate shoe sales only; or is that adsense alone or both?
Frankly, 50 sites and only $100/mo is not stellar IMO. $500+ would be better but it does give you a foundation and promotes creativity.
Great information, just getting started and enjoyed the hub!
Hi, paul thanks for the good informations that i gathered from your hubpage .Now i can speed up my business development. for those that want to know it, see my website. no investment or selling or buying any
product.
thanks, paul
Most of it has all been said above...
THANK YOU!
Dan
Yes I've been with Adsense for a long while now and since I really started blogging in 2006. Nice hub!
Thanks for the pearls of wisdom. I am hopeful to use them with success. I am just getting my feet wet on this site as I just learned of its existence. I am very excited. Thanks again.
GOOD TIPS FOR A NEWBY! Thanks
Thank you very much for this article. It very much gives an idea on what I need to do in order to make the most out of my hub. As a newbie to making money online, I am looking for all the advice I can get. Again, thank you for not placing this in a place where one has to pay for it as I would not be getting the advice if it were.
I am new and in the process of learning how to make money on Hubpages. You note "You just have to learn how to put ads in a page in a place people will click on them." My understanding is this is done automatically? or is there another way to do this? The advice I am seeing is conflicting. Can you reccomend a site with better set up instructions, I have already been to many? better way to do this?
VioletSun 3 years ago
Thanks, Paul for this very informative, common sense article. I have found that having reasonable expectations such as earning a monthly salary from an online business as opposed to the get rich schemes, keeps one's focus in the right direction. Both my s/o and I earn a monthly salary/commision which goes up and down depending on the sales of the website we manage for the owner. We offer a shipping fulfilment service which Amazon.com also offers.