Every blogger and internet entrepreneur aspires to make money online. Drawing from my experience of technically earning money online since 2009, let me provide insights to enhance your chances.
One of the major revelations from blogging wasn’t just the prospect of eventually leaving my full-time job in finance. This realization struck me when, in the fall of 2011, I received an advertising request on my iPhone while relaxing at a bar atop Santorini.
The most remarkable aspect of blogging lies in its potential to serve as a dynamic resume, enabling individuals to pivot into new careers! Beyond generating income through advertising revenue, blogging opens avenues for earning from consulting gigs or securing full-time employment.
Life After Investment Banking Thanks To Blogging
One of the big reasons why I wanted to get out of the investment banking industry was because there was a loosening correlation between performance and reward. One would work harder, generate more revenue, and get paid less! That’s demoralizing.
Ever since I left the banking world in 2012, there’s been report after report about how XYZ bank is downsizing its departments. I’ve also heard from old colleagues how their compensation continues to get squeezed.
Meanwhile, the consumption of online content continues to explode! Sites like SEO content generator, NerdWallet, and Upworthy have come out with healthy valuations. Meanwhile, every week a new blogger is quitting his/her job to blog full-time.
I’m bullish on blogging for the next 10 years, and I just wish I started Financial Samurai in 2003 when my father first suggested the idea instead of dilly dallying until 2009.
Financial Samurai now generates enough to put food on the table, without having to aggressively sell anything, work in an office, or report to anyone. It is a dream come true, and every day I thank my lucky stars.
Don’t Promote Every Product On The Market To Make Money
Making money online requires making well-informed predictions about the future.
The top-tier affiliate marketers stand out by aligning themselves with products they genuinely use and believe in, seamlessly incorporating these products into their content. As publishers, we possess the ability to address issues with words. Imagine the satisfaction of introducing vetted products to our readers, aiding them in reaching their goals.
The challenge, however, lies in the vast sea of products available for discussion. It’s impractical to cover them all without risking the perception of being an insincere promoter lacking credibility. The key is to carefully select a handful of products based on your foresight regarding their future success.
One reason I invest ample time before affiliating is the unfortunate reality that many companies don’t endure. It’s disheartening to invest time and effort in comprehending, writing about, and endorsing a product, only to see it shut down a year or two later.
Examples like Adaptu, Manilla, RealtyShares serve as cautionary tales. Despite being commendable products, their short-lived existence illustrates the precarious nature of the industry. Additionally, there’s a certain level of embarrassment when something you passionately endorse suddenly disappears.
Easiest Way To Forecast The Future And Make Money Blogging
Here are four ways to make money online.
1) Research a company’ funding online.
Participate in the financial technology revolution as a financial blogger, leaving big banks trailing behind due to their over-regulation, sluggishness, and lack of innovation.
As the financial technology movement is still in its infancy, many companies under 15 years old are either operating at a loss or aggressively striving for market share. Their success hinges on raising sufficient capital to innovate and reach their operating profit break-even point.
To gauge a company’s potential for survival, a straightforward approach is to Google “XYZ fundraising” and check the amount a specific company you favor has raised. The more substantial their fundraising and the further they are in the Series Seed, A, B, C, D, or E round, the greater confidence you can have in their viability.
For funding information, reliable resources include Crunchbase.com. The biggest revolution going on is the one in artificial intelligence. There should be a lot more AI companies with affiliate programs in the near future.
2) Test out the product yourself.
If you are writing a review about a product and have never used the product, you need to stop right now. There’s no place on the internet for fake reviews for the sole purpose of trying to make money. It’s deceptive. Furthermore, you aren’t going to write a credible review if you don’t really know what you’re talking about! Sure, you can copy reviews from other sites who actually use the product, but that’s just plagiarism.
Please test out each product you are considering becoming an affiliate for yourself. If you love the product, then chances are high that your community of readers will also love the product. After all, your subscribers are very much like you, otherwise, they wouldn’t subscribe to your feeds in the first place.
3) Become an Authority Affiliate.
Let’s say you’ve tried the product out yourself and find it to be awesome. The next step is to reach out to the company directly and see if you can meet with them in person to hear their story, learn about their products, and help address their concerns. If you have the opportunity, you might even want to suggest consulting for them.
As an authority affiliate at Fundrise, I’m putting my money where my mouth is by invest $144,000 in one of their private real estate funds. You’ll learn a ton about the industry and have a lot of great derivative stories to share as well.
4) Make A Decision On Whether The Affiliate Has A Viable Future
After researching the product online, testing it out, and working with the creators, you’ve now got to make a decision on whether the company has a viable future. Sometimes you won’t really know for sure until you look the CEO in the eyes to hear his/her story.
Very few companies last forever. But if you can say with relatively high confidence that you believe the company will survive for at least the next three years, and their product is value-added, then I say it’s a go to promote them. You’ll rank much better for the related search terms if the company ever gets large because you have a first move advantage.
Furthermore, I’m bullish on the real estate crowdfunding space in general. after a downturn in commercial real estate in 2023, demand is picking up in 2024 due to a decline in mortgage rates, strength in the stock market, and pent-up demand.
If you can make rational assumptions about who the winners will be in the future, you can not only provide cutting edge content that gets your readers coming back for more, you can also position yourself as an authority in the space. The sooner you can invest in the winners by writing about them, the bigger your advantage in the search engines as well.
Start Making Money Blogging
I never thought I’d be able to quit my job in 2012 just three years after starting Financial Samurai. But by starting one financial crisis day in 2009, Financial Samurai actually makes more than my entire passive income total that took 15 years to build.
If you enjoy writing, creating, connecting with people online, and enjoying more freedom, learn how you can set up a blog in 15 minutes like this one.
Leverage the 3+ billion internet users and build your brand online. There are professional bloggers now who make way more than bankers, doctors, lawyers, and entrepreneurs while having much more fun, much more freedom, and doing less work. Star today. You never know where the journey will take you!
Make Money Online By Predicting The Future is an Untemplater original post.
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