[contentbox bgcolor=’f2f2f2′ border=’999999′ borderwidth=3 corners=10]This post is a guest post written by James from The Average Genius.[/contentbox]
Recently, I had the rare opportunity to take my wife and our 7 kids to a friend’s cabin to Cascade, Idaho. The scene was surreal: the blacktop was white. The pine trees were dusted with fluffy, freezing, playful snow.
We had just walked into a post card with our tired family van chugging along. This time we weren’t just driving through, we came to play in this stuff.
It was my wife’s birthday, and the entire trip was long overdue. See, we don’t take vacations normally. But that was in my old life…
The Flop: Struggle, Strive, Sweat And Ache
I’m James, a.k.a. “JamestheJust” online, former freelance writer on Elance (that turned into a golden training ground to learn the ropes while getting paid).
I blog at The Average Genius and tell it like it is. It’s still something I’m getting used to (I get paid a passive income? Say what?).
Unlike many success stories, or perhaps like the cliche story you might expect – I come from generations of struggling, hard-working folk.
Money has been that elusive character in someone else’s play, I was raised convinced that only other people ever had any.
My dad lived and left his life as one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen.
My mother comes from the Philippines, where most internet marketers hire cheap labor for English web content.
See, both of my parents worked…
They worked long, hard hours, mom still does.
My grandparents were in various blue collar jobs from construction to rice threshing.
Needless to say, hard work is in my DNA. The family has viewed money as a slippery, wriggling fish that escapes every time you grab hold, real enough to tease but never real enough to linger.
Money meant struggle, strive, sweat and ache. Regular hours were reserved for banks and the filthy rich. I knew from the start: I was born to work to provide for my family.
For 16 years of marriage, that’s what I’ve done, and it’s meant nothing but struggling, striving, sweating and being bone-aching tired.
- Overtime (usually left unpaid, that’s always “fun”).
- Leaving when it’s dark outside.
- Coming home when it’s dark outside.
- Cramming down dinner and working some more at another job.
- Sleeping 6 hours, working 18.
That was life, and the way to provide, right?
The Turn: A Glimmer of Hope, Or Fool’s Gold?
In 2009, I was embroiled in a family business owned by my in-laws here in Idaho. The job went from “reasonable hours” to You have got to be kidding me, I’m a man, not a machine!
I was given unreasonable hours and expected to turn up unreasonable results in marketing…so for three months in my final, desperate winter in the business, I pounded the pavement so to speak.
I would market for “bonus money,” but the trick of it was I had just suffered a loss of $12,000 annually, or $1,000 a month paycut, right before winter.
To make up the loss, I was offered the “opportunity” to market the business – so I jumped through the hoop and marketed like a Fury.
I marketed my way out of a $12k annual paycut in the worst of my personal recession, while the evening news told of similar sob stories all over the U.S.
Layoffs and foreclosures were happening all over my neighborhood, I was no exception it would turn out later. At the time, I bit down and faced the music:
I had to work harder, longer hours, for less money. Either that or get fired, so I was told. It worked, for my in-laws anyway. I built their business and gave all I had to give to my now thankless job.
Family ties were strained to breaking, and in the midst of my financial crisis, my boss / brother-in-law told me about Elance, and the XFactor AdSense buisness model.
The XFactor model was to build many miniature websites that would make $25-$100 a month extra. At the time, you must understand: every bit counted!
I had just lost $1,000 a month and didn’t have room to breathe in my budget – I didn’t know how I’d feed my family.
I figured I’d need 20-50 websites to make up the deficit…but the money was slow in coming for AdSense. To make matters even more desperate, for the first two months on Elance I got nothing…
I was met with rejection, disappointment, and panic. I was paying Elance a membership fee to bid on jobs but I received no work for all my frenetic efforts, I had no idea what I was doing.
In the precious few hours I had left to myself, I looked at sleep as a luxury I couldn’t afford. I bid like crazy on Elance, lowering my price until I found a sweet spot – I needed work and I hit bottom.
It was desperation time.
My first gig was for a lawyer in L.A. for $8.33 / hour, transcribing her free ebook to build her email list. I worked until I was bleary eyed and it was unhealthy and unsafe – but my kids liked warmth in winter and dinner on the table, so I knew what I had to do.
We decided long ago my wife would stay at home with our 7 kids. That meant I had to figure something out, and quick.
I had no choice – I needed the street cred on Elance so I asked my client if she’d give me a positive review if I dropped my prices.
She agreed. The next 5 jobs were similar: working for a referral and chump change.
Without those referrals, I couldn’t get a gig – they were my golden ticket.
The money wasn’t “good” at first, but every little bit counted. Then I’d raise my prices slowly as the referrals came in.
I began refusing work and became choosy, only working for better wages.
Then something funny happened.
I watched the AdSense grow on my one website – and it took 96 days before I got that first precious $100 AdSense check. I thought I had won the lottery.
The Problem With Freelancing
Freelancing was working, but it took all my time, I didn’t have time to build my 20-50 websites. Instead, I rushed my half-baked content out and slapped up a few skinny sites.
As I watched the AdSense total keep growing, it proved that the making money online dream was slowly chugging along and coming true – I just needed to find the throttle and let ‘er rip.
This had to work – I needed passive income to come in so I could do away with my active income (my job at the time, freelancing). Passive income was the road to freedom…but I needed more time.
Desperation and frustration drove me to work at a frenetic pace, and I channeled all my aggression into two very distinct, intermingled goals:
1) I had to prove to everyone watching, waiting for the next pathetic shoe to drop, that they were wrong about me. I began to feel trapped, backed into a corner and a brick wall in front of me.
With a family in tow, that’s a recipe for divorce, for drug abuse, alcoholism – all bad news. I had the tenacity to choose hard work and wild hours.
Everyone thought I was crazy. I worked like I was.
2) I wanted to put legs under my wife’s claim that she had a husband she could be proud of, I wanted to change that sad, forlorn look in her eye from desperation into a gleam of hope.
She was tired of worrying. I was just tired of it all, weary to the bone – but it wasn’t time to lay down. It was time to fight for our future, even in the worst economic turmoil we had seen.
Our kids weren’t sure what was “wrong” with me – I was gruff, distracted, determined…but I was in it for them.
They deserved a better life than the hand-me-down, beg-along life I’d given them. I was sick of it…
…Tired of the charity case claim to fame.
I didn’t want to work until I had arthritis into the long and lonely hours of the night as a security guard because retirement wasn’t an option. It had to stop.
“I’m a writer. I’ll re-write the script and my part in the play,” I told myself. “My wife’s going to be proud of what I’ve done, once the dust settles.”
That, more than AdSense and riches, more than vacations and more than luxury cars, is what drove me.
It still drives me.
The River of Dreams: Script’s Re-written
I lost my job in July of 2010. It was an underhanded surprise.
Before that nefarious, calculated event – things were getting better.
I was paying down debt. I was working my nerves into Carpal Tunnel Syndrome after putting in overtime in the “family” business, getting a “solid” 4-6 hours of sleep on weeknights and burning the midnight oil on Elance…
The money was getting better as I was able to attract better clients…
But there was one problem: more time was being given to Elance than to my own websites and passive income network of websites. I only had 10 or so websites up – mostly with mediocre, original content and AdSense.
Still – it was working out until July 2nd, 2010, when I was told I had a week left. I had been replaced with someone more desperate, willing to put in the 14-16 hour days now that I was “only” doing 10-12.
In the meanwhile, I had played “good student” in my own personal college. I was dissecting my clients’ requests for my writing, and developing relationships online.
I’d ask so many questions I thought I’d pushed my luck and welcome a few times. Then I’d ask a few more.
My appetite for more information was voracious: I needed to learn how the big players were making their living…
I had worked nearly 3 years serving big names in Boise, Idaho – the big wigs who were making a killing online.
I have seen their homes. They’re castles.
These people hired guys like me to build their thriving websites, I just had to figure out why my websites weren’t raking in that kind of money.
I listened. I asked. I studied. I learned:
- How to backlink…
- How to SEO content…
- How to research keywords…
- How to write convincing content that resulted in conversions…
- How to target products to sell that made me real profits and not chump change…
I began reading. I found Paula and Wanda. I found other internet marketers’ blogs. I began asking more questions, finding people I could trust – hard to do in this business, but not impossible.
Learning Is Like Bowling: Always Follow-Through
My blue collar upbringing saw that I was son to a pair of bowlers – as in “Bruinswick, 10 pins and smoky bowling alleys,” not funny-looking hats.
As my dad would say to me at 6 years old, “It’s all about the follow-through, son. Always follow through.”
I didn’t have money for every ebook in town. I’ve only read two: the XFactor AdSense ebook and Amazonian Profit Plan – I didn’t need to buy every ebook out there to learn – and learning can become a habit in itself.
It’s pointless if it’s never followed through with action…
Once I learned something, I put it into practice – if I felt I had time. Then it dawned on me: I wasn’t taking action because I never made time for MY buisness.
Then I forced myself to work my own business.
It didn’t matter that I was swamped – it was either work for myself and make perpetual money, or work for others and get perpetual gigs.
I treated myself as if I was a client that had a real deadline. I committed just a few hours every week for research and writing.
Stupid Things I Believed and Did
If I wanted more money, I was stuck: I had to freelance more, right? That was born out of panic. It kept me back for a long time from breaking through…
My attitude tanked and wrists burned from the mad typing. Long hours grew longer, even though I was working for myself entirely with no “real job” to distract my efforts online.
My dilemma: freelancing provided the “right now” money, and my passive income wasn’t large enough to wait for.
It’s not like you get paid every week or two, most affiliate programs pay out every 30-60 days.
I let my fear control me – I kept thinking, “If I lose my clients, I lose the ability to provide…” But I wanted off the train to Nowhere.
I cared more about my clients’ quality when I’d write than my own websites – that was stupid.
I bought into the lie that “more is better: more sites, more pages, more writing…” when less is more.
I was stuck between chasing the AdSense many mini-sites method, or changing my entire approach and focusing on affiliate sales – my mistake was trying to do both.
I bought more domains. “Money’s in quantity, gotta have those Exact Match Domains before they disappear…” That’s a load of guano.
The truth was: I regularly made $400-$850 with one particular web page at the time, my first site. Then I “wised up” and began following the herd mentality of churning out dozens of sites…
But the math didn’t add up. I didn’t have time to develop such a massive empire of 200-500 websites – nor the resources to outsource: and I couldn’t fathom paying a writer when I AM ONE.
I was relieved when I devoured the Amazonian Profit Plan and read that quality counts, and you can make thousands from 10-20 webpages, even less.
See, my ears perked up at reading Paula and Wanda’s “How Much Did We Make in November” post – and I read it dozens of times.
My stupid mistake:
I was following a crowd and nobody was doing what Paula and Wanda were doing. I didn’t believe, down where it counts – so I didn’t act on it.
Then I read Dave of Making Money On The Internet Free, and learned that I wasn’t far off the mark – I just needed to do more of what worked:
- Choose good products.
- Focus on and compose great reviews – like I did on my first site.
- Get traffic / rankings to those reviews.
- Repeat.
I laid aside trying to build dozens of AdSense mini-sites altogether and began focusing on what was working: just 1 main website, selling affiliate products on Commission Junction and Amazon.
The revolution in my mind snapped into place: I was chasing the AdSense dream because I didn’t think I could do any better.
Besides: November 2010 was looming, and the summer had been dismal in terms of my online sales (my rankings weren’t stellar, the niche as a whole doesn’t do well in summer).
I had to act fast to get more content up, more reviews. Then I had to rank them in Google – but I knew how by then.
I just needed to make the time.
Identifying and Conquering My Barriers to Success
My big problems were: time, need for immediate money, and the emotional elephant that was sitting on my chest. It was hard to shake off the self-pity, and self-pity doesn’t pay the bills.
I was being eaten alive with the frustration of being fired and going down in ignominy, scratching along with 7 kids and the threads of a strained marriage with a beast of financial burden pressing on my back like the world on Atlas.
I would listen to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” track over and over again. I made a playlist of nothing but Eminem, he seemed to hit the nail on the head and kept reminding me what I was doing and why.
“Success was my only option…Failure’s not” more or less summarizes and sanitizes his lyrics that soon became my mantra.
November 2010 Changed My Life
November is a great month for sales in general – it was life-changing for me. I cleared over $2k in passive income, and made additional money on Elance.
My efforts finally paid off!
I had taken Paula and Wanda’s advice and I focused: one site.
A few quality products with a solid payout per sale.
Write a handful of well-researched, story-type reviews.
Get traffic to them.
For me, it meant backlinking my reviews until they ranked in the top 5 in Google or better. In my case, my reviews are at #1 in Google.
The sales rolled in then and now.
February of 2011 has been, thus far, my best month online ever – and I’m through worrying. I’m relaxed, I can breathe…and the old frustrated Eminem lyrics don’t tell my story anymore.
In February of 2011, I made just under $4,000 in passive income, counting my last Elance gig my total is over $4,000.
My wife looks at me with a glimmer of hope and a rested assurance that she’s going to be well taken care of…our kids had one hell of a Christmas…and my family business is now exactly that:
My family business.
How many websites? I have 13 developed. The majority of my income stems from 2 websites, my making money online site, The Average Genius, and another website in the health “niche.”
Funny Story About Amazonian Profit Plan
Yes, I’m an affiliate and this is ebook is a treatise on making money with Amazon – and I was asked not to hype or even really talk about the APP for this post, but it’s part of my story.
After reading it, I begged my wife to read it. She finally acquiesced once she saw the turning point in our income…
She now out-sells me in Amazon regularly, though I’m still selling primarily through Commission Junction with the same principles in the APP.
We earn 100% of our income in affiliate sales, in purely passive income.
Neither of us have to “work.”
She only writes product reviews when and if she wants to. With 7 kids, she’s busy enough. :)
With the investment of studying what works, learning SEO and reading successful internet marketers, to deconstructing my competition and analyzing top money earners’ strategies – I’ve put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
For 20 hours of work, I’ve made nearly $1,000 an hour – without any impressive university degree. In April I’ll get another $1,000+ bonus check for my sales in February.
When the chips were down, and sheer need and a stubborn hope were all I had to go on – feeding on the real stories of others’ success pulled me forward.
Seeing my wife and children and their needs pushed me beyond limits and made the goal worthwhile.
I was driven.
I had to see it was real. It wasn’t hype. Making just a little bit in passive income gave me a spark of hope.
Reading successful people make a 6-figure income just fanned the hope into an inferno.
Hope – not hype – changes lives.
Real, honest people who take time to answer questions are priceless, and they’re easy to find.
That’s what helped me most in 2010, and Paula and Wanda, and yes the Amazonian Profit Plan, are a definite building block in my foundation.
They are a real, visceral part of my success story.
I don’t freelance anymore except on projects I believe in – like guest posting here, to say this is the real deal.
This isn’t hype, it’s not just someone else’s dream.
Go ahead. Open your eyes. The money doesn’t disappear when you wake up.
UPDATE: Since writing this post, James has released his very own ebook all about SEO. If you are interested you can read more here – Duct Tape SEO.
Note from Paula and Wanda: We loved reading James’ story and feel very privileged to be able to share it with you. We hope it helps to give you the inspiration and motivation to keep going. If you would like to read more from James we highly recommend checking out his website at The Average Genius.
That was one of the best posts I have read in a long time.
You are a brilliant writer James and your story is incredible. Your IM journey and the pressures and strife you and your family went through are heart wrenching.
I’m touched.
And I’m really happy to hear the happy ending.
Tara
Thanks, Tara!
I couldn’t have asked for a better ending, myself – and I’m still at the early stages of my “journey” so to speak. I have a lot to learn – but I’ve learned from my clients as well as blogs like this one, with honest people telling it like it is.
Sad to say that there are so many in this niche trying to game each other – you never know who’s just trying to sell you (aren’t we all to a degree?) – but Paula and Wanda, Dave, and others are really dead honest about their results and what works.
I’d be nothing without their generosity, their tips are priceless.
Wow! That was a big one! I had to skim read it. But a very encouraging one. I actually would check the links of Paula and Wanda, and Dave. I have myself created a blog, and working on a SEO Tutorial for Beginners eBook. Nice timing for your post!
Ron –
I tried to shorten it, I just had a lot on my chest. Hopefully the sub-heads helped you skim?
Will check out your blog soon, and the ebook. I wrote a beginner’s ebook and it’s available from my client at SEOSage.org for an opt-in, for newbies.
It’s a great compliment (I think!) to the Amazonian Profit Plan. Best of luck, keep in touch.
Awesome post! Thank you for sharing your story with us. It’s an inspiration, and you’ve just gotten a new subscriber to your blog, too.
Tammy –
Thanks for the good word, I hope it’s encouraging to read. I still can’t believe it myself, it’s taking some getting used to since hard work was always defined as strenuous for me.
Once you reach a certain threshold, it’s easier than seems fair, and incredibly relaxing – so keep at it!
An inspiring story,James. What comes through is that you stuck with it. You never stopped trying and never stopped learning. And then one day you realize that it is all coming together.
Wishing you the best of luck in your future endeavors.
Thanks, Dawn! That’s really the secret, I think – persevering. There were a couple of really quiet months for me in 2010, one where I only made $200 passively, barely – I thought I’d quit, so I kept reading inspiring people and told myself it was just the quiet summer season.
Sales are down in some months, summer most notably – but it just means you need to diversify what you’re reviewing for sales. Stick with it, it really does come together.
Thanks for dropping by – you’re definitely reading one of the most inspiring blogs on the subject.
Your story is awesome and very inspiring! I remember I first came across you on Mike Iser’s blog. Full of energy you are! It’s amazing what you will do when your back is against the wall.
I am on the same page with you and the ladies here about less is more. I just need to backlink my reviews on a consistent basis. When I don’t see results fast enough I get discouraged and pick up some freelance writing work – which only puts my passive income on the backburner! EERRR!
Lisa –
I think you have a LOT of talent with writing – or else you wouldn’t have any freelancing opp’s or PLR to sell – and that’s the catch 22 right on the money.
You need money now, rankings take time, so what do you do? The guest posting idea and other ways to get traffic that aren’t solely reliant on Google are the ticket.
(Which is why, at least before the Google Farmer Update, I was so keen on article marketing – I got traffic really quickly.) Still not sure how the Farmer update will change things for me, but I’m about to find out. :)
Stick with it, and make yourself a “client,” consistency pays – especially when you find a site / niche / pages that are responsive to making sales – focusing on what’s already working pays off in a big way.
Very inspirational, and congrats on your success my friend…
Thanks, Martin.
I love your story James and am so glad things are easier now. Doesn’t sound like you could go much longer the way you were going. It’s lucky you have that stubborn sterak in you. LOL. And your family who were your “Whys” so you didn’t give up.
You have given a ray of hope to a lot of us out here and I thank you for that. I hope things keep getting better and better for you and your family!
Exactly right about the “Why’s” – I once owned another business where we were told to write these out – why we wanted to succeed in the franchise.
That’s so critical to pushing yourself when you need to, thanks for the encouragement, Cathy!
You have just shown that besides working very hard, you also have to work smart. Reading all these inspiring stories from you, Wanda & Paula really give struggling IMs a much needed push. Well done.
Thanks, Jimm – I had to learn what working smart was. Paula and Wanda are pretty awesome at teaching that.
Much appreciate the kudos – best of luck to you, Jimm.
Congratulations on your well deserved success James! 7 children is a big motivator. It’s nice that your wife is also involved now as you will be able to support and help each other. Thanks for sharing your story.
You’re right, Shirley – the kids are a massive shot in the arm to keep at it. Finding motivators that are bigger than your barriers to success is really key.
And I have an INCREDIBLE wife – without her support, or even her doubts (which helped push me on a number of occasions) – this would be someone else’s story.
Thanks for dropping by!
Hey James – your story is so motivational and although I thought I knew some of it already I just learned a lot more about your drive and determination. And I am impressed that you didn’t fall into the newbie trap of buying every ebook and course going trying to find someone who actually had some decent answers (like I did!)
Clare –
I’m not really that smart…I didn’t fall into that trap because…
I didn’t have the money.
And it also dawned on me that everyone seemed to be saying the same thing – probably because they hired the same ghost writer for their sales pages, maybe? – and once I saw that a little money was coming in, it was just a matter of finding others online to verify that reality.
Was this possible? Then I met Paula and Wanda, and Dave, and a few others (in my blogroll) that pushed my disbelief into the backwoods.
It was possible – and it was happening…and I could actually do it. (Reading other people you trust is critical – and what are you talking about? You have your own products now! Impressive, Clare!)
Totally inspiring James.
If anyone deserves success in this game it is you. That was a brilliant article and should inspire all that read it, hard work pays off, and what we do today will still be earning us an income many years from now.
Congrats Dude on being one of the few that are honest and helpful in this game, they are very few and far between.
Who loves ya baby? ;)
You’re too much, Dave – I’ve found more inspiration reading your sidebar than anything I could drum up.
Really, you’re one of the precious few who hasn’t steered me wrong from day one – and you have some insights that few others do.
If you want to succeed in a business, it pays to listen to those succeeding, which is why you and Paula and Wanda always get my referrals in a heartbeat.
Thanks for helping make all this possible, Dave. I’m not pulling your leg.
You are obviously have talent as a writer and painting a story. Just one question if you don’t mind. I think I pretty much have the SEO down and am adept at keyword research through Market Samurai. If I don’t want to go off-site to start writing more articles and spinning those articles, what tool or software would you recommend for creating backlinks. I’m looking to stop the daily postings to forums and blogs which seems to be doing me very little good.
Paul – have you downloaded the free ebook from Paula and Wanda? They have a 7-fold way of generating traffic to a site, I think you can get a lot out of it.
Currently I’m experimenting after the Google algo changes, so I don’t want to say one way or another what “works” or no – but have used article submitters and spinners as a staple.
Not the “best” links, but they worked all last year. Remains to be seen how that will change for me, and I’d hate to give you some bad advice – though right now that’s more or less what I’m planning on doing.
Soon as I get past this flu, that is.
James, yes. I’ve used some of the examples in the free ebook as well as Amazonian Profit Plan, except I have not done guest blogging. My other site that I started 4 months was doing very well, lots of original content, good sales, and then the algorithm change came in and my traffic dropped by about 20-30% and sales are now negligible. I have about 80 other sites and because they were written mainly with duplicate content (based on another ebook I bought), traffic on those sites is almost nil. After reading Amazonian… I created my previous site and it did very well, especially with original content. So now I’m sorta at a loss for words when a review or loss of original content falls from Google’s graces. So, my only thought at this point is on backlinks. I gotta do something!!!
Paul –
There are a number of things to consider, like did you change out your navigation? Theme? Host?
Does your page load fast?
The funny things that Google penalizes that I’ve read about from Matt Cutts, et al are somewhat quirky and technical, but a short run down is:
– Page Load Speed (best to audit with a 3rd party tool like YSlow, a plugin from Firefox and Yahoo!).
– Navigation/Footer Links: sometimes can be deemed as spamming a keyword (same with sidebar links and any site-wide links), a prominent story in the Webmaster’s blog at Google turns up some funny answers from John Mu (from Google, at least in my opinion, it’s persnicketty).
– Using iFrames, JavaScript, Blackhat Keyword Stuffing (like making your keywords the same color as the background or off-screen) – this is getting long but the point is…
…to make sure you didn’t change something. Are your out-bound links linking anywhere fishy (pills, poker, porn – that sort of thing)?
Some freebie themes will have an outbound link to funny places and this can happen under your nose…
Barring all of that – guest blogging, building a list, using Social Media to generate an interest, and participating in your niche’s online marketplace (leveraging social media and guest posting, etc.) is your best Google-proofing.
Another fellow, “Splork,” uses WordPress (free blogs) and other such social sites to funnel traffic to his money pages…it’s pretty Google proof – he worries about rankings secondarily.
He’s at LostBallinHighWeeds.com and doesn’t write for the feint of heart. I think he’s pretty entertaining all told…
Myself, I do use mass submission tools, but like I said earlier I’m experimenting right now. I don’t know if it works or not, so I’m not telling anyone to follow suit – especially on another blog – when I’m doing things that aren’t necessarily going to make Google happy with me.
It’s a risk I take at the moment, subject to change – I’d really advise anyone to stick to what APP lays out if you want to play it safe (and I’m not saying that for any other reason other than: Paula and Wanda really laid out the white hat red carpet in link building).
The whitest hat methods I use are to build link wheels in a random fashion using web 2.0 sites, like Squidoo, Hubpages and the like – and again, I’m not sure how the recent algo changes will affect my linking methods.
Hope that helps – I don’t feel comfortable talking about linking methods on someone else’s blog, since I know my methods aren’t “best practices” at the moment.
Nobody tell Matt Cutts I said that. :)
James is right to be a little cautious here Paul. With the latest Google changes (post to follow on this)it’s difficult to give specific advice.
For instance, Ezinearticles was badly hit and I know a lot of internet marketers relied exclusively on getting traffic from Ezine.
This is why it is never a good idea to focus on only one single method of backlinking. Having said that however, the one form of backlinking that we like the most is guest blogging. We submit articles to other websites and bloggers (not article directories). They provide us with the strongest backlinks than any other method we’ve tried.
But we also get backlinks from a variety of other sources like social bookmarkting and networking sites, press releases, comment posting and so on.
A good mix is best.
I’ve done press releases for clients, yet to do them for my own sites (that will soon change). I remember reading your guest blogging idea in the Amazonian Profit Plan, and thankfully so.
It’s not something I would have tried otherwise – the real kicker is finding those blogs worth your time (Alexa, comment count, cache date, etc.).
It’s pretty amazing how much you can accomplish with just a smart search…
Or deconstructing your competition’s linking profile and the like. Guest posting seems the most chivalrous of them all. :)
The funny thing about guest blogging is that it gets easier and easier to find sites. It seems difficult at the start but once you know what to look for the sites seem to crop up everywhere.
Hands down without a doubt the absolute best testimonial ever written!
The part regarding the wife reading after you proved it is classic! Without a doubt what EVERY marketer with non-believing family and friends strive for. ;-)
Dennis – or should I say, “Mr. Edell,” thanks! That’s incredibly humbling to read, really – thank you.
That was a great blog post James! Your writing style makes it seem as if we are all in the same room with you having a beer or something :)
Having that skill alone will make you a ton of money on the internet. Especially for your own network of sites. I’m glad things are moving in the upward direction for you.
However like I told a friend the other day, you still have to keep pushing hard even when you start to have some breathing room because it takes time for website pages to get ranked, indexed and generate income.
You always have to keep content coming through the pipeline and the promotion of that content non-stop. Great stuff though James.
Wish you and your family all the best!
Thanks, Samuel – well-met, my friend. It’s true that if you can write – even at an 8th grade level – you can make money online (or hire someone to write for you if you can’t).
And truer words were never spoken – “You always have to keep content coming through the pipeline and the promotion of that content non-stop.”
Leo Di Milo just wrote a post called, “There Is No Such Thing As A Passive Income” at his blog, I agree – though you can coast for a while, to reach new barriers (and to adjust for competitors trying to take your meal ticket, you do need to keep it coming.
I’ve thankfully been able to coast for a while – I built content up for the November rush last year and it’s been paying off big time while I completed other obligations.
Now it’s time to turn on the content mill again. :)
That was truly mezmerizing James, what a great story. There are many out there who don’t believe one can make money online, if only they knew (and believed).
It’s real people. Very real.
But as James has so gloriously shared in his story above, it takes work. Lots of hard work, especially in the beginning. But once you set the foundation, and do the work – you’ll see your efforts pay off.
Glad to meet you, James. Thanks for sharing!
Much agreed, Missy – and glad to make your acquaintance. It does take a lot of work, or simply the right kind of work done consistently.
Thank you so much James.
This is probably the best and most inspiration blog article I have ever read. Paula and Wanda’s post about their November 2010 income would come in a close second :)
Your comments about making time to work on your own business rather than someone else’s are just what I need as I also have several websites with low quality, hastily put together content because I just haven’t had the time to focus on it. I need to focus on other clients in order to earn money to pay the day to day bills, when I would much prefer to focus on building a passive income.
After reading every single posting on this website two months ago I made a major change in my approach to affiliate marketing and am now focussed 100% (95% really) on Amazon, and after reading your post today I will start making more time for my own business rather than that of my clients.
I am just about to read through your blog as well (as soon as I have addressed the latest client support call that has just come in – I’m in the software industry where client support has to come first unfortunately). If it is as good as what I have just read, I am sure that I will be truly inspired.
Thanks
Richard
Richard, well-met, my friend. It’s difficult to know when that line of client vs. self is crossed, for me it was a gamble since I am literally at the mercy of Google at the moment.
I’m fine with it, though – since my sites are doing well and I can always fall back on freelancing – but once you make the jump, opportunity just flips.
Provided, of course, that you are making the right decisions in SEO and converting with your reviews, etc. – then it’s just a matter of scale, dedication, and focus.
Paula and Wanda really had to drill that into my head. It took months to get to a place where I acted on it, since I was swamped. Good luck, keep in touch – and thanks!
James, this is one of the best things I’ve ever read on the Internet. And I’m not kidding. Your journey is inspiring, but your writing style brings it to life.
I’m at a crossroads in my short IM career, and your story encourages me to focus on a few quality sites and keep working. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Thanks, Will – I don’t take such words lightly. I normally goof off in my writing, but wanted to lay it out and get real for a minute since it’s not always a bed of roses.
Happy to inspire you and others to do what’s going to pay off in the end in a much bigger way, in my experience. Thanks for the encouraging word, and keep at it: it pays.
I’m slow to getting around to commenting but I have been following your blog since the beginning, though I still learnt a lot from this post! You are such a hard worker! Congrats on everything you’ve achieved. SO glad you’re finally “relaxing” more now (I know you haven’t been well lately but hopefully things have calmed down now!)
That means a lot, Ruth – you actually had a lot to do with how I marketed my blog, with a few well-timed emails. Thanks for your kind words, and I’ll definitely see you around.
If not, I’ll stalk you. :)
Hi James
I used to be a regular reader at Miker Isers blog and remember you were a big contributor there. I like the fact that you put it all out there much like Mike. I am even more impressed that despite Mikes success you could see back then that the xfactor model had a limited lifespan. They were my thoughts at the time. I read the blog however to get motivation from hard workers and action takers like Mike and yourself.
Building so many sites I think must have had their upside in forcing you to research and take action quickly on sites. For myself I am doing the same as you focusing on top 5 sites to make them authority sites in the eyes of google and look for other traffic sources to cover bases.
Congrats to you James ! Keep up the action ! I hope Mike is doing just as well too.
Cheers
Manny
Manny –
Those were some really inspiring posts at Mike’s – I still frequent his blog, I think the guy was (and is) driven, he started one of the first IM blogs I recall ever reading.
Like you, I fed off of his drive – and this very blog (Paula and Wanda’s) was the first I’d really heard that was singing a different tune.
Focusing on smaller numbers of websites, aiming at better products and actual sales – it’s a different approach than AdSense, and much more rewarding (or volatile if you only have one product niche).
You have a great memory! I did enjoy Mike Iser’s blog for all he had to teach – I really learned a lot from the guy.
Good luck to you, Manny – hope to see you around, it sounds like you’re well on your way. Thanks for the kind words. :)
Amazing amazing lifestory, you have gladiator like determination.
Thanks, James – my gladiator like determination comes from my family, couldn’t let my kids and wife down.
Wow this post is so informative. Love reading long posts of loads of content. The fact that you take time to write these mammoth posts speaks volumes about your devotion to the work. keep going ladies !
We didn’t write this one. This was written by JamestheJust from http://theaveragegenius.net/
Thanks, Harshit – Paula and Wanda were kind enough to allow the guest post. I had to blackmail them for weeks. :D
LOL, yeah right James.
I originally found JamestheJust when I was researching spinning tools. At that time, like only 6 months ago, his online earnings were laughable and Elance was his main source of money.
I’m glad to see that’s no longer the case.
Those looking for inspiration and insight from his story should note that his greatest asset is his work ethic and determination. He’s truly gifted in that regard.
Couldn’t agree with you more Aibal. James certainly displays a great work ethic and the determination to succeed. We certainly feel privileged to have had him share his story with us. We know from the feedback we receive that James story is an inspiration not only to us but to many of our readers.
Thank you for your comment.
Too funny – it’s true, 6 mo’s ago all I had was a dream and a gut instinct. And Paula and Wanda to tell me I wasn’t entirely nuts. :)
Thank you for the kind words – you told it like it is, Aibal.
Stories like this always inspire me . =/
Im a newbie and i really need some motivations you know =/
thanks a lot, itsa great post.
Hey James,
Your story inspired me. I thank you for writing it. I know that feeling you had, as I am rather new and while I have not made money on line yet, when I want to give up, it is stories like yours that tell me, no real people can make money at this. The internet marketing business is not just for people who have spent millions and have a hold on the industry. If you work hard and listen to good people ( Yes Paula and Wanda you are good people ), then it can be done. So thanks so much James again for putting yourself out there.
“Different strokes for different folks.” I think that a strategy that works for one person may not necessarily work for another.
I read somewhere else about an individual who started with one micro-site. He did the research on certain “consumer” search terms (e.g., “buy Panasonic television”) with high search volumes. Before he put up a single Adsense ad, he worked on getting tons and tons of inlinks to his site, until he got a top 3 positioning in Google. So that when he finally did put up Adsense, he was earning better-than-average pay per click. Then all he did was – as they say – “Rinse and repeat” (i.e., create more micro-sites).
So while your method may work, I think there are other methods that also work…
That’s exactly right Sonny. There are so many ways to make money online, and people just need to choose one that suits them and stick with it. Most methods will work it just takes time to get traffic that both converts to sales and is sustainable.
Sonny –
Absolutely agreed. There is much more than my method – but we go with what works for us, and we go with our strengths. I prefer not to have 100’s of mini-sites making just a little change here and there – but my really good friends in the business are living that way.
It’s not an either/or: I’m right, you’re wrong or vice versa – but for me I’m doing what adds up faster for me with fewer sites needed.
(That’s not a debate, by the way, just a preference – in the end, the person with 300 websites technically can use those in any number of ways to make a lot of money – it’s simply a preference.)
Thank you for this post. I read it back when you all first published it.
Felt, I need to re-read it again. I am working hard, but still haven’t seen profits, but will keep at it. Maybe, one day.
Thank you for what I have learned here. When, I get discouraged, I read your blog!!!
Romona
Romona –
That makes two of us (I read here and some other key places when I need a boost, to refocus, etc.). I’m glad the story helped you, it helps to know that it’s real, it works, and Paula and Wanda aren’t pulling your leg.
Best of luck to you – and I find it helps to critique yourself: how does the site look? Is the review really the best review for this product you’ve read? Are you ranking for your terms, or guest posting enough for traffic, etc.?
If you run through these checklists (if you’re using the APP then you have other checklists with the book), then you’ll stay on track…
Lastly it helps to check the Google Insights for Search page. Put your keywords in there to see what the ebb and flow is for your terms – maybe you’re promoting something now that does better a few months in the future, etc. Timing can make a lot of difference.
Don’t be discouraged, though – this business pays off in spades if you see things through. All the best to you.
James,
I can feel you and your family’s hard work in life. What’s good about you is that you never give up. You persevere amidst trials. And look at you now, you are harvesting what you sow. Congratulations!
Thanks, Veronica – and I think I would’ve given up if it wasn’t for my wife and kids. They’re my inspiration.
I checked Twitter today and at once jumped to this blog after seeing headline. James, you impressed me. Your story is like happy ending movie, where family struggle, husband is almost never home because of hard work in order to provide for his family. A man who want to spend more time with kids, hug them, play with them, buy nice things for wife and so on, but life is harder than he thought. Then, as you wrote in many cases it would be divorce, alkohol or drugs, but you and you family stayed strong and this is one of reason you were able to make it. You had support, not next problem. You were strong, you believed you can make it and you did :-)
I’m very happy for you.
Cheers
Adam