Shaun R. Connell

So many people have come to me asking how I make my online income. I can’t blame them, considering, from their perspective at least, it looks like I just piddle around on the computer all day. Nothing could be further from the truth.

To make money online is hard work, and isn’t easy. But I love it. I know that you can’t just sit back and expect a check to come flying through the front door. You have to go and seek and get that check by working hard and earning it. I would say “by the sweat of your brow”, but, well, I’ve never seen someone sweat while typing.

Anyways, to make money online with a website is actually a three point process. It happens when a formula is applied, not just randomly. The formula is relatively simple, and I have a poster above my desk that constantly reminds me what it is:

Content
Links
Money

Content
Without content, a website is destined to fail, obviously speaking. The only question is, how do you get content, and what kind do you need? The answer is simple.

You can either write the content yourself, or find copyright-free articles to publish. Writing the articles yourself is a great experience, and will pay off in the long run, considering you’ll understand the issue the more you right about it, giving you ideas for writing even more about your topic.

Getting articles from others is also incredibly beneficial for many, as long as it isn’t overdone. Free articles are generally copied and pasted all over the Internet, meaning that if you post a whole bunch of them, search engines like Google will think you are just stealing articles, and will look down on you. A couple here and there should be fine, though.

Links
Getting links is by far the hardest part of getting a website to bring home the bacon. I have found it incredibly easy to simply contact other webmasters who write similar websites to mine to link to me in return for me to link to them.

Remember, though, that the reason you’re going to get links is only if you are professional and interesting enough for someone to write about you or link to you. After all, most links to websites come from blogs. When you look at your website, make sure that it’s something so well-done that people will want to tell others about it. If that happens, you’re sure to succeed.

Money
Making the money is the most interesting, and of course fun, part of the process. Simply look at different programs and piece together your own money-making machine. I currently have gone through dozens of advertising programs, and have finally ended up with AdSense, Kontera and Bannerconnect. I find that they work great together, each focusing on a different aspect of ads.

In the end, keep cranking out the content. The links will come if you do your job well. Don’t give in, and the checks will come.

Note: This is but an incredibly short summary of the full length Make Money Online article.