While I was busy, the day came and went silently. It has been four years since I came to online business. Fourth anniversary just passed silently while I was busy with some offline projects.
Today when I was sitting alone I was thinking about my beginning as an amateur marketer and journey from there onwards.
Four years is a big time. Few people have made a fortune within that span of time, creating empires of their own. While I do not have empire yet, I am placed quite comfortably and look forward to building one for myself.
I was just walking down my memory lane. Why do not you come along.
I am a full time professional doctor in my real life. My specialty is Orthopedics. I am a trained to mend bones and fractures. I have always managed my business in my part time. I do not intend to leave my actual profession. Idea came into my mind once or twice. But I cannot leave being a doctor.
But that is a separate issue. Let us begin.
Beginning By Accident – Year 2004
I bought my first computer in 2003. I hardly knew any thing about computer. It was difficult for me to type and work in MS Word.
I purchased the computer for Rs 35000. That was more than one month’s pay for me at that time. I was a senior resident and my brother who was staying with me and preparing for entrance into specialty ( He too is an orthopedist now) wanted computer for references and search.) We ordered a cable net too.
It lay there for few months. My brother did occasional searches he needed. I too used it sporadically while learning at the same time. By and by I was becoming a better internet user. It came into my mind insidiously that it is somehow possible to make money from this thing.
I searched and searched. There were promising opportunities but everyone wanted money beforehand. I did not want to invest as I did not trust this whole thing. Its funny when I think of it now.
I searched for “earning without investment”. As a result I was taken to world of “get paid to click” and “get paid to read” type of services. I joined quite few. Some turned out to be scams. Others had such a high limit payout that it would have taken me a year or so with the average per day I received.
I made a total of $3.62 from that after 3 months. That is the money I received. I was shocked and decided to leave this time wasting world of paid to read….
I concluded that I need to invest in order to earn. But because I had no idea of what to do I went to paid surveys.
It is strange that all the money making information was already there. Only I could not find it. But may be I was not ready as such.
It was a foolish decision again. Basically I paid the company o access the database for list of companies that sent you paid surveys. I was happy to see a big list. It took me two days to join that list. But I was very happy. I would be making money now.
In next 3 months, I made $12. Better than before but too meager.
By this time I had realised that money can be definitely made. Only my approach was wrong.
Then came studiotraffic.
When I think of Paid to surf or autosurf programs I cannot hold screaming SCAM.
But I am guilty of joining one of those and promoting that too.
Studiotraffic was an autosurf program that paid you for autosurfing. Sounds ridiculous but very enticing. I was trapped.
Luckily I was one of the early joiners. So I did not suffer the financial loss as they pulled it off. In short, it was a scam that paid early joiners back to get a positive review and then trap further.
It was a quite a setback. Not financially but to my dreams.
Enter Plug in Profit
Somewhere in Oct 2004 I came across Plug In Profit site. Till that time I had no website and I still did not have an idea how to business on the net. PluginProfit made me purchase a domain name and apply for hosting. That is how homeforprofits was born.
One of the factors that pulled me towards Plugin Profit was that I was getting a readymade website.
I promoted Plugin Profit site diligently. Plugin Profit also gave me access to Warrior Forum where I came to know what an internet business is.
I quit Plugin Profit six months later when I began to understand the concepts. Plugin Profit is a great opportunity for anybody to start internet business venture. You get a website, you get guidance and you get knowledge.
The only drawback that I felt was that you need to pay monthly fees to stay where you are in the pyramids. You aim is to get customers and tell them to get customers in order to stay in the chain and succeed.
Somehow I cannot do that for long.
A Journey Began
I have never looked back after Plugin Profit site. I quit it but I delved into affiliate marketing. I started making small amounts of money. Then Adsense came and I applied and got through.
I had been promoting this site sincerely but traffic plateaued after some time. My main source of promotion was article marketing.
I was not making much money till early 2007. But then I was not actively selling anything. I was more into learning and executing.
Sometimes before that blogging boom came and created a ripple. I too decided to shift on to blog and I have not regretted it. Writing comes easy to me and blogging enables me to harness power of my words.
Since then the site has risen. For past 5 months or so I have become irregular in posting as I have to look after my father as well.
My main income is from affiliate sales, adsense and my membership site. I took me three years to make four figured income. I still make an amount in four figures. I estimate that a figure should add by next anniversary.
I do not make millions. Not yet. But I think I am on road to milliondom. It might take me couple of years but given the constraints I am working within, I should not be fretting.
Internet business is not difficult at all. All you need to do is stay and work towards success.
So what is your story?
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Tags: adsense, affiliate products, get paid to click, internet-business, my story, online money making
