Comments on: What are Your Biggest Challenges Regarding Making Money Online?

By: Jonathan@Friends&Money

Jonathan@Friends&Money — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:30:54 +0000

For me I would definitely say maintaining a steady stream of traffic. I’m happy with my content by driving enough traffic is always problematics and I don’t want to resort to spamming, because in the long term this destroys your blog.

By: James Chartrand - Men with Pens

James Chartrand - Men with Pens — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:11:13 +0000

@ Jaki - It's a common misperception to think that blogging = writing. Blogging is, in fact, highly different from writing per se and is a job and career of its own that requires a wealth of online knowledge that many writers don't have. Good on you for going after that knowledge! James Chartrand - Men with Pens's last blog post..3 Can’t-Fail Steps For Writing Without Intimidation

By: Jaki

Jaki — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 02:01:46 +0000

I had NO idea when I started blogging I would have to learn about traffic building, seo, monetization, etc. I really did open up a pandora’s box and with the information overload it’s almost overwelming and makes me want to quit and relax watching The Apprentice or something.
My priority topics right now are getting traffic and learning about affiliate programs. But I’ll find value in anything from you really.

By: The Converting Visitors to Revenue Interview Series :: Darren Rowse, ProBlogger | eMoms at Home

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:42:29 +0000

[...] week, I asked you about your challenges regarding making money online. The most common answer to my questions was, “Getting things to convert”, as in, [...]

By: Harold

Harold — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 06:52:25 +0000

Excellent Post! You echo my sentiments about the information that is spread all over the blogosphere. Besides the legitimacy issues it seems that there are so many different models for making money online that it’s really hard to know what will work in my particular situation.

I’ve been blogging for a little over a year; just to get the hang of things. Doing it well is not as easy as it looks has been the big discovery. I am at the point of launching out in earnest but struggling with how best to market this gray hair. So content is the big question for me. I have a broad background with some special skills but I have this feeling that I am overlooking simply because it doesn’t seem important to me.

By: Alan Johnson

Alan Johnson — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 00:39:42 +0000

Leigh, patience is indeed the name of the game and a lot of projects with great potential end up as failures due to the fact that most webmasters tend to give up when things get hard. The main difference between winners and losers: winners get things done while losers come up with excuses.

Alan Johnson

By: Leigh

Leigh — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:47:27 +0000

I think the biggest challenge is begin patient. In my learning process one teacher said, “If you think this is get rich quick then get that out of your mind. This is a get rich slowly business”. Whenever I feel the money isn’t coming in fast enough, I think of this quote. It has helped me a lot.

By: James Chartrand - Web Content Writer Tips

James Chartrand - Web Content Writer Tips — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 11:23:35 +0000

@ Trisha – You’re on the Internet. That’s about as anonymous as it gets Write up an email marketing campaign. Submit articles to directories. Go around writing great comments on blogs. Send potential clients some swag gifts or a discount coupon.

By: Trisha

Trisha — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 02:57:51 +0000

I’m shy, so any kind of marketing or promotion is hard for me.

By: James Chartrand - Web Content Writer Tips

James Chartrand - Web Content Writer Tips — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:29:23 +0000

@ Cory – I took a quick look – the inhibit responses post was pretty neat, but it could be punchier and snappier to be more engaging. The white on blue is tough to read, especially with the cloud effect going on, so you might want to change that. Your blog’s purpose isn’t clear either – what’s it about? Who are you? What do you do? What can I expect to find on your blog? These things help to increase readership and convert hits. And at a quick glance (which is all your visitors will give you), I didn’t even notice you sold a book on your site. Everything has to be really clear for site visitors and engaging to get them to stick. My two very quick cents, for what it’s worth.

Regarding traffic – are you doing something to go get that traffic? How are you encouraging traffic to your blog?

@ Rose – I tend to push down non-paying stuff, too. Then Harry took me aside and said, “Yes, the money we earn is immediate – but we have to treat *each project* that we have as if it were a paying project, or else we’ll just keep pushing it aside. And it will pay,” he added. “But not until we get it done.”

By: Cory Huff

Cory Huff — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:17:57 +0000

I get good conversion ratios for my advertising on one of my blogs (haven’t yet monetized A Good Husband beyond one book review), but I don’t get near the traffic I’d like to see.

The other big problem is comments. It’s a rare post that actually gets a comment on my blog. Could be because I use Blogspot, IDK, but I don’t think so.

By: Karen Putz

Karen Putz — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:15:13 +0000

I guess my biggest problem is that I haven’t earned my first million yet.

I’m happy with the first check that Google sent me– I can afford to feed my family for three days on that. It’s too bad that it took me 9 months to earn it.

By: Rose

Rose — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 04:09:10 +0000

Lol! Very on topic for me today. (I would be the other half of the conversation WAH Web Mommy was talking about.) I think for me it’s two things.

1) Getting traffic! I’m actually going to experiment with some off the net community service / advertising. I want to package all my recalls and health news for each month into a pamphlet that places like daycares can handout with their monthly newsletter. Something cool for them, promotes child safety and has my site name on it.

2) Balancing content and marketing. This is in some ways part of #1. I work so hard on caring for a 2 year old and publishing my content my marketing plans have really slowed down. That pamphlet was supposed to start at the end of Dec and I’ve had to push it to the end of Jan.

By: James Chartrand - Web Content Writer Tips

James Chartrand - Web Content Writer Tips — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:14:50 +0000

Fighting the perception that because many people write, anyone can write well. Want to light a fire under my ass? Tell me, “Oh, anyone can write that!”

NO! Dammit, NO! Anyone can run, but does everyone make it to the Olympics? SHEESH!

To those asking about advice on conversion, two things: selling, compelling content and a navigation on your site that leads visitors to where you want them to be. That’ll do it.

By: eve

eve — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:46:09 +0000

My biggest challenge is figuring out a balance to actually writing, planning, marketing, social media, and stats evaluation.

It seems that I can’t figure out how to balance my time in all of those. Like today I spent most of my time working on social media (entreCard)

Yesterday I spent most my time planning next weeks schedule and researching ‘planning better’

I would like to be able to get all of that done daily. I have been trying but it isn’t working.

My idea of an ideal day would be to spend say an hour writing, an hour marketing, an hour researching, etc. But I end up spending the entire day being sidetracked and not really accomplishing very much in any one area.

Simple, answer- time management (see, even in a comment I just can’t stop and leave it at that! ) I am hopeless!!

By: PhotoTiki Chris

PhotoTiki Chris — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:48:31 +0000

Driving traffic and converting users. If you have a good idea and you think its something people would use, how do you get them to get on board?

This is obviously a rhetorical question, but something I work on everyday.

Where’s the magic bullet!?

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:08:47 +0000

This is a good topic Wendy! I would say that my two biggest challenges are converting traffic (like Gina Marie said) and time.

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:45:14 +0000

I think keeping the content up to par is the hardest. It’s hard to be original with everything that’s out there today.
In second place would be traffic. Establishing a readership and keeping it is hard.

By: Alan Johnson

Alan Johnson — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:13:38 +0000

The biggest challenge you will be facing as a webmaster is the callenge of time. Sure, it’s easy to be excited about a certain project but what do you do once you start losing momentum? Do you continue to give it 110% or do you simply give up? A lot of projects with great perspectives have ended up as failures because the webmasters in questions have not been able to keep going under such circumstances.

Alan Johnson

By: Gina Maria

Gina Maria — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:13:07 +0000

I’m starting to get the traffic now but it’s not converting well. I have to work so hard just to earn a couple of cents and most affiliate networks don’t pay until you’ve earned a significant amount, so my balances just sit there, mocking me. Paid posts are often ridiculously off-topic so I won’t risk driving my traffic away by accepting too many of them.