Business Goals for the rest of 2008
May 4th, 2008 | by lissie |The Story So Far
What is this blog? I started this blog basically to get online and document our trip around Australia in 2007. At the end of the trip I still didn’t want to return to corporate IT so started to try and find a way to make money online, with only (very) limited success. Within a couple of months I had realised that making money online wasn’t that easy!
By January I must admit I had pretty much given up on the whole internet marketing thing. I’ve always been impressed with how good salesmen have always made excellent money but the way they did it was beyond my comprehension and just didn’t fit my personality; I’m not saying being pushy is essential, but being more out-going than I am is! I decided the selling thing wasn’t really for me, got a part-time job (2 in fact for 6 weeks which made me loose weight but slowed down things online!) and concentrated on writing: which I not only enjoyed but had some (non-financial) success with .
What I’ve Learned to Date
I don’t want to be an online copyrighter. I enjoy writing about things I am passionate about, but I really, really hate writing about something I have no interest in. Having no knowledge of a topic is easy: research is fun: but if plain have no interest I just cannot get it together to write without a whole lot of procrastination.
Writing good content doesn’t get you paid if you are using advertising. I found this one out by accident by myself I make more income from this short teaser than the from the full article. True - bizarre huh? Well no not really: if some one searches on something like “best GPS Receivers” they probably want to buy one, and the long article gives them all the information they might need. The short article doesn’t - so what happens: well I thought they would click on the link at the bottom and go to my long article: in fact quite a few click on an ad! (NO please don’t help by clicking on the ads! ).
Blogging like this with a general blog is fun: I think of it as sort of an on-line diary: I thought it might have been like an online chat with friends but seeing no one ever comments I figure at least I have the record of what happened and what I was thinking at the time. Blogging however doesn’t make me any money, but I will keep this blog as a hobby and online diary.
The Four Month Plan
OK so the for the rest of the year is something like this.
a) Get my 100 sites up and running. I have a number of domain names already and have now got 5 E-Bay stores up. Hoping by the end of August to be making $300 / month from them (average $1 for about 30 which should be showing up in Google by then)
b) Win the contest over at Bloggerunleashed This is basically a 4 month free mentoring program where Vic takes 80 of us thru setting up a money making blog. The person who gets the most traffic by the end wins. The prize is the trip to Las Vegas to attend a conference. Now Vegas isn’t on my travel to do list, but I would really like to meet this guy; what he is doing in the way of mentoring is really amazing: and I don’t even like mentoring programs! Even if I don’t win if I make enough money from the blog we start with him, say $2000, I may go anyway!
So basically by the end of August I want to have:
- an income for August of $1000
- potential to see that income in September could be 50% more
- doing the maths I would like to see that by Christmas 2008 I should have an online income of $4500, month i.e. $1000/week
If I’m not even close I think I will find a new “hobby” - if I get close I will need a good accountant to sort out my tax situation! To be honest I feel more confident than I ever have of making money online. Wish me luck!
13 Responses to “Business Goals for the rest of 2008”
By Lynne on May 4, 2008 | Reply
I admire the way you’ve set specific goals for yourself, what a great plan. Sounds like you’ll make it work to and we’ll be congratulating you on meeting your goals before you know it.
By lissie on May 4, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for visiting Lynne: well Ive never been big on goal setting but I think you need to with an online business; there are just so many ways to go!
By Google Mapquest Driving Directions on May 5, 2008 | Reply
Hey Lissie,
You put up some pretty impressive plan. I think you can make it
Good luck,
Misha
By lissie on May 5, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for visiting Misha - you are one of the people who have proved to me that its all in the SEO not the writing
By Neale on May 5, 2008 | Reply
I has been interesting to watch your progress since last year
Particuarly as you was totaly brand new to all this. Looks to me like you are over the hardest part “continuing whilst earning very little” Good luck with your rest of year goals!
By Kirsty on May 5, 2008 | Reply
Ya Lissie, you’ve got some nice goals there. Keep at it and I know you’ll get there. Even if you’re not where you want to be in August still push through! But you will be so it doesn’t matter. I think what you’ve learned about what you like and dislike in the world of internet marketing is really useful. there’s no point spending time on something you don’t enjoy so this whole gig becomes like working a ‘real’ job anyways. Good luck!
Kirsty’s last blog post..The Travel Map is Alive and Kicking
By lissie on May 5, 2008 | Reply
Ive just achieved goals- finally got some decent comments on my blog
Yeah I agree with u both - I actually very confident that I’ll make it - I dont’t have all the skills yet but I know which direction Im going at thats huge! Again thanks for visiting
By Mike on May 6, 2008 | Reply
Being patient and persistent is the only way to make money online. It looks as though you are starting to find out some different ways that work. I don’t think anyone can teach you this as everyone is different.
Mike’s last blog post..China tightens security at Tiananmen Square
By lissie on May 6, 2008 | Reply
Tanks Mike,yeah I agree u have to be in the right place in terms of your own knowledge and then put your own spin on it
By stilloutthere on May 7, 2008 | Reply
You have ideas for 100 web sites. I’ve had about two in two years! To me you are over the biggest hump, inspiration. And you seem to have mastered the part where you just plug away no matter what.
Congratulations on making so much progress and sticking with it.
By lissie on May 7, 2008 | Reply
Thanks stilloutthere - the ideas come as I continue to write - though I think the writing is the least of it as far as making real money is concerned - well stay tuned I don’t know yet!
By Don on May 24, 2008 | Reply
Stay the course Lissie, keeping tabs on your progress
Don
Don’s last blog post..The Time Has Come to Fish or Cut Bait