I spent a few hours on Sunday with Neale, a guy I have known online for a few years now. I met him virtually over on the Working Nomad forum and have seen him go from no websites and a little bit of knowledge about web marketing to being on the verge of being able to do this work full time.
It was really inspiring talking to him because he has stuck with this for several years now and is finally seeing the payoff. We agreed that this is no get rich quick scheme but, with some hard work and dedication, there is no reason anyone can’t do this as long as they stick with it and don’t get discouraged. Another reason this meet up was inspiring is that Neale started with only a bit of knowledge in this area and he also hates to write. It’s a great example of perseverance and something I will take on board myself when I’m feeling discouraged.
It was also an eye opener to hear how much some of his sites were earning with Adsense and how many visitors some of his other sites were getting. These are all pretty simple sites with only a handful of pages each but they address some very specific niches that people need information on. It hit home with me because I have always gone for the approach of building huge, content rich sites and steered clear of the small, made-for-Adsense looking sites that I see as clogging up the internet. Neale has managed to create sites that go beyond just being made for Adsense but still remain small and to the point. I had a few brainwaves while talking to him so I might try to pull together a few small sites and see where this takes me.
So keep at it, don’t be discouraged if you don’t see results straight away (Neale and I agreed that 2 years is a good amount of time to give each site before it produces), and most importantly, if I’m heading to your area, get in touch because I love meeting with people who are giving this internet marketing a go. It’s great to like-minded people, share experiences and trading ideas with others always inspires me to start doing some work!
Kirsty the pleasure was all mine
This meetup was a lot of fun I have watched Kirsty change over a period of 2.5 years from a a person with no income on the web
Less than $100 “I remember when you where not making the AS Check
” to having a freedom most will only ever dream about, it has been an eye opener for me and very encouraging.
If Kirsty is going to be anywhere close to you spend some time with her
this is one good person to be around.
i think it is very easy to get sites producing right away. depends on the niche. If you pick a good niche you can be up in a month. I know my travel sites will take a long time but they will rank..
Those small sites often don’t earn much, but usually they are low maintenance sites, so you can easily have several of them. Even if each site makes only $10/month, it adds up.
The only (admittedly huge) problem I see is that it’s increasingly difficult to find a topic that enough people are interested in but nobody has bothered to write about yet. So the general approach these days will be more like finding neglected topics and beat the (hopefully weak) competition at the Google front.
Would be great one day to have a big meet up of lots of nomads but I guess the nature of what we do makes it difficult to all be in one place at the same time!
WN, do we have to be in the same place for a meet up? We could well do it virtually, although each would have to pay for his/her own beer.
good article, and it is good to meet a succesful person in a thing which you wish you be good at it.
it’s always nice to share ideas with a fellow marketer…. 2 minds working together are way better that 2 minds on their own