Going off from what I wrote yesterday about why you will never make money online, I thought I’d provide some advice on what you can do to ensure that you DO make money online. This may have something to do with a reader unsubscribing from my RSS feed. I don’t know. Perhaps I struck a chord or was too harsh. Either way, the truth is the truth, and there’s no point in sugar-coating it.

So anyway, I want to give you some tips that will help you make money online, especially if you fall into any of the 3 areas that I posted about yesterday.

1. Learn the Skills – No this isn’t high school or college all over again, although it can feel like it at times (I didn’t go to college, BTW). There are skills that you will have to learn and obtain. This can be done through reading blogs or visiting forums. Find a few people that you trust and who are providing valuable information that you can apply to your online business. Yes, this will take time and actual work. Consider it homework, if you will. If you have to, get a mentor to ensure you’re going in the right direction.

2. Make Time! – This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Too many people complain about not having enough time to do things. Well that can be true to a degree, but there’s always ways in which you can better manage your time in order to make time for the things you say you don’t have time for. You’ll need all the time you can get building and marketing your online business, so you better learn to manage your time wisely.

3. Set Goals – I used to have a problem of not setting goals for my business. Now that I set goals, it encourages me to do what I have to do in order to reach those goals. Learn to set goals for yourself. They don’t have to be big ones, but set little baby goals that will act as stepping stones towards your big, ultimate goal.

4. Re-invest Your Money – Thanks to the internet you no longer need a lot of money to start your own business. In fact, depending on what you decide to do, you can get started for free. However, at some point, you’re going to want to re-invest the money you’re making back into your business. Use it to start a website, do some marketing, buy advertising, etc. Hire freelancers to do most of the leg work if you want. In simple terms, use your money to grow your business, otherwise it may stay stagnant.

5. Choose your programs carefully – I believe this is where most people fail. With so many programs and opportunities out there, choosing which one to go with can be very difficult. It’s important that you do your research before rushing into a decision. Once you do pick the program, believe in it with all your heart. If you don’t have faith in the program you’re promoting, no one else will either.

Got anything to add? Leave your thoughts in the comments below…

You may have numerous reasons why you want to make money online and work from home, but those reasons may just not be enough to make it happen. There are underlying factors, which you may not even be aware of, that will prevent you from ever making a single cent online.

Most of the time, systems work and people fail. That’s just the way it is. Very seldom will you find a system already in place that does not work. Systems are a series of processes put in place with each process working together to make everything run effeciently. At least that’s how I view systems.

So why is it that people fail even when they have a surefire system in place to help them succeed?

Here are 3 reasons I came up with why people fail and will never make money online.

1. Lack of Planning – This is different from just putting excuses aside and just doing it. I believe that eventually you just have to take action and dive in. However, this isn’t without at least planning on what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it. Let’s face it, without a plan in place, you’re going to wander around like a chicken with your head cut off. Be safe and plan. You don’t need a sophisticated plan of action here, but at least jot down the steps you plan to take and how you’re going to reach your end goals.

2. Not Enough Effort – I see this time in and time out. Sad to say that the majority of people are just downright lazy. They would rather blame the system than blame themselves. When in reality, it’s their own lack of effort to be blamed for their failure. Maybe you were led to believe that this making money online stuff was a walk in the park. Okay, you’re off the hook there, but why just give up when you find out you have to actually work?! Seriously, you don’t get stuff for nothing, or rather, you don’t make money with zero effort. Period!

3. No Focus – Even I have difficulty with this one from time to time. Staying focused is plain hard when there are so many things going on, both online and offline. Forums are a great example as they can be valuable to learn new things, but at the same time they can be a total time waster. I recommend setting a certain time limit on how long you’re in a particular forum, and make sure your time spent there is productive. Another time waster is doing mundane tasks like checking email every 5 minutes (I’m at fault on that one),  looking up web stats, checking commission stats, etc. Yes, it’s nice to check those things every now and then, but seriously, you need to spend time actually working.

I’m sure there are a dozen other reasons why one might fail to make money online, so if you have any to add to the list, let me know by leaving a comment below…

Marketing yourself on the internet is very crucial to anyone that wishes to reach online success. The days of marketing a particular program or opportunity are over. People want to know about the person promoting them more so than the opportunity or program themselves. If people can get to know you and trust you, they will trust your recommendations and advice.

This is the same concept as online branding which I blogged about before. The internet makes it a little challenging to be transparent, but at the same time there are numerous methods in which you can utilize to become known and seen as an expert in your field.

Here are 5 tips to help you market yourself on the internet:

1. Create Online Profiles – Profiles are an excellent way to get your name out there. They’re also a great way to get backlinks to your site as well. Take advantage of creating profiles on Google, Yahoo and MSN.

2. Post Videos – If you have a simple web cam or digital camera with video capability, it’s very easy to create short videos and post them on YouTube. You can also get free screen capture software like CamStudio to create tutorials. Take advantage of videos to create a web presence and loyal following.

3. Article Marketing -  Writing articles either for your own blog or submitting them to article directories is a great way to get yourself known. Create informational and valuable articles that people will want to read and share with others.

4.  Forums – Forums are not only an excellent source of information, but they can also be used to create credibility within your niche. The more people you can help, the more people will trust you and your recommendations.

Bonus Tip:

5. Blogging – Just as I’m doing here, you should be blogging about your experiences and sharing the knowledge you have about your particular interest. This will help build up a following of interested readers and build relationships with them.

Do you have any branding tips you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below…

Creating a successful online business requires work, patience and positive thinking. You may even find yourself getting help from mentors that will guide you on the right path.

However, no matter how much help you receive, and no matter how much you learn, you can still fail. I’m not trying to scare you, but the statistics don’t lie. Most people never reach success because they end up giving up too early. They either underestimated the amount of work required, just got tired of it or got too far in over their heads. And then some quit due to financial restrictions.

This doesn’t have to be you. A recent article I wrote titled, Do You Have What it Takes to Succeed? will provide you with 6 tips to help you keep on track and not give up.

In case you’re in a hurry, here are the 6 tips to take to heart:

1. Plan

2. Stay Focused

3. Dedication

4. Buy a System that Works

5. Work Smarter, Not Harder

6. Review Your Progress From Time to Time

Points 2 and 3 I feel are the most important because this is where so many fail, and ultimately fail at reaching success working from home.

Do you have any tips to add that have helped you reach success? Share them below…

In my previous post, I briefly mentioned about the importance of having a mentor or group of mentors that can guide you on the path to online business success. One of my loyal blog readers, Dennis Edell, pointed out that all successful people (especially the top 1%) have a mentor. Well, I don’t know that I’d consider myself successful (financial wise), nor am I in the top 1%, but I do have a group of mentors that have helped me out tremendously in learning affiliate marketing.

The reason for this post is to introduce you to the group of mentors I’ve had the privilege of working with. What’s unique, I believe, is that they’ve been open to helping ANYONE who is either new to affiliate marketing, struggling to make money, or looking to take their online business to the next level. There’s not too many successful internet marketers that are willing to work one-on-one with people, as pointed out by Meka, another reader of this blog.

Of course, they can’t literally work one-on-one with every single person, but I think they got a pretty good setup in place. They have a membership site designed specifically for people who want to get into affiliate marketing by setting up niche blogs. This is certainly the starting point in which anyone who is serious should take in order to start earning some extra income online.

The membership site provides an outline and step-by-step action plan to follow, from planning, getting your website set up, marketing/advertising, optimizing and bringing in a residual and passive income month after month. The mentors who started this membership site all are regular people just like you and me who had a desire to be their own boss and work from home. They saw an opportunity and did everything they could to see their dreams become a reality. They call themselves the Affiliate Power Group.

The mentors have been successfully working from home with affiliate marketing full-time for a number of years and are now sharing their experience and knowledge with the rest of us. That’s my main goal and purpose of this blog. I just love helping people and giving back, and it’s obvious that they’re very willing to do the same.

The great thing about the Affiliate Power Group is that they have a built-in forum (just updated) where you can ask questions and get direct answers from the mentors as well as other members. This is where the one-on-one attention is created because you have direct access to each mentor at anytime. You can also email or message any of the members directly for specific questions if you prefer.

As I also mentioned in my previous post, being able to have direct communication with those who are successful in your field will give you the edge you need to become successful yourself. It helps you grow mentally and provides personal development needed to turn that “hobby” of a website into a real online business. I’m not saying you have to go spend $1,000 to form an LLC, but you have to realize that creating a successful online business takes a lot of hard work and persistence. If you treat it like a real business, it’ll reward you as such. That’s something that took me a long time to realize, which is why I’m still not where I want to be yet.

Affiliate Power Group is able to help anyone just starting out, struggling to make money or trying to take their affiliate marketing business to the next level.  You can give their affiliate marketing training a try for just $1. $1 will give you access to the entire membership site plus all the bonuses. This is a huge deal, and I know once you see the value you’ll receive, you’ll want to continue your membership.

The total cost of the membership is very undervalued. Although, I like to look at it as the mentors over-delivering, which is really what they do. Seriously, learn the business or take yours to the next level for just $1 today. You won’t be disappointed.

One of my recent making money with work from home opportunities articles discusses the importance of finding a mentor or group of mentors to help you make money online. Because let’s face it, most people, and maybe yourself, are just plain lost and don’t know where to start.

It’s similar to when Columbus went sailing the ocean blue to find the new world. He didn’t know where he was or how he was going to get to where he was going. All he had was a dream and passion for finding new land.

Affiliate/Internet marketing is no different. Sure, you’ll get there eventually (Afterall, Columbus did), but it will take you a heck of a lot longer if you don’t get help.

I’ve been there myself, and I would still be there if it wasn’t for finding the right people and following after them. Most people don’t ever make any money online because they don’t look for a mentor or don’t follow in the footsteps of those that are successful.

It’s not about reinventing the wheel. It’s about knowing what to do and implementing it. And, with a little ingenuity, maybe even finding a better way to do it.

That’s what making money with work from home opportunities is all about. The steps are right there in front of you. The problem is piecing them together and making them work seamlessly. I recommend getting a mentor or group of mentors if you’re serious about making money online and working from home.

December was a low month, which was to be expected with holiday shopping and such. At least that was my experience.

However, I was pleased to meet my Alexa Ranking goal of 250,000, which I surpassed. And, I’m on path to reach my new goal of 200,000 for the end of this month.

Here’s my income from last month for my ReplaceYourSalary.com site:

• ClickBank: $63.71
• Angela’s Backlinks: $11.25
• Paul’s Backlinks: $4
• Yarie: $37.25
• Google Adsense: $18.78
• SFI: $6.03
• Free Traffic System: $10
• Project Payday: $1.50 (commissions earned from promoting the program, not actually using it)
• Responsive Data: $4.50
• MaxBounty: $3.18

Traffic to my site has been increasing thanks to my marketing efforts. There is still a lot more I need to do and have already planned out. It’s just a matter of implementing the strategies now.

My site is still on the 2nd and 3rd page of Google search results pages for my two main keyword phrases. They’re both competitive, so it’ll take a little extra work to reach the first page. Getting more backlinks will help me achieve that.

Another bright note is that the Google Page Rank for this Work From Home Blog has increased to a PR 3. This is due to heavy link building the past couple of months.

That’s all for now. I expect big things to happen in 2010!

2009 was a great year as I started seeing momentum with my online business. I learned a lot about what I need to do, and also about what I don’t want to do. Everything is a learning experience that I can take with me and improve upon.

Now that we’re a full week into 2010, I’m starting to plan how I’m going to build up my online business to reach even greater heights. Planning and evaluation is an important process no matter what kind business you’re in. I need to evaluate the areas where I can improve, and then plan how I’m going to do so.

Along with planning, this is the time to set goals that you want to accomplish. The goals should be realistic and achievable. Don’t set them too high, but at the same time you don’t want to set them too low as you’ll only be cheating yourself.

When it comes to making money online, many prefer building multiple niche sites to earn income from. This is a great avenue to go down and may be easier than building just one authority site.

However, I personally want to focus my time on building ReplaceYourSalary.com as an authority site and blog. That has always been my intention from the start, and right now I don’t see that changing.

Eventually, I may pan out and start diversifying my efforts into some smaller niches, but that won’t happen until I have met my goals for this site.

I’m slowly getting there, but I have a long way to go before I reach the amount of growth and income I expect to get from this site. The potential is and always has been there. 2009 was very evident of that.

My goal for 2010 is to have systems in place that are going to help me reach my desired income. Systems can be anything from having the right people for the job, to having the right processes in place.

This means I’m going to be outsourcing a good majority of work this year in regards to marketing my website. This I feel is the only way I’m going to be able to be most productive and achieve the goals I have set for myself. I’ll still be doing a good portion myself, but there are some areas I’d rather leave to someone else.

There are also new processes I have learned and will implement this year that should dramatically boost my site and earnings. I’ll mainly be focusing on Web 2.0 sites and article marketing. This combination has proven to be effective, and I need to start utilizing this marketing strategy.

Another area I need to do more with is video marketing. I hadn’t done much on YouTube last year, and I want to change that this year. Video is an incredible medium with so much potential. I want to really grow my OnlineWealth channel up and get more exposure with my current videos and also future videos.

Specific goals I have set for this year are:

1. At least $1,000/month income
2. Blog minimum of 4 posts a week
3. Alexa Rank – 100,000 or less

These are the main areas I’ll be focusing on this year. Like most people, time is my biggest concern. This is why I’ll be outsourcing some work so that I can focus on other areas of my online business. If you look at all of the successful internet marketers and online business owners, every single one of them outsources. It’s time for me to follow that successful pattern.

What do you plan to accomplish this year? What are some goals you have for yourself personally or for your business? Share them in the comments below…

To start off 2010, I thought I’d do something a little different. I believe that humor can be a great antidote for whatever may be ailing you, whether it’s your health, family, personal finances or just your way of living.

Laughter is a powerful and healing force, so I encourage you to do it often. No matter what your circumstances, look to the good in what you have.

Since this is a Work From Home Blog, I rounded up some work from home cartoons I thought might strike a laugh. Let me know what you think…

I’ve decided to take down the images as I don’t want to infringe on any copyrights that may be associated with them. However, I can still post links to cartoons I’ve gathered across the web. So, here ya go…

The first one is from CartoonStock which contains quite a few funny work from home humor cartoons:

http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/w/working_from_home.asp

Here’s another site that has some pretty good cartoons:

http://www.wadenelson.com/workathome.html

Here’s a good one from Doug Savage:

http://www.savagechickens.com/2010/01/working-from-home.html

This one’s great for all of you who have a spouse:

http://www.callcentercomics.com/Cartoons/Work-From-Home-Cartoon.htm

I hope you enjoyed these and got a laugh out of them. Remember, smiling and laughter is very healthy.

Here’s to a healthy and prosperous 2010!

December was a very busy month for offline commitments, not to mention Christmas celebration and New Year’s.

I was able to post a considerable amount, although not as much as I would like. I did however meet one of my goals, and that was to get my Alexa Rank down to 250,000 or less. The lowest reached was 245,449.

I was happy to reach my accomplishment, and I have my readers to thank for that. Thank you! 2009 was a great year, and I look forward to great things to come in 2010.

Let’s recap the posts for December:

November Income Report

Work From Home With Affiliate Marketing

How To Avoid Getting Scammed With Work From Home Jobs

Make Money With CPA Affiliate Networks

Where Can You Find Legitimate Work From Home Jobs?

Finding The Right Legitimate Work From Home Job For You

Merry Christmas!

I’m giving away $10 – Limited Offer – If you’re new here, I highly recommend you check out this post.

Do Legitimate Work From Home Jobs Exist?

That wraps up December and the 2009 year.

I wish everyone a very happy and successful 2010. Let’s make it the best year yet!