Making Money Online: Adsense vs. Blogging vs. Selling Products and Services

“What’s the fasted way for me to make money online? And how long does it take for the money to roll in? I heard about Adsense, does that work? I heard folks make good money blogging. Is this true? Should I start a blog? I’m new to this internet thing, but unexpected life changes have depleted my funds and I really need to start making money. Can any of these things help me bring in money sooner than later?”

If I had the ability to merge every newbie entrepreneur I’ve ever met into one person, what you read above is exactly what that person would sound like. Out of curiosity and in some cases desperation, newbie webpreneurs oftentimes cling to the hope that online they will find a magic bullet to financial freedom and success.

While I can’t speak for every person who actually knows how to make money online, I can tell you how I started and exactly what worked or me…

[membership level=”0,3″] [/membership] [membership level=”1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9″] My ability to work at home online today all came from my ability to figure out how to sell my services online several years ago. When I started making money online it was because I was selling my service as a web designer. It is something that I am good at and people value my skill enough to pay me for my time.

As I learned more about marketing myself online and I began improving my web skills I decided to create my first blog to share my experience as an entrepreneur and my expertise as a web professional. If I started blogging back then to make money, I would be broke right now. Blogs in and of themselves are not money makers. They are simply free spaces on which you are free to share free information with the public. Sharing free information does not magically translate into money. This is especially important to understand if you want money now and are desperate to start blogging because you think it will bring in money now.

When people read my blog and liked my articles enough to hire me as a web designer, I made money. When people saw that I was developing a following and wanted to pay me to be featured on my blog in order to reach my readers, I made money. When people respected my recommendations enough to try affiliate products I talked about, I made money. But if you don’t have anything of value to say, if you don’t have something specific to sell, if you don’t have anyone waiting for you to share, you will not make money.

This same point holds true for Adsense. I joined Adsense and had ad campaigns on several of my websites for months and didn’t make a dime. As a service professional at some point I realized that when my sales as a web designer got slow I needed other things to subsidize my income. Eventually I got serious about learning how Adsense worked. It’s taken several years of learning, seeing my websites mature, building my web traffic and page views to the point where I can now make several thousands of dollars annually with Adsense. You don’t just wake up one morning with a website that gets less than a 100 page views and expect Google Adsense money to generate the kind of money you made in your 9-to-5.

In my personal opinion, the only people who straight out the gates make millions of dollars online are the ones who invest millions of dollars into their online dream. My personal work at home dream turned into a reality because it was built on hard work, a lot of learning, and organic growth that can only happen with time. If you are an aspiring internet entrepreneur, just know that any online business you choose will require effort, passion, personal investment and time to grow. I know firsthand that you can make money from Adsense, Affiliate Marketing, and in some ways blogging. But none of these things can initially serve as a primary source of income, especially if you have no clue as to how they really work.

I personally think the fasted way to making money online is finding a product or service that you can sell and people will pay for. Perfect your craft, work on your marketing and sales skills, build an online following and make the most of your local following if you have one. This was my foundation several years ago and I have successfully been building on it ever since.

This article is featured in the What’s Working Now, special edition issue of SistaSense In Print Magazine. Download or order a copy at http://mag.sistasense.com.[/membership]