My Journey in Internet Marketing

I’d like to convince you that I’m talented in Internet marketing, and that I have a natural business acumen, but all this will not be true at all. In fact I’ve had not much success in any other business ventures before I decided to get into Internet marketing.

So for the sake of nostalgia, and also because my friend Yaro says it’s important to do some sort of “timeline”, I’ll list down all the jobs I’ve done and businesses I’ve ventured into, throughout my journey to where I am now, and the lessons I learnt along the way. You can comment below to let me know your own experiences.

For the sake of comparison, I’ll put my income on the per hour rate, assuming I work 25 days a month, 8 hour per day.

1997: Bartender / Waiter – USD0.79 per hour

This was back in 1997, one of my first real jobs. My parents were against the idea of me working while I was in school, so I only got a job after my SPM final exams while I was waiting for acceptance into college.

This was pure fun for me, and I spent almost all the money I earned on video games, arcades (was a video game freak then) and also to get my dad some new clothing, as I hardly gave him any presents.

It was cool, as I could say “I’m a bartender” and people would go like “Wow… really?”

Lesson learned: It’s not so easy to make money, and very easy to spend it

1998: Odd Jobs – USD0.50 to USD2.00 per hour

While I was in college, I took on some temporary odd jobs. Needless to say, I wasn’t thinking about making money online at this point of time. I was getting used to living alone, college life and ehem… dating

Lesson learned: College life is fun

2001: Banquet Staff / Lounge Waiter – RM5.00 per hour (USD1.30 per hour)

This was one of my first experiences with jobs that are just not worth the money, and yet I’m surprised by the amount of people who are ever-willing to do it. My banquet staff job in a hotel requires 10-12 hours of continuous work carry tables, cleaning up, washing, and all the other things you don’t want to do.

I remember sneaking away to the toilet to remove my shoes, and spray some cool water on my toes which were hurting badly from 10 hours of not getting a chance to sit down.

I finally decided it was just not worth the money, and I quit.

Lesson learned: Manual labor is not the best way to get rich.

2002-2003: My First Website – USD0.20 – USD0.30 per hour

My first website was done purely for fun, and I had no intention of making money from it, and so I didn’t make much from it in the end. It eventually got up to a peak of USD300 per month, in affiliate commissions selling electric guitars on the Internet, but I abandoned if (for no apparent reason) and the income dropped significantly.

Basically, I thought Internet marketing will not give me a lifestyle I wanted. I was all looking forward to getting a real corporate job, as I envisioned a totally different life in the corporate world.

I quit Internet marketing late 2003 when I struggled to make as much money as I wanted

Lesson learned: You can make some small money online (It wasn’t until 2004 that I realized that some people are making millions online; I wish someone had told me then) .

2002 – 2005: Sales Executive / Account Manager – USD2.60 – USD3.80 per hour

I finally got my corporate job. Within 6 months I realized that someone, somewhere, had told me a lie. I was nowhere near the lifestyle I wanted, and I had even less time than I had before.

It was then that I decided to look for other ways to make more money, but my first ventures were not into Internet marketing. I quit in November 2005.

Lesson learned: Corporate life is all about getting paid to show up.

2002: Home Tuition – USD3.00 to USD6.00 per month

Don’t laugh – I thought English and Maths to primary school children. Some of them were cute and adorable, others I just wanted to strangle with my bare hands. Soon I realized that by trading time for money, I could only make a certain amount of money and not more. Since I was still doing this part time, after about 6 months I quit.

Lesson learned: I love teaching, but not to kids

2003 – 2005: Selling Beauty & Health Products – Lost (USD1.00) to (USD5.00) per hour

I guess you can’t call MLM a job, but I’ll put it in here anyway. In MLM I learned a lot about financial freedom, working smart, leverage and all the other things that changed my life forever. I also met, admired and learned from a lot of great people.

I was selling lipsticks and anti-aging solutions to women, water filters to families, and health supplements to men / women above the age of 40 (its seems those below 40 don’t really care that much).

The sad part was I was always losing money in MLM. I made some money, but eventually all the training expenses (books n’ tapes) eroded whatever profit there was. Whatever I earned from my full time job was spent on MLM. After about 2 years, and 4 different MLM companies, I decided to quit.

Lesson learned: MLM is just a vehicle. You can change vehicles and still head towards the same destination.

2003: Door-to-door Sales – USD0.00 per hour

This was actually an extension of my MLM days, when my upline said “If you can’t sell to your friends, go selling to strangers”.

Well, I did it. I actually made 2 sales of some vitamin products. But divided my the hours spent; you get the picture.

Lesson learned: I rather knock on my own door.

2004-2005: Online MLM – USD5.00 – USD6.00 per hour

I started learning more about online MLM, and although at this point of time I was already growing weary of my offline MLM, I thought it would be different.

I was with SFI and I made quite some money there. That’s where I learned about SEO, AdWords, buiding websites, building minisites, and other Internet marketing tactics. I learned most of what I know now about Internet marketing in my online MLM venture, but I would decide to build a “real” business, with my own products and customers and the whole shebang.

My marketing sites are still up and I get the occasional commission check, but I no longer actively promote online MLM.

Lesson learned: The Internet is how I am going to make my first million. I was impressed with the power of the Internet, but also overwhelmed by it’s size and mysteries.

Lesson to readers: Don’t promote any MLM, even online MLM, on the front end – it’s tough. Do it on the backend after you’ve already made money from other sources.

2004: Web Design – USD2.00 to USD3.00 per hour

Yes I did some initial wed design work, but then decided that it was too much hassle for too little money. One fine day I came across a Feng Shui lady who wanted me to design her store header and graphics. Everything was wrong according to her – the fonts were to sharp, pointing the wrong direction, the colors were “unlucky” etc.

I refunded her money, and decided to quit.

Lesson learned: Don’t trade time for money. Time is limited.

2004: Selling on Auction Sites – USD0.60 – USD3.00 per hour

I wasn’t much into Ebay, but I did some amount of selling on a local portal Lelong.com.my. It took me only a few months to realize that shipping products and making small margins wasn’t all that fun.

Lesson learned: I don’t want to sell physical products, if I have to do it myself.

2005 – Current: Freelance Writing – USD80 – USD100 per hour

I perhaps really started making money online when I was drafted in as a writer for the IAHBE (International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs).

I got the opportunity, and I grabbed it immediately without thinking twice, although at the beginning I seriously doubted my ability in writing.

As a paid writer, I could earn quite a lot but again it was trading time for money. So while I was happy writing (and since it took up so little time), I masterminded my own plan to create a real business on the Internet. After one year as a writer I went full time and started writing more, so I was earning more.

As you can see before September 05 I just treated it as a part time job, and got more serious towards the last few months of 05 and in the beginning months of 06.

But don’t be fooled by the per hour figures, as on average I was only working about 8-10 hours a month writing, as they had some limits on the amount of submissions you can make per month.

I still write occasionally, but I no longer need to depend on it to survive.

Lesson learned: I can actually write, and was good at it in some way.

2005: Autosurf Programs – “made” USD20 – USD100 per hour

When I tell people don’t bother with the get rich quick shemes, I really am speaking from experience.

At the height of the autosurf programs, I made about $1,200 per month in referral commissions alone. So I made about $2,000 per month in total from about 3 different programs.

But as easy as the money came, it went. And when it died overnight I lost most of what I had earned from my writing (above) as I had invested most of it out of greed.

Just stay away from these. No matter what you say, these type of programs WILL get to the part of you that is hoping for a miracle, and want to get rich quick.

Lesson learned: I can be an idiot sometimes.

Jan – Dec 2006: Information Marketing – USD32 per hour autopilot

This part I guess can’t be completed yet. I absolutely loved what I am doing now, but I have no regrets of not doing it earlier, especially when I have already made a small amount of money online since 2002. It’s true I had no guidance at that point of time, and it wasn’t until I came across another Malaysian named Patric Chan when I realized exactly how much money you can make online.

Back then Patric was already making, in my estimates, about $9,000 – $11,000 a month. Shortly before he launched his You Chan Do It personal coaching program in 2006, he was already making much more.

It’s true that I also spent more than I made for the first 6 months or so, but if I did not get that education (or addiction?) early on I would still be clueless now. I still do spend a lot on ebooks, software and other stuff like everyone else does.

The funny thing is that the moment I decided to quit my job and go into Internet marketing, I started taking it seriously, and with the same amount of effort and time I started making some real money online. Maybe it was desperation that made me think hard about everything I did, but hey don’t wait till you get as desperate as I was to get started!

I think the breakthrough for me happened when I understood 2 vital aspects of making money online:

• It’s easier to sell ebooks to people who want to buy them – In my first ebook, I tried to convince people that they needed the information I was selling, and it did not work. It’s tough trying to sell someone something they don’t need.
  • In my second ebook I discovered the “Desperate Buyers Method” and completely changed my online strategy as far as information marketing is concerned. Using keyword research tools like Keyword Elite was good, but you cannot find a need by doing this.
  • You need to focus on needs rather than wants, and you can do this is you know where the market hangs out, and how they access their information online. Then, get in that and find out what they need.
• You need a solid strategy, not just tactics – Early on, I was focusing too much on tactics (blogging, PPC, SEO) and not on the strategy. Winning Your Niche by Stephen Pierce and Patric Chan is a good resource to understand the differences between tactics and strategies.

I’ve also had moderate success as an affiliate marketer, although affiliate marketing is something I’m still trying to master. Some of the “irregular” 3-figure Paypal payments here are affiliate payments:

Sorry I can’t seperate them to show you only commissions received.

Starting 2007, I’ll be doing a quarterly recap of my Internet home business journey instead of posting everything here.Please refer to these individual posts:

• January to March 2007 – Achieved $7,942
• April to June 2007
• July to September 2007
• October to December 2007