Posted on May 10, 2010 by Eric
Back towards the end of December 2009 I wrote an article on how to get paid by google.
Basically, it was an article about how to quickly get the extra cash out of your Google Adsense account and I wanted to give an update on how everything went.
I ended up not putting in as much effort as I would have liked, but I built out one of my domains to the point of getting no. 1 in Yahoo for a specific keyword.
This keyword doesn’t bring in a ton of traffic, but it does net the site somewhere around 20 bucks per month through adsense revenue now.
The site that I used was not this one, nor have I made any significant adsense revenue from this site.
What was my goal?
The original goal was to hit the 100 mark (I was about 40 bucks short) by the end of January 2010. That gave me 44 days and it ended up being a bit too ambitious for how much effort I was willing to put in.
How did I do?
Well, at the end of January 2010 I had somewhere around $79 in my account.
At the end of February I almost hit the mark at around 96 bucks, and in March I finally hit the mark in adsense revenue giving me my first Google cheque!
How much work was it?
Well, to be honest it was a breeze. I grabbed a 6 pack of beer and dumped a ton of content onto the website in about 4 hours and that was it. In about 2 weeks I had ranked for some keywords and started getting the traffic.
I used wordpress to post the articles over a period of time. So in other words the site posts a new article every day without me having to do anything! In fact, from those 4 hours of work I STILL have articles being posted once a day on that site.
I think that the revenue will continue to grow slowly. This site will definitely not be a money maker, but it’s good enough to bring in around 240 bucks a year… and that’s like 12 cases of beer that I can drink to make 12 more sites!
Posted on May 5, 2010 by Eric
Drink up my friends!
Grab a beer or a margarita and toast Cinco De Mayo!
I don’t want to write a long post because I have to go drink beer, but check out more info here.
Be safe, and party hard!
Posted on December 7, 2009 by Eric
I quit my job just over a month ago. I was working at a pretty old and established internet marketing company for a little over a year and half and it was time for a change.
I do not intend to get another full time job. I am currently working on a number of contract projects, and I intent to stay in a “freelance” state of mind from now on. I hate 9-5 jobs, and I’m finally out. I intend to keep it that way.
The first full time job I ever had was working for Boston Pizza. It was a pretty decent job for a 15 year old, and I eventually ended up managing the kitchen after a few years. I learned a ton from that job, and I don’t regret it… even though it really sucked sometimes.
I’ve worked construction, tech support, sales, auto body repair, at a golf course and as a web designer. All of these jobs have been great learning experiences, but none of them really fulfilled my need to constantly grow at my own pace… Running my own company allows me to do this.
So far here are the advantages of working as a contractor that I’ve experienced:
Freedom of time
For the most part I can work hours that I choose, and in locations that I choose. I don’t have to be confined by someone else’s idea of a work day.
Extra Cash Flow
My cash flow has increased because of the lack of income tax being deducted off of my cheques. Sure I have to put money aside for this purpose, but having the extra cash in low income times will help, whereas I can always put away more later on.
More motivation
I can work a 5 hour day and get a normal day’s work done. In fact, at a 9-5 job there is probably only 4 hours of solid work that goes on in a full work day. All the other time is wasted. This means that I can start at 7am and get all of my work done before noon… time for some sun!! This means I have more motivation to work harder.
Whenever there are advantages, there are disadvantages… you’ll notice some similarities:
Lack of time
Sometimes I have to work around deadlines. This means I have long hours and I have to put off the things I would rather be doing… like launching affiliate marketing campaigns.
Less Cash Flow
I have more expenses… which means less money. This means I will have to pay less tax at the end of the year, but in the short term sometimes big cash months will have to go towards equipment that I need instead of toys. I also no longer have a dental plan, which means future expenses on my teeth etc.
Less Motivation
I know that I’ve completely mirrored the advantages, but sometimes when working at home you simply have no motivation… this leads to slacking… and slacking leads to late nights to finish a project. Freelancing takes a lot of self discipline, but I think I have what it takes to keep going.
All in all I am freaking stoked about not working a 9-5er and I think that everyone should at least try it at some point in their life. I mean, sure sometimes you have to work super hard and lose some sleep… but other times you can sleep in and head outside for a run while everyone else is spouting bullshit at the water cooler trying to avoid their boss and their desk.
Are you a freelancer, or have you done it in the past? What other advantages/disadvantages have you run into?
