Making Money Online: Myth or Reality?
It would seem like everywhere you look in the internet there is a program promising to make you an overnight millionaire. But whether any of these programs really deliver on the promises made is yet another story.
So, is it possible to make REAL money online? Is making money online a myth or a reality? Here is my take.
The Internet Millionaires
It deserves a mention that there are tons of millionaires who make their insane amount of money online. These are the likes of Ewen Chia, the Singaporean internet multimillionaire; Mike Filsaime, the immensely successful software marketer, Russell Brunson, who makes insane money online and was in Kenya just last month on a charity mission; and George Brown, a 19 year old real marketing genius in my opinion, to name but a few.
These are the type of guys making the range of $10,000-$100,000 online a month. The success and lifestyle they enjoy is without doubt pretty sweet! I am sure that whets your appetite tooJ.
Truth Be Told…
Illustration courtesy Doncaprio.com
Those are amazing success stories no doubt, but truth be told; for every one successful internet marketer, there are hundreds or even thousands of struggling individuals who barely makes a single cent online, despite their commitment and ambition.
That is a really bleak outlook for anyone looking to make money on the internet, but it soon gets exciting once you consider all the online marketers making thousands of dollars online a month. That could easily roll out to a few million shillings if you are in Kenya.
The pertinent question then is; what separates the two lots?
Well, many factors come into play from niche selection to actual marketing strategies, but most importantly, information overload and lack of focus form the real challenges for most beginner internet marketers struggling to make money online.
Information Overload
You see, most newbie online entrepreneurs try chasing all manner of unrelated money-making programs and online business strategies that come to mind, and as a result, their effort and energy is split and diluted. That is a poor approach as they eventually end up doing nothing significant.
I was like that when I was first getting started and for more than eighteen months, I failed terribly, time and time again. It was not until I learned that my real problem was information overload that I made my first dollar online. I have never looked back ever since.
Procrastination
The second most important challenge for most would-be internet marketers and entrepreneurs is procrastination. It is a huge problem that is closely related to lack of skills and lack of confidence.
Sometimes you just need to take initiative and get started. The most important thing is to just get going, at whatever pace. I was happy when I learned about the power of purposive learning (learning as you go, for a real purpose).
Let’s also be honest, you can never learn everything there is to learn about internet marketing. As a matter of fact, everything in the internet changes so rapidly that even the most seasoned marketers need to constantly learn new things.
That applies to every technological innovation and internet is not an exception. What worked yesterday will not work today. It is a continuous learning process and nobody ever becomes perfect. So, get started with that initial level of skills and keep learning!
Action and Perseverance
All the successful internet millionaires didn’t make those marvelous success stories in a day (except probably a few like Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook). They were not handed that massive wealth and income on a silver platter.
They were green at some point in their careers. Some of them even have terribly flopped projects to their credit. But it takes time, discipline and effort to make things work out eventually, one pace at a time.
For instance, just take a look at the guys here at openbook.co.ke; they started small and now have one of the most popular blogs in Kenya.
Successful Olympians put in lots of hours in training when preparing for their events simply because they know that’s the only way that gold medals are made. You’ll as well need to be proactive and disciplined in whatever you do (this is applicable in any sphere of life, not just the internet), failure to which you risk falling flat on your face.
To be blunt, no matter how smart your idea is, if you don’t get out of your comfort zone and take action, it will be just that; an idea.
What about Making Money Online in Kenya?
Every country is faced with its own unique set of challenges and the privileges available to an internet entrepreneur in Kenya may not be equivalent to those enjoyed by his US counterpart.
For example, while one can use PayPal in Kenya, this globally recognized payment processor is, technically, not yet full-fledged in Kenya? While you can receive payments in Kenya through PayPal, you can only use that cash online at present. The Clickbank story is not better off; this digital marketplace is as yet not available to Kenyans.
But as they say, where there is a will there is a way. I know a few Kenyans making good money online writing, affiliate marketing and blogging. The approaches these people use to make money online may essentially vary, but the overall strength lies in finding a way to earn money online and receive it via check or wire transfer to your bank account.
For example, some people work on freelance sites such as elance.com and freelancer.com and get their payment transferred to their bank via SWIFT. Others publish content online and get paid through Google Adsense.
So, the online cash game is not yet lost, and the future looks even brighter for Kenya with the amazing infrastructural improvement and digital revolution that we are currently experiencing. And who knows how the widely rumored negotiation between PayPal and Kenyan banks may end up?
In conclusion, take action and don’t give up. Too many people give up too easily when their Aha! moment was very near. Also remember that there is a learning curve involved, of course, but with enough patience and focus, you could be the next success story.
