I never really thought about making money online until I came across this forum about a year and a half ago. I always liked coding and I often did little html/javascript projects on free hosts, and ran some forums on free forum providers (like proboards), but I never really made my own site. That changed around January of '08 when I decided I wanted more than a forum, I wanted to make a website for underground metal music because I love the genre. I did a lot of research on names I would like, not really names that would be valuable. I found a really obscure name from a mythology which was perfect, but it was taken. I ended up settling on UndergroundMetal.net - but it wasn't the name I wanted so the project never got off the ground. I joined this forum about four months after that, looking for advice on how to go about getting the name I really wanted. Of course the responses were generally "find another name" which was obvious, but not what I was looking for. :P
By that time I already had registered my screen name, yilduz.com, for my own site about whatever I wanted it to be about. After joining this site, I decided reselling domains could be very profitable, but I didn't really know anything about it - so I started purchasing worthless domains from members here, and registering a ton of .info domains from Godaddy, because they were all cheap. I later watched every one of them expire as my reg fee for the names were swirling down the drain.
I decided to slim down. I went from about 100 domains to about 30 (including domains for friends and family). I only have a handful that are really meant for me, whether it be for development or otherwise. I sold a lot of them in lots on ebay to try to make back a few dollars of the reg fees, and watched many more of them expire.
My main domains are getting close to renewal time, my hosting is getting close to renewal time, so I started thinking about all of the money I've spent on trying to make money online. I didn't sell everything I own, I didn't end up homeless, I have never gone hungry because of this industry; but the time and money I've invested in the internet with the dream of making money is a bit ridiculous considering what I've earned (or haven't earned, if you will) in return.
I've learned a lot, though. I've learned (vaguely) what a good domain is, what a bad domain is, and what a mediocre domain is. I've learned a lot of PHP, MySQL, and coding techniques in general. I've learned a lot about affiliate marketing, search engine optimization (both on-site and off-site), and a lot more about the internet in general. I'm the kind of person that likes to improve myself in any way I can - so this has been very important to me.
As I proofread this post, I realize that it looks like one of those "I quit" threads. This is, in fact, the complete opposite. The purpose of this thread is to be a marker and a motivator. As much failure as I've endured over the last year and a half, I never thought of giving up. At every brick wall, the thoughts in my mind were always on how to get around it, or how to tear it down. However, I've lost a lot of steam through all of this. My motivation and dedication have been waning for a long time now, as I've been finding more and more reasons to just play video games. The marker that this thread is intended to be is me putting the uniform back on, and to start the warm up. In the last week or so I've had a couple of talks with people that I look up to in this industry, I've read a couple of ebooks, and started reading my industry idols' blogs again. I will now begin preparing.
I want 2010 to be a good year. Not just for me, but for everyone here. I've seen a lot of other people getting discouraged by failure, being broke, not being where they want to be. I intend to use the rest of 2009 to study, learn, finance, and get my plan completely in order. When January comes, I will tear into the web like a determined football team after halftime. I know the journey will be uphill, and nothing will happen overnight - but I will profit in 2010. I challenge anyone else that has been in a similar situation to do the same. Take a short breather, look at everything from the outside, revise your plan, and tear into 2010 with the ferocious intensity of a hungry tiger. Set your goals and measure your results, figure out where you need to improve and attack.
Who's with me? I don't want to see anyone giving up.
By that time I already had registered my screen name, yilduz.com, for my own site about whatever I wanted it to be about. After joining this site, I decided reselling domains could be very profitable, but I didn't really know anything about it - so I started purchasing worthless domains from members here, and registering a ton of .info domains from Godaddy, because they were all cheap. I later watched every one of them expire as my reg fee for the names were swirling down the drain.
I decided to slim down. I went from about 100 domains to about 30 (including domains for friends and family). I only have a handful that are really meant for me, whether it be for development or otherwise. I sold a lot of them in lots on ebay to try to make back a few dollars of the reg fees, and watched many more of them expire.
My main domains are getting close to renewal time, my hosting is getting close to renewal time, so I started thinking about all of the money I've spent on trying to make money online. I didn't sell everything I own, I didn't end up homeless, I have never gone hungry because of this industry; but the time and money I've invested in the internet with the dream of making money is a bit ridiculous considering what I've earned (or haven't earned, if you will) in return.
I've learned a lot, though. I've learned (vaguely) what a good domain is, what a bad domain is, and what a mediocre domain is. I've learned a lot of PHP, MySQL, and coding techniques in general. I've learned a lot about affiliate marketing, search engine optimization (both on-site and off-site), and a lot more about the internet in general. I'm the kind of person that likes to improve myself in any way I can - so this has been very important to me.
As I proofread this post, I realize that it looks like one of those "I quit" threads. This is, in fact, the complete opposite. The purpose of this thread is to be a marker and a motivator. As much failure as I've endured over the last year and a half, I never thought of giving up. At every brick wall, the thoughts in my mind were always on how to get around it, or how to tear it down. However, I've lost a lot of steam through all of this. My motivation and dedication have been waning for a long time now, as I've been finding more and more reasons to just play video games. The marker that this thread is intended to be is me putting the uniform back on, and to start the warm up. In the last week or so I've had a couple of talks with people that I look up to in this industry, I've read a couple of ebooks, and started reading my industry idols' blogs again. I will now begin preparing.
I want 2010 to be a good year. Not just for me, but for everyone here. I've seen a lot of other people getting discouraged by failure, being broke, not being where they want to be. I intend to use the rest of 2009 to study, learn, finance, and get my plan completely in order. When January comes, I will tear into the web like a determined football team after halftime. I know the journey will be uphill, and nothing will happen overnight - but I will profit in 2010. I challenge anyone else that has been in a similar situation to do the same. Take a short breather, look at everything from the outside, revise your plan, and tear into 2010 with the ferocious intensity of a hungry tiger. Set your goals and measure your results, figure out where you need to improve and attack.
Who's with me? I don't want to see anyone giving up.
!
