Tuesday, January 26, 2010

How To Earn A Passive Income

Trying to earn a passive income is not an easy route to riches. Not by a long way. If you want the short and sweet route, stick with the lotto (and buy the winning ticket) or marry a billionaire that's way past 90.

Otherwise you're going to have to get your head around one simple fact: you need to work.

The internet is littered with half-assed attempts to gold and glory. Most people think that buying into get rich quick schemes is the answer to their greenback prayers. Funnily enough, it is.
For the ones doing the selling.
They're the ones making money, not the ones doing the buying. They're predominatly scams, sweet and sticky lures, the kind that make the buyer think that they're getting something for little or no effort.

The rule of thumb goes like this: if someone claims they can help you earn a silly amount of money with little or not effort - don't buy it. Go buy a beer. Take the dog for a walk. Go paint the fence. Anything to avoid you clicking the dumb 'buy now' button.

How To earn A Passive Income


The above header says how to earn a passive income - not how to earn a massive income. So bear that in mind before you start.

Here's the lowdown on how it works:

  • you write - a lot
  • you write unique content - a lot
  • you diversify - a lot
You then need to learn about basic SEO - which isn't difficult. All you need to know about are the basics of on and off-page SEO.

On page SEO means:

  • good quality content
  • best use of relevant keywords and tags
  • keyword/s in the URL
  • in the headers
  • content length
Off page SEO means:

  • backlinks
  • more backlinks
  • and then some more

Basically, your content is the foundation, the backlinks are the walls, the roof ... and everything else. Oddly, if you're lucky, you won't need to do backlink. Some people just have a gift for writing about topics that others are drawn to and find that they're giving links purely based upon that attractiveness of what they've written.

Unfortunately that's not the norm. The ability to earn a passive income online generally relates to how much off page effort you're willing to put in.

But - it's also about working smart ... not so much working hard. There are a lot of guys and gals on the web that earn a considerable income online and they're usually the ones that aren't trying to sell you some ridiculous get rich quick scheme.

They understand the rules and realise what it is they need to do.

If you're just starting out, consider writing somewhere like HubPages, or InfoBarrels. You'll pick up the basics and learn the methods that underpin what it means to earn a passive income. The only way to start out online is to begin working online - so consider using a web optimized site that makes it easier for you. A place that takes out some of the early confusion.

Because when it comes to writing online - the waters can get very muddy. Oily even. So stay away from the slick and start in the shallow water. Paddle first ... swim later.

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