Making Money Online Is Not ‘That’ Easy.

Yes, it’s possible, and the income potential is pretty darn high, but no one really tells you exactly what it takes.

I’ve mentioned a few times how I’m giving affiliate and digital marketing a second try, and this time making the commitment to give it a fair shot.

This means sticking with it for a year or more to see what results I get.

What am I doing exactly? Let me tell you.

I consider Medium my primary content outlet.

Which means I’m not creating content from scratch on any other platform. I only write; for now.

I write about two blogs per week and share them on other social media platforms to hopefully get some traffic.

I rely on the existing audience Medium has to get views, claps, and, most importantly, reading time. That’s how you can make money on Medium.

You can also use affiliate marketing here. Which I have not tried, but I’ll get there.

The process of making money online is made to appear relatively simple.

The formula provided by people who say they make a living from digital or affiliate marketing is basically the same.

Post quality content that attracts an audience and solves a problem. Post consistently, adjust your content as needed, keep posting and watch the magic happen.

Yet no one says exactly what they have done or are doing.

At least I haven’t come across someone who’s completely transparent with their process (if you know of someone, please let me know).

If someone does share everything, it may be for a price. Hence courses.

Now, I’m not blaming these people and saying they are the reason why those new to affiliate marketing and digital marketing can’t make it.

Not at all.

What I am saying is them telling us it’s easy and simple is not exactly true.

Like any new skill, making money online requires learning, trial, and error until a certain level of mastery is reached.

Right now, I feel like a complete newbie. Like a baby just learning to stand on its legs but still struggling to stay upright.

Here’s my current strategy — I’m reposting my Medium content on Pinterest.

I’m repurposing my Medium content.

I hope it will drive traffic to my blogs on Medium and increase my subscribers and reading time.

This is also helping me build an audience on a separate platform without making new content.

Here’s the big question — Is it working? Too soon to tell.

I’ve been posting consistently for the past month or so and have yet to see anyone migrate to my blog.

I have written over ninety blogs here. That’s a lot of content that I can reuse.

You may be wondering — What does repurposing look like?

Here’s what I do. I head over to Canva and create a Pinterest Pin or video using one of their free templates.

I use my blog content to create quote posts. I spruce them with images, animations, and music and post them to Pinterest.

In the month I have been posting consistently, my views increased tremendously. I went from zero to over one-thousand views so far.

But has anyone clicked the link I leave on these posts? So far, no.

Will they? Maybe. My hope is they will.

This is the part where I believe many of us throw in the towel and say, ‘it doesn’t work.’

It’s also an aspect of growing an audience that’s not communicated as much as it should be.

There’s going to be a time when you feel like you’re in limbo.

You’re doing all this work, posting consistently, creating new content, or repurposing your best content, yet no one is interacting with it.

Here’s where patience and resolve need to come in.

I think people who sell courses and teach others how to make money online should have an entire section dedicated to this waiting period.

Some people are going to get results pretty early on, and that’s great.

They’re going to be thrilled to make money online pretty quickly. But for the vast majority, this isn’t going to be their story.

Those who put in work for a month, two, three, or six may not see a dollar or just a few dollars that can maybe get them a coffee.

And I mean the most basic coffee. It won’t be enough for lattes, macchiatos, or fancy drinks.

There’s no guarantee that you will make money.

Here’s another kicker — there’s no promise, no written contract or document that says you WILL make money.

I believe this is a big reason people quit too early or don’t start.

When you have a job, the money is guaranteed to come in every week or so.

You don’t have to worry whether the money will be deposited into your account. That’s the promise an employer makes.

When you pursue making money online, there’s no way to tell when or if you will make money.

That’s a pretty scary thought considering the fact that we’re about to hit another recession.

But the beauty of freelance digital marketing is that you can do it part-time. You can start while still working a nine-to-five.

But again, there’s no promise that you will make money, let alone make enough to say goodbye to your boss.

I’m not writing this to scare anyone off from trying to make money online or starting an affiliate or digital marketing side hustle.

What I do want to do is communicate the reality of what the process looks like.

It’s going to take time; it’s going to take effort. It will take mental fortitude and patience that you’ve never had to use before.

Can it work? Heck yes! But if it were easy, everyone would be an entrepreneur, making money online and working for themselves.

The truth is, this is not for the faint of heart.

The process of creating your own business, whether it is online or not, will require you to grow as a person.

It will require everything you have and are, and then more.

Don’t be scared to try to make something of your own. But be aware of what the road ahead may look like.

The opportunity to make money online will probably get your life back, but you’ll have to fight tooth and nail for it.

Tell me, what are some lessons you learned from trying to make money online?