The Truth About Making Money Online - From My Experience

A lot of people think that making money online is some sort of secret, like winning a lottery or like a scam. 

It’s not. 

Just like any other profession, it's a lot of hard work. 

Just like any other business, there’s risk involved. 

And it’s definitely not easy for beginners. 

Let me give you an example. 

Think about it like catching fish in the ocean. 

You are a new fisherman, and you go fishing into the ocean. 

It’s your first day. 

You see other’s catching fish with ease, and celebrating. It looks super-easy. 

But you can’t. Not even a single one even after trying for hours. 

You end up feeling frustrated, and think they must have some sort of trick to do this. 

And you decide to quit without trying any more. 

What’s happening here is you are seeing the end result, and not the years of hard work. 

Your fellow fishermen have tried and failed hundreds of times and know exactly what works, where to look for fish, which kind of nets to use, they understand the movement of fish, weather conditions, etc.  

You need to be patient. You might be new to the business and in the first phase of the learning curve. 

My Story

I tried multiple ideas in the beginning. 

I failed multiple times.  

And Eventually understood what’s working for me. 

Just to give you an idea - in the initial years, I tried working as a freelance Resume Writer, DropShipping business, Motivational Coach, etc - none of them worked out. 

Here’s what I do for a living today (online business)

1. Digital Marketing Consultant

2. Corporate Trainer

3. Live Workshops

4. Sell eBooks

5. LinkedIn Personal Branding Clients

I have a team of 3 interns and 2 freelancers. 

All of this comes from the small community of 55,000+ followers I have built on LinkedIn in the last 2 years. 

What I haven’t explored so far :

1. YouTube

2. Affiliate Marketing

3. Google Adsense

4. Brand Collaboration

5. Podcast

Trust me, there’s no need to do everything. 

In the beginning, you need to do one thing, and be good at it. 

You can go at your own pace, and choose what you are comfortable with.

Pick your battles wisely. 

How did I do this? Is there a secret? 

I can tell you from experience that my whole business depends on only one thing - sharing valuable content online everyday. 

You don’t need to be a great writer. You share stuff that’s relevant and helpful to the people in your network. Do it consistently for 6 months and watch your network grow. 

Once you have an audience you can explore multiple ways of monetising. You will receive multiple opportunities. 

How to Make Money Online (7 Ways That Actually Work)

There are multiple ways. You need to test and try what's working for you.

1. Freelancing - You can pick up one skill and become an expert in it and then sell your services. For example - writing, graphic design, website development, coding, etc. It's not tough to get started as a freelancer, what’s tougher is to build your brand, sustain the business and get premium clients.  

2. Consulting - If you have a strong brand and people trust you for your expertise, you can charge only for consulting for 1 or 2 hours. As a consultant you only work at a strategy level, guiding the team, and giving ideas. I have worked with clients who paid me Rs. 10,000 for a 1 hour call.

3. Social Media Influencer - If you have a big following, brands in your industry would love to collaborate with you and pay you to promote their products/services. This will take time. You need to first build an audience to get brand deals. You need to consistently create content and share it online and grow your followers. Eventually brands will reach out to you. 

4. YouTube - If you are good with the camera, start recording videos. You can just start with your phone. Pick a topic and start creating content that’s helpful, interesting and engaging. You need to learn video-editing skills.

5. Online Courses/Workshops - Build a course on a topic you are really good at and make it unique by adding things from your experience. Initially sell at a low price and start your journey. You need to build an audience first, in order to sell. I have conducted workshops with 500+ people in 1 batch. You can join the next batch here

6. Affiliate Marketing - You can earn commissions by sharing affiliate links of products with your audience. When someone makes a purchase after clicking on the links, you make a small commission. This works like a charm when you have a big following on social media or huge traffic on your website. You need to learn SEO to increase traffic for your website. I am currently working on this.

7. Selling eBooks - Digital products like eBooks/templates can be another source of passive income. You need to spend time creating content that’s helpful to your readers, and people would love to buy. 

My first eBook “How To Start A Career in Digital Marketing” is out for sale. You can get a copy here. 

The big question remains :

Can you make money online?

My Answer - Yes. 

Can you start today and make money online tomorrow?

Probably, No. 

Pro Tip -

Forget about earning money online. Create value for people.

Money will come eventually. It’s the same with any business.

Don’t expect anything magical to happen overnight. You need to work hard and be consistent for at least 6 months. You need to experiment with a no. of ideas and see what's working for you.  

But it’s definitely possible. 

If you have doubts, feel free to reach out.

Join my exclusive Telegram Channel at @surojitmahatofficial

Cheers !!

Surojit