Don't Put All of Your... (Part Two)

Photo by Ccharmon on Flickr

• Loaves in one bread holder
• Efforts in one website
• Cookies in one jar
• Supplies in one backpack
• Cars in one garage
• Horses in one stable

Okay. So, we all know that we shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket if you want to have a fairly consistent online income.

In the previous post, I mentioned that my only source of income was from freelance writing for only one client (Demand Media Studios).

I should be working on diversifying my freelance writing income, but instead, I want to focus on gathering other sources of income that aren't related to freelance writing. In this post, I will explore some possible new sources of income for me.

Freelance Work

One goal of mine is to take two classes to learn how to design websites with HTML. Once I take these classes, I plan to put my newly learned skills to good use by designing sites and blogs for other people. I think building websites for private clients in-between my freelance writing work will save me from burnout.

Unfortunately, I'm not very knowledgeable about web design. I have a feeling I will spend years practicing before I'll be able to create a website a client will be happy to pay for.

If I enjoy creating websites, I won't mind the long learning curve. On the other hand, if I don't really like web design, I'll probably move on to something else before I become proficient at creating websites.

Niche Websites

I definitely think that I have the potential to earn a few hundred dollars a month by creating niche websites. Of course, this will take a lot of work and effort on my part, but the mostly passive income will be worth it.

I'm not too sure when I'll get around to creating my first (well, second) niche website, but I'm hoping to start next month. Hopefully, I won't be so impatient about my niche website this time around...

Revenue Sharing Websites

Hubpages, Squidoo, and Info Barrel are three revenue sharing websites where users can post articles to make passive income. I don't really think it's a good idea to try making money on revenue sharing websites now because of the big Panda update, but it is something I"m constantly thinking about.

Perhaps I could post a few articles on these websites to get the hang of SEO before starting my first niche websites. If I experiment with keywords on these websites and fail, I'll only be out of a few hours of effort.

Even after writing this post, I'm still a bit confused about which stream of revenue I should experiment with first. I want to start creating niche websites, but I'm still thinking about other possible streams of income that I didn't mention above, such as creating and selling eBooks.

Don't Put All of Your... (Part One)

OT: Is it me, or are some of the eggs in that basket (er, bowl) bluish?

• Pencils in one pencil box
• Documents in one folder
• Socks in one drawer
• Words in one sentence
• Seeds in one garden
• Money in one wallet

In case you can't comprehend what I'm trying to say (because of my very poor attempt of trying to being original), don't put all of your eggs in one basket. By relying on one source of income, you are putting yourself in a bad position, and for obvious reasons.

Anyway, this post isn't about why you should diversify you income, nor is this post isn't about how to diversify your income either. (Honestly, I'm in no position to write a how-to post on multiple streams of income, and you'll see why later in this post). Nope. This is the first part of a three-part series (small series, I know, but you gotta start somewhere) about how I plan to diversify my online income.

Current Income Per Month

Just a wad of cash I had lying around... (Kidding!)

Freelance Writing Income

Currently, the only money I'm earning as a freelance writer is from Demand Media Studios. I'm planning to use this lone egg (or seed) to earn $1,000 per month for now.

I suppose I should be trying to find more clients, but I think I'm going to stop focusing on my part-time freelancing career in favor of other income possibilities online. I love to write, but I can't seem to write more than a few articles per day... I need something else to do in-between all the writing I do to avoid burnout.

Demand Media Studios is my only online income... (Go ahead, shake your heads disapprovingly). Fortunately, this will not be my only income by the end of the year. In fact, my short-term goal is to have at least three sources of income in total by the end of the year. I know these sources won't give me the three grand per month I desire, but it'll surely be a stepping-stone for me.

Cheers to finding more wallets for my moola!

April Goals

In March, I made $733.06 as a part-time freelance writer. (This money also includes work from last month; I base my earnings on all transactions in my PayPal account). It's not as much as I used to make, but this is good money for me after losing so many private clients due to Google changes and the economy.

Most of the money came from Demand Studios ($510). I only started with them during the second week of March, so I except to make about 25% to 40% more with them in April.

Come April 30, I hope to have at least $1200 worth of transactions in my PayPal account. I definitely think I can accomplish this goal, especially with Demand Studios on my side.

Weekly Workload

• 16 DS Articles ($240)
• Five Private Client Articles ($52)
• One Bright Hub Article ($10)

= $302 for 24 articles

With my current weekly workload, I still have enough time to squeeze in some blogging and marketing. I really want to get better private clients, since an average of $12.50 per article isn't really worth my time. Hopefully, the articles I write for the content mills will help get my name out there. (Ghostwriting for clients pays well, yet it doesn’t help at all in this department).

As for my blogging goals, the main thing I want to do in April is get about twenty posts up. Once I accomplish this goal, I'll start promoting this blog more aggressively. I realize that it isn't very smart to spend multiple hours marketing a blog that only has two or three posts up. I mean, what's the point?

In late April, I want to start thinking about writing an eBook to make extra cash while branding myself as a reputable freelance writer. I'll probably only end up picking a topic and creating an outline. If I manage to do at least that, I'll definitely start writing it in May and I'll finish it by June (or July). Yup... April obviously won't be too busy!

What goals do you want to accomplish in April?