Do any "real" people make money with AdSense/AdWords??

[dmauder]

I've been spending a bunch of time lately contemplating this whole AdWords / AdSense thing... In fact, last night I was watching the "pre-launch" video for some new ebook called "Day Job Killer" (I think). The guy shows where he makes over $1M/yr from just 4 of his ClickBank accounts. Yet, he claims to have a total of 10 CB accounts, so that's just a portion of what he makes.

He's making all this money by running AdWords campaigns and promoting affiliate products. Great for him! Assuming it's the truth, there seems to be a secret society of people who have figured how to make big money this way. The rest of us, me included, continue to struggle along, investing money in clicks, and not getting much in return.

It's not that I don't trust or believe the so-called "gurus" out there. Well, OK, yes it is... I mean - I just have to believe they are making the big money by selling their training programs, ebooks and private website memberships to gullible people like me. Sure, they might make a little from AdWords, but it's probably no more than I'm able to make on my own.

Last year I had a little success with AdWords campaigns, but then I think I fell victim to click fraud because my daily budget would be met very early in the morning, and then my ads would stop displaying. Of course, there were no sales to go along with all those clicks!

So... The question, and reason for my post, is -- does anyone here (normal, everyday people only please) actually make money using AdWords and/or AdSense?? And when I say "money", I mean something that could legitimately replace a full time income of, say, $60-$80K per year.

If you have unlocked the secrets to AdWords riches, would you be willing to share how you did it? What ebooks did you read? What training courses did you purchase? What "guru(s)" did you learn from?

I'm dying to know! Thanks!

Dave

[icesar]

Hi Mauder. That's a good question, and I think the answer is another question. What do you mean by "normal, everyday people?"

There are many people making the kind of income you're asking about (mind you, I'm not one of them). Steve is one of them. Darren Rowse of Make Money Online with ProBlogger Blog Tips is another. You need only look at the SitePoint : New Articles, Fresh Thinking for Web Developers and Designers marketplace to see numerous sites that people have built up to this kind of income and are now selling. Are they normal, everyday people? Probably. They're also hard-working, goal-oriented, and persistent.

I'm with you though, I would love to hear from some of them, if they are indeed lurking about these forums

[Brutha]

I would recommend the following video from Rich Schefren.

[prasad_lg]

Hello, Let me take my case-

I accidentally got to know about "Making money through AdSense/Affilliates" 6 months ago. I started a website on my own (I am nt a web developer. i used teh free tools) and it was fetching aroud a 1/2 $ a day what ever I do by sending emails.. posting in forums etc etc... Spent somany hours reading forums... asrticles.. blogs about the experiences and ideas... I own 2 websites of different market segments ( Travel & Jobs). Now an average I get 150$ a month for last 2 months. It is increasing.... I am sure AdSense works and I can make 150$ a day If I complete implementing couple of my websites developed by professional web developer. I am targetting an affilliate focussed website whcih I can see some money too..

I read articles about people who make 1m USD in every 3 months from AdSense. Read "Success Stories" in Google AdSense website. They also list the name of the websites.

Good Luck to you! Don't give up!!

[alexb5784]

There are loads of people making money with Adsense. Why? Because they took the time and were persistent in finding a system that worked for them.

Plenty people think that one day Steve just said "I'm going to put Adsense on the site." then all of a sudden money just started pouring in that very same week. But I'm 1000% sure, he played around with different layouts, until he found one that was the most profitable. It took lot of experimenting and trail & error to get it right. Plus he said it took a few months before he made any money at all. I think by the 5 or 6th month, he was only making $100 a month. But he kept trying, and after some time and a lot of planning, he built up his revenue to what it is now.

When you ask a question of "Are any real people able to...", you're saying that you don't really believe you can do what the other person has done. If someone else is able to do it, and they can prove that it has been done, then why can't you?

Don't seperate yourself. There is no "them" and "me". It's "us". And we can all do it or anything else, IF we take the time and effort to learn and take risks.

Now granted, I'm not talking about some cheap real estate tatics from snake oil salesmen, because they lie. But if honest people like Steve or Darren can do it, so can you. And Steve even tells you how he did it! Go figure

[dmauder]

Thanks for the great responses so far!

I guess I should clarify what I meant by "real people"...

Basically, the "not-so-real" people are the big-name gurus who are selling all the courses, ebooks and private website memberships that teach HOW to make money from AdWords and/or AdSense.

Sure, these people all have stories of how they started from nothing and supposedly became rich through the methods they teach. But, I only know them as famous online marketing gurus that have HUGE mailing lists and HUGE followings already.

OK, so the "real" people then would be all the ones (like me) who work regular jobs and buy all the courses to learn how to make money online so we can get out of the rat race. We've tried a bazillion things and nothing seems to work. Yet, we keep reading sales pitch after sales pitch from the slick marketers that claim we can make a killing by simply running a few Google ads and promoting some affiliate products. No website required. No inventory required. No list building required. No meetings. No phone calls. No this, no that... blah blah blah...

It seems that when I lurk around the internet and read chatter from the "real" people, they are all talking about how they lose money on one thing after another. It certainly sounds like they've tried, but failed - over and over again. One starts to believe that the successful marketers are holding something back and not really sharing the truth about how to (and how they) make money online.

I have to wonder how many folks actually follow through and DO what they are taught in the information they buy. I'm guilty of it myself. I might buy one ebook and read half of it. Then I get sucked in by another slick sales letter, so I buy another ebook and read part of that. Then I find a website that is giving away "free" info on the same thing, so I shift direction again to see what they have to offer. And so it goes...

This is turning into a great thread. I'd love to hear from some of those "real" people I mentioned who are really making money with AdWords.

Thanks!

Dave

[dmauder]

Originally Posted by Brutha

I would recommend the following video from Rich Schefren.

Damn it... I'm 21 minutes into the video and I'm TOTALLY mesmerized! I can just feel the sale pitch coming. Should I hold on tight to my wallet??

Seriously though, this guy is GOOD! I can't wait to see what he's really selling.

Thanks for the link.

Dave

[Brad Isaac]

I guess I'm a real person - last time I checked anyway - and I do well with it.

Whatever you read in the books, see in the videos or hear on the audios realize this... making money with Adwords/Adsense is work. It's direct response advertising work. The second you start thinking it's "easy money" there will be some pain coming.

For me it's pleasurable work, copywriting has been a hobby of mine since 1992. It's a never ending puzzle. So if you like the idea of writing, specifically copywriting, testing, writing, doing statistical analysis, oh and writing... Then it's a pretty fun hobby or side job. I don't do too much of the affiliate thing, but instead focus on products - but it's still direct response marketing.

Remember the story you aren't hearing is how much money is invested to do $30k in business.

If he's paying 50cents a click and it takes 20 clicks to sell 1 product, he's paid $10 up front to play the odds of selling the product. What happens if it takes 40 clicks to sell the product? There is a lot of ROI (return on investment) analysis that you must do to keep ahead of the game.

There will be hits and misses along the way. You'll have to find a niche and probably lose some money before you make it so you can learn the lessons.

If you decide it is for you, here are some tips... master 3-5 keywords at a time. Don't throw your money at 2000 keywords right off the bat. Get your 3-5 keywords rolling so they produce money consistently and then add to your list.

It's tough to do, but take the slow cautious way. Set up your campaigns carefully and test results.

Hope this helps

[Rapid]

Hi. Has anyone here experimented with listing his/her online store in the Yahoo! Shopping directory? It costs 50 cents per click when a potential customer is directed to your store.

To me advertising using Adwords seems a lot more complicated because one needs to play with key words, determine max. cost per day and cost per click, etc.

I wonder whether those people who go to Yahoo! Shopping already have specific products in mind or are they mostly browsers (i.e. punch in key words and scroll through the results list)? Any statistics available on this topic?

[dmauder]

Originally Posted by Brad Isaac

I guess I'm a real person - last time I checked anyway - and I do well with it.

Whatever you read in the books, see in the videos or hear on the audios realize this... making money with Adwords/Adsense is work. It's direct response advertising work. The second you start thinking it's "easy money" there will be some pain coming.

Thanks Brad, but how did you learn? Any particular courses/ebooks you recommend?

For me it's pleasurable work, copywriting has been a hobby of mine since 1992. It's a never ending puzzle. So if you like the idea of writing, specifically copywriting, testing, writing, doing statistical analysis, oh and writing... Then it's a pretty fun hobby or side job. I don't do too much of the affiliate thing, but instead focus on products - but it's still direct response marketing.

Me too - I love this type of work!

Do you mean you create your own products?

Remember the story you aren't hearing is how much money is invested to do $30k in business.

If he's paying 50cents a click and it takes 20 clicks to sell 1 product, he's paid $10 up front to play the odds of selling the product. What happens if it takes 40 clicks to sell the product? There is a lot of ROI (return on investment) analysis that you must do to keep ahead of the game.

Oh, I know. It seems pretty common to spend $10 (on PPC) in order to make $15 or $20.

If you decide it is for you, here are some tips... master 3-5 keywords at a time. Don't throw your money at 2000 keywords right off the bat. Get your 3-5 keywords rolling so they produce money consistently and then add to your list.

Great advice!

Dave

[jthayes]

Originally Posted by Brutha

I would recommend the following video from Rich Schefren.

Thanks for the link. I found it very interesting and informative.

[dmauder]

In doing some research, I found out that Google is basically wanting to rid themselves of thin affiliate marketers. I proved this last night to myself when I was doing some keyword research and thought I'd found an awesome untapped niche. So... I found a great product at clickbank, worked myself up a new adwords campaign, and tried to activate it. Google came back with a $10 minimum bid on ALL my keywords in order to make the ads active!

This forum discussion I found talks more about it - Google AdWords Ridding Themselves of Affiliates

Any thoughts on this from more experienced AdWords marketers out there?

Dave

[AndrewJ]

My Adsense has been dropping a bit so I'm moving into affiliate marketing with Adwords and also my own product creation.

Andrew

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by dmauder

In doing some research, I found out that Google is basically wanting to rid themselves of thin affiliate marketers.

Seems like a good idea that should improve the quality of their service.

[darkmoon]

I tried the click flipping system a couple of times. But it never worked for me.
I never bought any e-books about it though. Maybe they contain the secret of how to find a profitable keyword/affiliate combination? But then, if it's in a book, chances are others are using it, and it wont stay profitable for long

[Dwane J.]

I have a 3 static sites and 1 blog. Since I started 16 months ago I have grossed whopping $215 from these sites. In addition I have some clickbank and commission junction ads and to date have zero sales.

Can it be real money? Maybe for some, but you need to invest real money into the site's marketing to be successful. Often, this is never discussed. If you have an interest in something then by all means go for it. It can be a great learning experience.

This post on entrepreneurs journey sums up my feelings on adsense/adwords.
Why A Preeminent Business Is Superior To Money Making Opportunities » Internet Business Blog | Entrepreneurs-Journey.com - by Yaro Starak

Will I continue with it, not sure. It's a good feeling to have "a" source of cash flowing in. However it won't be anything I can live off of for some time, if ever. It's easy to get your hopes up on a two dollar day or a one dollar click.

[webwhiting]

Hello,

Generating income with adsense/adwords is a lot of work and will take some creativity, patience, tenacity and longsuffering. There are a lot of resources out there. I have been with adsense/adwords for 14 months and have not generated any income yet. But don't go by me I guess I am not the norm.

Infodocktor

[frankfortpost]

So would you consider adwords to be the best thing out there currently?

I use the Microsoft Live web builder, and have to insert javascript using an iframe, which hasn't been real successful for me.

When I try to insert it in my wordpress blog, I use the text widget, and insert the javascript, and it doesn't work. Same problem when I try to insert it between posts.

So I can't even get adsense to work! lol.

[Lucas]

Originally Posted by dmauder

Thanks for the great responses so far!

I guess I should clarify what I meant by "real people"...

Basically, the "not-so-real" people are the big-name gurus who are selling all the courses, ebooks and private website memberships that teach HOW to make money from AdWords and/or AdSense.

Sure, these people all have stories of how they started from nothing and supposedly became rich through the methods they teach. But, I only know them as famous online marketing gurus that have HUGE mailing lists and HUGE followings already.

OK, so the "real" people then would be all the ones (like me) who work regular jobs and buy all the courses to learn how to make money online so we can get out of the rat race. We've tried a bazillion things and nothing seems to work. Yet, we keep reading sales pitch after sales pitch from the slick marketers that claim we can make a killing by simply running a few Google ads and promoting some affiliate products. No website required. No inventory required. No list building required. No meetings. No phone calls. No this, no that... blah blah blah...

It seems that when I lurk around the internet and read chatter from the "real" people, they are all talking about how they lose money on one thing after another. It certainly sounds like they've tried, but failed - over and over again. One starts to believe that the successful marketers are holding something back and not really sharing the truth about how to (and how they) make money online.

I have to wonder how many folks actually follow through and DO what they are taught in the information they buy. I'm guilty of it myself. I might buy one ebook and read half of it. Then I get sucked in by another slick sales letter, so I buy another ebook and read part of that. Then I find a website that is giving away "free" info on the same thing, so I shift direction again to see what they have to offer. And so it goes...

This is turning into a great thread. I'd love to hear from some of those "real" people I mentioned who are really making money with AdWords.

Thanks!

Dave

A lot of people will tell you that the secret is action, and it is, but they leave out part of it. It is consistent action every single day. It doesn't even need to be a big action, small consistent ones will add up over time. However, if you aren't doing anything every day, or only working on your project once a week, you may not see the results. If you are working on it every day, and don't see results, then change your actions.

Regardless, opportunity does not negate the fact you have to put effort in.


Remember too, no one knew who Steve Pavlina was in the beginning of 2005, but he built up his income and position with consistent action every day.

[Caveman Joe]

Ten cents a click?
Fifty cents a click?!
What? Why are you spending so much on getting people to your sites?

As of right now, here are the stats from my two Project Wonderful campaigns, which I started the day before yesterday:

2-cent bids on button ads:
347 Unique clicks
$6.42 spent so far
1.85 cents per click

5-cent bids on banner, halfbanner, square, leaderboard and skyscraper ads:
521 Unique clicks
$14.13 spent so far
2.71 cents per click

The traffic isn't as well-targeted, but it's so much cheaper that it provides a much better target for my advertising budget. Here's an article I wrote on AdWords vs Project Wonderful:

Project Wonderful Talk - Hitting Five Hundred

[VacMan]

The guy who owns Plentyoffish.com Free Online Dating Service & Dating Site

Does about 10 mil a year in just adsense clicks.

He does not use any type of formal advertising, even adwords.

As far as I know it's all word of mouth/viral marketing that drives traffic, and he just collects the clicks.

[RichGrad]

I have made money from adsense before. As for adwords, I'm still experimenting.

The recent changes in the clickability area for adsense ads have negatively affected quite a number of bloggers. It's really up to you. You can consider monetizing by other means...