Written on October 9th, 2009 at 01:10 am by Jade Craven
How One Blogger Made $3k a month by Helping People – And How He Can Help You
A Guest post by Jade Craven.
Have you heard of Johnny B Truant? He started writing at ‘The Economy Isn’t Happening’ but recently, he revealed he’s made $10′000 in 3 months. In his Ittybiz column, he told how he made nearly $3′000 in one month. He’s also written a couple of guest posts here on ProBlogger here and here.
What really attracted me to him was that he didn’t earn this money by taking advantage of people or using questionable tactics. He did it by finding out what people wanted and providing them with a solution that benefited them both.
In this post, I’ll talk about how Johnny did it. I’ll provide strategies and case studies so you can apply these tips to your on blog. I’ll even talk about the tactics he used to promote his killer new ecourse, for those who are looking at selling information products from their blog.
Finally, I’ll give you an exclusive discount for that e-course Zero to Business – just skip to the bottom if you want 10% off.
4 Ways To Earn Money By Helping People
Give Free Stuff strategically
How Johnny did this:
- He released a free instructional ebook about setting up a blog.
- He did free website setups in return for testimonials
How You Can Do this
- Barter your services with other skilled bloggers
- Release an introductory report
- Do free work in return for references or exposure
- Do case studies highlighting your skills.
Case studies.
- Leo Babauta, Skellie and Chris Garret got a lot of exposure because of their guest posting.
- Neil Creek takes headshots of attendees at twitter meetups for use on their social media sites. He has received a lot of praise over this, both from the local twitter community and international photographers. He has gone on to get many more clients and enquiries.
- Darren used to do case studies on his blog as an advertisement for his consulting. He no longer offers this service.
Provide calls to action regularly
How Johnny did this:
- He would frequently have P.S at the end of his post – including a few humorous ones
- He would simply state “Call to Action”
How you can provide calls to action:
- In the conclusion of the post, tell the reader what you want them to do
- Give them an incentive to click through
Case Studies:
- Ali Hales guest post on Problogger. She talked about the topic of staff blogging before encouraging people to check out her ecourse. As an extra incentive, she gave the readers a discount code.
- Dave Navarros post on Freelance Folder, where he encouraged the readers to give an example in the comments.
Find your people.
How Johnny did this:
- He got a guest posting slot of Ittybiz, offering himself as a case study
- He is on the faculty of Project Mojave
- He has guest posted on the places where his target readership hangs out
How to do this:
- Find blogs that attract the kind of people you want to target. See if you can guest post on that blog.
- Seek work and joint venture opportunities
- Look for regular writing opportunities
Case studies.
I don’t need to offer any case studies. Look around at your favourite blogs. Do you see the same people being featured? Are the same people interacting? They are the loyal fans.
Are you a loyal fan of anyone? You’ll usually find you tend to hang out in that persons group. You may buy from more than one person. These are the people you want to connect with.
Selling something? Focus on selling solutions.
How Johnny did this
- He offered wordpress installs at a discounted price. To compensate, he asked that people buy through his affiliate link
- He sold group coaching to those that couldn’t afford the price of individual coaching..
- When realizing that people were still needing information, he created a course that was cheaper than getting Johnny to help them through the process.
How you can do this:
- See if you can offer a service at a discounted rate in exchange for purchasing something through their affiliate link
- Find creative ways of making your products more affordable without underpricing yourself.
- Listen to your audiences needs and create products to help them.
Case Studies:
- Sarah Prout does this in her Twitter Success Blueprint. She realized that businesses needed an affordable way to learn about twitter, so she created an ebook with information catered to professionals, as well as other twitter users.
- Men with Pens do this with their blog critiques. They offer a discount for ones offered on the blog.
I know many people hate being sold too. Rather than promote his course Zero to Business, I’ll talk about what you can learn from it.
What you can learn from the course
There are three main things I loved about the promotion strategy:
- He created humorous videos with viral potential.
- He purposely avoided hype in his sales page
- He provided real and useful bonuses
Lets discuss how you can learn from each strategy.
The Humorous videos.
- He mocked a number of the key sales tactics in the internet marketing niche
- In his letter to his affiliates, he recommended that people promote the videos rather than the product
So – how can you adopt this to your launch?
- Offering a quality resource that your affiliates can promote
- Mock some of the common techniques used in product launches in your niche
Avoiding Hype
- Johnny repeated several times that this product would provide technical solutions. It not make them rich.
- He then explained the costs of learning this if you paid his normal consulting fees.
So – how can you adopt this to your launch?
- Talk about the practical reasons about how your product can help someone
- Explain to them how your solution is better value than the alternative
Cool Bonuses
- He provided individual coaching to the first five people that signed up
- He offered group coaching to those who signed up by a certain date.
So – how can you adopt this to your launch?
- Offer bonuses that are exclusive and are not freely available to other marketers
- Offer bonuses that will provide real value to the majority of your buyers
My call to action:
- If you want 10% off Johnnys e-course, Zero to Business, just use the word ‘problogger‘ as the discount code. Its that easy.
- If you want to check out Johnnys blog, go on over to his fancy new site.
- If you want rants about zombies, check out his twitter feed.
76 Responses to “How One Blogger Made $3k a month by Helping People – And How He Can Help You” - Add Yours
JoshuaElliot
October 9th, 2009 2:10 am
Ya, to provide additional services that others are not providing. This way you will not just help them and also help yourself in getting new sale.
Amy Harrison
October 9th, 2009 2:33 am
I’ve been following Johhny for a few months – his blog posts that is, not literally…
He’s a good symbol out there of how to get moving and put things into action. If you’re looking for a bit of motivation as well as the value he offers in his courses I definitely recommend you check him out.
Pascal
October 9th, 2009 2:44 am
Johnny Truant’s success formula is simple – Help Others.
No need to do lot of case studies for explaining his success.
I am going to launch my blog http://www.RedisRed.com on October 14th. My blog motto also the same.
I’ve planned to help people for making money online in different way. I’ll walk with them to success without asking any money to guide them.
So My success also sure, :)
Stefan | StudySuccessful.com
October 9th, 2009 3:38 am
‘Giving away free stuff’
But on the end of the post there is a link to a 300$ product?
Don’t get me wrong, the product is niche related and all, but I find this a strange post..
mark j
October 9th, 2009 3:42 am
its really best article about blogger making a money.. good info too.
Emily Clark
October 9th, 2009 3:42 am
Well, after reading all this useful information, I was really in the mood to rant about zombies… but the twitter link is broken. Might want to update it. :-)
Rajput
October 9th, 2009 3:50 am
Although Johnny B Truant does gets high volume of traffic but still he is able to make the said amount from his blog. Really amazing. Further it will be a pleasure to read a post regarding earning from blogs without ad sense or any banner adverting.
Surender Sharma
October 9th, 2009 4:23 am
Hi darren,
I am completely agree with the opinion of Jade Craven.Even many people expose their services by giving free themes developed by them.
Really wonderful case studies…
steven chang
October 9th, 2009 5:22 am
Excellent write-up on providing value to readers before asking for anything. Great tip on making call-to-action transparent – I think I will try that on my next blog post :).
Jade Craven
October 9th, 2009 6:54 am
Steven – thanks for your kind words :-) Johnny has indirectly taught me a lot.
Surender – Glad you liked it. Let me know if you want further case studies and I’ll send you the links to them (they might be on other blogs)
Emily – Either remove the ‘l’ from the end of his name, or look for http://www.twitter.com/johnnybtruant
Amy, thats why I wanted to write about him :-) He just took action instead of talking about it, got a lot of great people behind him and has had a lot of success as a result. I wanted to share this story because it shows its possibly to earn an income within months if you are really strategic about it.
Stefan – I understand your sentiment. The link was mostly for those who wanted the course with the custom discount code. I know of friends who would think it was a bargain – they are busy people who just want the blog and e-commerce part of their site set up.
Giving away so much help was a great way to get testimonials and gave people an incentive to promote him via word of mouth. This is what made the launch of his e-course so successful.
At the end – I only mentioned that there is a 10% discount code, which would benefit some people. I purposely tried to keep any promotion of that course out of this post – in the earlier draft, I did a mini review.
Pascal – I go to a lot of business conferences and interact with clients as part of my job, and the concept of helping people online isn’t as clear as it is to you. I’m really glad you understand it but I wrote this for those who are struggling.
Most of my favorite bloggers are so successful because they help. I got my job because I was really helpful on twitter.
Can I just ask for some feedback? If had to do a blog post about helping others online, what would you have done differently? I find people really like case studies as they can learn more from them.
Chris Guthrie
October 9th, 2009 7:36 am
I rarely comment on posts here (especially since I’ve been reading for 3 years), but this post was so odd I just had to say something.
So this is a guest post about someone else other than the author called Johnny and the premise is that you can make money helping people freely (like Johnny did), yet then throughout the entire post it’s affiliate links to Johnnys paid products?
Confusion…
Lydia, Clueless Crafter
October 9th, 2009 7:57 am
I was “attracted” to Johnny because of his humor. Hands down, the ability to make me laugh when I’m sitting in my office alone will get my readership.
Also, and I don’t think this was his doing, the name – nom de plume?- “Johnny B Truant” captures my imagination. Is he a cowboy harnessing the massive energies of the blog-sphere for the well being of all? OH, what a rogue!
Dana@Online Knowledge
October 9th, 2009 7:57 am
Give a discount trough your affiliate link surely give big impact for selling number. And i see you did it in this article. :D
Teen Blogger
October 9th, 2009 8:20 am
Great Post.
This proves how anyone can make money online, by having a good plan and mindset. $10.000 in 3 months is very impressive
Dave Doolin
October 9th, 2009 8:36 am
Interesting.
I’m going to have to do something different. I have given a fair bit of work away, but only one person has ever returned anything back to me. Ever.
How do the new rules from FTC affect work done for testimonials? Are they regarded as “paid” or solicited testimonials? I don’t quite understand it.
Ryan Biddulph
October 9th, 2009 9:04 am
Very solid advice Jade. As for giving free stuff, people who make the most give the most away. It’s not so much throwing out freebies as it is putting your heart and soul into your work and giving it away freely. Joe Vitale speaks of this in ‘The Greatest Money Making Secret.’
From my personal experience the more I give the more I get.
Tom Wanek
October 9th, 2009 9:52 am
Lot’s of good stuff here. Particularly, I appreciate the tip on avoiding hype and being authentic.
Technology Slice
October 9th, 2009 10:09 am
Good on Johnny. He found out what people wanted and provided a solution that helped them and himself at the same time.
Johnny B. Truant
October 9th, 2009 11:08 am
Hey, thanks to everyone who had good things to say. I mean, I guess thanks to people who have bad things to say too, but there really weren’t any. So far.
Stefan – I get what you’re saying, and I get Jade’s response. My approach was and remains, honestly, more about win-win than altruism. I evolved into higher-end products but still feel it’s a win-win or I wouldn’t do it. I figure it would take a hell of a lot more than $300 in money or time or both to learn the stuff in that course, so we both still benefit.
But yeah, nobody think I’m out to be Ghandi. I’m just saying there’s a way to be in business AND be a giver.
JJ
October 9th, 2009 11:31 am
Does trying to entertain people count? I really have no idea what I am doing but find it interesting to feel my way around. Mostly I want to write something people want to read, vent, sometimes inspire, sometimes get people to click a link for a little dollar nugget, and above all else share my Fattitude of Grattitude.
I am curious if anyone has stories of persistence paying off either with sudden boost in readership over time or a hint of profit after putting in some serious time without one.
Pascal
October 9th, 2009 12:40 pm
@JadeCraven – Yes. Case studies are important to those who are not understanding the concepts in first sight. I love the way you did.
Surely As I was well-known the “Help others” principle, I was not needed Case studies.
Thanks for the reply you made.
Ronblogger
October 9th, 2009 2:45 pm
i really loved reading or watching case studies of those who really succeed,thanks for sharing these infos
Jorge Barba
October 9th, 2009 4:14 pm
I know people here are commenting on how they can use his tactics for the same purpose but if you’re a business owner there’s a much deeper lesson here:
This is a great example of how to generate positive word of mouth for your business.
Helping others, solving problems, just making people happy. Great to read these types of stories.
Jade Craven
October 9th, 2009 5:02 pm
Chris -
writing about other peoples experiences is my way of giving freely. You wouldn’t believe what its done for me. I try not to write about myself when guest posting – I always try to mention the successes that other people have had. Was it that i wrote about someone else, or the affiliate links that annoyed you?
I get no commission from any of the affiliate links. Is that your main reason for offense? If so, would providing a disclosure at the bottom have helped?
I will like to say that elsewhere, I’ve gotten very positive feedback from the post.
Edit: When rereading that, the comment seemed really snarky. What I meant to say was, what could I have done to make it a better experience for you?
JJ – well, just looking at how Johnny entertains people. I started reading his blog because he added humour to his posts. It was a refreshing change and it really helped him to stand out.
Dave – not sure how the FTC rulings affect those that do things for testimonials. I do a lot of freebies in exchange for recommendations and referrals and its a really useful strategy for me.
Ryan – :-) I’m so glad you got the point. Its about using free products as leverage. You give away review copies – I’m actually distributing review copies of products on behalf of a friend because I know the people who can get the most use out of them. Again, its a win/win/win situation in this case.
Its like guest posting on Problogger. I get something for the portfolio. Johnny, who I really admire, gets to share his stuff with a new audience. And the readers get to learn about stuff that took me a long time to learn.
Dana -
Offering a discount with an affiliate link is a tip I now reccomend a lot. Why? Its usually what gets me to buy. Just look at what Ali Hale did with her staff blogging cause. Again, its a solution that helps everyone.
Lydia – thanks for your comment. He is quite the rogue ;)
xx So glad that this post helped some people.
Average Joe
October 9th, 2009 6:22 pm
Your maths don’t stack up. ‘he’s made $10′000 in 3 months. In his Ittybiz column, he told how he made nearly $3′000 in one month.’
To make 10K in 3 months he would have needed to make well over 3k in at least one month. So only making ‘ nearly $3′000 in one month’ equates to alot less than even 9K over 3 months…
The main thing as a blogger is checking your facts and writing about the truth. Not putting a fake statement in the first paragraph!!!!
Jade Craven
October 9th, 2009 6:49 pm
Hi Average Joe :-)
I appreciate your response. I always like it when someone points out a fact but in this case I did, in fact, check my sources.
These statistics occurred over different months and were reported in different articles. The $3000 in that one month grew – perhaps I should have mentioned that. Now, I believe, the income is considerably higher.
The statement was not fake and I hope this helped you to understand. Other than that misinterpretation, did you like the article?
Jorge – thanks for your comment. My job is to actually help businesses with their social media strategy. My boss creates the strategy, but I’m the one that does all the relationships on twitter. The first thing I do? Provide value and help. You wouldn’t believe what this does for our clients. Its amazing.
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach
October 9th, 2009 7:03 pm
Great article! Adding humor and value (and funny PSs too!) will always attract attention. It makes sense not just for business as well!
Giles P. Croft
October 9th, 2009 7:22 pm
Thanks Jade, this is a really useful post. I’m only just getting into the blogging side of things, but can’t agree more about being yourself (Darren’s previous post on Trust outlines this principle marvellously) – it’s how I feel comfortable talking to groups of people about career change.
Some very helpful ideas about products too (something else that’s in the offing), which I’ll definitely bear in mind as I develop my site.
Thank you!
Problogger WP Premium Theme
October 9th, 2009 8:31 pm
Great Post.
This proves how anyone can make money online, by having a good plan and mindset. $10.000 in 3 months is very impressive.
Johnny B. Truant
October 9th, 2009 8:53 pm
@Chris – Dude, I would totally think the same thing, so I see where you’re coming from. From my perspective as the guy selling the stuff, here’s my answer… and note that I’m not speaking for Jade or Darren:
1. Yeah, I totally, absolutely, without question, unabashedly hope people read this and then decide to buy my most expensive product. Like, the post is about, in part, giving stuff away. You know the problem with giving stuff away? The pay SUCKS! So I like it when people put money down. It’s an exchange of value, and everyone wins.
2. If Problogger refers those sales, then I want someone to get a commission.
3. The links to the course really don’t change the meaning of the post. Jade is saying that I started by giving stuff away, then started charging. I still routinely “give away” advice for free, though… just yesterday, @christiaanH on Twitter tweeted a thanks to me for debugging his domain. I didn’t charge him for that.
4. So yeah, I get the mixed message, but I still think it all works. You get: “Here’s what Johnny did; here’s what you can try. But by the way, he makes good money doing it. And by the way, here’s a link to one of those ways.”
5. And what she didn’t say? Please feel free, any of you, to drop me a line any time. I’m @johnnybtruant on Twitter, and my email address is johnny [at] johnnybtruant [dot] com.
—
@Joe – I’ll answer because I’m the guy who, you know, made the money. Also because I’m way too transparent and am sort of building a biz based on talking about things that any normal person would know he shouldn’t talk about online.
My first month, I made $2978.39. But by the three-month mark, I’d gone up to $10,381.19 total, chiefly because June was really good. Now, I’m at around a $6k/month pace. So it’s just from ratcheting up. I don’t think Jade tripped over that, but if there’s confusion, the above is what really happened.
Web Marketing Tips
October 9th, 2009 8:57 pm
Dareen I think this kind of posts from you is keeping you way ahead from other bloggers of your era …
You are still providing us useful and informative with live examples.
You are rocking.
gruner tee
October 9th, 2009 9:31 pm
Thanks a lot for such a nice post! This is a really useful post. I’m only just getting into the blogging side of things, but can’t agree more about being yourself – it’s how I feel very comfortable talking to people about changing their path.
work at home
October 9th, 2009 11:22 pm
First I want to congrats Johnny for his $10′000 in 3 months and secondly I like the tips that he use for earn such a big amount. Here I have one question that the blogger who do not have anything to sell what they will do to increase their traffic?
sam
October 9th, 2009 11:55 pm
I think good for them for providing something unselfish that helps people establish themselves but they still had the ability to make money. This is a great long term strategy as people remember who helps them.
Johnny B. Truant
October 10th, 2009 12:13 am
@work at home – You’re just asked the most famous and most difficult blogging question of all time! I’m no traffic expert, but fortunately there are zillions of articles right here at this sight on building your readership.
EatSmartAgeSmart.com
October 10th, 2009 12:47 am
Hi Darren,
This is an amazing post. I usually wait at night to read your blog, but the subject line was really compelling and I spent time in the morning reading before starting my day … that says a lot.
I quite like the “call to action” at the end of posts!
I really think I will start using that more often.
I recently did to promote a charity that wants to save our Oceans and I asked people to circulate the post and to write their “happy place”.
Here’s the post:
I also started asking people to “rate” videos, but I have not used the “call to action” until the “happy place” post.
After reading this, I think (and can see how) it makes a lot of sense.
I also quite like the idea of offering group coaching or individual coaching as a bonus. This has a lot of value and I will actually use that idea for a future launch of a new product of mine.
Wow- what a great way to start a Friday morning!
Thanks Darren!
Krizia
EatSmartAgeSmart.com
October 10th, 2009 12:51 am
Oops,
I forgot to include an example of a link where I actually had a call to action (you can see how I specifically ask reader to help this great cause to save of Oceans to ensure we can have access to fish and Omega3):
http://www.eatsmartagesmart.com/what-are-you-happy-about/
Once, again, this post is still on my mind and I can tell you that I’ve bookmarked to read it over and over again.
Thanks Darren and thanks Johnny B for sharing. I love the way you do business!!!
Pay it forward like Oprah would say.
Rohit --Sitegorge.com
October 10th, 2009 12:57 am
That’s cool!.
It’s one of the things you can do to get exposure and find yourself some place in this blogosphere!!.
Great going Johnny !!.
pochp
October 10th, 2009 1:14 am
Bravo!
Another post that makes ProBlogger deserve its name.
Best Snowboard Bindings
October 10th, 2009 1:35 am
I really like the humorous video idea. This is so overlooked, but think about how many bored office workers sit around all day watching this stuff. Great advice.
Young
October 10th, 2009 2:35 am
I like this post, and find out that the gust posts are more important than I thought before.
5starshop
October 10th, 2009 2:49 am
This is a very interesting story. Again, Problogger is the best.
Ms. Freeman
October 10th, 2009 3:19 am
This is wonderful post about hope and prosperity by lending a helping hand. Regardless of what the revenue numbers are I still like the idea of be a community leader through action.
I am open to helping others in any way I can. I would love to feature guest bloggers so if anyone would like guest blog on my site please contact me via my blog and lets get this done.
I am also interested in featuring about four 125×125 banners in my side bar for free, I think I should give them away to the top commentators so if you are interested in that please be sure to comment on my blog.
Please let me know what I can do to help out! :)
Ray @ The Stock market Club
October 10th, 2009 6:08 am
Another great post Darren. I think one of the real barriers bloggers face is not finding that affiliate/advertiser that fits for them. Adsense just isn’t going to cut it without the mass traffic. Find someone that will help you make money in your niche, is doesn’t take that much.
problogger 2u2c
October 10th, 2009 6:22 am
great post by jade craven
make money $10k in 3 month is very impress me… I only make $1k after a year ;)
so the answer is “strategy”
Rocky Garcia
October 10th, 2009 6:57 am
If I’m not mistaken, Johnny is one of the editor in Copyblogger and he is a good writer. Thank you so much for revealing this to us Jade.
Johnny B. Truant
October 10th, 2009 7:45 am
Rocky – I love that that perception is out there, but I’m not an editor… yet. Say, you should ping Brian and tell him about his great new editor Johnny. Tell him how much better Copyblogger is now that I’m writing there a few times a month.
But most especially, make sure you tell him that he should start GIVING ME LOTS OF MONEY. That would be awesome.
Robin
October 10th, 2009 10:40 am
People are generally numb to sales pitches these days. Even good products get snubbed, since consumers generally recoil when confronted with these pitches. Johnny’s method is a far better match for savvy, and scam weary potential clients. Doesn’t that describe most all of us.
Fotografo Matrimonio Milano
October 10th, 2009 2:25 pm
It seems that he has a lot of time. But it could work in the long period.
jeu educatifs
October 10th, 2009 3:23 pm
This is a helpful post and like many others here, my brain is “sparking” several ideas I can implement easily. I have only blogged personally so far – but am wading my way into the waters of blogging for profit with helping someone – this is valuable, practical guidance – THANK YOU!
Jenny
October 10th, 2009 3:57 pm
I’m sure it would take a lot of time… but that is however a nice chunk of change for 3 months.
Ricky
October 10th, 2009 5:44 pm
I agree 100% percent we need a change in sales pitches as once people realise its a sales pitch down goes the phone or you hit the back button!
Rahul - Web Guru
October 10th, 2009 8:28 pm
Surely, providing the right solution to the client at the right time is the name of the game.
This will explain to the client how much dedicated we are towards his work.
Mutt Calromina
October 10th, 2009 8:48 pm
Love or helping people is the character of God! Talent, service and mentor is the 3 component of success I have learn from you.
Reza Winandar
October 10th, 2009 11:04 pm
Sharing is a good idea, sharing doesn’t make you poor but makes you even richier.
Blogging Tips
October 10th, 2009 11:23 pm
Great article sharing and helping others is really good.
ITrush
October 10th, 2009 11:40 pm
Very challenging.. hope to reach that kind of amount soon. Thanks for tips Darren, I would definitely implement it right away.
AdSense Revenue Sharing
October 11th, 2009 1:17 am
Interesting and informative post … earn money is not a easy task but it always help if you help others .. I like the post …
umar
October 11th, 2009 7:06 am
Nice method to make money
Christina Sponias
October 11th, 2009 12:05 pm
Thank you for this vision, but I don’t think that I can follow his example… Wish things were much easier.
Doug
October 11th, 2009 2:35 pm
What he is doing is a simple supply and demand play. Starting out he has plenty of time (supply) and little demand (clients). As his time gets scarce, he will charge more and more for his services. I guess it is working out for him. Good for him.
The only problem I have with what he is doing is that it undermines pricing in the freelance market and drives down wages for the rest of us. The other problem I have is that his client is left with a half-baked solution for $100 and they will either have to pay him more to get it right or they will have to get it done themselves. I prefer to provide my clients a total solution without the game playing. It is a good marketing strategy for him that seems to be working, so I can’t say much else about it. He should do well with the Craigslist crowd because they like paying $100 or less for a web site.
Charles Roring
October 11th, 2009 9:56 pm
Getting 10,000 in three months by blogging is very high compared to other bloggers. I think he must have used service such as adwords to promote his blog to get higher traffic.
Johnny B. Truant
October 11th, 2009 11:35 pm
Charles – Not true; I can’t even figure out how to use AdWords. Everything has been done through networking and referral. Here’s a bit more detail, from my approximately-weekly series on IttyBiz. (Language warning; IttyBiz is a rough place): http://ittybiz.com/how-johnny-exposed-himself/
Doug – My hourly rate is actually quite high. Depending on the application, if I’m charging, I never charge less than $100-$150 per hour. It’s tough because people think I’m cheap, but I’m not. I just find ways to 1) give very fast and easy (but good) projects to people with small budgets and to 2) find ways to get paid from other sources, like affiliate commissions. The goal is to get the highest income – not to get the most from the client.
I’ve actually done quite a bit of traditional website development years ago, before launching my blog and online identity, and used to average $3000-$5000 for a site. It’s just the case that with these projects (and particularly the “$100 website”) that I’m targeting people who “just want something online already” and don’t need it to be complicated. They’re only so cheap because they take me very little time to do. VERY little.
I’m really aware of the problem you raise, though. If I were building 10 hour sites month after month for $100, I’d agree I was part of it, but that’s just not the case.
BloggingIdiots
October 12th, 2009 12:16 am
I am a frequent visitor of this site. I found few interesting and useful tips here. But then again i dont really agree for few of your ideas.
People who needs to start a blog really have to think about blogging there own ideas. Only ideas which are different be success.
Manferd
October 12th, 2009 3:25 am
OK! now i know i am in the right track.
Thanks for boasting my Confidence mate!
Cheers!
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October 12th, 2009 2:15 pm
This is a great example of how to generate positive word of mouth for your business.
Demond
October 12th, 2009 2:45 pm
Thanks for the introduction to Johnny T. I enjoyed the article, and I like your blog becasue it provides awesome resources.
storesonline256
October 12th, 2009 4:08 pm
It sounds awesome. I really like this post very much. Really nice method of making money. For me it’s an interesting and informative post. I found a lot of worthy informations from this post. Keep blogging.
Problogger WP Premium Theme
October 12th, 2009 9:03 pm
i really loved reading or watching case studies of those who really succeed,thanks for sharing these infos
Affiliate Guide
October 12th, 2009 10:28 pm
Great Advice for making money online by sharing and helping others… it would take a lot of time but I’m sure i can do that.. thanks.
MYdesigners.my
October 14th, 2009 4:03 am
Hi there,
I totally agreed that Givers earn more! And also because of this believe, i have started a Freelance website for designers in my Country (Malaysia). I have faith on Malaysian designers (all sort of designers from graphic designers to fashion designers) and believe that we can produce good quality and creative design to the world market place. India is recognized as a country full of IT professionals and i hope i can help Malaysian designers to reach out their work to the world.
Annabel Candy
October 15th, 2009 1:30 pm
Go Johnny, Go! A sweet round up and lots of new variations on an old theme. Off to find out more:)
Lowell
October 15th, 2009 4:36 pm
Hello, nice idea to make money and I’m totally agreed with Johnny B Truant. Looking forward for more
information and learning from you.
storesonline205
October 24th, 2009 8:58 pm
Hi! Thanks for the innovative post for the womens so I really appreciate this and its one of the informative blog so keep blogging and stay tune with us.
TechChunks
October 30th, 2009 8:29 pm
@ Darren (ProBlogger),
I wonder how the 74 people who took time to leave comment on this post missed out your last “Call to Action” >> If you want rants about zombies, check out his twitter feed.
Guess, the link attached to the “twitter feed” is somehow with an extra “l” at the ending (http://twitter.com/johnnybtruantl) and thus leading to an invalid and missing Twitter page!
I hope fixing the hyperlink to point at http://twitter.com/johnnybtruant should straighten things up.
Nice post anyway. I liked Johnny’s story.
SlimBob28
November 8th, 2009 10:55 am
Great post! I try to keep in mind a principle I’ve learned from the very good internet marketer Frank Kern.
That is to say to your users three things:
- Here’s what I’ve got
- Here’s what it’s gonna do for you
- Here’s what I want you to do
That has worked amazingly well for me. I hope it helps you guys too..
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