I write about an hour a day and recently broke into six-figure-a-year earnings. This money comes from running advertising on my websites and blogs, all content sites based on nothing more than articles I’ve written. This is largely passive income that comes in whether I work or not (I choose to work so I can continue to grow my earnings).
I got started back in early 2004 when, while going to college, I began having trouble with repetitive stress injuries (a bit like carpal tunnel syndrome, except it was my hands that were troubling me instead of my wrists). I started working with voice recognition software, but I realized that it was going to be hard to get a real job working 40+ hours a week at a keyboard. Everything from driving to mousing to opening jars hurt my hands, so I couldn’t imagine what I could do for a living.
And… truth be told, I wasn’t that keen on getting a “real job.” I’d done four years as an enlisted soldier in the army and experienced firsthand what it’s like to be a powerless peon at the whims of superior officers, many of whom are only “superior” because they’ve been in the military longer. To this day, I have a great appreciation for those who enlist in the military and serve our country, but it just wasn’t for me. And I had a feeling corporate America wasn’t going to be for me either. I’d always enjoyed writing and when I started my four-year degree, I had a vague notion of becoming a freelance writer (though, as a diehard introvert, the idea of interfacing with clients and touting my own horn to get contracts made me cringe), but the RSI issue threw a wrench in my plans.
I started scouring the Internet for ideas on how I could make money from home. I tried eBay for a while, selling beef jerky of all things (the “Oh Boy! Oberto” plant and factory outlets were in my town), but I quickly learned that competing with others who were into price gouging was difficult and hardly worth it for a dollar or two of profit.
Eventually I found my way to various webmaster forums where people were talking about a relatively new (at the time) program: Google Adsense. All over the world, people with little hobby websites were making great money. And interestingly enough, the sites that were text-based–writing!–were doing the best.
That was perfect! The only problem? I didn’t have any websites…
But, you can’t let the little things keep you down, right?
Using Dragon Naturally Speaking (voice recognition software) to navigate the web, I set out to learn everything I could about creating websites, writing content, driving traffic, and optimizing ads. I also delved into the world of affiliate marketing, but I wasn’t much for hardcore selling, so I tended to stick with growing sites I could monetize with Adsense, Chitika, text links, and various other forms of advertising.
That first month I made a whopping $2.00.
Well, not really, since you have to make at least $100 to get a payout from Adsense.
But I kept plucking away at it, and eventually my site visitors grew, and my earnings did as well. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, and even today I’m no guru, but my results prove I’d done at least a few things right. 
By the time I graduated from school, I was making enough money to live on, and I never did end up getting a “real job.”
Today, I’m making a nice living from my blogs and websites, and the cool part is that I’ve never worked more than an hour or two a day. And even cooler, I have the kind of freedom most people only dream of: I can work from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection, I can choose my hours, I’m my own boss, and I don’t have anyone I have to answer to.
I’ve never aspired to mine the “how to make money online” niche (most of my sites are in the home and garden area), but I feel the need to teach what I’ve learned, so I’m beginning this blog. It’s my chance to share what I’ve learned–and what I’m continuing to learn–with you.
I hope you’ll find this a valuable resource in the months and years to come.
~Lindsay
22 responses so far ↓
1 Opal @ Addicted to Writing // Jul 7, 2008 at 12:20 pm
What an excellent about page.
My websites are health, nutrition, and environmentally friendly websites. A few tech websites and one gaming website are tossed in the mixed because I love them also.
I’ve made mistakes along the way, started a little over a year ago, and I’m sure I’ll continue to make them but I’ve learned a lot in the process and the motivation has paid off. My bills are paid through the money I make online.
2 Troy // Jul 7, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Lindsay, can you give me a couple of your websites to look at?
3 Lindsay // Jul 7, 2008 at 1:59 pm
@Opal — The mistakes are how we learn, and I’m looking forward to sharing some of mine in future posts, so others can avoid them, hah.
It sounds like you’ve got a nice range of niches going. Good luck with them!
@Troy — I’ll be sharing some of my sites in future posts or maybe in a free ebook that shows people the steps I’ve taken to make them profitable. I’m still figuring out what this new blog is going to be about, but I know I want to talk a bit about my money-making sites (i.e. here’s what I’m doing right and here’s what I did wrong, hah) rather than just blurting them out. It’ll be coming though, so check back please.
4 Troy // Jul 7, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Well I’ve been on here for about 10 minutes and really dn’t know my way around this site but I’ll try to find you again, HA! Is their any way I can put you on a friends list on this site so I don’t miss them?
5 Michele // Jul 9, 2008 at 5:41 am
This is truly an amazing story, Lindsay. Truly amazing!
*smiles*
Michele
6 Andys // Jul 10, 2008 at 5:52 am
What a great and inspring story. I think the blogging space was much more open in 2004, as today it would be hard to make the inroads you made so quickly. Great to find your blog.
7 Lindsay // Jul 10, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Thanks for the kind words, folks!
There’s nothing like a little desperation in your life to inspire you to become a bit of an entrepreneur.
8 The Family CEO // Jul 28, 2008 at 8:05 am
This is a great ‘about’ page. I’m looking forward to sticking around and learning more.
9 Link // Jul 31, 2008 at 11:03 am
Yay, I just hit $100 with Google adsense. Plateau #1 reached. Lindsay, thanks for all the good advice, yours is an easy to read blog. I will check back. Have a great day!
AFI
10 Nana Diaries // Aug 24, 2008 at 11:57 am
Love this About page. It says so much about you as a person, as well as offering inspiration to those of us out there with similar aspirations. I really MUST get that website of mine up so I can institute the AdSense stuff! Thanks again.
KJ
http://nanadiaries.wordpress.com
11 Edie Dykeman // Sep 6, 2008 at 3:01 am
What a great about page. I started blogging in June 2008 and now have three blogs with plans for a couple more. And yes, I have made many mistakes, but the blogging experience is a blast. Reading what you and others are saying about earning money is a huge encouragement. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
12 Elijah // Oct 5, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I love it. from beginning to end.
It’s the reason I’m doing what I’m doing.. hearing stories like this.
13 Yan // Oct 6, 2008 at 1:23 am
Very inspirational ‘about’ page. I guess it’s one of the best I have recently seen. I’m loving your approach in life. I’d recommend anyone to read your success story and be inspired.
Yan
14 Avid Writer // Oct 6, 2008 at 6:02 am
Lindsay,
Your story is amazing and inspirational to those like me trying to make a living on the web.
15 Tumblemoose // Oct 28, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Hi Lindsay,
Thanks for commenting on tumblemoose. I love your story and hope to emulate it when possible.
This is me signing up for the free e-course.
Cheers
George
16 The Computer Lady // Nov 5, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Hi Lindsay and thanks for visiting and leaving a comment on my blog.
It looks like you are going to cover a lot of good information here so I think I might have to stick around
I wanted to answer your question about why you would or wouldn’t want your site to be DoFollow.
Some people use it kind of like an open community to help each other get backlinks. It is a way to get backlinks without having to wait until someone actually links to your site.
So far I haven’t had to deal with spam comments but then again I don’t get a crazy amount of comments at this point so that might change.
And, it is something you can turn on an off. If you use a WordPress plug-in you can just disable it. If you are taking out the line of code in Blogger just put it back.
I hope this answers it a bit from my perspective.
Wendy
17 0ver the cubicle wall // Nov 8, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Looks like this is a very interesting site. Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment.
18 Jessie // Nov 19, 2008 at 7:59 am
Thanks for your comment. Your blog is very inspirational and very much an account writers can relate and look up to. I will definitely be adding your site to my blog list.
19 So You Want To Be A Writer? | BloggerNewbie // Dec 5, 2008 at 10:04 pm
[...] Lindsay teaches you how to write for your wealth. I can certainly say she is a wealth of knowledge and I highly recommend any aspiring writer to subscribe to her RSS feed. In fact, when you subscribe to her RSS feed you will receive a free 7 day writing e-course. Always room to learn. [...]
20 jesse grant // Dec 16, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Great story Lindsay , nice to meet you , I love that Oh Boy Berto jerky , that stuff is so great
21 Home Based Business // Dec 20, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Great story Lindsay. I have been a Home Business Entrepreneur for some time and am turning to blogging as well for another source of income. If you think about it, Adsense is a multi-billion dollar industry as is Personal Development. So, I choose both and now blogging will pick up and become profitable.
I think the trick, as with any success, is persistence and consistency. I read a comment here that accredited your success to getting started back in 2004. Anyone can create that same success now, it’s a simple choice and it takes time. Most people dive out of the game after a few months. That’s the average. Thanks for not being average! Great site!
22 Jared Lyda // Jan 1, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Hi Lindsay,
Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting on the “Be wary of the Handshake” post. I replied there but figured I’d swing by and learn a little about you and your site. Thanks for the detail and story form of this about page. Your content is great and I’ll be stopping back by regularly….
Jared
http://www.fireandmotionblog.com
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