Blogs work because its like word of mouth advertising. You have been reading someones blog and getting to know them. Then when they recommend something you are more likely to buy it. Just like when your friend tells you about this great deal they got on something.
It works so well affiliate marketers started making fake blogs (aka flogs) which make it look like someone is recommending a Google Money Tree system, or weight loss product or whatever. I am sure you have ran into a flog. The FTC is hot after them now though.
So my point really is that you cant just start up a blog and in a few months (even years) expect to earn the respect of your readers to start selling them products. You need to actually give value.. and do it consistently over time.
I am going into my 6th year of blogging and like many other bloggers who are considered “experts” I never intended to make money at it and actually didn’t until only a few years ago.
In 2009 this blog will make more money then I did in the first 30 years of my life (before running my own company full time) …. combined.
That’s kind of crazy!
But its a good time to be an authority in the “make money online” space. Even if I hate that association =P.
- Comment Likes 
- Comment Dislikes
December 3, 2009 at 1:30 pm
The problem is that pepole open blog for reason to make money and not for the interst for offering good value, I agree.
December 2, 2009 at 5:32 am
I blog for a year without earning any big check. I’ll give myself more time to grow my blog bigger. I hope I don’t need to wait 6 years.
November 19, 2009 at 11:12 am
I just started to learn to make money online. I think the make money online is not as easy as I imagined. There is any a shortcut to get a lot of money from blogging?
November 17, 2009 at 6:44 am
I agree with you. I have my personal blog and write it around once a week. After one year..it gets free traffic (100uv/day) even if I do not write
November 13, 2009 at 6:32 am
Thats right many people are blogging for money.Since you are blogginf for six years, i am just a new commer.
November 11, 2009 at 7:19 pm
making money online is hard in early time, but i believe, that it will grow exponentially while we got a lot of traffic. the most important things are how to be keep consistence.
November 11, 2009 at 5:04 pm
i have heard this over and over again from many successful bloggers, they all say when they started they didnot have any plan for making money with the blog, it just came into play latter on. i think one of the reason bloggers like that succeed is he fact that making money is not in their brain at first so they write and create real interesting and honest content which is not just aimed at getting people to click a link or what have you. i think more bloggers should read this just as a reminder that readers come first, money comes next.
November 11, 2009 at 3:17 am
I suspect that “blogging to make money” is something that’s almost doomed to fail from the beginning. As you say, it just requires a huge investment of time and work before you can get a blog to the point where anyone will pay attention and then a huger investment of time and work to get anyone to buy anything from you.
If you aren’t blogging for the sake of it, you probably won’t make it that far.
Not that you can’t quickly produce a small site to make some money, but that’s a different story (and I wouldn’t call such sites blogs, even if they use that format).
November 8, 2009 at 11:30 pm
I’m just in my first year of blogging! Hope my blogs grow up faster.
October 21, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Finding a niche market and giving value is the way to go
October 21, 2009 at 12:54 am
Fantastic that you have been around for 6 years to hone your blogging efforts and you deserve wild success!
The comments that people make are upfront and honest. Everyone seems like they are sitting on the couches at the coffee shop communicating like old friends. Laptops included.
October 14, 2009 at 8:03 am
Congratulations mate, you stuck with something you did for the love of it, and it gave you all and more what you ever dreamed of! I think this is the key with anything in life, do what you love doing and the rewards will come!
October 11, 2009 at 6:04 pm
I just started to learn to make money online. I think the make money online is not as easy as I imagined.
October 10, 2009 at 4:13 pm
the more valuable the content,the more money you’ll make whether it’s on purpose or not. Great Post
September 29, 2009 at 11:31 pm
It really depends on the niche you try to get into.. If you start with a niche within a niche and you are very passionate about it and work your butt off you can make money fairly quick.
You just have to give good content will well placed ads and plug away
But yeah some niches can take forever to start making money from such a niche is the make money niche.
Great post and valuable information..
Dennis
September 29, 2009 at 6:51 am
Yes, make money bloging is not a quickly way, it need your more hard to do.
I have write more, and aslo will go on linke you.
Thanks share.
September 26, 2009 at 8:05 am
i completely agree with this. i have found that any of these money making programs that the ‘gurus’ push are usually ways to make a ton of money right now and most, if not all, are scams.
i’ve found that the best way to make money blogging is to be honest and offer a value to the readers. it’s usually pretty obvious when someone has a flog or isn’t really being honest about what they’re writing.
September 20, 2009 at 8:45 am
Seems like that would be obvious, but I guess you’re right. People think blogging is some “get rich quick” plan. The good ones, like yours, have proved that it’s not quick (but you may get rich with lots of time and good content!!). Congratulations on all your hard work and sharing some of what you know.
You’re such an inspiration to me!!
Have a great weekend.
September 15, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Giving value always is key to success
September 9, 2009 at 10:00 am
Well Jeremy, I know you make a point there. But you should also know, the idea of successful blogger caught the attention of people currently desperate seeking for the money. They know they could started a blog and monetize it. They know they could expect to make thousand of dollars per month like you did, one day. So the real intention of setting up their blog in the 1st place is solely to make money. Not just “blogging occasionally” like when u 1st started your blog (which eventually take you where you are now).
I just started digging to this earning online potential few months back. And create one main blog as project focus about one and half months ago. I know it’s not perfect. But I learn each day.
I am moving on to my next project now, about blogging. But still take main blog as the focus. I am trying to target blogspot only. I know most of you suggesting WP with our own hosting. But I found a lot of “blogspot domain” still make fortune. It’s free, it’s easy, it had adsense embedded, ready. If what I calculate so far, is correct, this might help some noob out there to try on their own.
We want to be like you, Jeremy. But we can not jump over time to -right away- follow you.
August 25, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Honestly, blogging isn’t easy to make money. There are so many other ways which are much easier.
August 25, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I am a new blogger myself as I started a little over a month ago. I have been reading and learning and applying what I have learned. I really want to be successful at this and I know it will take sometime. I have enjoyed it so far. I have meet a lot of interesting people and things to learn it has been exciting. I wish I could do this full time as it is something I really enjoy doing, but I have to pay the bills. So my plan is to keep plugging away part time to build a successful online business.
August 25, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Great point I know that blogging is important and we have been working on getting up and running a blog it take time and money!
August 9, 2009 at 10:37 am
You’re absolutely right. FLOGS and SPLOGS (Spammer Blogs) are the rage with auto-blogging technology. You may make one sale or two but you sure ain’t building a sustainable business in the long run.
Human beings ultimately connect to other human beings. That’s the foundation of Twitter Marketing and other forms of social media marketing as well.
July 22, 2009 at 2:41 am
making money online…..opten making crazy and prustration
July 20, 2009 at 12:26 pm
It is a good industry to be in at the moment. I think a good blog post people would benefit from at the money is how to avoid make money online scams. A lot of desperate people are getting scammed and that’s no good.
July 19, 2009 at 7:59 am
Very true.
Blogging is so personal and demanding, that it takes time, before readers even start to trust you.
Delivering fresh and interesting content is a hard work and must be done rather every single day. It is like being in the high school again digging information to learn and telling it to others.
August 2, 2009 at 11:53 pm
I agree with you Juhani, but the more you spend effoed on your blog things, the more you’re willing to search extra income, that was based on my experience
July 11, 2009 at 10:13 pm
I get it.
July 6, 2009 at 7:14 am
The contest is still running and I’m Late to know about this information.
July 5, 2009 at 2:18 pm
That’s useful information and true. Most people are new on the internet and looking for a solution and don’t know who’s the pro and who’s the fake. They google it and get it on the first spot and quickly buys that product.
Turns out that, one month old affiliate defeats 6 years old blogger. And they can break it over and over with 100’s of sites.
I know that sucks as a blogger, I do feel that too but affiliate sites are on the first spots of google. The only thing they can’t take is the respect and popularity of a blogger.
June 25, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Everything needs a process. Our blogs can make money with certain processes. We have to always find related information and work hard if we want to make use of our blogs for getting some money seriously.
June 19, 2009 at 11:14 am
There are several ways on how to Make money FOR FREE if people go for Blogging then just stick with it and Master it!
June 12, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Hi Jeremy – this is a really good point to keep in mind. I have had a blog since Oct. of 2007. But just in the recent months I have been posting consistently (daily at least) with things that can provide readers with a lot of value. I’m not making much money yet off my blog. I really enjoy it though and hope to continually increase readership and profit more as time passes. You are right though – that being a “pro” blogger takes time – and you need to put the readers first – as income takes a while to generate.
June 12, 2009 at 9:52 am
You know,
I feel that most people nowadays like to go by the easy way and quick money. If the see a ad promoting seminar that can make them millionaire overnight, 80% of the people who see the ads will definitely attend!
June 12, 2009 at 9:17 am
And I thought you were gonna point to google.com/search?q=“make+money+online” lol
June 11, 2009 at 1:13 am
It is not going to be easy. Invest a few years of free time blogging. If you don’t love blogging I guess you are not going to make it. I am not sure if I can do that too.
But at least I feel I am blogging on something that I love to do daily. And it doesn’t me feel tire. That is trading stocks
June 9, 2009 at 4:33 am
You made more money this year than you did in the first 30 years of your life. I think that everyone is trying to start up a new blog if he wants to make money online.
June 2, 2009 at 10:55 pm
That’s very inspiring! Congratulations on your success
May 28, 2009 at 12:00 am
You are so right! To give value is the point. And you just have to give it many times before your readers start to trust you and to respect you. You must write regularly and personally, because you actually teach your readers to wait for new posts. But if you believe into yourself, the success will come. Good news is, that every writer has his own angle, ideas and style to handle online marketing. That is the great chance for all of us!
May 25, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Making money from home is good. I love it
May 25, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Jeremy, how long did it take before you started making a living online. And what were your breakthrough points?
May 24, 2009 at 5:28 am
I hate calling my blog an MMOblog, it is merely me showing other people how I made money in the hope they will do the same.
I don’t claim to be a guru or an expert
May 22, 2009 at 9:21 am
I guess what is hard for me with blogging is to not contradict one’s self. I mean, feelings and things change, and sometimes I forget that I blogged 180 degrees in the opposite direction of what I might be posting today. And it’s hard to maintain credibility if I were to flip-flop back and forth on an issue, or just at least, well, flip.
I also believe that you should get several blogs up that deal with your passions, and just stick to those. Eventually, yes, do endorsements occasionally and put your ads on them, and your occasional inline modal eBook dialog form, etc.
But blogging for dollars as the central goal won’t really get you far. One should focus on other kinds of affiliate marketing that are more profitable, and think of blogging as secondary and “get something off your chest” kind of space, and on multiple blogs, not just one. If any of these accidentally makes money, as this blog has, then fantastic.
May 22, 2009 at 6:10 am
of course to start a blog, you should need some time suited for it ,and besides, you must love your work so that everything would turn out good and fine
May 22, 2009 at 4:49 am
Good post.You must earn the respect and appreciation of your readers.Your reputation is also on the line, if you promote junk products and services.In blogging it is all about giving.The more you give valuable information to others, the more you will get in return.
May 21, 2009 at 3:25 pm
It’s very true, takes time to build basis and foundation. Once that is done you get to enjoy the fruits of your labour so to speak of
.
May 20, 2009 at 6:20 pm
To get such kind of reputation you will have to work hard and prove that yes things which you recommend have the value.
If you can do this than believe me you have won the 80% battle.
May 20, 2009 at 12:34 pm
You have to be an expert at making money online and have had success to back it up. Shoemoney’s blog is popular because he has had tremendous success and always updates the readers with insightful posts.
May 20, 2009 at 4:28 am
That association has rapid growth development, according to survey almost 10,000 make money online blogs a day are being made. So, let’s stand out.
May 19, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Yes, make money bloging is not a quickly way, it need your more hard to do.
I have write more, and aslo will go on linke you.
Thanks share.
May 19, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Well, I guess I should leave a comment on this informative post.
Setting a blog for affiliate marketing purposes works well in every single niche out there. However, making a living from your affiliate-based blog is not something that would happen overnight.
Unfortunately, due to the heavy competition and a broad range of different affiliate offers, you cannot just start a blog and expect your new visitors to generate sales for you.
You see, like any other real businesses, affiliate marketing, too needs time to succeed. What many bloggers don’t get in the process is that they want to push their visitors and try to close the sale, whereas they should presell by giving value to their readership and gaining credit. That way, people would trust you and take your recommendations (affiliate offers) more seriously.
Thanks for this nice article and I look forward to reading more from you.
Cheers,
Hooshmand
May 19, 2009 at 4:14 pm
truth is – money itself is just energy and the easiest way to attract it is to provide a service doing something you love. The more you love what you are doing the easier it is get something in return
May 19, 2009 at 1:47 pm
This whole “blogging for cash” wave that has hit the new has truly been an amazing cultural experience to live through. Even the little guy has a voice, if he/she is smart enough to gain the links to get the word out about their content.
History in the making!
May 19, 2009 at 9:45 am
This is especially interesting for me right now.
Just last week I decided to take the plunge and run a blog on my main copywriting site.
It’s not up yet, but I have a guy designing a WP theme as we speak.
And no, my main aim is not to make money from it. I just like the cameraderie and community feel that some of the good copy bloggers get, thought I’d try and start some of that myself.
Hey, I’ve had enough marketing blogs by now to realise that I need to blog about something I like… and that’s copywriting.
Thanks for this post though, did a good job of helping me position what I want from my new blog in my own mind…
Actually that’s a tip for everyone… if you have a vague idea of what you’re looking for from something, it will come out only vaguely like what you think.
The more you focus your mind on definite results, the closer you’ll get to those results.
Quantum physics baby…
David Raybould
May 19, 2009 at 7:57 am
You inspired me! well, that’s great
May 19, 2009 at 5:07 am
Shoe i agree with your saying that Blog works with word of mouth & it is not easy task to do these days specially when we see millions of new blogs and bloggers.
I am very much Impressed the way you are blogging and have started my blog since last 2 months and getting quite a fans these days coming on by blog on daily basis. As i am aware that for first 2 years you did not made any money on your blog and now you are making like cats and dogs …Congoooooo
May 18, 2009 at 4:56 pm
If you hate that assosiation, I can take that role for you
May 18, 2009 at 12:43 pm
It does take time to start making money on your blog…people need to fun and enjoy the actual process
May 18, 2009 at 12:17 pm
You make a ton of money doing something that you are not a big fan of…. I wonder how much money you could make if you really liked what you do.
May 18, 2009 at 11:09 am
Before you lay out plans to make money via a blog, you have to make sure of 1 thing:
BE SURE YOU ENJOY WRITING!
If you don’t like the writing process, and feel it’s a chore, and aren’t able to communicate your ideas well through writing, your blog will fail.
May 18, 2009 at 2:44 pm
nah thats silly… i hate writing
June 12, 2009 at 10:19 am
Yeap.
You can always
1. Hire writers
2. Write crap ( have an editor rewrite it for you)
3. Video tape yourself instead of writing.
May 18, 2009 at 9:36 am
Totally correct. My ecommerce site is a “10 year overnight success story” because my first 8 years of having the site were just as a hobby. Once I got bored with my day job I figured out a revenue model and started a business from the site, which now pays me and some full time employees.
It didn’t start out as a money maker, however, and it is a long-term model to follow.
May 18, 2009 at 8:30 am
I think most people get fed up and quit blogging after a few months. It takes quite a bit of time to gather a following and a blogger needs to be prepared to acknowledge it make take years to make any money.
May 18, 2009 at 7:17 am
Thanks for the juicy information!
May 18, 2009 at 6:11 am
Anyone who are joining the internet has some reason. Why they are vesting their time. because they want earn something. but u have discussed such a nice topic. Thanks .
May 18, 2009 at 4:33 am
That’s impressive, you are a great source of in inspiration for me
May 18, 2009 at 3:14 am
Dear Shoemoney,
If tomorrow you only had $49 and a rubber chicken, what would you do first?
May 18, 2009 at 2:22 am
Besides being around for sometime, there is another thing about bloggers. If they take time and interact with comment writers it builds up a rapport. I received emails from Valeria Mantoni, Avinash Kaushk and two others about something I had written in their blogs. It felt nice and I decided to go back there again.
May 17, 2009 at 11:24 pm
I like your point, but blogging takes wey too much time. It is a lot easier to set up a flog, write a few articles, make a landing page or a post about something, send some CPC and other traffic and cash out for 6-7 months… This way you can run 50 flogs that would make you way more $$ than a blog. FTC is nog going to be after you if you write the truth, which is not hard to go over the features and true benefits of some campaign.
May 17, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Looks like this year is going to be your best year so far.
May 17, 2009 at 9:07 pm
its always agood time to make money online and you’re right, every one has to make it by adding value not saying, “here’s a link, click it!”
May 17, 2009 at 8:06 pm
why’s it a good time to be in the mmo market exactly?
I can come up with a few reasons, but I am interested in what you have to say.
May 17, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Why do you hate the association?
May 17, 2009 at 6:57 pm
hmm true…It takes time to build a brand and authority but it pays off after hard work.
May 17, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Very very true. This is why I am a reader of your blog, because you put in time and effort and as it seems it pays off.
May 17, 2009 at 3:46 pm
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking/research about what makes a successful blogger lately and being an authority is pretty much the most important factor…thus, I’ve been focusing on building authority more than anything else
May 17, 2009 at 3:34 pm
How do you come to know that the blog is for money and not for passion. Way too many ads, pop ups here and there and the likes. Too much emphasis on ads and less on content.
May 17, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Congrats Shoe, but to all the readers i must say this, love your blog and your passion then love the fact that the blog can make some money for you. Too many lame blogs out there talking about making money.
Dinono
May 17, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I definitely agree with this post. So many people try to start a blog to make money and barely ever post or if they post it’s not quality content. That won’t get you far at all.
May 17, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Congratulations! May be you should think of rebranding your blog?
FerrariMoney sounds not bad! 
May 17, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I’ve come to the realization that if you pin your hopes and dreams solely on your blog, you probably will not be happy with the outcome. Generally, blogs are not going to make you rich. A blog is a great supplement to an actual website that is the primary money maker. Adding a blog to your website gives you a good medium to do promoting and help keep fresh content associated with your site. Obviously there are exceptions, and Shoemoney.com is definitely one of those. The reason Shoemoney is this successful is because Jeremy parlayed it off his other ventures where he became an authority. This is his credibility and the reason people trust this blog. I think it’s rare to find blogs that are as transparent and honest as SM. If you can pull that off, all the better, but if you really want to make money online, you’re still better creating a site that sells a product or pitches a niche affiliate product.
May 17, 2009 at 1:00 pm
The Internet can be a powerhouse of resources to make money. But people tend to misuse them to fulfill their vested interests. If you adopt illegal and inappropriate ways to make money online you will not sustain for a long term. Such means can only be short term. Hence, the only advice to people surfing the internet to achieve their dreams is to keep your eyes and ears open and check everything before you jump into it so that you don’t end up at the receiving end.
May 17, 2009 at 11:49 am
Well I`m new to blogging and I can`t believe what you just said I hope your honest in your blogs man that`s all I got.
May 17, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I think that’s his point…
May 17, 2009 at 11:39 am
Great article and I agree completely. My favourite blogs are the ones that people put time and effort into and are an fun, informative source. They inspired me to start my blog about what I love!
May 17, 2009 at 9:37 am
People need to understand that it’s not the blog that makes money … it will only make money if it’s content rich and of value to visitors.
If the search engines see a negative response … the back button … the blog will fail anyway.
May 17, 2009 at 8:41 am
That is very cool that you are on your way to making a lot of money with your blog this year. That is why people go to your blog because they want to be part of something great. You and Darren I put in a different category then the rest of the Make Money online group. Keep up the great work Jeremy. Thanks Greg Ellison
May 17, 2009 at 7:36 am
Good post, i dont blog to make money online, i like many blog for fun and to shear thoughts with others.
May 17, 2009 at 7:35 am
Good article Shoe. I think so many hundreds of new bloggers underestimate the time and effort needed to put worth into a new project. They often think,” If I build it, the google adsense checks will come”, and for some few lucky ones, that may be true. However, in order to build a brand that will last in your particular niche, you gotta work.
May 17, 2009 at 7:31 am
I don’t think there’s not one person online for nothing. There’s always something somebody wants otherwise they wouldn’t be online which is why the search engine is one of the most ingenious creations. I wouldn’t expect to sell anything on my blog, but just like you said Shoe it’s all about word of mouth. Sometimes you set yourself up for wealth hehe…
May 17, 2009 at 7:26 am
Yo “recommend” very well. I think the key is being subtle about pushing the sell. You do it very well by subtly pushing shoemoney tools and dropping your affiliate referral id, without directly promoting you just sew into most posts.
May 17, 2009 at 7:20 am
You made more money this year than you did in the first 30 years of your life. That is why everyone is trying to start up a new blog.
May 17, 2009 at 6:58 am
How much do you expect to earn from your blog in 2009?
more than in your first 30 years of your life.. impressive
May 17, 2009 at 6:57 am
Yeah, trust does takes time and in time your readers will trust you as long as you aren’t trying to pull there leg. Just be real!
May 17, 2009 at 6:31 am
Hmm… why do you hate the association? Any reason that you can tell, would like to know, since you had already been in blogging for 6 years, what’s there to hate about?
May 19, 2009 at 3:13 am
that is the same thing i want findout. But maybe it is harder to keep certain standards rather than trying to reach those standards. People always expect more and more from you. But still I wouldn’t mind that kind of association.