One Cold Truth About Making Money Online From Nigeria 
A Must Read For Anyone Interested In Making Money Online From Nigeria
Although this post seems to be directed to Nigerians, It is applicable to anyone who wants to make money online (even to aliens in Mars who want to make money on the internet). I have made a few guest posts on Chuk’s blog about ideas and ways to make money online from Nigeria. This post to me, is very basic but discusses an important point one must know and remember about making money online. If I had known it 2 years ago when I started, I would have concentrated my efforts on something that would have paid off by now.
One Of The Biggest Cold Truths About Making Money Online is:
You Have To Sell something.
That is it.
That is all this post is all about. If this is all you learn from this post then you have learnt something great.
You just have to sell something. (And I don’t care if you are selling periwinkle online). Selling has a lot to do with having a business or getting paid for something (Commerce).
I told you it would be basic.
But do not be deceived by the simplicity of this information.
It is what many people are doing wrong.
Let me ask you a simple question.
What are you selling right now on your blog?
Or if you are just starting out..
What are you planning to sell later on your blog or website?
If you give me that “I don’t know look” and is clueless about the answer, then you have a problem.
A big problem.
But I know….
One fellow might quickly say…Mk Akan, you are an ignorant bloody liar, what about those folks making money from Google adsense and other ways online that does not involve selling , are they not making money?
Well, I will quickly reiterate my answer by saying again:
“Anyone who makes money online is selling something”
Take it or leave it.
Anyone making money online is either selling a service or a product. But the bottom line remains, you need to sell something.
And that settles it.
If you want it make money online, find something to sell, or find something you will sell later.
Like I said, this may sound very basic but believe me it is the truth..
Different Ways And Things People Are Selling Online To Make Money.
- When you paste Google adsense on your blog or website to make money online, you are selling the white space on your blog or website. (SO TRUE. It’s like selling advertising space but instead of getting paid monthly, you get paid per click or per thousand impressions)
- When you promote affiliate products you are selling something.
- When you sell your products like e-books, softwares and applications, you are obviously selling something.
- When you promote a service, you are selling something.
- When you create and promote a service, like the blog set up service created by Chuks, you’re selling something.
- When you start a consulting service you are selling something
And the list goes on.
"Selling something online" is the reason why Daren Rowse of Problogger.net once said he only started making money on his blog when he took his blog as a business.
But Does everyone making money online sell stuff?
Although I have said that anyone making money online is selling something, it is realistic to say that I do believe in the exception rule (I just coined that I don’t know is there any phrase like that) .There may be other ways of making money online, like asking for donations etc.
But don’t forget selling something online is the basic way money is made but there are different variations of that business model.
I challenge you
If you know of any other method people use to make money online that does not involve selling something please share in the comments. I would really love to know about it. (Okay, I know already –scammers and online death threats)
My Advice
If you really want to make money online think of what you can sell. Think of what people can pay you for (directly or indirectly). Think of what can initiate some form of payment directly or indirectly to you.
Learn about how to sell (marketing). Learn how to influence people to buy.
Thank you.
Let’s do a little exercise, write in the comments what you are selling or planning to sell on your blog or website.
Mk Akan is a blogger and Nigerian online entrepreneur. He owns several blogs and niche sites and has been online learning and practicing since 2008. He has written one of the most comprehensive free products that reveal the basics about making money online from Nigeria. The 72 page guide reveals and answers many important questions about making money online from Nigeria. Get your copy NOW!
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Getting marketing affiliates is also an option for anyone looking to make money online, except that it has a lower conversion ratio. It does yield a more regular workload, however.
This , in my opinion , is the one of the most important lesson one must remember about making money online.If we can get this in our heads from the beginning,we are 1 step ahead of many people online.
By the way ,
My niche sites promote products from Amazon and other affiliate networks on the internet.
NairaCow.com and MkAkan.com promotes..affiliate products and will sell products that i will later develop.
Thanks Chuks .
Very good article MK. I’ve never really understood why people think they have ot take up affiliate marketing to make money, I make a decent income just writing sponsored posts.
Dean,
To me what ever model one chooses does not really matter much because all these business models do work.the important thing is to do something that will actually generate a sale or an exchange of money.For example ,what you do is selling your services-it gets you paid for something..
Thanks
Some folks are talented in the act of being persuasive and those folks are always successful @ affiliate marketing.
Hi Dean, for some of us that option of sponsored post is suppose to be later, for me I have tried writing reviews for payperpost and the amount I have made to date is $4.50, they just don’t send me offers to write on and for established site like reviewme, the conditions are just way too high to be met by a newbie blogger…I still think the beginners’ option is affiliate marketing and if done RIGHT the REWARD would show in your bank account…
Nice One Mk Akan.
The truth is if you have a blog or website and you are not selling, you are still on the long thing.
It is either you sell or you are sold. Period!
On my blog, i sell adsense, my services, my products and other people’s products
Sell or you are sold. Period! lol
Incredible resource. Thanks for sharing.If you are serious about wanting to be successful, it’s extremely important to focus on one thing and one thing only: Self Made Wealth By Eben Pagan.
Hi Chuks, could you watch the way your optin form is performing, I don’t know if that is the way you wanted it to behave, it cover the whole screen, allowing just a little space to even notice the close button, or is just my browser?
And please I do not know what I did wrong I cant visit my blog, even the admin area too, could you help me check?
You might have way too many toolbars that have reduced your browser’s above the fold space. Not to worry the pop-in only appears once in 2 months as long as you use the same browser and computer. You might want to contact your web host to help you out oh! I ‘ve had a rough day with my lil’ brother’s blog and I’m exhausted as it is.
Yeah, you have to sell something. i have about four websites online now, and those that are not using adsense are selling products. Its amazing how many customers you could get from an online blog! Nice pose
[...] You make money when you sell something on the blog. [...]
I agree to an an extent that “selling something” is definitely needed to make money online… It could be an “idea” and not something quite physical.
I have come to realize, from my own experience, that in everything you do geared towards making money online… You need a network of individuals, audience or “traffic” that needs to be involved in your project or you’re just wasting time online.
Making money online therefore boils down to having a ready database of targetted networked audience for your product, services or ideas… THERE IS MONEY IN EVERY NETWORK OF INDIVIDUALS!!!
That is why you see every website trying to get your e-mail address for one reason or the other (just to include you in their mailing list… Their network of ready individuals).
A good and very transparent way of making huge money online if you have a network of online friends (without necessarily selling anything apart from the idea) is expressed in this note in my facebook profile… Just click my profile link.
Cheers
Network Of Individuals = Maling List. I recently decided to start building one and see what benefits I could ultimately get from it in return. Thanks for the link
Precisely Chucks… “Mailing list”! You definitely can’t go wrong with a targetted mailing list. That is a sure base for making money online.
To our success…
Checked out the link and it is nothing short of yet another multi0level marketing scheme where nothing is even been sold @ all
. It’s certainly not the kind of business that Strictlyonlinebiz.com supports!
Ok… I respect your opinion (Though it’s working well for me, It’s mlm with a difference; more like direct cash gifting and strictlyOnlineBiz does not support it) but that does not make it wrong. What in the world is really not multi-level scheme??? Start from the Organizational structures in companies (CEO paid highest and trickling down to the casual staff etc). It all still boils down to a network of “multi-level” individuals working together to make ends meet. Anyways, Like I said, I respect your opinion and would end it here… cheers
.
Working together to make ends meet but the truth remains that at some point in time, some folks will be left without referrals and thus won’t make money from the scheme. That’s why it’s not supported as a legit way of cashing in online.
That’s where you got it wrong bro… The system is a 6X4 matrix which limits the number of direct referrals you can have to six (6), Any referral you get after that is “spilled-over” to your direct down-lines; who may not have recruited a single downline/referral or further down if your direct referrals already have six of theirs (The concept of a forced matrix). This is applicable to everyone on the network… That way, someone who is not recruiting referrals will get referrals spilled over to them by their uplines… and the new referrals pay them directly, not the upline that brought them into the system!!! Really, I’m not seeking your endorsement or for you to have a change of policy (which I respect), just pleading for you to read it up and understand the system objectively… It’s not like what you’re used to. I’ve seen multi-level marketing (most of which involves waiting to circle out before getting paid and ending up like you explained above) but this system pays you directly every step of the way, you are in profit after your very first referral (which may even be a spillover from your upline)… This is different, I tell you! Check it out again… Objectively without a “past experience mlm” bias.:)
Cheers.
Okay! I’ll take time out and really explore how it works just like you said.
Again… To quote you: “the truth remains that at some point in time, some folks will be left without referrals and thus won’t make money from the scheme”… are you supporting a system or rather, is there a system that pays you without working whatsoever? The closest system I know of that does pay you at one point without “working” as a result of spillover efforts from your upline is this system I’ve introduced. To cap it up… The people I refer now don’t pay me as I have already been paid by my first 6 referrers… They pay my down-lines that have not completed their direct 6 referrers. Get to understand the system please… You challenged us to show you a system that makes you money “without selling” and it’s not scam etc… Well, I just showed you one
.
Enjoy your day.
That’s the spirit Chucks… I know you’ll find it very transparent! If you have any reservations… Please share it here. Otherwise, spread the news and let’s all build a network that’s sure to ensure financial freedom for all involved.
Cheers.
Also, I quite respect your opinion about mlm but not all businesses using the networking model are wrong or scam, though most of them seem to look very too-true-to-be-true but some are definitely worth checking out and for me to really make money in life you either have to have more time to work or leverage on the time of others and the best is to have others give you part of their time and you make money from them…that is simply what mlm uses…
I am actually stumbling on this site for the first time today. Nice.
@ Fred,
Checked out the mlm link. Hmm! I am a believer in MLM or Network Marketing as it is otherwise called but like has already been established, the online business/company must be selling either a product or a service. Give WealthLeagues(WL) an objective and thorough look and correct me if I’m wrong, but you would see that you are neither selling a product or a service.
Really Fred, I’m not one to put people’s MLM companies down but I’ve spent a lot of my time researching on this industry and I dare say that WL is not Network Marketing, it isn’t even a Pyramid scheme. It’s actually a Ponzi Scheme. I believe you have no intentions of deceiving people or ripping them of mere N2,500 but you probably do not know the difference. Bottomline, in NM or MLM, there must be a valuable product or service you should get for your money, even if it is just N1,000 and WL cannot lay claim to any valuable product or service but just referrals. Also, most valuable NM companies with valuable products or services usually have start up fee of between N28,000 – N100,000(conversion in dollars). Some also have monthly payments for products to sell, while others are one-off annual payments of re-subscriptions. There’s nothing like make money while doing nothing as WL states on their site.
No doubt, Network Marketing is the Business of the 21st century, just like Robert Kiyosaki, Donald Trump, Zig Ziglar, Peter Drucker and even our own Prof. Pat Utomi have acclaimed(though, in different words). Why don’t you look for a credible NM company and join them. You already have an advantage because you seem to know the marketing strategy(ies) to use. You might make money with WL before they disappear, but it’s not really about just making money is it? It’s about making money legally with peace of mind. I wish you the best in your NM/MLM endeavours.
Well written. It is either you have a product to sell or you have a service to offer in return for cash. I make money online apart from adsense, from the ebooks I sell and services I render e.g blog design/maintenance, domain name services etc
On he internet there are many ways to earn money but its depends on you that what track did you choose for earn money online.
I am selling post and links on my website and blog, it is a cold way to make money online. But you have to be able to write very well.
You definitely have to sell something these days…but i suggest you try affiliate marketing if you cant create a product to sell instead of selling bad things
Affiliate marketing can be super lucrative once you get the hang of it
“…once you get the hang of it”… Shikena!
Affiliate marketing is where the money is, If you want to go into affiliate marketing with the likes of CJ or Shareasale, then you have to target the western world as they are the ones likely to convert into sales but it all depends on the kind of product you are selling anyway
[...] to realize it. If you want to make money online from Nigeria or anyway from the world , you need to sell something. If you have that at the back of your head, you are miles ahead of many. I hope this has been [...]
Do you people face any issues related to government regulations there? We are having PayPal issues and strict rules from Reserve Bank of India. All income via PayPal now has to be withdrawn within 7 days to our bank accounts. This money cannot be used to buy things via PayPal but we have to swipe credit cards to do so. Also a single transaction (income) cannot exceed 500 dollars. Totally pissed off with this
So far so good, I know not of any of those regulations except the likes of Western Union and Money Gram that only allow us to receive money BUT we cannot send
. When it comes to PayPal we are yet to be added to the list of eligible countries and doubt we are going to be added anytime soon.
Maybe it’s about time, you guys started researching other options like 2CheckOut.
You ought to sell something before you expect to get paid.
Nice one, Mr. Akan.
Good to hear the truth from a fellow country man.
[...] They sell mp3 download of latest music albums etc. This is a very viable online business model. I have always said you need to sell something to make money online. [...]
I am not from Nigeria but this post has really inspired me. You have given good and helpful tips on how to make money online. Learning how to market yourself is a major step in this area. thank you.