Table of Contents
Introduction
1) Web Hosting with Bluehost and a WordPress Site
2) Learned Skills from Skillshare
3) Made Logo and Images with Canva
4) Hired Cheaper Freelancers with Fiverr
5) Performed Keyword Research with LongTailPro
6) Created Automations and Email Lists with ConvertKit & IFTTT
7) Recorded Videos with Budget YouTube Equipment
8) Learned How to Get YouTube Videos Viewed by Thousands
9) Set Goals to Stay Motivated and Used Pomodoro Technique
10) Monetized my Site with Ads Through Monumetric
Real Life Case-Study of How a Niche Website was Created (This Website)
Many moons ago, I started writing a blog about my new online English teaching job. I did this for two reasons…
a) There was hardly any information out there! I luckily got the job thanks to my already employed friend prepping me for the interview.
b) There was a $100 referral bonus if you recommend a new teacher. I saw DigiNo as a way to make a quick buck, as well as help people get this mysterious job.
This niche website has grown way beyond what I expected it to be. I spent 6 months writing content without really making any cash at all. I could barely afford food, let alone pay for the website hosting.
Giving up on Increasing my Online Teaching Income
I was going to call it quits on the whole thing…until my readers began messaging me. I started getting thank you messages for how much the content helped them get the job, as well as continuing to help them teach online to the best of their ability.
So I stopped thinking about money. I would find a way to pay for the hosting as well as food. And I would continue to help people as much as I could within the world of online teaching!
This is when I finally started making online revenue through DigiNo.
Serve, Don't Sell
When you don't know what to do with your life…try and help the lives of others!
So that's why now I want to take a quick break from helping with online teaching…
…and write this article to tell you exactly how I created DigiNo and all the things I used to do it.
Affiliate Marketing
Each thing I recommend is a product I use, and I will earn a commission if you decide to use it yourself. This is how I keep DigiNo running…and also how I buy food!
Affiliate marketing is a huge part of how DigiNo operates, so I want to be completely honest with you about it…and also help you to do it yourself!
So let's get started!
1) Web Hosting with BlueHost and a WordPress Site
First thing's first; to create my side-hustle (DigiNo), I needed a website..
I initially started using another host, but switched as I found BlueHost to be cheaper. Also it is incredibly optimised for WordPress.
What is BlueHost?
If you wanna open a shop that sells fruit and vegetables…you need to get a building to sell them from.
This building is your WordPress website…but the rent for this building is your internet hosting.
And BlueHost is one of the most popular hosts on the net! It's really cheap and so much easier to get started than the other hosts I tried.
As the website progressed I have since switched to another more expensive host to generally make the site faster as traffic increased, but Bluehost is great for a starter website and you don't need to pay a lot of money until your website gains steam.
The process is simple:
- Get your Domain
- Get your hosting plan
- Then install WordPress with 1-click!
What is WordPress?
WordPress is a website builder that you can use to make affiliate marketing sites or other niche website ideas.
Niche Website Meaning
The niche website definition is a website that focuses on a very specific subject. This is a way of attracting a concentrated source of internet traffic rather than targeting something high competition and generic, such as “Wrestling” for example.
Niche Website Ideas
More suitable niche website examples would be:
- best wrestling shoes
- cheap wrestling gear
- wrestling kneepads
QUICK WIN – Low Competition Niches
These niche website idea keywords are actually low competition niches on Google – so go knock yourself out! (Or at least they were when I initially wrote this article).
Creating a lot of content related to low competition niche keywords will drastically increase your chances of ranking on Google and getting people to click on your site – as you are showcasing exactly what they are searching for!
To find these keywords to generate niche website ideas, I use something called Long Tail Pro. More on that later in this guide.
Back to WordPress…
I used WordPress to create my site. I stick with WordPress as it is the industry standard.
WordPress vs Wix
I used Wix once when first starting out and although it is a lot easier to create a site with it's drag-and-drop building function…it won't rank as well or function as smoothly as a WordPress site in my opinion.
Wix vs WordPress SEO
The issue I encountered was that my Wix posts just wouldn't rank on Google. The SEO (search engine optimization) is more authoritative on WordPress due to it being the industry standard.
I switched from Wix when they released an app called “SEO Blog” as a way to rank articles better on search engines. So that basically told me that their standard blog builder had issues which they tried to rectify.
I went to WordPress and never looked back. Calling a blog an “SEO Blog” is like calling a restaurant a “Food Restaurant”. See you later, Wix!
The same may also be the case for something like GrooveFunnels, which has the capability the build websites, however the jury is still out on the SEO prospects, so WordPress is the one for me.
So after all these WordPress vs Wix SEO issues…now I had DigiNo.org ready to roll!
And you can get started on creating your site through my link below:
I'll earn a commission if you get your hosting through DigiNo's links. This is an example of the affiliate marketing I mentioned earlier.
(I'll make sure to point out each time something is an affiliate link…so you can get an idea of the endless passive income possibilities that your own website provides!)
So anyway, I had my website…but then I realised something…
…I had no idea what I was doing.
2) Learned Skills from Skillshare
So now I had my domain, hosting plan and WordPress site…I needed the skills to make the site.
I have always been a writer, so writing the content was no problem. But when it came to WordPress and graphic design, I was (and still am) a massive newbie.
Which is the Best Digital Marketing Course? (HINT – A Cheap or Free One)
The best digital marketing course is the one that costs you very little money and gives you actionable information.
In my time creating DigiNo, I have never bought a course that promises so much, in exchange for hundreds of dollars.
It never made sense to me that these courses market to people looking to make money (so are mostly broke) and yet charge huge price tags.
(There are probably some courses out there that are worth the money, but I was never in a financial position to be taking such a risk…if I was, I'd be making a digital marketing course myself!)
“So how can I find a cheap digital marketing course?”
Everything I've learned to help me create niche websites and earn passive income, has been primarily through reading books and…courses on Skillshare.
Skillshare
What is Skillshare?
Skillshare is an online course platform with thousands of useful courses – a lot of which are digital marketing.
What's awesome about it is, you get 1 month free when you first sign up.
1 Free Month of Skillshare Here
(Affiliate link alert! I earn a commission when you sign up to the free trial of Skillshare).
Free Trials are Awesome
Like I mentioned earlier, I didn't have a lot of cash when I was building DigiNo, so I owe so much to free trials of tools. That's why I like to promote them whenever I can.
How I Made the Most of my Free Month of Skillshare
I binged it harder than I binged the last series of Breaking Bad on Netflix.
I absorbed knowledge from every online skill course I could about making money online and even stuff like excel spreadsheets.
It's only $10 a month after the free trial ends so I signed up for one more month and I kept on absorbing courses until I felt the urge to stop learning and put my new skills to work.
Teaching on Skillshare
I even ended up becoming a Skillshare teacher myself (online teaching isn't just limited to ESL).
As a teacher, every time someone signs up for the free trial from my link, I get $10.
Also if people watch my classes, I earn revenue per minute watched
Check out my earnings report on Skillshare by clicking the image below:
So it's not only a source of knowledge, but also a source of passive income!
3) Made Logo and Images with Canva
What is Canva?
Canva is a graphic design website that makes things simple and is one of many options for a free logo maker online. I made the DigiNo logo myself on there and make all of the imagery you see on the site with Canva. Well, apart from the website mascot…
The Toco Toucan bird is plastered all over DigiNo as the mascot.
Why? A few reasons.
It all comes down one humble evening when I was searching for the best compressor plugin to compress image sizes for my website.
Why do this? On a website a lot of large image files can weigh down on the website experience, which is bad for SEO, as well as for the readers.
So you have an image that is 1mb or over, you really want to compress the image to 100kb online, or even 20kb if you can. Every little helps!
Why am I talking about online picture compressors? Stay with me. It's for a reason.
So I already had an image compressor that I used before – and it was great for PNG file types…but I couldn't remember the name. However, I did remember one thing about it…
…so instead of typing into Google – “compress png”, “shrink png”, or “compress image size”, I typed…
“Panda PNG”
Why? Because I remembered the mascot of the PNG file reducer tinypng.com was a panda.
And low and behold, that search term allowed me to instantly find my go-to image compression website. Which taught me a valuable lesson in branding…
Importance of Mascot Marketing or Mascot Branding for websites
I have no idea if TinyPNG is the best online image compressor website or plugin…but because it has a panda as a mascot, I remembered it and was drawn to it…because pandas are great.
And that is the importance of mascot branding…people are more likely to remember an animal, rather than the URL of a JPG or PNG image compressor.
So this is when I decided I needed mascot branding for my website. A website that was all about online teaching.
So Why a Toco Toucan and not, say, I dunno…a Kangaroo Mascot?
Good question. So to explain the thought process, let's look at some Toco Toucan facts…
Toco Toucan Facts and Habitat
- They spend a lot of time in trees and nest in the hollow of them
- They are not that good at flying
- So toucans travel from tree to tree by hopping
- When they do bother to fly, they only travel short distances by gliding and flapping their wings like maniacs
After learning this information from – https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/toco-toucan/ – I made the connection that as an online teacher, I also spend a lot of time in my tree (apartment) due to working online at home.
An online teacher also has a lot of flexibility to travel, so hops from tree to tree. Sold!
And plus, I discovered that “DigiNo Toucan” rhymed with…
“Did you know, you can!”
And so I did…
Hey-Presto! – DigiNo Toucan was born…
Becoming a Hermit
However, all this graphic design can get quite time-consuming. I made everything on DigiNo completely solo and I didn't see the sun for months…if I wanted to actually design a unique mascot by hand, I feared I would be there for years.
So to avoid becoming a permanent hermit, there is an alternative if you would rather concentrate on just a few skills and leave some tasks to someone else…
4) Hired Cheaper Freelancers with Fiverr
For really long and time-consuming tasks, I decided to start hiring freelancers if I could afford it.
Don't worry! It's not too expensive at all, in fact, it will cost you around a ‘Fiverr'.
What is Fiverr?
Fiverr is a website where you can hire people for a minimum of $5 to do just about anything!
I have hired freelancers to write articles, make logos, book covers etc.
So if you need help with producing written content…or if you don't trust your web design skills…then you can always pay someone on Fiverr to do it for you!
Check out Fiverr at the link below and find someone to do something that you don't want to:
Browse Freelancers on Fiverr Here!
This is also an affiliate link. I will earn money if you start hiring people.
There are countless referral opportunities online…not just in online teaching referral programs!
5) Performed Keyword Research with LongTailPro
Ok, so now, I have a website up, I have it looking all good and I have lots of online teaching things to talk about…
…but it's no good making a website if no one will be able to find it!
So from Skillshare I learned SEO – Search Engine Optimization.
You need this for your site to show up on Google… and an aspect of SEO is keywords.
These are the words people type into Google to find content. So these words need to be littered and precisely arranged within your website and content.
Google's spiders will then read your content, see the focus keywords and direct search engine users towards your relevant content to their needs.
A sustainable SEO strategy is inclined towards proper keyword research which then helps you to know what people are searching for on the internet. The same keyword research is the key that will unlock all hidden doors, and guide you in choosing the best and unique topics.
It is also what will help you find niches that have less competition, making you have a clear advantage over your real and imagined competitors.
How To Find Profitable Keywords with Low Competition
You can do this using Google's Keyword Planner, but I basically went on a spree of using free trials of SEO software.
Here's an SEO software free trial for you right here:
But this one was actually so good (and affordable compared to most others) that I actually did the unthinkable…I paid for it past the free trial!
LongTailPro
I signed up for the free trial of LongTailPro. This really blew my mind how all of this information was available. I could use the interface to find keywords that were low-competition with high monthly searches- thus making it easier to rank for!
What is LongTailPro?
It is a popular and powerful keyword research tool. This software helps online business owners and other users to access and put to use limitless information concerning appropriate and relevant keyword.
Within a few minutes, users can generate so much data while using the super user-friendly interface. The information you access is quite detailed, valuable, and closely related to your niche.
How LongTailPro Works
This software is a desktop application and its main purpose, of course, is to help users in their keyword research and identification. The programme is found on their website, so it's up to you to quickly search and download and install the software on your computer.
LongTailPro works by doing searches and reviewing on the terms that you enter concerning your niche. All the generated information that the software brings back to you can be utilized to pick out the best from the best. The same problem keyword suggestions are what you can use to increase your rankings on the search engines.
The clear advantage with using Long Tail Pro is its ability to generate hundreds upon hundreds of keywords all at once and in a matter of minutes.
How to start using Long Tail Pro
Once you have downloaded and installed the programme on your computer, you get started by clicking on the box that appears, which requires you to add seed keywords.
-Input the words related to your niche, and click on the add icon.
-You can insert as many relevant phrases and the key term as many times as you would want to. The tool gets to work on the many options you have given.
-On the dashboard, there is also the filter icon. Utilizing this icon helps you to add filters to your search. It is then easy to get only the information that is relevant to your search.
– The filters allow you to zero in on location, length of the keyword terms and phrases, and the kind of top-level domains just in case you are looking to purchase a URL that is appropriate.
-Once you are through with that part of filter application, click on the icon reading Generate keyword and fetch data’
The amount of time it takes for Long-Tail Pro to bring results usually depends on the number of keywords you are searching for. It can be in a matter of seconds to minutes, just wait patiently for results to come forth.
How to Manage Your Long Tail Pro Keyword Results
This main characteristic of this programme is generating of hundreds of probabilities in terms of results.
But it doesn’t matter if the data is huge and overwhelming. The software has features that help you to organize and manage all these results and make them as useful as possible.
The filter area has columns for each keyword that you entered. You can view your results using those columns. For instance, results displaying location both global and local results are easy to be displayed in one of the columns.
Likewise, results showing long or short phrases that you entered are also displayed and viewed from a separate column. Depending on the search term, you can easily get hold of the data you are looking for at any given time for from the columns.
Using the tools export feature, you can also export all the data to a spreadsheet and study the information more broadly.
Benefits of Using Long Tail Pro
-The programme enables you to access large amounts of information in a matter of minutes.
-Customer support is impressive and the team is always on standby to answer any questions and address any concerns that you may be having.
-Useful keyword generated by the application helps you to have a competitive advantage over your competitors.
-The tool comes with exemplary and easy to use features that support you in managing and using the generated data.
-In the long run, the tool pays for itself, regardless of the cost, as you finally find a sure way of generating traffic that converts onto your website.
-You have the freedom to unsubscribe and claim for your refund any time you feel like.
Drawbacks of Long Tail Pro
It is costly, and not many website owners can afford to purchase…but it is still an absolute bargain when compared to other SEO software.
SEO software is very expensive, as it is targeted at businesses with higher budgets than an online teacher sat at his laptop in his gym shorts.
SEO Software Pricing
To pay for something like Ahrefs or SEMrush will cost you around $100 a month!
So why did I pay for Long Tail Pro?
LongTailPro was just so easy for keyword research. It didn't have all the bells and whistles like the more expensive ones, but I needed something cheap to find as money keyword opportunities as possible.
…and LongTailPro only costs $25 a month!
This is an absolute steal for SEO software!
I was mining for gold every morning – then creating an article title out of the keyword. I began to gain confidence in producing articles in bulk with a high chance of ranking on Google.
Content creation paradise!
Here's the free trial of LongTailPro again if you wanna give it a go:
(Affiliate link, of course)
6) Created Automations and Email Lists with ConvertKit and IFTTT
Now that I had visitors to the site, I needed a way to keep them as an audience…sort of like meeting a new friend at a bar but not getting their Whatsapp…you may never see them again!
So that's when you wanna create an email list. I chose ConvertKit as it is so easy to use all the automations.
What is a ConvertKit automation?
This is when you set up an action to happen when a site visitor does a certain action.
For example with an online course hosted on my site, I set up an automation that sends them an email with the password once they sign up with the course.
You can also segment your list. This means that I can send different emails to current teachers as well as hopeful teachers. The content of those emails are going to be drastically different.
ConvertKit vs MailChimp
I was previously using a software called MailChimp, but I found it to be so clunky and unclear. The processes were just overly complicated and I crossed my fingers every time I sent an email that I did it right.
ConvertKit just made everything so easy and clear. And I'm still finding new ways to use all of the cool features…rather than spending 20 minutes figuring out how to insert an image in a MailChimp email.
But you can also have a go yourself by signing up to the ConvertKit free trial here:
I probably don't need to tell you that this is also another affiliate link!
Affiliate marketing is simple when you promote incredibly helpful products that you use yourself. You don't need a copy of Affiliate Marketing for Dummies when you write about products that you know so well from your own personal use.
Further Automations With IFTTT
Ever wish something would magically do your work for you?
Automation is what makes an online business tick. There are so many moving parts that you would have to be an expert watch maker to do it all yourself. That's why I turn to automation tools to join my passive income team as invisible members.
My favourite is IFTTT.
What is IFTTT?
IFTTT is an automation tool that allows you to make “applets” based off of “recipes” to perform online tasks for you automatically.
What is a “recipe”?
If This Then That
If you put an egg in boiling water…then the egg will cook. That is a recipe. If this (egg in hot water) then that (egg will cook).
So what is an IFTTT recipe?
Here's the fun part.
How To Use IFTTT
If this (post a new blog article on WordPress) then that (automatically post article to Facebook page).
This recipe has now created an “Applet” which performs the exact function that you have stated.
And there are so many different recipes for applets you can create using IFTTT. Here's an example of the ones I use below:
IFTTT Applet Examples
As you see, I use it to automate the social sharing of my blog posts. This has saved me so much time and allows my social media footprint to spread without me doing a thing!
This is just a small example of the capabilities of IFTTT.
Are there any IFTTT alternatives?
There are actually more complex (and more expensive) services, as well as ones that are more limited.
IFTTT vs Zapier
You can use Zapier as an alternative or alongside IFTTT if you find one of them doesn't do the exact automation that you want.
With some Zapier functions, such as PayPal automations, these are premium and cost money. So I tend to stick with IFTTT and I'll use Zapier for a premium function if I think it will provide increased revenue.
HootSuite vs IFTTT
HootSuite is another automation tool which I have mostly used in the past to schedule Tweets for the week on Twitter.
I no longer do this since IFTTT automatically tweets my new blog posts and YouTube videos (I've never been much of a Twitter user for reporting my daily life. My binge sessions of YouTube top 5 videos don't make for interesting reading).
And also, HootSuite appears to cost money now (I remember using it for free), so I would use Tweetdeck now…which is arguably better for managing your Twitter.
IFTTT and ConvertKit
ConvertKit is my email marketing automation tool. This works better with Zapier as there isn't an option for it in IFTTT, however I use it for it's own automation functions.
I can explain my automation strategy, including ConvertKit, right now:
How I Automated My Blog
Step 1 – Keyword Research with Long Tail Pro.
Step 2 – Write article based on keyword or hire a writer on Fiverr.
Step 3 – Automate Social Sharing of article with IFTTT to social media.
Step 4 – Set up weekly digest of blog articles to email list with ConvertKit.
Step 5 – Create YouTube video based on article.
Step 6 – Automate social sharing of Youtube video with IFTTT to social media.
How Does This Help?
With this method, all of my social sharing is taken care of.
The SEO is organised with the keyword research from Long Tail Pro and social signals automated through IFTTT to help ranking.
Grab a free trial of Long Tail Pro here.
Rather than individually sharing each article, I give my email list a digest of the new articles through ConvertKit so they can choose the one that interests them most – completely automated.
Try out ConvertKit for free here.
And the sharing is once again handled by IFTTT.
In fact, as soon as I click “publish” on this article, IFTTT will begin to work it's magic.
Making my life so much more…automatic. This allows me to spend time on other areas of the process.
7) Made YouTube Videos with Budget Equipment
Video content makes the user experience of a website so much easier. And on WordPress you can easily embed your YouTube videos into your articles.
So along with all my articles, I was adamant that I should have a video with each one, so that people could connect with me and see me as a real person.
A lot of people seem to approach the prospect of online teaching with caution. So if they could see me in videos as just a regular guy who is doing the job, then it instantly brings it more legitimacy.
How do I film YouTube Videos?
So I have slowly acquired a lot of equipment that has allowed me to film videos in my room/classroom, whilst using ManyCam and whilst travelling around Asia outside of the classroom.
Below is the list of all of the equipment and software I used to make YouTube videos:
Equipment/Hardware I use to Create YouTube Videos
Canon Powershot SX610 HS
The Canon Powershot SX610 HS is an update from last year’s model with the same name with a more beautiful design with better handling. It has a 20-megapixel sensor compared to 16MP in the last version. The camera produces clear images that will bring color and detail to your presentation videos. The battery life should be able to give you up to 200 pictures before needing a recharge. You also get wireless connectivity for easy transfer of images from the camera to your laptop for editing.
Joby GorillaPod
A good tripod helps to eliminate shakes from your camera and helps you shoot better videos. This GorillaPod is light, cheaper and extremely durable. It makes for the perfect travelling partner for your camera and video recorder if you have any. It is also flexible and can support cameras up to 3kg in weight without any strain. Another lifesaver for any online teacher as it can be stowed away to take little space in your bag.
Logitech C922x Pro Stream Webcam
This is a powerful webcam that allows you shoot high quality videos and live streams in a capable and professional manner.
You will enjoy fluid motion and auto light correction, giving your videos a vibrancy that other webcams in the price range do not have. The Logitech C922 is a must-have to create quality YouTube videos.
The Pro Stream is part of the list of best webcams for online teachers.
Blue Snowball Microphone
Blue is a well-known name in microphones and this USB microphone delivers professional-grade sound with its revolutionary design. You can easily plug it into any computer (PC or Mac) and record quality podcasts, voice overs or any other usage and be sure of rich, full-tone sound. The audio is clean, reducing editing time. For more flexibility, I recommend buying a longer USB cable.
Sony MDR950-XB Headset
Sony delivers with this sleek, wireless headphone with striking bass sounds and quality audio. A full charge will give you up to 20 hours of playback. The ear cushions are comfortable and provide an acoustic seal that help remove outside noise from your audio session. You also get the added convenience of hands-free telephony via Bluetooth and the inbuilt microphone.
Here's the list of best headsets for online teachers.
MacBook Pro
Every year, the MacBook Pro gets a more significant upgrade from the previous one. No matter which year you go for, what you are getting is a sleek, powerful device that will make, edit and deliver up to 4k quality YouTube videos without any visible lag. MacBook Pros also offer long battery life which makes them perfect for long flights and road trips.
A laptop is really an essential item, which is why its on the list of best laptops for online teachers.
External Hard Drive
The value of external hard drives cannot be overstated. As you make more videos, you begin to lose more and more of your computer storage space. Having an external hard drive is like an additional piece of luggage where you can put all your things and not worry about being over capacity ever. You can buy up to 3TB depending on the amount of content you deal with, otherwise anything from 1TB should work nicely.
Lavalier Microphone
If you are looking for a convenient microphone that is small enough to fit into your carry on luggage while delivering excellent performance for speeches, recordings and videos. Lavalier microphones come with an audio app which you can install on a smart device for more connectivity and setting. You can count on lavalier microphones for their durable quality, excellent sound and utility.
Now let's move on to the software!
Software I Use to Create YouTube Videos
ManyCam Studio
ManyCam is a great software that provides many video capturing options whether from multiple real or virtual cameras that are fully customizable. It works perfectly with Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices. The free version is quite capable and if you want to do even more with it, upgrade to the PRO version. It is definitely worth it especially with the easy learning curve.
I use it to demo games I've created for teaching online whilst recording my screen.
Check out the ManyCam beginner's guide.
Final Cut Pro X
As a Mac OS exclusive software, Final Cut Pro X is what any professional or consumer will use to edit videos without any limitation. It is powerful enough to serve professional video creators and also easy and cheap enough for every-day content creators. It makes creating high-definition videos seamless and easy to learn. There are also many features that will elevate your YouTube video to near-professional levels. The best part is that you also own it after a one-time payment and not recurring subscriptions. Final Cut Pro X is simply everything you would ever need to make quality videos.
I am by no means a pro video editor, but Final Cut Pro X made the experience of editing out my bloopers an absolute breeze!
Or if you don't want to pay…iMovie is just as good for the basic stuff and is free with your MacBook.
(Most of these are Amazon affiliate links)
8) Learned How To Get YouTube Videos Viewed By Thousands With YouTube SEO!
It's all good making this content…but I wanted my videos to get seen of course!
Once again this is thanks to courses on Skillshare, as well as all the research work you do on LongTailPro.
SEO not only helps you to rank on Google, but when you apply keywords that people are searching for into your YouTube tags, then this helps more people see your videos.
But I'll give you a quick-win here – the best keyword research tool for YouTube is free!
YouTube Channel Keywords – Top Tip!
Just type your subject into the YouTube search bar, for instance, ‘online teaching' and then take a look at the dropdown of all the auto-suggestions. These are all long tail keywords that people are searching for in volume!
That's some cheap SEO!
You can use these YouTube channel keywords as video titles, or as tags for your video. However, the benefits of having something like LongTailPro is it tells you the volume it is being searched and how likely you are to rank for it on Google.
But it is still a great little lifehack for YouTube!
9) Set Goals to Stay Motivated and Used Pomodoro Technique
Working on a project like this takes time. And like a long distance runner, it helps to have an idea of where the finish line is.
Having a ‘Clear Mind'
I've always lived by a to-do list. I even made up my own kind of to-do list called ‘Clear Mind'.
It's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of moving parts that make up an online side-hustle…and seeing all of them stack up on your to-do list is an instant motivation killer.
I had to stay motivated
So I came up with ‘Clear Mind' to solve this and keep my productivity on track.
It's simple. Just take out a different piece of paper from your to-do list (or new note on your laptop note app) and write one task on there from your to do list.
Once it's done tick it off on Clear Mind and on your main to-do list…and rinse and repeat.
Here's a quick video demonstration:
Thomas Frank – Study With Me – Pomodoro Technique
‘Study with me' videos have been so helpful in my productivity agenda. You put on a YouTube video of someone doing their work and you work along with them.
Here is the one I use with a guy called Thomas Frank of College Info Geek. His one is great because he uses the Pomodoro technique of working for 25 minute intervals with a 5 minute break. Here it is below:
It seems strange but for some reason it really helps me concentrate. It's the power of community.
10) Monetized My Site With Ads Through Monumetric
Due to setting all these monthly goals of producing set-amount of content (content is king, remember!) and rapidly improving my SEO with the help of LongTailPro and rising social media presence…
…I was starting to get a lot of traffic. However, the Google Adsense ads I had installed were only giving me pennies in revenue.
I didn't understand. I read so many articles about how people were raking it in from ads.
So I started chopping and changing my Adsense ad structure on the site…still pennies.
People just weren't clicking on the ads…and I don't blame them, I never do it either!
In my novice knowledge of ads, I assumed Adsense was the only option…but then a friend directed me to Monumetric.
What is Monumetric?
This is an ad network (formerly known as The Blogger Network) that sets up ads on your site and optimizes the display for you.
And wanna know the best thing about Monumetric?
You earn ad revenue by impression, not by click (like Adsense). This means that you earn from people just scrolling past the ads.
So now I could stop worrying about getting people to click on ads…but just get people to read my content and scroll past the advertising banners (which felt so much better for the soul!)
Here is an example of my daily passive earnings through Monumetric:
DigiNo and Monumetric
You can now apply for Monumetric through DigiNo if you have a website with a good amount of traffic.
So you see now I have given affiliate links for so many different things in this guide. But I also did it in a relevant way and gave value by explaining how these products and services helped me to make money and build my side-hustle.
This was what I wanted to achieve with this guide. To give a very practical example of affiliate marketing as you read how to start a website.
When you combine 3 things, this is when you have created a potentially successful side hustle:
- Platform such as WordPress (Using Bluehost)
- Passive Traffic through SEO (Using LongTailPro)
- A revenue generating product or service that solved a problem for you and others (Using affiliate marketing)
There are also great extras like building a loyal audience (using ConvertKit), as well as earning money on your site through ads (using Monumetric).
But these main 3 I find are the absolute foundations of building a side-hustle.
Final Thoughts
And that's how I created DigiNo. I had built a side-hustle over time after entering the world of online income through online teaching. The online teaching had allowed me the funds stay alive whilst I worked on something that would not make any immediate money. See more about online teaching below…
Creating Niche Websites Not For You? Don't Worry…
How To Use DigiNo.org
1. Apply to Teach Online
2. Teach and Earn Online Income
