Kids Make Money Online
Can kids make money online? Yes kids
can not only make money online but they can build
up a long term income that could help them through
college and give them more financial security in the
future.
They can do this in a fun and educational
way, just take a look:
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Nori's Story
Who
Would Have Thought That A Vacation
Could Pay My Way Through University?
by Nori Evoy
In August, 2002, we made our second
trip to the beautiful Caribbean island of Anguilla.
Many people had never heard of it. My Dad hadn't.
And then he read a book.
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It is an inspiring story about two people
selling everything they owned, "slowing down"
and opening up their dream... a restaurant in Anguilla.
Their love of the island, through successes and mishaps,
their description of the island and its people, caught
my dad's fancy. This book is really about a journey
down a "road less traveled."
It's really about people choosing to
lead their own lives.
I feel so sad for people who are stuck
working for people they don't like, for those who
are forced to go to work, fight traffic, be in an
office and then come home at the end of the day.
My dad works hard building SiteSell.com
and Site Build It!. Probably too hard. But he loves
what he does -- I can see his dream, how Site Build
It! can free people from a hum-drum life. You don't
have to do what the Blanchard's did and risk every
penny and open your own restaurant.
You can do what I did. But never meant
to. ;-) (After all, who could have imagined that A
Trip to the Beach and Site Build It! would turn me
into a successful Web site owner, too?)
Anyway, all that to say... when my Dad
asked me to write my "case study," how could
I say "no"? (How could I say "no"
anyway -- but that's a different story!).
Before I start my story, I should add
one thing... I get some e-mail saying how lucky I
am to have my Dad tutor me on "Net marketing."
Well, he doesn't.
He does help me a lot with my writing
-- he loves to write, and he pushes me to "say
it better, Nori -- make it come alive." And he
did help me get started with the software. But I do
all the rest myself.
My Story Begins
As I was saying, my Dad works pretty
hard. But when we vacation, we vacation. No laptops.
No cell phones. No RIM. Just tropical clothes and
snorkeling equipment!
We had fallen in love with Anguilla
in March, 2002, our first trip to the island. So a
whole month in Anguilla, August 2002, was looking
very appealing.
I won't bore you with the details of
that trip, but if you know my Dad at all, you will
have guessed that we pushed our car to corners of
the island where even the locals never go. We ate,
swam and drank (ahem, did I mention the rum punches?)
it all.
About half way through that trip, I
asked my Dad, "Would Anguilla be a good topic
for a Web site?"
Uh-oh. The lights in my Dad's eyes went
on.
"Nori, what a great idea."
He went on to explain how the World
Wide Web is really nothing more than hundreds of millions
of people looking for information, and millions of
sites that provide that information. Except that most
sites just try to make money with their sites... without
providing what people look for... the information.
Anguilla would, he said, be a wonderful
theme, for a site, if there was enough demand for
information about Anguilla and not too much competition.
If there was, then I could indeed attract visitors
by providing good information (and we were becoming
experts on Anguilla by now!). The final question,
he said, was...
"Assuming you can build the traffic,
how will you convert those visitors into revenue?
"
In short, my Dad calls this...
Content > Traffic > PREsell >
Monetize.
It all seemed pretty simple, when he
explained it like that. We had a wonderful vacation.
And my brain kept thinking about how this adventure
would make a good Web page, or that restaurant, etc.
There was only one problem... I didn't
know how to make a Web page!
Anguilla-Beaches.com
Is Born
When we got home, my Dad showed me the
Brainstormer software. Talk about amazing. Magic.
And there were lots of great topics (called "keywords")
about Anguilla. And not too much competition.
So we knew that we could build a site
that would attract enough visitors who are interested
in Anguilla. But as my Dad says, "There's no
point in building a site, even one with traffic, if
you don't have a plan for how you are going to convert
that traffic into income, Nori. Unless you just want
a hobby site, of course."
Now, I have nothing against those who
just want to have a hobby site. But as long as you're
going to write about something you know and love,
you might as well earn some money to pay for Radiohead
concerts and clothes, right?
As a student, I don't really have any
services to sell. And I do not have time to create
or sell products (although eventually I might write
the Xtreme Tourist Guide to Anguilla book). And my
Dad does not want me to e-mail with strangers, not
for a couple more years, so no customer support he
says.
However, he explained that there are
a lot of local Anguillian businesses who do not have
a Web site. Or if they do, they get no traffic and
never will. So he explained how I could earn a finder's
fee by sending clients to them.
In addition, I could be an affiliate
and earn commissions by sending people to Amazon.com
and Barnes & Noble to buy books on Anguilla. Google
AdSense did not exist yet.
So, based on all our keyword brainstorming
research and monetization plan, "Anguilla-Beaches.com"
was born.
I read the Action Guide, which was long
but easy-reading (in case you're wondering, my Dad
is not saying whether that little Action Guide shadow-man
with the hat and the whip is him or not). My Dad did
help me through a couple of the sections, but that's
more because he hovers -- I could have done it all
on my own.
His most important help was really to
push me to write to "touch" my visitors.
If you just write to make money, you will fail. If
you write to truly touch and inform and please your
visitors, good things will follow. That's a lesson
that I will always have with me, and I don't just
mean for anguilla-beaches.
I'll spare you the details of actually
"doing SBI!," because it really was quite
easy. But just in case you have not yet read the "quick
tour of how to do it" by now... this is all I
did (please
click here and follow along).
The Traffic Starts
I don't quite know how to say this next
part. Have you ever worked on something, and you know
it's supposed to work, but you don't somehow believe
it?
Well, that's kind of like what I was
doing.
First, let me back up a bit and tell you that I was
afraid. I was scared that my Dad would think I was
dumb because I had no idea how to write a Web page.
I was afraid of failing... and somehow, I didn't really
think "anyone would come."
"But if you don't try, you don't
get." (Yes, you-know-who says that, too.)
Well anyway, I started writing Web pages,
not wanting him to see them. My first two were up
before he even knew it! It was so easy with the block-by-block
builder. And the neat part is that the online help
taught me some simple HTML, like how to make a word
bold or navy blue.
My Dad was really impressed. We reviewed
the pages and he showed me how to say things better.
How to choose better words. How to close a page with
more "punch." It all makes sense once it's
explained to you, and now SBI! even includes sections
on how to write like that!
Soon, I was using an HTML Editor called
"BBEdit" (we use Macs). My Dad did help
me a bit with this. But anyway, back to "believing."
Guess what happened next?
People started visiting. First a few
per day. Then tens, hundreds, more and more and more.
And they loved the site. I received wonderful e-mail
(my Dad has someone screen my e-mail -- I think I'm
old enough, but he worries about this, so I only see
them and I don't reply to it).
I have received e-mail from...
* The Anguilla Tourist Board -- "You
go girl." That was great! They have written several
times since, thanking me.
* Anguilla Life magazine -- Claire Devener, the publisher,
has become friends of the family.
* Many restaurants and spots around the island, thanking
me for mentioning them.
* Hundreds of people who discovered Anguilla just
because of the site.
* And I am even recognized on the beach... which is
very weird.
Which brings me back to "believing."
Although I understood what I was doing, somehow it
is still amazing when you see yourself at #1 on Google
for "anguilla beaches" and when you see
visitors arriving, and especially when you see all
the people you reach from all over the world.
My site even gets a higher traffic ranking
than big, glitzy sites...
| Site |
anguilla-
beaches.com |
arawakbeach.com
|
anguilla-
vacation.com |
| Owner |
Nori
Evoy |
Arawak
Beach Inn |
Anguilla
Tourist Board |
| Rank |
|
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When I stop to think about it, I still
find it strange. But the reason is so simple... people
return when you provide information that touches them.
They subscribe to your e-zine. They find you at the
engines because you offer so many pages that cover
so many keywords. They find you... they like you...
and they keep coming. Like my Dad said...
Content > Traffic > PREsell That
has to come first.
It worked! And now...
Monetization
My Dad had explained to me how 98% of
online business people focus on "getting the
money" first. Only one problem. Their sites don't
attract anyone!
Now that anguilla-beaches was getting
traffic, my Dad arranged with another good friend
and wonderful real estate agent, for me to earn a
commission by referring real estate leads to her.
I built an entire section on real estate -- all those
photos my Dad took came in handy!
As a results, she has sold a house and
rented many villas (some of those villas rent for
thousands of dollars per night). This single referer
arrangement already earns most of my income from the
site, and my Dad wants to arrange similar deals with
other professionals and services and businesses on
the island.
And I was accepted as a Google partner.
The Google ads alone earn me a lot more than my friends
who work part-time in fast food restaurants.
The affiliate income is the least important
revenue generator, but it's better than nothing!
The End... Or The
Beginning
We've made several trips to Anguilla
since then... I know that's where my parents will
settle when I'm in university. And every trip, we
accumulate more and more great content.
I don't try to be all things to all
people. There are other sites that are far more comprehensive.
But people don't necessarily want "comprehensive."
As my Dad says, "We live in an info-overloaded
world, Nori. If you find the best for people and save
them the time of having to read too much, you're providing
real value."
So that's my niche... the best of Anguilla...
from a family's point of view.
On this next trip, I'll use Form Build
It! to add more lead-generating income for a boat
charter, a tour operator, and other higher-end businesses.
I'm not in a rush. It's important for me to find the
right partner to recommend, not just to make money.
Oh, and speaking of money, I wasn't
kidding about university. My Dad will, of course,
help with university. But please don't think I'm one
of those kids with a silver spoon in my mouth. My
Dad refuses to spoil us and I guess that's why I called
this section "The End... Or The Beginning."
This is the end of my story, but just
the beginning of my adult life. I've learned that
it takes some work to succeed. If you re-read my story,
you'll see how important it is to work smart. That's
more important than working hard.
Site Build It! did not build my site...
it did not build my business. I did.
But it did help me to work smart. I
picked a good theme, thanks to Site Build It!.
I built a Web site, which I could never
have even started without it.
Traffic grew, thanks to SBI! leading
me through the process of writing my words so that
they make both my human visitors and the search engines
happy. I had to work to do this, but I could not imagine
doing it without Site Build It!.
Site Build It! took away 90% of the
"work hard" and let me work smart.
I now have a business that I can grow
over the years. A business that is fun. I'll never
do a 9 to 5. I'll always own my own life.
That, more than money, more than learning
about the Web, more than anguilla-beaches, more than
learning how to write well, that is the most important
thing I've learned from SBI!.
Own your own life. If you don't, what's
the point?
Thank you, Dad.
Nori Evoy
anguilla-beaches.com
Site Build It is a package that helps
real people build online businesses but as you can
see it can also be a great way for kids to make some
extra money too. Basically it helps you build a web
site that works, that draws in visitors and converts
them into sales and income. For kids building a web
site about a hobby or interest they already have can
be really fun, it can develop into a whole new hobby
for them, keep them entertained and earn them some
extra money. It can even turn into a long term income.
To find out more about Site Build It
Click Kids Make Money
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