I get a lot of emails from people asking me if I really earn a full-time income online. I can understand their skepticism. There's a lot of hype surrounding making money online and often times it's presented in a way that seems too good to be true.

Plus, the Net is faceless so your interaction with people is often limited to e-mail or instant messaging. It's hard to know who to trust and you certainly don't want to waste your time and money on a worthless scheme or program.

Well, my online success story is indeed true. I began my venture back in 1998. I invested $20 in an MLM program and I turned that $20 bucks into about $6,000 over the course of 9 months. I was in college at the time so you can imagine how elated I was to make that kind of money during one of the poorest times in my life. :-)

That MLM program has since shut down. However, I took the knowledge I gained from that and began creating websites to help people create their own personal and business websites.

That's when 2CreateAWebSite.com was born. Even though the information on the site is completely free, I earn money by participating in various affiliate programs that relate to the theme of my site.

You can do the same. You don't have to sell any products to make money online. You can build a content-rich website on your hobby or a topic you are passionate about and monetize it with related affiliated programs.

For example...

Say you love crafts. You can create a website about this. Your goal would be to create as much content as you can on the topic so you can attract free search engine traffic (Google, MSN and Yahoo, for example).

Once you begin getting traffic, you earn money with different monetization models. For instance, Google AdSense pays you to display ads on your site.

If your site is about crafts, the AdSense program will automatically display ads related to your content. When your site visitors click on your ads, you earn money. I make anywhere from $1500 to $1800 per month just with this program alone.

You could also join Amazon.com's affiliate program and promote their craft-related books. Refer your audience to buy these books and Amazon pays you a commission for every sale. There are tons of free programs on the Net like this.

I also have a fitness site called www.flat-stomach-exercises.com and it earns money in the same ways explained above. See how my two sites are totally different in regards to the topics, but the money making concept is the same?

If you decide this is something you'd like to try, do me a favor. Don't use any host except Site Build It!. They are the only company that provides all the tools you need in one place AND the coaching that will walk you through the process step-by-step.

Could you do this on your own without Site Build It!? Absolutely. BUT... you will be left to figure out how to attract traffic and finding programs to earn money from your site. After all, with no traffic and affiliate programs, you won't make any money.

I didn't create 2CreateAWebSite.com with Site Build It! but I used it for my newest site, flat-stomach-exercises.com and I received free search engine traffic to that site 3 times faster than I did with sites I've built using the old fashioned method. That's because SBI! coached me as I wrote each page to ensure it ranked well in the major search engines.

I'm so glad SiteSell finally launched a video that allows you to see how Site Build It! works. It's really difficult to explain the process in words because there's so much to tell. So watching a video will give you a much clearer picture of what you'll be getting for your money.

I'll say it again...

If you want to make money with a website, Site Build It! is the only way to go. If you do decide to go the cheaper route and you have no website building experience, you'll have a lot to learn on your own.

But if you have Site Build It!, it eliminates a lot of the technical things you'd have to figure out if you didn't use it.

The key to making money online is not becoming a web programmer or designer, it's about writing content and ranking high in the major search engines.

SBI! takes care of all the programming in the background while you can focus on what's most important. Watch the video here!

The average webmaster just needs a simple program that will upload and download files to and from their server. These big name software companies want you to spend $30 and $40 bucks on features you don't need.

Download this free, easy-to-use FTP program today.

2 Create a Website is proud to announce our own HTML software that we are offering for free! Download it here.

Webmasters, you are free to offer this from your site for free or as an incentive to get others to buy your products.

Let's face it. The Internet is not for everyone. You have to enjoy being out here and learning the ropes (how to get ranked in Google, partner with other sites, writing content, etc.) If you don't, this journey will feel more like a job.

It's never felt like work to me and I believe that's why I've done so well. Unfortunately, though, when people hear my story of earning six figures per year with my websites, they think all they have to do is build a site and they'll do the same.

If it were really that easy, we'd all have six figure websites now wouldn't we?

People often want instant gratification with little work and then they don't succeed, they place the blame on everyone when 9 times out of 10, the only person to blame is themselves.

Sure, I make a lot of money out here, but I've worked hard. I've been doing this since 1998 and there were times in the beginning when I only made $14 per month. But I never gave up. Yes, I've had several failed websites and made tons of mistakes along the way.

Mistakes are OK, but laziness is not. I get emails all the time from people who want to make six figures but can only devote an hour per day on their sites. If you're just starting out, you have to devote much more time to this than one hour. If you can't, then your results will mirror your efforts.

Then there are the slugs that think they can just plagiarize other's content in hopes of stealing their traffic. What they don't know is that the search engines are now much smarter and than they were years ago so it's not easy to just rip off someone else's hard work (thank goodness!).

Bottom line...

If you are looking for a free lunch or looking to get rich overnight, then the Web is not the place. The Internet is often over glamorized and many people think you can make a killing out here by doing virtually nothing. Just like an offline business, an online business takes work.

The Web is not for lazy people so if that's you, you may want to try something else. :-)

One major flaw I see with websites is that the owners don't put much effort into their writing. This can make a HUGE difference in your sales, whether you're an affiliate or you sell your own products.

The best web writing book I've ever read is a book called "Make Your Content Presell!." PREselling is the process of building credibility through your writing and it's especially important to learn if you are an affiliate (i.e. someone who refers another company's products and earns commissions.)

This vital lesson is not emphasized enough and is a big reason why many people never learn to make money on the Net. It's an excellent read.

The best part...

It's free and you can download it here!

My template collection has really matured over the past couple of months. As I mentioned in September, I launched a handful of professionally designed HTML templates that you can download for free.

Now, I've added some Flash templates. Unfortunately these aren't free and when you see the design you'll understand why. :-) I've partnered with Templates247.com and am pleased to offer a wide selection that appeal to a variety of tastes and website themes.

They make it easy for you to pay (PayPal) and give you a nice deal if you buy in bulk. View the Flash templates here.

1) ...your blog content is an exact duplicate of what's on your site.

In other words, your blog should be a nice addition to your site...not a duplication. It should offer unique, relevant information that people won't necessarily find on your site. For search engine optimization, you should frequently link back to pages on your Web site (if applicable).

2) ...you don't plan to blog often.

If you want your blog to become popular, it's important you update it often...otherwise, what's the point? Just like a website, you want to keep it fresh with new content so it doesn't become stale and forgotten.

3) ...you have unrealistic expectations of what a blog will do.

Don't get me wrong, there are some very savvy bloggers out there getting thousands of visitors per day. However, that is not the norm for most bloggers. So many people think can just throw up a free blog and floods of traffic will come.

The majority of heavily trafficked blogs are owned by Webmasters who already have sites with decent traffic. A blog can be a nice traffic generator if you come up with a creative theme that offers relevant content to your audience. However, don't expect miracles.

4) ...you don't plan to promote it.

Just like a web site, a blog needs to be submitted and promoted. There are tons of blog directories out there that will allow you submit yours for free. But don't stop there. Link it to your web site so search engines can spider it, submit articles and add it to your signature box, etc. Treat it like a website and promote it any place you can.

I have to admit, I was a little ummm....overwhelmed by this free tool called Search It! because there are so many options. However, once I took some time to play around with it, it can be an extremely powerful assistant to your Net marketing efforts...and it's FREE!

This one tool alone will tell give you information on...

1) Your competition (where are they?)
2) Your site's popularity
3) Local business competition
4) Forums/discussion groups in your niche
5) Blogs/RSS feeds in your niche
6) How many of your site's pages are indexed in certain engines
7) And so much more...

Try Search It! today. Be careful though, you might get addicted. :-)

Make Your Site Sell! (MYSS!) is honestly the best book I've ever read on how to build a profitble website. Whether you're an affiliate or selling products of your own, this is an absolute must read.

Even at its old price of $30, it was a tremendous bargain...but now it's even a bigger bargain because it's free! Hard to believe something this good won't cost you a cent.

Download it today.

Studies have shown that talking characters can boost your sales and increase visitor depth. If you use SitePal.com, you can type in the text and the characters will say anything you type.

You can even record your own voice and use that instead of the pre-recorded voices that SitePal provides. (I'd recommend using your own voice because they don't have very many good pre-recorded choices.)

They are great for use on your homepage where you can tell your visitors what's new, highlight key web pages, and give them advice on how to navigate your site.

Customizing and adding the characters is easier than you may think. No programming is necessary. You do all the customization on SitePal's site, and they provide you with two snippets of code to place into your web pages. That's it!

Your visitors must have Flash installed on their browser to hear the characters talk, but these days that's 95% of most web surfers.

I've had so much fun playing around with this...especially trying to make the character look like me. :-) You can see my talking character on my homepage. I've also added one to my hex color page. Just hit the play button to hear them talk.

You can opt to have them speak on every page load but I figured that'd get very annoying to my visitors. I'd rather give people the option of listening to them or not.

If you want to try the talking characters for free, just go to SitePal.com.

I'm happy to announce that I've got some pretty cool HTML templates you can download for free at my site. The original templates I had were a bit prehistoric. I left them up for those who just want a basic design with no graphics. You can find them at the bottom of the page.

Enjoy my new HTML templates and bookmark this page because more will be coming in the very near future!

I get a lot of the same kind of emails from people because they are unsure of the entire website creation process. For example, what should they do if they want a message forum or how do they accept credit card orders.

I've created a quick website creation overview to help those who may need an overview of everything involved with the creation of their site.

Need help deciding the best color scheme for your site? Use my new hex color picker to generate a 4-color scheme for your design. Simply enter your main color and let the tool do the rest.

Try the color generator here.

Want to practice your HTML code online? I've just added a Flash-based HTML editor. It's good for beginners who want to generate some quick and easy HTML code on the fly.

Try the free HTML editor here.

I've just launched a brand new Flash-based Hex HTML Color Code generator. It replaced that awful, low res JPEG image I had before (YUCK!) :-)

It's pretty fun to use. Just use the slider to select the desired color. Then adjust the brightness/saturation. Finally copy and paste the Hex value that is generated into your HTML page.

View the Hex Color Code Generator here.

One of the keys to long-term traffic, is to make your website "sticky". In other words, give people a reason to return over and over again.

Of course, useful content that is updated regularly is a great way to increase website stickiness. However, you can also host some kind of application that can also make your visits stick.

An online gaming site is a great example. They provide an interactive application that keeps people coming back for more. Another example would be adding a mortgage calculator to a finance related website. Whatever kind of application you add, it should be related to your site's theme so it has some interest to your visitors.

Here's the problem, though. If you're like most webmasters (including me!), you may not have the technical expertise to create such a fancy application. After all, it takes quite a bit of programming to create some of these tools.

There is a solution! Try going over to Rent A Coder.

All you do is post what you need done for your site and dozens of programmers will bid on your project. You choose the bid you want, the programmer works on your project, and then you pay him/her at the end. (The money is held in escrow until you are satisfied with the finished product).

Just think...if you can provide some kind of free application that your target audience values, you can really start racking in the repeat traffic over time.

Every now and then I get an email from someone who has read my article where I warn people to stay away from creating free websites.

I would suspect some of the emails come from owners of these hosts, and others are simply from people that have had great experiences with their free websites.

If you haven't had any problems with your free host, that's great. That article was written based on my own experiences and I personally think it's very risky to create a website (particularly one you want to keep for a long period of time) using a free host.

Plus, it does not rid the fact that you are often limited in what you are allowed to do in terms of enhancements and site functionality. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)

There's a nifty little tool out called "Page Strength" and it takes Google's PageRank to a new level. It offers more insight into how valuable, important and popular a site or page is as compared to others on the web.

Check it out here.

I apologize if that title offends you, but at least I got your attention. :) And if you're affiliate sales don't suck, then you probably already grasp what I'm about to talk about.

Did you know 90& of affiliates never make hardly anything? That's not a very encouraging statistic if your goal is to earn a lot of money out here.

The good news is I can tell you how to fix that easily and it won't cost you a single dime if you already have a website. It will cost you some time, though.

First of all, if you don't have your own website and you're relying on the merchant's site to do all the work you're doing yourself a disservice. You need more than just that affiliate link with your ID attached.

As affiliates we must PREsell through our own content first. That means we have to put our visitors in a "ready to buy" mood BEFORE they click our affiliate link.

That doesn't mean to write a page with benefits about the product or service and just paraphrase copy from the company's sales page. When you do that it looks too much like you're trying to sell. That's the merchant's job to close the sale, not yours.

Stay with me here...

Let's say someone joins an affiliate program of a company who sells books and courses on how to improve your golf game and other golf related products.

Here's what UNSUCCESSFUL affiliates do:

If they have a website, they may write a sales page for the products listing the benefits, and then at the end they link off to the merchant site with their affiliate link.

Their audience instantly feels "pitched" and they arrive at the merchant site less likely to buy because they came from what felt like an advertisement.

What's worse is when the affiliate's website is not even related to golf so when (or if) a visitor sees this "write-up" they'll either be uninterested or smell the sales pitch right away.

Here's what a SUCCESSFUL affiliate does:

First off, they already have a content-rich site on golf that is already getting good traffic. (search engines LOVE content and reward those that provide it in abundance!)

This affiliate knows who their visitors are because they check their site stats to see what keywords people use to find their site. He ensures the content delivers information his audience wants.

Second, because his site is already filled with useful content, he probably has visitors that bookmark the site and return often.

Instead of just posting banner ads and writing a sales pitch for the golf products, he cleverly weaves in a recommendations for them inside his articles, blogs and newsletter.

Instantly the credibility for this affiliate is a lot higher than the one in the first example because his site is providing a ton of useful content that benefits his audience.

When he recommends products, his visitors don't feel pitched. They are just taking advice from someone they believe is a credible source. After all, they have learned so much from his site on golf, they trust his recommendations. Useful, informative content allows you, the affiliate, to build that trust.

You CANNOT become a successful affiliate if you don't have visitors that value your content and view you as a credible source in your niche. You have to give them a reason to trust you.

And if you are a "backward affiliate" (That's what I call those people who join affiliate programs first and then build a site afterwards), then perhaps you need to start over. Create a site on a topic you love, THEN join affiliate programs that fit your theme.

Also, don't feel like you have to choose "Internet Marketing" or "Home Based Biz" affiliate programs to make money. These topics are way too competitive and the market is overly saturated. Choose something you know about and have an interest in. It could be acne tips, marrital advice, weight loss tips, etc.

Problem-solving websites that offer advice and solutions are the BEST because you are helping your visitor with their problems - an INSTANT credibility booster if your content is useful.

After a while the search engines will start to bring you free traffic. Your content will help you PREsell to your audience and they will be more likely to buy products from companies you are affiliated with because your site has helped them.

What's cool about this is many of your visitors may even realize you're getting a commission from the products you recommend and they don't mind because you've helped them so much.

(I've had people email me and tell me they want to make sure I get the commission because my site helped them so much.)

If you follow this advice, you'll join the small percentage of affiliates who actually do this right and make a lot of money. Just make sure you select a topic you know a lot about like these successful affiliates did.

If you want an awesome, free course on PREselling, join the 5 Pillar Affiliate Program. Even if you choose not to promote their products you'll still get a free guide on how to PREsell and you can use it to help you become a better affiliate.

When will people learn that if it sounds too easy, it probably is? I've made a lot of money on the Internet, but I would never tell you it was "easy" or done overnight. Yes, it was fun because I build websites on topics that interest me, but I work hard.

After getting an email from someone who got "had" by an Internet scam, it inspired me to write an article. Read it here.