for W3c validation

I get asked all the time what I do and how I make money online, both from friends back home and from travelers I meet on the road. There are no shortcuts to building the network or knowledge base necessary — both require your time — but it can be done. For those that want to figure out how to make money online and are possibly thinking I can help you get started, I thought I’d put together a short post with some details on how to best position yourself with the necessary background knowledge for opportunities I might be able to connect you with in the future.

• Understand why & how businesses are utilizing social media
• Realize that social media marketing does not operate under the same rules that apply to traditional marketing
• Understand how companies are monitoring their brand online
• Read up on how social media is being utilized in customer service environments
• Make a point to understand the real estate industry at a high level. It’s a vastly complicated industry with lots of background & interesting dynamics at play (such as agent vs broker vs franchise), but it’s fascinating — at least to me it has been. My background is in real estate, so it’s a given that a lot of online opportunities I come across would benefit from someone who understands real estate.
• Learn what WordPress.org is and the basics of how it works (plugins, themes, etc)
• Practice your writing skills & find your online voice — pretty much any avenue you explore to earn revenue online involves some sort of writing. So get good at it.
• Be passionate. Don’t do something just to make money; find a way to make money during what you love. If you hate computers but want to travel the globe making money, I’m sorry but social media and online marketing is not for you.

At the moment, I’m not going to provide links to further reading on any of these topics, as that just means I’m putting less of a barrier in front of you to learn. I may, however, write more on these topics in coming weeks for those too lazy to use Google 🙂

PS #1: If you are interested in learning some of this “on the job” and willing to volunteer some of your time (maybe 10 hours a week), I’m looking for someone who is willing to help out with a few of my projects. The first project you’d be helping with would be Oh Hey World. Email me if you’re interested.

PS #2: And if you already have coding or graphic design skills and are looking for freelance work, get in touch with me (but send me links to other projects you’ve done so I can get a feel for your skill level).