Zero to 100: the Journey has Started

Today I was talking to a friend and mentor of mine who told me my “zero to 100” journey has started. He was telling me this because I started Canadian Free Flyers; a paid newsletter club that delivers deals and promotions to Canadians so they can effectively earn travel points and fly for free. Althought I haven’t actually launched it yet, I already have some people signing up. I have no idea how they found it, but it’s a great start!

I started CFF for a couple of reasons. First, I love the aspect of a membership site. I find them exciting and a great way of continually connecting with an engaged audience. I’m part of some membership sites (like A list blogging) and I think they are great place to learn things and meet like-minded people. Since I love travel hacking, it seemed like a great fit to blend this into a membership site.

For $10/mth, Canadians get their own personal assistant sending them weekly emails with deals and promotions to earn travel points in Canada. I also teach them some strategies behind it and guarantee them enough points for 2 flights a year. Not bad for $10/mth right? I’ll keep you updated as it launches and moves along. I’m super excited!

Aside from that, I’ve been trying a few other methods throughout the past few months (some for years) and share some quick insights below. If your new to making money online, below are some great ways to get started:

1. Affiliate marketing: This is a popular one with online bloggers and anyone new to online business. I love the idea of it and although I haven’t become totally immersed in it yet, I have made some sales using this strategy. This proves to me that it’s possible. Basically, I only promote products on AWOI that I have used and think would be beneficial to my readers. I’m also starting to make additional offers to readers who purchase through my links. I’ll report back if it becomes a success or not. Overall, people make affiliate marketing sound really easy but the true fact is few people become successful at it. It’s not as simple as throwing a page together with some links and watching the money come in. A lot of work goes into it but it is a great way to start your journey from zero to 100.

2. Ebay and Kijiji: I’ve made quite a bit of sales on kijiji and a few sales on ebay. This is not a strategy I’m using to make a living but just a strategy I’m using to get rid of things I don’t need anymore. It can be fun though and there are people out there who make their living off ebay so you might want to give it a try. It’s one of the easiest things to set up. It’s good practice and all you need to start is some personal items you no longer want or need. Ebay is best for offering it to the world whereas kijiji is only good for local offers since you’ll most likely need to meet the person to exchange items.

3. Niche sites: This is something I’m just getting into but it looks like a fun and interesting way to make some money online. It’s a little tough right now since my main focus is A World of Inspiration and Canadian Free Flyers but I’m setting up a couple small sites just to get some practice. I’m actually looking into partnering with someone for a friendly competition in making a niche site so “zero to 100” readers can get a great feel for building one from scratch. Stay tuned!

So as you can see, I’ve already surpassed the $100 mark (my first goal for zero to $100) for earning money online but it’s still very much in it’s infancy. Canadian Free Flyers and A World of Inspiration are definitely my top priorities since both are fun and rewarding to work on. A World of Inspiration isn’t really an income generator at this point but it deals with my passion of travel, adventure, and inspiring people to envision life as an endless possibility to do great things. Canadian Free Flyers is really fun because I’m dealing with something I love (travel and travel hacking) and I get to help others do the same.

I know there are many mistakes ahead of me but also many successes. Keep reading and you’ll learn a lot along the way.

Have you started making money online yet? If so, what have you been doing? If not, what strategies appeal to you the most?