What Mistakes Should I Avoid When Making Money Online?

When I started out in an online business, I made many mistakes that I wish didn’t happen. Some of them were good for learning what works, while others I ended up regretting. More so, what mistakes should I avoid when making money online?

In my experience, here are some major ones to take away:

• Going too quick
• Believing that I can do it all on my own (without any help or support)

I was naive to think I could do it all on my own, so I needed help (and continue to do so today).

Luckily, I found a community of like-minded individuals to reach out to.

This platform is called Wealthy Affiliate, one of the best places to get started in online business.

If you want to make money online by creating a niche website and learning how affiliate marketing works, this platform is the best choice to get in that direction.

In this article, I’ll review 11 tips of advice to succeed in making money online.

It also entails your time at WA should you choose to leverage this great platform. 

Note: We may include products or services that will be helpful to our readers. This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please review the affiliate disclosure page.

1. 11 Tips To Succeed In Making Money Online
2. The Before (Tips # 1-3)- Learning

• Do NOT Rush
• Appreciate What You Have
• Anticipate Failure

3. The During (Tips # 4-6)- Development

• Get Awesome At SEO
• Find A Place To Work
• Create A Routine (Necessary)

4. The After (Tips #7-10)- Deployment

• Do NOT Be Lazy
• Two Components: Stay Humble And Remain Hungry
• Do NOT Venture Too Far

5. My Bonus Tip: Do Not Give Up Too Soon

11 tips to succeed in making money online

These success tips came from a WA member, who happens to teach live expert classes every week on the platform. 

Jail Neill, the live training instructor, did a webinar that was related to his 10-year mark over at WA.

Although it was from several years ago, these tips remain helpful for anyone starting out in an online business.

I will lay out the ten tips he provided from this class he did in the past.

Along with that, I will throw in an extra bonus tip that I think is important when starting out as a beginner.

What mistakes should I avoid when making money online?

10 Success Tips From Jay’s 10 Years At Wealthy Affiliate

The before (Tips # 1-3)- Learning phase

The first three tips are part of the “before” stage of starting a business, also known as the learning phase.

That can help with getting your mind ready to go before getting into all of the action.

# 1 Do NOT rush

There’s no need to get up and running in such a short period of time. It can be unrealistic to see success too soon.

For example, if you opened a brick-and-mortar store, and expect to break even within the next 30 days, that’s not the right mindset to have.

The chances of seeing a profitable business happen are super slim.

The same rules apply to online business: It takes time to learn how the process works. At WA, it’s not a race to finish sooner than later.

The training is designed for you to go at your own pace. So take your time to learn the skills needed to be successful in business.

As Jay brings up, success comes with the right mindset. That’s where it all begins for anyone starting out.

# 2 Appreciate what you have

If you happen to be a current WA member, you have a lot of great resources to use at your disposal. 

From simple training, web hosting, keyword research tool, community support, and tech support, all of these cost much less than if you were to find them elsewhere.

So make the most out of what you have: You got everything you need to succeed and grow your business.

At an affordable price, you can’t beat what you have available.

# 3 Anticipate failure

Failure will be inevitable, so expect it to happen at some point. In his class, Jay mentioned that 75% of people end up failing in their first niche. 

In other words, your first niche website may not be successful- and likely not be the last one.

My past failures 

Over the years, I’ve made four different niche websites. Unfortunately, three of them did not work out as planned (and I believed were failures). 

Luckily, the fourth one worked out better. That website did well thanks to implementing the training offered at WA.

Here’s one tip of advice I’ll give out: Failure is a learning experience- consider it as an opportunity for growth. So it’s not the end-all-be-all, you just have to keep going.

The during (Tips # 4-6)- Development

Tips four-six covers the “during” stage, where you are taking action and putting all of your efforts into the business.

Some of them are valuable skills to make the most out of.

# 4 Get awesome at SEO

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is an excellent skill to learn for blogging and affiliate marketing. 

As Jay says, “Learn the hell out of it.”

He mentions that SEO is a sellable asset to acquire. The reason he brings up is as follows:

Not only will it benefit your skillset, but you can help other people rank their websites. 

For example, you could venture into local SEO marketing for nearby businesses in your area.

That can be helping small businesses that are looking to be discovered online but may need professional consultation.

Another option may be getting a job opportunity as an SEO/social media manager. There are opportunities that you can land at a major firm/organization, where you can do SEO-related work at another level.

So as Jay emphasizes, get a grasp on mastering SEO at every stage of the process.

It’s something that is at the heart of the training provided at WA, so don’t underestimate what you can do with your understanding of SEO.

SEO and Ranking Foundations: Learn how to master SEO in 2023

#5 Find a place to work

It may sound obvious, but it’s a big one to consider. It’s best to find a space where you can maximize your focus and productivity.

You want to have a place where you have little to no distractions and maintain focus when it’s needed.

If that’s not at home, especially if you have a family (i.e. young kids), you may want to consider other places, such as a coffee shop, your local library, or even a park.

For me, that’s usually going to the library, where it’s quieter and work at my best. Especially when I need to do deep work and stay focused, that’s one of the best places to work.

As long as you have an internet connection and a quiet space, then you’re good to go. From there, put on some headphones, play some chill music, and get right to work.

# 6 Create a routine (necessary)

A routine is essential to getting things done, as it helps establish discipline and structure in your day. 

Every successful business comes as a result of employees following routines, and you should build one to grow your business.

For example, that can be writing a blog post every Tuesday and Thursday. Or, that can be recording a YouTube video every Monday and Friday.

If you can stick those tasks to your schedule, that can help with staying disciplined and consistent with content creation.

Practice time batching

For myself, I have a set routine for doing specific tasks. My preference for working is doing time batching.

Time batching is basically where I do similar tasks all at once in a certain time frame. So instead of doing them sporadically, I group these tasks together and do them all at once. 

That’s a great way for me to manage my time, while also allowing me the capability to do other things in my spare time.

So I’ll give a current breakdown of what I do for creating content on YouTube. 

Record 3-4 YouTube videos every Sunday- for 60-90 minutes (depending on how long the videos are)

Edit video and SEO titles/descriptions every Friday- for two hours (before publishing them on my channel)

Publish each video individually every Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday

I think it’s a great example of setting an effective routine; additionally, it really helps with managing your time wisely.

The after (Tips # 7-10)- Deployment

Tips seven-ten deals with the “after you succeed” part of your business. 

That’s when you potentially see substantial growth in your business, such as earning consistent revenue.

# 7 Do NOT be lazy

Being lazy can be a problem, especially when you’re experiencing a high point in your business. 

Your website is getting consistent traffic every day and you’re making commissions. That’s all great; however, some people tend to take a step back and get comfortable with where they’re at.

When that happens, commissions may go down, there’s less traffic coming to your website, and your rankings might suffer as well. 

If you stop and settle for what you already have, your business may stall and not continue to grow. 

So as Jay mentions: Don’t stop after getting comfortable. Keep going and challenge yourself further to grow your business to the next level.

# 8 Two components: Stay humble and remain hungry

It helps to have a growth mindset when building a business.

Be open-minded and willing to keep learning new skills.

I always like to say: Become better than you were yesterday. Always be looking for new opportunities to scale your business further.

If you have a business that’s making you six figures a year, why not scale that to seven figures (get into the million-dollar range)?

Once you’re at the point, scaling can be very easy. So continue to develop and grow as an individual- it can help you out a lot.

# 9 Do NOT venture too far

When you’re starting an online business, you don’t want to go too far once you have something going.

Jay advises not to jump from one niche to another niche.

When you’re just starting out, it’s best to stick to one niche while you’re learning new skills.

Don’t get too distracted by what other people are telling you what to do in your niche. 

Email newsletters subscriptions

A good example of that is subscribing to a bunch of email newsletters.

There’s nothing wrong with subscribing to email newsletters.

But, you don’t want to fall for the next big thing or product that might distract you.

That’s what I refer to as shiny object syndrome. It can be so easy to fall for those things and get off track to doing what works better.

I’ve been guilty of that myself, but I still subscribe to them to learn what other people are doing.

Specifically, I have a separate email that’s dedicated to anything related to business and marketing. 

It’s a great way for me to learn and study what other people are doing.

But at the same time, I’ll resist taking any actionable advice- if it’s not what I was taught works the best.

The MMO niche: Falling for black-hat SEO

A bulk of the questionable products in the MMO niche tend to practice black-hat SEO tactics.

Known as spamdexing, these are tricks that people do to get their content ranked faster in search engines.

These practices include spamming, stuffing keywords throughout your articles, and buying backlinks.

Although they can help with ranking content quicker, they can end up harming your online business later on.

Google has notoriously penalized people for practicing black-hat SEO tactics, which is why search results in this search engine have drastically improved over the last decade.

It creates a better search experience for the user in mind. 

For the better, they’ve done a great job weeding out low-quality, garbage content in place of high-quality, helpful content for their users.

Become better than you were yesterday. Always be looking for new opportunities to scale your business further.

Eric T. Seil

Resist these shady practices

So don’t think you can trick Google into ranking your content, especially if it’s not helpful for users searching for information online.

So stay away from it as much as possible- Stick to clean, white-hat SEO practices that work and that Google will reward your content with better rankings.

I’ve been guilty of that myself, but I still subscribe to them to learn what other people are doing.

Specifically, I have a separate email that’s dedicated to anything related to business and marketing. 

It’s a great way for me to learn and study what other people are doing.

But at the same time, I’ll resist taking any actionable advice- if it’s not what I was taught works the best.

#10 Find a mentor

It can be anyone you look up to. Or, it can be a book you read or a specific podcast you listen to.

Even reading a book on personal development can bring a unique perspective, when it comes to being the best version of yourself.

A podcast that’s business-related and motivational can benefit you as well.

Whatever it is (an individual, book, or podcast), finding a mentor or someone to listen to can be a great way to keep yourself accountable and on the right path to success.

For me, I turn to podcasts that are related to business and self-improvement.

That’s where I end up being more open-minded while learning how to become a better version of who I am.

When I’m in that state of mind, that’s where I’m most likely to change for the better.

My bonus tip: Do NOT give up too soon

For too long, it’s something I see far too often with new WA members. 

They start a niche website, go through the training, and maybe see good results with their website.

After a while, people may not see the results they hoped for. In that case, they may get frustrated and quit afterward.

That’s the problem: They gave up too soon and didn’t stick to it long enough.

Here’s the reality: It takes much longer to see a high level of success in business.

It’s why I emphasize the fact that nothing happens overnight.

It takes time, effort, and the right course of action to see sustainable results.

So be patient and persistent at it- the best thing you can do is to give yourself the time needed to grow and see success come down the road.

I gave up too soon- don’t do the same thing

There have been times when I easily gave up too soon. Reflecting back on the past, I regret making those mistakes.

At the same time, I saw them as learning experiences to help develop myself as an individual.

So I would say don’t give up too soon, as that can be the biggest failure of all. 

Just ask yourself: Do you want to be the person who easily quits? Is it worth giving up on your dreams and aspirations?

Don’t be that person, and don’t give up too easily. 

Final Words

This class on the best success tips helped me a lot. By far, it’s one of my favorite classes when it comes to building the right mindset. 

Jay did an excellent job going through these tips, especially coming from someone who’s been doing it for more than 16 years now.

Following these tips can help while going through the training at WA. It can help change your perspective on growing a business.

If you’re interested in watching this class, I highly encourage you to do so, as I think you’ll appreciate the advice that Jay gives on succeeding in business.

10 Success Tips From Jay’s 10 Years At Wealthy Affiliate

Your Turn: What mistakes have you made in making money online?

I would like to get your thoughts on this topic. Are you interested in making money online?

If so, have you tried doing this before in other areas such as eCommerce? Did you succeed or fail in those ventures?

Is mindset a big problem for you when it comes to succeeding in business? Could that be the one thing that’s holding you back from truly achieving success?

Also, have you given up on something too soon? If so, are you committed to not quitting and continuing to keep going?

Feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. I look forward to reading your responses, and I’ll gladly respond promptly. 

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Eric is the owner and chief editor of notimekillers.com. 

He takes great pride in helping people manage their time and grow their businesses. 

Eric is a firm believer in financial and time freedom, as he believes in financial independence and taking ownership of your time. 

“Time is your most important asset. It can be your best friend or worst enemy. How you use your time can shape the future you desire to have.” 

In his leisure time, Eric loves to write and read whenever possible. He enjoys going for long walks outdoors while doing in-home workout videos every week. 

You can also connect with Eric via LinkedIn.