Success stories online are often riddled with exaggerations, half-truths, or even lies. It's amazing how much people will do to convince others that they are the real deal, a guru, the one to follow, so they can part with some cash to buy your product.
Success stories like this annoy me, because they muffle real success stories and make people tired. There are many real people who make real money online simply through hard work, however these scammers will have the entire internet in doubt in no time.
To show people otherwise, I've decided to include a little success story of my own. This is not something that comes as a surprise to many people, as the money is not huge. However, he shows that there is legitimacy online and will give hope to some of those with their own online income aspirations.
I have just returned from a short trip to Thailand. I live in Asia myself, so it was easy to take a quick jump. I stayed in Bangkok (5 nights) and Phuket (3 nights). More on this later.
I started building websites and trying to make money from internet marketing around December 2012, and slowly during the first half of 2013 I have seen a bit of success and an increase in income. In May I made over $ 1,200 USD, which I felt was an incredible amount. However, a large chunk of that money came from a one-time sale of one of my first websites, so I knew it wouldn't always be that high.
One thing that has always drawn me to internet marketing was not these sudden big income stories that are strewn about, but rather the ability to work from anywhere. I didn't exactly want to spend all my time in Thailand writing and working, but I took my laptop and checked some stats, made some updates, and kept up with my websites.
I thought it was great to be able to go exploring in the afternoon, then come home and write an article or two at night before going to bed.
However, I made sure not to overdo it. I first focused on my vacations and wrote a bit to keep my sites momentum and consistent. I didn't spend a lot of time worrying about this or that, I just wrote a quick blog post for an hour or so and got on with my vacation. Even though I only wrote one or two articles on each website once or twice a week during my trip, I managed to earn enough online to pay for my hotel in Phuket (and I had a little left over).
I thought this was awesome, because it means that as I go about my business online, I will be able to increase this amount, hopefully to the point where I can work from anywhere, as long as I have a laptop and internet connection.
As you can see, this isn't a great "wow, he's so successful" story, but it's a "looking at the little things he can accomplish and working to make them bigger."
Good luck with your own efforts!