How To Become A Millionaire Online

How to become a millionaire online: follow this step-by-step guide. I’ll show you how to go from zero to $100,000/mo with one website.

Technically, you only need to do $83,334/mo.

To call yourself an internet millionaire.

But this way, you’re safe.

Even after expenses, you’ll pocket a milli or more a year – if you gross at least $100k a month. Right?

And $100k a month’s just such a nice number.

Six-figures every 30 days?

F*ck yeah!

“Impossible,” you grumble?

Pfft.

Get this:

My best months… I’ve netted just over $400,000!

Now.

Few things.

1, you becoming an online millionaire is “possible,” not “likely.”

2, then again, I had zero background in websites, writing, tech, marketing, etc., and I still pulled it off. So why not you?

3, I think it’s very doable to hit $100k/mo using entirely free traffic (and that’s what I’m gonna focus on for now), but you can definitely speed up the process with paid ads if you want to. (My biggest months I definitely ran me some ads. But still. I took home more and more, even after ad spend.)

4, even if you follow this blueprint and get nowhere near our six-figure-a-month target? Who cares? If you clear $70k, $50k, $20k, f*ck, $13k every 30 days… very passively (after you’re up and runnin’)… it’s still an extra income stream, right?

5, plus each website is an appreciating asset you can potentially sell to a big-ass media company some day; or keep in your family and hand it down to your kids; ya know?

6, the most unexpected benefit of this whole thing is the “high” you get from creating. I can’t explain it. Publishing content daily is fulfilling. You feel smart. Productive. You’re able to express the true-you; not the watered-down version you show society for fear of being judged.

7, there are so many ways to cash-in on your writing. Besides working wherever, whenever… you can monetize your content however you want. Like, for me, I just wanna be left-the-f*ck alone. No customers, no clients, no emails, no phone calls, no social media, no support, no nothin’. Guess what? Doable. How? Affiliate marketing. Recommend other people’s sh*t, get a commission. You don’t have to build anything or hire a big team or risk your own capital. Sure, you could make more per sale if you sold your own sh*t, but it’s great if you wanna bootstrap this b*tch, start immediately, and be hands-free AF.

8, we’ve got about 10 mins of setup that’s gonna seem scary – if you’re a technophobe – but suck it up, Buttercup. You got me plus live support with each company we’ll be using… and they can always hop in and help ya out if ya get stuck. Trust me, after your blog’s built, it’s all downhill from there. Just research and writing, which I think you’ll learn to love, like I do.

9, speaking of affiliate marketing (a minute ago), you bet your ass I’m getting paid on these software and tools I’m about to recommend. Please know, though: I use everything I’m telling you to get; it’s the very best setup for scaling to big website traffic and big money; I’ve also secured discounts, so it’s a win-win (you pay less, I make a few bucks… plus I don’t have to pepper Millyuns with annoying ads since I make my money here); and you’re only lookin’ at like $250/mo – total – to launch and grow what could be a million dollar brand. Doesn’t get more low-risk-high-reward than that. Plus: it took me years to whittle it down to this process and these select few tools. I mean, a few minutes from now you’ll have a better setup than 99.9% of websites on the entire internet. Clean layout, fast-loading, auto-backups, bulletproof security, scalable. You’ll love it. Your audience will love it. And so will Google, which is crucial cuz they’re the ones who decide how much traffic you get.

10, guarantee, multiple times throughout this, you’re gonna think: “I can’t do this.” “It’s too hard.” “I’m not qualified.” “I don’t have time.” “What will I write about?” “What if it doesn’t work?” “What if people laugh at me?” Dude. Tell that whiny lil’ voice to STFU and let’s make some gotdamn money, shall we? Here’s how:

Step 1: Pick A Topic

Easy peasy.

Common sense, a cool tool, a few minutes of recon… and you’ll know exactly what niche to go into.

So first, click this link and sign up for a free seven-day trial with SEMrush:

Your new happy place.

It’s gonna do your thinking, planning, and tracking for you.

Important: once your trial’s up, you’ll wanna pay for the Guru Plan at $199.95 a month:

Or throw down for the entire year all at once – like I do – cuz #SaveMoneyDuh.

You good? K. Log in.

Now do a search for your favorite websites. Like, look up any URL you visit on a daily basis. We just wanna get some ideas and see what the potential is.

For example, before I created Millyuns, I did a search for a popular personal development blog:

Then, on the lefthand side of SEMrush, I clicked on “Organic Research” and peeped the “Traffic Cost”:

It was $77,100. What’s that mean? Basically, that’s the value of the website traffic they’re pullin’ in – for free – every single month.

Like, it’d cost me eighty-f*ckin’-grand to buy that many visitors, each month, using Google ads.

Not bad, right?

Needless to say, this is what made me decide to go ahead with Millyuns.

Now. I want you to understand:

You could make more than that estimate; you could make less. It’s not perfect. Just a great litmus test. Alright?

The main thing is that you find something you enjoy talkin’ about that has a website or two with a decent Traffic Cost (at least $10K or above) – that way, you’re not getting yourself into a tiny niche with a low ceiling on what you can earn. Cool?

And here’s the good news:

SEMrush is also gonna tell us how to match our competitors’ successes with less time and effort. So you can cash-in even if you only have a small fraction of their traffic.

For instance, Millyuns’ Traffic Cost is pathetic compared to the one above. Doesn’t matter. See: I’m takin’ the straightest path from A to B.

And so will you.

But first, whaddya gonna call your new website?

Step 2: Choose A Domain

Click this link to open NameSilo in a new tab.

That’s where I get all my domains.

They sell ’em for cheap, offer free privacy protection (to keep the weirdos from, ya know, showing up at your home) and are super easy to manage.

Anyways. When ya get there:

Start searching for domains that aren’t yet taken:

You want something short, no hyphens or numbers, easy to say, spell, and remember, and definitely a .com.

Other than that, whatever feels right – to rep your new brand.

When you make your final decision, tick the .com and register it like so:

On the next page, select auto-renew and WHOIS Privacy:

You can leave it on one year for registration length – that’s fine.

Enter millyuns (all lowercase) for the coupon code and I’ll save ya a whole dollar (you’re welcome):

Hit continue. Fill urrthing out. Pay. Let that simmer. Proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Get Hosting

But not just any hosting.

The fastest, safest, most badass hosting money can buy.

Why’s that important?

So your website loads quickly and doesn’t get attacked or go down unexpectedly… which, trust me, happens all the time with those cheap-ass hosting plans most amateur bloggers recommend.

But you and I? We’re not chumps, are we? So we’re gonna roll with the Cadillac of hosts: WP Engine.

And? Uncle Cory’s gonna save ya even more money:

Click this link to get 20% off WP Engine hosting:

Just decide if you wanna pay for one month or a year at a time (I do annual cuz I’m a G, but it’s up to you).

Important:

You do not need any of the add-ons. Literally, just fill out your info, billing deets, agree to terms, and click “Create my site.”

Hangin’ in there? Good. Not so bad, is it?

Onward.

Step 4: Build Website

After submitting payment, you’ll land on a page that tells you:

Next, head to your inbox and find this email:

Click “Accept the invitation.”

You’ll come to a page like this, where you can pick a password:

G’head and do that. Close the “Moving your site?” popup. And ignore anything you see about “migrating” an existing website since that doesn’t apply to us.

At the top of your new WP Engine admin area, click on “Sites”:

Then click on whatever you called your account/first site when you registered:

Now click “Enter domain”:

Click the green “Add domain” button, then enter the URL you bought earlier from NameSilo… in all lowercase:

Click “Next,” then “Return to domains,” then repeat, only for the www version of your domain. So, again, click “Add domain” and, in all lowercase, enter:

Just make sure you’re entering the domain you bought, and not MillyunsDemo.com, which is just the one I’m building out so you can see this whole thing play out, live. Cool?

Click “Next,” then “Return to domains.”

Now, on your non-www domain (i.e. MillyunsDemo.com), make that beezy your primary domain:

Now, with your www domain (i.e. www.MillyunsDemo.com), let’s redirect that to your primary:

So click “Add redirect”:

It should auto-populate exactly what we want… which is, to forward the www version of your domain to the non-www version. Translation? This way, whether or not someone actually types in the “www” or not, it’s gonna go to the one without (i.e. MillyunsDemo.com). If you want, open up a new tab and try it: type in www.MillyunsDemo.com and you should be taken to MillyunsDemo.com. See? That’s all we’re doin’ here.

Anyways. Click “Save changes.” Then that’s done.

Now go back to your inbox and open up this email about your install being ready:

And click on “Reset WP-Admin password”:

Like it says, type in your username or email address you made the account with, then click “Get New Password.”

It’ll send you an email with a link to click. Check your junk or spam folder if you don’t see it right away:

Click that link, enter in a new password (and write it down so you don’t forget it), click “Reset password,” then “Log in,” and then enter your deets, including the new password you just created:

Click “Log In.” You’re now inside your new website, also known as a WordPress blog. This is where you’ll go to create content and actually publish sh*t to the internet. K?

Now when you get in there, dismiss/close any popups in your way, then, on the lefthand side, go to “Settings,” and click on “General”:

Enter in a “Site Title” and “Tagline” if ya want. Or come back and do that any time. But, most important, change both the “WordPress Address (URL)” and “Site Address (URL)” to http://millyunsdemo.com (subbing “millyunsdemo.com” for your domain of course):

Then scroll to the bottom and click “Save Changes.”

After that, it’ll probably log you out of WordPress – may even give you some sorta error. That’s okay. It’s expected, actually. Cuz now we gotta go back to where we bought the domain name (NameSilo) and sync it to our WP Engine hosting so that everything plays nicely together.

So, log in to NameSilo. At the top right, click “Manage My Domains.” Then, to the right of your domain, click the little blue globe icon:

In another tab, go back to your WP Engine dashboard, and under “Overview,” snag your CNAME and IP address:

Now back to NameSilo. I want you to delete (hit the red X on) all four of the “Existing Resource Records”:

Now click on “A” to create a new A Record:

And in the first spot type an “@” symbol; and in the second spot paste in your IP Address (again, which WP Engine gives you in the “Overview” area of your back-end office):

Then click “Submit.”

Now we’re gonna repeat this process, but this time, we’re gonna create a CNAME:

So click “CNAME” and in the first spot type “www” and in the second spot paste in whatever CNAME WP Engine gave you:

Then click “Submit.” Boom. Now it’ll take a few minutes and you might have to clear your history and close down then reopen your browser a time or two, but your domain name should now be linked to your new website, which is served up via WP Engine.

Meaning, now when you type in www.YourDomain.com or just YourDomain.com, it should now actually take you to your bare-ass website.

Again, if it’s not working right away, clear your cache, close your browser, maybe even shut down your computer, then start fresh and try again. Usually within 10-minutes or so it’ll be working, but they do say it can take up to a day (I’ve made hundreds of websites over the years and, for me, it’s never taken more than 20-minutes or so – just FYI).

Oh, if you want an email for your domain, under where we just did those records in NameSilo, scroll down to “Email Forwarding” and click “Apply Template” and then “Accept” on the popup:

Now go back to “Manage My Domains” (upper right corner of NameSilo). And click on the little white mail icon next to your domain name:

Then, in the first field, type “Help” or “Support” or “Bubba” or whatever-the-f*ck you want the beginning of your email to be and in the second field you can put your current/main email… and hit “Submit”… and what’ll happen is, whenever someone sends an email to, for example, Support@MillyunsDemo.com, it’ll automatically forward to your personal email. Okie dokie? Here’s the visual:

Now jump back to your WP Engine dashboard. On the left side click on “SSL,” then “Add certificates”:

Then click on “Get FREE certificates”:

Then tick all three boxes and click “Request SSL Certificate”:

All this does is make your website extra secure; but it’s pretty much a requirement these days, especially if you ever wanna collect sensitive data… such as contact and billing info from future leads, customers, or clients. See how, here on Millyuns, it’s “https” and not just “http”? The “s” literally stands for secure. Make sense? Fabulous. Let’s keep on truckin’.

So after you click “Request SSL Certificate,” WP Engine will begin workin’ on the SSL thingy in the background. Click “Return to SSL portal.”

A few minutes later, WP Engine will email you sayin’ you’re good to go. Click the link in the email or simply refresh the page till you see the status change from “pending” to this:

Then click the dropdown carrot, under “Expand all,” for both of ’em. And select “Auto renew” and “Secure all URLs” and then click “Save all changes.”

You did it for both, right? Awesome.

Now, right above that, adjust those settings like so:

Then click “Save.”

High-five! Your site’s secure AF. Here’s proof (enter your URL):

You should see an “s” and a maybe even a padlock or somethin’ similar… depending on which browser you’re using. Cool, huh?

PS, other hosts would’ve charged you extra for that. Yet another reason WP Engine’s so money.

But it gets better. Now, on the lower left of your WP Engine dashboard, click on “CDN.”

And toggle that bad boy on for your main domain:

Tick it, hit “Save.”

What’s that do? It makes your website lightning fast. Which means a better experience for your readers. Which means now you get brownie points with Google – cuz they’re all about the end user, right? And that means higher rankings. And that means more traffic. And that means more income!

Finally, don’t forget: WP Engine also makes auto-backups of your website and protects against attacks, viruses, and all sorts of other shenanigans… so your “art” will never be in danger.

From here, your website will just work – perfectly – and you won’t have any problems or any need to really go back into WP Engine hardly ever… unless you need to upgrade your credit card or some sh*t.

If you do? Remember: just go to My.WPEngine.com to log in. If you have any questions or issues at all, you can go there, log in, and “Live Chat” 24/7 – and their support is absolutely amazing. In fact, that’s how I learned to do everything I just walked you through (they were patient enough to hold my hand and guide me through that sh*t click-by-click). So yeah. You’ll be fangirlin’ that company just like me.

K. Give yourself a pat on the back. That was some techie-ass sh*t. But you stuck with me and I’m proud of you. Let’s take a minute and celebrate what you just accomplished:

You signed up for SEMrush.
You picked a million dollar niche with SEMrush’s help.
You chose a domain name.
You registered that domain name at NameSilo.
You invested in WP Engine’s heavenly hosting plan.
WP Engine built you a powerful WordPress blog.
You connected your domain to it.
Made yourself a fancy-pants email address.
Optimized TF outta your new blog (I prefer “website”).
Made it millionaire-friendly (fast, secure, scalable).

Seriously. Well done.

Step 5: Catch A Vibe

Let’s regroup quick with a fresh cup of coffee and an eargasm:

Or whatever you need to get your energy right.

Step 6: Install Theme

Okay, just so we’re clear:

Your WordPress blog is your website. You can call it whatever you want. Personally, I hate the words “blog,” “blogger,” “blogging”… so I usually just say “website,” “writer,” “writing.”

Alright? Now.

Everything you’ll do from this point forward (from changing the look and feel of your website, to making pages, to adding articles, etc.) you’ll do by logging in here:

YourDomain.com/wp-admin

K? So in my case, that’s:

MillyunsDemo.com/wp-admin

Got it? In other words, barring any unforeseen issues, you’re basically done with NameSilo and WP Engine – and will not need to log in to either of those mofos again.

SEMrush? We’ll be using daily, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

You pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down? Good.

So here’s the deal: your website comes with a free theme. To see it, just go to your homepage right now. How it’s laid out is a function of the theme it came with.

It’s not terrible, and you’re welcome to just rock that, but I’d recommend upgrading to a sleeker, sexier, speedier theme.

Here’s what I’m using:

Click this link to discover the Focus theme.

And here’s the creator on why this thing’s so damn millionaire:

(I rest my case.)

So after you order Focus, they’ll show you how to download the theme, then one-click install, and, voila, you too will have the prettiest, most powerful theme there is.

(I won’t bother installing it on MillyunsDemo.com – since I have no reason to build out that site. I just wanted to show you the tough stuff, A to Z.)

Step 7: Play Around

Once that’s done, get familiar with WordPress. It’s your highway to online millionaire; meanwhile, your competitors are travelin’ down a dirt road.

Since you just installed Focus, you’re probably already logged in, but if not, once again, you go to:

YourDomain.com/wp-admin

Enter your creds, then start pokin’ around. You’ll find it very intuitive. And really, all you’ll be using is “Posts” and “Pages” and that’s about it.

Matter fact, click on “Pages,” then “Add New” and go ahead and create an About page. Just put a few lines of text for now. Hit “Publish.” No biggie. Now add another. Make this one your Contact page. List your email. “Publish.” You’re such a savage.

Now go to “Posts,” and click “Add New.” That’s how you’re gonna create your daily content. Mess around with styling, bolding, italics, headlines, adding media (photos and videos).

Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can immediately begin your march toward internet millionaire. But how? Well, I’ll tell you.

Step 8: Find Shortcuts

Hint: SEMrush knows them.

Head back there. Log in. Enter any major website in your new niche. Scroll down just a smidge till you see a section titled “Top Organic Keywords.”

For instance, here are the ones for that personal development website that first inspired me to create Millyuns:

Boom. How’s that for shortcuts? SEMrush is telling me exactly which “keywords” (words or phrases) are bringing this particular website the most visitors. So I don’t need to guess or try to figure it out for myself or waste weeks, months, even years writing about sh*t that doesn’t move the needle, do I?

By the way, “Pos.” is short for position. Where it’s ranked in Google when someone searches for that term; followed by where it was ranked the last time SEMrush updated it.

“Volume” is how many people search for that term, on average, in a given month.

“CPC” means “cost per click” – or how much you’d have to pay Google, if you were to run ads for that term… just to get one individual to click your ad and go to your site. I don’t really look at this metric at all, although it’s kind of helpful for assessing “buyer intent” – or how likely someone is to spend money based on the word or phrase they typed in to Google.

Then “Traffic” is how many peeps actually make it to the site. Obviously, the farther down in the rankings you are, the lower the percentage of “Volume” you’ll scoop up. Why? Cuz they’ll find what they need in the websites ranked above you.

Anyways. It shouldn’t surprise you that I’ve written articles on:

It’s almost too easy! But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Cuz then you can click “View full report” and uncover oodles more:

And since they’re already organized by “Traffic,” I know that if I start from the top and work my way down, I’m probably gonna grow my following the fastest, right?

Also, I could apply the 80/20 rule. Which says that, generally, 20% of your effort will produce 80% of your results. So I could look up all the top websites in my space, model only their top-producing keywords, and ignore the rest… saving myself a ton of time.

Are you getting excited yet?

Like, who woulda thought becoming a millionaire online could be this straightforward?

If you haven’t yet, for the love of God, go get your free trial to SEMrush. And when the trial ends, subscribe to the Guru plan. I use this tool every day, and you should too, unless you wanna go slow and struggle to hit seven-figures.

If all you ever do is what I just showed you, and you kept at it, daily, no matter what? You’d have a website worth millions of dollars… sooner or later. But probably sooner. Think about it: you’re not just modeling success; you’re removing uncertainty and overwhelm and potentially years of wasted movement.

Wow. I still have to pinch myself. This internet business is so inexpensive, so explosive, so proven, so passive – and by using SEMrush, you can practically slingshot your way to millionaire.

I know what you’re thinkin’ though: “But Cory, if all I do is copy other leading websites in my niche, won’t I just be the smaller, knockoff version of them?”

Great question. I’m gettin’ there.

Step 9: Stand Out

Listen, the internet doesn’t need another website on anything really.

So if you’re the eleventy-millionth blog about weight loss for women? And you’re getting your content ideas from the most established websites, who’ve got a major head start on you? And you’re lookin’ at their sites, goin’: “They’re so awesome and they’ve got great writers… how could I possibly compete with them? Like, why would anyone read my stuff over theirs?”

Here’s the answer. And it’s so simple, you probably won’t believe me. Ready for it? Here goes: be you, Boo. That’s it. That’s how you stand out.

Actually, it’s the only way. Right?

Cuz you’re the only you. No one else on earth has lived your exact life. No one else shares your exact experiences, fears, pet peeves, favorites, styles, tastes, hopes, dreams, quirks, rituals, secrets. They don’t walk in your Yeezys or see through your Guccis. Their self-talk ain’t your self-talk.

So even if you’re writing about the same basic sh*t as oodles of other websites, as long as you motherf*ckin’ do you? You’ll be building something that’s never existed, that can never be copied. Mimicked maybe. But not copied.

And now people can choose you. Just like you’ve chosen me. (Or you wouldn’t be 4,257 words deep in this mofo. Right?)

And if you still don’t believe that you’re gonna win just by bein’ fully yourself… or if you’re confused as to how you’d pull that off? I’d encourage you to spend as much time as you can just snoopin’ around Millyuns.

This website’s got a PhD in personality. Whose? Mine. Duh.

And that’s why it works. Not because the world was begging for yet another website with rehashed tips on how to become a millionaire. I mean, Forbes and CNBC and about a bazillion others already got that licked. So I came in and did it my way.

Got rid of everything I couldn’t stand about all the other sites writing about millionaires: ads, auto-play vids, noisy layouts, politically-correct content, clickbait-y headlines, trying to talk about everything business as opposed to making every article relevant to the aspiring millionaire, and basically being boring AF.

And then I just sprinkle in me. I don’t filter my thoughts or hide who I am or worry about offending anybody. Again. I know it’s the only way I can be successful. Otherwise, yeah, there’s no need for Millyuns at all.

Make sense?

And please don’t make the mistake of thinking cussing and hip hop videos and yo momma jokes is somehow the secret sauce.

If that’s your takeaway, you totally missed the point. I’m me. You’re you. That’s who you gotta do.

So if that means talking about your cats in every article, purrfect. Or maybe it’s faith. Or your kids. Maybe you’re not edgy at all. Maybe you’re the super serious backed-by-science guy. Maybe you’re the free spirit chick. Maybe you’re a hardcore vegan, and that spills into your writing. Maybe you’re a CrossFit junkie. And what’d ya watch on Netflix last night? And what’d ya just eat? Whatcha listenin’ to? Whatcha readin’?

Dude. There’s no right or wrong here, unless you fail to share and show the real you (through your words, of course). Okay?

So that’s your only rule as you write: wrap it in you. When you do this, you will stand out. And when you stand out, you win.

Remember: the name of the game’s attention.

Gary Vaynerchuk’s been saying that sh*t for years. He’s right.

He or she who attracts the most attention, online, generally makes the most money.

That’s why these young co-founders of Snapchat and Pinterest and Instagram and WhatsApp and whatever comes next, are all becoming billionaires – even though, most of the time, their businesses were losing money (or making very little) before they went public or got acquired. Why? Attention. They had built up so much of it that their lack of profit didn’t matter. It was attention that made them their fortunes on the internet.

Now. You and I? Chances are, we’re not gonna create the next hot thing… that can be sold for billions. But we can take this insight and use our individuality to make a measly million or so a year… with our websites… can’t we? Damn right.

These resources oughta help:

After you read those, please, carry on.

Step 10: Be Consistent

Do you have to write daily? No. Should you? Yes. Why? Well, of all the millionaire quotes I’ve shared here on Millyuns, one of the most important ones is this: “With consistency comes legitimacy.”

Ooh wee! It sure does.

When you write daily, you’ll identify as a writer; not someone who’s pretending to be a writer. You’ll improve, faster. You’ll gain confidence. Your readers will have a reason to stop back daily. And they’ll trust you more. Your website will become a business; not a hobby. You’ll catch and pass other websites in your niche who only publish new content “when they feel like it.” Last, by writing daily over an extended period of time, it’ll become a habit – something you do, naturally, even if you don’t feel like it – like brushing your teeth. That’s important. I think, one of the biggest differences between millionaires and non-millionaires is not what they do on their best days, but on their worst days. Right?

The perfect illustration of this is the story of Jerry Seinfeld’s success. His secret? Write jokes, daily. Make a big red X on the calendar each day he did so. Then? Simply, don’t break the chain. Have Xs every f*cking day.

Bingo. With consistency comes legitimacy. Might wanna write that one down.

Step 11: Track Results

As you can see, at the time of creating this guide, I’m not even killing it myself. Not even close. That’s okay. Don’t get down on yourself. Even with shortcuts, this is gonna take some time.

But what you wanna do here is just kinda spot check yourself.

Are you trending up? Are you ranking for more keywords? Is your traffic going up? How’s your traffic cost lookin’?

And do not freak out when you’ve been typin’ your freakin’ fingies off and sh*t goes down a little. There’s gonna be natural ups and downs. Plus, there’s a little lag. So what you’re doin’, today, may not “show” instantly. But believe me, if you’re following each step I’ve laid out? Your work is quietly compounding in the background. Alright?

Next, take a peek at what’s bringing you the most traffic:

Cool. Can you go in and edit those articles and make ’em even better? (So maybe Google will rank ’em even higher? Cuz like, if my Russell Brunson net worth article went from spot six on page one to spot one, guess what? It’s gonna bring me way more than 44 visitors.) Yep, you sure could. And you should.

And then? You should write more articles like the ones that are reeling in the most visitors. For me, I should be pounding out net worths left and right, shouldn’t I? F*ckin’-a-right.

So that’s how I want you using SEMrush to monitor your own progress. Okie dokie?

And, are you seeing it yet? Like:

This game is not hard. Pass, catch, shoot. It’s just learning the basics and doing them over and over.

Now. If you’re familiar at all with blogging or search engine optimization (SEO for short), you probably know that I’ve only covered one-half of what it takes to rank in Google, right? And that’s: plucking out the keywords – to write about – that’ll bring you the most visitors.

Aka on-page optimization.

Then there’s off-page optimization. Some call it link building. Where, you go to other websites and point clickable links back to yours. Google definitely takes this into consideration, since each link can be thought of as a “vote” for your website. So it’s kinda like a popularity contest. He or she with the most votes, typically wins top organic rankings (shows up high on page one of Google). Feel me?

But here’s my take on spending time and energy (and potentially money, since, if you wanna get really aggressive, you can pay to have other sites link to you): personally, I don’t even bother with it these days. I used to. I get it. It works. It can definitely speed up the ranking process or help you leapfrog competitors for cutthroat keywords you’re trying to rank for.

However, there are two major downsides.

Google doesn’t want you doing this, so it’s a bit risky. You can get “slapped” if it’s obvious what you’re doing. Meaning, Google can penalize a page or even your entire website so that you don’t rank for jack sh*t going forward. (How bad would that suck?)

Also, there’s an opportunity cost. I’d rather spend that same effort making my website amazing. Knowing that, if I do that, I’ll get links/votes naturally… which is exactly what Google wants to see happen. It may cause me to go a bit slower (you saw my sh*tty Traffic Cost above), but I think it’s the superior long-term strategy. And if you think about it, all business is long-term. You either stay in business or you don’t. Amiright?

That said, if you do wanna play in the gray area, I’m not against that and what I’d recommend you do is: write some “guest posts” for other websites that are topically relevant to yours. (Not all votes are created equal. The bigger the site, and the more closely-related it is to yours, the more oomph each link will have.) Just make sure they have a link within your article that clicks-back to your homepage or any URL you’re trying to rank. And yes, this works. And yes, it’s still pretty safe as long as you’re doing it with reputable sites, mixing it up (the sites, the links, the pages you’re linking back to), and not overdoing it.

You might be wondering:

How do you find websites who’ll let you do this? Good question. You could Google search your topic + “write for us” or “guest post” or simply email any sites you’re feelin’ and see if they’re open to it. When you get a yes, just follow their rules. How many words would they like it to be? Pics? Etc. Then whip up something amazing and don’t forget the link – and if possible, have ’em put it within the article itself, and not the bio. This packs a bigger punch. But if bio’s best you can do, it’s all good. Cool?

But again. I’ll remind you: if you take full advantage of Step 9 (and do you – like 125% you!), you should have no problem earning these “backlinks” randomly over time.

Speaking of which, you can monitor this inside SEMrush too.

Just click “Backlinks” under “Organic Research” on the left sidebar, and boom:

Here, you just wanna see urrthing trending up. Forewarning: these’ll take forever to start showing up. So don’t sweat it too much, especially in the first few months of your website goin’ live. K?

Now let’s bring it home. Let’s talk about how all this is gonna translate into you making millions of dollars – or at least some nice side income – over time.

Step 12: Make Money

Believe it or not, this is the easiest step of them all.

Decide what you wanna sell. Product, service, course, coaching, ad space, whatever. If you have no idea what to sell, just start with affiliate marketing – like I’m doing here. Google anything you think you might like to recommend plus “affiliate program” and see if one exists. If so, sign up. Snag an affiliate link. And create a pre-sell page… again, just like I did here.

If you’re struggling to find something, there’s always Amazon. Those f*ckers sell just about everything, and they’ve got a great affiliate program. And, as a bonus, you get credit for everything somebody purchases – within 24 hours of clicking your link.

Like, say you had an affiliate link to some supplement. Maybe a fat burner you’ve used and gotten good results with. Cool. Now Billy, from Philly, finds your article: “How To Lose Love Handles For Men Over 40.” Right? And he’s feelin’ it. And he trusts you because your guide was so damn dialed. So he happily clicks your affiliate link, heads on over to Amazon, adds this fat burner to his cart… thinks: “You know what? I could also use some razors and shaving cream.” So he throws that in as well. “Oh, and I might as well get that book about the Navy SEAL who did some inspiring sh*t… I keep hearing about.” Boom. Gets that too. Well… guess what? You get a cut on all of that – not just the fat burner. Neato, huh?

Anyways.

The more compelling your page, the more money you’ll make. As an affiliate, it’s hard to go wrong teaching something, A to Z, then sprinkling in affiliate links to the tools, clothes, software, services, food – whatever it is they’ll need to pull off said steps… outlined in your tutorial. This way, you’re not really “selling.” You’re helping. And when you do that, people are tickled pink to buy through (or from) you.

Capiche? Sweet.

From here, it’s more of the same. Lather, rinse, repeat. More visitors means more clicks… means more moola. And you can always add more affiliate links and/or other offers as you gain momentum.

The biggest challenge, by far, is just staying in the fight. When nothing’s happening, despite you typing your testicles off, your mind will try to manipulate you into quitting. Don’t. That’s how you win at this. You last. You survive all the self-doubt, and you peck that f*cking keyboard… day after day… after motherf*cking day. The end.

Cory Johnson: your momma’s neighbor’s side chick’s last Uber Eats delivery guy’s third-favorite blogger. Here’s how he makes millions of dollars blogging without being bothered.