Welcome to The Tech Stack Blog where our goal is to provide you with the What, Why, and How that you need for launching any product or service online.
I’m your host, David Schwartz, and I’ve been a professional software developer for over 40 years, and an online marketer for 20+ years. I’m semi-retired now, which means I get to do what I want to do, rather than what someone else wants me to do. For me, my biggest strengths are that I know the techie side of this game like the back of my hand, along with a big chunk of the marketing side. No, I haven’t made a million bucks online yet, but I passed the $100k mark a while back. In fact, I’m working on something that should get me to 7-figures before long. My biggest weaknesses are that I’m horrible with anything related to graphic artwork, and I don’t like sales or selling. I prefer sharing my knowledge and helping others figure out how to reach their own goals.
Now, I’m assuming that since you’re here, you’re interested in setting up a website to help sell some products and/or services. Which means … you want to make money online. I think this is a GREAT IDEA because it looks like since COVID happened, traditional employment models are breaking down and starting to transform into something we don’t recognize today. Which means your employment future may not be very clear when you look more than a few years out. Everybody seems to be looking for a side-hustle today, and selling your own creations or services online is a great way to do that.
The Good News is … online sales have been exploding since COVID and it’s unlikely they’re going to start trending down now that COVID forced most folks to start buying things online if they wanted much more than survival rations.
Luckily, it’s relatively easy to make money online once you learn the basics, including selling your own products and services. While there are other ways to make money online, this blog is focused on those who want to sell things they created themselves. So kick back, relax, and enjoy the trip!
DISCLAIMER: Some things I’ll mention here will pay me an affiliate commission, and some won’t pay me a penny. Some are my own things. I don’t make my choices about what to discuss based on whether they pay a commission or not. Luckily, most companies are adding affiliate programs to pay referral commissions because it’s a lot easier and more cost-effective than hiring full-time sales people.
NOTE: if any part of this discussion bothers you, then you probably don’t want to look at making money online because you probably won’t if you’re skittish about actually getting paid for things — or clicking links that you know someone else might earn a few pennies from.
Honestly, if you search for stuff online, the bulk of search results that say things like “The Top-10 green widgets you should buy today” will probably display a list where most if not all of them are actually affiliate links. People don’t put up those pages just to be nice. And there aren’t a bajillion of them because there are so many kind-hearted people in the world. Nosiree! Putting up pages stuffed full of affiliate links is just another way of making money online.