About the Author - Lisa Irby

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lisa irby

My name is Lisa Irby and I am a full-time Internet entrepreneur and author of the book, Niche Website Success.

I guess you're here because you want to know a bit about me, huh?

I'm not all that good at talking about myself, but I'll give it a shot.

I love gadgets/electronics, music, writing, traveling, and bowling. Yes, I said bowling and proudly carry a 160 league average.

Don't judge me. :-)

I have always had an incredible love for teaching but didn't realize how much until I started creating websites in the late 90's and teaching others what I knew. This passion helped propel my success with various niche websites over the years, with 2 Create a Website being the first.

Since then, I have simply used the same model to create other niche websites.

The Details

In January 1998, I was a college student looking to make a little extra money. I had no idea I was about to embark on a journey that would allow me to earn a full-time living some years later.

Freshman Year

I stumbled upon an affiliate program (no longer exists) and earned a few thousand dollars in about nine months when some might say I should have been focusing on school. From there, I was hooked and knew I was on to something.

However, I wasn't sure what that something was or how long it would last.

Slowly but surely affiliate checks started coming in. My college buddies wondered what in the world I was up to!

Twenty dollars here. Fifteen dollars there. A few people joked that I was running some shady, online underground operation. Haters! :-)

Times were so different.

Back then people didn't make money from their computers unless they were programmers or web designers. I fit neither of those profiles, so it would appear the odds were stacked against me.

The Saga Continues

So from 1998 to 2002, I dabbled in various money-making ventures. Most of them entailed building mini-sites/doorway pages that promoted various products for an affiliate commission.

Back then, getting ranked in the popular search engines took no time at all so I capitalized on making quick money using SEO (search engine optimization) and affiliate marketing.

But once the engines got more strict and made it harder to get pages ranked, I quickly discovered that this method was not a good solution for long-term, stable income.

I was making very good part-time money, but nothing stable enough to quit my 9 to 5. Also, my earnings went up and down like a yo-yo from year to year. I went from making $20,000 in one year to $6,000 the next.

Yikes! Not exactly my idea of stable income!

During that time I became an unofficial student of a man named Ken Evoy (Site Build It! creator) who encouraged me to build income by teaching and helping people instead of trying to get rich quickly. I was sold on his approach and began to adopt it.

My Big Break

Everything changed in 2002 when I created this website. It occurred to me that one way to build longevity online was to build a content hub that teaches people how to do something. Since I was self-taught on building websites, using web software and making money online, I decided to use this site as a platform for teaching.

So I went from creating anonymous, mini-sites to creating larger, content sites that people could reference and learn from. Suddenly, I was building my own brand through teaching and using my personality to connect with my audience.

People began to compliment my help, sincerity and authenticity. I was building a following and people started buying what I recommended. How cool was that?

By 2004, the total earnings from this site (Google AdSense, affiliate income, etc.) matched my 9 to 5. And by 2006, this site was earning 4x's my salary. That's when I decided to leave the rat race and make this "Internet thing" my career.

At that time, most people had no idea what I was doing nor did they believe someone with no computer background could earn a living online. This was before the blogging era, so this whole process was very unfamiliar and misunderstood by many.

Nevertheless, this is how I earn a living today. I'm no designer or programmer, but I love to teach. And that's exactly what this site aims to do -- teach you what I've learned over the years.

Keep It Simple

One reason I believe people struggle online is they make things so complicated.

You don't have to be the next Amazon or Facebook to make money online. Not to mention, who would want to run a site that complex? I know I sure wouldn't.

You can simply earn money by teaching what you already know and referring related products (affiliate marketing) and selling your own products related to your topic (ebooks, services, etc.)

My site, www.flat-stomach-exercises.com, is a great example of a content website that generates passive income.

There are no products to sell there. It simply offers information to a target audience (people looking to flatten their stomach).

For that site, I used a unique web host (Site Build It!) that teaches you how to find/research "profitble" topics that fit your knowledge and passion. They provide you with the tools to build and market your site. In addition, they teach you how to make money.

Most of the revenue comes in from affiliate and ad programs like Google AdSense and Clickbank. Google AdSense is a free program that allows you to display other advertiser's ads on your site. You earn revenue any time someone clicks on the ads.

So in a nutshell, you are helping other webmasters advertise and Google manages this entire process -- paying you a percentage of what their advertisers are paying them. I typically earn a healthy 4-figure check every month.

If you want to earn online like me, check out my tell-all ebook, Niche Website Success. It's a very practical, realistic guide to making money online today.

Subscribe & Connect

This is my static site for tutorials on how to get started, but if you want to stay up to date with my latest ramblings and teachings, you should subscribe to my blog.

I usually post once a week and sometimes feature guest posts from other bloggers.

I also publish YouTube videos quite regularly, so make sure you subscribe to my marketing and programming channels.

You can also connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

A Big Thanks to Ken Evoy of SiteSell.com

A friend of mine mentioned that she noticed how often I mention the Site Build It product on this site. If you've read my "money making section", you'll see plugs for SBI! in almost every article.

Ken Evoy is a big reason I'm where I am today. Back in 1999 he predicted how SEO would change and emphasized the importance of building quality content for longevity. Boy was he right.

In my opinion, if you want to make money with a static website this is probably the best "system of learning" out there (especially if you're a beginner).

Of course you can use any company you want, but you won't get the marketing help and your chance of success could be lower.

Even though I did not use his SBI! product to build all of my sites, I gained a ton of insight from his eBooks, tutorials and newsletters over the years. Thanks Ken!

If you're interested in learning more about how to make money from a website without a product to sell, visit their site to view samples of other successful sites.

Thanks for Visiting!

I hope you found 2CreateAWebSite.com helpful. Keep checking back as I continue to update it regularly with more information that will help you build a successful website. The more I learn, the more I'll share with you.

Lisa Irby

Click here to contact me.

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