No! Not from selling .ws domains, domain parking, click-to-earn or Internet investment schemes. I’m talking about running useful websites. I have been living off money made from my websites since 2005 - no work-related stress, no office politics and having the quality time to do the things I want.

This is my first post for the Money section of my blog. It will be written from a Malaysian perspective since I’m working from Malaysia nowadays - gives me the currency multiplier advantage, i.e. US$1 = RM3.50. And because of that, I don’t need to work half as hard as my American counterparts.

As with all Malaysians and Singaporeans, I’m very sure that the first question that strikes you is “how much does he make a month?” I’m not going to be secretive about this because my purpose is to encourage more online entrepreneurs anyway. So without further ado, here’s what I make each month from my websites alone (drumroll)…

1) Google Adsense - averaging around US$1,700 a month.
2) Kontera - estimated US$350 a month.
3) Affiliate programs - anywhere from US$0 to US$1,100 a month.
4) Banners & link sales - not started yet. Est between US$500 - US$1,000 a month.
5) Miscellaneous (e.g. donations) - anywhere from RM0 to US$150 a month.

So the current maximum earning potential from my websites = US$4,300.
That’s about S$6,000 if I’m living in Singapore, but RM15,000 since I’m now in Malaysia. ;)

They may seem like big numbers for the average salaried Malaysian but I have spoken to American online entrepreneurs who make upwards of US$20,000 a month from their websites. There are professional bloggers too, people who blog for a living, and in Malaysia, we have our own celebrities like Liew CF and Chew KS.

So there you go - the big opening post for my Money section. :)

I will dispense many real-life tips along the way and share my experiences as I continue learning and experimenting. For now, lets get you off on these:

1) The 4 steps of online entrepreneurship - analyzing, creating, promoting & monetizing.
2) Read from webmaster forums and blogs, and get your hands dirty.
3) Don’t “copy” from other sites. You’ll likely receive C&D letters from their lawyers.
4) One good website is better than ten mediocore ones - focus!
5) Starting isn’t easy and you’ll want to give up along the way - persevere!