Interview with Andreas Kam, Online Profits Student

Posted: 16 Sep 2010 03:25 AM PDT

andreas There are many Online Profits students who have crossed the $1,000 per month mark already, so I figured it would be interesting to interview some of them, trying to understand how they did it.

Andreas Kam joined training program in January of 2010, and he made an impressive progress over the past months. His case is particularly interesting because he managed to grow a profitable blog inside a very narrow niche, as you’ll find below.

1. When did you started building your first blog or website, and why?
My blog, London Cyclist, came to life 3 years ago. When I moved to London I realised cycling would be the best to move around, but I knew little about it so I decided to look for good information online. When I found out it didn’t exist, I started a blog about it. I taught myself everything while I shared the knowledge with others.

2. How did it work out initially?
Initially I didn’t have any business interest in the blog. I would just post something online when I discover something that interested me or that I thought other people would find interesting. That was for the first two years. Once leaving university I put my full time into the blog but for the first 6 months profits were very slow so I used up a lot of my savings and my parents started to worry.

3. Do you remember some of the numbers (e.g., visitors, subscribers, revenues)
Yes. Early in 2010 the blog was getting around 22,000 visits per month, with around 300 RSS/email subscribers. As for revenues, it was not making any significant money.

4. How did you come across Online Profits, and why did you decide to join?
I was following Darren Rowses blog and if I remember correctly I saw an interview with you there. It arrived at exactly the right time when I was thinking about going professional with my blog.

5. What do you think of the training material and resources you found there?
It was fantastic to finally have all these materials together in one place in an easy to follow format. In the first few lessons I learned abou a huge number of errors I was making. I was pleased everything was in text and audio format so I could follow it in a way suitable to me. I personally find I digest text far more quickly. It was also good to have a forum for support questions. It really answered a ton of questions immediately that I had for ages and also helped me discover so much more about blogging. It was really the kick start I needed.

6. In what ways did you implement what you learned on your own blog?
I quickly realised that Adsense was not a strategy for me moving forward. There were far better ways to monetize my blog. That is why I started working on my own product: an eBook with 30 London Cycling Routes).

At the same time I launched a design competition to create a blog logo – something that would make me look far more professional and also create a brand identity. I felt so happy to say goodbye to ugly Google Adsense, and in the same month I got my first cheque from Google for £60 (92 USD) I also signed an advertiser for £140 (251 USD) for one month.

The eBook has been a huge success and I wouldn’t have thought to create it without the course. I’ve had interest from people wanting to publish it and it continues to bring in a steady income that pays my rent.

I also started an Aweber newsletter. This helped me connect with my audience and have their permission to keep in contact regularly. As of today I have over 2,000 subscribers on my list.

7. What kind of results did you get?
My traffic grew a lot (I am receiving over 70,000 visits per month now) and I practically went from $0 to $1000 monthly in revenues.

andreas-traffic

The money I made with the blog paid for two weeks in Brazil enjoying Rio De Janeiro. Since then things have continued to grow and so many opportunities have arisen, such as collaborating on an iPhone application and interviewing the Mayor of London. I’m sure without this strong start to my blogging career I would be in a 9-5 job now.

8. What tips would you give to someone who is getting started online and wants to make some money eventually?
First of all I would recommend the person to create his own product. If you just use advertising on your blog or website, you’ll never know how much money you could actually be making.

Second, start building an email list as soon as possible. I used Daniel’s advice and created a freebie to entice people to subscribe, and in the end the list contributed a lot to my eBook’s success.

Third, make sure to be active in your niche and to build a relationship with fellow bloggers. One way I did that was to create a list with the Top 50 Cycling Blogs. Over 80% of them linked back to me, and it enabled me to get in touch with all these bloggers.

Come join us: If you want to join or learn more about the training program, simply visit OnlineProfits.com. It’s virtually free now (you’ll just need to sign-up for a hosting account with my partner), and you’ll get access to the same material Andreas used to build his site.

Original Post: Interview with Andreas Kam, Online Profits Student