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Chris Guthrie – How I Make Money With Amazon

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How I Run My Internet Business By Chris Guthrie

I started my online business way back in 2005 and migrated to an LLC in 2007 once I started making more money. I made the move to full time self employment in 2009 and last year I more than surpassed my goal to earn $150,000 in 2010. I also sold one of my larger websites in a deal worth six figures last year too so overall it was a pretty great first full year of self employment (I got fired in late 2009 lol).

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Best Business Purchase? $200 for NetbookReviews.com

Favourite Business Resource? My three 26 inch monitors

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1. What gave you the idea for your business and what motivated you to apply yourself and get it done.

I’ve been running a wide range of websites ever since I created my first forum for gamers back in 2005. I knew money was being made on the internet and I was determined to make sure I started making money too. I only wish I had met more people that were making money online earlier as I would have been able to make a lot more money faster if I did. My biggest motivation is a desire to build my own business and blaze my own path. I hate working for someone else because I’m just making them more money. When I work for myself I am building my own assets.

2. Comparing your business from back then to now, what has been the main thing that allowed you to expand your business?

The biggest thing for me was the decision to invest more time into my business. For a few years I was running websites for fun but only passively trying to make money with them. A few years after that I decided that if I really wanted to make money with websites I needed to have a clear monetization path before I invested time and resources into a website. Ask yourself this question before you start something “How will this (eventually) make money?” I simply ask myself this question before I do anything now and it helps me avoid wasting time on projects that won’t pay off.

3. Whats the most profitable aspect of your online business, why do you think this is and how can others apply this to what they are doing.

I started doing really well with Amazon’s affiliate program back in early 2009. I shared some tips on what I’ve learned after making $90k+ with Amazon here. The biggest suggestion if you’re looking to make money with Amazon is to use it on websites with a very specific product oriented focus. For example, with the Netbook Reviews website I sold in a deal worth six figures I aimed to create the best possible netbook website and so I did things my competitors weren’t such as actually reviewing the product with videos etc. etc. You can apply this focus to any niche, just know that if you want that #1 Google ranking your site needs to be better than the site currently ranking that spot (in terms of the quality of links, quality of your domain name, quality of your content etc.)

4. How Do You Work?

I wake up around 9:00 AM or 10:00 AM but that just varies based on when I went to bed. I prefer to work regular business owners, but lately I’ve been working a lot more because I have so many projects that have simply gone on for far too long. For example, when I was working on releasing my Amazon wordpress plugin: EasyAzon I had a few days of the week that I stayed up to 5:00 AM finishing up the members area, creating how to videos, talking to affiliates etc. etc. Right now I have one full time employee in the Philippines and she helps me build websites. I haven’t felt comfortable enough yet to outsource my customer support as some of my products were based on my expert knowledge and I just can’t let go of answering all of my customer’s support inquiries. Sometime soon I know I need to outsource the more basic stuff such as “this video doesn’t load” and “can you fix my email address in the members area?” etc.

5. When did you realize you were successful/made it? and how did you feel/celebrate?

I felt like I made it when I hit my one year fireversary (celebrating my first full year of self employment) and soon after that I really knew things would be ok when I received the first bank wire payment for my website in the deal worth six figures. Seeing that much money in my bank account felt awesome and I splurged on my $500 Herman Miller SAYL chair (ridiculous I know but since I sit all day why not?). I later paid off a $26k lump sum from my wife’s student loans (although that’s a decision I now regret).

6. Looking back, what could you of done sooner to of got to that point quicker.

If I would have stopped putzing around building websites that had no business model (i.e. video game forums) I’d probably be making double or triple what I am today. But I still like to say that I owe the start of my business and it’s eventual success to the video game Halo. So I do know there are things I could have done to be successful faster but I wouldn’t change anything.

7. What should other Internet entrepreneurs reading this be focusing on to expand their own Internet business.

I’m a huge fan of monetization. A lot of what I’m doing this year is simply buying websites from people and finding ways to better monetize them right off the bat. The easiest way to make more money is to make sure you’re fully taking of your existing traffic before you go out and try and get more traffic.

8. What do you consider the main differences between those people who have been successful in your industry and those who have failed?

Most of the people I talk to fail before they even start. There’s only so much time you can spend learning before you have to take action. If you are reading this interview and haven’t actually done something (i.e. registered a domain name and set up your first website etc.) then you should stop reading this right now. Figure out what you’re interested in, do a quick search to see who the existing competition is and then make a decision to move forward with building your first website. If you aren’t an action taker you will never be successful with an online business.

You can learn more about how Chris is making money and teaching others at his blog: Make Money on the Internet

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Comments

  1. Francisco noperi says:

    Cool, interesting. i think that article is funny. he got fired, and made big bucks on amazon. i heard you make a little commission on amazon as a affiliate.

  2. Lifechitect says:

    Great Interview!

    I think one of the issues everyone in the online business world faces is getting started and seeing things to the end.

    There are millions of blogs out there that once started as a dream but never got to see the end of the tunnel. This are now buried in a cemetery of the what if and what could have been memories.

    Perseverance can create miracles, just give it enough time and effort and it will eventually get there.

    Sincerely,
    Evelio P.
    Lifechitect.com

  3. Chris Guthrie says:

    Thanks for posting the interview Michael.

    @Francisco – Yes, looking back now getting fired was the best thing that could have ever happened to me lol.

  4. Eunus Hosen says:

    Thank you so much Michael for the awesome interview. It’s very inspiring as always.

  5. Inspirational Chris. Thanks for posting the interview Michael.

  6. Prajwal Shinde says:

    That was very inspirational Michael. Thank you Chris for such an amazing insight.

  7. Interesting and insprirational. Great interview.

  8. fazal mayar says:

    Chris is inspiring, no wonder why i interviewed him. He knows how amazon affiliate marketing works!

  9. Barry Heal says:

    Thanks for sharing. Awesome interview.

  10. Bajar de Peso says:

    Great interview Michael, Amazon seems to be a great income source if you know how to use it. Congratulations Chris!

  11. Nice Story, Really its a great inspiration for the newbie wants to live a life in an internet lifestyle.

  12. wow michael thanks from interview this guy, so inspiring me.
    thanks chris for give some clue and adivice for us

  13. its really inspiring me…
    with internet, there is nothing impossible..we just need to explore it..

    nice interview dude..

  14. Sam Childs says:

    90K with Amazon! That is a lot of products seeing as they only give you a 10% cut.

    • Actually it’s more like 4-8% cut I believe. According to his podcast, he sold over 1,000,000 worth of products for them to make that much.

  15. Jonathan says:

    Very Inspirational. Buying websites and expanding shows that he is building his empire.

  16. Great questions as always Michael, and thanks for sharing your story Chris. It is motivating for myself as I am *almost at that point but not quite. Definitely took a lot away from this interview.

    Congratulations on your continued success Mr Guthrie.

  17. Very inspirational Interview, Thanks Michael

  18. Good for him! Unfortunately Amazon pulled out of our state (Connecticut) after new rules were enacted making it impossible to do business here as of the beginning of the month. (thanks, Governor !) Of course all the small businesses are the ones that get screwed (as usual) but you can’t blame Amazon. This state is almost anti-business now. They definitely don’t have our interests in mind when they are grabbing for every bloody cent they can get their hands on. I will have to leave the state to resume being an Amazon affiliate. I am anxiously looking forward to the day I get out of this tax-you-to-death state!

  19. Andrew @ Blogging Guide says:

    It is really great to know that the internet work is playing an important role with the problem of high unemployment rate. I wonder how many are enjoying the privileges in the world of internet.

  20. John Scott says:

    Wow, I didn’t know that there are so much to making money with Amazon. Thanks for letting me read this informative article!

    John
    InternetIncome88.com

  21. Kristian Alekov says:

    You will be surprised how much you can actually make on the internet. After owning Brick and Mortar companies for over 15 years, I’ve finally stepped into the online sales, and boy, was I on the wrong track before. This is where the money is guys, I’m actually thinking about writing a book on how to make money online… $90k is chump change on the Amazon.