Sponsored by Ezoic.

Show notes:

• Just because you can make money doing something doesn’t mean you should.
• And no, I’m not talking about robbing banks.
• I’m talking about being able to make it legitimately but choosing not to.
• I choose to leave money on the table every day.
• Most good businesses do.

Here are some examples of how I leave money on the table

1. Sometimes I don’t drop in affiliate links (GASP!)

• Conserve energy
• Not terribly lucrative
• MY FOCUS: Publishing content

2. I display fewer ads than I could

• Diminishing returns
• Visitors are people
• I want people to return

3. I send non-promotional emails

• I send out a good number of emails that promote nothing. This email is one example. This goes against the ABC of marketing which is ALWAYS BE CLOSING.
• I figure it doesn’t hurt sending out non-promotional content. More importantly, I like writing it.

4. I don’t publish spammy reviews

• I could leverage the authority of several niche sites and rank lousy product reviews that could make some money, but I prefer not to. 
• Don’t get me wrong, I do publish product reviews across my sites, but only when I like the product and it’s a good fit for the site.

5. I gave up a large email newsletter for a niche site

• I had built up a sizeable number of subscribers for two niche sites that made money, but it wasn’t enough to justify the time it took to manage it. 
• Again, that time and more importantly, energy, is better spent focusing on publishing content.

6. I don’t sell links

• Risky
• Too bad because very high profit/time ratio
• Instant cash
• BUT, Google doesn’t like it and it’s easy to discover

7. I don’t sell sponsored posts

• Hustle work
• I loathe hustling for deals
• The endless email thread
• It’s ALWAYS more work than you think

8. I don’t sell services

• It’s hustle work
• Telephone calls, meetings, emails, customer service… not for me
• That’s why I do what I do

9. I don’t translate all my content into multiple languages

• Jon, why don’t you translate your millions of words of content? Surely that would be a lot of traffic.
• Yes, it would but talk about a job I wouldn’t want to do.
• Ad revenue still low - not worth it for me IMO

Notice a trend?

Anything that veers from my main business model, I don’t pursue even if it means leaving money on the table.

I’ve fallen for the lure of “easy” money in the past but I’ve learned it doesn’t pay. Sticking to the game plan pays and the game plan is publishing as much great content as I can.
Whatever your game plan is, stick to it.

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