Let me start off by saying I am not a complete newbie to trying to make money online. I've been looking for ways to make money online for about 3 years now. And while I haven't made a ton of money, I've made a little something here and there - but also lost some money here and there. So, I do have a very small bit of experience under my belt, which is what I believe has helped me succeed this far - but that does not mean you can't have the same, or similar, success.

I can't say that I've failed - I don't necessarily believe in failure, but that everything is a learning experience, whether good or bad. And, again, I have created small incomes here and there with a few different methods. I've tried business ops (MLM/Network Marketing), "get rich quick schemes" (yeah, I know, stupid me), and legitimate online telecommuting jobs. The only opportunity I didn't generate an income with was the get rich quick schemes - the other two, I've made money with and lost money on because of buying into ridiculous promises. But neither of them has yet generated me a long term residual income, which is something I'd prefer to create.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not lazy and do believe in hard work, but I love the fact that residual incomes offer you the opportunity to do the work today and get paid for it tomorrow, next week, next month, and even sometimes next year. I have learned something exciting and that is that you actually can earn residual income by writing online and from the comfort of your home!

A few months ago I stumbled upon something called "the bum marketing method." It's basically like a "Article Marketing for Dummies" course that you can access for free online. At the time I was involved with an MLM company and attempting to run my own home based business. I knew almost nothing about how to have a presence on the Internet. Silly me though all I needed was a website and somehow people would find me!

So, I was doing some research, found the bum marketing method, and I read and re-read the information provided by Travis in his free bum marketing method course. After I slightly grasped it, I began putting it into play, and within about 2 weeks, I wrote about 9 different articles regarding my product,.I did this by creating a free blog...and WOW, my articles showed up on the first page of Google, most of them in the number 1 or 2 spots, for the phrases I had chosen!

OK, so, I now had proof that the Bum Marketing Method worked. It gained credibility with me. I was getting visitors to my blog, which then visited my website, which resulted in a decent amount of sign-ups or sales which = money earned! And, the best part, I paid....?? NOTHING!

Around Christmas time, a friend, and dual interest business partner, sent me a link to a site that was giving away a bunch of free downloads for the holiday. So, since the only string attached was that I opt-in to their mailing list, I figured "eh, why not?", and I signed up. Well, one of the free downloads that was offered was called "Bum Marketing Evolved." This automatically sparked my interest since, not only had I heard of Bum Marketing, but I had tried it, and it helped me make some money online less than 4 months prior.

Naturally I read the report - and guess what site was recommended? HubPages!

At first, I have to admit I was partial to signing up. I knew nothing about social networking sites and I knew very little about blogging - and it looked like HubPages was a combo of the two. But, I gave it a shot anyway. And, I've fallen in love!

Not only does HubPages offer several different possible income streams (eBay, Amazon, Google AdSense, and Referrals), but it's a great resource based community! I was amazed by the amount of credible content provided by the other writers! I've been looking for a way to create a site with multiple content, not all necessarily related to each other, and I've been able to do just that with HubPages. So, not only was it a way to make money, but also an information portal, all in one - and it's really easy to use!

Now, with that being said, I must say this - PLEASE, DO NOT JOIN HUBPAGES IF YOUR SOLE INTEREST IS MARKETING YOURSELF, YOUR WEBSITE, OR YOUR BUSINESS/PRODUCTS!

I can't emphasize that enough. It's ok (Hubbers, correct me if I'm wrong) if you want to provide good information or content to others that may be searching for it. And you recommend a few products or services that tie in with the subject (and one of them may be a product or service you are involved with). But don't come join the HubPages community and start posting bogus or crap articles. Review the Terms of Service before joining. We, as a community, want to have a reputation of providing legitimate content and read-worthy articles. And trust me, other Hubbers, or one of the HubPages team members, will have no problem flagging your hub if they feel it violates the TOS - resulting in you account eventually being terminated.

I know that sounds funny, coming from me. I'm not going to lie - my sole interest when I first signed up with HubPages was to make money. But, I did not exploit myself or HubPages in the process of doing so. I have always written, what I believe to be, articles with good content and linked to other similar or reliable sources (reducing my chances of financial gain). I have even written articles in which I had NO possible monetary gain (which, believe it or not, a lot of Hubbers do), just because I simply enjoyed doing so!

OK, now back to why you came here - How am I making money with HubPages? And how can you do the same? (Please see my Disclaimer at the end of the article)

Well, as I mentioned above, it started with the Bum Marketing Method...I then began "googling" for more info on the Bum Marketing Method and downloaded freebie eBooks about it or bought them.

Once I began learning the techniques from the two eBooks above (and the freebies they included), and I put together a few good content articles, I then submitted my articles to a few different social bookmarking websites (you'll learn more about that in the eBooks above).

For certain articles, I even used some traffic exchanges to help drive some traffic to particular hubs. And using the Google Analytics tool, I've been able to monitor crucial information, like what keywords are being used to find my hubs and how long visitors are staying on my Hubs. I also searched HubPages for traffic tips to see what other members were doing to bring more traffic to their Hubs, which I also recommend you do.

As of writing this article (Jan. 26,'08), I've been with HubPages for 15 days, and so far, I've made:

$0.34 from HubPages (using my Affiliate Tracking Links)

$1.40 from eBay

$5.80 from Google AdSense

$0.00 from Amazon

...for a whopping grand total of ....(drum-roll please)

$7.54!

Now, I know to some of you, that does not sound like a lot, but to me, it was well worth the effort. And it may turn into a residual income. Well, as long as I use the methods I learned from the Bum Marketing Method, continue creating content rich articles, and use some of the different other traffic generating methods and tips I've learned, that number should continue to grow. And I will be, hopefuly, creating a residual income that will last anywhere from a few months to a few years from now. It may be wishful thinking, as it's not guaranteed, but it doesn't hurt to dream, does it?

I make every effort to ensure that I accurately represent these products and services and their potential for income. Earning and Income statements made by me and its customers are estimates of what I think you can possibly earn. There is no guarantee that you will make these levels of income and you accept the risk that the earnings and income statements differ by individual.

As with any business, your results may vary, and will be based on your individual capacity, business experience, expertise, and level of desire. There are no guarantees concerning the level of success you may experience. The testimonials and examples used are exceptional results, which do not apply to the average purchaser, and are not intended to represent or guarantee that anyone will achieve the same or similar results. Each individual's success depends on his or her background, dedication, desire and motivation.

There is no assurance that examples of past earnings can be duplicated in the future. I cannot guarantee your future results and/or success. There are some unknown risks in business and on the internet that I cannot foresee which can reduce results. I'm not responsible for your actions. You are responsible for your own actions.

The use of my information, products and services should be based on your own due diligence and you agree that I'm not liable for any success or failure of your business that is directly or indirectly related to the purchase and use of my information, products and services.