Making money online sounds cool until you realize it’s just as brutal, chaotic, and uncertain as any other business.
After a few years of fumbling through freelancing, digital products, content creation, and everything in between, I realized I needed a system—non-negotiable rules—to stay sane and actually make money.
So, here are the 10 ruthless online money rules I live by. They are not always popular and indeed not easy, but they work.
Feel free to steal them if you want.
1. Nobody owes you attention. Earn it every day.
You can be the most skilled person in the world, but it doesn’t matter if no one sees you.
In the initial days, I thought posting once in a while was enough. It’s not. Now, I treat attention like rent that’s due daily. Whether tweeting, posting a reel, or sending a newsletter, I show up consistently.
You can’t make money online without attention. The more you have, the better.
2. Sell something every week (even if it’s subtle).
I used to feel guilty about self-promoting and “selling too much.” Now, I know that if I don’t sell, I won’t earn.
So, I sell something every week — a service, an e-book, or even just an idea that leads to future clients. Sometimes, it’s a hard pitch, and other times, it’s just a quiet CTA at the end of a post.
The internet is noisy. If you are not selling, someone else is. Get used to making offers.
3. Being boring and profitable is better than being exciting and broke.
Passive income is cool. But the daily grind isn’t.
Most of my income comes from boring, repeatable systems, such as affiliate links, email sequences, product bundles, etc. I set these up once and tweak them as I go.
People chase shiny trends. Double down on what works, even if it’s “boring.”
4. Only build what you can market.
I once spent weeks making a product no one wanted: no audience, no demands, just vibes.
Now, I don’t build anything unless I know how to market it. If I can’t picture the hook, audience, and content strategy around it, I let it go.
Great ideas don’t sell. Great positioning does.
5. Don’t care what your friends think. They are not your customers.
When I started writing about money, productivity, and online business, some friends made fun of it. They teased me, saying, “So, you’re a ‘writer’ now?”
At first, I was affected, but later, I couldn’t care less because I understood they weren’t paying for my stuff. Some people actually care and appreciate my content. Only they should matter.
Your friends don’t pay your bills. Your audience does. Create for them.
6. If it doesn’t scale, phase out.
I used to take any gig I could, such as customized work, one-off projects, and endless revisions. It was exhausting.
Now, I focus on scaling. If it can’t be done, I either price it much higher or phase it out. I concentrate on offers I can sell 10, 100, or 1,000 times without working 10x harder.
Money loves leverage.
7. Reuse everything because 90 percent of people miss it the first time.
People treat content like it’s disposable. I treat it like an asset.
I’ll turn a great post into an email, a thread, a carousel, an infographic, and multiple small tweets. I repost old wins with a fresh angle.
You don’t need more content. You need more distribution. Most of your audience missed your best stuff. So, post it again.
8. Charge more instead of working more.
Raising prices might seem scary. But once you do it, you realize it isn’t that bad.
I’d rather work with five clients who pay $1,000 than 50 clients who pay $100 because it involves less stress, more attention to quality, and fewer headaches.
People take your work more seriously when you charge more. It’s weird psychology, but it works.
9. Track your income (even when it’s ugly)
I used to avoid looking at my income dashboard because it felt like opening a report card you knew was bad.
But now, I track everything weekly (or monthly) — sales, leads, growth, etc. I don’t like spreadsheets, but I like clarity.
Money hates vagueness. If you don’t measure it, you can’t grow it.
10. Make your money work while you sleep
I used to think the goal was just to earn. Now I know it’s also to multiply.
Every dollar I earn has a job to do. Some go into stocks, some into savings, and some back into the business. Online tools and software help me send emails, make sales, and book calls while I sleep.
If all your income depends on you working, you are one burnout away from being broke.
Conclusion
None of this is glamorous. I’m not here to see you in a dream. I’m here to tell you the truth: Making money online is possible, but it’s not for the half-committed. It rewards those who are strategic, ruthless, and willing to do what most people won’t.
I’m still learning and experimenting. But these rules have made a significant difference for me.
If you are serious about building online income, maybe it’s time you made some ruthless rules of your own (or perhaps even steal some of mine).
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