Interview with A Filipino Earning $1k+ per Month Online
For those who are new in his site, James is the founder of PinoyMoneyTalk and is earning $1k+ per month consistently. Check out this picture of his $4,500+ Adsense check, that’s around P200,000+ pesos. Wow!
Enough of the introduction, let’s get into James’ head. 
James: Interestingly, we just finished our About Us page in the site. You can read our short history there. But to summarize, the site started in 2005 as a venue for Filipinos to discuss high-yield investment programs or HYIPs. Eventually, however, we got tired of HYIPs and started looking for alternative income opportunities. PMT now caters to discussions of just about any money-making opportunity — stock trading, mutual funds, problogging, work-at-home jobs, etc.
James: I only started focusing on Google Adsense in late 2006. Before that, the site uses Adsense but is not properly optimized, earning only a meager $10-20 per month. By adding more blog content and optimizing the ad units, I was able to dramatically increase the click-through rate (CTR) and overall performance of the ads. The site started hitting the $1,000-level in June this year, peaking at $1,800+ in July. Recent changes in Adsense’s policies negatively affected the performance of the ads, but fortunately our ad earnings still currently hover above the $1,000-a-month level.
James: Adsense still comprises the majority of my online income sources. I’d say affiliate marketing and direct advertisements provide only 20% of what I earn online. FYI, I still have a day job although it doesn’t pay much compared to my online earnings 
James: I am connected to the net around 10-15 hours a day. Yes, I admit, I am an internet addict. LOL.
PinoyMoneyTalk is not really an online business, so there’s no need for me to advertise. I’ve never paid for online advertising in the past, although I had free coupons from Google Adwords and Bidvertiser that I previously used.
James: Making money online is no different from making money using traditional activities such as putting up a business or being employed by a company. One still has to work hard in order to achieve a sustainable level of online earnings. Earning money online, however, has more perks because you get to stay at home, you don’t report to a boss, and you control your own time.
A lot of people think it’s easy to make money online and that it’s possible to earn big bucks overnight. Those claiming this are lying or have not really made much money. Surveys say that only 20% of new businesses manage to succeed. Online, it’s possible that this percentage is much lower. Anyone can attempt to make money online but not everyone will be successful. If it’s easy to make money online, then everyone who has access to the internet should be rich by now.
James: After graduating from the university in 2002, I went abroad to study Master’s. Then for three years, I worked in the headquarters of a multinational electronics company, implementing a change management initiative in several countries. I started PMT on my second year of work and tried to manage the site while also working. I’m just glad my company did not fire me for that. Hehe…
Early this year, my contract with that company expired and I decided to go back to the Philippines to start my own business. At present, I focus on managing PMT and have also taken a job as a teacher in a university while finalizing the details of the business I want to put up.
James: Not really. For almost three years now, the site just relied on word-of-mouth advertising, banking on members to recommend the site to their family or friends. Search engine optimization or SEO does help but we don’t actively implement it in the site. I think our numerous articles and discussion posts regarding money and personal finance are what made the site be on top of search engine results.
James: If you can make money both from online and offline sources, why choose? 
Earning online is definitely nice because you get to be your own boss, but one should also remember that this may not be sustainable in the long run. One should thus learn to diversify, that is, to not rely on only one or a few income opportunities.
In my case, I channel my online earnings into passive offline income opportunities, as I explained in the article Make more money offline using money earned online. That way, even if I don’t get to earn online anymore, I will still be making money from other sources!
James: I’m not sure if you can consider these useful but I’ll just share the ideals I live by.
1. Find your passion. You can’t really give your all to something you don’t like doing, so don’t just love what you do, do what you love!
2. Success doesn
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41 Responsesto “Interview with A Filipino Earning $1k+ per Month Online”
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very informative specially for a newbie like me. thanks alot for the info!!
I am pretty amaze to see that people had made money online, thanks for the useful information!
nice…really nice…*speechless
(cursing my self for being a slacker)
hahaa.. that is really feasible you gotta work to earn some buck online… no one ever got rich overnight.
Nice job McBilly.
Some good tips there for making and earning money online. You just have to be patient.
whoA! sana ako rin tumaas ang earnings.. hehe
[...] post by McBilly dot com on Blogs, Technology, and Ways to Make Money! and software by Elliott [...]
Good article! May i know how you approach these great person? Thanks!
when will you interview me mcbilly coz i’ll be next lolz!
nway, nice story, and very informative.. hmmm.. 
nice tips as well..
nice tip & story..
thanks for sharing us this info..
I think I’m motivated again ** after my PR dropped **..
have a nice day..
I don’t know what to feel after reading this entry. should I be inspired? but why do I feel intense envy instead? he he.
This interview really caught attention. +1000 a month? Phew. Even with my blog, such an earning is way out of my league.
Hmm… Maybe I should concentrate on Adsense too?
I’m glad you found it informative buddy. Just drop by here for more. Hehe.
Haha. Well, it can really surprise you that people can earn this much money online. I’m sure a lot earn more but are just quiet about it.
Nice of you to drop by Jaren. Is that a sign of jealousy? Hahaha.
That is true Jaren. This thing doesn’t happen overnight, but if you build on a good foundation, you can consistently earn passive income. Sounds like a plan! Hehe
Thanks bro. You’re right, this thing doesn’t happen overnight. We just have to be patient. I’m sure we’ll get there.
Hi dicky. Good question! You cannot just randomly approach these people. You need to create genuine relationships with them.
You can start with frequenting their blogs, commenting genuinely on their posts and adding value to their ideas. Also, it would be best to have a credible reputation so that other people would like to be featured in your blog. Hoped that helped.
Haha. Is that so? Show me some of your credentials and I’ll look into it.
Thanks rhodz. Hope to see you here more frequently.
Sorry to hear that buddy. I have to agree to what you said though, life must go on. Hehe. You can still get back to the game.
Also, earning $450 for a month doesn’t sound too bad. Hehe. Hope to see you hear more often lestat.
Hahaha! That’s a good one Monaco. That just proves that you’re human.
Anyway, this interview was made to inspire fellow bloggers, most especially fellow Filipinos that there is indeed money to be made online. And so we better get off our butts and start working on it. Hehe.
Indeed Karlo. Optimizing on your Adsense should be of top priority. But not the only priority. Experiment with other ad networks too and find out what works best on your site.
The new CPM ads of Widgetbucks sounds good, although I haven’t been paid yet. Unlike Adsense that I have already cashed out. Hehe. Anyway, best of luck buddy.
Hi Jehzeel. I’m sure tataas din ang earnings mo nyan!
By the way, I love your widgetbucks ad. It really blends in with your site. Good job!
Whoa! that’s a lot of money ha. how’s that? hmmmm something i have to findout. hehehe. thanks for this post mac. really helped me a lot. see you around.
[...] The results of the email interview can be read HERE. [...]
mc! no credentials for now and there will never be..
id rather justify it tel’n eveyrone that im happy doing it.. 
lolz.. anything goes with a startup and poor blogger..:)
btw, ill frequent here .. para i could establish a good relationship with you ng ma interview kita..:)
Haha. It’s good that you’re happy just to be blogging because if you’re just in it for the money, then it won’t last very long. Hehe.
I guess I’ll be seeing you more here then. Good luck!
di ko alam kaw pala ang mcbilly.. na bumisita sa blog ko..hih..if not for that shades..:) anyway, ill frequent nalang dito baka makadali ng information.. aside from lurking other sites..:)
Hey McBilly,
Glad to see that you are utilizing the power of interviews. I’ve seen good success with them myself.
Seems very interesting – using nationality as a key selling point. Make money online blogs are popping up left and right. The cream of the crop will rise to the top.
Thanks a lot Gyutae. I noticed that you’re interview with Tyler was a big success too. Very inspiring indeed. Nice of you to notice the nationality thing too. Hehe.
Nice man. Earning 1k a month. Hmm, I think I would post a post like this 19 year old lady earning $100 a week
Hi Ada. That post sounds very interesting especially targeting young people. I myself would be interested in that post. Try to work it out.
By the way, you have a good site there featuring friendster layouts. Hope to see you here more often.
[...] this interview with a Filipino earning $1000k+ online be an inspiration to all of us. It’s really true that we can earn [...]
[...] McBilly got the chance to interview James, the man behind PinoyMoneyTalk.com, I really think that the interview is worth reading, especially because it talks about making money online and how James managed to pull it off nicely. Read the interview here. [...]
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A resounding WOW!!!! That’s all I can say. Im just starting to blog. Actually just this Aril. I still use the blogspot address. My alexa ranking is 10,000,000 plus. hehe. who knows. maybe if I get to earn, I’ll buy my own domain.
hi guys …wow nice one to feature a person who makes money online….i also know some people who makes money online thru affiliate marketing.
Nice interview McBilly. I hope I can also achieve PMT’s success in my own blog.
The resident coordinator of the United Nations in the Philippines said over a million people are in “urgent need of humanitarian assistance” as she said the effects caused by storm “Ondoy” were “staggering.”
Hmmm…I’ll strive more I guess…! Thanks for the info! ^_^
Great themes! I Will try some of them out today..
Very inspirational. I hope that I will earn the same amount.
Great post. I was checking constantly this weblog and I’m inspired! Very useful information specifically the ultimate phase
I maintain such information much. I was looking for this certain info for a long time. Thanks and good luck.
Generally I don’t read post on blogs, however I would like to say that this write-up very pressured me to check out and do so! Your writing taste has been surprised me. Thanks, quite nice post.
When you say just work on 3 5 pages, are you saying 3 5 pages on one blog or spread out over several?
It’s the best time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy. I have read this publish and if I could I desire to suggest you some fascinating issues or tips. Perhaps you could write next articles regarding this article. I want to read even more things approximately it!
wow nice one to feature a person who makes money online….i also know some people who makes money online thru affiliate marketing. Hair Transplant Delhi
I just drop by when i am searching google adsense interview philippines, then you’re on number 2, good to see this page, namotivate po ako para magfocuc at pagbutihan ko pa ang aking pagbablog, salamat sa inspiration to mcbilly and james.