There has been a lot of talk over the years about people making massive amount of money off Google Adsense. Just from searching online, you will come across various sites featuring pictures of ShoeMoney’s six figure adsense check and a few stories on PlentyofFish.com’s owner making high six figures a month. I’ve always found the PlentyofFish.com story very interesting, but haven’t seen as much information on it as it deserves. This month Inc. Magazine did a cover story of Markus Frind’s PlentyofFish.com site, and how he is raking in over $10 million a year and working less than an hour per day.
A Google Adsense Check to PlentyofFish.com, back in Feb of 2006.
You can read the full story over at Inc Magazine’s site, or another article from the New York Times. If you don’t have the time, I went ahead and took out the good stuff and key points.
- According to Markus Frind, he operates his business out of his apartment in Vancouver, British Columbia, and he says he has net profits of about $10 million a year.
- PlentyofFish.com is serving up 1.6 billion webpages each month.
- Find’s blueprint for success: Pick a market in which the competition charges money, build a “dead simple” free website and pay for it using Google Adsense.
- PlentyofFish.com is quickly moving into first place among all dating sites in the U.S. and U.K.
A look Mr. Frind’s Cash Cow Web Site, PlentyofFish.com
One might ask, if life is so wonderful and easy for Markus Frind… why bring so much attention to yourself all of a sudden, and not just sit back and keep collecting checks. While reading through the article, you will find a certain type of arrogence from Markus, as if he is untouchable… scoffing at the idea of starting a new web site or company. There may be plenty of fish in the sea… but no one stays on top forever.
When i first heard about POF a few years back I thought it was amazing and still do.
Wow great news!
3 years back…
From reading the article, i agree with you on the comment about him being arrogant, but yet he has made himself into something that everybody wants to be.
I thought Shoemoney's picture of him holding his Google check was crazy, but to see this number is just wow..congrats to him!
But you're right, you cant be on top forever.
I think making large amounts of money requires some arrogance.
Everyone says that Adsense is not a good, long-term business model. I have to ask how anyone can say that after seeing a check like this.
So does he literally make all of his money off of adsense alone? If he does this is a quite amazing feat
I just read the article as well, and I also thought he had some arrogance about him.
From reading how he got started – basically he was doing his job keeping code simple instead of personalizing to keep his job like the other programmers were doing. Nothing teaches you better on what not to do or how to create something w/ much less coding like filtering through other people's code that are garbling it on purpose.
It is reading stuff like that, that makes you wonder how lots of businesses are still in business. (obviously the ones he was at in 99 when he was doing that are no longer in business.)
I don't think it is just adsense at this point, I am sure some of the other dating sites have gone to him direct for their ad placements. He would probably be able to command a higher price for serving up those direct ads.
Through the article, it occasionally mentions that he has ad buys in there as well. So all of the earnings aren't Adsense, but it was (or still is) a big portion.
It's a pretty amazing feat to make $1,000,000 with just adsense though, I don't care how arrogant the guy is cause at the moment he has done something that most just dream of.
I read the article in my copy of Inc. last week. I thought the guy was a little arrogant, but who wouldn't be after making hand over fist so easily. And the article says he operated the site out of his apartment at first, but now works out of an office in a high rise. It said something like they could fit fifty workers in there, but he only has four, including himself.
Zac,
Wow. Markus is awesome! I need some skills like his…
Respectfully,
Nicholas Chase
http://www.twitter.com/nachase
This is a perfect example of how to be the face of your brand.
Zac! How can we achieve the levels of success that you and Markus?!
That's pretty damn boss.
Interesting stuff. Still, even though he may only work an hour a day now, I'm betting he put in a lot of time thinking, then designing, then creating this site. That's really the lesson here; it takes a lot of work to create something, but once you've got your idea completed, if people flock to it you're going to do pretty well.
@Mitch:
He was a one man band for a few years before he got to the 1 hour a day stage.
Working smart and hard certainly pays off.
Hey thanks for this and I've just checked your tools there cooool
I read the article a few days ago when Inc. Mag arrived. I usually don't buy into the hype too much, but happened to read this one the day it came. I was freakin amazed! The guy is living the dream. I agree he's arrogant, but I'm not surprised and frankly, he can afford to be.
I'm sure Markus is smart and all, but there are people who are much smarter than him that haven't done a fraction of what he's done. Personally I think a lot of his success can be attributed to being in the right place at the right time.
His story about leasing his office space, but putting nothing in it cracked me up. I love that picture of him sitting behind a little desk in the corner of his big office.
If i was making all that money with 1 hour a day i would be arrogant as well…
After all most of the guys that make much money online are a bit arrogant in their own way.Zac you get arrogant sometimes too but we like you anyway
I got to admit too that the part where he showed of his Adsense check to shoemoney and made him shut up was quite entertaining as well
All in all this guy rocks and he is leading a life that most people would only dream of…When his site is not on the top anymore he will have enough money to do something else i am sure
That check totally PWNS Shoemoney's GA one
-Mike
I read this article the other day in INC and it really inspired me. It's hard toiling away day after day trying to carve out a good income on the net, but once you hit your stride, you can earn some serious income! I'm going to bust my hump until then!
we keep hearing about Shoemoney and his famous cheque. But wasnt that from his other business and not his blog? also these people that show their incomes via adsense, especially a few years back were ahead of the game and able to reap the profits of a new scheme…now everyone and their momma has adsense on their blogs and we are all used to them and move past without blinking…congrats to those that can monetize, but there are probably new methods out there now…right??
With a check like that who wouldn't be arrogant?
ZAC: "he says he has net profits of about $10 million a year."
Actually, it says revenue of 10 mil, with over 50% profit, so that would be over $5million profit. Plenty.
Couldn't agree with your more Zac no one stays on top always will be another website that will succeed plenty of fish
That is quite impressive that he makes that much and only works 1 hour a day. People can only of dream of living like that. Especially if a lot of his revenue is from adsense
Sometimes I get concerned about stories like Markus Frind's because they can set unrealistic expectations for those entering into online businesses. Every industry has a few stories about a few people who made it big with little work, but those stories generally involve a huge amount of luck.
This is a great example of the power of free. While it's unlikely to make as much money as he did, you can build a strong following by offering a free service and utilizing clever monetization techniques to make money from it.
http://www.sizlocore.blogspot.com/
lucky or smart?