Monetize your blog, 101

(note: this article will be added as both a post, and as a permanent page to this blog. Any revisions or additions will only be made to the permanent page and not to the post. The permanent page can always be found in the sidebar on the left side of any page in this blog! Now, enjoy…)

What follows is a list of ad, referral, and affiliate programs that will allow new websites without much in the way of monthly visitors to participate in their programs. There are are a few other advertising networks and affiliate programs I know of that are not listed as they require at least 2000 unique visitors per day (or more) to participate. The ones listed below are the most reputable programs I work with and are perfect for the starting blogger/website.

Ad Programs

Google AdSense

The first and foremost, the big kahuna, the mother of all ways to make money with your site, and by far-and-away the largest advertising network on the internet.

Google AdSense, commonly referred to as simply AdSense, is an ad serving program run

by Google. Website owners can enroll in this program to enable text, image and, more recently, video advertisements on their sites. These ads are administered by Google and generate revenue on either a per-click or per-thousand-impressions basis. Google is also currently beta-testing a cost-per-action based service.

In addition to AdSense, you can make money with Google by promoting other various services and products. Including:

• Google AdWords (these are the ads that are displayed on the AdSense network)
• Google Checkout
• Google Apps
• Firefox browser plus Google Toolbar
• Plus, Hundreds of other products and services.

Click the link below to sign up and get started with Google AdSense.

AdBrite

AdBrite allows you to place text, banner, and full page ads (pop-up, pop-under, etc.) on your site. A nice feature AdBrite offers is that they allow you to set the amount of revenue you’d like to generate from the ad placement. Banner ads are paid on a CPM basis (your are paid for each 1000 impressions), and text ads are paid on a per-click basis (you’re paid every time someone clicks on an ad). With either type, you control how much you need to get paid. If there are no advertisers currently bidding for the amount you’re looking for, you can have the ads automatically redirected to another ad provider such as Adsense. You simply enter your AdSense code on the AdBrite site when you are setting up your adbrite campaigns, copy the code provided where you want the ad displayed on your site and if AdBrite can’t send you advertiser your AdSense ad will display instead automatically. I love this feature as it let’s you control your revenue stream a bit more.

Click here to get started with AdBrite.

Shopping Ads

Shopping Ads is a network that only promotes merchants that sell tangible goods, such as DVD players, computers, etc… If you have a blog that relates to any such tangible good I would recommend using them. It’s always good to place ads that relate to you content as that will always result in higher click-through rates and more money for you.

Click here to get started with Shopping Ads.

Kontera

Kontera is an inline text ad serving program. If you take a look around this blog you’ll see a lot of words that are seemingly random links, the links a blue (my regular links are gray and turn red when you mouse over them), and when you mouse over them a little info bubble pops up. Those are Kontera ads.

The Kontera system automatically converts certain text to these ads, and when someone click on one I make a small amount of money. Its a very effective system and one of my better revenue generators. If you use word press they offer a free plugin that makes the whole process of adding their code to your blog easy as pie.

Click here to get started with Kontera

Selling your own ad space!

Another great way to make money on your blog is to sell you own ad space privately, and is the primary revenue source for a lot of (if not most) blogs with a large reader base. Selling your own ads space in effect cuts out the “middle” man and let you retain 100% of your own ad revenue. This is however a little bit more difecult to do than signing up for an AdSense account. While it may be a bit more difficult, it is quite possible…

PlaceMyProduct.com

PlaceMyProduct is a newly launched product placement service that helps advertisers and publishers connect in a new and revolutionary manner.

Here’s how it works; Publishers with available ad space put that space up for auction. There’s a $10 minimum starting amount for each auction and a predefined duration for the ad to be placed on the sellers site (Usually one month). Then, prospective advertisers bid to buy it. It’s that simple. The site also auctions off advertising channels like paid reviews, ad spots in RSS feeds and the like. Not only can virtual space be bought and sold, so can real world items - Think event sponsorships and so on…

What Ebay became to merchandise, PlaceMyProduct will become to advertising.

It’s a win-win system. It allows publishers the ability to monetize space that may otherwise go unused/unsold AND an easy way to sell their own space without having to use a network such as AdSense. Additionally, it allows advertisers to place ads on sites they may not have been able to before (i.e.; very targeted ads), and at rates that are very competitive.

You can learn more on their website at: www.PlaceMyProduct.com

Affiliate programs

There are TONS of affiliate programs out there. Some are reputable and trustworthy while many are not. If you don’t know exactly what an “Affiliate” program is, CLICK HERE for the complete wikipedia definition.

Unlike most advertiser programs, affiliate programs pay you a commission on each sale you send their way. commissions can range from around $10 to $100 or more depending on the particular program. Some are easier to sell than others, and it can be tough to tell which ones to promote, so I would suggest you experiment with them. Try one (or more) for a while, then mix it up. Change what you’re promoting and see if you get better results. Only after some trial-and-error will you know how to make the most your affiliate programs.

What I’ve listed below are the most trustworthy operators out there. In addition to being reputable, they all offer a plethora of products and services to promote, from independent software publishers to major credit cards providers to companies such as McAffee and so on.

Commission Junction

Commission Junction, or CJ for short, is one of the premier affilliate networks on the ‘net. They offer more programs than you can shake a stick at, are ultra reliable, always pay on time, and will give you personal attention and support second to none. They primarily only promote major companies, so there’s usually always a demand for their products/services. They are my favorite affiliate partners by far.

Click here to get started with CJ

Click Bank

Click Bank is an affiliate network that primarily promotes smaller independent companies. Many of the programs they have to offer are promoting publishing works and software. They offer a lot of programs promoting “how-to” items, such as; “How to make $250,000 a year from Google AdSense”, “How to get 100,00 free back links to your site”, “How to start your own at home babysitting service”, and so on. They also offer quite a few great software titles such as anti-virus programs, registry repair programs, and so on. I have used them for years and can attest to the earning potential they offer. In fact, the little “peel-away” ad at the top right corner of this blog is a Click Bank Affiliate program I participate in.

Click here to get started with Click Bank

PepperJam Network

The PepperJam Network is a relatively new network, but was named one of the top 500 fastest growing privately-held companies in the United States by Inc. magazine. They don’t have the number of programs to promote that click bank and CJ have, but I expect this to change very soon. From my experience, they’re easy to work with, I really like their user interface, and they have a nifty feature that lets you create rotating ads so you can promote sever programs in one space on your site. After some time you can see what’s performing, and what not and change the ad to only promote the performers.

Click here to get started with PepperJam

MISC.

Blogvertise

Blogvertise is a website that will pay you to write about an advertiser’s product or service in your blog. It’s simple; sign up for a free account, and once approved, you are given assignments to write about (you are placed in a “Assignment Queue”, and wait for your assignment to come up). You don’t even have to endorse the product or service you are writing about, simply write about it and include at least three links to the advertisers website. You are paid, on average, about $5-$15 per assignment (not too bad for what shoudl only take a few minutes to do) and are based popularity/traffic of your blog.

I am new to the Blogvertise program myself, but think it has great potential and am looking forward to working with them. See the Blogvertise website for complete details and to sign up.

I will updating the lists above and be adding other (misc.) ways to monetize your blog on a regular basis!! Please check back frequently, and if you have any suggestions please send ‘em my way!.

Remember to check the permanent page for update
(not this “post” page)!

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