This week on our Tuseday’s Twenty Minute Tackle show we discussed the least effective and most effective ways to monetize a blog. Watch the recorded version below!
Tuesday’s Twenty Minute Tackle airs every Tuesday at 11am Mountain (1pm Eastern). Catch the live shows so you can participate in the conversations. Ask questions, get answers, network with other web business owners.
The Worst Thing You Can Do
DON’T CHOKE YOUR CONTENT! I have seen so many people starting out online with a blog and the first thing they want to do is make a dollar. To try and speed things up they put every monetization method in the world on their blog.
Sometimes it’s hard to even find the content! When someone comes to a blog they are there to read something, not to click an ad. Give them something valuable to read (and easy to find) and when they are done they just might value your opinion and as they leave click on one of your ads to go on to the next site.
Really, I could not stress enough the importance of not choking your blog. How do you know if you are? Look at other popular blogs and see if you have more advertising then them… If you do then cut it back!
The Least Effective Monetization Methods
Adsense
Sure you’ll make a couple bucks here and there but if you don’t have thousands of visitors per day this method really isn’t going to help much. However, there is something to be said for having 1,000 blogs that make $1 per day… But good luck with that! 
Adbrite
Pretty much the same as Adsense but instead of ad blocks they just link different words in your content. This isn’t as intrusive as a giant ad block but it still is just pennies per click.
Text Link Ads
Usually text link ads aren’t going to make you a lot of money until you already have a pretty successful blog. Since you charge based on the value of your blog. So if you have a brand new blog with not a lot of traffic and not alot of SEO power then you’ll get just a few dollars per month per link. Again needing lots and lots of blogs to make this work.
Product Reviews
Now this method does work, and works GOOD! However, if you over due it you could lose your readership so make sure you’re not one of those “review only” blogs. That’s like trying to read a magazine that only has ads in it… Not a lot of fun!
The Most Effective Methods
Product Sales
Take a look at ProBlogger.com, JohnChow.com, ShoeMoney.com, Entrepreneurs-Journey.com… All of them are VERY successful blogs and all of them sell their own products from their blogs. You’ll notice we have banners and links to our own products on this blog and rest assured, it makes us a lot more then a couple bucks per month!
Affiliate Ads
I’m sure if you’ve ever been on any popular blog then you have seen the little square ads usually over on the right hand side. Or if you’ve ever visited one of Michel Fortin‘s blogs you see little ads in between each blog post (I love his setup!). The ads work great but I’ve found they convert better if you link them to a presell page first and then to the affiliate instead of direct linking.
Network Marketing
I’ll be honest, I got this idea from Brian Clark in his blog post called “Blog Money: The Income Outlook For 2009” – I have not tried it yet but I think it’s brilliant and makes soo much sense. You just create a niche blog around the topic or product that your network marketing business revolves around and then use it to generate leads for your downline.
Sponsors
This one usually won’t come until you’ve got floods of traffic per day coming to your blog. However, it can be huge money. TechCrunch.com get’s $12,000 per month with a 2 month minimum contract! Work on getting your traffic as high as possible and then you basically get to name your price.
CPA Ads
This would work just like the affiliate ads however, CPA ads tend to convert better and work better on broader topic websites. Start out with small networks like NeverBlueAds and TTZ Media.
Paid Forum
We’ve used VBulletin in the past to setup forums and they have a great plugin that lets you charge a monthly fee for accessing the forum. Charging something as little as $4.99 per month for access to a forum can be the difference in a successful blog and a flopper.
Private Page
If you are using the self hosted WordPress software to run your blog then you have the ability to password protect any page or blog post. Having a “secrets” or “premium readers” section of your site can grant you quite a few extra dollars per month. We were charging $20 for access to our “secrets” page back when we had one and getting a couple sales per day from it.
There you have it, my most effective and least effective methods of monetizing a blog. It doesn’t happen overnight but like a pickle jar… If you apply constant pressure the lid will pop off!
Go Bigger,
Justin Brooke
P.S. Have you tried any of these methods? How have they worked for you? Do you have any methods that I didn’t list that you couldn’t live without?
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Internet marketing ROCKs!
I loved the show… I will be back!
It’s funny because I tell people to add adsense to their blogs as a good way… Maybe because my adsense account got cancelled i just want to make adsense money again! lol
I think adsense can be good if you are just starting out, it’s something you can start to generate revenue with along with affiliate marketing. But the best scenario is having your own products and services… that’s something i need to work on!
I love the network marketing snippet too… Make a blog around that marketplace and get leads and traffic that way! Smart
Have a great night!
DBK
David King’s last blog post..3 Seo tips to get free organic traffic to your website
Thanks Justin! I see way too many blogs that have every monetization method possible on them, and I immediately leave. I want to read good content, and I want to learn. Like you said, I don’t want to click an ad.
I know that the product sales monetization method works well with blogs. I came across this blog a week or two ago, and I already purchased a membership to your mafia, I have your android control panel & your SEO lies book. I was going to purchase your DotComLifeStyle.com product, but I have a lot of other things on my plate right now and I want to remain focused. However, I have it on my list of products to purchase, right up there with Mass Control and Product Launch Formula. (Yours isn’t high ticket like those, but it is one of the 5 products I want to purchase, and I will probably purchase it before those ones)
I do not have a huge blog or anything, I currently just don’t have the time to post often enough to make it worthwhile for readers. However, when I do create a blog, I plan on monetizing it in a similar fashion to yours, with a list of my products so that if people like my content they will purchase my stuff. If they don’t like my content, then I don’t want their money.
Everyone, please read this and listen to what Justin has to say. I personally appreciate the fact that this blog and the other blogs he mentioned do not contain Adsense and text link ads or all those other annoying monetization methods that make it look like you are trying to make money. Just post great content and let people know you have great products as well. An affiliate promotion here and there doesn’t hurt either.
Thanks again Justin!
Shawn
Great! That’s a great tip and the one that I need to write down just to remember it. “Don’t just send someone to an affliliate link but send them to a review page first.” I will try that.
sylvia’s last blog post..How to setup a free Google Apps mail account for your own domain
Hi Justin
Just learnt about your show first time and missed the live event, man I would have loved to be there – next time, the diary is marked
Those are pretty cool monetization ideas and well worth working with. And oh ya the choke-a-blog adsense are totaly off putting. The worst I’ve seen is at the start of the blog paragraph, where the ad takes about 75% of the space and the post gets 25% so you start reading 1 word per line
– I mean c’mon, get real people.
Once again thanks for the great tips and hope to be there live next week
Zulfikar’s last blog post..Quality Control Of The Blogging Kind
Hi Justin, great post and thanks for sharing. I happen to be on your list, and I am very glad about that. Love your methods, and your generosity! Anyways, i got a little question. I have a blog doing 100 uniques a day, but conversion (opt-ins and CPA offers) is quite bad. Could you advice me on how to improve on the conversion rates? The blog is coolfunvideos dot com.
Thanks alot!!
Misako’s last blog post..If I Can’t Have You
Hello Justin,
Great advice on how to monetize a blog. Simple but concise. I have been using AdSense on multiple blogs and although it does work as I expected, it does generate a few clicks here and there. I am of the opinion that every bit counts.
Another important matter you brought up here is “cluttering” a blog (specially those in the beginning) with ads. I make it an effort to let my readers know that by doing this, so are most certain to drive your visitors away. I hate “online flea markets”, lol
Will check Brian’s post about Network Marketing. Sounds interesting
Sorry about that. I meant ……..AdSense on multiple blogs and although it not does work as I expected..
diTesco’s last blog post..Commenting 101 – A Power Sometimes Ignored
i hate using adsense right now, because the reward is small, better promote affiliate program. thanks for sharing this method.
Hi Justin,
Thank you very much for the break down – pros and cons of the different available monetization methods.
It’s true people tend to jump on the adsense band wagon in a hope for a quick buck but those years a long gone. Its also true you can have 100s of sites earning a $1 a day and still laugh all the way to the bank but in all honesty, nothing beats own products.
With so much PLR products around, it should be easy enough for all to have their own products and it helps one build a list unlike with a click on exit.
All said, traffic tends to be the clincher for most and not just any traffic but qaulity buying traffic.
A great post indeed
Great post – nice and concise and full of great info as usual. I especially liked the way you listed various great and bad ways to generate income – very thought provoking.
Keep up the good work
Total German Shepherd’s last blog post..Apr 21, Dog Insurance Can Help You Pay Your Vet Visits
I don’t really understand why people run adsense on premium content blogs when they could vertically integrate and go direct.
Great post Justin.
James’s last blog post..How To Stream Amazon S3 Video On Your Website
Great post again, with much to think about.
Love your analogy about the pickle jar! Where most of us go wrong is that we don’t apply enough pressure for it to pop!
Looking forward to next post.
Maggie’s last blog post..Bye, Bye Charlotte, Charlotte, Bye bye!
many thanx bro…found ur article while struggling with couple of blogs I made for affiliate links…hope I’ll do better from now.
Hi Justin, second time here. I agree with you saying about “Don’t Choke your blog.”
I do think that bloggers should really provide quality contents for the readers. If the site has quality contents, sometimes you don’t have to market it as it will be marketed by readers themselves thru word of mouth to their friends.
As for me, I am currently monetizing my blog using adsense, infolinks and direct advertisers while still keeping the quality articles for my readers coming in.
With regards to your private page, I wonder what content should be hidden in that private page that keeps people paying just to view it?
Millionaire Acts’s last blog post..Refinancing Loan Using Home Mortgage
Sweet post. Might look into the “paid forum” idea.
Needmoney.com’s last blog post..Copywriting for the Web – Unique Selling Propositions (USPs)
Once again Justin thanks for the concise and relevant information.
I have to admit that sometimes I get so wrapped up in the content that I don’t even notice the ads!!
I can’t say that I am a great fan of adsense. I have always believed that you get compensated to the level of effort and creativity that you invest. Adsense involves little or no effort and creativity and as a result the compensation matches this.
I’m still building traffic to my blog and my following on twitter slowly but surely. Every day there is a few more. As yet I haven’t monetised at all, but I like the product review strategy and working on my own products.
Thanks
Steve
Professional Website Design’s last blog post..Top 5 OnPage SEO Factors for Optimising your Website
Justin,
I know very little about CPA Ads. It looks like a very lucrative market. I get the impression that it is for Marketers who must know what they are doing and who can afford to write big checks. I had no idea that there were some small networks like the ones you mentioned in your post, “NeverBlueAds” and “TTZ Media.” I would love to know more about CPA ads in a future post.
I have been using adsense probably for over a year now and still haven’t made the minimum payout level but I thought that it would work because of the subject of my blog. I have recently been considering affiliate programs but need to learn more about how to implement them on my blog without putting off readers. I already link to resources and other websites in my posts so I don’t want to place too many links in one post.
That may defeat the purpose of using affiliate programs altogether if readers just skip over them as “just another link”. I want to make sure that people can still get information and learn tips without being bombarded with links. I used to do paid reviews for those Paid-to-blog companies until Google reduced my page rank significantly so then I removed that stuff from my blog and have not written and paid posts since. Maybe I can turn it into a self-serve type of deal where selected clients can pay me to write about their websites, products or services in exchange for them kind of “sponsoring” my blog by purchasing a write-up or something like that….similar to an advertorial in magazine publications.
I like the “Private Page” option that you mentioned so I may also look into that more. The CPA services would be nice if they were in the U.S. so other than that, I refuse to work with them. I know of a woman who uses NeverBlueAds and highly recommends them so they may be cool, but the fact that they are in Canada does not sit well with me. Also, the TTZ Media place does not even have contact information or an address on their website. It’s just a sign-up form (So, website publishers have to sign up and give TTZ their addresses and email but TTZ doesn’t have to list their own information for website publishers to have? How ironic), which is something that I’m NOT going to fill out.
All in all, there are many useful suggestions to consider from your post.
Nice tips you have here. Now I know what methods to prioritize rather than doing them all at once.
Thanks!
I really very liked this post. Can I copy it to my blog? Thank you in advance. Sincerely