Hey dp'ers My blog doesnt really make the biggest income nor it would impress you but I just thought I would share here with you how my main blog w/c is MelvinBlog.com makes money. So first the blog is an internet marketing blog so it really doesn't take a rocket-scientist to get it monetized. Obviously the main revenue driver for the site is direct-ad sales. For those who don't know, it is basically selling an advertiser space to an advertiser directly. It means I don't deal with third-parties and I keep the money 100%. Direct Ad Sales is a very hit and miss method because it is not consistent. You dont have much control with it as well and its not the best way to monetize a blog. Thats why in the next 6 months Im probably looking to shy away on using that as a main monetization tactic. Also to make it automated I use a very awesome plugin called OIO Publisher. The second method I use is affiliate marketing. Since I have a pretty nice community behind my blog, I can leverage it and recommend stuffs that I use without annoying my readers. This method is more relationship-driven so the more credibility you have, the more they'll buy from you. Third is product sales, I created an info prod a year ago and it did well. And lastly are the unorthodox ways. These unconventional ways are; gaming CPM advertising, selling links in posts, utilizing those paid banners third party programs and etc. One thing you can find out is that most blogs also run this model, although the focus on each method varies differently depending on the blogger and their niche. Btw, the complete post is written here and I'd like to know how your blog makes money as well. ;-)
Melvin, can you give me a recommendation? I'd like to accept AdSense, open an affiliate store (or simply provide links) and have the ability to have either tabs or a menu. Do any of the FREE blog services allow all three of these?
I prefer almost any ad network for blogs besides adsense because of it's ridiculous $100 minimum payout..not to mention it is W-2 taxed. I like Project Wonderful for ads on newer blogs you actually get a few page hits from it too
Countolaf, Thanks for sharing your monetization methods. I'm sure that you've earn well through that blogs. But, can you share a little bit tips about getting yourself promoted the blogs and of course, how do you make yourself stand out from the crowd and start building your own community?
I already see your blog. Nice, thank you for sharing your idea. i hope you will have a better conversion with your blog.
I think you forget to mention about the commentluv. I like to make comments on blogs using commentluv.
Thank you for sharing. A little question though... how do you manage all your selling ads space. OIO can manage all your ads and automate it? Do you still use another tracking software beside that? like excel whatsoever.... Just curious and very2 appreciated it if you could answer my question.
Well if youre just getting started its really really tough. That's why blogging is a business for those who are passionate in the subject of writing. I haven't seen anyone yet who succeeded without really having a passion for their topic. Back to your question, its a broad question but for the sake of brevity, the strategy is that you (and your blog) have to be seen anywhere. From the simple blog commenting to the much harder guest posting, the goal is for your blog to get in front of as many people as possible. So if they see you and they go to your blog, the second phase starts in wherein they'll reflect whether your content is good enough to make them stay or not. Thats it. I hope I answered your question. Also, I had recently wrote an eBook which is FREE about blog marketing. So if you're a newbie or just someone whos struggling to get traffic to your blog then the eBook may just provide good stuff for you.. Here's the link: http://www.melvinblog.com/freebies/blog-marketing-fame/
Wordpress does all but then you have to have your own hosting and domain to make that happen. With regards to an affiliate store there are many paid scripts out there that does it for you like BANS or Review Site Plugin. I dont really think theres a free service or tool that allows that
Yep OIO Pretty much does it all. They have geotargeting, they track no.of clicks and impressions, and they just basically automate the entire process of selling and delivering advertising