How I went from $0.01 monthly earnings to $40, and then $440 in a few months

I'm not sure what Alexa rating you need, but there are some sites that have alexa rank as high as 4,777,781...

Somebody suggested using Toolbar and using the Alexa redirect (like: http://redirect.alexa.com/redirect?www.yourwebsite.com) to get the rank up.

Naturally you can also sell links directly via digital point for example..

 

From what I understand, I can have, in the same page, TLA and Google AdSense. Is that right? If yes, you got rid of AdSense just because customizing issues?

 

You can have TLA + Adsense, yes.

I got rid of Adsense since it wasn't performing as well as others for my site. When my site traffic multiplies from what it is now, I might reconsider adsense - but for now I'm using different revenue generating streams.

 

excellent post..

i'm in a similar situation.. i've had a site for a couple of years now and it's only making peanuts... but after reading this maybe there is hope after all..

i'll keep on testing different programs... one should eventually work.

 

You are so nice for sharing this.i will try your method.

 

rudz005: Glad you liked it, good luck! Remember to tell us how it goes for you

fabriciogr: no problem - hopefully they work for you too. The key is to remember that you need to provide value for your audience.

For example,Yesterday I came up with an idea of selling bunch of links (shameless ad) in blog posts. I first decided to sell up to 10 slots per blog post, but now decided to make the amount smaller. After the first batch is done, I might try to sell max 4, 6 or perhaps 8 slots and experiment with different prices. Now there's so far 1 buyer, but I thought that if there would be like 5-6 clients paying $20-30 per blog post, that would mean anything from $100-200ish per relatively simple post, and quite little effort. If I'd make 4 posts per month, that would mean additional $400-800ish. Naturally I have to try which works best, but that's what you have to do. Provide a good deal for your clients - and good deal for yourself.

You have to be willing to look what others are doing - and after, and then thinking how you could best provide value for them, without sacrificing your own system (or audience).

 

Hi Game Producer,

Thanks for sharing the very inspiring story.

More success to you.

 

Great advice, very detailed.

Thanks for sharing!

 

No problem guys - hope you enjoyed the story: and most importantly, use & benefit from it right away.

 

Thanks for the story!
I too started recently - and the most important thing to me is clients. I like to build a long term relationship with them and not just try and cheat them out of a couple hundred dollars.

 

WOW... TLA is your friend! Try reviewme also, that's been working out great for some people!

 

yep, I'm using them - they work well for me too.

 

Nice post i think i might go to your site and click on your links put some money in your pocket, to give u back somthing for this post

 

there's definitely no need for that - besides, that would most likely be harmful (since I've just signed up with Kontera and they are experimenting stuff on my site). The best thing you can do is to simply take action on your own - or perhaps leave a tip

 

Hi Game Producer
Very well done on your success and thanks for an extremely interesting and useful post! Especially for someone like me at the beginning of the journey.

I have a question, what did you do right at the very beginning? You see I'm thinking about the best way to get my blog started...for example, did you start with your own design or just use a theme from somewhere else? Did you start with lots of posts or just do one a day or every other day? Did you optimise your site when things got going or right from the beginning? I guess I worry about traffic coming to my site initially and not seeing much there and going away thinking it's not worth revisiting!

I prefer the idea of getting traffic going before bringing cash into it - what advice would you have?

 

LilyUK, glad you liked it. Before getting into details, I'd suggest checking out my other thread: How my site traffic went from 37 monthly visits to 14,657 monthly unique visits. It sums up some of the ideas & principles I used.

Since I like to customize my own stuff, I started with my own design. I asked a permission from a 2D artist to let me use some of his art (and give him credit). After some time I took the 2D art off and simply went with www.dreamstime.com stuff. Eventually I ended up using even simpler design (the one I now have) which has little art... and design by me.

I suppose it's okay to get a ready-made theme from somewhere else. I wouldn't spend many bucks on the theme though - it's the content that matters.

I did one post now and then.. until I set a goal and started posting daily (for more information, see the thread I mentioned earlier).

Nah, that's rubbish! Don't worry about traffic. Simply set a goal... and then start taking steps to reach that goal. As long as you have interesting/useful/valuable content - somebody will come. I used one big niche forum to get most of my traffic (and it's still giving me good traffic - www.indiegamer.com - which I recommend to all gamers out there). You can do the same. Find some popular forum about your site topi (http://www.big-boards.com/ is your friend) and start posting there. Write posts that make sense (don't spam 'em) and put signature link to your profile.

I wouldn't mind getting cash before traffic

Well... to be honest - first passion, then the profit will follow. Stick doing something you really like, and turn it into a goldmine (if that's what you want).

 

Hi GameProducer
Thanks once again for the red hot advice. You're one very helpful person! I've read the other thread you mentioned too. With so much hard work and so much willingness to share your journey you deserve every success.

Best Wishes
Lily

 

those are some great examples you've provided there. I will try them on my blog to see the outcome.

 

LilyUK, no problem - glad you liked the story.

empireweb: good - and remember to report back.

 

This is great info and will hopefully help us with our site....