I would venture to say that one of the leading reasons people start blogging, is the perceived potential to make money. In my first year of blogging, I have learned more about monetizing a Web site than I can possibly fit into a single post, so I will just hit the highlights for you!

Before I entered the world of blogging, none of the websites I designed for clients or myself had been monetized in any way (and none of them were blogs). I was aware of direct advertising as a means of getting a return on your investment, but I really hadn’t clued in to much else. One of my clients had started including affiliate links in her web updates and then she wanted some Adsense blocks added. I had never done any of this before so I had her tell me what she knew and I set about doing my own research to get more information.

The big names in the internet marketing world lead you to believe that all you have to do to start making money from your web site is to slap a few Adsense ads up there, buy their book or e-book, sign up for their affiliate program and “poof” - you will be an Internet Marketing Millionaire overnight. Guess what? That’s not quite how it works.

In my experience, monetizing your web site takes:

• Research
• Trial and error
• Traffic
• and Patience

Every web site is different and there are many different ways you can monetize a site. Certain methods work better than others based on your content, your audience, your traffic level, and your end goals.

Adsense and other contextual ad programs

Where it works: Niche sites tailored to a specific audience. Health, celebrity, consumer product, and extremely specialized niches work best. The less “tech-savvy” the audience, the better the click through rate is going to be (in my experience). Also, the higher your traffic rate, obviously the better you are going to do.

How to maximize your earnings: Use a mix of link ad and ad blocks and blend them into your design as much as possible. Try out a variety of placements using channels. If using on a general topic blog, place on single pages only for more relevant ads.

Affiliate Programs

Where it works: There are affiliate programs for just about everything from specific products to e-courses and absolutely everything in between. Affiliate links work best when presented as recommendations or reviews. Landing pages or pre-sale techniques really help. Affiliate links, if done right, work well even with a the traditional non-clicking audience.

How to maximize your earnings: Do your research. Find affiliate programs for products your audience already uses or would use - especially with a good recommendation from you. Use a pre-sale technique such as a well written landing page for better conversion rates.

Direct Ad Sales

Where it works: Selling text link ads or banner ads have the highest pay potential once your site gets fairly mature and starts getting consistent traffic flows. Having a defined niche/audience helps dramatically. Also, strong content and good SEO techniques make your site more attractive to potential advertisers.

How to maximize your earnings: Have a page about advertising on your site, or at a minimum, have solid statistics on your traffic, click through rates, and your demographics on hand. Be willing to share this information with potential advertisers. You can use brokerage services as well, but keep in mind that they will take a cut of your earnings. However, this may be the easiest way to break into the direct ad arena.

Paid Blogging

Where it works: You can do paid posting through a brokerage service or you can get paid to write regularly for a network. Most of the time the brokerages that offer pay per post (or review) opportunities require your site meet some basic requirements, but beyond that, you can choose which paid opportunities you wish to write on. Writing for a network requires application for the position, but can be a great way to earn money from blogging - especially when you consider what your current blog makes.

How to maximize your earnings: Look for pay per post opportunities that you enjoy, offer some value to your readers, and ones that pay fairly well. When getting paid to blog for a network (or similar), look for a network with a solid reputation, fair pay and bonus opportunities for increasing site traffic.

The Final Word

There are plenty of people making a really good living using a combination of web monetization methods, however I doubt any of them got there overnight and without making plenty of mistakes along the way. And for the record, I didn’t make very much money my first month of monetizing my sites - or my second - or my third. Around the 4th month, things started picking up. After a year of monetizing my sites, I have gotten to the point where I can consider MYSELF as a client - allowing me to stop doing some of the client work I no longer enjoy. I know there is still ALOT more I have to learn about making money on the Internet, but we’ll revisit my progress in another 6 months.

I would LOVE to get your insights on web site monetization. What has worked for you? Am I painting a realistic or accurate picture or have I had a totally different experience than yours?

While visiting with my Mom this morning, the topic of what I do came up and when I got to the part about blogging, I got a the RCA dog look from her. Sure, she understands that I design web sites and occasionally do print work, but blogging means nothing to her. So, I thought about it for a few minutes and realized that I could explain it to her using her world - running the nursery on the farm and going to the farmers market.

I started off by making a few basic comparisons - her primary business (now that she and my Dad are retired) is her farm nursery and selling plants, eggs, and veggies. My primary business is web design and consulting.

Then I introduced the concept of the farmer’s market and how once a week she packs up her best plants and goes to the farmer’s market in town to sell. My version of the farmer’s market is this blog - an extension of my business where I share the best of what I have to offer.

She still didn’t quite get it, so I explained in more detail.

Farmer’s Market Vendors = Bloggers

The individual vendors at the market remind me a lot like the bloggers I know. Each one of the vendors has a unique product to sell - and while there may be 5 vendors selling plants, each one is a bit different and each one has a unique story behind it. Sound familiar? Just as I am web designer, so are David Airey, Dawud Miracle, Randa Clay, Lisa Sabin-Wilson and others - but we each bring something slightly different to the marketplace - all of which is good.

There aren’t just vendors selling plants at the market, there are vendors with produce, vendors selling fresh baked goods, meat, jellies, and more. The same goes for the blogosphere - we aren’t all web designers - we each have our own niche.

Another thing I noticed about the vendors. They all have PASSION for what they bring to the market. If you stop in and ask my Mom a question about how to transplant your favorite perennial, her eyes light up and she will gladly share what she knows about it, whether you buy from her or not.

The vendors also help each other. I witnessed them helping one another set up and take down their booths. The vendor next to my Mom each week sells fruits (mainly berries) and some veggies. Yesterday when they had sold out of asparagus, one of the ladies brought the bucket of water that the asparagus had been sitting in over to my Mom. My Mom used the nutrient rich water to give her big pots of plants a drink. Much like bloggers share plug-in tips.

They even barter - just like we do. My Mom brings farm eggs for the berry ladies and in return she receives some fruit - depending on what is in season that week.

People at the Farmer’s Market = Readers in the Blogosphere

While watching my daughter sell lemonade at my Mom’s booth with amazing ease, I noted that there are three main types of people who go to the market:

People who walk by each booth and glance over briefly to see what is there then keep going. These are a lot like your RSS subscribers. They are interested in knowing what you have to offer, but will only click into your blog if you give them a compelling reason to do so.

Then there are those who stop in, look around, listen in to a conversation, but say nothing themselves. They may or may not make a purchase, but they like what they see and hear, so they will most likely be back.

And about this time, my Mom “got it”.

Then there are her regulars. The people that come to visit her booth week in and week out. They stop and talk, share information, share tidbits about their lives - they engage in conversation. They build a relationship with my Mom. Whether they make a purchase or not is of no difference to my Mom - she keeps going back to the market because of these customers have become her friends.

Often, the regulars at the market and purchase one or two items, join in the conversation, and develop the relationship, end up taking the next step.

The next step, in this case, is going to the farm to make their flower and egg purchases. According to my Mom, when her customers take that step, their purchases go from one or two flowers to complete flats, a hanging basket or two, and some good advice to go along with it.

So why aren’t more businesses blogging?

This was my Mom’s next question. My answer was something to the effect of “they don’t get it - yet”.

Part of what we need to do is to help businesses understand the benefits blogging can have on their business and their relationships with customers and employees. In order to do this, we need to listen to business owners and relate the power of blogging in a way they can understand.

Strawberries, anyone?

Ben Yoskovitz wants to know our secrets - our secrets to productivity. He is holding a group writing project called The Ultimate Guide to Productivity and Adam Kayce of Monk at Work invited me to join in.

My secret to productivity isn’t really a secret - you have to LOVE what you do.

That said, I am not always the most productive person. I frequently fall victim to my two arch enemies, procrastination and perfection. I have to really take great care in which projects I take on to avoid these two menaces. Over the years I have learned what types of projects get me fired up and which don’t. In the old days, I was not in a position to turn any work down and I often had to take on projects that I didn’t love. Try as I might, the results of those projects show my real feelings and over time I am learning the power of “no”.

As I get ready to face the next decade in my business, the power of “no” needs to get stronger so that the power of “love” can guide my business to more productive, successful, meaningful work. In the fall I will find myself with larger blocks of time that I will need to manage. Something tells me that if I don’t love my work, I will be wasting an awful lot of time.

Alister Cameron also participated in this project and his post goes even more into depth about the importance of loving your work - i.e. passion and purpose.

I found some of the other participant’s posts to be very timely, too, like Wendy at eMoms At Home’s need for leverage and ChrisG is right on the money when he describes getting into a flow state - I call that times when you just have to “run with it”.

Need the zen? Dawud is all about staying focused and Adam needs clarity. Gayla’s zen is in the spreadsheet, and then some days its all about the caffeine!

Everyone is welcome to take this to their blog and share with us! However, I play by the rules, so I am personally tagging:

• Randa Clay of Randa Clay Design
• Lisa Sabin-Wilson of Just a Girl in the World
• Tara of Graphic Design Blog
• Yvonne Russell of Grow Your Writing Business
• Daniel of the Wrong Advices