As you know, I have started to make some money from this blogging thing....not a lot of money, but it's growing, and it's becoming enough that it is making a difference in my life. Again, not enough money to make a huge difference, I still have my day job, but I am in the realm of possibility now, infact, it's enough that I can buy some of the things I want and not feel bad. No cars yet, but I am getting there. So I thought I would share with you some of the programs to make money that I have been using, here they are in no particular order, as some months one is better than the other etc:
Senior Friendfinder This one has proved to be surprisingly popular, perhaps because many of my readers are a little older, and this appeals to them. It fits well on some of my blogs.
Widgetbucks This hasn't been a big moneymaker for me, although I understand some folks are doing quite well promoting it. I like the system and the widgets are easy to use and set up. To be honest, I haven't promoted it heavily.
Adult FriendFinder This is one of my best money makers. It's amazing the number of people who are interested in the 'lifestyle' and I believe to each his own. It's a pretty steady earner for me.
MillionaireMate It took a little while for this one to get going, but it has returned some conversions lately, offering me my commission. It's essentially a dating site for folks interested in meeting a millionaire...which isn't me...LOL
Passion Another good converter, Passion is a little tamer than Adult FriendFinder but it has it's following and some of them came from my links.
Bondage.com Another one for the adults, but like the others, it converts pretty well and the payouts are not to bad at all. It needs a blog or site that is directed toward the sexy side of things.
Alt.com This is another alternative lifestyle membership site to promote, again, with the right audience, this is a pretty good converter and the payouts are decent.
Slim.com Good for almost any site, but perfect for weight loss and health related websites. Good payouts, and seems to be a relatively popular site especially on the health blogs.
GetItOn One of the best paying affiliate programs I use. It's similar to Adult FriendFinder but newer and growing everyday. I think the fairly newness of it helps to make it a good converter.
Chitika is touted as one of the best affiliate programs for blogs and websites. I haven't had much experience with it yet to be honest. However, it does have potential and I can see why it would be popular.
Adengage I've been using Adengage since I began blogging. Lately it hasn't been paying as well as it did originally, although partly my fault for not promoting it enough. Pays by the click and also through weekly ad sales. Like all ppc programs and banner programs, depends on the amount of traffic.
Black Label Ads Hasn't really worked too well for me. I don't have enough traffic for it, and not the right kind of adult based traffic.
Adbrite Like Adengage, pay per click and by the ad placement. A good alternative to Adsense I think, although I haven't had a lot of experience with it.
Adsense About the best there is, and is a top performer for me. Needs lots and lots of traffic to be really lucrative but otherwise it's good. Make sure you comply with their program policies.
Clicksor I can't remember ever using Clicksor, although I signed up for an account some time ago. It's said to be a good alternative to Google Adsense, but I don't know that.
Clickbank Great if you want to push e-books, the commissions can be pretty good per sale, even better if you want to write an e-book and sell it. I think that is the best way to go with Clickbank, and I think the way the most money is made. One of my best converters and one of the best tools for making money on the internet is Sitebuilder Elite This one enables you to build hundreds of sites to advertise on, and make money. This in itself has the potential to be a money maker.
Cafe Press A friend and I started selling t-shirts and other personalized items through Cafe Press several years ago. It showed lots of potential and we made a little money, but it requires quite a bit of work in terms of creating artwork and promoting your store. You can sign up for free, but a paid version is much better. You will need a website and some creative talent.
Amazon has been and continues to be a good producer for me, although it takes a fair bit of work to sell their products. On the other hand, their massive selection of things you can sell means that you won't have a problem finding something that goes with your website.
I tired a few other programs over the years, but didn't mention them here because for one reason or another I dropped them, mostly because they were too difficult to join or didn't convert at all and as far as I was concerned were a waste of website space. The ones I mentioned above where I said I made money were and are the ones I still use. Of course, like all of these types of programs, individual results may vary, some will work for you and some won't. As you know, it's all about traffic and matching the right products to your readership.
Good Luck
Make Money Blogging
Is Being Paid To Blog OK?
Those of us trying to make money from blogging are occasionally offered an opportunity to write a paid post. In other words, a sponsor pays us to write about their product. Hopefully something positive, but not necessarily. There are companies springing up wanting to sign bloggers up to write, and of course take a portion of the blogger's earnings. I have recently received an email or two from a company trying to get me to sign up with them.
Paid blogging is a complex issue, note I didn't say 'problem' as I don't believe it is a problem. There are of course issues with possible misrepresentation and it isn't a good thing if bloggers, or any other media source starts talking about the benefits of a product, even if they are not owners or users of that product....or is it? Isn't that what advertisers do everyday? When a newspaper publishes and ad promoting a new car, aren't they doing the same thing?
Well kinda, but not exactly. It's usually not difficult to distinquish between a paid advertisement in a newspaper and a newspaper article. For one thing, most publish in small type the words "paid advertisement" at the bottom of the article. So the reader has an opportunity to figure out that it is an ad as opposed to an endorsement.
Endorsements are a little different. Take for example a hockey player endorsing a pair of skates. That has a ring of truth to it, and most likely, that player is paid to wear those particular skates. So likely the player has an idea as to whether or not they are any good. But on the other hand, perhaps they are paid enough money for the endorsement that they don't really care if the skates are any good. Here is where it gets a little confusing, but that leads to the individual player's integrity. If he has none, it probably doesn't matter. The same could hold true for bloggers. But again, the difference is, the audience for the skate commercial featuring the sports star is usually aware that it is an advertisement.
With a blog, it is a little more difficult to know whether or not the blogger is being paid to say nice things about the product, or if he or she genuinely likes it and uses it. A paid blogger could easily write about a product and convince his readers it is the next best thing to sliced bread and never have used it. But isn't that what we do anyway? I frequently write about various products from e-books to shoes on some of my blogs, and sell them through various affilate programs. I make a commission on the sale, so as such, I am being paid to blog about a product. Not a great deal different than if the shoe company just paid me $5 to tell everyone about their shoes. But that is advertising....everytime you write about a product with the potential for aa commission, you are a 'paid blogger' or if you run ad banners on your blog, you are a paid blogger.
I think there is a fine line between being paid to blog, and being a paid blogger. That is where this gets tricky. That is where the idea of the Federal Trade Commission drafting guidelines for bloggers who promote products gets to be a touchy subject. It becomes a question of conflict of interest, the question being, 'is there a conflict of interest?'
Personally I don't think so. I do however think that any blogger with an integrity, and there are some, will advise his/her readers that the post is a paid post. I think that is going to be necessary if the blogger wants to maintain any credibility at all. If not, well they won't, but they won't last. Blogging requires credibility, and readers demand it. If you start blogging for cash, promoting products where you give your readers the idea you endorse a particular product, but haven't actually used it, or it turns out to be crap, your credibility goes down the tubes. You lose readers....pretty soon even the company paying you to post won't be interested because you won't have any readers....
I think new bloggers are particularly susceptable to this kind of deal. Blogging is not exactly an easy way to make money, and the idea of being paid to write nice things about a product might sound pretty appealing to some. But to most writers, and bloggers, who understand the value of their integrity and the power of their voice, being caught up in paid blogging is similar to the old disc jockey 'payola' of years ago. At that time radio announcers were paid to promote specific muscians and songs on their radio shows. When it became public that payola was happening, S___ hit the fan and careers were lost. Think about it.....
Google is concerned about paid posting, having concerns that it cannot fully discern all paid from non-paid posts. Google is thinking about how to deal with it, and recently Google's Matt Cutts has said "We [Google] take the subject of paid posts seriously and take action on them.”
So how do you feel about paid blogging? Is it something you do or are willing to do?
Paid blogging is a complex issue, note I didn't say 'problem' as I don't believe it is a problem. There are of course issues with possible misrepresentation and it isn't a good thing if bloggers, or any other media source starts talking about the benefits of a product, even if they are not owners or users of that product....or is it? Isn't that what advertisers do everyday? When a newspaper publishes and ad promoting a new car, aren't they doing the same thing?
Well kinda, but not exactly. It's usually not difficult to distinquish between a paid advertisement in a newspaper and a newspaper article. For one thing, most publish in small type the words "paid advertisement" at the bottom of the article. So the reader has an opportunity to figure out that it is an ad as opposed to an endorsement.
Endorsements are a little different. Take for example a hockey player endorsing a pair of skates. That has a ring of truth to it, and most likely, that player is paid to wear those particular skates. So likely the player has an idea as to whether or not they are any good. But on the other hand, perhaps they are paid enough money for the endorsement that they don't really care if the skates are any good. Here is where it gets a little confusing, but that leads to the individual player's integrity. If he has none, it probably doesn't matter. The same could hold true for bloggers. But again, the difference is, the audience for the skate commercial featuring the sports star is usually aware that it is an advertisement.
With a blog, it is a little more difficult to know whether or not the blogger is being paid to say nice things about the product, or if he or she genuinely likes it and uses it. A paid blogger could easily write about a product and convince his readers it is the next best thing to sliced bread and never have used it. But isn't that what we do anyway? I frequently write about various products from e-books to shoes on some of my blogs, and sell them through various affilate programs. I make a commission on the sale, so as such, I am being paid to blog about a product. Not a great deal different than if the shoe company just paid me $5 to tell everyone about their shoes. But that is advertising....everytime you write about a product with the potential for aa commission, you are a 'paid blogger' or if you run ad banners on your blog, you are a paid blogger.
I think there is a fine line between being paid to blog, and being a paid blogger. That is where this gets tricky. That is where the idea of the Federal Trade Commission drafting guidelines for bloggers who promote products gets to be a touchy subject. It becomes a question of conflict of interest, the question being, 'is there a conflict of interest?'
Personally I don't think so. I do however think that any blogger with an integrity, and there are some, will advise his/her readers that the post is a paid post. I think that is going to be necessary if the blogger wants to maintain any credibility at all. If not, well they won't, but they won't last. Blogging requires credibility, and readers demand it. If you start blogging for cash, promoting products where you give your readers the idea you endorse a particular product, but haven't actually used it, or it turns out to be crap, your credibility goes down the tubes. You lose readers....pretty soon even the company paying you to post won't be interested because you won't have any readers....
I think new bloggers are particularly susceptable to this kind of deal. Blogging is not exactly an easy way to make money, and the idea of being paid to write nice things about a product might sound pretty appealing to some. But to most writers, and bloggers, who understand the value of their integrity and the power of their voice, being caught up in paid blogging is similar to the old disc jockey 'payola' of years ago. At that time radio announcers were paid to promote specific muscians and songs on their radio shows. When it became public that payola was happening, S___ hit the fan and careers were lost. Think about it.....
Google is concerned about paid posting, having concerns that it cannot fully discern all paid from non-paid posts. Google is thinking about how to deal with it, and recently Google's Matt Cutts has said "We [Google] take the subject of paid posts seriously and take action on them.”
So how do you feel about paid blogging? Is it something you do or are willing to do?
Optimization With Images
The use of images is a great way to increase the number of visitors to your site. The secret is in optimizing your images to get the best return. This video, featuring an interview with R.J. Pittman of Google, explains that good image optimization starts with having the best quality of images and having an expressive title as well as rich content describing the image. Watch the video:
Reducing Advertisements On My Blog
One of the things that is commonly advised when it comes to making money blogging is experimenting with ad placements, ad designs, colors etc. I also wrote in a previous post about the number of ads that you show, and how that can have an impact on your earnings because of something called Adsense Bid-Gap, you can read about that Here! In short, bid-gap is a theory that suggests too many ads can result in lower paying clicks, which can of course negatively affect your earnings.
So, with that in mind, I had removed some of my ad blocks, leaving only the ones that I figured were getting the most attention, while removing the ones that my channel reports showed as being for the most part ineffective. At the time I thought it was kind of gutsy on my behalf, if I do say so for myself, but in hindsight, I wasn't making much or anything from them, so I really didn't have much to lose.
Now...I need to say here, that this has only been a short term experiment to this point, but so far, so good. It seems that my earnings are actually up, increasing from the time when I had the maximum advertisements on my blogs. Reducing that number, seems to have made a difference.
I'm not ready to say it is the way to go, but I am ready to say it is showing some promise, and I will keep you posted. I have to admit, I find it a little nerve racking not having all the ads that I had before. For some reason, I like having all the ads up, sidebars, etc, link units, search boxes, you name it. But....if I can make more with less, I am going for it!
How about you, had any experiences with removing ads?
So, with that in mind, I had removed some of my ad blocks, leaving only the ones that I figured were getting the most attention, while removing the ones that my channel reports showed as being for the most part ineffective. At the time I thought it was kind of gutsy on my behalf, if I do say so for myself, but in hindsight, I wasn't making much or anything from them, so I really didn't have much to lose.
Now...I need to say here, that this has only been a short term experiment to this point, but so far, so good. It seems that my earnings are actually up, increasing from the time when I had the maximum advertisements on my blogs. Reducing that number, seems to have made a difference.
I'm not ready to say it is the way to go, but I am ready to say it is showing some promise, and I will keep you posted. I have to admit, I find it a little nerve racking not having all the ads that I had before. For some reason, I like having all the ads up, sidebars, etc, link units, search boxes, you name it. But....if I can make more with less, I am going for it!
How about you, had any experiences with removing ads?
Adsense Bid Gap - Are Fewer Adsense Ads Better?
In what could be described as a 'gutsy move' or conversly, a 'stupid move' I have taken a chance and removed at least one and sometimes two Adsense ad blocks from each of my blogs. I am noticing that I often recieve clicks worth pennies, like $.03 for example, which of course take a lot to add up. So to combat that, I am trying an experiment, trying to remove some ads and thus manipulate what is termed the Adsense Bid Gap. Something I don't fully understand yet.
It is in response to the ongoing question, "is it better to have more or fewer adsense ads on a website?" This is a loaded question, and the answer often depends on who you talk to, the traffic on your site and the type of traffic it is. The subject of your blog or website can also play a role.
Adsense bid gap is essentially the difference in price that advertisers pay to show ads on your blog. Here is what I mean....Adsense advertisers 'bid' to place ads on a specific site, usually based on keywords, traffic to the site, click thru rates etc. So, suppose an advertiser wants to show an ad on your blog. The first spots, usually the top ones might cost him or her $1.00 a click, but chances are, being high on the page, he will get lots of clicks, or at least he will get first kick at the reader. However, other advertisers, who did not bid high enough for the top spot, but still want to be on your site, or your keywords, can end up in your lesser spots, somewhere further down the page where the bid competition is less intense. Because bid competition is not as intense the further down the page, they pay less per click. So if they pay less per click, you get paid less per click. So....
The chances are that some folks are going to click the lower placed ads, who knows, maybe their wording is more in line with what they are looking for, or the ad is well written and gets their attention, no matter, whatever the reason, they click the lesser ad and you get paid lesser money. Adsense bid gap is the difference in the amount between the higher placed ads and the lower ads...(basically)
So the bid gap publisher theory postulates (like the big words?....lol) that by having fewer ads, the likelihood is that you will get clicks on higher paying advertisements. So if a publisher is paying $1 a click, you get that instead of the $.03 clicks that would have been further down the page. Also, by having fewer ads, your advertisers have more competition for a spot on your site, thus increasing what they have to pay.
When it's all said and done, it always comes back to the same thing with Adsense Optmization, experimentation, trying different things, different ad placements, different colors and in this case, different numbers of ad blocks.
I am going to try this with fewer ads for a bit on some of my higher producing sites. I will let you know if I see any appreciable difference, whether that is more or less revenue.
Hey....it's worth a try.....
It is in response to the ongoing question, "is it better to have more or fewer adsense ads on a website?" This is a loaded question, and the answer often depends on who you talk to, the traffic on your site and the type of traffic it is. The subject of your blog or website can also play a role.
Adsense bid gap is essentially the difference in price that advertisers pay to show ads on your blog. Here is what I mean....Adsense advertisers 'bid' to place ads on a specific site, usually based on keywords, traffic to the site, click thru rates etc. So, suppose an advertiser wants to show an ad on your blog. The first spots, usually the top ones might cost him or her $1.00 a click, but chances are, being high on the page, he will get lots of clicks, or at least he will get first kick at the reader. However, other advertisers, who did not bid high enough for the top spot, but still want to be on your site, or your keywords, can end up in your lesser spots, somewhere further down the page where the bid competition is less intense. Because bid competition is not as intense the further down the page, they pay less per click. So if they pay less per click, you get paid less per click. So....
The chances are that some folks are going to click the lower placed ads, who knows, maybe their wording is more in line with what they are looking for, or the ad is well written and gets their attention, no matter, whatever the reason, they click the lesser ad and you get paid lesser money. Adsense bid gap is the difference in the amount between the higher placed ads and the lower ads...(basically)
So the bid gap publisher theory postulates (like the big words?....lol) that by having fewer ads, the likelihood is that you will get clicks on higher paying advertisements. So if a publisher is paying $1 a click, you get that instead of the $.03 clicks that would have been further down the page. Also, by having fewer ads, your advertisers have more competition for a spot on your site, thus increasing what they have to pay.
When it's all said and done, it always comes back to the same thing with Adsense Optmization, experimentation, trying different things, different ad placements, different colors and in this case, different numbers of ad blocks.
I am going to try this with fewer ads for a bit on some of my higher producing sites. I will let you know if I see any appreciable difference, whether that is more or less revenue.
Hey....it's worth a try.....
Adding A Read More Link to Blogger
Blogger is celebrating a birthday, their 10th in fact, and in honor of that special occasion, they have added some new features to their blogging platform. The one that really caught my eye, is the new feature allowing us to add a "read more" link to a post, which means you can post a few of the first paragraphs to get your reader's attention, then get them to 'jump' to the remainder of your blog post.
Seems like a great idea, except I cannot get it to work....I think there maybe a few bugs to work out, or it could be my browser or some other little technicality that I haven't figured out yet. So.....as much as this feature appeals to me, at least for some of my blogs, I have decided to wait before implementing it, to allow time for the developers at Blogger to get things worked out.
You can read more about this new blogger feature on Amanda's post at Blogger Buster
Seems like a great idea, except I cannot get it to work....I think there maybe a few bugs to work out, or it could be my browser or some other little technicality that I haven't figured out yet. So.....as much as this feature appeals to me, at least for some of my blogs, I have decided to wait before implementing it, to allow time for the developers at Blogger to get things worked out.
You can read more about this new blogger feature on Amanda's post at Blogger Buster
Making Money Blogging Is A Cinch
Just read a post from a fellow "make money blogging" blogger who was commenting on a blog post written by someone else, perhaps me, where the blogger said that blogging meant working early in the morning and late into the night. That is what it means to me, but maybe I have been doing it wrong....
My blogger buddy was a bit offended with the writer who said how hard it was to make money from a blog, and implied that she wasn't having all that much trouble to make a buck, and wasn't working very hard to do it....uh-huh...well I say good for her! If you can find the magic blog that doesn't require lots of research to write, and lots of time to perfect, and it makes money, well, you have hit upon the pot of gold at the end of the blogger rainbow.
However, I think it is posts like that, that ultimately might lead to the demise of blogging, and here's why....telling people how easy it is to make money from a blog will only result in more and more people starting blogs, expecting big easy returns....which of course means more competition for the rest of us vying for readers....and more junk blogs filling the blogosphere, which doesn't do much for the long term success of blogging in general. Not only that, it takes away from the talent of real bloggers, folks who are making a living from blogging, writers who are forgoing the next great novel to blog instead.
I have been in the blogging business for around 4 years. I have 51 blogs, about 40 of them active, and all told written approximately 4500 posts....4500 blog posts since my first one was posted April 8, 2005....I kid you not...I have a couple blogs that reach 500 readers a day, one that often goes over 1000, several that reach around 300 a day and a few that are lucky to get 10 readers a day. It could be better I am sure, could be a lot worse too.
I have sold t-shirts, affiliate programs, e-books, ran ads from just about every online advertising company out there, and I can tell you,it's not difficult, but it is not easy. Yes, I make some money at it. Yes, it is growing steadily, but it is not easy to maintain for days on end, weeks, months and years, and anyone who says it is, is trying to sell you their program....they want you to believe they have it figured out...and they want you to make money too...God Bless Them....
Now don't get me wrong, some of these e-books and newsletters etc, are worthwhile, quality products. Some of them will certainly help you make money from your blog. Perhaps not the millions promised, but they will give you ideas, and some secrets, secrets you could learn on your own, but you can learn them quicker from a course or e-book.
The thing to rememeber though, is that anyone trying to sell you on the idea of using their program to make money, wants you to think it is easy..... That's part of the allure of all of the online make money programs, it's easy, it's quick, it's super lucrative...just buy their program and you too will be making $1000's of dollars a day, maybe more....you can buy a mansion on a tropical island and go there on your yacht, all from a couple of blog posts a day.....
Nuff said....proceed with caution dear readers, everyone wants your money, including me...
As I see it, you have two choices, you can go at blogging as a business, which it is, if you want to make money, or you can go at blogging as a creative outlet, which it is, and it can be both, no doubt about it. If you can find a way to combine both of those purposes, you will have success, but if you can't, that is OK too.
Perhaps you have no need to be read, only to make money, fine, you can probably do that with blogging, or perhaps being read is all that matters, getting your message out, whatever that is, even if it is just entertaining your readers with money secondary. Nothing wrong with that either. But for either of those goals, you need readers, and you get readers either from posting a lot, and getting indexed, and linked to, and so forth, or from buying traffic, which is much less satisfactory, regardless of how it is pitched.
Yes, you can make money blogging, and yes, it can be easy and lucrative, after you do a ton of work, it gets easier, and it gets more lucrative. But it isn't a walk in the park, and although I believe their are techniques and things you can learn and do to make it easier, there is no magic bullet to blogging stardom and money, regardless of the pitch pages on the make money blogging courses and newsletters.
It's like writing a best seller, after you do it once, it probably gets easier, but you have to do it once....
Making Money Blogging Update
I haven't been posting to this blog very often of late, and for that I apologize. However, it's because, as I mentioned in a previous post, I have been busy concentrating my efforts on the blogs that make me money, and it has been paying off. I'm not rich yet, but I am starting to see returns that I wasn't seeing two years ago, even one year ago.
Now I can count on at least one or two cheques a month from affilate sales or advertising revenues that add up to at least $300 and most often a little more. In fact, my average revenue for 2009 is $300 a month. That's an increase from 2008 of about $40 a month. Not huge gains, but gains nonetheless.
The difference is, last year, my revenues were coming from a lot of sources, while this year, they are coming from only a few, 4 to be exact. The others, while still on my sites, are not really producing and I am gradually cutting them off, using the space for more lucrative ads or products. It's hard to take some of them off, because on the one hand, if something produces $3.00 a month, it's $3 more than I would have without it, but, on the other hand, if it never goes beyond the $3, it really isn't worth having on my sites.
I think in the end, it results in less clutter, less distraction for my readers, and results more focused on the ones that pay the most, like affiliate sales and Adsense. Even then I occasionally reduce or remove some of that code just to 'freshen things up' for a little while before putting it back.
As I have said before about blogging for money, it ain't easy. It's fun, and when the cheques start arriving in the mail, it's rewarding and kind of exciting. It's particularly nice knowing it isn't my sole income source, (I have a day job) because it isn't easy to live on $300 a month.....
What I am finding is something we all know, and I have certainly said before, making money blogging is a result of traffic, and traffic is a function of making money from a blog. Without traffic, and lots of it, good search engine driven traffic, it is impossible to make anything of this business. It takes a lot of visitors to get decent click through rates....a lot of visitors to get good affiliate sales. So my advice remains the same, concentrate on building an audience and getting into the search engines and the money will eventually come. That means you only have to do one thing really, create good, no...great original content and lot's of it. Lot's of it....so get writing....
Now I can count on at least one or two cheques a month from affilate sales or advertising revenues that add up to at least $300 and most often a little more. In fact, my average revenue for 2009 is $300 a month. That's an increase from 2008 of about $40 a month. Not huge gains, but gains nonetheless.
The difference is, last year, my revenues were coming from a lot of sources, while this year, they are coming from only a few, 4 to be exact. The others, while still on my sites, are not really producing and I am gradually cutting them off, using the space for more lucrative ads or products. It's hard to take some of them off, because on the one hand, if something produces $3.00 a month, it's $3 more than I would have without it, but, on the other hand, if it never goes beyond the $3, it really isn't worth having on my sites.
I think in the end, it results in less clutter, less distraction for my readers, and results more focused on the ones that pay the most, like affiliate sales and Adsense. Even then I occasionally reduce or remove some of that code just to 'freshen things up' for a little while before putting it back.
As I have said before about blogging for money, it ain't easy. It's fun, and when the cheques start arriving in the mail, it's rewarding and kind of exciting. It's particularly nice knowing it isn't my sole income source, (I have a day job) because it isn't easy to live on $300 a month.....
What I am finding is something we all know, and I have certainly said before, making money blogging is a result of traffic, and traffic is a function of making money from a blog. Without traffic, and lots of it, good search engine driven traffic, it is impossible to make anything of this business. It takes a lot of visitors to get decent click through rates....a lot of visitors to get good affiliate sales. So my advice remains the same, concentrate on building an audience and getting into the search engines and the money will eventually come. That means you only have to do one thing really, create good, no...great original content and lot's of it. Lot's of it....so get writing....
FTC To Monitor Blogs
There is an interesting post on Outside The Beltway regarding a recent announcement from the FTC that they plan to monitor and regulate blogs. Apparently they have decided that they are not happy with 'paid reviews' and the like, especially if in their minds, the blogger hasn't disclosed it's a paid review, or in some way perhaps misrepresents facts or something about a product. It also extends to ads placed on blogs and even, apparently, some issues about things like Amazon links for products. This could get tricky, albeit a bit foolish and difficult to control, given the enormous number of blogs and the difficulty in trying to chase down bloggers.
Just thought you might want to be aware of the plan. Naturally, the blogosphere sorts out the good from the bad anyway, and if you are giving good reviews on junk, it won't be long before your blogger word and therefore your blog, won't be much use to you or anyone, once your readers find out you are misleading them. If you are. But lets be honest, for the most part, all we do is point customers to products, whether that is through ppc ads, or product reviews, or just mentioning a product in our posts. Is that wrong? As Outside The Beltway points out, if that is wrong, what are the FTC guys going to do about things like paid product placements on television and movies? Not only that, what does that say for so called 'free speech'?
Don't stand for it bloggers.....
Just thought you might want to be aware of the plan. Naturally, the blogosphere sorts out the good from the bad anyway, and if you are giving good reviews on junk, it won't be long before your blogger word and therefore your blog, won't be much use to you or anyone, once your readers find out you are misleading them. If you are. But lets be honest, for the most part, all we do is point customers to products, whether that is through ppc ads, or product reviews, or just mentioning a product in our posts. Is that wrong? As Outside The Beltway points out, if that is wrong, what are the FTC guys going to do about things like paid product placements on television and movies? Not only that, what does that say for so called 'free speech'?
Don't stand for it bloggers.....
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