Start Blogging for Money

Introduction

I had been blogging for quite some time now. Recently I explored the options for earning through blogging, read a lot of articles on it and tried out few options.

Some worked good for me, some didn't. I tried a couple of other online oppurtunity and monetizing the blogs turned out to be the best fo me.

This blog is meant to share my ideas and experiences along with relevant articles on blogging for money. If you have any suggestion or thoughts to share then feel free to drop a mail at submit4blog@gmail.com

To Setup your own blog please find info on http://myfirstwebhome.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Optimizing Adsense

If you're a blogger, I'm pretty sure you know something about Google Adsense. If not, then as one of the quotes I read recently said "you must be living under a rock!" Hehe. Google Adsense is the most widely used and popular advertising method on the planet. It's Google's cash cow. Advertisers pay Google to publish ads on those sites that are adsense members. Google gets majority of the profit, bloggers get the scraps. It's a like it or leave it thing. But if you're already a member, you might as well take advantage and get some dollars here and there. You pretty much don't have control of which ads will appear because Google automatically determines and publishes an ad related to your blogs topic. If for example you don't like a particular ad, the most you can do is manage by excluding the URL of the ad from appearing on your site. You can do that in your Google adsense account.

How bloggers get paid by displaying Adsense?

It's pretty simple. When any of our visitors, click on the Google ads we publish, we get some money. Usually just a small percentage of what Google is actually paid. Depending on the amount of visitor traffic your blog gets, there would be a greater chance those ads will be clicked be someone resulting in more earning for you.

Is it easy to earn using adsense?

Yes and No. Yes if you have very high traffic. This is because the higher traffic you get, the more probability that more of your blog's visitors will be clicking on one of your ads. Especially, if your blog's topic is a high-paying adwords keyword (* explained later). No if your blog fits the exact opposite of what I just mentioned. I'll give you example later of highly paying keywords that I've heard can earn you at most &28 per click.

What are the do's and don't in using adsense?

Major no-no when you use adsense is clicking your own ad. Or having someone clicking the ads for you. It's what they call click fraud. Google has some weird high-tech way of determining if you made those clicks yourself or if you had somebody click it for you. Let me share an example, when I was working with my previous company my desk-mate one day came in fuming mad because he said he just received an email from Google that he has been banned and forfeited the $200 dollars he earned for running Google's ads in his website forum because Google found out the clicks made on his ads were fraudulent. He swears he didn't click the ads himself but since he is running a forum, he couldn't really tell who did the fraudulent clicks. He says it may be from someone who got pissed because he banned him from the forum but there no way and no use of finding out now.

There's a lot of Google ads tips out there. A great Google adsense guru is Joel Comm of joelcomm.com. He has some great video tutorials that can be found on Youtube on how to get started in blogging and his Google expertise. I'll give some that I picked up on the net and some taught to me by my friends later. But first let me discuss to you how to position your ads.

Positioning the ads in the "heat zone"

In your blog, there's an area SEO experts call the heat zone. Statistically, that area was found to be the most likely blog visitors will focus their eyes on. Since this area is where they frequently focus their eyes on, it is more likely that it will be the area where they will be interested in something. If they become interested in something, it is almost for sure that they will click on whatever is there on that area. If you are the type of blogger who would want to maximize the earning potential of your blog, what you need to do is position those ads in the "heat zone" so that it will be more likely that your visitors will be interested and click on the ads. Had enough of the suspense? What to know what this "heat zone" looks like? hehe. Okay. They heat zone is shaped like a capital letter F. So what does this mean? It means if you want to earn maximize your adsense earnings, you need to position those ads on your blog shaped like an F. For example, One big leaderboard ad on the top of your homepage either above or below your banner. Second, one 160x600 vertical banner ad on your left most side-bar. And lastly, one ad in between you posts or if you know how to, you can integrate a Google ad within your post. When you do this, the pattern should be like shaped like this:
FPRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT="
Ofcourse, you will need to decide if this is right and if this works for you. This is just based on statistical data but everyone is entitled to decide if they want to monetize or not to monetize and just focus on blogging. If you do want, to monetize make sure you monitor the performance of your ad. Try a little experimenting on the positions of your ads and see what works best for you eventually. This advice is not only limited on Google adsense. You can apply the F heat zone to anything who want people to notice more. If you want them to notice your widgets bucks ads you can also do that. The plain simple rule is: place your most important stuff on this F heat zone because it will get noticed first and more often than the other areas of your blog.

Here's rest of the tips I promised:

1. In Google adsense, it takes 2 clicks from a visitor to earn you some considerable money. For you to actually earn, whoever clicks your Google ads will have to be interested and clicks on something on the page he was taken to. If this is done, it should be a considerable amount of maybe $0.50 above depending on the cost per click of that add.

2. Here's a list of high-paying keywords or ads that will pay big bucks to click on. I've even seen some bloggers purely blog about these stuff purely for monetary reasons. Most common words combined with these terms also pays well. What this means for bloggers is if their blog topic is about these things, they stand to earn better because these keywords are paid by advertisers for a high-cost which means higher pay for publisher bloggers.

mesothelioma
insurance
mortgages

3. Blend the colors of your Google ads with the color of the background where it is going to be placed. It would look more natural to your visitors. If the ad is blended, there would be a better possibility that a visitor will click the ads. If you wonder how it should look like, take a look at my ads.

Please read Google adsense terms and conditions page and program policies to get complete detailed information about using Google adsense.
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Monday, May 26, 2008

Cashcrate

Cashcrate is my favorite site and the one that I've recieved the most checks from. I've been doing it for about a year now and honestly have never had a problem with it. First of all it's free to sign up and it's been around for years. Cashcrate offers many types of offers that you can complete for money. There is an entire section of absolutely free offers. This means you fill out surveys and get paid. Simple as that.



Their referral system is great too. When you sign up a person you earn 20% of your level 1 referrals. If you can collect quite a few referrals, that can turn into some excellent income from others doing work! Cashcrate not only pays you 20% of your level one referrals, but they implement a 2 level referral system. That means anyone who signs up under your referrals, you will also earn 10% of their earnings. When a referral gets to the $10 minimum you get an automatic $3 bonus! Not only can you earn all that money, once you have 50 active referrals your earnings increase. This is why Cashcrate is one of the best GPT sites. Your earning potential is unlimited.



When you hit the $10 minimum, your money will then be mailed to you on the 20th of the month following your cash out. This means if you earn $100 in August, you will be receiving your money around the 20th September. Your checks are automatically mailed to you and you have nothing to do but EARN!

There is also an excellent help forum on Cashcrate and people are there to answer any and all questions. You also have the ability to send messages to them or your referrals. There is unlimited help for you and unlimited earning potential.
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Monday, May 19, 2008

Online Content Monetization: Tools and Services To Make Money With Your Blog Content

  1. ClipSyndicate

    clipsyndicate_logo.gif

    ClipSyndicate enables broadcasters and other video content producers to insert advertisements in their videos. ClipSyndicate syndicates video clips to thousands of vertical web sites looking for specific content of interest for their end-users. As a result, broadcasters can further monetize their clips, web publishers have a new source for fresh, relevant content, and advertisers have access to a highly targeted audience.

    http://www.clipsyndicate.com


  2. Google AdSense for Feeds
    adsenseforfeeds_logo.gif
    Google AdSense for feeds is a program that enables publishers to place relevant ads in the feeds they syndicate. Google technology understands the nuances of language, and places ads that are closely matched (or "targeted") to the content next to which they appear. If you are a current AdSense publisher and your feed has more than 100 active subscribers, you may qualify for participation in AdSense for feeds. Free sign up.
    http://services.google.com/ads_inquiry/aff


  3. TrendyFriendy
    trendy_friendy_logo.gif
    TrendyFriendy is an online web-community, which has been created for people who want to open a blog and find new friends. As an additional feature the community provides a possibility to earn money with Google AdSense. If you want to earn money, keep in mind that the rating depends on posts written exactly by you, which have been rated by other users. Your rating directly defines your participation in ad rotation on whole site. For participating in ad rotation an obligatory condition is having an own Google AdSense account. Free sign up.
    http://www.trendyfriendy.com


  4. HubPages
    hubpages_logo.gif
    HubPages is a online space to share your advice, reviews, useful tips, opinions and insights with others. Set up an account and create your Hubs (your own web articles); you will then share the rewards when visitors click on your Hubs' ads. That is because Hubpages lets you link affiliate IDs from eBay, Amazon and Google (with more partners in the works), so that your Hub can display ads and products like any professional web site or magazine. Free sign up.
    http://hubpages.com


  5. AdsBlackList
    adsblacklist_logo.gif
    AdsBlackList is a service that enables you to maximize your AdSense revenue. It provides you with list of most commonly filtered websites whose webmasters use AdWords to attract visitors for low price click, so that they can convert it to high price click on their own MFA (Made for AdSense) or Low Cost per Click site. If you want to stop these type of actions going on through your sites, all you need to do is to paste a list generated by AdsBlackList to your AdSense Setup in the Competitive Ad Filter list. Your revenue should substantially increase. Free sign up.
    http://www.adsblacklist.com


  6. Bloglinkr
    bloglinkr_logo.gif
    Bloglinkr is a service that allows publishers to display relevant ads on their sites and all of the advertisers on Bloglinkr are other blogs. You select the categories that you want your readers to see, and your readers will see links to blogs in the categories you've selected. You'll get paid for each click. Additionally, you'll get paid also when people click ads on blogs that you've referred to Bloglinkr. Sign up to receive a free invitation to join the program.
    http://beta.bloglinkr.com


  7. nbbc
    nbbc_logo.gif
    nbbc is a marketplace connecting businesses that have video content to businesses that want video content, and enables all parties to profit from the exchange. Content owners place content on the nbbc platform and video is paired with advertisements. Web publishers access content and pick what they are interested in: whenever end users view content, the advertising revenue is shared between video producers and publishers. Free sign up.
    http://www.nbbc.com


  8. Grooveshark
    grooveshark_logo.gif
    Grooveshark is an online service that rewards you for sharing, reviewing, and discovering new music. Grooveshark is a web-based application for sharing music within a community of music lovers. Grooveshark distributes DRM-free MP3s across a mostly p2p network. Grooveshark is currently in private beta and you need to apply for an invitation. Free sign up.
    http://grooveshark.com


  9. Coinlogic
    coinlogic_logo.gif
    Coinlogic provides bloggers, artists, musicians, authors, programmers, and anyone else with a web presence the ability to easily generate revenue from original content. Currently, this micro-commerce service is in private beta and you will need to leave your email address to receive an official invitation to join the program. Free sign up.
    http://www.coinlogic.com


  10. Quantcast
    quantcast_logo.gif
    Quantcast is an open internet ratings service for advertisement. Advertisers can find reports on the audiences of millions of web sites. Publishers can ensure their sites are represented accurately by tagging them for direct measurement. Once you sign up, enter your domain name and paste your personalized JavaScript tag into each of your site's pages. Quantcast will start measuring your traffic immediately, and you'll see new traffic statistics in your profile. The service is free.
    http://www.quantcast.com
This mini-guide has been originally written by Robin Good and Livia Iacolare and first published on MasterNewMedia as:
Content Monetization: How To Make Money With Your Blog Content

Tags: Online Marketing, Content Delivery And Distribution, content aggregation, online advertising, AdSense, advertising, ads, video, Google, content, monetization, making, money, with, blogs
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Monday, May 12, 2008

451Press.com - Paid Blogging Opportunities

451Press.com is one of the largest blog networks. They are always looking for writers to contribute to their growing network of blogs which cover a wide range of subjects and topics. If you're passionate about a topic, you may think about writing for 451press's blogs.

Requirement
  • Knowledgeable and passionate on the topic you write.
  • Strong writing skill with unique voice.
  • Creative
  • Reliable
How much you can earn
As a blogger of 451press.com, you task is to write unique content for the blog you are handling. 451press will take care of promotion and generating advertising revenue for your blog. They will provide the support you need to succeed. You'll get paid 40% on all the advertising revenue generated by your blog.

To know more about 451press's blogging opportunities or apply as a 451press's writer, please click here.

source: http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com/2007/08/451presscom-paid-blogging-opportunities.html
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Make Extra Money With A Blog Without Spending A Dime

Blog or weblog is simply a website with frequent updates on a particular subject or topic. You can write a comment, review,
suggestion or tip on a subject on your blog. You can also provide educational resources and advice if you are an expert at something.
For instance, If your blog is about sport cars. You can post the latest annoucements from sport cars manufacturers such as BMW, Ferrari
and so on, discuss about the latest models of sport cars and the best components used for producing sport cars.

Blogger.com allows anyone to create a free blog (free domain name and hosting) without any technical knowledge. Creating a blog with
Blogger.com is easy and you can have you blog published within an hours.

There are several ways you can make money with a blog:

Become a Google AdSense publisher
You can join Google AdSense program and start earning advertising revenue from your blog. It is not difficult to set up you AdSense
campaign as Blogger.com also provides Adsense tool and guidances to help you start an AdSense campaign. This can be a great source of revenue, though of course the amount of income you can expect from your AdSense ads will depend on the amount of traffic (visitors) to
your blog.

Sell Other People's Stuff
You can promote your affiliate programs by placing the affiliate links and banners on your blog and earn commission whenever someone clicks through an affiliate link or banner to your merchant's website made a purchase.

Sell Your Own Product

Blog can be used to promote and sell your own products too. You can write about your products' features and benefits on the blog.

Drive Visitors to You Blog
To make money you need to drive visitors or traffic to your blog. The more traffic you're getting the higher your earning will be. There are
several free ways of getting traffic to your blog. Here's how ......

1) Introduce your blog to your family and friends.
2) Submit your blog to directories. You can find a list of blog directories by going to Google and entering the search term 'submit blog url'.
3) Write an article or more with a link to your blog and submit them to article directories. You can find a list of article directories by going to Google and entering the search term 'article directory'.
4) Post messages on community forums with a link to your blog on the signature of each message posted.

There are other ways (free and paid) to increase traffic for your blog. You can find a lot of free information and resources about blog promotion from search engines.

source: http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com/2006/08/make-extra-money-with-blog-without.html
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