Whenever I start a new blog I always look back at the things I did when launching my other blogs to not only continue doing the things that I did well but also to learn from things that didn’t quite go to plan.
I think I have done a pretty good job so far with the launch of this blog as far as traffic goes. As of today StandOutBlogger.com has had:
- 530 Unique visitors in 10 days
- Had between 72-156 Unique views daily (7 of the days had over 100!)
As well as that I have had a fair few fellow bloggers tell me that they love my blogging style.
So if I keep that up I know my blog will be successful traffic wise, but what about monetization. I want to be able to start blogging full-time by July next year, so I need to nut out my money making strategies. With my previous blogs the most for a month was about $60 and that included affiliate sales – so I havn’t had the best of luck with monetization so far. But I guess I know a lot of ways that don’t work.
A few questions I would like answers for (well I’ll give you my opinion, but I’d really love yours) are:
- When Do You Start Monetizing?
- How Do You?
I know they are simple questions, but it is usually the small things that cause you to fail, right?
Well here is what I think (feel free to tell me I’m wrong!):
When Do You Start Monetizing?
If the purpose of your blog is to make money, then why aren’t you? This is one of the many mistakes I made at my first blog. I made the decision not to do any form of monetization until I hit 50 feed readers. I didn’t want to scare my readers off by having them think I was in it for the money, but when you think about it, all I was doing was being dishonest and lulling them into a false hope.
That’s why this time I have decided to start making money from the start.
How Do you Monetize Your Blog?
There has always been some boundaries for me in this area. Some levels of no compromise. Some ad types I vowed never to put on my blog. Like:
- Adsense – Whenever I see adsense ads I think cheap and tacky. I am not saying they don’t work well or are suited to some types of websites but for me, they have no place on quality blogs – and I like to think I run a quality blog.
- Widget Bucks, Auction Ads, DealDotCom or any other gimmicky type of ads
I always liked the standard blogging practice of 125X125 ad slots with a few text link ads and maybe a paid review (but not to often). And I think this is the way I will always run my blogs. But when it comes to what to do with those ad spaces there are still so many options!
- Affiliate Links
- Pay Per Click
- Private Sales
- CPM
Here are my thoughts on how I plan on making money with StandOutBlogger.com.
- Pay-Per-Click Ads
To start with my 125X125 ads will be PPC for the sole reason that private ad sales will not be worth it at the moment as the blog has no track record, and I prefer the consistency of PPC over affiliate sales. CPM don’t even rate a mention :D
- Private Ad Sales
Depending on how my PPC ads go, within a few months I will start offering both 125X125 and text link adspots for sale privately. I will most likely keep a couple of my PPC ads because they are performing great already! - Affiliate Links
I will only use these on rare occasions when a product I am using is absolutely fantastic and I think that my readers would really benefit from it. As much as I want to make money blogging, I also want to have a good reputation.
- Paid Reviews
Once again these will be done very sparingly, and I won’t start doing them for quite a bit yet. They will be few and far between not only because I don’t want my readers spammed with offer after offer but also I want to give the products I review the best coverage and I think that the less I post the more they will get clicked.
Thats enough rambling on my thoughts. What I really want to know is your thoughts! What has been the best success for you? When did you start implementing ads? Let me know. ok?
Update: I have started to monetize my blog using SEO services and gaining search traffic and promoting products such the Market Samurai Discount.
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I agree with a lot of your methods. Some things never entered my mind, but I’m glad I read!
I used to use dealdotcom, but, I got rid of it, I too found it to be a little gimmicky. I don’t have much Adsense on my site, just some text links at the top, and I used to have way more ads, but I have been cutting down on them.
The method you have outlined is a similar path I am heading towards, I want to provide a quality blog, and not just an ad house, but at the same time, am working towards full time blogging.
I haven’t dealt much with PPC on my blog, I just got into a little bit of CPA. I am still finding my way as to what works best for me and my readers.
I also have certain ads I won’t run, or products I won’t promote, as for affiliate sales, I promote stuff I actually own or have tried for myself.
The temptation is there, with affiliate programs, to pick the best selling product and promote it without trying it or researching it.
I get mixed messages about this from different affiliate marketers, but decided that for me, though it may mean less money in the beginning, I will promote what I know. Or even if it’s just a review, I like to know the product I am reviewing.
I think everyone has to work out their monetization strategy through trial and error, mixed with their personal convictions.
great post….see ya
I pretty much agree with your ideas…especially the idea of monetizing from day 1. I agree that many affiliate promoters don’t actually use the products they promote and try to stay away from that!
Hey, this is my first time with this site and yes, I do enjoy your writing style. Could you tell me more about other sites you’ve developed?
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