Each blog is different and hence, something that works for one blog might not work for the other. When you decide to monetize your blog, don’t expect revenues to start pouring in. You must first need to find what works for you and what is most receptive to your readers. Some find a favorable monetization model early on into the life of their blog, but some still struggle to find the right one months later, sometimes even more. Here are the possible monetization models for your blog:

1. PPC Ads (Google Adsene, YPN, Bidvertiser, etc.)

I know people who earn thousands to hundreds of thousands with Google Adsense. The key for this strategy to work is to place the ads where they’re easily viewable and ready to be clicked. What I like about this model is that if you’re able to find the right ad placement and know where and when to insert ads, your earnings are not capped. Hence, you can earn as much as possible, depending upon your readership volume. The caveat — you might not earn at all. Last month, I earned a grand total of $5.98 in Adsense revenue and believe me, it was a good month for my one web site. This month, the click through rate decreased dramatically despite having the same number of updates and traffic. I think it has something to do with the Adsense ads’ clickable area being reduced. My point is, your earnings would be subject to the changes in flow of various external factors.

2. Selling Ads

There are those who get turned off by how PPC ads look on a web site. If so, you can also sell ads. This might be applicable, however, only when your blog has substantial traffic, otherwise, you’d have a hard time finding a willing advertiser. The difficulty of working with this model is, having to find the advertisers for your web site, especially if you’re offering multiple slots. Still, I must admit, this model is my end goal for my blogs.

3. Affiliate Programs

Affiliate programs look at the traffic of your web site. Hence, it’s best to wait until you’re getting a certain amount of readership before applying for one. There are many different affiliate programs available on the Internet and there surely will be something related to your niche.

4. Mix It All Up

A mixture of everything would also be great. A bit of PPC ads perhaps and one or two affiliate programs with a couple of paid banner or text links.

In the end, it’s up to what works for you. Experiment and then stick to what works. If you’ve been managing your web site for more than a year and you haven’t made that elusive $100 per month target yet, it’s time to re-think your strategy and plan from scratch. My suggestion would be to try out a model and change to something else if nothing happens within three to four months.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 at 2:32 pm and is filed under blogging. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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