About admin


Website:
admin has written 56 articles so far, you can find them below.


What is BitCoin: The Future, and Why You Should Care

Filed under Make Money Online, Technology by on May 25, 2011 at 10:18 pm {9 comments}

BitCoinWhat is BitCoin? Have you ever heard of BitCoin? If not, it is high time that you do. BitCoin exchange might revolutionize the way money is exchanged on the internet. It is no longer just a concept and is very much in use today. BitCoin comes from the intriguing field of CryptoCurrency. BitCoin is different from anything you might have heard before and is a complete novelty. No, it is not another payment processor. It is a whole new way of looking at money.

So What Exactly is BitCoin?

Satoshi Nakamoto wrote a paper on CryptoCurrenty in 2008 and published it to an email list. That is the humble origins of BitCoin. BitCoin is not an issued currency i.e. there is no central authority who issues it, quite unlike the Dollar or Euro or Yen. However, it can be used to make and accept payments. It is not backed by any physical metal. Just like fiat currency is backed by nothing but the power of the government standing behind the issued currency, BitCoin is backed by a spread out network, cryptography and some enthusiastic innovators.

There is no way to cheat the system. No one can steal your BitCoins (unless they get access to a private key) and they cannot be created. Yes, they cannot be created. This is weird, because all the Fed needs to do to create dollars is to print more of it. Of course, they weren’t in existence since time immemorial and therefore they need to be created now, but that’ the point – there is already a definite scheme.

As of today, there are 6.2 million BitCoins created. The BitCoin economy is designed in such a way that the limit of BitCoins will be 21 million, which will be reached at least a decade from now. No, not even the founder can create or control this economy. It is all programmed and there are secure networks which anyone can join that authorize BitCoin transactions.

How Does BitCoin Work?

The BitCoin economy is quite unlike what we are used to in a fiat currency monetary system. BitCoins are global and based on the principles of cryptography for transferring money. Everything is already programmed and it is almost impossible to manipulate the system.

So here is how BitCoin economy works today – directly over the internet without any third party like banks or Paypal or anything else.

The basics of BitCoin are the basics of cryptography. If you want to use BitCoin, you will need to install BitCoin software. Then, like in cryptography, a pair or keys are produced, one private and one public. The public key is, public, and you will have to give it to the person who wants to send you the money. This can be publicly displayed without a problem. The private key is private and should be kept a secret.

Every BitCoin transaction or BitCoin exchange is verified by other BitCoin clients which are running and not involved in the particular transaction. There are many safeguards in place to ensure that the transfer is completed quickly, smoothly and without trouble. Most importantly, the system cannot be cheated.

How are BitCoins Generated Today?

That is a good question. Like I mentioned earlier, it is a virtual currency that cannot be centrally controlled or created but in the initial stages, it needs to be created. So how are BitCoins created? Well, the BitCoin client will mine for BitCoins every time it competes to update the public log of transactions. This adds 50 BitCoins to the system. This is called mining and it creates BitCoins now. As the system grows, the “miners” will be rewarded not through the addition of new BitCoins but with the help of a small transaction fee. Remember that BitCoin is a virtual currency, so it can be divided into very very tiny divisions and the fees can be determined by supply-demand principles depending on how big the BitCoin economy can grow.

Is There Really a BitCoin Economy Today?

Yes! There are a whole lot of small businesses that use BitCoin. It is definitely not mainstream but you can trade BitCoins for a host of small goods and services. It does have a very loyal fan following though, so don’t be surprised if BitCoin indeed becomes common a half decade down the line.

If you want to know the full BitCoin exchange economy, visit this link for a complete list.

Can BitCoin Challenge the Dollar?

The more relevant question is, will BitCoin replace the dollar or other fiat currencies. Well, that is a hard question to answer but it is very unlikely. Remember that BitCoin is a peer to peer virtual currency so it works because there is a market created for it through a group. It is highly unlikely that the whole world will be on this network. What about half the world without access to internet connection? They are out of this economy right away.

That being said, BitCoin is revolutionary in its own way. It is a very good alternative to fiat currency and it has a small group of loyal followers who trade in BitCoins already. This is how any currency gains acceptance, as more and more people join the group. Also, at a very fundamental level, that is what money should be about. The fiat currency is very easy to manipulate and there are many ills associated with it – just ask an Austrian economist, or just ask Ron Paul!

Potential Pitfalls of BitCoin

Well, the one I can think off the top of my head is that the system is based on the same cryptographic principle of impossibility of prime decomposition in linear time. In practical terms, you will need a super-duper computer to crack the private key from the public key that just cannot happen with today’s technology. However, that might not be the case in the future. Quantum computing, if it becomes a reality in the future, can break the cryptographic codes in minutes and that will be the end of RSA and cryptography as we know it. If a whole monetary system depends on it, that is not going to be pleasant with such disruptive technologies.

BitCoin is still in its nascent stage and it shows a promise to be an alternate currency, not a replacement for more traditional currencies. It is exciting and its future is uncertain but promising. What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from you!

Selling Banners on your Blog

Filed under Blogging, Make Money Online by on May 23, 2011 at 7:48 pm {1,998 comments}

How to Sell Banners on Website or BlogHow do you sell banner space on your website or blog? This is a common question that is asked by people who have relatively new blogs and want to generate some extra cash with it. On my blog, I sell banner ads for a good amount of money which generates a nice passive income stream for me. That blog is almost an year old and it gets some decent traffic, so it was only natural for me to try to monetize it.

However, when I first started off, I had no idea how to sell banners on my blog. I didn’t know where to start, whom to contact, if anyone would be interested at all or even how to price them. These questions are not easy to answer, so I’ll give you a guide on how to do it. Hopefully, it will help you sell banners on your own blog or website.

Why Banners?

There are many ways in which you can monetize your blog. Banner ads are a very good start especially for blogs that are relatively new and starting out. Banner ads bring a guaranteed income, unlike other monetization methods like affiliate marketing. If you want to promote your affiliate marketing products, you will only be paid when you make a sale. This is not easy for new blogs to accomplish. Also, the blogger might prefer a steady income stream instead of the possibility of getting paid. It might also happen that the blog or website is in a niche that is not really well suited for affiliate marketing.

Banners are sold directly to advertisers and thus they usually bring in a higher revenue than cost-per-click programs like Google Adsense. On my blog, I make about 3-4 times selling ads directly than through Adsense. This is not surprising because I negotiate a deal directly with my advertisers and they find value in what I have to offer.

If your blog gets a decent amount of traffic, you can always negotiate a deal with an advertiser and provide them value.

How to Find Advertisers

This is perhaps the biggest challenge that bloggers and site owners face and also the main reason why they don’t advertise using banners. So what is the solution? There are many ways to find companies that might be interested in advertising with you. Some of the techniques that I use are as follows –

  • Search for Google Advertisers: Do a quick Google search for your niche and a few keywords that you are targeting. You will find sponsored links which shows which sites are advertising on Google Adwords. Now, you know a few companies that have the cash and the inclination to advertise and you can now contact those companies directly. Do the same with other ad networks as well.
  • Look for Similar Blogs: If you go to blogs or websites in your area which have more traffic than you get, you might see some advertisers putting their banners. You can contact them directly to see if they would be interested in advertising on your blog as well.
  • Find New Companies: If there are companies that are starting out in your industry, they would like to gain more exposure and they could be very well interested in advertising with you, so they can reach a wide relevant audience.

Is it Easy?

Truth be told, it is not. You do need to work your way through many emails and contacting many companies before you can land a good deal. It is definitely going to be more work than say putting Google Adsense code in your blog. That being said, you will reap long term relationships and rich dividends in terms of making money from your blog right away.

How Much Traffic is Good?

It really again depends on the niche and type of blog or website that you own. If you command an authority over your readers, even if you have less traffic, you can bag some good deals. It is hard to give you an estimate off hand, but 50-100 unique visits a day should be a good starting point. Of course you should also price your banner in a relevant way. If you get 50 unique visits a day, you may just make $20-25 per month (again, really depends on the niche and blog, but just as a rough estimate) so you might want to sell multiple ad spots.

In my next post, I will discuss pricing, how to write the email and what you can offer additionally to bag your advertising deals.

5 Creative Ways to Make Money as a Writer

Filed under Freelancing, Writing by on May 23, 2011 at 4:05 pm {5 comments}

Make Money as WriterThere are many ways to make money as a writer. The simplest of course is by simply working as a freelance writer. However, there are several creative things that you can do which help you to make some extra cash. You don’t even need to do these to make a living – these take little time but can help you make money as a writer online. So what are the creatives ways that writers can exploit to make money? Here are some –

1. Copywriting Redefined

Copywriting is a unique skill that not many possess, but if you are a writer and can pack a punch with your words, then this skill is certainly in high demand. It is not surprising that copywriting is increasingly becoming a coveted skill to posses. As more and more information moves online, it is important to get a point across in the minimum number of words, from an advertising point of view. The attention span of the online reader is very limited. Thus if an advertisement is to catch the attention of the reader, it must be perfect in its wording. That’s where you come into the picture.

Look for opportunities for writing good copy. There are everywhere if you look closely. Just Google for your favorite topic and see the Adwords advertising copy. I am sure you will find at least one that is very badly written. Simply contact the advertiser, offer him your services as a copywriter and tell him you can get far better conversions. How do you charge them? Just charge them some money for every ad that you write. Say $20? Of course it should depend on how big the company is. If you can improve the copy and hence conversions of a million dollar company, you might as well demand $1000 for every ad you produce.

It is not just with Google that you see copies. Look for people trying to sell their affiliate products. Look for people putting up auctions on eBay. Look for internet marketers with poor copywriting skills. You can find those everywhere.

2. Creative Domain Names

Website flipping was quite popular a few years ago and still is. People would create a website and make a very basic design and then sell it for a profit. For the seller, he does hundreds of such transactions a day and a small profit margin is great. For the buyer, he has a ready-made site which he can start using immediately.

However, writers are not exactly web-developers, so here is what you can do – flipping domain names. There is a huge market for domains and if you can come up with catchy domain names, people will be willing to pay you. You just register the domain in your name and then sell it to interested buyers at a profit.

Of course this is slightly risky because you might be stuck with a domain name if you fail to find a buyer for it. Thus, if you think you are very good at picking up good domain names, just register at PickyDomains and you can get $25-35 for every domain name of yours that is chosen by the site owner.

3. Look for Guest Posting Deals

Many websites offer writers a chance to get paid for guest posting on their blog. The blog owner gets great and fresh content which promotes his blog. You can find paid guest posting opportunities in plenty of blogs. One tip is to look for medium ranked websites. The very top sites seldom pay for guest posting (being featured on them is the motivation for people to write) and the very low sites seldom have the money to pay for guest posts, unless the owner is very serious about expanding and willing to invest money.

An added advantage of guest posting is that you get featured on prominent blogs and you can use it to build your brand as a writer. This is very helpful if you want to show your portfolio to someone.

4. Just Freelance!

There are many freelance sites for writers which have hundreds of job openings. You can simply apply to these and hope to start working on assignments. People are always looking for the best quality writers, so you shouldn’t have a problem landing some top assignments if you are good at writing. Sites like oDesk, Elance, Guru, etc. have plenty of jobs you can find.

5. Write Resumes

People will certainly pay for a well-written resume – after all, it is a matter of landing their dream job. If you can pick up all the basics and nuances of writing a resume, you can offer your services to career cells or just freelance on the internet. For professional resume makers, it is a very good use of their time and they can demand a very good price for their time.

Do you have any other ideas to share? I’d love to hear from you!

Photo Credit: TheTrial

oDesk Review: Good and Bad

Filed under Freelancing, Reviews by on May 21, 2011 at 10:37 pm {119 comments}

oDesk ReviewThis is my oDesk review. oDesk is a site where you can get a ton of freelancing jobs. It is one of the largest freelancing marketplace on the internet. The total value of contracts at oDesk was $16 million for the month of April 2011, so you can imagine that it is a really huge business. Huge doesn’t always mean good, so here in my oDesk review I’ll discuss both the good and bad aspects of oDesk. If you are an employer, also read my oDesk Review from employer’s perspective.

I have been a freelance writer at oDesk since March 2009, at which time it wasn’t half as big as it is now. I have seen it grow rapidly and have seen the number of jobs being posted steadily increase in almost all areas. Since I am a freelance writer, I follow the jobs in the writing section very closely and have some insights that I wish to share with you on oDesk review with respect to these jobs.

The first thing I would like to mention here before going into the detailed oDesk review is that the site takes a 10% fees for what you are paid. For example, if you are paid $50 for a task, oDesk will get $5. This is similar to the industry standard. oDesk doesn’t have any membership fees and is completely free to join. There are no paid memberships either, which is very good, in my opinion.

Also to those wondering, oDesk is not a scam. If oDesk was scam, it wouldn’t be the place of choice for millions of members. oDesk is just a platform to bring employees and employers together. Some people who talk of the oDesk scam were duped by some employer there – this happens sometimes. However, if you are careful, e.g. by asking for an upfront payment or working with high-feedback employers, you can avoid these oDesk scammers.

After reading this oDesk review, if you decide to join the site, do read my 7 oDesk Tips which will help you land your first job with ease. You may also be interested in how I make money from my blog. These are tough economic times and employers have ridiculous requirements for hiring. Freelancing is one way out of this mess and oDesk is definitely an option to consider.

Looking for work at oDesk?

oDesk Review: Quality and Quantity of Jobs Posted

Good: There are plenty of jobs at oDesk for almost all the categories that you can think of. Personally, I know about writing jobs – they have more than doubled in the last year itself and perhaps will keep increasing. Since there are so many jobs to choose from, you can find the jobs where your skills are in demand and apply for those with your expertise. For example, some writers are better at creative writing while some are good at writing sales copies. Since there are many jobs, you can always find some that are tailored to suit your skills.

Bad: Even though there are many jobs at oDesk, their quality isn’t the best. For example, there are only a few jobs with reputable businesses. In writing, there are almost no jobs posted from magazines or even local newspapers or other famous businesses. I am not sure how bad this is – it is similar in most similar sites like Elance or Guru, but Elance tends to get a few of the better quality jobs just because it is older than oDesk. Hopefully, things will change in the future.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for small to medium jobs with small businesses, oDesk is great! If you are looking to be hired as the next NY Times columnist, you will be disappointed. Take this into consideration when you present your oDesk review to others.

oDesk Review: Getting Paid

Good: In terms of getting paid, oDesk perhaps has the best system in place. There are two kinds of jobs – hourly and fixed price. If you are working on an hourly job, you can post the hours you work at oDesk. You will need to install their special software which allows it to track your activity: keywords and mouse clicks. If the activity is above a certain threshold and the random screenshots taken by this software show that you are working and not browsing the internet unrelated to the job, you are guaranteed to get paid. This is a very good safeguard in place which new freelancers especially like (those who are skeptical about the whole system!) Since freelancers are guaranteed to get paid, it is certainly a positive aspect of oDesk review that no other site can beat.

Bad: The software is too intrusive. Plus, working is not the same as typing and mouse-clicks. For example, the software cannot know that I am thinking when I am not typing. Many clients do understand this but you can never be sure. Another thing that I don’t like is it gives the feel of big-brother watching you at all times. That is not how any work is done – you cannot oversee every aspect. I do like to browse the internet and check my mail while I am working too.

If you do end up choosing the fixed price assignments instead of the hourly ones to avoid this trouble, there is no guarantee you’ll get paid. This happens much less with serious clients but there are a few who post small jobs and will not pay you. In those cases, it is better to demand an upfront payment. oDesk doesn’t have an escrow system, which is really bad.

Bottom Line: Look what suits you – if you are fine with your employer monitoring every minute of your work, you are guaranteed to get paid for every hour of work. If not, just look for fixed price assignments and work with clients who have a good feedback so you are not scammed.

oDesk Review: Feedback System

Good: The feedback system is wonderful at oDesk and is much more revealing about both employees and employers than at similar sites like Elance or Guru. After the assignment is done, oDesk will ask both the parties involved to give a feedback on a scale of 5 for different parameters like quality of work, communication, deadlines, etc. In addition, both parties should leave a comment that appears on the profile page. This is a very good resource for both employees and employers to work with long-term oDesk members only so that there is little or no chance of getting scammed.

Bad: There is nothing very bad about the feedback system that oDesk uses. However, there are times when an employer can give an unjust feedback and it will affect your overall score and profile. A bad feedback, even if given unjustly, is hard to get rid of. Worst case, you can refund the whole amount of the project to the employer and your feedback will not count.

Another aspect of oDesk feedback is that you can make any comment that you get private (but the score will remain). This sometimes makes it hard to really know why the particular employer or employee was not recommended.

Bottom Line: oDesk feedback is excellent but be careful of unjustly given low feedback.

oDesk Review: oDesk Tests

Good: oDesk tests are actually wonderful. They allow workers to give online tests and these scores are displayed on the homepage. This helps employers weed out people who lie in their profile (e.g. people saying they have perfect English skills when they don’t know the basics of grammar). Apart from the actual score, the percentile is also shown which makes a lot of sense. If you are first place, top 10% or top 20%, it shows again with your test scores and is a nice achievement to have. oDesk tests are also extremely useful for people totally new to oDesk who don’t have any prior feedback, to show they are good. If you want to do well on your oDesk tests, read my oDesk test tips post for more details.

Bad: oDesk tests don’t seem to figure in the overall scheme of things, while determining the best employers of the month or calculating an overall score. I would like to see the test scores given more importance. Also, few employers seem to care much about these scores in their job requirements, which is a pity.

Bottom Line: oDesk tests are great to improve your overall profile and show that you know what you are doing.

oDesk Review: Support Provided

Good: No good site is complete without good support. oDesk has a very good help and support system. There is live chat available most of the times and even otherwise you can always send a ticket. Apart from these, there is an active forum where you can get advice, voice your complaints and give feedback and suggestions.

Bad: Compared to the number of people using oDesk, the forum is not that active. I think oDesk should do more to provide a more vibrant community.

Bottom Line: oDesk has a very good support system, from their staff to your peers. oDesk review for support has overall been good.

oDesk Review: Data and Statistics

Good: My oDesk review is going to be incomplete without this point. Data and statistics are very important to know how the site is doing and where the business is coming from. The oConomy, for example, provides a good idea of the value of all the jobs at oDesk. You can get many other estimates as well.

Bad: Some of the statistics are highly outdated. If you look at trends, you can find the data is from March 2008. That’s an eternity in a fast growing business! Who cares about statistics four years old? Worse, it is highly misleading to prospective employers and also freelancers. You can see the average wages are almost always above $15/hour for a writer even in the developing countries. I am sure it is far from the truth now, but oDesk refuses to publish the statistics or make them up to date. I am sure they have the data, so if they have nothing to hide, I don’t see any reason why they don’t want to publish the latest figures.

Bottom Line: Some statistics are good, but others are not updated in ages, and can be very misleading. Make sure the statistics that you see on oDesk make sense in terms of when it was last updated. Figures from half a decade are completely meaningless when the industry and the website are growing at the rate that it did.

So I hope you liked my oDesk review. If you have any thoughts on this subject, don’t forget to share it in the comments. I would also love to know your experience in using oDesk.

You should also read my post on oDesk Cover Letter Tips and 5 Freelancing Ideas to know more about freelancing and working with oDesk so you can have a successful freelancing career. Also, to know more about how oDesk compares with competitors, read my posts on oDesk vs Elance and PeoplePerHour Review.

 

Blogging Ideas: Untapped Niches

Filed under Blogging by on May 21, 2011 at 2:50 am {one comment}

Blogging ideas Blogging nichesThis is part of my series on blogging ideas. There are all kinds of bloggers out there – those who write for fun, those who write for fame, those who write to share a story, those who want an outlet for their ideas, those who want to make money, and a thousand other reasons. If you are just blogging for fun, you can write about anything that you like. However, if you are interested in professional blogging, you need to plan ahead.

If you are blogging professionally to make money, one easy way to start blogging is by finding an area in which you are an expert. This way you can share your knowledge and people will come. However, what if you just want to gain experience in blogging? How do you select a niche in that case?

Well, one way is to look for untapped niches. This is exactly what I did with my first (still running) blog when I started writing about entertainment auctions. It is also something that you can do too – find a virgin niche with not too many blogs or websites and you can dominate that area.

For me, this paid rich dividends and also provided me with invaluable learning experience. I make money in many ways from my blog but more importantly it gave me the confidence that I can make it too. In addition, my blog provided me with a perfect practical and hands-on learning that I couldn’t have learned otherwise. With absolutely no background in any internet marketing, I can now make a good amount of money from my blog.

So here is an idea that you can use as well – look for untapped niches. This is not too easy to find, so you need to keep your eyes open to find a new bubbling idea on the internet that might catch on pretty soon. A simple analysis of potential future feasibility is also a good idea. In my case, there were entertainment auctions coming up like crazy after I started my blog and since I already established myself as an authority in this field, I had no trouble getting advertisers through banners and blog posts.

Sometimes this can be risky because you don’t know how the idea will pan out eventually, but sometimes you just need to take the leap. If it succeeds, with minimal effort, you will have a wonderful resource at your disposal that can bring you some steady income every single month even if you don’t become a millionaire. In addition, it is a great practical learning experience.

Photo credit: eguidetravel

Top 5 Blogging Myths

Filed under Blogging, Writing by on May 20, 2011 at 5:05 pm {no comments}

Blogging mythsBlogging myths are all over the internet coming from people who have little or no idea about what blogging constitutes. This is sad because wanna-be bloggers get discouraged after reading this so-called advice. This simple fact is, blogging can cover a vast umbrella of things you do online, so it is not limited to one particular kind of writing alone. People seldom understand this fact. They think the kind of blogging they are involved in is the only kind of blogging, which explains a whole lot of myths about blogging floating on the internet.

In this post, I wish to expose some of the myths and hopefully help a few people to take up blogging and ignore the dismissive voices around. Here are the top 5 blogging myths that you are likely to see, and reasons why they are nothing more than myths.

1. I need to be an expert before I can blog

This is a common myth propounded especially by people who make money using blogs. They think you need to be an expert in a field before you start blogging. While this is true in many cases of professional blogging (blogging for money) it is not the core essence of blogging. If you think about the origins of blogging, you will see it started off as a personal diary that people want to share with others. There is nothing like being an expert – you just shared your story, that’s all.

Blogging can be of various different forms, and professional blogging might need you to be an expert in a field, but really, that is not necessary at all. Even if you plan to blog for money, there is no hard and fast rule that you should know the subject inside out. You can document your progress on the way and then build on to become an expert.

I know many internet marketers who do that – they try something out, fail, and write about it. Others love to hear these stories because they are more likely to relate to this than an expert telling them exactly what needs to be done. There is a personal touch in these blogs and they are in no way inferior.

2. A website is always better than a blog

This is a common blogging myth that is propagated by the “tech guys” who think blogging is an inferior form of a website and meant for those who do not know how to create and maintain a website. Dead wrong. While a website has its own functionality, a blog is not a substitute for a website. A website and blog are completely different in their functionality.

A blog is still something of a diary, in that the entries are entered in a reverse-chronology. Blogs are usually updated much more frequently than websites which tend to be static after a point of time. Blogs are much more personal in that the writer can really “speak” to the readers through a blog. He can share a joke, digress to an unrelated point or just be corny. It is all in the style and rapport the blogger builds with the readers. On the other hand, a website will always find this very hard to do, unless in very special cases.

3. It is a must to have great English skills to be a blogger

While it certainly won’t hurt, having good English skills is not a prerequisite for blogging. If you have something to share with the world and it has some value, people will come. They will not mind an occasional grammatical error. In any case, you should make an effort to better your language skills or hire a proofreader but you don’t need to give up blogging if you are interested and passionate about a topic.

The most common example that I can give you is tech blogs. A lot of non-native English speakers run excellent tech blogs that help non-technical people understand various concepts, help with coding and maintaining their website and a ton of other stuff. What people are looking for here is quality content in terms of it being helpful, not in terms of good writing skills.

4. Blogspot blogs are worthless and non-serious

This is a common blogging myth that people somehow have in their mind. They think having your own hosting and WordPress is somehow the first step towards blogging. It is not. People visit blogs for content and value they provide. It doesn’t matter if the blog is hosted free with Blogger.

There are several reasons why people might want to stick with Blogger. For starters, it is completely free, so it is definitely a very good resource for those without  commercial ambitions. Then, it is very easy to run and operate and extremely convenient for someone who doesn’t know a lot of technical details about running a website and has no interest in learning either. Don’t let the technical stuff interfere with your desire to blog – Blogger is just fine, make a start.

5. I must write daily to be a successful blogger

It is nice for a blog to be updated regularly with fresh content, but you don’t have to write every single day. You can update it as frequently as you like, but remain consistent. Another great way for a blog to get fresh content is with the help of guest blogging. You can have other bloggers blog on your blog, so that your readers get quality content.

These are a few blogging myths that I have encountered. If you have other things to share, by all means do so. I would be happy to hear your own experience.

Photo credit: Filipe

5 Ways I Make Money Online from my Blog

Filed under Make Money Online by on May 19, 2011 at 7:34 pm {2,777 comments}

Make Money OnlineThere are many ways I make money online. This blog is a humble attempt to document these and tell you that it isn’t rocket science. If I can do it, so can you. After all, that’s the whole motto of my blog in the first place!

Anyway, here are the ways in which I made money in the past, and so can you. I am discussing these methods with respect to my other blog, which is on the topic of penny auctions. My Penny Auctions Blog is a blogspot blog which I started less than an year ago and I already make some good money off it. Here are the ways in which I have monetized it –

1. Google Adsense

This is the simplest method of monetization that I know of. It is simple because you don’t really need to do anything. To get an Adsense account, you just apply for it with Google with a blog or website and you should be approved very soon. Once you are approved, it is easy to earn money with Google Adsense. All you need to do is insert their codes in the blog and you are all set. The advertisements will show automatically.

The reason it is simple is because it is very straightforward. Google will crawl the blog and look for all the relevant keywords. Then it will show the relevant advertisements on the blog. Because Google has the largest database of all advertisers, you can get the best deals. When ads are relevant, people are more likely to click on them. Google Adsense is a pay per click system, so you get paid every time someone clicks on your ads. Remember never to violate their TOS, e.g. by trying to fool Google by clicking your own ads from a different computer, asking friends to click ads for you, etc.

Adsense is good, but it is not the most lucrative. For my blog, Adsense brings in some steady income but it is not the main source of revenue from my blog. There are several other ways to make money from blogs.

2. Direct Advertising: Banner Ads

Direct advertisements through banners is a very good way to make money for bloggers once they get enough traffic to their blog. The more the number of visitors, the more the advertisers will be willing to pay for the banners they place on your blog. How much money you charge depends on many factors. At my blog, the average rate of a 250×250 banner is $50/month, which is not too bad. Blogs that get better traffic will command higher rates.

The main disadvantage of direct advertising is that you have to do the searching. I write to many advertisers in the field of penny auctions and only a few are interested in advertising on my blog. Thus I need to send out multiple emails pitching my blog and if they like it, they will get back. Most of the times I don’t get any replies.

If a blog is more popular, you can always include a link which says ‘Advertise Here’ and you should get advertisers who contact you. I cannot do it for my blog, since it isn’t so big – at least for now! 🙂

I will write a detailed post on how you should find advertisers for banners and how to email them about your blog. For now, you should know that it is hard work but it is definitely lucrative.

3. Featured Blog Posts

Featured Blog Posts are an excellent way to earn money as a blogger. For advertisers, they get to publish on a famous blog in the niche with plenty of visitors. In addition, advertisers can get a good dofollow backlink from an authority blog in this area.

So how do featured blog posts work? Well, if a new penny auction comes up with a promotion or news or some other exciting feature that it thinks will attract bidders, it publishes this on my blog as a featured blog post. In return, I get paid for it. The average cost of a featured blog post on my blog is about $25/post but it varies – for regular advertisers, I like to combine banner + featured posts into a single package.

The process of finding advertisers for featured blog posts is similar to the process of finding advertisers for banner ads. You write to individual websites and ask them if they want to buy featured blog posts. You explain how awesome your blog is and what benefit they will derive from it.

4. Selling Backlinks

This is not directly from the blog but through article directories. I have articles published in top article directories like EzineArticles on penny auctions. I offer advertisers a backlink from these sites. Since the articles are already published, I can sell the backlinks as soon as I finalize a deal. Here again, the charge is about $20-25 per backlink. Advertisers know you write quality articles only through your blog and you should contact them as such. Show them the value of high PR backlinks, especially for the new websites.

5. Affiliate Marketing

This is my favorite because it brings in the most revenue. I promote websites on my blog which have affiliate programs. It is important to make sure that the affiliate products/websites that you promote are good quality because as a blogger, reputation is very important and priceless. So I select the best sites in the niche and promote them on my blog. Whenever they get members from my blog, they pay me a percentage of sales.

So here it is, the 5 ways through which I earn money from my blog. What are your favorites? How do you monetize your blog? Don’t forget to share your story!

 

Page 7 of 8« First...«345678»

Join me on Facebook!

Advertisers