Blogging Pays U?

I have been trying Adbrite for a while now on all of my blogs. I'm not making much money with it - about $2 per month right now - but I do like it a lot.

Adbrite offers a variety of advertising formats and types of advertising including;

* Text ads
* Banner ads
* Rich Media ads
* Full Page Ads
* Inline ads
* BritePic

The text and banner ads essentially work like Google - select your format, enter info about your site including key words and so on and plop the generated code where you want it. However, as you build your 'zone' you can chose to include full page ads and/or inline ads too and when you generate the code for the ad it is all in there already - nothing else to do.

Full page ads are like pop ups and you get paid a small amount for each time they display. You can set limits on the number of displays per user and so on to make sure they aren't too annoying. In line ads work like Kontera and highlight words in your text that when the user stops on that word with their mouse an ad is displayed.

Britepic allows you to utilize those images on our site for advertising too and is simple to use - there is even a code generator associated with Britepic too.

The reporting is also very good and quite intutitive so you can see what is generating revenue and what isn't while getting and idea of hits to you pages too.

It is a New Year and I am setting out with some good intentions but first, what worked for me and my blogs in 2008 and what didn't.

What Worked
I tried numerous strategies and advertising approaches but frankly the only thing that generated any revenue was trusty old Google adverts and paid posting. To be honest, even Google didn't work that well as I have yet to reach that magical $100 pay out number although I am oh so close.... Adbrite ads also are beginning to generate a little revenue but just a few Dollars a month.

I did make money writing paid posts but I have now discontinued this because although I made money, I also lost my page ranks!

Page rank has become more important to me because I am making some good cash through TXN and the higher the page rank the more money you receive for a link on that page. If you haven't checked out TXN do so.....

What Didn't Work
Almost every other advertising system. Generated next to nothing including bidvertiser, crispads and more besides. As a result, I am culling all of these programs and focusing on just Google, Adbrite and TXN this year.

What Have I learned?
If could go back a year or so to when I first started blogging I would certainly do things differently. Here are a few things I would have done differently;

There is one way my blogs make money at the moment and that is TNX. My income from this revenue stream is now more than $50 per month and increasing.

If you haven't yet signed up for this program YOU SHOULD and NOW by clicking below...

How does it work?

Well, you sign up your website, add a small piece of code to your site and then wait for the site to be approved. Once approved, you will start displaying small ads with links. For each page (allocation of points depends on page rank) these small ads are placed, you get points and at any time you can cash in your points for cash via paypal. It is THAT SIMPLE.

Finally, I have discovered a way to make money and this is it. Click on the link above and sign up to make your own money.

With credit increasingly difficult to come by prepaid credit cards are increasing in usage. As usual, many banks and firms are now offering these cards and anyone looking at this option is left with a bewildering list of potential suppliers. How to decide which is the right card, right offer, to suit your purposes?

Prepaid Cards are cards where you pay money in advance to the card provider and then use the card to spend that money. They have the convenience of a credit or debit card for purchase purposes but the advantage of having the money before you spend it. But such cards also come with a variety of fees and conditions of use that need to be closely examined.

Before going out and obtaining such a card however, it is advisable to compare the cards on offer. A Prepaid Card Review is available at a website called "What Prepaid Card?" which was built to provide such a service and a bunch of information on these cards. For example, take a look at their review of one card on offer, the Cashplus Card.

I saw a Google ad yesterday that caught my eye it was a 'loser' who wanted to raise a million dollars by year end and he was doing it by begging for the money. I thought to myself 'outrageous' but does it work? I honestly don't know if begging works but something so outrageous as to set a public begging target of a million dollars just might attract a few folks to donate - who knows?

All of my blogs have a begging message on them. It says if you liked this post why not buy me a beer? or similar. That message has been there from day one and has been seen hundreds of thousands of times by visitors to the blogs but I have yet to have anyone at all buy me a beer. I think that particular approach to begging for money worked when it was first used by someone but now - well its old hat.

I think begging for money online can work but only when it is original and outrageous enough for people to think wow! amazing! Let's donate some money. For the rest of the time I really don't think begging works at all.

I suppose at the end of the day, if we want to make money, we still have to earn it?

Go on over to Rant-Here - its funny as hell....

All of my web sites/blogs got knocked back to a PR of zero recently. Why? Because I use Payperpost for paid posts and Google doesn't like paid links. I am being punished for trying to make a few quid. Who is to blame? I blame Payperpost because they won't go along with Google's rules and force bloggers to expose themselves to Google's retribution.

So, I have made a decision - no more Payperpost paid posts. I didn't make that much money doing it anyhow because they want high PR ranked sites and as soon as you start posting - well, bye bye PR.

Instead, I will offer other forms of advertising on this site from now on.

The best way to make money I think is via affiliate programs but with every money making scheme there is a catch and I'm afraid most people delete the affiliate link when going to investigate an affiliate program from a site like this one. Its a real shame because it doesn't cost anything to be an affiliate for someone else.....

I know I have blogged about the TXN program before but I have made $40 in a month from this program.

Here is what they offer publishers;
Offers for top ranking sites (purchase of advertising spaces)

Owners of top ranking sites with high PR and CI indicators that don't have time to track the statistics in our system (because by default payments depend on page statistics and number of ads displayed), and don't have the need to serve their ads through our system, can agree for us to buy out small, but noticeable advertising spots on their sites for serving of text ads. We will agree on the monthly fee for adding our code to your pages, and pay this fee in advance.

Prices that we pay for the ads are agreed with the site owner before placement. We take into consideration a number of factors, such as: site's subject, site's CI and PR, popularity (used to define the site's coefficient), number of external link on pages, number and quality of pages, site's design, its position in ratings, catalogues and search engines, current market prices for links on the main page of a similar site, and many other factors. Sometimes we can overpay just to see old top ranking sites in our system because it will improve the average quality of advertising spots offered to the advertisers and partners.

I was just out googling on terms like making money blogging and the blogosphere is literally filled with blogs that claim to tell you how to do that... but most of them are absolute garbage and if you read that crap and believe it then more fool you. Thats why I started this blog - to tell you the truth about making money blogging.

Again, the issue is how competitive it is in the blogging world. To make money you have to have traffic. It is THAT simple. But how do you build traffic? Well, google that term and you will find it comes down to just a few things really;

Post often,
Post quality,
Advertise and promote using social networks, advertising and comments on other folks websites.

But, I got news for you. Since this advice is pumped out daily on thousands of blogs, everyone is pursuing the same strategy. What is really required is something unique. Something different that stands out from the crowd. And that's the issue. In such a competitive space exactly what could be unique and compelling. Frankly, I don't know.

There is little money in blogging.

I have been trying to make money now for 9-months from several blogs and my maximum earnings are in the range of $100 per month. Can't retire on that little sum can I?

I think the problem is that there are simply too many blogs these days. I mean according to sources there are 1.6 million new blog posts a day!

The only way to have a successful blog is to already have a name - so if you are someone - blog and make money because you will attract an audience naturally. Another way is to find a small niche that is uncovered or relatively uncovered and promote the crap out of it. But frankly, its hard work for little return with traps all along the way.

Make money blogging? Forget it...

I wrote about the benefits of TNX in a recent post but I also have to say that I just made my first $16 selling back generated points from the system and now I have been in the system a month or so I am accumulating points at record pace.

Check out the benefits of TNX at my recent post on the system - these are serious benefits for any blogger and/or webmaster in terms of improving page rank and inbound links to your site.... then add to that you can actually get paid! Why wouldn't you sign up right now?

I am trying to make money with clixgalore at the moment and they are worth checking out if you like affiliate programs ...

During the early part of this year I was doing good business through Smorty being paid to post. It was a good service with prompt payment and lots of good opportunities but for the last two months not one offered opportunity at that site. What's up with Smorty?

Pais posts appear to have dried up generally in fact. I have made only 3 paid posts in the last two months from all sources. Perhaps paid posting is out of favor at the moment or maybe its the US economy? Who knows?

I haven't posted in a while mainly because I am a bit disillusioned right now trying to make money blogging. I had a good little revenue stream going with paid posts and that dried up it seems recently. No one but no one signs up for any affiliate programs I recommend and about the only thing that is doing well right now are google ads.

I'm open to your suggestions but I just can't seem to drive enough traffic to the blogs to make it worth my while....

Social Spark is the latest offering from IZEA and I detest it. Here is why. First, the website has issues. You do a search for 'open' and 'qualified' opportunities, select one and then go back and guess what? Yep, it lost your criteria and you have to start again - and thats just one annoying issue with that site.

Next, you don't get paid until you have earned $20. So you make 4-5 posts waiting 30-days after each posting before you can get a nickel out of them. That's just not fair.

Third, often they want you to add a disclosure banner but for certain sites that disclosure banner doesn't work and as a result, their automated check rejects your post. They claim to be working on the problem but I have three posts stuck in that hell that have been up over a month and no sign of payment.

Even worse, you can't use any other advertising in those posts so if you have google ads auto inserted into posts - forget it.

Frankly, SocialSpark sucks and is a big disappointment.

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I just signed up with OfferForge. Basically, they are looking for bloggers to sign up for their service whereby they have a variety of affiliate schemes to offer. I'm still trying them out but you can visit them yourself at Join OfferForge and start earning today!

In the past, Google ads haven't done that much for me. Just a few cents per day. But the last two months something strange has happened. Overall, traffic hasn't grown that much but Google ad clicks have soared. I have not a clue why.

The clicks are mainly on my main blog over at Rant Here. The blog traffic has declined in the last two weeks - probably because I have been too busy and sick to do much blogging but click throughs are up. I didn't change anything or do anything differently either...

But there is one BIG difference. A lot more traffic is arriving via the Google search engine as opposed to social networking sites or other sources. Could it be that visitors via a search engine are just more likely to click on those ads?

I have to say that making money reading emails is one of the most stupid ways to make money I have ever seen and yet folks do it. The idea is that you sit and watch an on line commercial for 1 minute and earn $0.02! Folks that is $1.20/hour and way below minimum wage! These people ought to be sued.

Yep - you are right - I tried it. Just to see how it worked. They gave me a $10 signing up bonus and will pay out at $25. I'd have to work pretty damned hard for the money and it is isn't for me...

I can see how this might help folks sat at home with nothing much else to do make some beer money but that is about that...

Meanwhile, if this sort of nonsense interests you - try this one out....

Good luck!

Of all the services I have signed up for the one that is seriously the best is Matched. I strongly recommend this service to you all. Why? because it is easy, regular cash.

Yes - I have posted about it before but I don't see that many of you have followed the link and checked it out....

What does this service do?

You register all of your blogs and then they find advertisers for you. They notify you when a suitable advertiser has been found and you go back to the website and cut and paste the code, drop it into your website and THAT is IT!

Then you sit back and wait for your monthly paypal account debit. And... they pay in British POUNDS! Yes, it can be a hassle setting up your paypal account to accept a foreign currency but once done, it is done....

And, as the US Dollar falls and falls, guess what? Your revenue from this service goes up and up in US Dollars due to the exchange rate.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?