For the last five months I have been running 5 blogs and trying to make some money from them. One area that constantly frustrates me is advertising. Here is what I have already tried;

Google Ads
Got to be careful discussing Google ads since they take a dim view of the practice. Google ads are certainly easy to set up on a web site. I guess it is this ease of use that makes them so popular? Reading around the internet it is apparent that many people make good revenue from Google ads on their blogs and websites but I don't. Granted, revenues are building slowly but I have yet to get my first check from Google. I think the trick is to have a niche site that Google can place ads on that match the content of the site - my more niche blogs definitely perform much better than my broader humor type blog even though it gets much more traffic.

For me, Google ads have lost their luster. You have to wait to generate $100 before being paid and then can only get paid in a limited number of ways not including Paypal which would be far more convenient. There is all that Google red tape too to deal with.

I'm sticking with the Google program for now because of its near universality and ease of use but if I have one more problem with Google (see earlier posts), they are gone for good.

Bidvertiser

Here is another interesting service and way to make some cash - TNX. You can buy and sell links with this service. It uses points but points have a cash value and can be earned or used. Earned points can be cashed out.

Not only is this a great way to promote your own blog cost effectively but its a good way to generate some extra revenue from your blog by being a publisher. It has a good affiliate program too.

Check it out by clicking through the banner below...

The Amazon affiliate program is worth signing up for but it doesn't pay a whole lot unless you really focus on books in your blog. Actually, it's strange but some months I sell several books off of my sites and then other months - zilch...

But the affiliate program has been really beefed up by Amazon in terms of the tools they offer. Firstly, you can build your own branded store - it's called aStore - and then link to it from your site. What's neat is that the store you create has all of the Amazon features so even if you only list certain books there, once in your store, the buyer is offered lots of other ways to find books that they may buy.

Next, Amazon has added some new widgets. Although a tad slow to load they are pretty neat. Check this one out (below) for example. You'll find tons of different widgets to use in all sizes and shapes.

Altogether it's a good program for making an extra buck or two periodically from your site.