Feb | 22 | 2010

Focusing on the Sidebar: Show me the Money!

Posted by Jimmy as Design, Monetization Last time I mentioned how the sidebar contributes to the blog in terms of aesthetics and usability (navigation), one thing I failed to mention though is that the sidebar can also be very important in terms of monetization. Obviously you can use the sidebar to insert all kinds of ads - from Adsense to the direct sponsor's banners. If you do choose to use your sidebar as a venue for blog monetization though I urge you to keep to the following guidelines: Think appropriate - Make sure you only put up ads that are appropriate for your readers. Obviously if your ...

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Dec | 30 | 2009

Making Money Through Speaking/Consulting

Posted by Jimmy as Monetization I find it funny that people include “speaking gigs/engagements” and “consulting” as one of the ways to monetize your blog. I do understand that in some cases blogs help boost a person’s reputation in their field of expertise to the point that they get more invitations to speak in various engagements - and get paid for it. However, strictly speaking it does not fall under blog monetization since you didn’t really make money from blogging. In my opinion it does fall under online marketing though; with you, the blogger/speaker, as the product being “sold”. The truth though is that I do ...

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Jul | 14 | 2009

Review: Logical Media

Posted by Professor as Monetization, Monetization Features, Promotion, Tips Logical Media is one of the innovative services that pay for ad placement within blogs. Do you have a blog and are you seeking a way to make additional money from the blog? Are you seeking a way to offset other programs with the use of ads? Through the registration with Logical Media, the blogger can have access to well-designed and functional ads, which are placed within the blog, earning the blogger money each time that a visitor to the blog decides to click on one of these ads. As one of the top fifty affiliate networks in Website Magazine, ...

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Jun | 25 | 2009

FTC To Go After Bloggers?

Posted by Jimmy as Blogging News, Monetization Okay, bloggers, listen up! You just might have to be more careful in the future. The news is that the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is turning its eye on bloggers. CNET recently reported that the FTC may crack down on bloggers who review or promote products and get freebies or money as payment. Caroline McCarthy of CNET writes: New guidelines, expected to be approved late this summer with possible modifications, would clarify that the agency can go after bloggers--as well as the companies that compensate them--for any false claims or failure to disclose conflicts of interest. Naturally, many bloggers ...

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Oct | 12 | 2008

Where To Get Content For Your Niche Blog

Posted by Jimmy as Blog Tutorial, Monetization, Tips, Writing One of the most important factors that affect the frequency of your updates is whether or not you have ideas to write down. I am sure that in the beginning of your niche blog endeavor, you will probably have an overflow of ideas. You might want to jot them down – at least the topics – so that you can organize your post flow. But what do you do when the natural flow of ideas dry out? This does happen, you know, and at one point or another, you are going to experience a dry ...

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Oct | 10 | 2008

How Important Is Update Frequency?

Posted by Jimmy as Blog Tutorial, Monetization, Opinion, Tips There have been a lot of posts on the frequency of updating for blogs. The fact is that we all know that we have to have regular fresh content in our blogs. But does this apply to niche blogs as well? I would have to say that it does not change one tiny bit. You still have to provide new content for your niche blog – the more regular the better. So now that we’ve established that, how often should you post on your niche blog? I have to say that there is no hard and ...

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Oct | 06 | 2008

Your Niche Blog’s Domain Name

Posted by Jimmy as Blog Tutorial, Monetization, Tips Let us go back to a fundamental consideration in niche blogging – your domain name. Some people choose to use a free blogging platform, especially in the beginning. This means that they will get a URL with the platform’s name in it. You have Blogspot and Wordpress – the two most popular blogging platforms. The rationale of these people is that they want to test the waters before spending money on their own domain. Other people opt to purchase a domain at the outset. Their rationale is that buying a domain is not that expensive ...

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Oct | 02 | 2008

How To Find Top Blogs In Your Niche

Posted by Jimmy as Blog Tutorial, Blogging Tools, Monetization, Monetization Features, Tips We talked about the importance of identifying the best blogs in the niche you are targeting in the previous post. To recap, it is important to do so because you can learn a lot from the best blogs. You can check out what they are doing right – and wrong – and learn from those things. You can also do a little bit of promotion on the side by leaving comments in these blogs. In this way, you can make your presence felt in the niche that you are targeting. So how do you actually ...

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Sep | 30 | 2008

Determine The Top Blogs In A Niche

Posted by Jimmy as Blog Tutorial, Monetization, Tips Now why would you want to know which blogs are the most popular in a certain niche? I could think of many reasons but off the top of my head, here are some of the more pressing reasons you should know the top blogs in a certain niche. Learn by example The most popular blogs in a certain niche did not get there because of nothing. They must be doing something right. So if there is one thing that you should do as you are starting your niche blog, it should be to find out which blogs are the best ...

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Sep | 28 | 2008

How To Choose Your Niche

Posted by Jimmy as Blog Tutorial, Monetization, Tips So are you ready to start your own niche blog? I believe the first most important thing for you to do is to choose your niche – no brainer, right? Finding the right niche for you to work on may not be that easy, however. There are some things that you need to consider in order to choose the right niche. What topic are you interested in? Interest is a very important thing. Think about it, you will be working on this blog every day (or maybe several days a week) for many weeks, months, or ...

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Review: Logical Media

Logical Media is one of the innovative services that pay for ad placement within blogs. Do you have a blog and are you seeking a way to make additional money from the blog? Are you seeking a way to offset other programs with the use of ads? Through the registration with Logical Media, the blogger [...]
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