Blog Monetization, PayPerPost and Ebook Affiliate Saturation
Here is my introductory diatribe from this week’s WebbyOnline newsletter. To get this in your inbox each week, just subscribe in the form at the top of this site.
Oh, busy times. Busy times. As I said last week, I am putting Miraserver development into hyperdrive. And I’m feeling it now since I stayed up last night until 2AM working on it. Some of my readers may be used to this, but I’m usually hitting the hay before midnight, and I usually stop working earlier than that so that I can spend time with my wife. However, I decided the only way to get this thing done is to put the pedal to the metal. So, when I can, I am going to just stay at the desk and work until I drop. I am bound and determined to release a much needed update to Miraserver version 2 in the very near future.
I am also getting the master prepared to send off to the printers for our second DVD release over on PC Mechanic. This one covers Getting Started with Ubuntu Linux. It will walk you, video style, through getting up and running with Ubuntu, and we geared it toward people who are used to Windows. I’m excited to see how this new product does. For Windows users, Ubuntu can take a little getting used to. However, its really pretty simple. And the draw of it is, of course, that you can completely stock your computer with software without paying a dime.
In case you needed more proof that blogs work, here is a post which lists the top 10 blogs on the internet – some of them (as he says) having more circulation that major offline newspapers. The same blogger also posted his Top 7 Blog Monetization Methods. His seven? (1) Recursive affiliate income, (2) Direct ad sales, (3) Text-Link-Ads.com, (4) One-Time Affiliate Income, (5) Paid Reviews, (6) Google Adsense, (7) Misc Programs. I think these seven pretty much comprise the major ways to make money with ANY content website, not just a blog. I would add to the list, for me, e-commerce selling info products and a subscription membership service. In my experience, too, Adsense can be a good money-earner, however it is peanuts compared to what you can make generating your own income by way of e-commerce and affiliate sales. It takes a LOT of traffic, typically, to make any significant revenue from Adsense.
John Reese, the well-known internet marketer, posted a great writeup about PayPerPost on his new blog at Income.com. While some bloggers pile onto this company saying it tarnishes blogs with paid posts, John actually praises PayPerPost. Reese does say that he thinks bloggers SHOULD post a disclosure if a post is a paid gig or not (I agree), however he sums it up by “It’s none of their business what someone else chooses to put on their blog!”. Bingo! If somebody wants to get paid to post a review on their OWN blog, more power to them – as long as they disclose that they are getting paid for it. Why? Because, a dishonest blogger could post raving reviews on a crappy product so as to sell it.
Andrew over at Web Publishing Blog posted a very interesting read – Why most ebook affiliate marketers are dead broke. This one caught my attention simply because of all of the other reading I have been doing lately. I have been trying to learn as much about internet marketing as I can. Not that I was ignorant about it before, but mainly because I just wanted to expand my knowledge and stay in tune with what others are doing and what is working. But, one thing I have seen a LOT of in reading about internet marketing is HYPE. There are just SO many “systems” out there that promise to spell it all out for you and make you rich. And they talk about all the thousands of dollars they made in an hour, or something like that. One thing you got to realize is that these marketers who are selling these info products are MARKETING TO YOU, TOO. They’re getting rich by selling you the system! The arena of “making money online” is just SATURATED by “me too” folks who are basically affiliates of the bigger guys on the totem poll. Many of those bigger guys are legitimate marketers who have something good to share with the world. But, the majority of others are bottom feeders with big, long sales letters. You need to learn to filter that stuff out. I did buy John Reese’s Traffic Secrets course, however I certainly do not consider Reese a bottom feeder. It was HIS product and the information is very valuable. He’s a proven marketer. Andrew’s point is great – if you want to really succeed as an ebook marketer, create and sell your own material. You need to be at the top of the chain, not a bottom feeder. Be careful in those markets that are classic pyramids, such as mortgages, real estate, and “get rich quick” stuff.
On a slightly unrelated note, ShoeMoney posted a post which mentions about the movie The Pursuit of Happiness. ShoeMoney goes into some things he wishes he were more serious about in his life. Seeing as I just recently watched that movie, it caught my attention. The movie stars Will Smith and is basically the story of him going through all odds to make it in the world and make some money. His character works VERY hard and never gives up on his goals. And sure enough, he makes it at the end. Its one of those movies with a fantastic message to it and I highly recommend it.
Lastly, I just recently yanked out my Ipod, dusted it off, and subscribed to a bunch of internet marketing podcasts. Good stuff, and later I’ll post something here to link you out to some of my faves. But, just a little word of advice…if you have an Ipod, I highly recommend using it for podcasts in areas you are interested in. Sure, you can play tunes, but that doesn’t really get you anywhere, does it? I like to listen to the Ipod while I’m driving. Its a time when I would otherwise me doing nothing (except driving, of course), and is an ideal time to make phone calls or, yep, take in some useful info from the Ipod. Oh, a little safety notice – I don’t recommend running your Ipod on music while you drive because you won’t be able to hear the road. Podcasts, though, are typically all talk, and thus you can usually play them on pretty low volume, still listen using the ear buds, and still hear everything. That’s my CYA (cover-your-ass) statement, so don’t email me saying you crashed your car doing this. 
Have a good weekend.
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big mike st louis
I'm David Risley. I've been making my living as a blogger for over a decade. Blogging is my business and how I support my family. With this blog, I'm just gettin' REAL and telling you how this business works. 
