Tycoon Blogger » Money Ideas

The Best Known Ways to Make Money Online

Dan Keller — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:02:51 +0000

You have heard many success stories of people earning a lot of money when they start an online business. It seems easy enough to start a business online … right? Well you thought right, but you probably don’t know the first thing about starting an online business.

After you are finished reading this post, you will know the first three little known ways to become successful on the internet.

Creating a Website

First thing’s first: you need to create a website. You already went through the thought process of what you want to sell, and you have a business name. There are plenty of website hosting companies that allow you to easily create your own business website, and it does not cost you a lot of money.

You also have to register a domain name so people can find your new website. Most businesses use their company name as their website address. If you are not technologically savvy, you should have website developers create and manage your website for you. Even if you consider yourself technologically savvy, you should consider having professional web designers create and code your site to ensure it’s effective, after all, they’re experts at it.

Linking

Now that you have a quality website, now you need to start placing your website address everywhere you can online. You’re probably thinking, ‘that sounds like a lot of work and money’, right? Well you thought wrong. It does take a bit of time setting up profiles on social media websites, but it doesn’t cost you a dime to do!

Unless you sign up on a social media website that makes you pay a membership fee, creating profiles is free. All you need to do is place your website link somewhere in your profile where potential customers can find it, and you’re all set.

Creating hyperlinks is easy to do, and it drives traffic to your website within minutes. For example, if you are own a chiropractic clinic, you can hyperlink the keyword “Roseville Chiropractor” somewhere in your profile, and customers will click on it to go to your website.

Affiliate Marketing

Another way to start making money online is to start affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is a form of advertising that allows you to sell your product or service on another person’s website and the person receives a commission from every sale that comes off their website.

Your website can have a web page for affiliate marketers to post their website, and then you will receive a commission every time a customer completes a transaction that came from your website. This will generate residual income, which helps increase your bottom line.

Having a successful online business does take some time and work, but if you keep at it long enough, you could potentially earn some serious cash. There are many internet marketing techniques that are free to do, which helps those who are starting out if they don’t have a lot of money.

This is a guest post by blogger James who blogs on how to get your business seen online, whether you represent a Roseville chiropractor or you own a pest control company.

The Best (and Worst) Ways To Make Money In Affiliate Marketing

Dan Keller — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:45:20 +0000

Although I own and operate a successful website for marketing the best credit cards, it took a lot of trial and error to find out what works and what doesn’t in affiliate marketing. Here are 5 important things I learned along the journey.

Part One: Your Industry

The worst mistake I made earlier on was promoting the wrong kinds of products and services. Simply put, there are a lot of crappy affiliate programs out there. Even if you have the best site in the world, some products are only going to make you peanuts. So whatever ad network you work with, make sure you compare the EPCs across the different industries and products so you can know right off the bat if they’re even worth pursuing.

The best industries from my experience are financial (not surprising), beauty, healthcare, and webhosting. That being said, I hear service/subscriptions can be lucrative but I personally have no experience with them.

But just because you’re in one of the “hot” industries, it doesn’t automatically mean everything within them is gold. For example with credit cards, there are those that convert very well such as the Chase Freedom, Citi Platinum Select, and Capital One Cash Rewards card. But on the flip side, there are a ton of cards which might have an average EPC of just pennies, like the PenFed credit cards. Because PenFed verifies an applicant’s income by asking for paystubs, the number of people who actually follow through with the application process is dismal. So be aware that product performance can vary greatly within a niche.

Part Two: Your Content

The worst thing you can do is use the cookie-cutter bullets and descriptions which are found on a bazillion other sites. Why? Well obviously the biggest drawback is that ranking organically for them will be next to impossible. But that’s not the only reason. Another drawback is that the average web user today is much more sophisticated than a decade ago. Nowadays, people expect detailed reviews, photos, and the whole nine yards before they buy a product or service.

The best thing you can do is create killer content about the product you are promoting. For example, on my site, rather than using the generic bullets provided by Capital One for their Cash Rewards credit card, I write a very detailed review about it. If you were a consumer, what would you find more compelling – basic generic feeder bullets or a whole article about the Cash Rewards card? My guess is the latter.

Part Three: Your Motive

The worst idea is to jump into a niche that you aren’t interested in. The old saying “do what you love and the money will follow” really is the truth. Don’t choose your industry based on how much money you think it will make you. Why? Because if you don’t like the product/service, then running your website will be a drag. Instead of being fun for you, it will feel like a “real” job… and isn’t the main reason you’re doing this because you want to escape that mundane feel of a 9-5 which bores you to death?

The best advice I can give is to choose what you’re truly passionate about. For example, if you’re a fitness buff, then perhaps a site which markets fitness equipment and supplements would be your best bet… because you would actually find it interesting! Believe it or not, when I started my website for credit card offers in 2008, the motive wasn’t money. Milking 0% balance transfer offers and rewards was basically a hobby for me, so that was originally the reason I got into it.

This guest post is by Mike, who as mentioned above, writes about the best credit cards on CreditCardForum.com. His site also features a lively message board where you can rave and rant about your own credit cards.

Easiest way to make affiliate income from blogging

Dan Keller — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:00:07 +0000

I discovered a super easy way to help bloggers monetize their content and wanted to share the news. The concept of affiliate marketing is not new. I have pretty good success as an affiliate for various theme makers and hosting providers over the years. A new company has sprung up to take that concept and multiply it by a thousand. The company is called VigLink and they have automated the process of inserting links into your existing content. When your reader clicks the link and makes a purchase you get paid. It couldn’t be easier. The good news is we are talking about real money here, not a buck or less that Google pays out per click. Don’t worry, you can use VigLink along with Google Adsense if you like.

If you are a wordpress user the installation is a snap. You simply down the plugin and enter your api and click save. You will then be on your way to making some cash for your content.

This service will work for all bloggers but will be most beneficial if you have a product centric blog. I can see a tech blogger or gadget blogger making a killing with this service.

Although I do not focus much on product reviews on this blog, I am giving this service a test drive to see what happens. At the very least, I am hoping to make some referral money through other bloggers who read this and try out the program and enjoy success.

Follow this link to see what VigLink is all about

How to Make Money with Your Blog Posts in 2012

Dan Keller — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:43:01 +0000

How to Write Blog Posts that Make Money

The odds are high that you started blogging because you had a particular passion, area of expertise or something else that you wanted very much to share with others around the globe. The odds are probably equally high that you also wanted to make a little bit of money while doing this.

There are a lot of ways to make money with your blog. You could make money through ads, affiliate programs, selling eBooks, offering your services and more. You can make even more money with certain types of blog posts. The following tips should help you to be able to craft blog posts that will make you and your blog even more money.

Write a Post About How to Make Money Online

You are already making money off of the web, so it probably won’t be any surprise to you that there are a lot of folks who desperately wish they were making money online too. This is one of the things that are searched for the most on the World Wide Web. If you write posts telling others how they can start making their own money through blogs or websites, you will start to notice that you are getting more traffic, and this traffic will start to translate to more income via the various revenue streams you already have in place.

Write About Saving Money

People love reading about money and how they can make or have more of it. Money saving tips is another top that will get greater views and more income through your various streams as a result. Essentially, anything you can write that may offer even rudimentary advice about how to make money or save money will result in greater income for you and your blog.

Write about deals

Like saving money, people love to read about spending money, especially when reading about how to get more for less. You can get more visitors if you write about daily deal sites, current discounts from major retailers or even if you post a list of some of your favorite coupon sites from the web.

Write reviews

You can review a product that you are an affiliate for. Just be sure to write an honest review, and sell the heck out of whatever benefits or great features that product has. Folks who are looking for information about whatever you review will likely find your site (especially if your post is rich with related low competition keywords), and there is a good chance that when they are done with your review they could click through and buy the product meaning more money for you.

Use the right keywords

Search engine optimization is important, as it can help your site and your posts be easily discovered by new visitors. If you want to do SEO right, one of the things you need to do is incorporate keywords, but not any keywords will do the trick. You will want to use the Google Keyword Tool and select what are known as low competition keywords that are often searched for. This way you are giving your posts the best chance to be discovered. Utilize these in your titles and headings and be sure to include some in your text.

Just Write

Posting anything is better than not posting at all. Search engines discover new content, and those sites that are perpetually adding more content are moved to the top of the queue when a user searches. Even if you don’t have an idea for a great money making post, or don’t have the time to incorporate the things so far discussed, just post something. This will help to get your blog noticed and will help to get you to the top of the search results. Additionally, your subscribers will receive notifications with all new posts, and this means the more notifications they get, the more likely they are to visit your blog more often.

Conclusion

The best way to write blog posts that make money is to monetize your blog and post to it. If you post to your blog daily, you should see some income start to come in from the various streams of revenue you set up. If you follow the above tips and others like it, you will start to make even more.

This article is written by Kevin Moor, who also writes for speedmycomputer.net, a site emphasizing on how to speed up computer.

Poll: Why do bloggers not click ads?

Dan Keller — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:20:16 +0000

If you blog in the blogging niche, I am sure that you are not surprised by me saying that Adsense ads kind of suck as a way to make money blogging . I have experimented with various placements and various sizes and colors over the last 6 months or so and have come to the conclusion that bloggers to not like to click on ads. I have come to this conclusion based on my experience with other sites and blogs that I have that are running adsense. For example, I have a site that caters to teens and my click through rate is close to 10%. I have a career tips blog that has a click through rate of about 5% but I struggle to get a click through rate of over 2% on this blog that is focused on blogging?

Why do bloggers not click on ads?

That is the question I am very curious about. I do have some ideas but with this poll and your comments, I am hoping to gather a real clear picture of why this is. Please vote and comment below.

**UPDATE – The poll has been moved to the sidebar **

What makes someone an expert at blogging?

Dan Keller — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:07:40 +0000

I am hoping you can all help me out with this in the comment section because I really have no answer to this and would love to hear your thoughts. I have been thinking about this all night and it is based on this “snarky” comment I received on my last post which was about making money blogging . Here is the comment:

[stextbox id="info"]

Dan, I’m pretty sure this is going to sound snarky, but I sincerely don’t mean it to sound that way. Trust me!

If you’re going to tell me the “most important tip” I need to making money with my blog, then I assume you’re making a boatload of money blogging. Or quoting someone who does. Otherwise, how are you qualified to make the statement?

I’ve read a few of our articles before, but am not terribly familiar with your blog. So, are you an expert at making money blogging?[/stextbox]

Here was my response:

[stextbox id="info"]You’re right that does sound snarky. If you read my post carefully, you will see that I stated that I would be making a lot more money if I had more time. I stopped by your blog and I am wondering how you are qualified to give blogging tips? You get my point?
You do not have to be the richest or most successful blogger to help other bloggers reach their full potential. Oh and by the way, I do very well making money online which includes blogging. You would be well served to keep reading my blog as I am sure you could learn a thing or two.[/stextbox]

So I stopped by her blog and all I found was a bunch of posts about ProBlogger’s 31 Day Better Blog Challenge. The ironic part is that she is trying to sell people on the idea of buying a blog package from her. I don’t want this to sound snarky but, why should a buy a blog package from you, are you some kind of expert or something?

I guess there are only three bloggers out there that seem to think that only Darren, ShoeMoney or John Chow could blog about making money blogging.

I know I am ranting but if you read my last post you will see that I never even came close to claiming to be an expert and the point of the post was to reflect on the fact that if I was able to commit more time, I would be more successful. I do not think anyone would argue with that point.

How much money does someone need to make in order to blog about blogging or making money? Allison Moore Smith, I would love to hear your thoughts on this?

the most important tip you need to know to make money blogging

Dan Keller — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:36:24 +0000

There are thousands of blogs that focus on blogging tips and how to make money blogging . I am sure you have heard that content is king and social media is the wave of the future and hundreds of other blog tips along those lines. I was thinking about what separates bloggers and why some bloggers fail and others succeed. I have come to the following formula :

Time + Effort = Blogging Success

If you want to be a well known blogger and make serious money from this medium than you have to go all in. You have to work your ass off. You have to be dedicated and be ready to commit yourself to working on your blog each and every day. Some times you might not feel like writing content, that is fine but you should then do something else like link building or interacting on Twitter or Facebook.

It makes sense then that the most famous bloggers are the ones that blog full time, they have made it their career. Most of these blogs are on cruise control now and they do not have to work as much but in the early days they worked like crazy to get their blog off the ground.

I understand that most bloggers do not have the time to blog full time. I know that I don’t. I work a typical 9-5 and have a wife and 2 kids so my blogging time is pretty limited. I do make a commitment to spend at least 2-3 hours each and every day to do something to move my blog forward. I feel that with my commitment and effort and the 15-20 hours a week that I am committing to this blog and my career advice blog that I can be moderately successful and make some decent money. I also know that if I had 40-50 hours a week to spend on blogging, I would be able to make a hell of a lot more money than I am making now.

Oh, in case you were wondering what that important tip was that I was alluding to.

Put in the time.

I guess I could of wrapped up this post in 4 words but I somehow found a way to ramble on and make a 400 word post out of this.

Are you putting in enough time and effort in to be a successful blogger?

MyLikes – another way to make money on Twitter (and blogging)

Dan Keller — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:41:50 +0000

Most bloggers are familiar with Sponsored Tweets and Ad.ly as they are the top two advertising companies that have sprung up to take advantage of the rise in the popularity of Twitter. In my quest to make money through blogging and social media, I have tried out both services and have come to the conclusion that Sponsored Tweets is WAY better than Ad.ly. With that being said, I have still not been able to reach the $50 payout for Sponsored Tweets. I think I am at like $42 after a month or two.

That is why I has intrigued when I received this email..

[stextbox id="info"]Hello,

I am writing from MyLikes, an ex-Google social media/twitter advertising company that connects influencers on the web to advertisers. I wanted to invite you to be a premium influencer on MyLikes.

This is a program that allows power Twitter users, such as yourself, to make money by creating Sponsored Likes for advertisers they choose and posting them to Twitter. You get to accept / reject advertiser offers and write your own Sponsored Likes/tweets. There is an extremely low minimum payout ($2) and as an advertising network we don’t take a cut.

We are also running a contest to win a Apple Tablet or a Macbook Pro. Given your following, you should have a significant chance of winning it.

Let me know if you need any help in signing up for this program.

Thanks,

Michelle Matheus,
Marketing Manager, MyLikes[/stextbox]

I did indeed sign up for MyLikes yesterday and I think they have a real bright future in this space. The email content above describes what MyLikes is all about. There are several things that stick out that I think will propel this service to the top.

As far as I can tell they already have much more advertiser signed up to use the service. This may be due to the fact that the company was founded by the former PM for Google Adwords.
Low payouts. $2 versus $50 for Sponsored Tweets
Post on Twitter or your Blog
Pay Per Click platform is “friendlier” for advertisers and in turn helps publishers as well.

I will be testing this out and will post a more comprehensive review in about a month but I thought this looked pretty cool and wanted to spread the word as I know many of readers are looking to make money on Twitter as well as their blog.

You can click here to sign up for MyLikes.

Have you heard about this service before. Anyone using it already?

pay you to blog sites that I use

Dan Keller — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:11:55 +0000

Many of you noticed that I threw in a paid post a couple of days back. I have done this a couple of times over the last month or so as I have been stepping up my blog monetization strategy. When I first started this blog 7 months ago I told myself that the first full year I would focus on promoting my blog and would then focus on making money with my blog. Due to my blog rank of pr 3 and my latest month Alexa ranking being under 40,000, I have decided to start monetizing earlier than I planned. My strategy includes adsense, direct ads, affiliates, selling services as well as selling sponsored content. I have written some sponsored content that I have brokered directly mostly with people approaching me and I have also utilized several services as well. Here are the 3 services that I have had luck with and would recommend giving a try.

ReviewMe.com- Some people have asked me which service I used to write the post about the Wall Street Journal. That was through ReviewMe. I was contacted directly by the website owner through the marketplace and was offered $50 to write a 200 word post. For me that was a no brainer, I will take $50 for 5 minutes worth of work any day of the week. I have also written several other posts from this service, all over $25. I have found that this service pays the best out of the three I have been trying out.

Social Spark- I have used Social Spark and have mixed feelings about this service. They have the best website and user interface but that should not be confused with being the best service. The amount of blog post opportunities seems to be very small. I have also noticed that the amount payed to bloggers is relatively low. Last month I wrote two posts for this service both were around $15 or so. The marketplace consists of a lot of pay per click and affiliate opportunities. A related site (same parent company) is Pay Per Post. I have heard good things about this service but I have not tried it yet. If you want to check that out, go ahead and click on the banner ad at the top of this post. If you do, I get paid 26 cents …this is a pay per click banner ad that I am trying out from Social Spark.

Sponsored Reviews- This is a new site that I signed up for last month and I have not written any posts yet. There seems to be a decent amount of opportunities. This site works differently, you search through the advertisers and then you actually place a bid on the opportunity and they let you know if you are accepted. The down side to this service is that they take a big chunk of money from the blogger. For example if a advertiser is paying $20, you only get $12 and some change. That really sucks and is a major reason why I like ReviewMe the best. When they say $50, they pay you $50.

There you have it, the three sites I am using at the moment. I will be sure to continue to write reviews as I try out new sites.

Some of you have asked if I am worried about losing my page rank.. My thought is, what good is having a high page rank if you can’t make money from it.

What do you guys think? Have you used any of these sites or any others? Do you think it is a bad idea overall to write sponsored content?

Monetize Your Blogroll – Do you?

Dan Keller — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:18:04 +0000

I was recently thinking about the importance of a blogroll. When I first started blogging 2 years ago, bloggrolls were a big deal. It seems that some bloggers are not really utilizing their blogroll. I am about 6 months into this blog and I have really neglected my blogroll section. I have a total of 4 sites listed in my blogroll and they are all mine, 2 are other blogs that I own and 2 are blog directories that I own. It is about time that I focus on this part of my blog. Some bloggers link to other bloggers that they respect, and others use the blogroll to exchange links with other bloggers. Both of these are great uses for the blogroll section, but I am interested in monetizing this section of my blog. Here are 3 ways that I am going about monetizing my blogroll.

There are several sites out there that act as the middleman for bloggers that want to sell their blogroll space and link buyers. There are two major players in this space right now ; Blogroll Please and BlogRolled. These sites claim to pay up to $30 per link to the blogger. I signed up for both services today, and I will follow up amd let you know how things are going.
Webmaster forums are a great place to buy and sell links. In the past, I have had a lot of success with the Digital Point forums. They have an entire section that is dedicated to the buying and selling of links. It is very simple, all you have to do is start a thread and mention the pr of your blog, the niche, and the amount you are charging per month. Sit back and wait for your inbox to fill up with interested buyers. I have not sold links on DP for this blog, but I have for other blogs that I own as well as some static sites that I own as well. Talk about quick and easy money!
Direct advertising- As part of my advertising options, I am including text links as an option. I am hoping to deal direct and cut out the middleman if at all possible. If you are interested in advertising rates, contact me through the contact form and I will email you my rates.

I am hoping this is will contribute nicely to my bottom line. I am curious to see how you guys are using your blogroll?

Let me know if you are just linking to bloggers you like, doing a link exchange or if you are also making money with your blogroll.