Making Money Online and Blogging
Making Money Online and Blogging
Since I’ve been blogging, my whole approach when surfing sites has shifted perspective. When I’m visiting other blogs and websites, I find myself wondering what strategies for making money online are practised by this or that blog author.
• Do they have multiple niche marketing websites?
• Are they building a mailing list and promoting affiliate products to its subscribers?
• Have they developed or sourced their own product to promote?
• Do they use offline promotion tactics?
• How much do they advertise on other websites or offline?
• Do they submit articles to article directories to build back links?
• Are they, in fact, making money online at all?
Last year I signed-up to List Bandit, which provides a basic free service to the internet marketing sector, as well as offering a paid upgrade. I went for the upgrade, which entitles me to mail to 1500 prospective customers in internet marketing, 3 times a week. Perhaps I’m doing something wrong, but the best response I’ve had from a List Bandit mailing was equivalent to a 1% conversion rate. Hmmm, not gonna make my millions down this route.
But I have a confession to make… I no longer open emails sent from List Bandit members – yes, I do feel a bit guilty, but suspect that the majority of other bandits are doing, or not doing, the same, cos they sure aren’t opening my messages about making money online!
I did used to religiously open the mailings, because I figured that you receive what you give, and if I open mine, they’ll open theirs. But honestly, so many of them are a complete waste of my time.
Would-be internet marketers who think that they’ll succeed in making money online by sending an email containing an amateurish affiliate link (without cloaking or redirecting) and add a brief message along the lines of, “Go check this out, dude, it’s awesome!”.
In fairness I’m not giving credit where it’s due. These ‘promoters’ (I use the term in its loosest sense) succeed in accomplishing the near impossible feat of fitting several spelling mistakes into such a short sentence!
Sometimes I can get a bit lost up my own arse, and come off sounding a little elitist, I don’t mean to do this, I just don’t suffer fools gladly. I do possess a compassionate aspect to my nature, but I save it for those times when it’s really deserved.
So, you need to work smart and work hard at your blogging and internet marketing strategies, and you’ll succeed both at making money online, and enjoying your adventure.
Reward Rebel
Recently, new content is posted on Reward Rebel a little erratically; to receive updates, simply Subscribe to my RSS feed.
Thanks for dropping by.
A great post. I like to look at other bloggers in the same way, seeing if they know what they’re talking about.
I get so frustrated, even with so called ‘top marketers’ in internet marketing that after joining their email list I have to unsubscribe because they’re sending me a promotional email every day! And it has spelling mistakes in it too! It looks like it’s not just the small bloggers trying to become big that are making silly mistakes, but some people have got to be buying stuff from them haven’t they?
Reply
Thanks, Nick, but you may regret getting me started about the gooroos! Have you read my posts Trickery of the Gurus and Gurus Mutual Appreciation Society ?
I totally sympathise with your feelings about being forced to unsubscribe cos of the deluge of promo emails they send. What particularly irritates me is when they mail the same broadcast to multiple lists, and don’t take the trouble to dedupe them first. To my way of thinking, this shows a flagrant disrespect for their subscribers - you and me - and for the value of our time! So there;-D
Reply
Totally agree. Getting 3 email saying the same thing is soo annoying, I mean do they not want to sell to us or something?
Oh, hadn’t read the posts, but will do now.
Reply
Wonderful website full of so many things I need to know! Each post has a little tidbit I was unaware of and I really enjoy reading it all.
Well done, a really decent blog.
Reply
Thanks, Sue, if you’re looking for internet marketing information, you should download my Christmas Special, Reward Rebel BOOTY , before I take down the page to update - yep, I’m a bit behind on the admin;-D
Reply
Yep, I guess working hard is the key.
I started monetizing my blog a few months ago (I went ad-free for over a year) and I’m not making much. Trying to understand how it works without compromising the reason why I’m blogging…
Zhu’s last blog post..Canadian-ism (s) — Part III: French & English
Reply
Sue – I’m so pleased that you find helpful info here, don’t stop coming back! Your artwork is beautiful, and has a languid kinda style that I like, and I’ve always adored dragons, too.
Zhu – I totally empathize with you about monetizing your blog without betraying your personal ethics. If you’re interested, I wrote a post about my own feelings on internet marketing hype, A Moral Dilemma
Reply
I have had very limited results with email marketing but I stopped using it a couple of years ago. By limited, I mean non-existent.
Obviously, some people get it. I just don’t.
Stephan Miller’s last blog post..Rabid Patience
Reply
I’ve taken a few spins around the block with Traffic exchanges and upgraded in several. For the most part I did give away a lot of free catalogs, but didn’t convert many and actually worked those things hard off and on again for many months. I’ve decided to go back to basics and read blogs, make reasonable comments and be active socially. The other stuff is just largely a waste of time and energy. Thanks for the post!
T
Tommy’s last blog post..Dow Braces. Tuesday Plunge Very Likely.
Reply
Hey Stephan, you shouldn’t have given up. For ages, I never got any response, and then a mailing clicked, and I had to then try and figure out precisely what it was that I’d done right!
Like anything, it takes practice, and a blog is great way for a marketer to introduce themselves and build a relationship with an audience, rather than being an invisible, unknown quantity trying to take their hard earned dosh;-D
Reply
Hi Tommy, I too have tried TEs but they’ve just not been suited to my objectives. I don’t think they’re any help in promoting a blog per se, but they can produce the click thrus for certain types of products, as long as these are promoted via a well constructed squeeze or splash page.
With no knowledge of your activities previously in IM, I’m not clear why you’ve concluded that the ‘other stuff is largely a waste of time’. If you’re surfing, and taking the time and trouble to comment, why not invest a little more effort, and earn some money at the same time? Good luck;-D
Reply
Hello! My first time here. I’ve read your post here as well as the comments and responses. I’ve been into blogging only last October, 2007 and my friends were the ones who told me about Adsense, Sponsored Reviews, Smorty, and to get a Paypal account and all that. The only thing I have so far is Adsense which started late November, and I have all of US $1.65 in that effort.
My objective in blogging is to simply vent out things that I find unpalatable. I never thought of monetizing it. I’ve been to so many sites which look like the classified ads and its a turnoff. I also get so many visitors with invitations to make a fantastic saving on this or that item or make money selling this or that, and its infuriating.
I’m really into making contact, meeting people, sharing ideas, communicate on topics of mutual interest. It seems so many people are selling so many things. Ads on a site are not so bad, provided these do not dominate the space. I’ve also seen some sites with beautiful write-ups that are informative and not too “promotional” nor pushy in its attempt to sell.But the worst part of all are those that clog your mailbox with, as you say, mis-spelled words,grammatically incorrect sentences, word shortcuts,and informal or too familiar terms. I guess I’m rambling. Sorry. But I like the personality in your profile, and I always believed (maybe its old school)that selling is a personal exchange of Value for Money. –Durano, done!
Durano Lawayan’s last blog post..Overtures of Osama’s Offspring
Reply
Is the icon in the upper left new? I see Reward Rebel BOOTY! WooT! I love the word booty!
Reply
Stephen and Reward Rebel,
Not sure if you are on his list, but I got an email from Yaro at entrepreneurs-journey.com. He was talking about the power of email lists and how much money he made with promoting the recent stomper web 2.0 release of their course. Kind of got me thinking on the subject and why bloggers don’t thin it’s working.
I think for bloggers to join an email list is quite hard because of the points we’ve all gone on about above, but I do think with trust that other bloggers who read your blog could be converted into email receivers too. Think this is for the future with my blog anyway, probably at the end of Feb I will implement it. Just a thought - think we all need to build a relationship first and then start a list.
What do you think?
Nick - road2blogging’s last blog post..5 Reasons for having saved draft posts
Reply
Nick –
Unlike many bloggers, I came into blogging from starting in internet marketing, rather than the other way around. When I started dabbling in IM, the first thing I did was create a special offer squeeze page to start building a list. The next job is to build a relationship with the people on the list, provide helpful information rather than just start blasting them with offers to snatch their money. Having now started blogging, I’m acutely aware of the excellent platform it provides from which to market to the internet, and it’s such an enjoyable, friendly medium, too. It’s now going to be interesting for me to interweave the various strands I’ve been putting in place;-D
Cyberfizzle – naughty, Cyberfizzle –
You’ve only just noticed BOOTY on my site? It’s my ‘special offer’ page – go and check it out right this instant! Here’s the link: Reward Rebel BOOTY
Reply
STOP THE PRESS!!
Sometimes, you just have to try something and see where it leads, because it’s the interaction that sparks creativity, not the medium in which it occurs;-D
Reply
Thanks for the booty Rewardrebel. After all that rambling yesterday on the comment box, I took the freebies you offered anyway.
I’ll go through it,then post my 2 cents worth in your comment box. –Durano, done!
Durano Lawayan’s last blog post..Chivalry’s Crackling Cacophony
Reply
Durano -
Hey, my cuddly lil honey bunny, (sweetie, I hope I’m not being overly familiar), if you’re considering techniques to generate income from your online activities, I’m sure there’ll be something in that lot to trigger some ideas.
There has to be a comfortable middle ground vis a vis blogging and marketing, and for all the information available, I’m now discovering that to find it, you need to experiment and invite feedback.
Feel free to ramble away, anytime;-D
Reply