PureBlogging

Thousands of blogs are launched every single day with the intent of making money. You can see just how popular this is by observing how many “make money blogs” and blogs about blogging exist. I’m sure you’re aware that only a select few make money bloggers have actually made significant and consistent money with their blog. That’s not to say that there’s no value in a blogger who is writing about the journey. I enjoy Caroline Middlebrook’s blog where she discusses her own efforts and talks through her opinions with readers. I also enjoyed following Ben Cook’s progress through his one year Blogging Experiment before he sold it.

The truth is that very few bloggers will ever make a full-time income by blogging. In my opinion, that opportunity is very much available, but few bloggers have the persistence, patience and ability to get there. What’s more likely is a respectable part-time income, but many are let down when they conclude that this is as far as they’re going to get.

Many bloggers tend to lean on ad revenue as a source of income. Top blogs can usually make a pretty good amount from ads alone, but most bloggers are fortunate to make a few hundred dollars per month. I’m not attempting to discourage anyone from going after ad revenue, it’s certainly a major piece of the puzzle in most cases, but I think most bloggers don’t really calculate how much traffic they’ll need in order to earn a living on ad revenue.

Why Blogs are Difficult to Monetize:

People are used to getting something for free

Blog readers have gotten used to the fact that blogs produce content for free. As a result, this becomes expected and many bloggers that try to develop some revenue streams face the difficult task of convincing readers that there is something worth paying for. An example of this is premium content, membership sites, or even e-book sales. We’ve gotten so much for free that it can be difficult to create something that’s going to lead people to open up their wallets.

Ad blindness

Most blog readers visit a decent number of blogs and websites on a daily basis. As a result, they see the same ads over and over again, and they start to ignore the ads. Ad blindness makes advertisements less effective than they could be otherwise, and that means bloggers can’t make as much with the advertisements.

Affiliate sales can be frowned upon

Depending on the niche and the audience of a blog, placing affiliate links in posts can really offend some readers. When I first started blogging I put a couple of affiliate links in a post and I got a few readers who questioned the practice, including one who flat out was against it. Affiliate sales are a big source of income for many top bloggers, but if your audience isn’t ok with affiliate links (assuming they can even identify an affiliate link) it could be a big struggle to generate sales this way.

Traffic and effort has to be constant

I couldn’t even tell you how many bloggers I’ve seen over the past year that looked like they were on their way to running a very successful blog, but they gave up somewhere along the way. Not that many people are able to stay interested and motivated when it comes to building a blog, because it takes constant work. Take a month off with no posts and your traffic and income will fall, and you’ll have to build yourself back up again. Especially if you’re hoping to earn a full-time income, the consistency becomes an even bigger issue. As a part-timer you can probably deal with up and down income, but that might not be possible without another source of income to fall back on.

Compensation is usually not direct

I think most of us are programmed to expect to be paid according to the work that we put in. With blogging, you could spend hours researching and writing a post, but if it doesn’t do well you may not have anything to show for it financially. This is actually a positive, because once you’ve built a successful blog you can earn much more money for your efforts, but it becomes a discouragement to those who are just starting out.

Many traffic sources are difficult to monetize

When it comes to making money with your blog, not all traffic sources are equal. For example, social media is a leading source of traffic for many blogs, but these visitors are notoriously difficult to monetize. They’re not going to click on ads, they usually leave after seeing only one page, and they aren’t as likely to subscribe as other types of visitors. As a result, you may be able to produce impressive traffic stats and not even be able to really make anything significant from it.

Uneven playing field

Small bloggers trying to “compete” with blogs that have a full staff of writers are at a significant disadvantage. Additionally, established blogs have a much easier time than those that are just getting started. While I don’t think that this is really a negative to blogging for money, it does make it difficult for the little guy, and many don’t have the patience to make it to the other side of the fence.

What Can You Do About It?

1. Be realistic

One of the leading causes for bloggers giving up is the existence of unrealistic expectations. It’s a one in a million shot that you’ll be making a full-time income from a blog in a matter of months, yet that’s what some people have in mind. There’s nothing wrong with ambitious goals, but they should also be accompanied by some realistic understanding or there’s a very high chance of disappointment that won’t be overcome.

A part-time income from blogging can be pretty nice, but when you’re expecting much more it can be disappointing. Whatever your goals and intentions are, take some time to realize what’s involved and what others are able to accomplish. Appreciate and celebrate your small victories along the way and take a long-term approach to building an income.

2. Diversify income sources

Rather than just relying on ads to make money, why not find other ways to do so, such as selling an e-book, doing reviews, etc. While one source of income is unlikely to support you full-time, three or four may be able to do the trick. Take a look at top bloggers like Darren Rowse and John Chow. They make money in a number of different ways that all add up to a six-figure income.

3. Get creative

The income sources from your blog don’t have to be the typical ones mentioned above. Get creative and find some new ways to make money. Niche-specific job boards are getting very popular, and for blogs with a decent-sized and focused audience, this can be an excellent source of income. I mentioned Blogging Experiment earlier. When Max Davis bought the site from Ben Cook he turned around and offered a membership course on buying and selling websites, and he almost recovered his investment in just a few short months.

4. Provide a service

Many bloggers have the opportunity to sell a service in addition to their blogging efforts. Michael Martine wrote a post several months ago about selling consulting services through your blog. Services can be an excellent fit for bloggers. As you publish content on your blog you’re selling your readers on your knowledge and expertise. Once you’ve built some respect you’ll have a natural marketplace for your services.

5. Freelance on the side

While you’re building your own blog you may want to consider writing for others on a freelance basis. Freelance blogging can be a nice source of supplementary income and it may keep you motivated as you’re seeing real money coming in.

6. Build your name

Many pro bloggers earn a living by running multiple blogs. If this is the case, name recognition is very important. Once you have built an established audience at one blog you could branch out to another one and take many of your readers with you. Then you’ll have two successful blogs instead of one. We’ve seen this in practice recently with the quick success for NETTUTS and VECTORTUTS riding on the wave from PSDTUTS.

What Are Your Thoughts About Blogging for Money?

Do you blog with the intent to make money? If so, what’s your experience and what do you feel are the biggest challenges?

Popularity: 21% [?]

So, who else hated Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?

Well, OK: I didn’t hate it. And neither did you, probably, right? I mean, it was bad, yeah, but you didn’t hate it, right? Think about it: Harrison Ford has still played Indy, Han Solo, Jack Ryan and Rick Deckard. And nothing can take that away from us. If Harrison Ford wants to make movies about flying refrigerators and interdimensional quartz-skulled aliens for the rest of his career, he’s more than earned the right. Hell, I watched Random Hearts — and nothing, not even an entire league of Shia LaBoofs, swinging on jungle vines surrounded by monkeys, can be worse than that movie.

One thing I dislike more than Random Hearts, however, is reading the same damn thing over and over again on the Internet. I realize that the sociology of the Web means that memes will crop up over and over again, but good LORD if I read one more comment by the Keyboard and Mountain Dew Game Fuel League about how Stephen Spielberg raped someone’s childhood, I’m gonna raise $200 million to shoot Indiana Jones and the Long, Meandering Conversation With Justin Long, just to cheese everyone off.

Unfortunately, the fact that 100 million mouth-breathing basement dwellers believe a thing does not make it untrue. Skull is still, more or less, a crappy movie — and crappy movies are always a great excuse for good writing. But how to do it without sounding overdone?

Rod Hilton has figured out how, with his “abridged script” for the latest Indy movie. Here’s an excerpt:

SHIA and HARRISON go to SOUTH AMERICA to look for the next CLUE. SHIA flips his knife around in his hand trying to look badass, but actually grabs it by the blade. Twice. Seriously.

HARRISON FORD

Alright, the walkthrough for the movie says that our next clue is in a spooky graveyard. We should probably save our game here.

SHIA LABEOUF

Pick up MAP. Use MAP on HARRISON FORD. Walk To TOMB.

Here’s the ironclad rule that Rod Hilton stuck to when he wrote this (whether he knows it or not): If you’re going to say what everyone else is saying, you’d damned well better have a better way to say it than they do.

See, we all look for ways to reaffirm what we already think. It’s why I watch Keith Olbermann and my Republican friend watches Sean Hannity. And there’s nothing wrong with trying to capitalize on the current zeitgeist by taking advantage of people’s tendency to seek out the comforting and familiar. Unfortunately, that tendency is also our Achilles’ heel — particularly for those of us who are writers.

Let your personal rule be this: If it’s been done, don’t do it again. If it’s been said, don’t say it again. If it’s a popular opinion, don’t add to the din; create your own voice.

Popularity: 13% [?]

I never watched much Saved By The Bell. And I’m reasonably certain it’s not a great show.

But there’s a lot it can tell us about writing.

The show, which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993 (and in syndication thereafter), documented the dating adventures of a small congress of high school students — sort of like the Archie comics, but less sexually charged, as though each episode were given Tipper Gore’s stamp of approval. During the years it was on TV, I was just old enough that social pressures forced me to think it was stupid, and not watch it. Of course, those social pressures turned out to be correct, and the upshot is that I’ve never really seen a whole episode.

But there is one thing I have noticed about what I have seen of show: The lead character, Zack Morris, has the power to stop space and time. He does this roughly once per episode, mostly so he can talk to the audience. I can’t imagine what this is like from his perspective — how does he perceive the audience when he interacts with it? Does he know it’s out there? Or does he perceive it as some horrific Lovecraftian space-god, hanging massive and aloof at the edge of his consciousness, having granted him this celestial power that he may entertain it before it devours his soul? Is that weird prickly energy we see in Mark-Paul Gosselaar not tenderfoot acting, but barely restrained terror?

Frankly, I don’t care. Whether or not the pitiful vestiges of Zack Morris’s consciousness mourn for the days of summer love and Sadie Hawkins dances as they lazily flap from the muscularis mucosae of Nylarhotep’s oily duodenum is of no matter to me or you.

What does matter is that, whether you’re using Microsoft Word, a pen and paper, or a rusty Smith-Corona with a missing K, you are far more powerful than Zack Morris could ever have hoped.

Most of us tend to forget that when we write, we are the master of all we survey. When faced with rules of grammar and usage, and the panoply of websites telling us how the Really Good Writers do it,  and the many, many voices out there claiming to be experts, we fail to appreciate the pure power we have when we site with a blank slate before us. And even more, we fail to appreciate the extent to which that power grows once we’ve committed words to that slate. The editorial process is scarier to many of us than Zack Morris’s ancient and polypous captor was to him. So too often, we bloggers dash off a post without drafting, without taking a third look, without an editorial process that goes beyond proofreading.

I do it too. And the reason is because I don’t really absorb the full scope of the power I have as a writer. Like Zack Morris, I can stop time. But I can also change the past. I can travel back in time, to six paragraphs ago, and make a change that reverberates throughout all four dimensions of my essay or short story or blog post. I can create the future before the past has even happened — then create a past to match it. I can make changes whose ripples create other changes, whose results I could never have dreamed of.

Too many of us see the drafting process as something that limits us — a slate-grey mechanical process with no art to it, far removed from the blossoming spring of initial creation. A few weeks ago I met an aspiring screenwriter who boiled all of this thinking down to four simple words: “Write drunk. Edit sober.” Usually, any aphorism that advises heavy drinking is one I endorse. But not here.

Editing is power. Drafting is creativity. And to end the writing process after the initial heady thrill of creation is to rob yourself, and your readers, of all the brightness and Brobdingnagian creativity within you.

You owe that to yourself. You owe it to your readers.

And, god knows, you owe it to Zack Morris’s soul, as it is slowly digested over thousands of millennia.

Popularity: 17% [?]

All bloggers want to reach out to their targeted audience and experience growth. However, that’s obviously not always the case. Knowing some of the most common pitfalls and how to overcome them can be one of the most important things you do in order to build a blog that is successful long-term. Here is a look at 5 of the most common reasons for slow blog growth, and what you can do to overcome them.

Inconsistency

Every month it seems that a few blogs in my feed reader suddenly stop posting or they experience a slow death as posting frequency slows to a crawl. Of course, there’s no rule that says you have to post everyday, and for most bloggers I think posting every day is unrealistic. But what plagues so many bloggers is a complete lack of consistent effort. Blogging can be fun and exciting when traffic is high, links are coming in, and the subscriber count is growing. However, when those things aren’t happening you probably need a strong effort more than at any other time. In order to avoid this pitfall and work towards long-term success, you’ll need to find the balance of consistent effort that keeps things moving without leading to burnout.

In my opinion, inconsistency is one often caused by going through too many highs and lows emotionally as a blogger. Yes, I think we should all enjoy our successes along the way, but I constantly see bloggers become disappointed because their hopes and expectations were unrealistically high.

Overcoming inconsistency is pretty simple. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. Figure out how much time you can realistically dedicate to blogging each week and determine which days are typically the best for you to get this work done. When you have specific times set aside for working on your blog, consistency is much easier and temptations and distractions will be less of a problem. Posting isn’t the only type of work that needs to be done. On days when you’re not posting work on building your network or your knowledge of a particular subject.

Boring Content

With so many blogs already online and thousands being launched every day, there are plenty of places for readers to spend their time. Especially in very competitive niches, boring content is a major cause for slow blogging growth. In order to attract subscribers and loyal readers you’ll need to stand out in one way or another.

The “blogging about blogging” niche and the “make money online” niche are full of so many blogs that it takes a serious effort to stand out from the crowd. Many new bloggers take the approach of following in the footsteps of a successful blogger in their niche. While learning from others is a great idea, trying to duplicate someone else’s success will almost certainly result in boring content. Choose your niche wisely, and if you’re in a saturated industry, find your own unique angle that will keep you from blending in so much with everyone else.

I think one of the biggest shortcomings of most bloggers is not taking enough time for brainstorming and generating creative and unique ways to present content. It seems like many bloggers sit down at the computer when they need a new post and type whatever is on their mind. Creating unique, interesting content is difficult, and brainstorming should be part of the process.

Lack of Exposure

Have you ever come across a small, unheard of blog that you really enjoyed? I’m sure you have at some point. There are some terrific blogs out there that just haven’t gotten the exposure they need to take things to the next level. Your content can be the best, but if no one is seeing it, your blog won’t be growing.

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about extending the reach of your blog. That posts covers a few possibilities for gaining some much-needed exposure. Personally, I think guest blogging is one of the best things a blogger can do for exposure. There are plenty of blogs that are willing to accept guest post submissions, and this gives you an excellent opportunity to reach a targeted audience with a link back to your blog. This is the method that I used to grow my blog, and I’m still seeing the benefits in terms of the relationships and connections that I made with other bloggers.

Social media is another excellent source of exposure. Many bloggers seem to always be going after the front page of Digg, but others like StumbleUpon and Delicious can also give you the exposure that you’re looking for. Depending on the industry that you are in, there may be some strong niche social media sites where you can get some highly-targeted traffic. To look for these types of sites, see this categorized list of social media sites.

Poor Networking

From my experience in the past year of blogging, networking is critical to long-term blogging success . Anything you can attempt to do with your blog will be easier with a solid network. Networking is of course about mutual benefit, so if you are able to get to know some others that are in a similar position as you, there are unlimited opportunities to help each other. Gaining subscribers, drawing comments, attracting social media votes, building links – it’s all easier with a network.

To start building your network, focus on finding some other bloggers that you can help in some way. Don’t only look to network with A-listers. You’ll find that the most valuable members of your network are in a similar stage in the blogging lifecycle as you. You can start by commenting regularly at their blog or maybe by reaching out to them through a social networking site. On a few occasions I’ve used a contact form on a blog to simply introduce myself. Once you start reaching out to others, some of them will reciprocate and the networking relationship will start to grow.

One of the best things you can do in terms of networking is to be active at a social network or a community site of some kind. Forums have been popular for years, and Twitter is becoming an increasingly popular option, when it’s working.

Poor Choice of Niche

I mentioned earlier that your choice of niche is especially important. You’ll hear a lot about niche blogging and finding a topic that isn’t overly saturated. Many bloggers don’t think about this or don’t realize the significance until they have already started their blog and they start wondering why they can’t get noticed.

Personally, I think there are pros and cons of blogging in a crowded niche. Almost all of my experience is in popular and saturated industries like web design, marketing and blogging. While it certainly takes more effort to stand out from the crowd, some of the benefits include higher traffic potential, a bigger target audience, more potential advertisers, and easier link building. I think there are strong reasons to avoid either extreme – a overly crowded niche or an extremely small niche – but I do feel that for someone who has a lot of motivation and some patience, there is tons of potential in most crowded niches.

Have you chosen a niche that simply is too small with not enough potential readers? Have you chosen a highly competitive niche that doesn’t allow you to stand out from the leading blogs? If your choice of niche has already been made and it’s too late to change, consider altering your approach so that you’re not directly competing against the top blogs that will likely out do your efforts. One of the issues we’re going through right now at PureBlogging is reassessing our purpose and finding the right angle. The old approach was too similar to too many other blogs in our niche and we think we’ll be able to grow more effectively by taking a more unique approach to the topics that are covered so frequently.

What’s Your Experience?

From your own blogging experience, as well as what you have observed from other bloggers, what do you see as the major reasons for slow growth?

Popularity: 19% [?]

As a writer, you’ve always got to be ready to learn. Because writing lessons can strike at strange times, in strange places.

Like at two in the morning when you’re trying to stare down a guy who’s got six inches and fifty pounds on you, all while wearing nothing but a pair of Snoopy-themed boxer shorts and a t-shirt that reads “I (heart) Puddn.”

But I should start at the beginning.

A couple of nights ago my girlfriend and I turned in for the night only to hear our downstairs neighbor’s booming voice as he talked on the phone.

He does this from time to time, talking on the phone for upwards of three or four hours, always well past 2:00 AM. It doesn’t happen often — maybe twice a month — but it’s consistently annoying. And while I don’t begrudge anyone the right to keep unusual hours, the overall rule is simple: Shut the heck up between midnight and 8 AM.

So finally I went downstairs to talk to the guy (we’ll call him “Bellows von Shoutington”). I threw a shirt on so I wouldn’t look totally outlandish. Unfortunately it was a shirt my girlfriend had had made for me a few years ago. (“Puddn” is a term of endearment she and I use to describe a very specific set of activities. I won’t get into it here.)

I was polite but firm. I told Mr. von Shoutington I could hear every word of his conversation even though we had two fans on (it was a hot night). I asked if he could please shut his window while he was on the phone. There’s no chance we’d be able to hear him through the floor, since our building is old and well constructed. Shutting his window was really all he needed to do.

Of course, this was just too much for Mr. von Shoutington. He told me the window was shut, and that he should be the one complaining, because of all the constant stomping around he hears coming from our apartment. He made it very clear that the problem was mine.

So I gave him a slow, measured stare, and said: “OK, whatever. But right now, could you just keep it down, please?”

I don’t know what you’re like, but I’m not the world’s most confrontational guy. I’m no doormat, but looking someone directly in the eye and making a demand, or even a firm request, isn’t so easy. Particularly when you’re wearing Snoopy underwear and a shirt advertising the snoogy woogy language you use with your sweetie.

Good writing is a lot like staring down someone bigger than you while wearing silly clothes. If you’re not laying it all out on the line, If you’re not, as Walter Smith said, sitting down at a typewriter and opening up a vein, if you’re not taking the risk of looking like a complete sod, then you’re not doing your best.

And looking your reader in the eye is a good way of testing your writing out.

Whatever you write, take a look at it and think to yourself: Am I really looking my reader in the eye with this? Could I look someone in the eye and say what I’m writing?

As writers, it’s our job to engage our readers on the most basic emotional levels. It’s our job to make them understand just how serious we are about what we’re saying. It’s our job to look them in the eye. The more scared you are to say it — and the more scared you’d be to say it while looking someone directly in the eye — the more you can do with it on the page.

There were a lot of things I wanted to say to Mr. von Shoutington, but I didn’t say them — partially because they were irrelevant, but partially because I just didn’t have the guts to look him in the eye. Things like “God, but you stink! What did you do today, smoke every damp cigarette butt you managed to find on the ground? You smell like French cinema in the 60s!” Or, “Well, I may stomp around a lot, but you look like a damn cartoon rat. What’s up with that nose of yours anyway? Does it always twitch like that, or just when there’s a triangular wedge of Swiss cheese nearby?” I’d argue that the humor value of those lines comes from their inappropriateness. It’d be almost impossible to look someone in the eye and deliver one of those.

Later, when I got back up to bed, I heard the sound of a window sliding shut from just below us. He hadn’t told the truth about his window being shut — yet he still felt compelled to shut it. That’s what looking someone in the eye can do.

When you’re writing, if you’re not terrified on some level, you’re not doing it right.

Popularity: 25% [?]

If you’re looking to start a profitable blog, niche research is important. Depending on your goals and your approach you may wan to seek out a niche that’s currently underserved, or you may want to identify niches that have plenty of income potential. Most of the niches that have a high income potential will also have a good deal of competition from other websites and blogs. However, to make money in these niches you don’t necessarily have to be the biggest, most popular blog in the industry. you can make a decent income in the right niche just by simply getting a small piece of the pie for yourself.

I’m sure you’ve read a lot about the need to choose a niche that has lower levels of competition, but that can be both a blessing and a curse. Personally, I don’t think either approach is right or wrong, it just depends on what you want to do, but if you’re looking for big potential, competitive niches will typically provide more.

Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Shy Away from a Popular Niche:

1 – Huge Potential

As I just mentioned, more competitive and more popular topics tend to come with very high income potential. Choosing a smaller, less-saturated niche may give you better odds of success, but they generally will not have the same potential.

2 – You Don’t Need to Dominate

In popular industries you won’t have to be the biggest or the best to make some money. You can still be profitable while being a relatively small player. In less popular niches you’ll likely have to be at the top in order to really make money.

3 – Huge Targeted Audience

One of the biggest struggles of niche blogging can be finding targeted visitors. Choose a topic that’s too narrow and the amount of potential readers will be pretty small. On the other hand, popular industries will have more competition, but they’ll also provide unlimited potential because of the huge audience.

4 – More Income Opportunities

One of the major benefits of being in a popular industry is the added income opportunities that are usually associated. For example, a competitive niche will have a much larger number of affiliate programs that you can promote on your blog as compared to a small, less-popular niche. In addition to just affiliate programs, there will also be more companies that are willing to advertise on your blog to promote their products and services, simply because there are more products and services available in popular industries.

5 – Proven Money-Making Potential

Most of he popular industries are so crowded in part because others have proved that there is plenty of money to be made. Smaller niches may have potential, but more popular industries can have proven potential.

6 – Chance for a Quick Start

In a smaller niche you’ll probably have to work very hard to slowly build your readership. In a popular niche you have plenty of interested readers out there, you just need to find a way to get noticed. Getting a link from a major website or blog, publishing guest posts, or achieving success with social media can all result in a quick launch.

Easily Find Money-Making Niches with Commission Junction

Researching a niche is a very broad topic that could warrant a series of posts in itself. However, one simple aspect of researching is to find a niche where a lot of money is being exchanged. Generally, if money is being made, there is plenty of opportunity for you.

Commission Junction (CJ) is an affiliate manager, which means they’re a third-party service that provides management of affiliate programs for other companies. CJ connects advertisers to publishers (website owners and bloggers that want to make money by promoting affiliate products and services) and they handle the tracking, payment, and all the other details. You can sign up for an account at Commission Junction and apply to the affiliate programs of hundreds or thousands of companies according to your interests.

As the affiliate manager, CJ provides you with a single place to manage your affiliate programs, rather than needing to login to every program separately, plus you get commissions from all the different programs in one check.

Commission Junction has a wide variety of programs to promote, and they cover all industries, which makes their service a great place for niche research. Once you’re signed up with CJ you can do some quick research to find niches that have a large number of advertisers (CJ categorizes them, which makes this very easy).

Generally, if you see a niche with a ton of advertisers, that’s a good sign that others are making money in this niche. If no one was making money there wouldn’t be so many companies with affiliate programs targeting that audience. As I said earlier, researching affiliate programs doesn’t mean that you would have to use affiliate programs to earn the income through your blog. You can always find advertisers to directly buy ad space, but doing the research this way is much quicker than contacting potential advertisers one-by-one. In a matter of a few minutes you can gauge the potential of a niche.

What to Look for:

As you’re browsing through the affiliate programs at Commission Junction, pay attention to the following:

Variety of products and services – Does and industry have a wide variety of products and services represented through CJ? If so, there are most likely even more opportunities outside of CJ. If the only products and services available through CJ are direct competitors, you may be more limited.

Reputable companies – CJ represents a large number of very well-known companies. Are there affiliate programs for companies that you would be willing to promote?

Commission – Each affiliate program will have its own unique commission structure. Some will give you a set percentage of sales, others a flat dollar amount. Pay attention to the percentage as well as how much money that will actually put in your pocket. Both numbers are important.

Cookie length – Most of these programs will use cookies to track your referrals so that if someone clicks through your link and then makes a purchase on that site a few days later, you can still get paid the commission. Some programs will track cookies for 10 days, some for 6 months.

What is required to constitute a sale? – This may be very simple, or it may be more complex. Most of the time a sale is pretty straightforward, but always read the conditions to make sure there are no important exclusions to what you will be paid for.

Are “lead” programs available? – CJ includes a number of programs where you can make money without the visitor even buying anything. For example, you can get paid if someone applies for a credit card, or if they fill out their information to be contacted about a mortgage. These programs can be very lucrative, and sometimes they’re easier to promote because of the fact that the visitor doesn’t have to buy anything.

Types of ads/creatives available – Each program will provide you with links and different types of ads (such as various sizes of banner ads) If you’re thinking of promoting a program this can make a big difference in your success.

Incentives – Some of the programs will pay higher commissions to affiliates that hit certain levels of sales. If you’re expecting to make a lot of sales this can be extra motivation.

Stats – CJ provides a little bar for each advertiser that shows how much they’ve paid out, called their “network earnings.” Those with higher earnings are producing more income for affiliates. They also provide 3 month EPC and 7 day EPC, which shows how much is earned per 100 clicks. In other words, if you send them 100 clicks to this program, on average you will make this amount.

Why This is Helpful?

Recently I have been researching an industry to see if it would be a good opportunity to start a profitable site. One of the best sources of information was the list of affiliates provided through CJ. Most of them I will never use even when I do start the site, but this proved to me that there is a wide variety of products and services, from many different companies. If there are this many affiliate programs in CJ alone, I know there are plenty of money-making opportunities within the niche. It was very quick and productive research.

Popularity: 19% [?]