This is a hugely exciting time to be an online publisher. It used to be the case that if you wanted to earn from ads on your website, there was only one thing to do.
You signed up to AdSense, pasted in the code, optimized the units and brought in traffic while following your stats.
You still have to do that.
But these days that's just the beginning.
You always have to mix in Kontera and Chitika, WidgetBucks and ShoppingAds. You have to make room for affiliate links and referral units. And you have to understand the value of video units and gadget ads too.
And that's just the beginning.
If you think that sounds horribly complicated, then I've got some bad news for you.
It's going to get tougher.
People are making money with online publishing. The market is huge and the potential is even bigger. Companies understand this and they're falling over themselves to offer new ways of putting ads on your pages -- and paying you for them too.
So you can expect to see improved ways of earning from video content. You can expect to see even better targeting to help raise your clickthrough rates. And I think you can expect to see even more creative and imaginative forms of ads to go along with your text links and standard ad units.
I think we're still at the beginning of the online publishing revolution and there are going to be a lot more exciting changes ahead.
But one thing is still going to remain true.
It doesn't matter how glitzy your ads, how well you combine different systems or how successfully you optimize them, the success of your site will ultimately depend on the quality of your content.
Produce good content and you'll find it much easier to get large volumes of traffic, and earn more advertising revenue.
That's never going to change.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
September 25, 2008 08:41 AM
Okay Joel...This is great advice..but for the few of us who have not a clue how to do all this...what do we have to pay for an expert to come in and make this all happen...THat is the big question...and truly is this really a show stopper for all sites and all products.???? Would love an answer for this..and it is not an idle comment
September 25, 2008 09:51 AM
Great post Joel! Yes! Entrepreneurs must adapt to change and embrace technology, new ideas and strategies! You can not be satisfied with the status quo. If you want to become a thought leader, business owners will have to produce interesting content and know how to promote it! Content is king and can also mean more cash and profits for you! Thanks again, Joel!
September 25, 2008 04:02 PM
Joel, got 2 questions:
1- is online publishing on the two books that I want to do?
2-as far as ads on my blog, would I have control on what is posted on my site or would it be like Adsense where I have to explain to my distribution list why there is an ad about bartending schools and hot chicks who want to date you?
September 26, 2008 06:59 AM
I agree Joel, even with all these options, the best thing or shall we say the most important is having quality content to attract the traffic needed to profit from all these options.
October 4, 2008 09:39 PM
Great article and advice as ever Joel :)