Which is best for monetizing?

[khakigirl]

Originally Posted by Wahm Man

Squidoo and Hub Pages make good traffic funnels but when you enter your Google Adsense, Amazon, etc ID's into accounts on those two (and many other sites like them) they make you split earnings.

So if someone clicks on a banner ad there's like a 50% chance it would be hub pages/squidoo, and about a 50% likely its yours yours.

That's not actually true (at least for Squidoo). What actually happens is that you get paid Google ad revenue based on your lensrank. Lenses 1-2000 get a higher portion (usually ends up being about $40 per month), 2001-10,000 get a smaller portion (around $6-8 per month), 10,001-85,000 get an even smaller portion (around $1-2 per month) and lenses 85,001+ get no Google ad revenue.

As for the other affiliate links, if you use Squidoo's modules, yes, you have to split that revenue however you CAN (and should) use your own affiliate links. You can use some HTML in the text modules so you can add things like Amazon banners, etc and as long as you use YOUR code, you get to keep 100% of what you earn through those links.

[wsue]

Originally Posted by ~ Rosie ~

I highly recommend a self-hosted WordPress site.

So, you would register a domain. Then, you would get hosting with a reputable company, like Bluehost.

Then, you would install a free blog from your cPanel in Bluehost.

Easy, you own the content, you control how it is monetized.

That's what I have done with my blog, and it is working out beautifully!

Hope to help.

Rosie,
When you went with Bluehost and Wordpress were you at all knowledgeable about things like cpanels and the like? I just wonder because I'd seriously like to switch from blogger, but been there done that and I made a total mess of my blog more times than I care to share. I love to tweak my template... can't keep my hands out of it! lol I don't know much of anything about html... all self taught and have had no computer classes to speak of.

Given my weaknesses, do you recommend I give it another go?
Just curious what your thoughts on this are. I don't want to risk losing my hard work on a site that isn't mine, but at the same time... I could it to myself on Wordpress!

~Wendy

[starbirdy66]

I know I didn't have any experience when I signed up for HostGator or cpanel and moved my sites. I found how to set up DNS from my domain registrar on YouTube. Host sites usually have great support, HostGator has a forum, and both text and video helps so I was setting up a site in no time and installing WordPress was easy.

Having used both Blogger and WordPress I can say you can get carried away having fun (or not) tweaking sites. Neither is more complicated than the other. The one thing I like about WordPress is that there are a lot of plugins that are so helpful and also advanced themes/plugins to address a number of business/niche blogging needs.

[Stephanie Mojica]

I had good profits by recommending specific products/services on my blogs and in my eBooks. I signed up directly for the affiliate programs of people like Ali Brown and Kendall Summerhawk. However, as a personal rule I only recommend people I've had some type of experience with as a customer...but other bloggers obviously won't have the same policy.

One person purchasing something that can give you $40+ commission proved more helpful for me than ads, but I say do both if you can.

Good luck!

Stephanie

[LilBlackDress]

Originally Posted by khakigirl

That's not actually true (at least for Squidoo). What actually happens is that you get paid Google ad revenue based on your lensrank. Lenses 1-2000 get a higher portion (usually ends up being about $40 per month), 2001-10,000 get a smaller portion (around $6-8 per month), 10,001-85,000 get an even smaller portion (around $1-2 per month) and lenses 85,001+ get no Google ad revenue.

As for the other affiliate links, if you use Squidoo's modules, yes, you have to split that revenue however you CAN (and should) use your own affiliate links. You can use some HTML in the text modules so you can add things like Amazon banners, etc and as long as you use YOUR code, you get to keep 100% of what you earn through those links.

What about the contextual link advertising on Squidoo? How is that paying out? I haven't used that.

Squidoo can be good for backlinks and extra income. If you choose the right criteria for your keywords they can rank fast. But definitely put the bulk of your focus on your own sites.

[HowToee.com]

You should add more content to your blogs/sites and then monetize them with Adsense.

Then you should monitor the traffic and for each page, you find the related affiliate link. ClickBank is a good resource to find different kind of products related to different topics. Its conversion rate is so high too.

[EcoConsciousMom]

Like everyone else mentioned, get your own domain. You don't want to suffer if another site changes something.

When it comes to monetization try to spread out. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

You can monetize with Adsense, although some don't make much and others say it makes it look less professional, affiliate links and banners, reviews and so much more.

I really like the idea of writing multiple review posts. You can build up reviews (use affiliate links) and maybe get some free stuff in the process. I got my favorite purse (over $50) from writing a review for it.

If interested in writing a review I learned from RobbSutton.com and Problogger. You basically write 2-3 articles about same product. 1) brief introduction, 2) middle way through review and thoughts so far, 3) final review (the longest)

[underthis]

Thank God i took the self hosted blog at the beginning But my only monetization are google ads...not so good till now!

[deannatroupe]

Definitely use a self hosted blog. Use wordpress plus hostgator. You can promote whatever you want when you have a self hosted blog. You can even do other things like sell links and sell blog posts. If you get involved with network marketing, you can even use your blog to promote that. This thread is actually giving me an idea for a blog post...

[tburton]

Using a self hosted blog like Word press.org & host gator for hosting is good.

Host gator has a very cheap web hosting price that ranges anywhere from $6.99-$9.99 per month & its pretty simple to add to your Word press.org give it a try I definitely think you will like it.