5 reasons most people fail to make money online
#1 - Putting all your eggs in one network
It's all too common for people to install Google Adsense on their website and expect it to make them rich. It's unlikely that one single system is going to generate vast amounts of income for you so it's crucial to create as many revenue streams as possible. You could try Yahoo Publisher Networks, Bidvertiser or any of the other CPC based networks as an alternative to Google - it works for some people, not for others. Darren Rowse from ProBlogger.net doesn't use Adsense on that site, but uses it on others because it doesn't convert well. You need to Try lots of different networks to find the one that's right for your site and its content.
#2 - You *need* to experiment
Positioning is everything, you need to get the optimal combination of ad units in the best positions - this means you need to be quite analytical and measure the performance of the units you install. A good understanding of GUI helps, but trial and error works too - you need to keep things in the positions that allow them to convert the best.
#3 - Make use of your real estate
Sell text-links on your site for some extra revenue, companies like Text-Link-Ads take control of this if you don't want to. If you install their widget on your site, they sell the links and send you your cut; they put the text-link on your site - really you don't need to do anything. I highly recommend brokering the links yourself because you're not paying someone else for the pleasure of doing something you're perfectly capable of doing.
#4 - Sell your opinion
You have an opinion and people are willing to pay for it in some circumstances. It's quite likely that you're a member of ReviewMe but it's not enough to sit and wait for reviewees to find you, you need to promote yourself more. Installing a widget like that seen on the right vastly increases your chance of selling a review.#5 - Affiliate your way to success
Not every site needs to have blatent advertising on it; there are an awful lot of people who make a lot of money on the Internet simply by leveraging affiliate schemes. You need to be smart about it, if you're discussing a product - why not have an affiliate link to allow users to buy it? If you're discussing a book; why not use the Amazon affiliate scheme to allow users to buy that too? It's crucial that you maximise your possible revenue streams.
5 easy steps that should go some way to highlight where your monetisation shortfalls are. If you aren't experimenting with the combinations you're using then you can't ever expect to make any real money. Highlight your best features as you would any aspect in life, if you're not seeing any return then change. Simple! Now go and make money.
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