Slides from a talk given at WordCamp San Diego, 2011. Lucy Beer WebTrainingWheels.com @webtw The talk covered some common methods of monetization and their pros/cons, along with the need to have an overall plan or strategy for your site if you ever hope to make it successful.

1. Treat Your Blog Like A Business Which Monetization Strategy Is Right For You? Lucy Beer @webtw WebTrainingWheels.com

2. “…I’m just blogging for fun” Everyone’s enthusiastic in the beginning…. But blogging is work! You want to be rewarded Without a strategy, many bloggers quit too soon without giving monetization a real chance Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

3. Be Realistic… ….Banking on getting a book/movie deal (a la “Julie & Julia”) is NOT a strategy! …. A successful blog does not happen overnight … Luck (& monetization) happens when preparation meets opportunity …. You prepare by building something of value – an audience, targeted traffic, community etc Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

4. Build Your Platform Before You Need It Build your email list (Mailchimp not Feedburner) Network in your niche Build your social networks Build subscribers Build a library of great content Search engine optimization When you build value, you are ready to take advantage of opportunities Your future self will thank you! Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

5. Advertising - AdSense Easy to get started Requires lots of traffic Hard to make good money from a single site Must be willing to be aggressive with ad placements Takes people away from your site Similar: AdBrite, Chitika Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

6. Google Adsense Placement The colors fade from dark orange (strongest performance) to light yellow (weakest performance) Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

8. Works best when you deliver a specific/niche audience

9. Some networks may have minimum traffic requirement

10. May be paid on CPC or CPM

11. IndieClick, MOG Music Network, Say Media, BlogAds, BlogHer, BuySellAds, Eons Boom Media (Baby Boomers) – find a network for your nicheLucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

12. Advertising - Direct Sales You make more money Direct relationship with advertiser You do the selling Plugins – oio Publisher (premium), WP 125, Adwit, AdRotate Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

13. Sell Affiliate Products Make commissions on product sales that you drive from your site Find appropriate products that fit your audience at Clickbank, Commission Junction,Linkshareetc Bloggers in yourniche may have generous affiliate programs for their products Sell via blog posts, banner ads, email marketing Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

14. Consulting or Other Services Do you have an area of knowledge, expertise & passion? Your blog is a showcase for your knowledge & personality that gets you clients – indirect monetization SEO very important to attract the right traffic Opt-in email list very beneficial Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

15. Sell Your Own Products Often a next step after selling consulting services. Create a product of value – could be videos,E-books, webinars etc SEO and email list very important WordPress makes it easy to sell integrate E-Junkie buttons or can use ecommerce plugin like Cart66 to create your own store You make all the money ! Do the work once and continue to sell indefinitely You can monetize a smaller amount of highly targeted, interested traffic. Focus on conversions and creating repeat customers Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

16. Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw