Is Your Site Fully Monetized?

I’m very happy with AdSense. Ever since I figured out the strategies to make the most of those ad units, I’ve been thrilled at the income I’ve been seeing. But as far as I’m concerned, revenues are a bit like chocolate.

You can never have too much.

That’s why I also use affiliate networks.

I use them to promote my own products. And I use them to take commissions when I promote other people’s products.

If you’re not using affiliate networks, then you’re missing out on a very valuable way of monetizing your website.

There is one important rule that you have to keep in mind when you get involved in affiliate work though, and it’s particularly important for AdSense publishers.

You have to believe in the product.

This is important whenever you’re recommending a sale, but when you’re telling your regular users to go out and buy something, it’s vital. Your users come back to your site because they trust you. If they buy a bad product because you recommended it, you’ll lose that trust, and with it will go your sales, your traffic and your AdSense revenues.

The flipside of that though is that because people trust you, they’re more likely to buy a product you recommend.

If you write a blog about photography and in one post you recommend an ebook that teaches people to take better digital images, you can expect many of your users to take your advice. A recommendation is always a lot more powerful when it comes from someone the user knows and reads regularly.

Of course, if someone clicks on an affiliate link, they’re not clicking an ad, so here’s the trick…

You market the page with the affiliate link separately.

Sounds simple, right? And yet so many people forget to do it. They put an affiliate link on their site and pitch it to their regular traffic. But when you’ve got something new on your site, new people are going to want to know about it.

Instead of building the usual long sales letter, you could bring new users to an article on your site that includes both the affiliate link and AdSense ads. Only a small fraction of those people will buy the product but many of those who don’t will use the ads to click away.

You’ll have a chance to find more traffic and two ways of making money from the same page. Perfect!

• We Support New York Affiliates

  

• Subscribe to ReveNews

  • Get ReveNews Updates in Your Reader
  • Get ReveNews Updates in Your Email

• The Latest Comments

  • gyrcl opfhbk on Blogs- Influence Or Reach?
  • Britt Raybould on Photos and Favorite Moments from Gnomedex 2008
  • LC on Miva Click Fraud Story - Part Deux
  • CT Moore on Relationship Based Affiliate Marketing
  • Relationship Schmationship on Relationship Based Affiliate Marketing
  • Nina on Miva Click Fraud Story - Part Deux
  • Airdrie Miller on Photos and Favorite Moments from Gnomedex 2008
  • Kim on McAfee SiteAdvisor
  • Angel Djambazov on Cashing Out: Week of August 24-30th, 2008 in Online Marketing News
  • peter bordes on Cashing Out: Week of August 24-30th, 2008 in Online Marketing News

• ReveNews Readers

• Archives

  Select Month August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004

• ScratchBack Widget