But has anyone tried selling products to your readers? What are your experiences with that?

I'm done with my eBook and will be launching it early in September (as I go on vacation for the rest of August). I'll definitely share my story on this forum and add more to it on my blog.

I know that Mark (buy like buffett) is doing well and so does Sunil.

cheers,

depending on the type of blog you have, Adsense can do very well or very bad. Same with affiliate programs. If you are building a community, aim for affiliate programs and if you are looking for google search engine traffic, focus on Adsense placement.

don't go all in with text link selling, this could hurt your page rank if your blog is too young ;-)

cheers,

Mike.

Hello MoneyforCollegeProject: Why is it that adsense has a bad rap? If it is because readers do not like it (understandably), you can get a plugin that eliminates it on your most recent posts, which are the ones your loyal readers will click on. You can keep it on the posts dated several days back (or whatever timeframe you want) and pick up the clicks from search engine users. They are the ones that click on the adsense mostly anyway--your loyal, regular readers will typically not do so.

 

Also, some people here have taken the opinion (and you should certainly think about this) that if you want to monetize your blog in the future, you should get your readers used to it now so that they don't think you've 'sold out' down the line. By putting adsense into your blog, your readers that are loyal to you will all ready know you are looking for monetization.

 

There is also the opinion (here again, think it over) that you should not monetize anything until much later when your audience has grown substantially.

 

Personally, I monetized early and have seen very good results.

 

Anyway--just my two cents! I hope it helps. 

I think this is the best route!  I haven't used the plugin yet, but I'm thinking about it!

I'll have to look into FlexOffers...  I wonder if it's okay to run both Adsense and FlexOffers together?

Financial Success for Young Adults said:

I've found that affiliate programs work well for me.

MFCP you should have pretty good success with that because of the niche you are in. There are many programs for choosing a college etc.

Tony you will probably do well with affiliate programs for investors too.

With that said, the best monetization strategy is one that is diversified. You never want to rely on just one income stream for your blog. Some bloggers have been kicked out of adsense for no reason, amazon terminated it's California affiliates etc. Try to have a few possible sources of income.

Thing is, I can't really find any good affiliate programs for investors. Sure, there are things like eToro, but personally, those etoro and ally trade programs aren't that good. I know where investors can get trades for cheaper commissions.

I will email you an invite for Flex Offers. They actually have really good programs for investors. You can also just go to flex offers .com if you like but the invite will earn us both a bonus.

Visa or Mastercard: Which is Better ?

The ads are for American Express and Discover.

Everything Finance said:

I like Flex Offers too.

Their ads look very good and relevant.

Take a look at this one: The Platinum Card® from American Express

The ad is at the end of the article. It looks like its part of the article itself.

 The ad looks like it's a part of the article because the article is pretty much an ad for the platinum american express card.

True. But you can add that bit of code under any article. Like if you are talking about investing or trading , you can have an ad for Scottrade or Sharebuilder.  

I like Flex Offers too.

Their ads look very good and relevant.

Take a look at this one: The Platinum Card® from American Express

The ad is at the end of the article. It looks like its part of the article itself.

 The ad looks like it's a part of the article because the article is pretty much an ad for the platinum american express card.

Just make sure your income is not from a sole source.

Their ads look very good and relevant.

Take a look at this one: The Platinum Card® from American Express

The ad is at the end of the article. It looks like its part of the article itself.

@MoneyistheRoot Thanks! I know that Adsense has worked really well for a lot of people, it just seems like there is such a negative vibe around it today. I'll probably stay away from Adsense. When you mention direct advertising, is there a direct ad network that you use to manage your ads, or do you approach individual companies for advertising yourself?

Other than some people having issues with getting the boot from the Adsense program, I wouldnt say there are any other negative vibes...though that's probably enough.  Adsense is harmless and doesnt hurt to test out, since you can add and eliminate at your own discretion.

Direct advertising is exactly that...working directly with an advertiser.  That involves me seeking out advertisers directly, but often times I get a couple emails a day from them regardless.  Whether or not we work out an amicable deal is another thing.  This has really brought in a decent amount of money considering the age of my blog.

Commission Junction is another form of advertising you could look into...I made a few bucks off them in the beginning, but it didnt last too long.

If you have specific questions or need any help feel free to email me at justinweinger@aol.com

I've found that affiliate programs work well for me.

MFCP you should have pretty good success with that because of the niche you are in. There are many programs for choosing a college etc.

Tony you will probably do well with affiliate programs for investors too.

With that said, the best monetization strategy is one that is diversified. You never want to rely on just one income stream for your blog. Some bloggers have been kicked out of adsense for no reason, amazon terminated it's California affiliates etc. Try to have a few possible sources of income.

Thing is, I can't really find any good affiliate programs for investors. Sure, there are things like eToro, but personally, those etoro and ally trade programs aren't that good. I know where investors can get trades for cheaper commissions.

This is a loaded question, and it really depends on the age of your blog, and especially the traffic etc.  When you start out you should really just throw some Adsense up on your blog and see if that pays off at all.  Chances are it wont all that much, since the intial payout is $100.  After establishing your site for awhile, direct advertising is a great way to go! But you are going to need to build your social readers/subscribers, pagerank, mozrank, etc.  Pay-per-click ads are good once you achieve really high visitor numbers, but that could be way down the road.

Wow! Thanks for the detailed response! I prefer not to use Adsense, because the initial payout is way too high.

That said, Adsense doesn't do all that well on my blog.

Affiliate Marketing is doing well for me.