Part of the
You Can Learn Web Success Techniques series.
By Ken Brown
Editor, YouCanLearnSeries.com
Updated: December 13, 2004
This is a two part article on Web Revenue Streams.
Revenue Streams
Revenue Streams - Page 2
Ten Tips to Making Money with Your Web Business
So you want to make money on the Internet? How do you make money?
What can you do to create a revenue generating machine? Is there money to be
made and can an average person make money?
These are a few of the questions I will answer in this article. There is money
to be made and I can assure you that you can increase your income with these
tips.
Everybody has different skills and abilities. Some of us can write, others have
the ability to program in multiple languages. Still others can talk to people
and make sales and some have the ability to lead. I don't know your skill set.
Not all these opportunities may be for you. Some will fit you perfectly while
others will leave you baffled. But, they are all starting places for you and
your web business.
You should first write down your skill sets. What do you do best? Are you the
best programmer in the world, but would rather not have to deal with people?
Are you a creative type person with terrific graphics design skills? Write down
a list of 10 to 20 skills you have before starting this exercise. Then as you
review this list of money making methods, you will know whether you should
pursue this method or see what the next method can do for you.
This list is an idea starter. I will give you examples and a brief summary, but
it will be up to you to go out and make it a reality. I have confidence that
you can make money on the Internet.
1. Google™ Banner Ads (% of clicks)
An easy way to make money is to use the Google™ Adsense program and
affiliate ads. I have described this methodology more completely in
another article because it is the easiest way for a new web developer to get
involved in making money on the net.
This method requires no initial investment, other than having a web site. You
don't need strong programming skills. If you know HTML then you can have these
ads on your site within a week. The
LinkShare Corporation
has contracted with over 30 companies that offer you a way to increase revenues
through your web site.
One other requirement is you are creating a website that people will visit.
Google™ wants you to have a minimum amount of traffic each month to assure
them that their time and money won't be wasted.
Essentially, Google™ contracts with other companies to place their company
ads on the internet. These companies have agreed to pay Google™ some money
each time someone clicks their ads. Google™ wants their customers to click
as many ads as possible so Google™ can make more money. Google™ then
contracts with you to place some of the Google™ customer ads on your
website. Google™ will pay you a percentage of the money the customer has
agreed to pay them.
So you put Google™ ads on your website. Every time someone clicks on one
of those ads, Google™ will pay you money. Pretty simple. The amount of
money to be made from this method will be determined by the amount of traffic
you generate and the relevance the ads have to your business.
2. Other Ads (% of clicks or sales)
Create your own advertising stream. There are many companies that are
advertising on the internet. You just need to let them know that you are now
accepting advertising.
You also have to be able to explain the different advertising programs you have
available. Banner ads sizes, cost per size. Is it run of site or specific to a
page on your site. Do you charge per click, per month or per ads displayed?
Pay per click is easy to define. Every time someone clicks on an ad on your
pages, the company that placed the ad pays you. You have to be able to track
each click as it occurs. This means you have to be programming in something
more than HTML. You have to have a database somewhere keeping track of each of
the clicks as they occur.
Charging per month is much easier. The company gives you the ad, gives you the
amount of money you agreed to charge for the service and then you display their
ad on your page for a month. It doesn't matter how many times the ad is
clicked, displayed or viewed. You don't need a database or programming skills
or anything other than letting the customer know when you published the ad to
your site.
Then you can also charge per ad displayed. Every time someone comes to your
page, the ads on that page are displayed. So if your customer agrees to pay you
for 10,000 pages viewed then you are responsible to keep track of the number of
times their ad was shown. This requires some programming knowledge and a solid
database backend.
Another point to mention is if you allow for run of site or charge extra if
your customer wants to only show his ad on a specific page. Do you charge extra
to place the ad at the top of your page compared to the bottom of the page?
Will the ad show up when the page is first displayed or will scrolling have to
occur to see the ad?
These are questions you need to answer before placing the information before
the customer. Because if you are unsure, the customer doesn't want to work with
you.
3. Writing for other publications
Do you have good writing skills? Can you take an idea and turn it into a story
that entertains or informs? If you do then you can make money on the web
writing for electronic newsletters and publishers. The web site Developers Shed
will pay you $50 to $100 for your articles of 2000 or more words.
To make enough money to live on, you will need to be adept at developing ideas
for articles and the ability to stay on a schedule. Publishers don't like to
expect an article for their newsletter they are putting out this week only to
find out you haven't even started writing yet.
There are many publications that want articles from you. Be sure and visit the
web site first and get a feel for what kind of writing they are expecting. Then
contact them with an idea for a story and see where it takes you.
Lesson 7:
Revenue Streams -- Part 2
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