Lessons You can Learn from the Professionals

Photo by JdeePanIII

In the previous article on Adsense, we discussed the pros and cons of using this to monetise your website/blogging efforts, especially with regard to the issue of when it should be introduced.  We still need to cover the technicalities of setting up Adsense, but before we do that, let’s look at what works and what does n’t from my own personal experience to date, and also, see if we can learn something from the professionals.

Using Adsense on Technical Articles Website

If you ever ventured in the direction of the About page on this site, you would have discovered that one of the Raison d’Etre of this website, the “why” I started to put this thing together, was to look at how to make money from the internet.  I’ve come a long way in the last few months, learnt a lot from my mistakes, and what you see in front of you is the evolution over that time of the website.

In the picture above, you can see how the site looked previously, before I remodeled it to focus on the content.  This picture I have of the site was after I had removed the Google banner ad from the header, after some useful comments from my readers.  Originally, I had gone to town a little bit, with the banner, affiliate advert boxes, several Google Adsense in the side bar and again at the bottom of each post.  Some of this formulae I have kept, and others I have removed.  Remember, the aim is to earn money, not just blog for the fun of it!!!

An Update on Adsense Earnings

My Google Adsense earnings to date as at close of play 8th December 2008, amount to a grand total of $45.96 not exactly earth shattering amounts, but hey it’s still going up is n’t it!!!

In my previous earnings update on 21st October 2008, the site was reporting $26.54, so after a good start in the first month of the site, the last month and half has n’t been too successful to say the least, but $20 is $20, and we will have to wait some time before it reaches the magic number of $100 before Google dishes out anything.  It was these thoughts, that led me originally to think about all the hype around making money online, and it spawned a whole series of articles on the subject (I’m still writing about it!!!).  A site, like this which is visited by people looking for information on how to improve their own efforts or learn how to do things they are curious about or struggling with, sites like these don’t necessarily attract people who are Google Adsense click-happy.  No!  This sort of site is for the tech-savvy, people in the know, they are more after the content you are providing.  It’s a different market.  And, that is the secret:

Learn to recognise the market you are in, capitalise on your visitors intentions, and use this knowledge to direct your monetising campaign.

It’s not an easy point to grasp this, and if you look at a lot of blog/websites, some people never grasp it.  Your earnings from a site like this are limited, the sooner you recognise this, the easier your journey will become.  You will not get disgruntled, or phased by it.  Accept it for what it is!

The opening photograph is of a path that leads to a Tower that looks like a lighthouse, by JdeePanIII and sometimes, we all need to stop, and take a look at our own work from a different vantage point.  Look beyond our own immediate activity, and see what we can learn from others.

Lessons we can learn from the Professionals

My blogging journey started with Darren Rowse and Chris Garret’s book ‘Problogger-secrets for blogging your way to a six-figure income’, and like it or not you have to admire the guys who can make it work.  You can read more about this here.

If you read some of things Darren Rowse writes about on his Problogger site and in the book, you will come to learn that he realised the same point I’m making above.  Tech savvy people, don’t come to your site to click on Google Adsense, by that I mean if your site is focussed on technical material.  David Rowse has removed Google Adsense completely from his Problogger site and replaced it with paid advertising slots.  The same is true for Maki’s site Doshdosh.  They both state the same reasons for doing this.  Now both these guys have sites which get huge amounts of traffic, and Google Adsense does not work for them!!!

David Rowse admits that most of his revenue from advertising comes from his other site, the photography school site.  A niche market.  Which can be easily targetted with adverts which this completely different set of people are quite happy to click on, because the adverts could be selling things they would be interested in.  Yes, if there is a lesson here, this is it.  Understand the market you’re in, is it one which will earn you sufficient Google Adsense revenue to make your efforts worthwhile.

Think hard about it, analyse your own efforts and then…

Entering a new Niche Market - Videodippers

About a week or so ago, I launched my new website/blog called Videodippers, which is designed to capture and attract a different audience altogether.  You can see a screenshot of it in the far right hand sidebar.  This is aimed at a more wider market, people who are looking and searching for videos on different subjects, the core will be focussed on music and movies, but it will cover a broad range of topics.

Go and take a look, I’d like to have your comments on it here.  What do you think?  Will it work?  Let me know your thoughts.

Conclusions

If you read my article on Problogger, Making Money Online & The Hunger to Succeed you will have read the famous quote from Thomas Edison in his efforts to light our world with his electric bulb:

I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work, which makes me that much closer to discovering the way it will work..

I guess in some small way, that’s what I have learnt from this exercise so far.  I have found one of the ways it won’t work, so I guess I’m a little closer to finding the way it will.  I hope this has given you some food for thought, some insights into this area which is hidden in secrecy.  I’d be interested in hearing from you on your own experiences with the success or failures of your Adsense efforts, because sharing this information will help others avoid our mistakes.  Good Luck!!

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