I’d like to start making some money off this blog. I haven’t put up ads because I don’t like them in general. But I’d like to ask you folks how I should make some money off the blog.
What should I do:
- Have ads
- Have a members-only section with more data and additional information
- Offer a weekly subscription-only newsletter with stories from this blog and elsewhere of interest
- Offer additional services to subscribers
What do you think; any other ideas?
___
Thanks to everyone who commented below and offered their suggestions. I’ll be following up on a number of them.
Screenwerk 
December 30, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Two thoughts, Greg. First, I’d love a job board for people involved in Local. It’s a tight enough niche that for companies looking to hire in the space, your site would be a great option for them. I run http://purplepeoplecollective and would be happy to talk to you about how we could help here.
Second, I’m a big fan of sponsorships and have seen it work on lots of blogs with targeted audiences like yours. Rather than going with an ad network, sponsorships would give you more control over who is on your site and would actually add value for your readers.
Best of luck on the monetization.
December 30, 2008 at 6:22 pm
My vote would be for ads, but perhaps not ads of the traditional variety. For instance, you could display feeds from other industry blogs or services (such as Yelp or Mapquest?) where they would pay you to display that info? Not sure if there is any advertiser demand for those kinds of services, though…
December 30, 2008 at 6:23 pm
I think #1 and #2 are both good options. You might want to look into doing a mix of “local” affiliate programs like what UBL offers and/or direct advertising from local search agencies/consultants. 😉
December 30, 2008 at 7:11 pm
I read your blog from an RSS reader so you would need to use AdSense in with Feedburner for me to see them. But I never click on ads.
December 30, 2008 at 7:24 pm
If you get enough traffic network ads would be the easy for you to implement and maintain. I think sponsorship is a good idea if you can make it work.
December 30, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I don’t mind ads but would prefer a job board for local and mobile since this will benefit not only your blog but others looking for employment in this challenging economy. I believe employers would support you in paying for postings as your blogs are well respected.
December 30, 2008 at 7:33 pm
In order of preference:
#2
#3
#4
#1 (boo on ads)
December 30, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Greg,
I, like drumat5280, tend to read you in a feedreader. You might see about a feed sponsor link. I believe Matt McGee does this.
You could figure out a CPM / feed subscribers and parcel it out that way.
Or, self-promotional guest bloggers 🙂
Will
December 30, 2008 at 7:40 pm
I think it depends on how much time/effort you want to put into making money, Greg. Options #1 sounds like the easiest solution, and I’m sure there are plenty of companies who would pay for a 125×125 ad to get their company name in front of your readers. (But you’ll probably need a new blog design. This single-column layout doesn’t lend itself to ads too well.)
#s 2-4 are also cool, but sound like a lot of work for someone who I know is already very busy. 🙂
December 30, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Greg,
Are any of the above options available while you’re still on wordpress.com?
Will
December 30, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Paypal donation, one of those buy me a cup of coffee.
Also consider charging to review the services/products/companies that approach you to write about them. You already do reviews so to write one that is a little more in depth for some cash would not be a grave change in your current style.
December 31, 2008 at 7:44 am
A “Guys of Local Search” calendar could be a promising revenue stream.
Other than that first thing you need to do is get off of the wordpress.com domain and redirect this blog over to your own domain.
My guess is that with sponsorship alone you could do well with the blog.
December 31, 2008 at 12:59 pm
I nominate Andrew for January and Steve Espinosa for February.
Mike
December 31, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I agree that the membership-based ideas seem like too much work. Ads don’t bother me, on the page or in the feed, and a sponsorship would be fine — though, like most people here, I’m highly unlikely to click to an advertiser/sponsor. If it offered you a viable financial model, a specialized jobs board would certainly be a win-win, and would bring you incremental traffic. I don’t mind sponsored blog posts and/or paying guest bloggers, as long as they’re (a) germane, and (b) not too frequent. Finally, my own addition: You should be more aggressive in promoting your consulting/research services here — this blog probably is a good lead-gen tool already, but I’m sure it could be working harder for you.
January 1, 2009 at 6:32 am
A very nice blog im reading this daily.
also visit my website for a nice littlemoneymaking package
http://www.roofcash.com
January 2, 2009 at 5:10 am
I will only do Feb. if David Mihm agrees to be in the shot with me as my valentine.
January 2, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Ads would work as we accept this now as a standard. In the UK we have a good Google alternative in the form of Search 123 (part of Value Click Europe) which offers a richer revenue model. You could have a amazon feed which shows related books? I also think the job listing idea is acceptable as LinkedIn do this very well due to the targeted nature of the results.
Either way, your service is greatly appreciated so make some money out of it !
January 9, 2009 at 8:12 am
[…] Making Money from This Blog « Screenwerk […]
January 13, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Greg:
I think, and I’m sure many in the industry would agree, that your blog is one of the most sophisticated and informative blogs covering local search on the internet. Possibly the most. I’d look at sponsorship, for companies seeking to reach an influential group, rather than network-based ads that are less targetted and work best with large numbers of traffic.
I’d avoid any form of compensation from the companies you review. Once you mix church and state, your credibility is tarnished. But make ’em pay via some form of sponsoring, for at least a month at a time.
October 31, 2009 at 12:57 am
Making money blogging, while not the easiest thing you’ll ever do, it shouldn’t be the hardest either. Just find what works and repeat it over and over. I feel ads are the very easiest way to make money online.