Welcome, Chitika!

Yesterday I temporarily locked viewers out of this site so that I could experiment with advertising. There was no way I would allow a repeat of my first monetization attempt, but even without Amazon Associates and Google Adsense, surely I could find something that worked!

Yesterday I tried Bidvertiser first. It says it does targeted advertising, and even though it was a disaster last time there must be a way to adjust the settings and limit the kind of ads shown! I searched through the site and double-checked all of the ad options to make sure that everything was just right, and then I applied it. It didn't last long! As soon as the first pornographic ad popped up on the side, I realized my mistake and was relieved that I had locked the site from views for that experiment. Nope, Bidvertiser won't do the job for me.

After that I started scanning the web for Adsense alternatives. Even though Bidvertiser seems to be the next biggest, there had to be something less dangerous. And I think I might have found something. I say think because I've only had it for a day and can't speak for its success. Chitika is considered one of the closest things to Adsense there is. I was incredibly relieved when I not only had to specify the nature of my site for ad sifting (which Bidvertiser already did) but also had the option to select what kinds of ads I wanted and what kind I didn't want. Text, image, or both? How flashy was I ok with? And, most importantly, what keywords did I not want in certain ads?

The results are dry. The ads don't perfectly match up to the site, though every now and then something interesting pops up. But so far, Chitika has proven itself to be reliable and honest, and I hope it will continue to be so in the future. I also hope I get more specialized ads than a list of related keywords. But hey, it's a start. Now I just need to wait and see the long-term results and effects. Hopefully they'll be positive!

Eww... It's An Ad!

I tried to reactivate my Google Adsense Account and had mixed success. Yes, they will let me set up a new account so I can use it, but no I can't use it here because I have links to PTC's. I also can't use it on my Wealthy Affiliate site because it's on a sub-domain. Ugh. Fortunately, I might use it for another blog in the future. I've also applied for a Yahoo Adsense-like thing, but it will be a couple weeks before they get back to me.

On top of that, my Amazon Affiliate account has been locked because apparently the State of Maine (where I recently moved to) doesn't like it and won't allow it. Yeah....

In the mean time, I hesitantly decided to see if I could maybe to Bidvertiser again. Mind, I still stand by what I said earlier about only advertising things that I approve of and respect--and Bidvertiser is very questionable. So I'm sticking with a little column by the side that so far hasn't advertised anything too suspicious, and I sent in a request to use only text ads instead of graphics, since in my experience text ads are both more pleasant to look at and have better things to advertise.

I do care about this site and want it to succeed, and fortunately I have been getting traffic that I could only have dreamed about a year ago. Hopefully these little adventures and mishaps of mine are amusing, if not educational, to everyone reading this! And I will be keeping an eye on that ad to make sure it doesn't get too out of line. The memories from my previous attempt still hurt my mind when I think about them!

Wealthy Affiliate: The Good, The Bad, and The Unfair

First, an update: looks like blogging take #3 isn't going to happen. Ugh. Maybe I should try PPC ads again?

I was messing around the other day and came across a program called "Wealthy Affiliate." It wasn't like other affiliate programs--instead of just trying to sell the same site you just joined, WA equips people to start their own home business based on anything they like. And a starter account is free.

How could I resist? I looked around the site and joined up, and in the next couple days had watched all ten of the starter videos. They were very well done. WA is built around a strong community atmosphere, and you can work alongside other people in your same position as you get step-by-step help setting up your own Wordpress website. I was loving it... and then the free lessons ended. They had covered basic setup of the website and everything was all set to happen, but then what? There were no instructions on where to go from there, other than to sign up for a premium account to learn just how to publicize your site and how to profit from it. Basically, you're just left with an empty shell of a website with an "about me" and a "privacy policy" page, with no traffic, no domain, and no profits. Ugh... foiled again.

I'm trying to patch it up and get it set up to actually make a profit, but it's hard without everything they had implied they would provide as needed. I can scope out the WA site to find conversations, but I can't ask questions without a premium account and I can't access any new "classrooms" to learn about a topic.

Yep, I feel pretty cheated. Google Adwords won't even accept the new site because it's using a subdomain, and I'm really reluctant to go back to Bidvertiser after what happened last time.

So for now I'm going to skulk back to paid surveys and article writing and keep my eyes peeled for something that could actually help. I'll keep you posted as to my results!

Day 7.1: An Entrepreneur's Work Is Never Done

Hello, and welcome to day seven of my 30-day project: making money online. Today I'm going to reflect on some of the bigger lessons I've learned this past week, staring with this: an entrepreneur's work is never done. A week ago, I thought I'd write this blog, submit it to so many sites, and then leave it at that. Wash, rinse, repeat. But there's a ton more work to it than that. What is that? Well...

1. Ads/monetization. I intended to monetize this site from the start. When Google Adsense wasn't working out, I looked for alternatives. I found one that looked good, but then to my dismay I was bombarded by the worst scam sites and popups out there clamoring for space on my blog. I shut that program down, and since then have only carried ads for sites that I know and trust. However, I'm not entirely content with what I have, and I find myself continually looking for better ways to monetize my blog.
2. Optimization. If I make any money from this site, it's going to take a while. In the meantime I have to find out if there's anything I can do to optimize business. Are there any more/better sites or networks that I can submit to? Are there any keywords I've been missing? What are my most popular posts, and why are they so popular? Where is most of my traffic coming from? These are  things that I have to review every day, often several times a day. Every post I write shifts the emphasis of the site a little and also the stats.
3. Alternatives? I also have to take into account the dread possibility that this site won't work. I don't want to be spending a month of effort for nothing, and so I'm constantly looking for other ways to earn money online. This means tracing scams and earning pennies. It means running google search after google search for something that might work. It means a mass of disappointment with only an occasional perk.

I haven't had more than a few hours' stretch where I felt like I could take a good break from this project,  which can be especially stressful as I also have wedding plans going on and a life of my own to return to. Making money online's easy, if you have patience and determination. Making a living online? It's not going to happen unless you're ready to put in long hours and hard work. I'm still up for it. But then, I'm a pretty big optimist and opportunist. I definitely encourage pursuit of this line of work, if you think you can keep up with it. Just know it won't be easy.

Keep up with your research, because the Internet's constantly changing! In the meantime, if you'd like to get started slowly with just a few pennies at a time (which adds up, trust me!), why don't you join me on Clixsense, Swagbucks, or Protypers.com (code 611m)? You can also follow me on Twitter for quick tips and updates on the blog itself!