Many have attempted to sell online in the past. Many others have developed web sites in hopes of attracting throngs of visitors. There have been success stories and there have been not-so-successful stories. If you are the latter group, take heart! There is more than one way to skin a cat. And if you have already found ways to make money online, I hope this brief report will open your eyes to opportunities that you may not be aware of. Why not pick all the fruit you can?
Opportunity 1 - "Links for Sale"
If you own a web site with a Google page rank of 6 or higher, there are plenty of people who are willing to spend money to have a link on your web site. The links frequently can be placed towards the bottom of your page and don't take up any significant real estate.
If your page rank is less than 6, there is still hope for you!
Opportunity 2 - Not Just Google!
While Google currently dominates the market for pay-per-click ads on publisher sites, there are shrewd up-and-comers that are finding ways to help publishers monetize their content by analyzing keywords on a page. One such company is Kontera. These folks have partnered with Yahoo/Overture to deliver contextual ads to your web pages without violating Google's terms of service. Simply put a small snippet of HTML code on your site and certain keywords on your page will be automatically highlighted with a blue link. When you roll your mouse over the link, a text-based advertisement appears. And guess what happens if a visitor clicks that link…that's right! Money in your pocket.
Opportunity 3 - "Affiliate This"
Much noise has been made over the now-famous Amazon.com associate program, where web sites can earn commissions off sales sent to Amazon from their site. Some people are earning big bucks for sending thousands of dollars worth of sales through their Amazon links. But what about the rest of us? There is good news! There are literally THOUSANDS of companies offering affiliate programs on the web today. Whatever the niche of your site, there are products and/or services offered by an online merchant with an affiliate program. Is your site about fishing? Affiliate with sporting goods and outdoors merchants. Is your site about legal issues? Find merchants who will pay you to refer people who need a lawyer. Do you write about Internet marketing? There are hundreds of ebooks covering just about every area of this specialty! Find affiliate programs that fit with what you are trying to accomplish.
Since YOU are the expert at your site, your advice to your visitors will be much appreciated. Try Linkshare.com or CJ.com as starting points to find merchants to affiliate with.
Apart from the large merchants (Target.com, OldNavy.com, etc.) there are other networks that present a variety of CPC (cost-per-click) and CPA (cost-per- acquisition) offers which can often be quite lucrative. It is free to sign up with these services and there are offers for just about every niche.
Opportunity 4 - "The Writer Within"
What is the focus of your site? Is it golf? If so, you probably know a little bit about selecting the proper club. Is it dogs? If so, you could probably tell others a thing or two about training a puppy. Is it health? If that's the case, you might know something about the benefits of multivitamins. So what's the point? Well, it has been said that there is at least ONE book in every person (including people who can't write a lick!). I'm not suggesting that you compile a manuscript and hustle the streets looking for a publisher to put your book in every Barnes and Noble in the world. This is the Internet age and ANYONE can become a digital book publisher overnight. You've probably read an ebook before, but have you ever given thought to writing an ebook of your own?. Whether your ebook is a short 10-page report or a 150-page authoritative guide, put your expertise into action and share it in the form of an instantly downloadable PDF document. People online are willing to pay more for the instant gratification of purchasing a product and having it in their possession a few moments later.
Opportunity 5 - "Sign 'Em Up"
So your web site gets 10 visits/day? Maybe you receive 100 visits/day? Do you receive 1000 visits/day? How about more? Whatever your visitor count is, what happens to a visitor when they surf your site? Do you know who they are? Do you do anything to make sure they come back? If you aren't collecting email addresses on your site, you are missing out on an incredible opportunity to grow a mailing list that can pay back fantastic dividends! Find any reason you can to get people on your mailing list. Offer weekly tips in your area of expertise. Tell them how to make money online. Show them a way to build a better mousetrap. Help people find a solution to their problem and they will want to listen to whatever you have to say! And once you've got them signed up on your list, follow up with them by sending newsletters on a regular basis. Be conversational, sharing a piece of yourself with your audience. Build a rapport with them and they will follow you anywhere. A newsletter allows you to invite people back to your site to read your latest article. It provides an opportunity to tell people about a new product that you are offering. And if you are truly providing a valuable service, it builds good will towards you and your web site. You can get started with your own newsletter with Aweber.com. For a small monthly fee, you can set up as many mailing lists as you want with unlimited auto responders. Not only can you broadcast emails to your entire list as often as you want, but you can set your list up to automatically send certain messages on a predefined schedule. Few fruit is riper on the Internet Money Tree than the customer that is already at your site. Don’t let them go without providing an opportunity to nurture your relationship with them!
Opportunity #6 - "Get Paid to Surf"
If you have been online since 2000, you might remember a company called AllAdvantage.com. The company created a custom application that installed a special tool within your web browser, allowing them to display advertisements within the browser as you surfed the web. The key to the concept was that users would get paid for the advertisements that appeared in their browser window. Essentially, AllAdvantage was the first company to launch a “get paid to surf the web” program. Combining it with a referral program whereby webmasters could earn commissions by enticing other site owners to sign up through their affiliate link, AllAdvantage grew at a record pace. But an influx of “cheaters” who found ways to bilk the system, combined with ever-decreasing banner clickthrough rates, was the death of AllAdvantage. The company went downhill as quickly as their meteoric rise. The “Get paid to surf” concept has been fine tuned greatly since that time. I have explored several companies that are currently offering this type of program. I have found StudioTraffic.com to be the one that just might make this concept work in the long term. They have been in business long enough to develop a very strong following. You don’t have to pay a dime to sign up with the site and you do indeed get paid a token amount for each day that you surf the web and view a certain number of sites.
Opportunity 7 - "Zap It"
I like to keep my eyes peeled for new ways to leverage my site traffic and email lists, hoping to provide services of value and generate additional revenue. As of this writing, I have been exploring GreenZap.com as a potentially lucrative opportunity. GreenZap is an online payment portal that is attempting to generate a customer base by providing a paypal-like service. The basic idea is that use of your account generates “webcash” which you can then use to buy goods and services online. $25 in webcash is placed in your account when you sign up for free. After that, you earn webcash for referring new GreenZap users to the site with an affiliate link.
So what’s the gimmick? When you sign up, you are referred to as a “Green” member. However, if you upgrade your account to “Gold” for $100, you now earn webcash AND real cash for each person that signs up for the GreenZap service.
Opportunity 8 - "Got Zip?"
Just like it is impossible to find this kind of land deal in the present age, some say that the Internet land run is over as well. But innovative thinking can create new opportunities that did not exist previously. One such opportunity is offered by a company called Got-Zip.com.
GotZip is an unusual web portal featuring online shopping and regional news. Its name is derived from a combination of Internet double-entendre and ingenious marketing.
The first asks the question, “How many times have you signed up for an affiliate program with great promise and got zip?” But the key to the GotZip program is the actual use of a zip code in determining how a member will receive a portion of affiliate revenue based on geographical location. Here’s how it works. Subscribers sponsor a territory, such as a zip code, a county or a state, and they receive a percentage of every trackable site network transaction made from within their territory.
Sponsors can also earn a revenue share of ALL non-trackable site network revenue including advertising. It is a fascinating concept with great potential. For example, let’s say you claim the rights to zip code 12065 (Clifton Park, NY). When a visitor from this region comes to the site, they must first enter their zip code in order to proceed. If this visitor views advertisements or purchases goods or services while at the site, you would earn a percentage of the affiliate revenue generated by those purchases. After all, it is your territory! If nothing else, I find this approach creative and I have staked a claim of my own. As of this writing, there are still plenty of excellent territories available. This is just another potential avenue for you to earn money with your Internet business. Boost your PC’s performance. Now 25% OFF on TechGenie
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