getting beyond google adsense

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Getting Beyond How to make money with your blog.

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A short presentation for WordCamp Dallas 2009 by Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins built around educating bloggers on alternatives to AdSense that can help those looking to make money that's going to buy more than a cup of coffee.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Getting Beyond How to make money with your blog.

Page 2: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Who Am I?

Mark "Rizzn" HopkinsEditor-In-Chief @ SiliconANGLE, a think tank and early stage VC firm.

Page 3: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Who Am I?

Mark "Rizzn" HopkinsEditor-In-Chief @ SiliconANGLE, a think tank and early stage VC firm.

...more importantly:

I'm a professional Internet content producer.

Page 4: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

A Bit of Professional History

Started blogging in the 'frontier days' of the mid to late '90s

Page 5: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

A Bit of Professional History

Started blogging in the 'frontier days' of the mid to late '90s.

In the early part of the next decade, I actually installed a CMS.

Page 6: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Forays into PodcastingIn April 2004, I founded the worlds first free podcast hosting firm, BlipMedia.

At the service's peak, it hosted around two thirds of the world's podcast producers.

Allowed me to explore podcast monetization at the ground floor.

Page 7: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Consulted for Heritage MediaFor the next several years, I consulted for a number of newsprint organizations, trying to bring them into the 21st Century.

FAIL.

Page 8: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Full Time Professional Content ProducerAt that point (circa 2006ish), I decided to get serious about blogging and content production, and tried to make a living out of it.

This was also a big fail.

Surprise! AdSense won't make you rich.

FAIL.

Page 9: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

... and then I had a family.In mid-2006, I met the woman who shortly thereafter would become my wife, the boy who would become my step-son, and shortly thereafter had a son of my own.

WIN!

Page 10: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

... and then I had no money.In mid-2006, I met the woman who shortly thereafter would become my wife, the boy who would become my step-son, and shortly thereafter had a son of my own.

WIN!Needless to say, it became imperative that I start generating real income.

WIFE

FAIL.SAVINGS

Page 11: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

... and then I had no money.In mid-2006, I met the woman who shortly thereafter would become my wife, the boy who would become my step-son, and shortly thereafter had a son of my own.

WIN!Success finally came in mid 2007 for me, as I stumbled upon my editorial voice and a formula of media types that propelled me into a large and at first completely un-monetizable audience.

WIFE

FAIL.SAVINGS

Page 12: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

And along came Cashmore...Later that year, Pete Cashmore found me and brought me on board with Mashable, and quickly promoted me to Associate Editor, co-incidentally as I was just hitting upon some successful formulas for converting audience into as sustainable income.

Page 13: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Video at MashableAt Mashable, I was lucky enough to have the latitude to work with a variety of media types, including extensive work in video. The power for bringing in cash was never demonstrated to be more potent than on some of our video projects.

Page 14: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

John Furrier brought me on board with his new think-tank and VC firm SiliconANGLE to help not just the new company, but the throngs of unemployed, quality bloggers out there who were cut or facing imminent termination just like I did at Mashable.

Page 15: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

I'm a Content Producer...... and you're a content producer.

Using that specific term is important to understanding how to make money from your blog.

Page 16: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

I'm a Content Producer...... and you're a content producer.

Using that specific term is important to understanding how to make money from your blog.

Your blog is simply a vehicle to get you from where you are to where your audience lives. The cargo you put in that vehicle is your content. It won't always be text.

Page 17: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Definition of Terms

What the heck am I talking about?

Page 18: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

CPM

Acronym for "Cost per Mille"

Otherwise known as cost per thousand unique pageviews.

This is the stat most commonly cited in trend reports seen in Quantcast, Compete and others like them.

Related term is eCPM, whi

Page 19: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

CPA

Acronym for "Cost per Acquisition"

This is a term used mostly when dealing with affiliate advertisements.

You'll see this term used with companies like some Google Adwords campaigns, almost all Commission Junction campaigns, and smaller networks like Magpie and Offerforge.

Some unique bloggers have luck with making money with them - I generally regard them as Kryptonite for bloggers.

Page 20: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

CPC

Acronym for "Cost per Click"

If you use AdSense to monetize your blog, you know this acronym.

It refers to the amount of money you get whenever someone clicks on an ad on your page.

Page 21: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Sponsorship

This is a broad term that in your mind as a content producer, you can equate to the Renaissance concept of patronage.

It's generally a flat fee assigned per month, per quarter or per year, and it's generally going to come from someone from inside your network of contacts who believes in what you're doing.

Page 22: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Donations

This generally works if you are PBS or Leo Laporte.

Asking for donations, as a content producer, is actually less effective than panhandling as a source of income.  

If you have an extremely loyal audience, or you have the ability to annoy and nag your audience into donating, it will work.  In most cases, though, most readers would rather click to content producer's page than click on your donate button.

Page 23: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Engagement Factor

This is a nebulous term that's applied to a number of different ill-defined metrics and methods.

It generally refers to how much your audience interacts with your blog in measurable ways.

This can mean guest contributions, sharing via social networks, or numbers of comments on the site.*

* See Liz Strauss.

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Regardless of what you may have heard...

... size does matter.

Page 25: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Small Audiences

Websites and blogs with fewer than 50,000 monthly pageviews fall into the category of site, usually, that should focus on growing their audience rather than direct monetization.

< 50,000 pageviews a month.

Page 26: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Small Audiences

Websites and blogs with fewer than 50,000 monthly pageviews fall into the category of site, usually, that should focus on growing their audience rather than direct monetization.

< 50,000 pageviews a month.

Stuff that Won't Work• AdSense: Will net you pennies to

dollars a month.• CPM Networks: You will

probably, at best, make upwards of $100-$500 a month, but most CPM networks won't take you (too small).

• CPA/Affiliate Deals: You don't have the momentum to make more than $5 or $10 a month.

Page 27: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Small Audiences

Websites and blogs with fewer than 50,000 monthly pageviews fall into the category of site, usually, that should focus on growing their audience rather than direct monetization.

< 50,000 pageviews a month.

Stuff that Will Work• CPM Networks: You will

probably, at best, make upwards of $100-$500 a month, but most CPM networks won't take you (too small).

• Sponsorship: If you cover an event, an ongoing news thread, or a specific niche (with a well defined audience), sponsorship is within reach.

• Engagement: As much as $750 monthly.

Page 28: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Mid-Sized Audiences

This is the nebulous area for most bloggers where AdSense feels like a rip-off, but it's still a struggle to find alternative income.

> 50,000 pageviews a month.< 500,000 pageviews a month.

Stuff that Won't Work• AdSense/CPC: At best (on the

high end), you're only looking at about $250 monthly.

• Affiliate/CPA: Depending on your niche, mostly, but engagement on affiliate links can still perform quite low compared to other solutions.

• Engagement: Diminishing returns, but still quite effective.

Page 29: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Mid-Sized Audiences

This is the nebulous area for most bloggers where AdSense feels like a rip-off, but it's still a struggle to find alternative income.

> 50,000 pageviews a month.< 500,000 pageviews a month.

Stuff that Will Work• Sponsorship: You'll start to see

diminishing returns, but still effective.

• CPM: Still your best bet, but now they'll talk to you!

• Videos and Podcasts: Sell like sponsors or at upper end, talk to boutique ad firms like Federated Media.

Page 30: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Large Audiences

You've made it. You're probably making more money than I am.  Why are you listening to me at this point?

> 500,000 pageviews a month.

Stuff that Will Work:• Pretty much anything.

Page 31: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Large Audiences

You've made it. You're probably making more money than I am.  Why are you listening to me at this point?

> 500,000 pageviews a month.

Stuff that Will Work:If you're still staffed small, pretty much any tactic will give you enough money to work full time on your blog at this traffic level.

Page 32: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Large Audiences

You've made it. You're probably making more money than I am.  Why are you listening to me at this point?

> 500,000 pageviews a month.

To Maximize Your Income:• Use AdSense, engagement

ads, and occasionally CPA ads as remnant (or filler) ads.

• Concentrate on CPM and Sponsorship.

• Video ads, in all their forms, can really increase your bang for the buck ($40 CPM vs. $2 CPM).

• Boutique ad firms or In-House sales are viable options. Beware the commissions.

Page 33: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

Monetizable Content You Can Create.Text - Monetize with Ads.Your text-based blog posts.

Text - Monetize by Selling.Whitepapers, eBooks, transcripts. Good incremental income as a small blogger, possible profit center as a big blogger.

Text - Monetize w/Freelancing.Doing an investigative piece? Focusing in on a series? Shop it around to blogs and news sites up your food chain.

Video - Monetize with Ads.Keep in mind, unless you have direct sales or sponsors, you'll need a large subscriber base (>500k).

Video - Partner w/MarketersBoutique marketers frequently tap video producers to use their content in online video ads (see Boing Boing and iJustine).

Audio - Good Luck!

Page 34: Getting Beyond Google Adsense

List of Ad Networks(Fuller list with descriptions to be available at SiliconANGLE and rizzn.com).

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Questions and Answers...

Have any questions for me?

<[email protected]>