Two good posts leapt from my RSS feed at me this morning that I think complement one another quite well.
Wendy writes – How I Grew My Blogging Profits While My Traffic Numbers Went Down and identifies 6 key lessons:
- I have truly learned the value of a targeted visitor.
- I have never been more grateful for the power of networking.
- There’s nothing more discouraging than your first year of trying to make money online.
- The Long Tail is your secret to success.
- It takes a hell of a lot of people skills to make money on the internet from home.
- There is no one-size-fits-all formula for internet marketing success.
Maki writes – How to Make More Money with Your Websites (without Getting More Traffic) and suggests five main ways:
- Make an Effort to Use Affiliate Links Regularly
- Develop and Display a List of Recommended Websites/Products
- Focus on Conversion: Optimize your Existing Ad Placement
- Diversify Your Income: Try New Monetization Tactics
- Leverage Your Blog to Promote Your Services or Business
I think that between them Maki and Wendy have put together some very worthwhile principles. Neither of them are saying that less traffic is necessarily a good thing – but it need not mean less money. In fact I’ve experienced the same thing of late on one of my blogs which has had a seasonal slump in traffic. The decreased traffic did mean a slow down in income but inspired me to do some tweaking of the advertising on it’s main pages – the result is higher conversion of the ads (stay tuned for more on ad optimization in tomorrow’s task for the 31 Day Challenge).
Great points from both Wendy and Maki. It’s interesting to note how in both cases the traffic slump has resulted in a better blog. I’d say this type of determination is part what makes a successful blogger, a lesser blogger might have given up.
It’s a good lesson to learn. When things are going poorly, have at it even harder and you’ll bring in rewards over the long run.
Thanks for the post and summaries,
– Mason
agree with long tail kw, works just fine, and I would add free polls
I agree 100%. Since I currently don’t get much traffic to begin with I have learned how to make the most with what I have. Hopefully I will remember this when I get higher traffic numbers.
Talk about long tail. One of my blogs was mentioned on a CNN blog about a month ago on a very long tail term and I am still getting some traffic from it (20 +/- per day)
BeachBum
Thanks Darren,
Taking the time to optimize the blog and the ad placement is easy to overlook when you’re focused on trying to fix the problem of getting less traffic. It’s good to know that you were able to offset that with better conversion.
Thanks for posting, I just switched over to WordPress and am trying to pick up on how to make a little extra money online. I am currently blogging about life, money and the building of my own home and how to do it yourself. The building home part ties into the money portion. The blog started as a way to show friends and family how far along we are in construction but I need to find a way to attact a larger readership.
Again, thanks for sharing, I appreciate the help
I think I like the tip “one size doesn’t fit all” the best. Even though there are good general rules, tips and advice that one can follow, I believe that each individual blog or website has its only little specifc niches that can be worked with.
I also have to add as a specific related thing that having adsense and getting that first payment really creates a thirst/hunger for more! Today I checked my blog and was in a panic to see that there were no adsense ads on it! I have emailed adsense and have to wait 24 – 48 hours before they reply.
So in terms of having adsense you have to be careful to check EVERYTHING!
Wendy’s list is one of most accurate, realistic, and down-to-earth things about the subject I’ve ever read. She is dead right on every point.
Great advice, I like her writing style. Very “to the point!”
Another great post! Thanks Darren!
Since I’m still a newbie – in the business less than a year – I don’t get much traffic yet. So I’m trying to figure out ways to optimize all the traffic I do get. I might just start fiddling around with ad placement on both my blogs and see if I get better conversion rates.
Thanks again!
I read both post earlier and couldn’t agree with them more. A blogger should be able to take points from both post and create a money generating system when their blog traffic slows down.
Don
I’ve written something similar, but it has more to do with AdSense
http://www.sabahan.com/2007/07/27/the-single-most-important-number-that-could-make-or-break-your-business/
I’m firmly becoming a regular of this site… Great post and some great ideas…
I have to say i disagree that you have to have a ton of people skills to make money online. It is simple nowadays to put up a website selling a few products online and outsourcing the ‘people communication’ aspect of the site.
However, all are great ideas to even try while your traffic is high… what
I just cruised over here from Maki’s site, and I was delighted to find Wendy’s article as well. They are both excellent. I can’t wait to take Wendy’s networking advice. :-) Fun!
My traffic was down a little bit last month but I think my ‘targeted’ readership was up – more subscribers, similar conversion rates and more of a community feeling. I love checking my traffic levels, but at the end of the day returning visitors are what’s important to me.
Thanks everyone – Darren especially, I am always grateful for your generosity! :)
The comments about the power of networking and the importance of the long tail are very true! Thank you for sharing!
Drop on by sometime!
http://streetjesus.blogspot.com
Very informative as i’m trying to monetize my blog to make a little bit of money.
Admin,
http://avilesnews.blogspot.com