Now that June has come to a close it’s time for another income report. You can click the “Continue reading…” link here or below to skip right to the goods, but for those that are new to my blog I like to include this disclaimer: These income reports aren’t meant to brag at all as many people make considerably more money than me, instead I’m trying to use this as a means to help motivate myself to reach my goal of $150k in 2010 while at the same time keeping me publicly accountable. With that said, let’s get onto the earnings:
Income Graph:
Income Analysis:
I decided to include every source of income from my online business like I did last month so that you can see even more detail. This takes a lot more time and was more of a pain on my end so I may not do it in the future and instead just stick to income earners over $100 in future income reports.
My biggest earner of the month was again the Amazon Associates program with $4,734.50 which took up 79% of my total income. I’m down about $300 from last month’s Amazon earnings; however, I believe this is primarily due to the slow down in overall traffic caused by Summer. Numerous people email me every day asking for more details on how I earn money with Amazon’s Associates program and because of the requests I am releasing a free eBook that outlines a lot of the information you can use to make money with Amazon (subscribe to my blog so that you don’t miss out).For those of you looking for info you can use right now please check out my article on the Top 7 tips I used to make $41,438.42 in 2009 with Amazon Associates. I also suggest that if you’re struggling to earn money with Amazon Associates be sure to avoid these common pitfalls.
Google Adsense is about double where it was in the beginning of the year; however, it is still over $500 away from where I’d like it to be ($1,000+). I haven’t stopped doing any optimization of the ads, but the gains from my optimization are starting to level out so it’s more about gaining traffic now. If you’re struggling to make much from Adsense remember that first you need to have traffic and second that you need to optimize the ad units to find the best performance. Testing is very important and I do it easily by cycling my ad units via the OIOpublisher plugin.
Private Advertisers:
I haven’t had much luck with private advertising but I’m going to contact some companies directly and put my sales skills to the test. I haven’t tried to actively pitch any of my websites to companies yet and instead have relied on third party ad networks to sell ad space which hasn’t worked well at all. As I’ve said before, I believe my best chance at succeeding in my goal of earning over $150,000 in 2010 will require me to start making at least four figures a month from private advertisers. I’m sure I could open up ad space on this blog here and make some additional money, but I still like a clean look devoid of advertising. I would only want advertisers whose products and services I believe in which adds a lot of work for me if I have to screen each advertiser. I believe it’s not worth selling advertising until I could earn over $1,000 a month from this blog (10,000 subscribers would probably be enough to do that). What do you think though? Do you care if I sell advertising on this blog or not?
Vibrant Media, Click Bank, eBay Partner Network and other Misc Earnings
I earned $187.15 from Vibrant Media and really should expand it across my other niche websites. So far I’ve pretty much determined that the in text advertising hasn’t cannibalized my other income sources but I may try and do some more testing that runs every other day with the ad code to see if clicks are higher to my other networks than without. ClickBank is another source I’m looking to try out more in the future as I’ve slowly started to make decent money with them. eBay Partner Network only gave $73.77, but I only use them on a couple websites in a single skyscraper ad slot (sort of like an Adsense alternative). PriceGrabber hasn’t been doing very well for me, but I don’t provide them much visibility so if I did push them more I could probably make much more with them each month. I got several referrals for PHPzon and one for OIO Publisher which probably came from my trusted resources page. Lastly, I decided to try out a sponsored blog post here in June. I was paid $150 to write a short summary about a service I was already interested in checking out so it was a win win. That was done via Social Spark.
Plans for Next Month:
I’m going to contact some companies directly that I know might be interested in advertising on my various websites because the third party networks haven’t worked well (BuySellAds, Technorati etc). I’m getting more requests from companies to advertise on my blog here, so I may be taking some of these on as well but only if it’s enough money to move the needle otherwise it’s not worth it to me. I’ve never understood why people even bother to sell ad space if it’s only like $10 for the spot.
Diversification Strategies:
I’m having my very first iPhone application developed by a company I found through Odesk this month (I get the final estimate tomorrow) and I’m hoping to have that completed for under $1,000 but we will see how it goes. I’m also starting a new case study that will be run on this blog about affiliate marketing and I’ll be working with ClickBooth to do it. I met some of the guys there back at Elite Retreat and I’ve talked with Eric Schechter from ClickBooth for a while now and they seem like a good company to work with. So starting this month I’ll be trying my hand at more traditional style paid affiliate marketing as opposed to focusing on just Amazon like I have been doing. Lastly, as I said in May I have a few major website ideas that I’m going to pursue that if done correctly could be seven or eight figure sales a few years from now. So for those ideas I’m still in the process of finding programmers in Seattle that want to partner up (if you are one please contact me). As these are developed I’ll cover them on this blog in more detail of course.
Stick Around:
In addition to the affiliate marketing case study I’ll be running in July I also have a free eBook on making money with Amazon.com that you can only get by subscribing to my newsletter. The eBook is based on feedback I received in this article, so if you have any questions that haven’t been asked please don’t hesitate to share in that blog post. You can conveniently sign up for my newsletter below and in doing so you’ll receive a free eBook on my top ways to make money online along with 3 free WordPress themes just for joining:
Cool stuff, Chris. These posts are always fun to read. I was pretty curious about how much you got paid to write about the Internet Time Machine because I noticed John Chow had taken the same opportunity from Social Spark. Now I know!
Keep up the good work.
– Eric
.-= Eric | My 4-Hour Workweek´s last blog ..How to Make 2-000 Per Month Writing for InfoBarrel οΏ½ InfoBarrel Earnings Challenge- Part 1 =-.
Hey Eric, yah the Izea people reached out to me to try it out and at $150 I figured why not. The only reason why I wrote the post though was because of the fact that the guy that created the product has had a successful exit in the past (you should read his mixergy interview it’s very cool).
Chris,
Excellent work. I’m looking forward to you reaching your $150k by end of 2010. Oh, and the idea of the free Amazon ebook sounds like a great read.
.-= Moon Hussain´s last blog ..Importance of Following Through With Your Goals =-.
Indeed, I’ll probably do a paid course sometime as well that goes into even more detail but we’ll see. I’ll only do it if I get a positive response from the eBook and people desire even more in depth “hold your hand” style instructions.
I agree with you. It seems a good idea and a great read. Wishing you well to your goal Chris! π
Gary
Congrats on another successful month!
Chris, good to see you’re still doing well and pulling in a consistent income. I’ll admit I’m pretty jealous. I’m only $4,500 behind you, but at least I can claim I made more from Clickbank than you LOL. Keep up the good work, man!
.-= Clayton´s last blog ..Website Building Update -8211 Week 43 =-.
Hey you live in Seattle too. We should hang out sometime (just saw on your blog you mentioned you live there). We are going to do another meet up in late July I believe.
I’ve never really gotten much into Clickbank because I’ve found it difficult to sell non physical goods. That’s why I went with Amazon.
Hey man, that would be cool. Where/when is this meet up?
.-= Clayton´s last blog ..Website Building Update -8211 Week 43 =-.
Unsure right now but I’ll update on Twitter for sure.
I felt the same way about nonphysical goods until I learned that the big secret to it is in marketing those types of goods to your email list or through co registration services..
..but hey you are making a killing on Amazon so if it ain’t broke do not try to fix it!
Chris, nice to see the returns on your efforts and looking forward to the Amazon report.
If possible can you tell us how many hours do you put into your sites to make this kind of money?
Thanks,
TRENDS
.-= TRENDS´s last blog ..Challenge TimeοΏ½ =-.
I work full time on my business as a whole but probably only 25 hours a week on Amazon sites. I also just hired someone full time to work for me, but the websites she is working on are all still new and not earning.
Congrats on your results Chris! This is excellent motivation for me to continue working at developing WP affiliate blogs and tweaking them until I get the results I’m after. Keep up the good work.
.-= Ray Harris´s last blog ..Star Wars- The Force Unleashed =-.
Thanks Ray. Yah most of the sites I do are WordPress but some of the ones I set up are done to look like static sites (i.e. remove comments, date information etc.)
I am looking forward to your Amazon eBook! After reading your articles, on my other blog I put Amazon links on some of my images, made all of my external links open in a new window, and I was able to double my Amazon income this month and reach the 7% tier, all without compromising my Adsense income, so I’m happy about that. I also was using Linkshare for some of my product links (drugstore.com, beauty.com) and I switched those out for the same product on Amazon instead. It’s amazing how Amazon converts 10 times better than any other site for the exact same item.
.-= Jen´s last blog ..KISS Guitar Picks =-.
This is really great,
You are really making a lot from amazon affiliates, I will be very happy if you can release and ebook on that.
Thanks a lot,
-Onibalusi
.-= Onibalsi Bamidele´s last blog ..I Know what I am Doing- Do You =-.
Yep, I’m working on writing more of it today π
Hey Chirs,
Awesome work man. You’re really doing great Job.
Looking forward to reading your Amazon ebook.
Thanks for sharing this great report.
~Dev
.-= Dev | Technshare´s last blog ..3 Solid Reasons Your Blog Is The Perfect Launch Pad For Your Business =-.
Hey Chris, just found your blog! That’s a lot of money you are earning. Hope you reach your $150k goal. BTW why not try this new ad startup from ex-google engineers? http://mylikes.com/signup?token=romeowildfire
I’ll be happy if you use my referral link π
Normally I’d delete comments like these, but I think you’re going about making money the wrong way Romeo… If you’re going to try and sign up people like that you should go after people that have a ton of followers. Besides, I already have an account that way.
Oh, sorry. I thought you would be interested as it is a ad startup for publishers.
No, I’m just saying going around and commenting on blogs with an affiliate link is not going to make you money.
Hello Chris,
at the moment im reading and understanding your ebook ( recommend it to all, its free also )to start implementing on my portuguese blog, some ideas .
Best regards
.-= Soares´s last blog ..Os melhores sites onde encontrar jogos gratuitos =-.
people sell ads for $10 because money is money and they’re probably not making as much as they claim they are so they’ll take what they can get. and it looks better for other advertisers if spots are filled up; nobody wants to be first.
from experience with private ad sales, never go month to month or short term- always do 1 year. it’s a bitch to have to collect $ from some of these companies.
.-= Exposed SEO´s last blog ..Why You Should Always Subscribe to Affiliate Email Notifications =-.
Well, I’m with you on the fact that they’re probably not making as much money as they claim. Yes, nobody wants to be first which is why most people just populate their banner ads with their own ads.
Month to month can work. I know that I wouldn’t want to offer a one year ad on this blog because I’m almost up to 2,000 subscribers in just 6 month’s time. By this time next year I bet I’ll be at 15,000 at least and the advertiser would still be paying a rate based on the 2,000 subscribers.
Thanks for sharing this Chris. It’s really inspiring someone declaring his/her monthly income, it’s really not bragging, but to inspire others as well that it can be done.
Thanks Chris!
Regards,
Gary
Really does put my $106 to shame. π
.-= Dean Saliba´s last blog ..Adsdaq A Reliable Network In An Unreliable Market =-.
Thanks for sharing your income via the Internet. You are making a killing with Amazon. That is fantastic. Keep up the good work.
These are some excellent earnings! I am very impressed especially with the Amazon earnings. Do you in any way feel vulnerable though by having such a large amount of earnings coming from one source (eg if Amazon goes wrong a large percentage of your online earnings disappear).
.-= Bristolboy´s last blog ..Monthly Update – June 2010 =-.
I’m not too worried about it because I could replace with Click Junction links via direct to manufacturers on most of the stuff. Or better leverage Pricegrabber.
hi , chris
could you give a tips how we earn sales on amazon affialiate , i am really struggle to sale item in amazon thx
please reply
Hi, Chris. Where can i get your free ebook as stated by many of your visitor here..I’m looking for your free ebook on amazon affiliate.TQ
It’s not out yet but will be in the next few weeks. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter as it will only be available there.
great results
maybe i should give less importance to adsense
Adsense can work well, but I’ve found you need a ton of traffic to make it work. Instead, I prefer to focus on niches where I can use Amazon and make less money with less traffic π
Then again, Amazon is not for every niche either.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for sharing your info once again. It really does give us inspiration when you share your ways of making a living on the internet.
Are your Amazon sites considered Niche Marketing sites? In other words, do you pick out one item on Amazon, create a Niche Marketing site with that item and articles, etc. Or, do you take several of the same or similar items from Amazon and create a Niche Marketing site complete with articles, etc.? Just wondering what you put on your sites?
I know the e-book will be coming out soon but just curious about that aspect.
Thanks,
Dianne
Hey Dianne,
Yah I’ll cover that in the eBook, but for me it’s not worth the time to go after just one specific item especially since often times retailers rank for those instead. Yes you can outrank them, but I think it’s just too small of a niche IMO. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but I am saying I haven’t done it.
Chris
That is interesting as I was just told by web.com reps two days ago that the best way to get search engine traffic for a mall type site like the one I have at wezeemall.net was to target specific items.
btw,
The .net site I mentioned gets its inventory through Amazon π
Yah specific items can work but it’s tough to outrank retailer sites as they often have 1 million+ links…
Im curious as to your low clickbank numbers. It seems to me that if you have such success with amazon, you would/should be able to convert most of those same skills into having success with cb or other affiliate programs.
Like with the amount of traffic that you must be driving to make that kinda amazon money, I feel like you could do very well with clickbank.
Is there a reason or something behind why you aren’t more invested in that area?
Selling real physical products is much easier than selling digital goods I believe.
Another great month for you. I am still working on one site right now since it is only 3 months. I think that I should work on another site after 6 months. Is this advisable or should I work harder on that one site alone.