TNX - Another Way to Monetize Your Site

Posted on December 21st, 2007 in Marketing by Dan

When it comes to website or blog monetization, its always a good idea to diversify. For example, if the only thing you do is AdSense, then you only have one source of potential income from that blog. I mention AdSense specifically because it seems to be the most common.

Another way is by selling text ads on your website, and a great way to do this is through programs like TNX.net. Rather than summarizing it, I’m going to quote from their site what they do:

TNX.net allows publishers to sell links from each page on their website, and for advertisers it allows to buy millions of links from other sites in few clicks. TNX is a convenient tool that allows publishers and advertisers to save time, efforts and money: in just a few minutes you can have thousands of links from hundreds of high quality relevant sites linking to yours.

All links are direct, they are located on main pages and inside pages that are also very important. Ads are displayed mostly on well-noticeable spots so they can attract visitors. The system can be used to promote main page of the advertiser’s site as well as inside pages.

Site publishers can not only use TNX.net to earn money, they can also use it to promote own websites by taking advantage of our system as an advertiser (balance in the system is unified).

So basically what you are doing is placing some code on your site or blog to display free text link ads, and other site owners will buy that space through the TNX System. The more people buy space on your site or blog, the more you can make from a system like TNX. They also have an affiliate program so you can promote them directly as an affiliate as well.

Think about it: people don’t have to click on your ads or anything like that, you just have to have people inside the system buy that space. This is a great way to add to your different revenue streams for your site.

My thoughts on it:
I think its worth a shot. I haven’t personally used this particular system before but I’m going to give them a try over the next couple of weeks and see what happens.

One thing to understand about this system is that it’s all based on points. As you display ads on your site you earn points. Then you have several different options of what to do with those points:

  • Transfer points to another user
  • Use points to advertise your own site
  • Cash in points for money

The points system will probably take a little getting used to. According to TNX the current exchange rate is $.73 for every 1000 points. So I’ll have to see how quickly the points add up. I’ll probably give an update on this in about a month, but for now its looking like a pretty good program!

Getting Ready for the New Year

Posted on December 20th, 2007 in Motivation by Dan

So 2008 is almost upon us. I don’t know if any of you believe in New Years Resolutions, but I think they’re basically a good idea. The problem with these Resolutions is that most people just casually set some type of goal and that’s why they never really achieve it.

How about doing things differently this year? What if instead of setting a New Year’s Resolution, you set a “2008 Plan of Attack”? In other words, you set some goals that you are actually planning on achieving and even set up a game plan for how you’re going to do it.

I’d like to give you a short quote from the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, then we’ll talk about how this applies to setting this Plan of Attack:

First. Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire. It is not sufficient to merely say ‘I want plenty of money.’ Be definite as to the amount. (There is a psychological reason for definiteness which will be described in a subsequent chapter).

Second. Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire. (There is no such reality as ’something for nothing.’)

Third. Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money you desire.

Fourth. Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.

Fifth. Write out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.

Sixth. Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before retiring at night, and once after arising in the morning. AS YOU READ– SEE AND FEEL AND BELIEVE YOURSELF ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MONEY.

So how does this apply to setting a Plan of Attack or Resolution for 2008? Well, most likely when you’re set goals or resolutions in the past you haven’t gone through all of these steps. Follow these steps for getting your internet business going this coming year. Set a definitely goal, decide when you want it to happen (being realistic of course), create your plan for carrying it out, and then keep that goal in your thoughts every day.

These steps apply to other areas of your life as well. You can use these steps for fitness goals, relationship goals, etc. Use these steps in the coming year and watch how your life changes!

The Difference Between AdSense and AdWords

Posted on December 7th, 2007 in Website Tools, Traffic, Marketing by Dan

I know that to a lot of you this is going to be something that you fully understand, but I’m noticing that a lot of people at first don’t understand the difference between Google AdSense and Google AdWords. Let’s take a minute and go over the differences so you can better understand it if you need to.

Here is a summary of the difference from Google’s website:

For Advertisers: Google AdWords

  • Advertise to people searching on Google and our advertising network
  • Reach people actively looking for information about your products and services online
  • Easily control costs - pay only when people click on your ad

For Site Owners: Google AdSense

  • Maximize your site’s revenue potential with contextually targeted ads
  • Customize ads to complement the look and feel of your site
  • Track the success of different formats and locations with online reports

So basically, AdWords is an advertising program to create more exposure for your site. AdSense is a monetization technique that you can use to help your site generate some extra money. In the end they both should help with an income, but you don’t have to pay anything to place AdSense ads on your site.

I hope that clarifies this for those of you that weren’t sure about the difference. If not, please let me know!

3 Tips to Optimize Your Time

Posted on December 3rd, 2007 in Motivation by Dan

I was reading a post today from Yaro Starak on his great blog Entrepreneur’s Journey. The post was 4 Tips For Becoming A More Productive Entrepreneur. The tips are pretty simple, but it’s with simple things that we make big changes. Here are the 4 tips that he suggests:

  1. Don’t Watch Television
  2. Hire A House Cleaner
  3. Don’t Eat Processed Sugar
  4. Don’t Respond To Email

I’d like to take these tips and break them down a little bit into some other general ideas for you. I would break his 4 tips into 3 main categories:

  1. Don’t waste time with meaningless activities
  2. Spend your time doing the most important activities
  3. Take care of your health

Don’t Waste Time With Meaningless Activities

Watching TV and a ton of other activities are in essence a waste of time. Does that mean that they don’t have their place in life? I’m sure they do, but make sure that you’re putting first things first. Too many people these days make the excuse that they “don’t have enough time” to build a business or any other worth-while activity, and yet they wouldn’t miss American Idol for anything. It’s a matter of priorities.

Spend Your Time Doing the Most Important Activities

Emails can take up a ton of your time. Set up spam filters and anything else you can to limit spam and pointless emails. Also, only respond to those email that necessitate a response. There are other “busy work” activities that can take up your whole day if you like them. Sure they’re important, but prioritize your time to do the most important activities before doing the busy work stuff.

Take Care of Your Health

What good would it be to become a wealthy individual and not have the health to enjoy it? Not only that, but when you’re healthy you work better. You feel better and can work harder when you feel better physically, and also when you feel better about yourself. So take care of yourself!

I know these are simple points, but I think that a lot of us forget these simple things. Check your life and see if you need to make some adjustments somewhere.