Money doesn't grow on trees, nor does owning a website mean that you're automatically destined to become a dot.com millionaire.
But, if you stick to some pretty basic principles and set your goals at a modest level, there's no reason why the interwebnet can't bring some extra cash your way. If not to cover the cost of your internet connection, you might be able to drum up enough cash to buy a few luxuries now and again.
If you own your own website, you've no doubt toyed with the idea of exploiting and harnessing your web traffic. But the obvious question is: how do you go about making money from your website?
Making a bit of spare cash from you website isn't as hard as you think. You don't have to be a salesperson, and you don't even have to communicate with anyone - it can all be done online. And as long as you've got a decent level of web traffic, you're home and dry.
Show me the money
One relatively easy way of generating revenue is to sign up with an affiliate program.
Affiliate programs are a simple way for you to get some extra cash coming from your web site. When you hook up with an affiliate programme you partner with another company, usually an e-commerce partner, and sell their products through your website.
The formula's pretty straightforward: for every product that you sell, you get a cut of the proceeds. But before those pounds flicker before your eyeballs, you need to think carefully about the kind of affiliates you want to partner with.
You need to think of your audience - or in commerce terms, your market - and target them directly. For example, if you sign up for an affiliate programme that sells fishing tackle, and your website is about Russell Crowe, you probably won't be making any money.
There are several affiliate companies out there in cyberspace, but the most popular seem to be Commission Junction and LinkShare. Both companies have user-friendly websites that are laden with helpful information that will help you choose the best affiliate programme for you.
Advertisements
In a nutshell, anyone with a website can draw in advertisers. And if you're site is popular and well-known, you may well get advertisers contacting you directly, but even the most modest of websites with a small audience can generate advertising revenue.
The revenue generated from advertising comes from the amount of people who view advertisement on your site (hits), and the amount of 'click-throughs' they generate. Basically, the greater the hits, the better the rate you can charge for adverts.
Programmes like Google's AdWords and AdSense have fuelled the advertising business into the mainstream. With its attractive combination of user-friendliness and financial rewards for every click (regardless of whether that click converts to a sale), its no wonder integrating advertising into home grown websites is so are so popular.
The heady days of the dot.com boom may be over, but you can still bring home the bacon with a little patience, vision and, most importantly, investment.
Kerching!
Published on 11th January
