2 Create a Website – The Blog

I rarely write about reselling domains and hosting — which is my strongest income source, and has been since 2002. The reason it’s so strong is because it’s residual. This is important — especially if too much of your traffic is dependent upon Google’s ever-changing algorithm! It’s always ideal to develop residual income streams for [...]

Last week I wrote about the new and improved Ad Review Center (ARC) that began rolling out last month. Now that my account has been upgraded, I wanted to publish a video that highlights some of the ARC features. In addition, you’ll learn more about some of the common AdSense reports and how to maximize [...]

One of the biggest gripes I hear about AdSense is the minimal amount of control Publishers have over the ads that are shown. Well, in case you haven’t heard, Google is about to roll out a new version of their Ad Review Center (ARC).  Now you’ll have even more control over the ads that appear [...]

I’ll be honest. Answering email is one of my least favorite tasks, simply due to the volume of messages I receive from those who want something for nothing. I have no patience for that kind of mentality. I’d rather spend my time helping people who genuinely want to do the work needed to succeed, not [...]

In this post, I thought I’d respond to some of the reasons people tell me they cannot succeed online today.

Affiliate Marketers Don’t Create Their Own Products! Yep, that’s what someone told me on YouTube when I asked my subscribers what kind of book they would like me to write.

You have probably noticed all the short and pretty links on different blogs and Twitter by now. Perhaps you’re unsure of which one you should use, or if it makes any difference.

People often ask me for help when it comes to dealing with disabled AdSense accounts and preventing click fraud. So I did some digging over the weekend.

There was an interesting post made on Website Babble last month from a member (jeffG) who was seeking more examples of everyday people (as opposed to blogging gurus) who are making worthwhile money from their blogs.

Most people never buy the first time you introduce them to a product.

It takes an average of 7 to 10 exposures before someone converts and that’s assuming you’ve done everything else right (built credibility, PREsold effectively, promoted a relevant product, etc.)

If you follow me on YouTube, you probably saw my video about my phone call with Google. As stated, I didn’t learn too much from that call, but I did implement three things that seem to have made a difference in my earnings over the last few weeks…

If you follow my Facebook page, you may have seen the picture I posted last week of myself and Tai, who playfully calls himself “The Asian Wonder.” We met at a local WordPress meetup on September 24th.

You don’t typically hear from me twice in one week, but my stats show how much you guys love AdSense-related posts, so I hope you don’t mind a double dose of Lisa this week. I was playing around in the AdSense Performance reports as I often do, and decided to create a few graphs

There was a thread about reselling domains and hosting on Website Babble. In that thread I explained that I earn roughly 30% per sale as a reseller with my store Website Palace. That doesn’t sound like a lot of money if you consider web hosting and domains are pretty cheap, right?  So a $10 hosting [...]

1) Can I be successful in [X] niche? I dropped and shattered my crystal ball when I was about 12 so my ability to look into your future is long gone. My philosophy is this.  If there is a demand for the kind of information, service, or product you plan to offer then there is [...]

I received an e-mail last week from the affiliate manager of Powweb who notified me there had been a change to their terms. Now all affiliates must make it clear they have a “material connection” with their products.  In other words, we must disclose that we are earning a commission.  And the disclosure must be [...]

You may remember me mentioning how well the 728×90 AdSense unit has been performing on this blog. Since then, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how I added it. So I thought I’d create a video showing how to use the Thesis Feature Box function that is built right into the theme. (The [...]

Every now and then I’ll get an e-mail from someone who is just getting started with their site.  They are overwhelmed by all the social media sites, tools, etc.  (Who can blame them?) Some are even so turned off by social media, they tell me they want nothing to do with it. Others believe it [...]

1.  Make room for the 728×90 banner — if you can Obviously you don’t want to crowd your site or make it look awkward, but if your experience with this unit size is anything like mine, you may want to consider opening up a spot. I am now using this banner size on three of [...]

I don’t normally have time to honor product review requests, but Chris Guthrie’s Easy Azon Amazon affiliate plugin caught my attention. If you’re an affiliate for Amazon.com, you’re probably aware of the somewhat convoluted process of creating a product affiliate link for your site. Well, Easy Azon simplifies the process tremendously by allowing you to [...]

Even though the Internet has evolved drastically over the years, there’s one constant motivator that has kept me going. As discussed in the video below, I discovered a deep passion for doing something I have been unconsciously doing since I was a child. What’s the motivation behind your website?  What keeps you going even when [...]

When I sift through my overflowing e-mail inbox, the title of this post represents a popular question I often receive. Or it may go a little something like this… I don’t get it, Lisa. I’ve followed your advice. I add content everyday, did some guest blogging, optimized my site for SEO but I still find [...]

About two weeks ago I made a video stating my YouTube partner earnings are barely enough to pay my iPhone bill.  Well, after further analysis of my AdSense stats, I misinterpreted one key stat line in my reports. So I created this video to clarify and share how you can earn money by embedding YouTube [...]

This is a guest post by Sunil of Extra Money Blog. Everyone wants their own website or blog. That desire is one of the reasons why Lisa’s 2CreateAWebSite.com has become one of the most popular websites on websites. With the increasing number of automated tools available today, website building has become child’s play as both [...]

You may have seen this after logging in to your AdSense account… Your ads have recently appeared on websites you haven’t authorized. To avoid lost revenue, make sure to authorize any sites where you display ads by visiting your account settings. When you click the link you’ll find various sites and IP addresses that have [...]

This is one of those videos that can be taken the wrong way if you don’t watch from start to finish. I realize it’s a long video, but I felt it was necessary to get my points across. Below, I offer my opinions for why I believe some blogs do not perform as well with [...]

This is a guest post by Andrew Fling of StorehouseBuilder.com. Lisa’s Note: In order to catch up on approved guest posts, I am introducing another blogging day for 2 Create a Website. Thursday will be my unofficial “guest post day” — at least for awhile.  Hope you enjoy! In the Beginning I launched my first [...]

This is a guest post by Jo Barnes of StartYourBusinessSmartly.com. I have to be completely honest with you. I am brimming with self belief. As an experienced business owner (albeit offline), I have no doubts about my capabilities and am 100% sure I can be successful at anything I turn my hand to. When I [...]

Geez, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that in the last 5 years… This post was inspired by comments I’ve received over the years about not having a real job, and a few e-mails from “Netpreneur” hopefuls who receive earfuls of doubt from family and friends regarding making a living online. [...]

What I did was so simple, I’m almost ashamed to dedicate a post to this. I hope you forgive the simplicity of what I’m about to reveal, but sometimes the simplest changes make the greatest impact. In early November I added a 728×90 unit to the header of my Site Build It! site, Flat Stomach [...]

I was just sifting through the plethora of graphics and landing pages for the SiteSell (5 Pillar) Affiliate Program the other day. It made me wonder why more companies don’t put the same amount of effort into developing affiliate tools, training and guidance as SiteSell.com. No wonder 98% of affiliates fail.  The training typically doesn’t [...]

Google is reminding AdSense publishers to target channels to help maximize earnings for the upcoming Holidays.  If you don’t understand what that means, this video will shed some light… The take-home lesson here is that if you have high-performing channels, it makes sense to allow targeting because placement advertisers will seek them out — especially [...]

I just stumbled upon I Hate First Cookie Affiliate Programs by Gobala Krishnan. The post reveals his disdain for AWeber’s affiliate program because the first affiliate to grab the cookie earns the commission. In other words, if someone decides to sign up with AWeber because of a review you’ve written, and that person clicked on [...]

People often ask me what strategies work best for AdSense.  I always tell them that it varies from site to site and experimentation is key. What works for someone else’s blog may not work as well for yours. Funny that I’ve been suggesting experimentation for years, but lately, I haven’t really done much of it.  [...]

This is a guest post by Brian V. Hunt of http://www.brianvhunt.com If there were any piece of advice I would offer to anyone starting a new venture in life, it would be this: court failure. Failure is a dirty word in our culture. It has a potent negative connotation that sends chills up many a [...]

An advertising tax law has passed in various states, and it is having an impact on merchants who have affiliates in the affected states (i.e. Amazon.com recently dropped its Colorado affiliates.) How will this impact your affiliate marketing business in the future? What can you do today? Watch the video below to learn more.  Also, [...]

Some people just start out with the right attitude. When it comes to making money online, they don’t complain about how difficult the journey is.  They just go for it. They are resourceful people who take the information you give them and run with it. They have this adventurous, go-getter mentality and aren’t afraid of [...]

Thanks to everyone who submitted a reply to my last post where I asked about your best performing AdSense unit. The clear winners are the larger units. The 300×250 and 336×280 were the most popular answers. Monitors are getting wider and so are websites.  So the larger units tend to work well on sites with [...]

How well an AdSense unit performs on a site depends on several different factors… 1) The page the unit is on 2) Ad relevancy 3) Amount and quality of traffic to the site/page 4) Placement of unit So I am by no means about to suggest that one size fits all in regards to the [...]

A CopyBlogger post titled, “How to Do 500 Times Better Than AdSense” really caught my attention last week. It was written by Johnny B. Truant, a blogger who made the decision to stop using AdSense. His strategy was like many others… Johnny created several anonymous sites with loads of search-engine-optimized content. Next, he submitted his [...]

A quick tip to help you earn more with some affiliate programs… Can’t see the video?  Click here to watch it.

My recent blog post, “My Failures.  Your Lessons.” sparked quite a few e-mails over the past two weeks. Many of you want my recommendation for the best kind of site to create if you want to make money online but don’t have a product to sell. Here’s my answer… I want to emphasize that the [...]

In August, I wrote about the addition of third party network advertisers to the AdSense program. For AdSense publishers this just means there are more advertisers who can compete for ad space on your site. So the ads displayed are not just from the AdWords program anymore.  They can also come from pre-approved, certified networks [...]

Sometimes failure can be your best your friend. Take a trip with me down memory lane as I recall a few of my failed sites and the lessons learned. If you’re viewing this post via e-mail or an RSS reader that doesn’t support video, watch the video here.

On August 25th, Google announced there will be more revenue earning opportunities for AdSense publishers. In the coming months, you’ll be able to display ads from additional networks. Google ensures this will give you, the publisher, the chance to maximize profits from AdWords and ads sponsored by 3rd parties. Some AdSense publishers often complain of [...]

I finally started selling ad space on my blog.   Here’s a video that demonstrates the script I use (OIO Publisher). If you’re reading this post via e-mail or an RSS reader, click here to watch the video.

Most people don’t intentionally create websites to beg, unfortunately many of them do. Unless you have a shopping site, most visitors come to your site because they are looking for information. (Especially if they found you through a search engine.) Of course there are exceptions to this, but for the majority of the time this [...]

Want to learn more about the YouTube Partner Program and how to apply?  Watch the video below for a quick overview of how the program works… If you’re reading this blog post via e-mail, click this link to watch the video on my blog.  You may also want to think about subscribing to my blog [...]

I’ve been testing Chitika on two of my sites for the past two weeks. So far so good.  It’s a great compliment or alternative to using contextual ad programs like AdSense, Kontera, Infolinks, etc. Here’s a video with an overview of how it works… Note: Using Chitika and AdSense on the same site/page does not [...]

I was having an e-versation with a woman the other day who was concerned about starting with affiliate marketing because she heard that it’s oversaturated. When I hear people make statements like this, I wonder where or who they are getting advice from. Often times it’s from people who have tried and failed so they [...]

In the last site review I mentioned how offering e-books from my site has really helped boost my traffic and income over the years. So I thought I’d create a video showing you how simple it is to create an e-book using Adobe Acrobat Professional. Adobe Acrobat is quite expensive and may not be in [...]

Due to the number of questions I receive about flat-rate ads, I thought I’d blog about this topic today. First of all, flat-rate ads have a fixed price regardless of impressions, clicks, etc.  So charging someone $50 per month for an ad on your site would be an example of a flat-rate ad. In this [...]

If you are already an AdSense member, you may not know that Google recently tightened up their acceptance policies for their popular AdSense program. Gone are the days where you can throw up a quick Blogger blog today and get accepted into the AdSense program by tomorrow. According to their policies, you must adhere to [...]

I get quite a few requests on YouTube to review various MLM (multi level marketing) programs so I want to clarify something. I am an affiliate which is a little different.  MLM has never been my cup of tea so I don’t spend much time looking into these programs. That is not to say you [...]

My last video on ClickBank generated quite a bit of curiosity. Many people wanted to know what programs earn me the most money and which ones I recommend they join. You have to be careful about your curiosity of other Webmaster’s income. Remember, just because someone makes $5,000/month with one affiliate program, doesn’t mean you [...]

Just like any other affiliate program, making good money with ClickBank requires having enough traffic along with finding appropriate and relevant books for your audience. You also have to be careful with ClickBank.  Yes, the high commissions are nice, but you should choose products wisely. Even though it’s one of my top money making affiliate [...]

There’s been a lot of buzz around the Web recently about AdSense and how people aren’t making much money with the program anymore. I’m not really sure where this noise is coming from. Yes, many people have reported their earnings have dropped this year, but it’s still a great monetization option for many sites and [...]

The e-mails have been pouring in regarding the recent changes to my YouTube Channel, so I thought I’d address them on my blog. I always wondered why some YouTube channels had small banners over the profile names and others didn’t. So after doing some research, I found out about the YouTube Partner program. I just [...]

As you probably know, Amazon’s affiliate commissions are pretty low compared to most affiliate programs (averaging around 4% per product.) In this quarter so far, my sites have generated over $1,300 worth of sales, which earned me a whopping $50 bucks. With most affiliate programs, that kind of revenue would generate at least $300 in [...]

If you login to your AdSense account and try to create a new ad unit, you may notice a new link titled “AdSense for Feeds”. Yup, you guessed it.  Now you can display AdSense ads right inside your Feedburner feed. You probably knew this was coming because there were rumors about Google testing this out [...]

If 100 random people set out to make money online, statistics show that only 2 will ever make anything worthwhile. Of course, there are many reasons people get off track, but in the video below I discuss what I believe is a common reason people struggle.

I was doing some website clean-up this morning and came across an oldie but goody — a PDF published some years ago by Ken Evoy titled “Why People Fail.” In this book, Ken outlines 13 different mentalities/personalities that cause failure. Even though this book was written years ago, it contains eye-opening, in-your-face points that are [...]

Someone recently asked me what I thought of PayPal donation buttons. This blogger was brainstorming for ways to make money, and was thinking of adding a donation button, but she was concerned it would look tacky. It depends. I personally don’t mind donating to sites that offer useful information or tools that I can’t find [...]

Mel Ann and Tim of the Australian AdSense team put together a nice video (below) to help you optimize your AdSense earnings. While some of the information in the video is common knowledge to most publishers, there are also some very useful tips. Create Channels Pay close attention to the part about creating channels so [...]

My last post on my top 7 money making programs generated some questions about AdBrite. Some people wanted to know if it’s legal to use with AdSense. Others were curious if it pays well. First of all, yes, it’s OK to use AdBrite in conjunction with AdSense. It does not violate Google’s Terms of Service [...]

I’ve noticed from reading other blogs, readers seem to enjoy learning how other sites make money. So I’ve developed a “Top 7″ list of my top income generators based on nothing more than monthly income earned. Note: This list is from all my sites combined. —————- 1. Domain and Web Hosting Reselling This program is [...]

There are so many articles and blog posts about how to build traffic, income, etc. but not a lot about building credibility — another critical component of online success. After all, if your audience doesn’t trust you and see you as a credible source in your niche, generating an income will be difficult. Here are [...]

The stories of Webmasters earning six and seven-figure incomes continue to flood the Internet. Everything always looks so polished and put together once success has arrived. In fact, you may have even caught yourself thinking, “They make it look so easy!” or “Why can’t I do that?” While these stories inspire, they often leave a [...]

Over the recent months I’ve gotten several requests from people who want me to review their travel-related websites. Many of them are Site Build It! (SBI!) customers looking for suggestions on how to improve their site, make more money, etc. I was just thinking the other day, “Wow, why so many travel related sites?” Then [...]

It’s a fear many Webmasters have — getting pulled from AdSense for fraudulent clicks or other activity deemed “against AdSense TOCs”. The fear is pretty valid. I’ve heard of people getting pulled from the program for “no apparent reason” (according to them). Of course there are two sides to every story, but it reinforces that [...]

While there are several reasons some affiliate websites never get off the ground, here’s a few reasons I believe many people struggle with affiliate marketing…

Am I flashing my SiteSell affiliate check in your face to brag? No, not at all. When it comes to telling other people how to make money online, it’s all about credibility. And if you can’t prove you’re actually profiting, then you sort of get lumped in with all the other “how-to-make-money” sites that leave [...]

A previous post about earning $57,000 in one month created quite the excitement. After all, some people don’t even make $57,000 in one year so the idea of earning that kind of money in a month is fascinating. While I was happy to see that post generated interest, it also produced some unrealistic goals and [...]

One of the most common ways people get lured into making money online is by discovering an affiliate or MLM (multi-level marketing) “make-money-online” program. Usually, they promise lucrative profits if you promote a pre-created, turnkey website and get other people to join the program and/or buy certain products. YTB.com and SixFigureIncome.com are two programs that [...]

Someone who belongs to the same domain name reseller program as me earned that amount in January. Every month the program publishes the top performers. While I was pleased to have earned a spot in the top 10 with my own personal record, I was floored when I saw the top earner pulled in nearly [...]

SBI! is a scam! That was the comment left on one of my YouTube videos a few days ago, but it wasn’t really a surprise.  It’ not the first time I’ve heard the scam cries regarding SBI!. This person heard about the $10,000 prize Ken Evoy, President of SiteSell.com, awarded to the customer who created [...]

There was a time when I relied heavily on banners. After all, they look kinda cool floating in your right or left nav, and they add a spice of color to your design. But after awhile I noticed they were getting few clicks and generating even fewer sales. So years ago I started limiting my [...]

I get a lot of questions about website topics and what’s the most profitable niche. First of all, what’s profitable for someone else may not be profitable for you and vice versa. For example, a lot of people make money online because they choose topics they love to write about, then affiliate themselves with companies [...]

It’s the time of the year when millions of resolutions are made all over the world. Weight loss and financial gain are two of the most popular ones made each year. Speaking of financial gain, many Webmasters have set financial goals for their websites in 2008. If you’re reading this now, you are probably among [...]

As the AdSense popularity grows among Webmasters, it’s hard to find a site without at least one AdSense unit displayed. And in my opinion, many Webmasters overdo it. Because you want to get as many clicks as possible, it can be very tempting to lace your page header with multiple AdSense ads. After all, the [...]

For most, it takes a few years get their sites to the point where they can think about quitting their full-time job. But if you work hard enough, it can certainly be done within a year. And even if it doesn’t happen in 2008, perhaps you can earn enough to make it feasible for 2009. [...]

Cathy Stucker (The Idea Lady) conducted a tele-class last night, hosted by EzineArticles.com. Cathy is making a living from the abundance of content she’s created over the years, and I thought she offered excellent advice… particularly for those who are just getting started and may be skeptical about how to make a living online from [...]

I love hearing stories about people who create sites for fun and they suddenly turn into a success story. That’s what happened to Mikey, an avid fan of the series, Prison Break. He told me his blog was originally created in early October 2007 for fun. And after only a month, the blog receives between [...]

Due to all the AdSense buzz generated by the media lately, I felt it only fitting to write a small e-book that addresses many questions I receive about AdSense. Yes, the concept of the program is super simple, but making a lot of money takes time and work. Right-click here and download my free e-book [...]

One of my Website Babble forum members posted a link to an article from USA Today about a retired gentleman who earns $120,000 in Google ads in one year. I wasn’t as amazed by his story as I was the skeptical responses to the article. Then again, people are often skeptical when they hear stories [...]

A fellow Site Build It! (SBI!) customer contacted me today. Someone emailed her a compliment regarding her website, deliciouscakerecipes.com, and went on about how she loved the site and would like the SBI! owner to design one for her. The new SBI! customer was honored by the compliment, but didn’t know how to respond. After [...]

You know you’re doing something right when people ask you to provide them with your affiliate link before they buy a product. That’s what happened today in my forum, WebsiteBabble.com. And to be honest, it’s not the first time I’ve been asked. In my opinion, this says so much about the importance of PREselling a [...]

Thinking of buying Site Build It! but not exactly sure if it’s for you or how you can apply it? Take a sneak peek at some sample sites equipped with stories from the SBI! owners. This site proves that SBI! will help you monetize (make money) with almost any topic you can come up with. [...]

I call it the “Hodgepodge Theory.” And if this applies to your site, it may be a big reason why you aren’t seeing your AdSense earnings increase. Watch the video below to learn more about why I believe many people struggle with building their AdSense revenue…

Selling products online can be quite the challenge, particularly if you are building your first site and have no brand awareness/recognition. A big mistake many newbies make is they try selling products before they have the traffic and credibility. Building a store is not a guarantee people will just flock to your site. You must [...]

A lady asked me today why I created a site on fitness (flat-stomach-exercises.com) when a topic like that is so saturated. I have to agree. Fitness is a very competitive niche. That’s why I narrowed my topic down a bit to just flattening the stomach. Plus, it was a topic that interested me since I [...]

I just received an e-mail from a gentleman desperate to find something to do online so he could quit his job that he hates so much. He asked me how long it took me to make a full time living online and I got the impression he would do anything to get rich on the [...]

What’s the one job where you could take a year off and still get paid? Yup… you guessed it. Affiliate Marketing. I got an e-mail from a gentleman today who wanted to know how many hours he’d have to invest upfront to make enough money online to quit his full time job. He admitted he [...]

I’ve always had a dream of being my own boss and having the freedom to go to any Starbucks and work while I watch the busy 9-to-5ers scurry in and out. Well, that time is finally here and I owe it all to affiliate marketing. You too can have this life, and the quickest way [...]

It’s THE age-old question heard around the Net… “How long does it take before I start making money with my website?” It’s a question that’s very difficult to answer and one I’m usually very careful about addressing. The Internet is flooded with products and websites that make ridiculous claims about getting rich quickly, and if [...]

I discovered this neat little trick by accident. If you are familiar with my site, you know I push Site Build It! (SBI!) pretty heavily. Not just because I’m an affiliate, but because it really worked for me and it has changed many people’s lives. I got tired of hearing all the raving reviews about [...]

My friends and family are in awe of the amount of money I make with my sites. To be honest, sometimes I am too. It’s hard to believe something that started out as a hobby/side income venture, has turned into a full-time income that allowed me to quit my 9 to 5 job. While the [...]

I talk a lot about Site Build It! on my site, mainly because I use it and it works. A site I barely update, now pays my mortgage and it only has about 30 pages. I want to show that I’m not the only one experiencing success with SBI. Check out Elad’s video below… For [...]

I get a lot of emails from people asking me if I really earn a full-time income online. I can understand their skepticism. There’s a lot of hype surrounding making money online and often times it’s presented in a way that seems too good to be true. Plus, the Net is faceless so your interaction [...]

When will people learn that if it sounds too easy, it probably is? I’ve made a lot of money on the Internet, but I would never tell you it was “easy” or done overnight. Yes, it was fun because I build websites on topics that interest me, but I work hard. After getting an email [...]