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 above video expresses my opinion based on my own experiences. There are many ways to make money online.  You have to discover what works best for you.

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.

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 poorly targeted ads on certain pages.  Many times it’s because there aren’t many relevant ads to show for certain content.

This new development may alleviate some of those issues and offer more relevant ad possibilities.

Not interested in this option?  No problem.  If you don’t want to show ads from 3rd party networks, you can continue to show AdWords ads only.  You’ll be able to configure your settings in the My Account tab.

This is one of several changes/updates in Google’s ad program this year.  In March, Google introduced interest-based advertising.  This is where your visitors may see ads based on websites they frequent instead of ads related to your page content.

So if your site is about tennis, a visitor may see a Google ad about video games based on their browsing history. And just like the 3rd party networks, you may opt out of this by going to the Account Settings section under the My Account tab.

One of my favorite new features of 2009 is the ability to block certain ad categories.  In case you didn’t know, you can go to the Ad Review Center (under Adsense Settings) and choose up to 5 categories to filter.

Google will even tell you which categories earn you the most (by percentage) to help you determine which categories to block.

Lots of changes for Google’s ad program this year.  Overall, I think it’s a good thing for the publishers and advertisers.

What are your thoughts on the new changes?  Do you ever make changes to the default ad settings in your AdSense account?  If so, how has it helped you?

If you’re reading this post via e-mail or an RSS reader, click here to watch the video.

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 is true.  (Searching for information is still one of the most common tasks performed online.)

Pretend You are a First-Timer Visitor

Take a look at your homepage from the perspective of someone who just found it through Google.

What is the first thing they see?

Are they blasted with Google ads?

Do they have to scroll down half a page before they get to your content because you have advertisements yelling at them to click or buy something?

Does the first paragraph of your site have a benefit-rich statement that will quickly tell people how your site will help them, or are you promoting a product?

Instead of asking for money, how about giving away something valuable like a free report, e-book, or good old fashioned help.

It’s little things like this that make all the difference.  As the old saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”  This holds true online too.

On all of my sites, I try to make the first few paragraphs rich with audience benefits and/or give something away.  I want people to realize that they will experience something different than my competition.

I realize I only have a few seconds to grab their attention so, I’m OK with forging an AdSense click or two in exchange for a lifetime visitor.

I am looking at the net effect.

It’s easy to believe that it’s best to get the ad click before a person leaves your site, but what if they never come back?  Why would they?  You haven’t given them anything to chew on except ads or a sales pitch.

Wouldn’t you rather sell them on your brand and information, hoping this will encourage them to come back again and again?  This could ultimately result in multiple AdSense clicks down the road and even more earnings from products you might sell or from affiliate commissions.

Trust and credibility are two factors you must have if you want long-term success online.  And you can’t gain either through an AdSense ad or a flashing banner.  But you can gain them by helping or giving away something of value.

I have nothing against ads, of course.  But I do have something against sites where ads seem to overshadow the content.

Remember, some of the highest earning affiliate sites, initially appear as if they don’t have much to sell at all.

Ponder that one for a minute.

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 using RSS instead of e-mail to free up your Inbox.

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 violate the AdSense terms.  It is perfectly OK to use both.

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 are quick to stamp the “It doesn’t work” label on it.

You have to be careful about who you get advice from.  Yes, there are many saturated topics, but I believe there is plenty of room in affiliate marketing for those who are creative, hard-working and innovative. Watch my video below…

On March 26th (next Thursday), two people are going to win either $150 or $75 for their designs in the first Website Babble Design Contest. You can view the entries here.

Obviously it’s too late to join this contest, but you might want to become a member so you can qualify for the next one.  (In order to participate in any Website Babble contest you must meet some undisclosed member requirements).  New members are not eligible but there will be more contests, so join and get to babbling so you can qualify!

Why am I waiting to tell you about this AFTER the entry deadline?  This contest was pretty spur of the moment, so it would have been pointless to announce it since new members are not eligible to participate. So I figured I’d announce it now so you can join and be eligible for future contests.

Benefits of Being an Active Forum Member

If you’re new to building websites and/or making money online, getting started can be intimidating and even downright scary.  There are so many questions, doubts, concerns, fears, etc.   Many people quit because they feel alone and can’t get answers to questions they need.

Belonging to a forum allows you to meet and chat with other people who are in the same boat, and you can get that reassurance you need from a friendly, community environment.   You’ll be surprised at how many people have the same concerns and questions that you have.

One of my members said that even though he doesn’t post/chat on the forum regularly, he has learned more from Website Babble than any other site or web class he’s ever taken. What a compliment!  So you don’t have to chat to reap the benefits of the forum.  A lot of people just subscribe to the forum’s RSS feed and keep up with the latest topics that way.  So yes, lurkers are welcome too!

I’m so proud of what Website Babble has become in nearly 2 years. It’s such a friendly, helpful place to visit if you need advice.  The members have a range of experience from newbies to programmers and even full-timer Affiliate Marketers like myself.

There’s also a lounge where you can stop by and chat about anything not related to web development.   We have some pretty fun and even off-the-wall discussions here.  It’s a nice break from the day-to-day website-building chatter.

Another advantage to joining is after you have a certain number of posts, you can add a signature that promotes your website or blog.  So every time you post something, your signature is added to the bottom of your posts.  It’s a great way to build additional traffic to your site.

Join Us!

I hope you decide to stop by and join us.  Registration is free and you don’t have to give your real name if you don’t want.  Most members use aliases/nicknames.  And even if you are shy and don’t want to post, it’s a great site to keep in your bookmarks because we have some very interesting discussions that you can learn from.

Hope I get to “babble” with ya soon!  I’d love to see you there.

Note: Website Babble is a spam-free forum. All self promotion posts will be removed immediately and in extreme cases, members will be banned. The purpose of the forum is for people to ask questions and help others. When you have enough posts you will be able to add a signature to promote your site or blog, but you are never allowed to create a post with the sole intention of promoting your site.

Adobe Acrobat is quite expensive and may not be in the budget for everyone, so if you have experience with more economical software solutions please feel free to comment on this post.

Just remember that you always get what you pay for and some of the lower cost solutions may not provide the benefits that Adobe does like securing the book from theft and creating feedback forms that people can complete and print right from the book.

However if those features are not important to you, you can use a more economical solution for creating your books. I would still recommend using the PDF format, however, because they are compatible with both Macs and PC’s.

E-Book Creation Video

Watch the video on how to create an e-book with Adobe Acrobat Professional.

E-mail subscribers, click this link to watch the video.