I’ve noticed from reading other blogs, readers seem to enjoy learning how other sites make money.
So I’ve developed a top list of my top income generators based on nothing more than monthly income earned.
Note: This list is from all my sites combined.
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1. Domain and Web Hosting Reselling
This program is a great example of why you should look for affiliate or reseller programs in your niche that pay residual commissions.
If my site got wiped out today, I would still be able to live off the residual income I’ve generated since joining this program in 2002.
If you have a site that targets future Webmasters/Bloggers, reselling domains and web hosting is a great way to build a long-term income that continues to grow and grow.
This is also a great idea if you know people in your personal life who need websites. You can just send them to your reseller store and earn commissions on their hosting and domain fees.
As a reseller, you receive your own customizable website that allows you to set your prices and determine your profit. The parent company handles all the customer and technical support, so all you do is promote your own reseller store.
It would be hard for any other affiliate program to bump this from the #1 spot because of the residual income.
Learn more about how you can earn from reselling domains and hosting.
2. Affiliate Networks (CJ.com, ShareASale.com, etc.)
I promote a variety of products that I find on some of the larger affiliate networks. From web software, web hosting, HTML editors, to anything I can find that’s useful and related to my audience.
Belonging to an affiliate network has its advantages…
1) If you’re looking for a specific product to promote, you can do a search to see if there are any relevant affiliate programs that offer the product.
2) You can join multiple programs with a few mouse clicks.
3) All of your earnings are tracked in one place, so you have one-stop reporting instead of multiple affiliate account logins.
The downside is that many companies who run their affiliate programs through large networks tend to have sub-par customer support.
There have been many occasions where I’ve sent an email to a company I’m affiliated with through CJ and never received a response. Companies that run their own in-house affiliate programs seem to have better customer support over all.
Nevertheless, large affiliate networks are definitely worth exploring, particularly if you’re looking for a specific product to promote on your site or blog.
3. Sales of My Own Products
When setting out to make money online, your ultimate goal should be to sell your own product. Today I have three digital products I sell:
2) WP Starter Guide – WordPress tutorial for beginners
3) Niche Website Success – a very detailed, practical guide to making money with a content niche website
4. AdSense (Includes YouTube Earnings)
I hate using the term “easy money”, but if you have enough traffic, AdSense has got to be one of the easiest ways to generate an income from your site or blog.
AdSense performs much better on my sites not targeted to Webmasters and Bloggers – which is a big reason why you don’t see many AdSense units on this blog.
Bloggers and Webmasters tend to be immune to Google ads so they ignore them. However on my fitness site, my click-thru ratio is a bit higher.
Even though my main site, 2CreateAWebSite.com targets Webmasters/Bloggers, it does OK with AdSense because it gets enough traffic to make displaying the ads worthwhile.
Watch a video about my record Google AdSense Earnings…
5. ClickBank
With ClickBank, you really have to feel it out and see what works for you. Even though it’s on my Top 7 list, I must admit there is a lot of garbage on ClickBank.
Many of the eBooks you can sell are a bunch of recycled facts you can find anywhere on the Web.
They are usually promoted by an over-hyped landing page with a loud sales pitch that promises you to either get rich quick, lose weight tomorrow, or get out of debt in seconds.
However, if you really comb through the ClickBank marketplace, you can find some winners. I was able to find a few good e-books to promote that convert very well on my sites.
The great thing about ClickBank is that the commissions are extremely high since product development and delivery costs are low. You could earn up to $75 on certain products in their marketplace.
Here’s a video where I show my Clickbank earnings and how I promote it.
6. Amazon
Amazon has very low commissions per sale, but the conversions are super because they are a recognized brand.
Learn more about their program here.
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These aren’t the only programs I earn money from, but these are the highest paying by far. The rest of my income comes from a collection of other affiliate programs.
This post was not created to encourage you to join all these programs. Quite frankly, if your site does not target the same people and does not have the same kind of traffic, your income will be drastically less than mine.
But hopefully this shows you what is possible if you build a website that allows you to become the “expert” in your niche, and you recommend quality products that you use and are relevant to your audience. You can apply this strategy to any niche.
If you’d like to learn more about how to make money with affiliate programs, AdSense and more, check out my book Niche Website Success.
Hi Lisa, I’m trying to sign up for Commission Junction, but I got stuck on their form. What the heck is a Global Category and what do all those numbers mean? Which one do I choose?
I have no idea. Keep in mind I joined in 2000 so no doubt that has changed a lot. Are they asking you to choose a category for your site?
Yes it is right under the section that asks about your website. I’ve stopped because I don’t want to fill out something that is incorrect. I’ve searched everywhere on Google and Youtube. The choices are global.category.300, global.category.301 it goes all they way to 1000. I’ve never heard of anything like that and there is no guidance or hints to what this categories are. It doesn’t seem to be a fair question to ask someone who is signing up. BTW – the website maatimes.com domain I bought through your websitepalace.com. Simply because I like you and the content you put out! 🙂 You have been very helpful to me this year. This is the 2nd website I launched.
This is so weird. Why would they do this without explaining? Did you try contacting their support? So strange. It probably doesn’t matter what you select but I understand why you are hesitant. Thank you for supporting Website Palace! Let me know what you find out about CJ.
Hi Lisa, thank you so much for your help. It turns out it was just a bug in there system and that they new about and were planning to fix it. I was all worked up for nothing. 🙂 I do have another question for you however. I remember listening to either your podcast or youtube video where you gave a “number of visitors” per day figure that you recoommend before we started doing Google ad sense or putting up affiliate links. I forgot what that number was. Can you save me some time and tell me again?
Glad it’s working!! I said 500 but you can actually add links right away. I just said that you probably won’t make much money until you have several hundred visitors.
Hi Lisa,
I like your articles. I have learned certain stuff and tricks here. I have followed many programs on different stuff from domaining (buying and selling domain names) to creating affiliate websites for reviews and many other programs. I have used also affiliate programs like CJ (commission jonction), Shareasale, Clickbank, Clicksure, Paydotcom, Amazon, Nanacast… I have many things to say about certain of them but not here. CJ accepts you as an affiliate, you do all the promo and marketing to reach $100 which is a minimum to get paid and then they deactivate your account with no reason, they will ask you how you’re doing marketing, you reply, they send another message but they won’t re-activate your account. I lost my 1st account and the money earned. I opened a new account, did my promotions, earn over $100 and then received a same message, my account deactivated and blablabla…. I asked them to send me a cheque (no Paypal used by them), at least they told me that they sent a cheque but there will be a charge of $45. What a mess I did losing my precious time with them. When communicating with them, you feel like they don’t make no effort to keep you as an affiliate. My advice is to AVOID CJ.
I wanted to let everyone here that the best affiliate program I used (still using it) is at http://www.Keurt.com/ . They are great and you’ll earn RECURRING COMMISSIONS starting by $4.50 to $49.50. The best using http://www.keurt.com is that they pay through Paypal too. I already got my first payment and now waiting for approval period to get paid again. Now, I must prepare some PPC Campaigns for this program suggesting FREE TRIAL, build a list and earn more cash.
Lisa, you should know that the best way to make money online today is to create your own product (ebook, video courses, tutorials, audios etc…) and sell them on platforms like Clickbank, JVzoo, WSO etc… Your products will be sold by you and by your affiliates. A great marketer told me that’s more easy to sell own products than (others) affiliate products (like you Lisa 🙂 ).
This is a kind of Review Website I built myself on Gardening: http://www.GardeningManiac.com/
Great reading!
Madjid
Hi Lisa,
I didn’t know you had joined Ultimate Domain Resellers.
I was under the impression you had gone to GoDaddy directly and set up your reseller store.
DreamHost is my preferred host, and I’m intending to use my risidual reseller’s affiliate link which is native to the DreamHost account – every customer can be a reseller.
I’ll consider becoming a GoDaddy reseller since they are running a lot of TV ads at the moment, they’re good for URL’s, plus they have a deal with MS Office 365 which is also something I can promote too.
🙂
Yep, been with them since 2002! 🙂 Let me know if you have any questions about it if you join.
Great information Lisa. I am new on this and working on my first blog. I like your ideas and comments. You are great person and keep doing what you are doing.
Thanks
It is very important that your readers manage to trust your content, if your readers depend on and like you, they’re more likely to want to follow you by making use of your reference links.
Lisa,
I love your blog from long time. Can you please make new video about adsense.
keep up good work.
I gave up on adsense. My earning was very small. For the moment I want to start an online shop with silver jewery? What are you saying about this plan?
hey
before reading this article i only know hardly 2-3 methods of earning from site and like from adsense, selling sites and affiliate but your article add many new concepts in my knowledge, so thanks for such fabulous article
hi Lisa what’s up???you did a great work and you the beauty making every single point so easy and describe clearly…keep it up!!!!!
We use adsense on our blog, but we only make around a $1.77 RPM (thousand visitors). Any idea for how we can increase that?
Hi Lisa. Iv’e been following your blog for some time now. You tips a great for newbies! Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge.
Thanks for the information Lisa. I’ve just started using AdHitz on my blog, on the fence about Adsense, wondering what type of traffic flow I need to make it work since it’s an Internet advertising blog where I post services and I like as well as some tips and tricks. Like the domain reseller idea, may add that to my arsenal as well.
Over the past 6 months, the learning curve has been steep, but the results are finally materializing. This June, my site reached over 10,000 unique visitors, and is oftentimes close to 1,000 visitors daily.
Nice!
Been following your site, and your tips and advice for the past few years. I’ve been able to benefit immensely from your expertise, thanks for sharing, keep up the good work.
I really like your content! Is there a program to make money that is similar to adsense?
Hi Lisa
Thanks for all valuable tips.
AdSense is easier way to make money online, but you hate it. For those blogger who creates blog only for earning money online this is best way to earn their money.
Domain and Web Hosting Reselling is nice idea to make money. Here we can set a price for that website so we’ll get more profit.
I thank you for being honest in all your videos.
Lisa,
Have you thought about making kindle edition for your ebooks? Or are you already do that?
I just started a Christian personal finance and time management blog, and I’m writing as often as possible, but I am kind of lost as to how to monetize the site and drive traffic. It was pretty clear to me before I made the blog, but now that I have the basics done, I’m fuzzy as to what to do next. I’m on your site trying to find some answers.
Yes, I’m working on it now. The biggest mistake I made was how I added the graphics so for the Kindle version I have to re-format the book. It’s not been fun to say the least — especially for a large book.
Today, the best way to drive traffic are…
1) SEO
2) Social Media
3) YouTube
4) Email marketing
But you also need a plan and a strategy. Setup a rhythm with your site so people know when to expect your new content. That will help develop a habit among your readers of knowing when to come to your blog. Use AWeber to email your new content to your readers so you can begin training people to come back to your blog. Consistency in the beginning is huge.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes but one of the best things I ever did years ago was deciding to blog weekly and sticking to that schedule. A lot of people publish content randomly and then stop. It takes time to build up momentum but you need to be consistent.
Also, keep your goals in mind. Who is the person you are trying to target? (People who are Christians and struggling with their finances?) What kind of information would they value the most. As you write your content, continue to think about their needs.
Then branch out to youtube and start doing videos on related topics. You could create teasers that talk about topics on your blog and then send to your site to read more.
Traffic is all about experimentation and what works for you.
Hi Lisa
I started my website back in December last year after I bought a copy of N.W.S. After following all your advice in the eBook I am now starting to see results. You are an inspiration to us all please keep up the great work you do, and teach us more!!!
Thanks Brett
Awesome Brett! This is what I like to hear. Keep up the great work.
i like to mention here that squidoo and hubpages are good place to generate your income.
This is really a short list, but a ‘best’ list.
You have listed some of the best money making programs that a blogger would really be able to make money from. Adsense is the best for new bloggers and affiliate programs are good for nice SEO.
Good work. Keep posting 🙂
Lisa, your tips are very good. I am currently making money thru adsense and other banner ads, but these tips, I never tried. Thanks for your article.
Thank you so much for sharing. It is becoming more rare to find quality material.It’s direct and filled with explanation. Great post lisa
Nice article. Good to see this…
Thank You Very Much for posting this.. 🙂
Keep up the great work, I’ve bookmarked for future reference.
All I can say is, thank you, thank you . . . Currently am a web designer but looking, or actually shopping around to start blogging. Web design these days is slowly fading away, as there are numerous free programs to do it yourself. But, am looking to start a blog. Your article is a “must have” for somebody such as myself who knows nothing about blogging!
Thanks for the info. I would suggest a tip jar here on your site – you can make some pretty good $$ for your advice/articles!
I used to do very well with the Amazon affiliate program and with Shareasale. Unfortunately, since last year, I noticed a significant decrease in traffic to all my affiliate pages. I relied too much on Google traffic for those websites and now I pay the price. That’s a lesson for me to diversify traffic sources as much as I can.
Hi Lisa !
Thank you for your nice list. Adsense is perfect for monetizing the traffics. your list is good to monetize a blog or site traffics. i would like to choose Adsense, because of its high trustworthiness.
You have not included aweber, is it not making any money for you
Hi George, AWeber is not a program, it’s a tool. In this post I’m focusing more on the actual programs. I list AWeber on my Tools list here https://blog.2createawebsite.com/lisas-toolbox/
Hi Lisa,
Great post as usual. While this may seem like a very short list to some, it actually holds more impact than a lot of the 50 and 100 money making lists online. It’s direct and filled with explanation. Great post.
I see, Domain and Web Hosting Reselling is most profitable way to making money via Internet.
I have started too… 🙂
Another ways, I tried Adsense. That’s enough to maintain my websites cost.
hey lisa Irby, Nice post these programs are very popular easy to earn money any small and big bloggers.
Hi Lisa
Just wanted to say, you are one of those rare gems who gives. Great informative posts, continue the good work. Frank Z.
Hi Lisa,
I just thought I would let you know that just reading your list keeps me motivated toward my goal of $100/day by June 2014. Thanks.
hi lisa
thank you so much for all the information that you send out to people like me , who are just starting out ,
your a god send to us ,keep up the great work , again thank you,
kind regards paudie , from ireland
thank lisa
i like this articel 🙂
Thanks Lisa for this awesome post. I was searching for this type of post , sorry for my delay to marvel at this post . I understand many strategies related to earn from a blog . Thanks very much.
Lot’s of great info on this site, I seen the video of you talking about getting a call from Google. Its good that they help you earn more too. Thanks
yeah, looking at creating a website one day, i currently promote http://www.worldearners.com/affiliates/uid/osagie_1
and i have been making cool cash from it.
Well you have describe very well about the 7 ways of earning money programs.but its not so much easy its takes so much time and patience and little bit luck.but its a very interesting post.its really help people who want to make money
by reading your article i had applied for the commisson junction.but they are not accepting my account.why can you give me a hint or something?
Great money making sites. I will too apply them on my business.