If AdSense Doesn’t Do it For You … then Read On!
Indulge me just a little as I explain my views on AdSense and eBooks and monetization and … deftly introduce an upcoming free e-course. ;-)
Blogging is a phenomenon - in just a matter of a few short years blogging has grown and grown and … grown.
Technorati, the leader in monitoring the blogosphere, recently stated that it is now monitoring a whopping 27.2 million blogs - 60 times the amount from 3 years ago.
But what has turned blogging from a relatively underground/cult experience to one that the mainstream have embraced?
The answer, of course, is: Google’s AdSense!
Awesome! An easy-to-use publishing medium (blogging) together with an easy-to-use advertising medium (AdSense). Cool! Awesome … You start up your blog in your niche, slap on some AdSense ads in all the right hotspots, and bam … watch the money rolling in.
And then you wake up from your “passive income” dreaming and to the reality that it’s not money rolling in … it’s a few dribbles of coin.
The reality is, you’ll be lucky to cover your online expenses with AdSense, let alone make a decent living from it.
Oh, it can be done (see ProBlogger.net), but at the end of the day, you are living on a thread and on the whims of advertisers and Google. Think about it: One slight change of direction from Google in regards to AdSense could criple the whole professional blogging scene.
What happens if click fraud gets out of hand and advertisers start knocking on Google’s door? What happens if the only way to make decent money from AdSense (ie: blogs on products) become so over-saturated that they dilute earnings for all? What happens if Google does some dance moves and all your hard seo work goes backwards?
What’s happening is that most bloggers have placed their eggs in the one basket: AdSense.
So, how can a blogger, who’s picked a niche, made themselves somewhat of an expert in it, monetize their blog?
Well I’m about to turn this whole thing on its head - forget about monetizing your blog via AdSense - think of a product, a digital product, and how to use your blog to market it - in other words use your blog as a marketing tool. Think: digital product first, blog second.
That product is an eBook - also known as an information product, a digital book or an ePublication.
My theory on blogging is that the vast majority of us are simply banging our collective heads against a brick wall trying to make our fortunes with AdSense - because without the numbers, AdSense on your blog is next to useless.
So, my theory is that bloggers have more chance of making a decent living by building their credibility and reputations via blogging and then developing and selling eBooks in their niche.
And further to that: I believe that blogging is the best way to market and sell your eBook(s).
With that in mind, I’m developing an introductory e-course titled “Forget AdSense, Go with eBooks”.
The free email course is in 10 parts and will be launched on March 15th 2006.
I’ll have a dedicated page set up for the course by this weekend,which will provide more information.
And a note: there will be no selling of products, no affiliate links, no advertising whatsoever.
Thanks for indulging me … and keep on reading.
15 Responses to “If AdSense Doesn’t Do it For You … then Read On!”
By John Evans (Syntagma) on Feb 23, 2006 | Reply
Of course, you could put Adsense in your ebooks too, Martin. Every little helps :-)
By Martin Neumann on Feb 23, 2006 | Reply
Comes off as a bit strong, doesn’t it, John ;-)
I guess what I mean by “Forget AdSense” is that you shouldn’t be counting on it, whereas developing and marketing your own eBooks gives you more control over your future.
I think that publishing a book (be it an eBook or a traditional book) just seems like a natural progression for most bloggers. I mean, posting every day on your blog sharpens your writing skills and before you know it, you feel like a natural writer and in turn, turning that skill into writing an eBook should be a breeze.
I used a bit of AdSesne on my previous blog - and that pretty much paid for my hosting and broadband for the year. Good, but we’re not here just to cover our expenses. ;-)
By John Evans (Syntagma) on Feb 23, 2006 | Reply
Very True, Martin. Unfortunately, many serious bloggers don’t see themselves as professional writers. Even when they write other stuff for publication, the blogging is often not done in a business-like way. To me, contextual advertising is an effective and powerful way to gain income from online writing. It’s one of many ways to get a return from your work. Those who write to get praise in their comments soon tire of the same old baloney.
I’ve been a full-time professional writer for 10 years and I’ve learnt you have to have multiple income streams to make it pay. If I’m writing about a product, I’ll insert an affiliate link because the piece pre-sells the product.
Ebooks are a logical next step for bloggers, either paid for, or supported by advertising, even both. I’m glad we now have your resource to keep the ideas flowing.
By Martin Neumann on Feb 23, 2006 | Reply
Nothing like a good flow of ideas to keep us (writers/publishers) thinking, John.
I wonder if the serious bloggers need a wake up call: they are serious writers, even if they don’t know it - even if they don’t blog in a business-like way, they’re well on the way.
I wonder how product placements (dealing direct with an advertiser) within eBooks would go down rather than affiliate links.
What about the web-based book from HarperCollins - imagine getting a sponsor for each chapter.
What do you think?
By John Evans (Syntagma) on Feb 23, 2006 | Reply
Sure, even some printed books sold in bookshops have sponsors and advertising these days. Lots of models out there. The successful ones we’ll see repeated often, I think.
By Mike on Feb 23, 2006 | Reply
Hey Martin,
If a blogger doesn’t use an ebook or another digital product to build a list and then market to that list with other ebooks or digital products…well, that blogger is missing out on a lot of opportunities.
The ability to market with a blog is tremendous, but a lot of bloggers think it’s just peachy for grandma to see their name in print and using that blog to teach, solve problems, provide solutions and educate is just to salesy for them.
Too bad. I, however, like doing all the above.
By Martin Neumann on Feb 23, 2006 | Reply
Hi Mike … I can’t add to that because … you’re reading my mind, mate!!! ;-)
That’s exactly what this blog is all about: utilzing blogging (the greatest marketing tool ever, imo) to market not one, but many digital products, over many years. To build a loyal customer base with every posts, with every product released.
A lot of people think I’ll make this one eBook and get rich from it - I’d rather think of making 3-5 eBooks a year, year-in, year-out and in 5 years time having 20 eBooks making nice, steady sales.
Keep doing what you’re doing, Mike - seems you’re on the road to ePublishing nirvana.
By Vision on Feb 26, 2006 | Reply
You know Martin, your going to cause me to turn my whole website upside down. Your posts are causing me to rethink how I promote ebooks. After reading the comments on this posts, I should really rethink my marketing methods.
To comment on your Adsense aspect, I agree. What a scary thought if anything were to change with Adsense. You are right when you state that all eggs should not be put into one basket. There are other ways to generate an income along with using Adsense, so CONTINUE to enlighten us.
By Martin Neumann on Feb 26, 2006 | Reply
Vision … thanks for your enthusiasm and I’ll try to enlighten us all ;-)
Yep, all I’m trying to say is don’t get too caught up in AdSense - having multiple income streams is the best way to go about it.
AdSense has its place, and who knows, it might be around forever, but we really can’t, and shouldn’t, base our businesses on “maybes’.
By John Evans (Syntagma) on Feb 27, 2006 | Reply
Yup, I’d agree with that. There’s also Yahoo ads, and the new MS contextual system is getting some good press. Oh, and Chitika. But it’s all so time-consuming following them up, isn’t it?
By Martin Neumann on Feb 27, 2006 | Reply
We need to find a good niche blog that’s just on Contextuals Ads: AdSense, YPN, MS and Chitika.
There’s gotta be something out there seeing there’s 27 million or so blogs out there according to Technorati :-)
By Erno on Feb 27, 2006 | Reply
What I still do not understand is the eBook for promotion or do you want to sell it?
If you want to sell it, why do you think it will be different than AdSense. If this is the new way, it will be only a matter of time and everybody will have switched to this and nobody wants to pay for it anymore. Furthermore most of the material from the ebook can be found on the web for free, so why pay for it?
If it is for your promotion than there needs to be a business on the side like Seth Godin. He promotes the brand ‘Seth Godin’ with free eBooks. But there is another income stream, i.e. presentations and Squidoo.
What am I missing?
By Martin Neumann on Feb 28, 2006 | Reply
Hi Erno,
Firstly, this blog is primarily about eBooks to sell.
It’s different from AdSense because you are in control of the product. My view of it is this: I’m aiming at bloggers. Most bloggers don’t make anything from AdSense. I believe that rather than rely on AdSense why not leverage their expertise and develop eProducts for sale - not once but many times.
Why pay for it, when it’s for free on the net? You’re right - but people ARE willing to pay for concise, niche information and if it saves them time they’re willing to pay a premium for it.