Blog Monetization Resources

April 16, 2011 by 1 Comment

About the time that this post goes live, I’ll be presenting at WordCamp Seattle about how to start making some money with a blog. Here are some links and resources that will probably mentioned during the discussion.

People / Websites to Follow

Books

Affiliate Programs

Places to start if you’re looking for affiliate programs:

If you have any other questions about the topics we discussed, leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to help you out.

Some of the links above are affiliate links.

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Presenting at WordCamp Seattle: Intro to Blog Monetization

March 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I’m excited to be heading up to Seattle in April for WordCamp Seattle 2011. I’ve been selected to present “An Introduction to Making Money With a Blog”. Aimed at an audience that’s curious about how to start bringing revenue with a blog, we’ll cover the following:

  • Prerequisites – things to think about as you plan to make money. A quick overview of some considerations that will help guide your monetization strategy.
  • Revenue Sources – options for income and a look at the plusses and challenges of each one. I’ll talk about advertising, sponsorship, affiliate programs, membership sites, and product sales.
  • Lists – a quick look at email lists and how to effectively tie one into a blog revenue stream.
  • Resources – where to go, what to read, and who to follow to learn more about making money with a blog.

Tickets are on sale now for WordCamp Seattle and I’d love to have you join me for what should be a great event.

If this sounds vaguely familiar it might be because this presentation will be similar (but not identical) to a talk originally presented at the Portland WordPress User Group earlier this year. That talk was very well received so I’ll start with it as a foundation and incorporate some improvements as well.

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A Few Thoughts on BlogWorld 2009

October 18, 2009 by 4 Comments

As I write this I’m sitting at the Las Vegas airport awaiting my (delayed, grumble) flight back home. I’ve just wrapped up three days of events surrounding Blogworld Expo. Here are a few thoughts in a less-than-organized fashion:

This was my first Blogworld… I went into it with two purposes. Part of my motivation for attendance was to learn a few things from some of the official conference sessions. My other plan was to meet and network with a variety of smart people.

Overall, it met my expectations. Some of the sessions were really great, although there were a couple that I felt were disappointing or didn’t really fit with the session title. I attended a couple of the WordCamp sessions that were part of the WordCamp Las Vegas being held inside Blogworld and they were great – John Hawkins (@VegasGeek) and his crew put on a good program. A couple of the monetization panels were excellent, including the site critique/review panel… I stepped a bit outside my comfort zone and asked for a critique of Social Photo Talk and got feedback from Darren Rowse (ProBlogger), Brian Clark (Copyblogger), and John Chow. They asked some good questions, gave me some solid suggestions for improvement, and to my relief validated that a lot of what I was doing (and have planned) is correct. Thanks guys!

I’ve seen several comments that there were less vendors and exhibitors than in the past. With this being my first trip to the show I can’t offer a comparison but there were less than I expected. VegasGeek noted that it was disappointing that there was no representation from Automattic, but as I thought about it I realized I didn’t see anyone there who works for any of the major blog platforms. Not only was Automattic (WordPress) missing, but I didn’t see anyone from Six Apart (Moveable Type / TypePad), Google (Blogger), or even Squarespace which has been all over the place lately seeking publicity.

The afterhours activities were a lot of fun (and as a photographer, a special thanks to Victor for a great photowalk on Thursday night).

On a personal level it was great to see a bunch of friends from the west coast WordCamps like John, Chris, Abbie, Shayne, Austin, Jeana, Todd, and Sara (and since I’m tired I’m not going to link ‘em up… but they know who they are).

Thanks to everyone who made Blogworld a great event. I’m leaving with all sorts of great ideas and a bunch of new friends.

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Thoughts on Running a WordCamp: Connections and Inspiration

September 7, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Why have I run WordCamp Portland for the last couple of years? Perhaps it’s because I’m crazy. Or perhaps it’s because it’s a chance to bring together and get to know a whole bunch of really smart people. In our first year we tapped into a lot of local talent that was mostly unknown to many of the PDX tech scene “regulars.” We also had the UX lead for Automattic show us a preview of the next version of WordPress. RSS guru Marshall showed some of his power tools to an overflowing-into-the-hallway room.

This year, we’ll have Matt in attendance, along with Micah who is quickly becoming one of the most-known speakers on trust and influence. We’re going to have an e-commerce expert from Texas. Oh, and one of those Cheezburger guys. But those are all out-of-towners. I’m equally excited to feature local folks like performance expert Jason Grigsby talk about optimization and designer Tyler Sticka show how to make beautiful portfolios using WordPress. And with a title involving bondage, I’m curious to see what Cami and Dr. Normal have up their sleeves…

Sure, WordCamp is a ton of work. But there’s something to be said for the connections and inspiration.

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