Jul 30 2008
Making Money from a Personal Web Site
Having decided I want my personal web site make money, the question I face is how to best monetize my site. Admittedly, when it comes to making money from a business in general, and from the web in particular, I am a total amateur. I have made plenty of money for my past employers, but, unfortunately, that required a completely different set of skill and qualifications. So, naturaly, I am a little lost.
The most obvious form of making money is direct selling - offering something for sale on the personal/hobby web site. For example, a site about beer making can offer brews, yeast, hops or equipment; A site focused on quilting, can offer quilts or tools; A yoga site can offer leotards or yoga tapes/DVDs. Obviously, this requires a sales mechanism (shopping cart and payment gateway), but many such tools are available that are technically easy to integrate into a web site, and with minimal starting requirements. Since my site (www.words2u.net) is related to GPS and to Costa Rica, I could try and sell GPS devices, GPS maps, travel books, Costa Rican coffee, t-shirts, local arts and crafts, and so on, to my visitors.
Direct selling can be profitable, but does have its drawbacks. Selling is not my favorite pastime. It involves dealing with customers and vendors, with merchandise returns, with managing inventory and shipping orders - the typical headaches of regular business. Unless I dedicated my life to both the site and the selling, I won't get far - sales will be slow, and vendors' attention depends on sales volume. There is definitely a potential in selling goods from the site, but that does not mean I want to spend my spare time in sales, nor do I want to invest in inventory, sales promotion and site marketing, at least not for now. Personally speaking, I find sites similar to mine, that sell stuff on the side, both tacky and unprofessional. Not only do I not buy from these 'hacks', I don't trust their content either, since they have an ax to grind. I prefer storefronts with product information to a personal site selling goods - at least the storefront is honest about its purpose and practices.
So, no direct product sales on my site.
A similar alternative is to sell services. A site about yoga can provide members-only exercise routines, or sell personal yoga training. The services can also come from a third party, such as someone else's online exercise program. Selling services does not require an inventory, and if the service (say a beer making class, a quilting workshop, or a yoga retreat) is offered by the site owner, most of the proceeds will be profit. However, there is still the need to deal with customers, the worry about quality, organization and frequency of service. And earning money from services is a bona-fide, full time business.
Returning to my personal site as an example, I could offer to guide tours of Costa Rica's central valley, to all the trails or locations listed on my site. I could promote Costa Rica vacation packages, hotel rooms, real estate and similar services. Enlightenment Workshop in the Rain Forest, anyone? How about cosmetic surgery to the sound of tropical birds and howler monkeys? Would you like your dental work done near banana plantations and coffee farms?. You get the drift.
Needless to say, I don't sell services for the same reason I won't sell products. I also forgo links to sites that pay referral commissions per view or click.
The easiest monetization option I found is ad placements - text and banner ads from Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and others, and links to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and similar sites. On my site I have Google text ads, and I will add links to Amazon when I get around to it. I have yet to figure out how I can benefit from Google search box, and if/when I do, I will place it somewhere, if my software allows it...
The effort and commitment are minimal, and neither sales volume nor site traffic are an issue. Content is, though, as most vendors set limits on site content. My site is family oriented, so this is not a problem, and with some searching there is an outlet for every niche, kink and interest. The downside of my choice is that the payoff is small, and without substantial traffic, revenues are a pittance. I guess that is the price of laziness, but it fits perfectly with my venue.
Pura Vida, Y'all!