Mom Central Blogger University

Why should you monetize your blog with OpenSky?

Today’s guest post is by Josh Korenblatt of OpenSky (New York) brand development.

We started OpenSky for one really simple reason: to make shopping better.

Now, you may ask (and we hope you do) “Dear people of OpenSky, what exactly is wrong with shopping?”

Well, on the one hand, nothing. I mean, let's be honest. It's easier than it's ever been in the history of commerce for someone to buy stuff. Kinda tough to argue with. Between Wal-Mart, Amazon, Drugstore.com and Zappos (and a bunch of other big guys) there's never been an easier, more convenient, less interesting time to buy shoes, paper towels, books and everything we feel we need to survive our modern times.

However, the one thing the big guys don't do (and really can't do) is actually know us and care about us. They just can't. They can sound like they do, but no number of focus groups or amount of 24/7 customer service can get them to understand us, or make them any more human. Because they're not. They're just big giant companies looking to get bigger and bigger. 

Buying from human beings

So yes, we admit it, we're as happy as the next person to get a deal on stilettos, toothpaste and 600 thread count sheet sets, but at some point there's something missing. And we think that “thing” is human beings.

Now, you don't have to agree. Maybe we're nuts, but we think that it's just nicer to buy stuff from someone you actually know, like and trust. It makes the actual buying of the stuff more memorable. This in turn makes the thing you're buying more special, because there's a real story behind it. And when that product is actually something that you haven't seen anywhere else, well then it's downright awesome.

If we were a wee bit older, we’d suspect that that's what the world used to be like. Our parents, or our parents' parents, used to buy stuff from actual PEOPLE. Before there were BIG BRANDS, there were NICE PEOPLE we trusted to help us make the right decisions. Imagine that.

Fighting the advertising/affiliate program tax in your state

I’ve had a couple of busy weeks emailing my state representatives about Colorado HB-1193, the advertising tax that affects bloggers and website owners who work with affiliate programs like Overstock.com or Amazon.

Even if you’re not a Colorado blogger, you should pay attention because other states are planning to enact similar bills: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota and Tennessee.

Colorado HB-1193 mandates that out-of-state retailers will be required to collect sales tax if they have a single affiliate in the state. (If you use Amazon.com affiliate links and earn even a penny, you’re an affiliate.) Since affiliate sales are a small part of their business, it’s easier for big companies like Amazon to stop working with affiliates than to deal with collecting sales tax.

If those companies stop working with bloggers and website owners, not only will no sales tax be collected but many people will lose their income. No (or reduced) income means that the state will collect less income tax, too. Bills like these are nothing but a lose-lose proposition.

According to Jeanine Crooks, a Colorado blogger and podcaster, “Two companies have already terminated all their Colorado affiliates, seven more have announced their intentions, and many more are expected today.” This repeats what happened when similar bills passed in New York, Rhode Island, and North Carolina.

For more details on what’s going on in Colorado, see Colorado House Passes Bill that Threatens to Devastate Affiliates. Make sure you read the comments, too.

What can I do to help?

If you’re a blogger who works with affiliate programs in Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota and Tennessee, sign the Help Fight the Advertising Tax petition on the Performance Marketing Association (PMA) site. Make sure to sign up to receive advocacy updates from so you can be notified on what’s happening in your state.

More on affiliate taxes:

• Amazon tax has not generated revenue from the Providence (RI) Business News
• Affiliate taxes don't work, states continue to pursue them from Econsultancy.com
• Amazon buyers, beware: State has it in for you by Vincent Carroll, columnist for the Denver Post (Make sure to read the comments.)
• PMA blog on state legislation
• @PMAssociation
• Melanie Seery of Affiliate Advocacy (This blog covers affiliate program legislation all over the US.) and @AffAdvocacy on Twitter
• Colorado Internet Tax blog
• Keep Speaking Out in Opposition to Advertising Tax
• Twitter search on #advertising tax

Amazon Associates affiliate program now integrated with Blogger blogs

Last week, Amazon announced their new program Amazon Associates for Blogger, a direct integration between Amazon Associates, their affiliate program, and Blogger. This new collaboration makes it easier for bloggers to monetize their content by adding relevant Amazon product links to blog posts without interrupting the blog editing process. Amazon Associates for Blogger is now available on the Associates Central webpage.

Sign up is easy

If you already have an Amazon Associates affiliate account, you can use your current Associates ID. If you’re new to Amazon Associates, you can sign up and get your ID right away.

The sign up process for current Associates takes less than a minute and is instantly added to your Blogger blog under the Monetize tab. You also have the ability to turn the Amazon Product Finder off if you don’t like it for some reason. If you’re new to the Amazon Associates program (and yes, it’s worth signing up even if you only make a few dollars a month) you’ll need to give them contact and banking information.

How to use Amazon Associates for Blogger in your posts

The new tool allows you to easily to add Amazon affiliate links and images to you blog posts in just two easy steps:

1. Just type and highlight the relevant text into your blog post. The Amazon Product Finder, which shows up in your posting screen, searches Amazon’s millions of products and recommends the ones that are most closely associated with the text you highlighted.
2. You can then insert a link or image (or both in a badge type ad) to that product, which will include you Associates ID. (When you add an image to your post, there will be a blue lined box around it. However, this will not show up when you post.)

If you use a blog editor such as LiveWriter, you may want to write your post first in that program, then post it draft in your Blogger blog, and use the Amazon Product Finder to add Amazon affiliate links and pictures.

Amazon Associates for Blogger sidebar widgets

Signing up Amazon Associates for Blogger also enables you to show dynamic content in your blog sidebar using a new set of integrated sidebar gadgets, such as gadgets for MP3 clips from the Amazon DRM-free music store, an Amazon Deals gadget, and an Amazon Search box. Just go to Layout, click on Add a Gadget and type in Amazon to find all their gadgets.

Warning: some bloggers find that adding Amazon sidebar gadgets to their blogs slows down page/site load time. I’ve had the problem where their gadgets goofed up the code of other sidebar widgets. Also, I noticed that my readers seldom click on Amazon side bar gadgets, so I don’t use them. No point in letting them take up precious real estate on my blog.

I love how the Amazon Associates for Blogger feature helps you save a lot of time when trying to monetize your content. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Amazon is considering adding similar functionality to TypePad and WordPress blogs.

Monetizing your blog with ad networks

Joining an ad network is an easy way to monetize your blog. There are dozens of blog ad networks with new, niche ones starting every day. Here are a few of the better ones:

• For women and parenting centered blogs: BlogHer Ad Network, MomLogic, Real Girls Media, GlamMedia, JuiceBoxJungle’s Jungle Ad Network
• For foodies: FoodBuzz Featured Publishers, BlogHer Ad Network
• For all types of blogs: BuzzLogic, Six Apart Media Advertising Program for Bloggers, BlogAds, Fatvine Vertical Advertising Network (CustomerForce)

Before signing up with a blog ad network, you should find out:

• Are they signing up new bloggers or is it by invite only?
• What are the network’s requirements – traffic, frequency of posting, profanity, etc.?
• Do they require exclusivity, meaning can you run other ads or ad networks?
• Are you allowed to do sponsored (paid) posting?
• Ad banner placement – must their ad banner be at the top of your blog to count impressions?
• What do they pay? Usually it is $X per CPM (cost per thousand views)
• Who are their clients? Fortune 500 companies or little “mom and pops”?
• Do they run a lot of filler and public service ads?
• Does the ad “disappear” if there isn’t a campaign running?
• Control – can you opt out of a campaign if you do not care for the advertiser?
• What media outlets is the ad network is partnering with?

In my experience, BlogHer Ad Network has been the best paying ad network for my blog, This Mama Cooks! This could be because I’m in a good niche (health and wellness) and a good fit for many of their clients. However, others have told me they didn’t make all that much with BlogHer. Also, BlogHer’s rules on giveaways and reviews are restrictive and have been a turn off for many bloggers, so even if they do pay a better, it may not be worth changing your blog to fit their requirements.

How to get your blog on Amazon's Kindle

You can now publish your blog’s RSS feed for sale on the Amazon Kindle Store and Amazon will share revenue with you for every Kindle user who subscribes to your feed.

Getting started is easy

To start using Amazon Kindle Publishing for Blogs, first create a new account by following a quick three-step process to create your login information, set up your security questions and fill out the Vendor Set Up form.

In the Vendor Set Up form you will need to do the following:

• Provide your contact information
• Provide your payment information
• Accept the terms and conditions

Once you are finished with the setup, you can upload your blog on the Add a Blog page.

Add a blog

To upload your blog for purchase in the Kindle Store you need to follow a short three step process:

1. Fill out the simple one page form
2. Preview your blog to be sure you are happy with how it will be displayed
3. Publish your blog

Add your feed

First you need to validate your blog’s feed URL by using the URL of your blog or its RSS feed by adding it the appropriate field. If your feed is not validated, then please check the following requirements:

• The blog feed should be a full text, well formed XML feed.
• The feed should be a valid ATOM or RSS feed.

Note that if your feed has videos or user-generated links like Reddit, DIGG and Technorati, they will be removed for the Kindle version. Also, if your feed has advertisements and promotional links, they will be removed for the Kindle version. Use the preview functionality to make sure you are satisfied with how your feed looks.

How much should you charge for advertising?

Ever get an email from a potential advertiser asking you what your ad rates and sizes are. You’re excited that they want to buy ad space, but you have no idea what to tell them. Here are some tips.

What type of ads?

Do you want to run only banner ads (graphics)? Or would you consider running text link ads as well? (See my post Should you permit paid links or text ads on your blog? on what you need to consider before running text link ads.)

Banner ad sizes

Ad size is dictated by the sidebars on your blog – how wide are they? Also, if you have a custom template, you may be able to place ads just below your blog’s banner or between your posts.

Some popular sizes used by blog ad networks:

• horizontal skyscraper 728x90
• vertical skyscraper 150x600 or 150x200
• box 250x250 or 160x600
• badge 150x150

You can easily place ads between blog posts or just below the banner if you know how to tweak the CSS code in self-hosted WordPress theme files, advanced templates in TypePad, or the template in Blogger. If not, ask your blog designer or a friend who’s comfortable with CSS to help you learn how to do this. That way you can easily add or take down ads on your own.

The designer who did my self-hosted WordPress blog created special theme files for each ad space and put in directions that basically said, “Put ad code here.” That way I didn’t have to bother her when I wanted to change my ads.

How to get a blogger conference sponsorship

Some bloggers have pre-conference garage, eBay or Etsy sales to raise money so they can go to a conference. Others put donation boxes on their blogs or do some freelancing or paid posting to save up before their trips. One of the best ways to get much if not all of your expenses paid for is to solicit blogger sponsorships.

How to get a sponsorship

Pitching a PR agency or the marketing department of a company for a conference sponsorship is like that old adage, it can’t hurt to ask and the worse thing that can happen is that they say no (or don’t respond at all). Still, there’s a right way and a wrong way to pitch a conference sponsorship. Here are some tips that have worked for me.

Who to ask:

• What PR firms or companies do you have relationships with? Who have you worked with in the past at blogger events or doing reviews or giveaways on your blog? These are the people and firms that know you, your brand, your influence and hopefully your worth.
• What brand or product would you feel comfortable representing? Is it a good fit for your blog? Yes, we all love ice cream, but if you have a weight loss blog it may not be the best product to sponsor you.

Remember all the times you took the time to politely turned down a pitch or didn’t pitch a fit when a PR person goofed up a giveaway? This is where all your relationship building can pay off.

How to ask:

I find that an emailed pitch works best. But I’ve also tweeted asking for conference sponsorships – and then followed up via email if I found out that someone was interested. Other bloggers have created a special page or badge on their blogs advertising that they are looking for sponsors. All are good ways to get the word out that you’re looking for sponsorship opportunities.

Why affiliate programs don't work well for mom bloggers

The Making-Money-on-the-Internet Gurus will tell you that the key to making money off your website or blog is selling things via affiliate programs. Some of the more popular affiliate programs are:

• Amazon Affiliates
• Commission Junction
• Google Affiliate Network
• LinkShare
• Pepperjam Network
• ShareASale

Since I like to experiment and try different ways to monetize my blogs , I quickly signed up for several of these, and put ads in my sidebars for everything from VistaPrint to meal planning programs. I did everything I was supposed to including posting about the products or programs and running sidebar affiliate ads.

So, how much did I earn? Well, with the exception of Amazon Affiliates, where I usually get $10-50 per month, I made $0, nada, NOTHING. Now why is that? And why don’t most mom bloggers make anything with affiliate programs?

Becoming a better blogger: online problogging classes

Last week, when I posted Two ways to improve your writing skills, I mentioned online writing classes. But did you know that there are online problogging classes, too?

Darren Rowse of ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog

Most of the pro blogging classes out there have a definite “make money blogging” slant. However, if all you’re interested in is honing your blogging skills to grow readership, then check out Darren Rowse of Problogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, a downloadable e-book. It’s designed to help you revitalize your blog by giving you 31 tasks that will help you turn it into the page view powerhouse.

I participated in Darren’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge the last time it ran. (Well, I read the daily emails, but didn’t actually do any of the exercises since I was too busy.) Darren is The Man when it comes to blogging, so $19.95 is a small price to pay for some great advice.

You may also want to get Darren’s book, ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income, that he wrote with Chris Garrett.

Should you permit paid links or text ads on your blog?

Recently, several bloggers have asked me for advice on selling text links on their blogs. But before I start the discussion on whether that’s a good or bad thing, let’s go over some definitions first.

• Sponsored in-text links: These are paid links that seem to appear “organically” (naturally) in your content. For example, you post a story about receiving flowers for Mother’s Day. Then a company contacts you and offers you money to have you link the word “flowers” to their florist site.

Another example: A company asks to put a paragraph at the end of an old post. It contains links to their website, but the copy has nothing to do with the subject of your post. It looks like paid linking, but it may not be indentified that way.

• Text link ads: These appear in the side bar along with other graphic advertising and are labeled as sponsored or advertising.
• Sponsored posts: a review or post that is completely sponsored (or paid for) by a company – and labeled that way.
• No follow links: Putting a no follow tag after a link so it doesn’t pass on page rank. Here’s to do them. Instead of:

Visit my <a href="http://www.example.com/">cool company</a> site.

You link it this way:

Visit my <a href="http://www.example.com/" rel="nofollow">cool company</a> site.

• Page rank: The authority search engines give to your blog and content. The more authority your site has, the higher up your content will appear in searches.