Scam: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation <an insurance scam> /Merriam-Webster
Scheme: to form plans /Merriam-Webster
I wanted to share a couple of definitions. As you can see, there is a big difference between the two. What I am trying doing is a scheme, I have a plan, it is not a scam. I will not ask you for money, any revenue I receive as a result of this blog, will be through affiliate marketing.
As you look around this page you will see banners and text ads. All those ads are designed to direct revenue to me. For the most part, the companies pay me an advertising fee or a referral fee. The ad fees are around 6% and the referrals are based on your performance.
I have always had a real problem with banners and other advertisements “hanging” all over a web page. I just figure, if want to buy something I will look for it, I don’t need someone telling me what to buy!! Well, the shoe is now on the other foot.
Now I understand why those ads are there. Prior to this project, I assumed all ads were placed on a web page as payment for the bandwidth, to the host. I had no idea the page itself, could be used to create income. I guess, I never really understood just how people made money other than subscription fees. Live and learn.
Blogger is free, that is why I am starting out with it. If two weeks down the line I get a job offer and a abandon this project, I have spent no money and have no recurring fees. I also understand I want/need more control of the site in order to make the most of it. Soon, I will need to spend a little money. Or will I?
This is not my first exposure to building template websites. I have built and maintained 2 company websites and a couple of band websites. I have used Go Daddy, Yahoo and BandVista. All three were very easy to use and I was able to build nice looking sites. But, I have been using Personal Computers since they came out. I have spent a lot of time on the internet and did a little online research, checking out the competition.
It is hard to believe how little effort some people put into a web page. I would think lack of actual computer expertise is the biggest culprit. The next being lack of general business practices. And that is, what this is all about, creating a stable, long term business.
I actually viewed a site today that had text generated by some sort of program. The text started out okay and then was just gibberish. It also had a virus attached to it. About 70% of the ads are junk and useless. The other 30% at least look professional and may have something to offer.
Before I forget, make sure you have some sort of anti-virus software installed. I use AVG. They offer a free version (free, not a trial version) of their anti-virus software, it catches anything that doesn’t belong. I am working on an affiliate partnership with AVG, I will post a link as soon as I can.
I have found a web hosting site I am trying out. It starts out free, but I am sure I will need to pay a fee to get full use of all the features. It looks like a “premium” plan is about $8.00 a month. The good news is I have other income streams that will cover that cost. I will now be re-investing in my business. Even with this fee, I am still paying zero out of pocket.
I will continue to move this blog over to the new site. I will continue to post at this site as well for the next 3 or 4 weeks. Next time: What are we going to do about traffic?
Peace
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