Making Money Quietly

Hey folks,

I think it's time to put in an appearance and quell some of the concerns I've been reading in my emails and elsewhere. Court's latest post Can You Increase Blog Traffic without Posting has an interesting thread going in the comments that reads something like this:

"Where the heck did Court, Vic and Griz disappear too?"

Court's post answers his absence and in my case the answer is quite simple - the summer is my busiest time at the Lodge and as my largest income producer and biggest investment I have little choice but to concentrate on it. The fact that my online appearances have slowed at the same time as Vic and Court's is simply a coincidence and not planned. Vic has posted a new video in which he explains his feelings towards Blogger Unleashed called My Status Here.

I have long said beware of chasing social traffic. Yes it has some benefits - backlinks being first among them but links aside it is a time wasting activity if you are trying to make money online. Vic's video sums this up better than anything I can say. Blogger Unleashed has over 3000 RSS subscribers and as Vic states he makes peanuts from the site. If you have watched the video and read the comments then you'll know that Vic is contemplating shutting the site down. Quite simply he is tired of the criticism he receives from people looking to bait him and the aggravation he has incurred as a result of giving out too much info - people reporting his sites as spam after showing others his methods. Considering he doesn't charge a cent for the info he shares it's not hard to understand how the backlash has given him pause to stop.

In this regard I am no different. I have been burned a number of times as well for showing people example sites only to have some jerk report them. The fall of Backlink Solutions still bothers me as it was a great resource for short term campaigns that generated a considerable amount of money for me. I had used it successfully for over a year and no sooner did I open my mouth about it in the forum and presto - Google slapped it out of existence. Coincidence? Perhaps. Then again perhaps not and I am less inclined to give away my little secrets now. This more than anything has me in a bit of a bind. I have no problem helping others out but I don't think I can be as open about what I do anymore. The irony about free information is that anyone can get it and sabotage it. If you pay for information and it works you aren't likely to tell others - including Google.

I'm not going to whine about this though. I knew the possible consequences before divulging my tactics and accept the results. The end result is that this is an Adsense blog and I continue to increase my income on this blog monthly. I could have posted fluff and still built this site to where it is now but without readers. I have chosen to write useful content simply because it is easier and more rewarding than writing about crap and the fact that I have developed a readership has been a pleasant bonus although not in a monetary way. I am not prepared to get stung anymore though and haven't quite figured out how to give out the results of my experiments without the proof. I had a comment once that remarked about me being a show off. This kind of took me back as I am anything but. I show results in order to back up my assertions - why do what I say if you don't know it works? I think from here on in my readers will have to accept more on faith than by example. My record should speak for itself and in any event I don't charge for the info. Either I am telling the truth or I'm just trying to get people to waste their time.

Many bloggers have described me as an Adsense blogger primarily because I have used Adsense as the main form of monetization on this site and in examples I have talked about. The fact is that only a small handful of my sites are true Adsense sites. I have promoted Adsense more than Affiliate Sales and Lead Generation simply because it is easier for beginners to make money with and more importantly it is more consistent in monthly earnings. Other forms of monetization can and do make larger sums of money on any given month but they lack the consistency of Adsense. I had planned on a long series of step by step Lead Generation posts that I've since shelved simply because I can't do it properly unless I use some sites I have built for this purpose. Unfortunately the days of revealing my sites are over.

There is another issue that has me severely bogged down - my email. I have thousands of un-answered emails in my inbox. I can't keep up and feel quite guilty and distressed about it. The answers for 90% of the emails are in my posts - if you are waiting for a response please start reading the posts. I don't have the time to keep answering the same questions over and over again. The remainder of the emails are from friends I have met looking for help with their sites - reviews, joint ventures and new projects that they have asked me to join in on. These are the most time consuming and I am now realizing that I don't have the time to do all that has been requested. There are several projects on hold that I really am interested in as they will make me money but I keep delaying them to help others whose projects have little value for me but will help others make money. I have to learn to start saying no. If I do please don't take it personal. I just need to concentrate on some of my stuff for the time being. Doing so will have benefits for the rest of you as it will give me new material for this blog that you can all use down the line.

Anyhow, that's where I am at right now. I haven't disappeared - just inundated with the side of social blogging that most of you are unaware of - it sucks up so much of your time that posting new content becomes a liability. A new post means hundreds of new emails and comments to tend to. This is great until you reach the point that you can't keep up. Something to think about if you are still trying to become the next A Lister. Ever wonder why they eventually just post fluff or use guest posters?

Just so I haven't wasted your time completely you might want to check out Google's latest tool for keyword research; Google Insights for Search which is still in Beta but looks really promising. This tool greatly expands on the Trends theme and is ideal for local niches. If you are trying to find the hottest keywords then play around with this.

Also Frank has a great post on some Adsense Optimization Tips over on OpTempo you should read.