Making money from CPM advertising

I never had much experience trying to make money from CPM until I worked on my site for the Beijing Olympics. Basically you just get paid a certain amount every 1000 times your ad is displayed on a website. Rates are pretty low and vary between industries. A quick search on the internet says the average rate might be around $5. Possibly higher for finance related sites and lower for social networks/celebrity sites.

I have been following Duncan Riley’s latest venture with interest – the Inquisitr and have even contributed a few posts. Duncan used to write for TechCrunch and his articles were often the most interesting and controversial.

The site’s traffic has grown where he will now be spending $750 a month on a managed server. It seems to me to be quite a bit of money, and hosting is typically one lower costs of a web business, with the exception of hosting videos.

I suppose most people would be envious of that level of traffic, but for an entertainment/news site I think it is not unusual. The problem is however, like what I found with the Beijing Olympic site, is that the traffic is not targetted and it is difficult to monetize.

Finance is probably the best paying industry. Travel, what I am trying to focus on, is also good. Entertainment/celebrity type sites are probably the worst industries to be in. Teaching people how to make money from the internet is probably also very lucrative.

If I had to rank the best ways to make money from the internet, they would be:

- selling your own info product
- direct advertising deals with companies
- affiliate programs
- PPC (Adsense)
- CPM (cost per impression)

I am sure that the Inquisitr now is starting to gain some interest in traditional media channels and I am sure there are some Australian companies following with interest. Duncan is able to get a lot of traffic and interest from his stories, something which many traditional news sites fail to do. One simple reason I believe is that most news sites don’t have comment sections, or comments need to be manually approved. People want to have their own say on a story.

So the Inquisitr might be struggling to make money now, if it continues to grow rapidly, I am sure an old media newspaper or magazine, might be quick to snap it up.

Relationship Advice Site and Blog Ideas

The internet is full of sites with varying degrees of knowledge and expertise on a variety of topics and issues. One of these areas is the realm of relationship advice. Starting a website and generating the requisite traffic would be a cinch if you pick the right niche.

People are constantly looking for ways to improve or fix their ailing personal lives, so they look to a multitude of articles on the web for advice on how to get to the place they want to be regarding their relationships.

There are so many different angles one could take when starting a relationship advice website or blog. Here are a few suggestions for creating a successful relationship website or blog:

Relationships Gone Wrong

A site like this could focus on relationships that have gone awry. Rather than a best practices approach, the site could be humorous in nature, focusing on all the wrong moves that can be made in a relationship. Readers would more than likely see some of their mistakes in the stories on the site and learn from a more comedic approach to relationship advice.

Relationship 101

This type of site would be a sort of relationship primer, with advice on how to meet people, what is appropriate, etc. Basic rules of etiquette, advice on attracting the best possible people into your life, and scenarios fully outlined for those who are not very good at the dating scene would be the focal point of this kind of site.

Successful Relationship Stories

A completely opposite approach from the first idea, this relationship site would focus on nothing but the positive aspects of being in a relationship. Anecdotal stories and affirmations would be the main type of content posted on this page or blog. Positivity and nothing but good, heartfelt content could make a great inspirational relationship site.

Relationship Problems and Solutions

This type of relationship site would focus on common relationship problems and different options for solving these dilemmas. Topics would range from taking the relationship to the next level, commitment issues, and tougher topics like infidelity and breaking up. No stone would be left unturned on this type of relationship site.

This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of an MBA degree. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com

5 Bad Habits That Keep You in Debt

It is hard to believe that some people are still shocked when they “discover” how deeply in debt they really are. While accumulating debt can occur much more quickly than the time it takes to pay it off, it rarely occurs overnight. There are some bad money management habits that most people dealing with debt will recognize. If you are seeking true financial freedom and relief from debt you need to recognize how you got in so deep in the first place and then formulate a plan to get back on your feet. Here are some common habits that keep people in debt.

* Failing to create and stick to a budget. The word budget is often associated with having a lower income. Here’s the reality of budgeting- it is not just for poor people trying to make ends meet. Everyone needs to have a handle of how much they earn and how much they spend. Poor people just have less wiggle room in their financial planning than middle or upper class households. Unfortunately by not having a household budget you might find yourself coming up short paying bills or having to use credit to pay for expenses that should have been covered elsewhere.

* Playing the transfer game. You might be hard pressed to find many lucrative offers for balance transfers in today’s economy, and if you do think twice before transferring a high interest balance to another card. While a lower interest rate saves you some money, many people use the new card to make new purchase thus acquiring more debt. If you carry balances on a higher interest card, a better option to reduce your debt is to pay off the debt quicker, not bounce it to another card to save a few months in interest charges. If necessary consider picking up a part-time job to put toward paying down balances.

* Ignoring inaccuracies on your credit report. If you are going to take the time to check your credit report you must be willing to take the time to report and correct inaccurate information. Just because you know the information is inaccurate, others viewing your report do not. Information on your credit report affects your credit score, which in turn determines your interest rates on credit cards or loans. Remember in today’s society your credit worthiness not only affects your finances, but also your ability to get a job, rent an apartment, get a cell phone or good rates on car insurance.

* Paying credit cards late. In the technological age in which we live, there really is no reason to have late payments. You can schedule automatic payments to be deducted from your checking account, pay by phone, or online. If you lack the funds to make the minimum payment on time every time you are only prolonging the day when your debt load will become unmanageable, if it isn’t already.

There are endless amounts of resources, programs and information available to anyone struggling with debt. Hard work, discipline and sacrifice are required to pay off your balances and lay the footwork for a debt free life.

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Trisha Wagner is a freelance writer for DestroyDebt.com, a debt community featuring debt forums. Trisha writes regularly on the topics of getting out of debt and personal finance.