I’ve been exploring three or four new ways to make money, you’ve probably noticed them on the blog, in addition to the more typical ways.

TTZ Media: Nice pictures, needs work.

I’ve recently added some rather nice graphical ads courtesy of TTZ Media, that feature all sorts of goodies. I added them primarily as a way to add visual elements to the blog. Of course, the fact that I can earn a little money with them is quite nice. They are featured in two places. On each page at the top of the posts, and in the single posts page before the comments. Additionally, I’ve also enrolled in the Affiliate Scheme.

Results: I’ve had only 2 clicks since I joined in early November. It’s definitely more beneficial in a number of ways than Adsense, and I enjoy the visual elements much more. But I’ve still to experiment with placement and product selection. It could be that this blog doesn’t suit certain kinds of items well.

Indeed: Publishers’ Program

This is an interesting alternative that I have tried out in the last few days. Indeed.com provides publishers with a Jobroll box in four or five different sizes that can be placed on your website, in a manner very similar to Adsense. Indeed writes:

Publishers: Include Indeed on Your Website
Add a Jobroll, Job Search Box, Instant Job Site and more to your site. Get paid. Join the Indeed Publisher Program to earn money by including our job search tools on your website or blog. You will be adding valuable content to your site while generating revenue.

I haven’t generated any revenue at all with this, but the page impressions are increasing. It seems that placement and appropriacy is key to these kinds of ads.

My own BlogAdcents Program

If you are failing to monetize your blog with Adsense (as I was), and you think you have enough traffic, you can create your own program, as I did.

I’m going to be doing the program more like text links, though with fixed costs to advertisers and none of the hassle of fraudulent clicks. This will give advertisers an Adsense type block with premium placement at the top of the website. At $15 per month with traffic levels rising, this is a great way to monetize a blog.

I’ve tried other ways of the years, and I’ll be laying out those options in a major post in early December. In the meantime, try one of those options, and experiment! I’m still getting lousy click throughs, but you might fare better, much better! Do report back and let me know what success or failures you’ve had…

And good luck!