I’d have to say that gmtristan.com has made a few bucks ever since I bought my URL. I can’t divulge the exact amount but it really made a big difference since I used this extra cash to purchase my “stuff” – gadgets and more games hehe. Throughout these past few months, I’ve tried a lot of ways to monetize the blog and make money online. A lot of them were referrals from my blogging friends like Wauks, Kiven, Selaplana, Diwa, Chino and Meng. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank these guys for all their help and support.

There were some hits and misses and I thought I’d share with you some of the lessons that I learned throughout this ordeal. It was a great year and this just goes to prove that experience is the best teacher.

The most important ingredient you need in this recipe to make money online are NUMBERS – readers/traffic translate to rankings. Better traffic and better rankings will increase your revenue significantly. You also have to write great and original content and don’t forget to optimize them for better exposure to search engines.

How to Monetize Your Blog

Before I go to the actual applications or systems that you can use to monetize your blog, here’s a checklist;

1. Find your niche – find a need or a want. If this is your own hobby, you’ve taken that big first step. You will eventually be making money online if you enjoy what you do. It doesn’t matter if it’s a blog on writing, sewing or cars. If you love it and are passionate about it – go and shoot for the stars! I chose gaming since it’s part of my work and I love writing stuff for it. 2 hit combo! Bam!
2. Invest in a domain – this is probably one of the most neglected part of those trying to make money online. Getting your own domain and host can mean a difference in getting cents or actual dollars per day. Make sure the domain (keywords) are easily identifiable with your niche.
3. Choose your keywords – Do this exercise. Get a big yellow pad and write your blog niche (main keyword, for example mine would be “Online Games”) on top. And then try to list down as many keywords related to the main one. And then mark them as 1, 2, or 3 (with 1 being the most significant). Relist them using this ranking and then do a Google for each. Note down what competitor sites or blogs came up, visit a few and find out what content they have. Also note what advertising or revenue streams they offer. This is a good first step in determining where you are in the “food chain”.
4. Get the ESSENTIALS - the essentials would be an
   1. RSS Feed
   2. a mybloglog profile
   3. digg account
   4. Entrecard (I just got one)
5. Choose your CMS (Content Management System) – for me WordPress is the way to go. ‘Nuff said.
6. Get a PayPal account – Paypal is now open to sending and receiving cash in the Philippines. So get yours now via www.paypal.com

Now that you have all the basics above, it’s time to actually choose the methods to monetize your blog. Here they are.

1. Google Adsense - It’s interesting to note that Yuga said that Adwords will be taking a back seat moving forward. I think I will have to agree, I’m seeing some slight decline in my adsense earnings. But don’t worry, Adsense will still be the primary source of income for most blogs. You’ll just have to supplement it with the other tools below. So do yourself a favor and get a Google Adsense account now.
2. Supplementary Advertising – I use Adbrite for mine. Adbrite highlights words automatically. I used to just get a few US cents a day. But now it’s turned around for the better. Now I’m getting a few dollars a day from Adbrite and it’s soon going to overtake Adsense in a couple of months.
3. Sponsored Reviews – A lot of new startups have offered ways to do sponsored reviews. Here in the Philippines, my friends from Mad Crowd are trying to become “New Media Buyers”. They’re the first in that business model. Let’s wish them well. Internationally, the ones offering this service are Smorty, Sponsored Reviews and ReviewMe. Go check each and find the one you like. Just a word of caution, Google is heavily slapping the page ranks of those who use this. Do your homework first.
4. Commissions from auctions or e-shops – For gmtrisan.com, I am an official affiliate of amazon.com. This means that when people buy online from my referred links, I get around 6% to 10% of the sale. It’s not that blatant nor is it an obvious thing and you should try it especially if your blog is directly linked to products.
5. Direct Advertising – first you offer free banner exchange programs and then graduate to sell actual banners (and other real estate) on your site. I’ll write another article soon on suggested start-up prices. But do check out my advertising page for some notes.

The list above is not exhaustive. Just experiment with each one and you’ll get results via trial and error. Promote your blog via link loves or even carnivals and try to hold contests or events for your readers every once in a while.

Like me, I’m sure you’ll discover that the fun is in the process, the rewards of actual DOLLAR$$$ in your paypal account or getting your first Google Adsense check will be worth all the work. I see blogging as a way for me to relax and earn a few dollars on the side. It’s not enough (yet) to be the sole source of my income but my goal is for me to get there.

Here’s wishing you all the best of luck in monetizing your blog and making money online!

May your hits increase and hope you have fun in the process!

Mon Macutay (aka GM T)

www.gmtristan.com