Archive for: money
“Oil is to the global economy what advertising is to the web ecosystem. Cut it off and the whole thing shuts down”
That quote came from a renowned scholar at my former university in England.
My name is Niyi and I’m the Founder of Trafficspaces (I’ll get to what Trafficspaces does in a second).
Focus on that quote. It is quite seems particularly poignant in the current economic environment. It seems like no matter what we do, our dependence on oil just seems unassailable, even to our own detriment. It seems to me like we have a love-hate relationship with the “black gold”. Without it, we can’t seem to power anything. In fact, without it, we’ll all probably lose our jobs!
Advertising is pretty similar. Many people dislike ads on websites (especially the annoying banner ads) but unfortunately, the truth is that without ads, most websites, blogs, will go out of business and mass-appeal tools like the Google search engine, Gmail, Facebook, and possibly even Twitter will be unsustainable. I shudder at every “Catch the Monkey” ad like everyone else so I’ve been particularly intrigued to discover if there is a middle ground somewhere – something that gives publishers more control over what appears on their site and doesn’t leave them short-changed by some dodgy, fly-by-night ad network.
My team and I have just created a new ad management platform called Trafficspaces. We’ve solved three common problems:
1. Losing potential advertisers
“If you build it, they’ll come”. So true, but if they come and they are ready to pay, and you are not ready, they’ll leave (and may not come back). Way too many potential advertisers are lost because publishers expect them to fill a form in order to advertise. Where is the automation?
Imagine if you had to call an airline over the phone in order to book a flight, and there was no Expedia, Orbitz, Ebookers etc. It will be a pain and the airlines will make less money.
The solution – provide your own self-service system to process payments, and help them get started
at their convenience. Facebook and Myspace have spent millions doing exactly this. Most publishers can’t afford to do and that’s were Trafficspaces steps in. You can get your own white-labelled self-service ad platform from $4.99 a month.
2. Earning way below potential
I once spoke to a very large newspaper firm who relied mostly on Google for ads on their website. They received a $5,000 check every month from Google and they weren’t impressed. It turns out that their site generates about 10 million impressions per month and understandably they felt short-changed. “I wonder how much Google got paid by the advertiser” ranted their Online Editor.
Recently, Michael Arrington of Techcrunch mused about dumping his long term partner Federated Media because his advertisers (who had to go to Federated Media’s site to place ads with Techcrunch) were spending a disproportionate proportion of their budget with other sites on FM’s network. Basically, if Techcrunch had its own self-service system, they’ll keep more of the advertiser’s budget.
The point there is that publishers need more control. The traffic that cannot be filled by your direct sales, or through your self-service system can be sent to Google or any other ad network. This is particularly important for those who get a lot of site-targeted ads. That is the best way to maximize your revenue.
3. Managing ad operations easily
This part is actually quite important because a lot of publishers I know don’t want to get bogged down with the intricacies of monitoring ad campaigns, optimizing the ads, and preparing reports. They don’t want the complexity that comes with OpenX. They just want to approve the ads with one-click and forget about it. “Keep it Short and Simple” as a close friend said to me. If you are one of those publishers, then Trafficspaces is for you.
Conclusion
Our goal was to give publishers more control. More control over what appears on their sites, and more control of their revenue. But most importantly, it had to be done through a system that was easy to use. The response so far has been great.
If you want to try Trafficspaces out, visit www.trafficspaces.com
I came across a very interesting site the other day. I know its not really a startup so I shouldn’t be reviewing it, but I thought it was worth a mention anyways. The site is MakeStableMoney and it talks about how the average person can make money from home. I realise there are so many poor sites out there that seem to talk about this same issue, but for some reason I think this site actually has some quality.
Previously the site has talked about way to make money through sponsorships, best 3 google adwords books to read, 17 secrets on how to sell ebooks and more. This site can really help people make money online and I think it is a good investment of your time to check it out.
I have been looking at our advertising page over at BuySellAds and have been wondering why stats over their estimates only 18,000 impressions when my Google Analytics says 51,000? I know with BuySellAds it take sometime to build up the stats, but our ads have been on the site for over a month and they still havent increased up to its real level.
Are you sick and tired of receiving crappy spam messages in your inbox every single day? Well why only receive spam in your inbox when now you can also receive it on your mobile phone! This all comes from a new startup called SaySoMobile.
SaySoMobile is a new startup in which users can sign up and receive advertisements straight onto their mobile phone and in return the user makes a little money. Its that simple!
The idea is simple. Advertisers want access to people which gets their message across as much as possible for as little as possible. This new startup allows advertisers to target certain people in certain countries with advertisements direct onto their mobile phones via messages. Advertisers know that with this method the high majority of ads will be opened before they can be deleted, thus having a higher possibility of providing them a return on their investment.
Im very interested to hear from people using this service to make a little extra money, mainly to see if the money they are making is worth the intrusiveness of the advertisements.
Over at GigaOM they have put together a great list of the top 10 money making MMO games of 2008.
1. World of Warcraft, launched 2004
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG; client install with 3D graphics
Revenue sources: Monthly subscription, retails sales, prepaid cards (in Asia)
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $500 million-plus
2. Fantasy Westward Journey, launched 2004
Genre/Platform: Asian MMORPG, client install with 2.5D graphics
Revenue sources: Prepaid cards
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $150-$500 million
3. Maple Story, launched 2003
Genre/Platform: Asian MMORPG for kids, client install with 2D graphics
Revenue sources: Microtransactions, prepaid cards, international licensing
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $150-$500 million
4. Shanda (company, includes Legend of Mir and World of Legend series), launched 2003
Genre/Platform: Asian MMORPG, client install with 2.5 graphics
Revenue sources: Prepaid cards, virtual item sales, freemium subscriptions
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $150-$500 million
5. Lineage I and Lineage II , launched 1998 and 2003
Genre/Platform: Asian MMORPG, client install with 2.5 graphics (Lineage) and 3D graphics (Lineage II)
Revenue sources: Subscription, prepaid cards
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $150-$500 million
6. Runescape
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG for kids, web-based with 2.5D graphics
Revenue sources: Premium subscription, prepaid cards, real-world advertising
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million
7. Club Penguin, launched 2006
Genre/Platform: Virtual world for kids, web-based 2.5D graphics
Revenue sources: Premium subscriptions, prepaid game cards
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million
8. Lord of the Ring Online
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG, client install with 3D graphics
Revenue sources: Subscription, retail sales
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million
9. Warhammer Online
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG, client install with 3D graphics
Revenue sources: Subscription, retail sales
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million
10. Age of Conan
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG, client install with 3D graphics
Revenue sources: Subscription, retail sales
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million
Digg has finally made some critical changes to the way they are doing business. It has been reported by various sources this morning that Digg has fired about 10% of their staff and are hiring a direct sales team. I know this statement is probably bitter sweat for some of the employees fired, but Digg really needed to change the way they were doing business or eventually everyone there was going to be out of work.
This all comes on the back of BusinessWeek recently disclosing that Digg’s revenue was just $4.8 million in 2007, and through the first three quarters of 2008, $6.4 million. These results meant that they lost about $2.8 million 2007 and $4 million in 2008.
Digg are making these changes for one reason and that is to find a buyer! In my opinion Digg has to make a profit to have any chance of a acquisition. I think the team Digg have really taken the site as far as they can, because they had so many opportunities to implement Digg into a white label solution which would bring in million in license fees, but they were too busy trying for an acquisition based upon heavy loses. Is it just me or does this sound like a stupid business model. I know these days most tech startups don’t have a business model when they first start and they seem to be very reluctant to even add some advertising to at least generate some revenue. In this current climate that kind of business acument really doesn’t boad well for an acquisition!
Yesterday I was having a great conversation with Marshall Kirkpatrick (Vice President of Content Development at RWW, not sure what that means) about how to get your blog noticed in the current environment. The discussion started with me posing the basic question “how can I get my blog noticed because we seem to be producing very good content but not getting the rewards”?
It was first mentioned that Problogger is the best source for this information on the web, however I have been reading his site for many years now and most of the content seems to be getting a little reproduced. Additionally, Problogger talks a lot about social media and how to use it to your advantage, but these days everyone has been reading those articles for year and most bloggers use StumbleUpon, Digg, Mixx, Buzz and other very proficiently. If most bloggers are using these tools to their advantage then you still have the same issues, how to stand out from the crowd?
I know that here in Europe a blog that has been on the rise lately is TheNextWeb, but I know these guys have been writing that blog for several years now and they also have one of the best technology conference on the mainland of Europe. Therefore if I want to improve my readership it is a little difficult to just start a conference, or is it worth adding some add-ons to the site such as job board, marketplace or others?
Content is also a major player in this issues, cause most good bloggers say that content is king. However, I think that content is king when you are either a small blog or a large blog, but definitely in the middle content isnt king and it is all about promotion and push.
This is main problem with web 2.0, noise! Currently, there is just simply so much noise in most niche’s, so why instead of writing individual sites and keeping a little revenue, maybe the plan should be to join forces with other blogs and create a larger blog and take a smaller slice of a much larger pie.
I propose this question to you, “how can I get my site to stand out from the rest, especially considering we produce amazing content that is much better than the majority of our competitors”?
Working as a freelancer or running your own business with a fired up entrepreneurial spirit can be difficult when it comes to tracking your time and income on multiple projects. One of two things will happen eventually. You will either limit yourself in terms of projects and make just enough money to keep track of or you’ll end up losing money due to inability to properly and effectively keep track of your invoicing. Neither are suitable outcomes for someone starting out on their own.
To avoid such pitfalls, we have discovered a web application that is user friendly and informative, that application is Invotrak by Draconis Software. As a freelance writer I was able to utilize the software for an experiment in keeping track of my personal invoicing and time tracking needs, and I found this application to stand heads and shoulders above the others that I have used.
The Practical
Getting paid on time is important right? Correct invoicing is vital for the integrity and success of your business, so why complicate things any more than they should. Invotrak is a web-based invoice application that was specifically made with freelancers and small businesses in mind. In their words it’s difficult enough to work with clients and do the actual work that invoicing should be as simple as possible without having to hire someone else to do it.
When you sign up for an account, you are taken through several easy steps to get you started. Once on their home interface, you will notice that the smooth and easy to follow design is intuitive. There is no confusion in the labeling system so tabs are easy to find and easy to click. Again, why should invoicing be so difficult, Invotrak wants to make sure their application is as easy to use as possible.
The application does have a FREE option, but there is also a tiered pay structure ranging from as low as $9/mo to as high as $45/mo, depending on your needs.
The Features
Invotrak is full of features which make this free web application one of the more robust around.
- Invoicing – naturally the strong point of this application meant to keep track of all your clients and monies
- Client Database – keep track of everyone that you work with and never forget a name
- Timesheets – very important to keep track of time spent on projects to accurately invoice your client
- Create/Upload Invoices – have an invoice in a different format, no worries, the ability to upload ensures that you don’t have files laying around different programs.
- Reports – keep track of how your business does monthy, quarterly and yearly
These are just a few of the features that are made available to you. Here is a more comprehensive list of the features Invotrak offers.
The Analysis
Invotrak is a heavy hitter in the invoicing market. Rarely have I seen a web application so well put together. My only concern is their hierarchy. In the Free category you are only offered the ability to have up to 2 invoices a month and don’t get an unlimited number of invoices until you pay into the $45/mo plan. Seems like they’re selling the FREE aspect a little short for businesses that want to try the application for the first time. I believe the whole hierarchy is a little lopsided, but with over $3 million US dollars being tracked across Invotraks database, what do I know? Apparently freelancers and businsess worldwide are happy with it.
I highly recommend you give Invotrak a try and follow them on their blog.
Tom over at the income diary has been keeping track of all the incomes from some of the worlds top bloggers. These income lists have always interested me, because I just dont understand why people actually believe these stats and think they can emulate them. The blogs dont seem to explain what sites are fully involved to make this income because with some of them it is from their own blogs, but others its from numerous blogs. I also reported about this topic back in December to work out if you thought these figures were fact or fiction. Im still not convinced either way.
The top bloggers by monthly income:
| RANK |
BLOG NAME |
MONTHLY INCOME |
| 1 |
JohnChow |
$32,529.40 |
| 2 |
Shoemoney |
$10,000.00 |
| 3 |
Entrepreneurs-Journey |
$6,549.52 |
| 4 |
BloggingExperiment |
$5,021.00 |
| 5 |
GatherSuccess |
$4.080.42 |
| 6 |
ZacJohnson |
$2,969.56 |
| 7 |
MixedMarketArts |
$2,749.17 |
| 8 |
AffiliateConfession |
2,602.64 |
| 9 |
ShaMoneyMaker |
$2,100.00 |
| 10 |
TylerCruz |
$1,746.14 |
| 11 |
5xMom |
$1,500 |
| 12 |
Caroline-Middlebrook |
$1,241.84 |
| 13 |
JackBook |
$953.00 |
| 14 |
CashJuke |
$935.35 |
| 15 |
JonWaraas |
$630.00 |
| 16 |
Neotrepreneur |
$411.00 |
| 17 |
SavasPlace |
$409.10 |
| 18 |
InfectedByBugs |
$335.00 |
| 19 |
DuckelDanny |
$299.14 |
| 20 |
InspiredMoneyMaker |
$279.55 |
| 21 |
ChrisGuthrie |
$127.62 |
| 22 |
TeddyMoney |
$59.58 |
For a long time now there has been a search engine that has been totally forgotten about, that search engine is Dogpile. Dogpile is a meta-search engine that is currently owned by Infospace. I was browsing the site this afternoon and suddenly noticed that there werent any search ads in the results. Im so used to seeing search ads on Yahoo, Google, etc, but nothing on Dogpile. Why is this? Why would they have a search engine that is obviously not getting huge amounts of traffic, but is still getting something, so why not at the very least create a partnership with Google and get some money for those search ads?
This is probably not a good example, but im really sick of seeing Silicon Valley companies who get funding or whatever, but havent actually developed a real business model. Prime example lately was Sonific. Sonific was a great idea, but they never really had an affective business model that could go with their high class product. That is the main reason why I like seeing startups like Techmeme do so well, because they are bootstrapped with no money at all, but they have a real aim and a business model that can pull it all together.
Update: There was a misprint which stated that Dogpile was owned by IAC, which its not. Dogpile is owned by Infospace.
Every now and then I head across to 45n5’s Top 100 “Make Money Online” blogs and noticed that I have been taken off his list!! Anyways, this doesnt really upset me too much because Crenk is not a “Make Money Online” weblog!! We talk about Tech News, give our opinions and analyse tech companies and products.
However, as a nice guesture I thought i would just add the Top 100 blogs in here anyways. So here you go.
