How can a site be effectively monetized through online advertising?

QUESTION:

I have a friend who runs a very active physical and online networking group. There are thousands of members who pay a small fee. The group arranges events and people meet at businesses and locations that are convenient and interesting.

1. There is a small fee to belong to the group.

2. My friend is not currently charging anything to the businesses where events occur. Nor does she have them place ads on her site (a known missed opportunity that needs to be rectified)

3. The real question is how (or if) she can utilize those “automatic advertisements” that so often appear on web pages and articles. How does this get set up? How would she make money from this? Is is worth the time and effort?

She is likely willing to share some of the revenue provided by this, if someone can help her monetize the site. Thanks for your help.

ANSWER:

Naomi Kokubo

by Naomi Kokubo, Cofounder of Founders Space

Google’s Adsense is a good place to start, but it doesn’t always offer the best value:

http://www.adsense.com

It is simple to place Google ads on your site and start earning money right away.  The ads are matched to the content on your site automatically, so there isn’t a lot of work you have to do.  All you have to do is pick out the ad format that works best with the layout and content of your site.

Another option is AdBrite.  In addition to text and banner ads, AdBrite offers full-page ads, picture ads and inline ads.

http://www.adbrite.com/

And there’s Yahoo Publisher Network:

http://advertising.yahoo.com/publisher/index

You should also consider affiliate programs.  These require more work but can also yield more money.  The more targeted your content, the better affiliate networks perform.  Instead of paying you per click, these networks give you a % of any sales generated from ads on your site.

Here are the top 5 affiliate networks…

1. Com­­m­­ission Ju­nction (www.cj.com­­)

2. Click­Ba­n­k­ (w­w­w­.click­ba­n­k­.co­m)

3. Lin­k­Share (www.lin­k­share.co­m)

4. Affiliate­ Win­­dow (www.affiliate­win­­dow.com)

5. Am­azo­n (w­w­w­.am­azo­n.c­o­m­)

I hope this helps!