Couple of interesting reads…
Normally I’m selfish with my traffic (kidding of course) but I’ve been following some things over the past day or two regarding Seeking Alpha and monetizing your site/blog…
First let’s look at Seeking Alpha and their recent decision to pay contributors for their articles. Felix Salmon pulled back the curtain (and saved me a LOT of writing). Read his article here, then come back to me… Why is Seeking Alpha…
First glance…it seems like an AWESOME idea!!
Second glance…meh, doesn’t sound that great.
Third glance…it could be improved, as this turns people off.
I saw the value of SA years ago as affiliates who were able to get (squeeze) their affiliate links into their SA articles could get huge traffic. I ALWAYS though they should honestly open it up, allow it, partner with main affiliate marketing sites, and let the passive income come in. Let the contributors make them affiliate money…but then you realize their ad supported. That’s not a bad thing, it just is what it is. Most times ads and affiliate marketing don’t play well and that’s mainly because ad people know affiliate stuff siphons their paid ads…sorry ad guys you need to step it up 😉
I personally think there can be a HEALTHY and PROFITABLE solution of mixing both the affiliate and paid model. But I’ll hold off sharing here as I’ve chatted with David Jackson a few weeks ago…and think he’ll be touching base again soon!
OK so what are YOUR thoughts on Seeking Alpha’s new paid model? Do you think an affiliate and paid model can be mixed? Comment below…if you dare 😉
Second, my good buddy (and frequent lightening rod) Tim Sykes wrote a great post talking about how to monetize, and NOT to monetize, your site as a blogger. It’s a long read, and you might not agree with it all…but it’s worth it. Read Tim’s article here!
So there you have it, some interesting stuff happening in our world and I’m looking forward to your take!
All my best,
Brad