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Resources for Writers & Bloggers:Travel Blogger Academy Review

Posted on September 22, 2012 Written by Pinar Tarhan

new_tba_images_create — Image via travelbloggeracademy.com.

I don’t remember how I first came across Travel Blogger Academy, but I’m really glad that I did. While I do write travel articles for websites and don’t run a travel blog (yet), I realized that this website is a great resource for all web writers and bloggers, whether they are interested in travel writing or not. Of course it is a lot more beneficial if they are.

The website tells you everything you need to know for starting, monetizing and successfully managing a travel blog. But the great thing is, despite most niche blogs, a lot of their advice can actually be applied to other blogs as well.

Editor-in-chief of Travel Blogger Academy, Adam Costa, does know and prove that content is the most important asset of any blog. He has utilized his writing and blogging optimally, and he is leading a lifestyle many writers would love to have: write what you care about for an audience that wants to hear what you are saying, make passive income all the while traveling to wherever you want.

Now, let’s do a content breakdown:

The homepage contains the blog posts, as well as the chance to subscribe to the 24-part free email course on travel blogging (though this course can be subscribed to from any page of the blog, which is a great tip for any blogger when it comes to what action you want your audience to take).

The other content pages- create content, grow traffic, get paid, use tools, include a collection of the best posts on the blog on these topics, which serve as what Chris Garrett would call flagship content. They tell you all the basics you need to know, as well as what you should do to take things to the next level(s).

From its logo to its design, from its content to clearly defined tone and purpose, Travel Blogger Academy has a lot to teach while being fun, practical and relatable.

Below are some of my favorite articles:

Travel Writers: 37 Publishers Who Pay – a nice collection of travel markets, both web and print.

101 “Magnifiers” For Exploding Your Travel Site’s Traffic

101 Proven Headlines for Travel Blogs (Yours Free)

How To Read Minds And Become Irresistible To Your Audience

How to Write Travel Stories That Sell

In a nutshell, this blog can help you

– Write great headlines – regardless of the topic

– Be informative without a subject without sacrificing fun and personality

– Dig deeper into what plugins there are out there

– Connect with your audience

– Make money

– Grow traffic

– Get inspired

And more.

Have you checked out the site yet?

Disadvantages of Get Paid to Blog & Get Paid to Review Sites

Posted on November 13, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

get paid blogging — Image via blog.blogsetup.com

When I first heard the concept “paid-to-blog”, I felt like I had hit jackpot. What was there not to love? I loved blogging and writing about a variety of subjects. Hell, even some of the famous probloggers like Yaro Starak or John Chow had initiated some of their incomes through sites like Review Me.

– Not all of them accept free blog platforms like Blogger (Google’s Blogspot).

– The well-paying and most-sought after ones might be hard to get accepted into (in terms of traffic/etc).

– Not all of them are OK with URL extensions such as blogs. For instance, this blog’s URL is writing.pinartarhan.com, and it is OK. However my entertainment blog, http://pinartarhan.com/blog/, wasn’t accepted to some sites because of the “blog” extension at the end. Smorty was one.

– Most of the review jobs offer low pay, such as $1-5 for 100-200 words.

– Most of the advertisers require that it is a positive review- which wouldn’t have been entirely unacceptable if they hadn’t also required you to not mention it is a paid review. Why would you put your credibility on the line for anyone?

– Most of the advertisers/websites offered to you are irrelevant to your blog’s topic.

– Some of them only accept sites that get over a certain amount of traffic and/or have a certain PR (Google Page Rank). Even if the site doesn’t require that, a lot advertisers listed require a certain PR, even though they pay ridiculously low amounts.

– Some of the sites are country-specific, so you can’t write for them if you are out of their preferred/obligatory tax/geographical zone.

Aren’t there advantages? Sure there are:

– Almost all these sites come with their own affiliate programs, so you can recommend using them. Why do you think there are so many articles written about them? I suspect many bloggers using these sites make more money through being an affiliate rather than actual blog posts they wrote for the sites.

– Many pay via PayPal.

– It’s relatively easy to write 100 words and place a couple of links.

– If you are using one of the top sites, and your site is a strong one, you can get paid a decent amount/review.

– You can use your experience and recommendations when you are applying for website/blogging jobs.

What are some of these sites?

Reviewme

Smorty (However Smorty also enables you to publish banner ads.)

Payperpost.

Sponsored Reviews

Blogvertise.com

Where do I stand?

For me, the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages, so I don’t get excited about these sites anymore. Sure, if a great site with lots of pros comes out, I might give it a try. But for now, I am staying away. What’s your take on these sites?

Please note that I used the site links to the review sites. They’re not affiliate links.

6 Problems in Blog / Website Monetizing

Posted on March 14, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

make money online, making money online — image via googlepagerankupdate.org

Monetizing websites & blogs is very popular topic. How can it not be? More blogs and websites are created every day. And more often than not, they are created to earn an income. Even for the ones who are not in it solely for the money, earning becomes a perk. Let’s face it, money is a strong motivator, especially if it can be made doing something we love.

It’s a never-ending research. I’ve been blogging since 2009 and I still stop to read articles on how-to-monetize. And I do occasionally stumble upon a new trend or a monetizing option or site I haven’t heard of or tried yet.There are tons of places for getting banner ads, in-text ads, image or video ads. Hey, you can add affiliate links. There are also product-reviewing sites. You can create and sell your own products…

Unfortunately, the monetizing opportunities are not as endless as they may seem and just like every rose has its thorn, a monetizing option comes with its restrictions.

Below are 6 problems you can encounter while you are trying to make money with your sites:

Traffic: Yes, traffic and clicks mean you make more money. Traffic improves with your efforts so you do make more money with more traffic. The problem? Some websites do not sign up with you unless you have a certain amount of traffic. Some simply get you in the waiting list and say they will contact you when you reach their quota.

Examples: Text Link Ads, Review Me

Minimum Payouts: Adsense is really popular. It is easy to use and it belongs to Google. So the popularity makes sense. The downside? The minimum payout is $100. And reaching $100 is not that easy. Just like Adsense, there are a lot of sites whose minimum payouts change between $50 and $100. Now, experts advise experimenting for a couple of months to see which advertising method works best. But think about how much time it takes to build the necessary traffic, add the experimental period…and there is a chance you will have to wait for a long time to see your first payout.

Traffic Generation Rules: One of the most popular methods is link exchanges. You place your blog on traffic exchange sites and you exchange traffic with other blogs. Or simply you review other sites to earn credits and the sites show your site in proportion to credit earned. Traffic can lead to more unique visitors, more fans, potential sales… Yes, we love traffic. But, Google Adsense says on its terms and conditions that you can’t use this method. So it doesn’t pay you before $100, it limits your ways for traffic generation and it can decide not to pay you if at all if it realizes you are disobeying the rules.

Payment Methods: It is weird that in the age of PayPal, there are lots of websites that do not include PayPal as how you can receive your revenue. You still need to wait for the check in the mail. Not very progressive, is it? There are usually costs for sending it, not the mention the time you need to wait if you actually do live far away.

Relevance of the ads/link opportunities: Almost all advertising sites ask you to fill in the details for your blog and then choose a category. But after you took the time to describe your blog perfectly, you notice that the ads showing have nothing to do with what you are writing about. Or you wait for a link opportunity to make a quick buck. The idea is that you place a link in your writing along with the description of the product/service/site required. I signed up with payperpost. Problems? I get offers about laser surgery. What was my blog about? Well, let me just say it has nothing to do with eyes or any sort of medical thing.

Language of The Ads: Sometimes no matter how specifically you define your target audience or carefully stress that your blog is in English, you might get ads in an other language depending on your country of origin.

Monetizing your blog or website will always be tricky. My suggestion is to read terms and conditions and their requirements carefully before experimenting. As you get more traffic, gain more authority and your reputation spreads, you will have the chance to deal with sponsors directly. You can put a price tag on your advertising slots. Until then, be prepared for some frustration.