Newbie report - $60 in 2.5 months - is this ok?

29 replies
Hey guys,

I've made $60 using Google Adsense on my educational website since it was launched 2.5 months ago. I've tried capturing email addresses with a free ebook, but no-one has signed up. There is a huge emphasis on sign ups, but my website is generally about educational courses with multiple subjects. Unless I provide guides for each of these courses (and there are hundreds of them), how else do you think I can monetize an educational courses website? I am working on increasing traffic, but it's pretty slow.

Thanks,

Jodie
#$60 #months #newbie #report
  • Profile picture of the author MartinK8
    That is not a bad revenue from adsense for such new site. Try to monetize it with some cpa offers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    What kind of educational books are you selling? Is it possible to go into a smaller niche.... one that definitely does exist via research being done on your target market?
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    • Profile picture of the author jodiesmitham
      Originally Posted by Randall Magwood View Post

      What kind of educational books are you selling? Is it possible to go into a smaller niche.... one that definitely does exist via research being done on your target market?
      Hi Randall, at the moment I am not selling anything, just providing information about educational courses and relying on Adsense.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mosa
    Originally Posted by jodiesmitham View Post

    Hey guys,

    I've made $60 using Google Adsense on my educational website since it was launched 2.5 months ago. I've tried capturing email addresses with a free ebook, but no-one has signed up. There is a huge emphasis on sign ups, but my website is generally about educational courses with multiple subjects. Unless I provide guides for each of these courses (and there are hundreds of them), how else do you think I can monetize an educational courses website? I am working on increasing traffic, but it's pretty slow.

    Thanks,

    Jodie
    You can always try to find a course relating to your topic and sell it as an affiliate.
    I think you should take note of what you have done to make this site money and then start a few more sites just like it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Student X
    The education market is one I have never entered, which is strange as I am passionate about knowledge and education. (I am involved in several niches which teach the customer, just nothing in the "education" sector assuming education means Maths, English, Science, Geography etc.)

    Therefor I am completely unaware of the CPA and different monetizing options available to you - but some idea's for you off the top of my dome:

    1) There MAY be a way to affiliate with colledges and universities - Education often costs hundreds from these organisations so there is a high chance some will offer affiliate incentive.

    Do some research: check if there are any online universities which offer an affiliate programme you can cash in on.


    2) Selling your own educational infoproducts is a great way of making money, as and cost to produce is pretty much pennies, I would strongly recommend it.


    3) Charge for Advertising space on your website. Get all of your data together and figure out a price which you think to be sensible but valuable - from there contact various other services and providers online to let them know about your offer.


    I hope my post was helpful,

    Student X
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    • Profile picture of the author opportunist86
      That is exactly what my progress is. Of course its great! Much better than nothing. But I am looking for other sources of monetization.
      Originally Posted by Student X View Post

      The education market is one I have never entered, which is strange as I am passionate about knowledge and education. (I am involved in several niches which teach the customer, just nothing in the "education" sector assuming education means Maths, English, Science, Geography etc.)

      Therefor I am completely unaware of the CPA and different monetizing options available to you - but some idea's for you off the top of my dome:

      1) There MAY be a way to affiliate with colledges and universities - Education often costs hundreds from these organisations so there is a high chance some will offer affiliate incentive.

      Do some research: check if there are any online universities which offer an affiliate programme you can cash in on.


      2) Selling your own educational infoproducts is a great way of making money, as and cost to produce is pretty much pennies, I would strongly recommend it.


      3) Charge for Advertising space on your website. Get all of your data together and figure out a price which you think to be sensible but valuable - from there contact various other services and providers online to let them know about your offer.


      I hope my post was helpful,

      Student X
      How can an institution offer me a affiliate partnership? I also own an education website.

      I put some study material and used clickbank to monetize but result is 0. Any useful ideas?
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    • Profile picture of the author Karen Blundell
      Originally Posted by Student X View Post

      3) Charge for Advertising space on your website. Get all of your data together and figure out a price which you think to be sensible but valuable - from there contact various other services and providers online to let them know about your offer.

      Student X

      since you are already making ad revenue from Google Adsense, I strongly recommend you follow Student X's 3rd option. Why settle for pennies from Google when you can make a lot more by selling your own ads?

      I can tell you that I make several hundred dollars a month on my own site just from ad revenue alone, and you can too.

      Just a word of advice: be very selective of whom you allow ads from. Stick to the niches that your readers are looking for and you will do really well.

      Best of luck to you!
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      • Profile picture of the author theverysmartguy
        First off you need to decide how you want to make money for this site, and then FOCUS on that and stick with it.

        If you want to make money from adsense then I would suggest, and recommend taking off the sign ups and focusing strictly on that.

        If you give your visitors too many options to choose from then you are liable to lose more customers than you will gain.

        I know people say "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." But when it comes to creating an income stream from your websites consider your WEBSITE the EGG, not the way you make money from it.

        Make it strictly an info site that uses ads to create the income. I have several websites in the education niche and that is how I monetize them, and they do quite well.

        -- Jeff
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        "Doing nothing is worse than doing it wrong."

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      • Profile picture of the author theverysmartguy
        Originally Posted by Karen Blundell View Post

        since you are already making ad revenue from Google Adsense, I strongly recommend you follow Student X's 3rd option. Why settle for pennies from Google when you can make a lot more by selling your own ads?

        I can tell you that I make several hundred dollars a month on my own site just from ad revenue alone, and you can too.

        Just a word of advice: be very selective of whom you allow ads from. Stick to the niches that your readers are looking for and you will do really well.

        Best of luck to you!
        BTW. the education niches pay out at around $2 - $3/click on average. Yes it depends on the ones you pick. I have several and they average that per click. Doing the right keyword research with adsense makes a big difference in your income. So saying "Why settle for pennies" is very misleading to people.

        -- Jeff
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        "Doing nothing is worse than doing it wrong."

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        • Profile picture of the author Karen Blundell
          Originally Posted by theverysmartguy View Post

          BTW. the education niches pay out at around $2 - $3/click on average. Yes it depends on the ones you pick. I have several and they average that per click. Doing the right keyword research with adsense makes a big difference in your income. So saying "Why settle for pennies" is very misleading to people.

          -- Jeff
          but you are still relying on a third party to pay you and who determines what you earn. Sure you can earn more than a few pennies, and I didn't mean to mislead people, but I honestly think you can make a whole lot more money selling your own ads than depending on 3rd party ad revenue.

          I also advise to never put all your eggs in one basket. So even if you continue to use Google adsense you can still run your own ads and then decide later on which is more effective and makes you the most money
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          • Profile picture of the author theverysmartguy
            Originally Posted by Karen Blundell View Post

            but you are still relying on a third party to pay you and who determines what you earn. Sure you can earn more than a few pennies, and I didn't mean to mislead people, but I honestly think you can make a whole lot more money selling your own ads than depending on 3rd party ad revenue.

            I also advise to never put all your eggs in one basket. So even if you continue to use Google adsense you can still run your own ads and then decide later on which is more effective and makes you the most money
            Like adsense, charging for ads is going to depend on traffic.

            Now with one of my adsense sites I make roughly $500/month but only get roughly about 1500 - 2000 UV to my site each month.

            From what I am looked at for the average a person is willing to pay for less that 100 visitors a day isn't going to come close.

            Again, this will most likely depend on the niche. He honestly is better off in the eduction niche with Adsense, or a really good CPA offer. I am not a fan of them, but I do know in the education niche they do pay out quite well.

            I can see where having your "own" ads can be beneficial in certain niches. Or even if adsense isn't paying you enough.

            There is going to be the added work of finding these advertisers, and then dealing with a payment plan. If that ad wasn't bringing them enough revenue based on what they were paying they might quit, then you have to find another advertiser to take that ones place.

            Like I mentioned, for under performers yes, but until you have tested it out and found that adsense is lacking, then I would say no. But that is again, just my opinion. Different things work for different people. Paid ads work for you, adsense works for me, CPA works for another person. It all really depends on what way he truly thinks is in his best interest.

            -- Jeff
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            "Doing nothing is worse than doing it wrong."

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            • Profile picture of the author Vtoy
              Banned
              You should promote TouchTextbooks.com - It's on Marketbay. One of the more popular items to promote as an affiliate in the Education niche.
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            • Profile picture of the author Karen Blundell
              Originally Posted by theverysmartguy View Post

              Like adsense, charging for ads is going to depend on traffic.

              Now with one of my adsense sites I make roughly $500/month but only get roughly about 1500 - 2000 UV to my site each month.

              From what I am looked at for the average a person is willing to pay for less that 100 visitors a day isn't going to come close.

              Again, this will most likely depend on the niche. He honestly is better off in the eduction niche with Adsense, or a really good CPA offer. I am not a fan of them, but I do know in the education niche they do pay out quite well.

              I can see where having your "own" ads can be beneficial in certain niches. Or even if adsense isn't paying you enough.

              There is going to be the added work of finding these advertisers, and then dealing with a payment plan. If that ad wasn't bringing them enough revenue based on what they were paying they might quit, then you have to find another advertiser to take that ones place.

              Like I mentioned, for under performers yes, but until you have tested it out and found that adsense is lacking, then I would say no. But that is again, just my opinion. Different things work for different people. Paid ads work for you, adsense works for me, CPA works for another person. It all really depends on what way he truly thinks is in his best interest.

              -- Jeff
              Jeff, I am really glad you're successful with your Adsense income. But what is going to happen to your income if Google decides to change the rules, or you do something wrong and boom, your account is shut down? There goes your income. I hope you have safety nets in place ie: other sources of income.

              I realize that selling ads yourself means some work acquiring the advertisers, handling payments, etc., and is dependent on traffic, Page rank, and other factors. But what I like is that it's completely under my control. I don't have to follow any rules, except my own.

              But like you said, to each their own. What works for me and my long-term blog, may not work for a new person who has a fairly new site with little traffic.

              To the OP, along with your Adsense income you may want to look at another income producing strategy such as affiliate programs like others have mentioned in this thread. That way if one income source dries up, you have another source.

              good luck!
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    • Profile picture of the author jodiesmitham
      Originally Posted by Student X View Post


      3) Charge for Advertising space on your website. Get all of your data together and figure out a price which you think to be sensible but valuable - from there contact various other services and providers online to let them know about your offer.


      Student X
      Thanks Student X, I think this is the way for me to go. The only problem I have is that I'm only attracting around 50 unique users per day, so I'd need to ramp that up before contacting providers?
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  • Originally Posted by jodiesmitham View Post

    I've made $60
    I tell you what, there are a lot of folks out there that have made a lot less than that in a lot longer time. I'd say you're doing pretty well.

    Keep it up!
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  • Profile picture of the author Bredfan
    I am working on an educational site too... check offervault - there are a few cpa deals out there. There are also some products available in CJ and CB in the education industry.

    Find an offer that matches up with some of the content on your site and integrate the offer...
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    • Profile picture of the author jodiesmitham
      Originally Posted by Bredfan View Post

      I am working on an educational site too... check offervault - there are a few cpa deals out there. There are also some products available in CJ and CB in the education industry.

      Find an offer that matches up with some of the content on your site and integrate the offer...
      Thanks Bredfan. These educational courses are specific for the UK. Do you know if I can use CJ/CB in the UK?
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  • Profile picture of the author AdenWhite
    Lol, the thread caught my eye as saying "$60k in two months" I thought, wow!

    Nearly a dollar a day is still pretty good for a new site. It's already valuable enough to flip. Or use the same process again and again for many different sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author WilliamBlah
    You say the site is entirely focused on getting sign ups, and yet you are getting none.

    You go on to say that you have made $60 with AdSense.

    If you focused (at least a bit more) on putting your AdSense ads in more prominent places, then you could easily see your CTR (and therefore income) double or triple.

    Regards
    Will
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    • Profile picture of the author jodiesmitham
      Originally Posted by WilliamBlah View Post

      You say the site is entirely focused on getting sign ups, and yet you are getting none.

      You go on to say that you have made $60 with AdSense.

      If you focused (at least a bit more) on putting your AdSense ads in more prominent places, then you could easily see your CTR (and therefore income) double or triple.

      Regards
      Will
      Hi Will, apologies, what I meant was that I read in this forum all the time that you should always get sign ups. I think you're right about focusing on Adsense. I've been trying to optimise, but the results are always sporadic. Two days running I made $5 per day, then the next few days I made $0!
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  • Profile picture of the author Austin357
    Keep doing what you are doing. Those are very good results for a new site being up for only 2 months. Some people have tried an exit pop up with a free ebook/report. It has increased their conversions considerably.
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  • Profile picture of the author aeiou260199038
    One of the more popular items to promote as an affiliate in the Education niche,I agree.
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  • Profile picture of the author JennyPellicer
    Banned
    Not bad considering you're using adsense.

    I have started out with Clickbank myself and was already making a couple hundreds after 4 months of hard work.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cataclysm1987
    I was in the same spot not too long ago. Wasn't until a month into my work that I made my first commission.

    It's crazy.

    Just keep going.
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  • Profile picture of the author YasirYar
    Sell some space for ads to colleges and agents selling student's visas and you'll make a fortune. As far as making $60 in 2.5 months I didn't make a single buck for months when I started my e-biz. This I would say is a good start.
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  • Profile picture of the author luckystepho
    It took me 3-4 years to earn my first $60 using Adsense so you are doing pretty well!!

    Could you produce an opt-in report that is generic enough for everyone, such as how to pass exams/ study/ work out the ideal career?
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  • Profile picture of the author O0o0O
    You can try capturing their email addressses with a scholarship drawing. Students are always looking for more ways to get money for school.
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  • Profile picture of the author RichardDin
    as I understood, you have some sort of catalogue with e-courses. If they are free, hide link for downloading to only registered users. If not, make a free ecourse section and post rss from it on several sites
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