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Going Beyond The Usual Monetization from Affiliate Links + Ads + Info Products

by ChasCooper
7 replies
For over a year, I've been looking for creative ways to make more from the same traffic--beyond the usual affiliate links, ads, and info products.

I may have figured it out.

But it would only apply to certain kinds of websites.

I still need to test the theory with someone who owns a site where this new monetization technique might work.

But I'd also like to get any feedback from experience content site owners who might have valuable insights into how (or even whether or not) I should approach building this new monetization method.

The basic idea is this...

The site would offer to help site visitors find local service providers so they don't have to "go it alone." For example:
  • Pet sites refer visitors to pet groomers, trainers, sitters, vets
  • Home improvement sites offer to refer visitors to all sorts of home improvement professionals (designers, architects, plumbers, general contractors, etc.)
  • Music sites offer to find a local music tutor
  • Gardening sites offer to find a local landscaper, gardener
  • Etc....

Whenever a site visitor clicked the link, they could enter their contact info, location, budget, and description of what they need.

Then only the best service providers in their local area (based on Google reviews) would be given a chance to pay for the site visitor's contact info as a qualified sales lead.

So the site visitor would then start getting emails from only the best service providers who already know what their needs are and what their budget is.

And the website owner would get a commission for referring the site visitor to the local service providers.

Basically it would be a lead gen service similar to what Thumbtack, Yelp, Angi, and others do... except that website owners could initiate the lead gen directly from their websites and earn a commission.

So site owners could add "local lead gen" to the list of monetization techniques in addition to the usual affiliate links, ads, and info products.

Any thoughts about this approach? (Good or bad, all feedback welcome.)
#ads #affiliate #info #links #monetization #products #usual
  • Profile picture of the author DABK
    Confused about site owners initiating service request and making a commission.


    So, if I have a, say, financial consulting website, and know that one of my clients is looking for a dog groomer, I'd be able to enter their info and get $5? Correct?


    Would I not be better off finding myself another client to advise? I mean, I make far more per hour doing that than referring people to your website.


    So, basically, how much of a commission are you going to pay site owners to make it worth their while to bother?


    Originally Posted by ChasCooper View Post

    For over a year, I've been looking for creative ways to make more from the same traffic--beyond the usual affiliate links, ads, and info products.

    I may have figured it out.

    But it would only apply to certain kinds of websites.

    I still need to test the theory with someone who owns a site where this new monetization technique might work.

    But I'd also like to get any feedback from experience content site owners who might have valuable insights into how (or even whether or not) I should approach building this new monetization method.

    The basic idea is this...

    The site would offer to help site visitors find local service providers so they don't have to "go it alone." For example:
    • Pet sites refer visitors to pet groomers, trainers, sitters, vets
    • Home improvement sites offer to refer visitors to all sorts of home improvement professionals (designers, architects, plumbers, general contractors, etc.)
    • Music sites offer to find a local music tutor
    • Gardening sites offer to find a local landscaper, gardener
    • Etc....

    Whenever a site visitor clicked the link, they could enter their contact info, location, budget, and description of what they need.

    Then only the best service providers in their local area (based on Google reviews) would be given a chance to pay for the site visitor's contact info as a qualified sales lead.

    So the site visitor would then start getting emails from only the best service providers who already know what their needs are and what their budget is.

    And the website owner would get a commission for referring the site visitor to the local service providers.

    Basically it would be a lead gen service similar to what Thumbtack, Yelp, Angi, and others do... except that website owners could initiate the lead gen directly from their websites and earn a commission.

    So site owners could add "local lead gen" to the list of monetization techniques in addition to the usual affiliate links, ads, and info products.

    Any thoughts about this approach? (Good or bad, all feedback welcome.)
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    • Profile picture of the author ChasCooper
      Let me see if I can clarify....

      Using the example of you having a financial consulting website, you wouldn't recommend gardening products since that's unrelated to the content on the site.

      Instead, you might have a link on the site that says something like "Find a Financial Advisor Near You."

      When someone clicks the link, then they fill out some info to ask local financial advisors to contact them. They would also include details about what help they need and what their expected budget is.

      Behind the scenes, financial advisors with good ratings would be contacted and asked if they would like to respond to the visitor's request for help.

      Any financial advisors who would want to contact the visitor would pay for that as a "sales lead."

      Then that revenue would be split between the owner of the financial consulting website and the platform that does all the matchmaking behind the scenes.

      Hopefully that clarifies more of the details of how that might work.

      Any thoughts about that?
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  • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
    I think you're approaching this the wrong way. If I'm looking for a local gardener, I'd check the local listings - I wouldn't go to a generic gardening site. I'd assume that was intended for gardening enthusiasts.

    Same goes for pet sites, music sites etc.

    It's not the generic sites you need to target - the business opportunity is getting those local services to show up at the top of search results.
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    • Profile picture of the author ChasCooper
      Frank, you could be right. I may not know if this is an issue or not until I test the concept to see if the conversion rates are ultra-low.

      But just to clarify the theory a bit...

      I think people will still go to Google, Yelp, Thumbtack, and a variety of other sites to look for local service providers. I don't think this new monetization method changes that at all.

      However, the theory is that sometimes people don't think to do that immediately. Instead, they go looking for a DIY solution.

      And when they search for DIY solutions on Google, they find informative content sites.

      Then the content site might show them how to do the DIY approach. But the person may think "That's a lot of work. I'm not sure I can (or want to) do that."

      At that moment, they may be thinking "I wonder if I can have someone do that for me."

      And if there's a convenient CTA on the page to "Find a Nearby Pro" then they may respond to that CTA rather than going back to Google and starting a new search for nearby pro's.

      It's similar with info products. People may search first for free DIY info, then find a content site with free info, then get convinced to upgrade to a more in-depth paid info product. (Just substitute a professional who can do the job for you instead of info product where you're still trying to do it yourself.)

      What do you think?
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      • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
        Originally Posted by ChasCooper View Post

        Then the content site might show them how to do the DIY approach. But the person may think "That's a lot of work. I'm not sure I can (or want to) do that."
        <snip>
        What do you think?
        DIY vet? DIY architect? That's a bit of a stretch, IMO. I think local search beats generic site every time. But give it a shot and see how you get on.
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  • Profile picture of the author RMRC
    It's an interesting idea that's for sure. I don't know how it would pan out though in a real world scenario. Best you could do is test it out and see what happens! Some ideas that seem silly turn into huge successes.
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  • Profile picture of the author thedark
    These are called leads, and lead transaction is something already happening. I cant remember now, but I think Ive seen some platforms for leads transactions.

    Anyway, adding a local attribute might be a spin that it is worth building. The implementation and marketing also counts.

    Good luck!
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