How to Monetize a Blog Like a Pimp!

photo by taberandrew


Our pal Jim Wang, of Bargaineering (and Scotch Addict!), came on the Entry/Exit Podcast this week. Jim knows a thing or two about making money online and he’s one of the authorities on using a blog to generate a living.

Jim’s pretty much the de facto face of the personal finance blogging space and has made numerous press and television appearances (big dog places like the New York Times and ABC).

We talked to Jim about how he built Bargaineering and he gave some great insights on how aspiring blog moguls should think about growth and monetization.

Have a listen and let us here your thoughts!

 

Don’t have flash? Want to download? Click here.

Program Outline

The Beginnings

• Money is scary!

• Why not journal what I’m learning?

Hard Work

• It’s never easy, but being early is an advantage

• Bring something unique (distilling complicated financial info)

Going Full Time

• Began as a hobby

• Traffic and popularity was more fun than $$$

• Found affiliate marketing

• Difficult to monetize a blog, all about traffic

• PF blog network

Guest Posts

• Network in your niche

• Good for SEO, better for influence

• Being big really helps

Site Design

• Simple and functional

• Do things to build credibility

• “As seen in” needs to link

Monetization

• Show that you can provide value to get better affiliate payouts
• Get traffic, convert it, profit (Sounds easy! )
• Are my leads high quality? Raise payout if so!
• Leads are great because you’re not charging consumers to get a commission

This week we had the pleasure of talking to a local entrepreneur by the name of Brain Null.  Brian is based here in Columbia, MO and originally hails from St. Louis.  He’s a well known domain investor and has at one time or another owned gems such as OfficeSupply.com, GolfCourses.com, and RestaurantReviews.com.  He was also involved in the acquisition of many premier domain names such as Hockey.com and Dance.com.

Brian’s current project is MO.com.  His goal with MO is to create a comprehensive online entrepreneurial destination.  Johns Wu, of Bankaholic fame, recently came aboard and Brian surely has lots of other great partners in the wings.  Be sure to check it out.

Have a listen and let us know what you think!

 

Don’t have flash?  Want to download?  Click here.

Program Outline

Brian’s Background

• Been domaining since Brandon was in diapers
• Owned OfficeSupply.com and GolfCourses.com
• Now working on MO.com

Starting on the Web

• Domains that “obligate” you to start a business
• True definition of a domainer
• Vacation rentals biz
• Web design co.

OfficeSupply.com

• Started on OrderSuppliesOnline.com
• Exponential growth right off the bat!
• Acquiring the OfficeSupply.com
• Growth in the business
• Acquisition of the domain by IREIT

GolfCourses.com

• First bought GolfLessons.com from same seller as OfficeSupply.com
• Bought GolfCourses.com for $55k
• Negotiation tips

State of the Industry

• Market is good right now
• Last year was the valley
• Good online resources
• Domain conference value
• Domain partnerships

MO.com

• Branding
• Most exciting project

I had the opportunity to interview a successful entrepreneur by the name of Shane Pike this past week.  Shane is the former co-owner of NursingJobs.org.  He and his partner sold the site to Internet Brands in 2008.  He regularly blogs on Ask Shane and is a mentor to many successful online entrepreneurs.

Our conversation is pretty much informal chatter on my part–I’m an interviewer newb!–but Shane is excellent and dispenses lots of great advice and “insider” tips for small to mid-sized internet entrepreneurs.  Let us know what you think by leaving a comment!

Important disclaimer:  We’ve never worked with Shane professionally and this profile is in no way meant to pass his success off as something we were a part of.  He’s an inspiration to our team and exemplifies the type of entrepreneurs we associate with and aim to help create.

Listen Here:

 
Don’t have flash? Want to download? Click here.

Program Outline

Shane’s Background

• Career Trajectory
• Worked for HeadHunter.net and Career Builder buying distressed sites

Competition

• Competition between little guys and site hungry beasts

• Valuation problems
• Careers niche is exhausted…look for new niches

Nursing Jobs

• Start with the keywords, search for sites to buy
• NursingJobs.org start
• Redesign, long tail, generating revenue
• Test everything!  “See what sticks”
• Growth of NursingJobs.org

Road to the Sale

• Big domain package, raising capital (Founders Investment Banking)
• Is Nursing Jobs for sale?
• Big companies don’t get domains generally…want to buy up and running sites

Closing Advice

• Exact match domain benefits
• Going for the Grand Slam
• Tips for selling an internet business

Nathaniel and I are big fans of the audio format so we decided to create a podcast for Growth Partner, entitled “Entry/Exit.”  Each episode will talk about investing in companies or growing a business  (entry) and issues related to selling/leaving/etc. a current business (exit).

The show is going to be an informal round table discussion between Nathaniel, myself (Brandon), and oftentimes a guest or two.  Our first episode gives a little background on us and why we started Growth Partner and we chat a bit about valuing pay per click campaigns when selling a business.  Listen to the podcast below and follow along with the short summary under the player if you’d like.  Enjoy!

Listen Here:

 
Don’t have flash? Want to download? Click here.

What is Growth Partner?

• Past companies
• Why is this show called Entry/Exit?
• What is an ideal partnership?
• Why we’re NOT consultants
• Angel investing + online marketing
• Our investment range
• We’re active partners not passive investors
• Anatomy of our first deal with Soccer Pro
• Exits aren’t necessary the goal
• We’re not building a “portfolio”
• Refer someone for some $
• We want to meet you!

Valuing a PPC Campaign in an Exit

• Organic traffic always has more inherent value
• Organic = marketing annuity
• Step ahead of the competition
• Social media campaign value
• Defensibility of social media
• Can’t just “turn off the faucet” on social media