As above really... I'm trying to figure out how these affiliate links and advert things work, and I'm wondering if they are a viable way to make some money.
It is forum folklore that the forum supports the mag round these parts, so it would be great to know - in ball park terms - how much cash that might be.
Also does anyone have experience of making money on the web? I've decided making some extra cash on the web is the only way I'm going to be able to cure my Yeti lust.
Blimey - is it 1999 again? 
Yep, i've got loads of experience making money on the web and have built a very lucrative business around it.
If you paypal me 10 pounds i'll reveal the secret to making money on the web to you too!
IanMunro - Member
Yep, i've got loads of experience making money on the web and have built a very lucrative business around it.
If you paypal me 10 pounds i'll reveal the secret to making money on the web to you too!
Remember that the only way you will generate revenue is by either:
a - charging click through (ie get £x every time someone clicks your advert
and/or
b - charging the advertiser for the space on your site.
You will get *neither unless you have a site in the first place that people want to visit (advetisers will want to know the sort of traffic your site is getting) - ie, you need to have content - a USP.
*Unless you are a student with a fantastic idea for a £1m web page where people buy pixels. Great for SEO, but that is another story altogether.
Interesting.... It's a kind offer Mr Munro, but not today, thank you 
I was kinda thinking that among the STW masses there must be someone who has built a business from their kitchen table - you know, a classic entrepreurial tale of derring do. I don't suppose that needs to be web based.
As much as answers, I guess I'm looking for inspiration.
Remember that there is no magic way of making money from the interweb. Just like opening a shop on a High Street, you need something that somebody (or multiples of somebodies) wants.
Think past what exists now - it has been done and someone entering the market now will struggle to make an impact. Think about something that you see an opportunity for.
Mr Mastiles has given you some very good advice there.
I make other people lots of money via the web, by creating content - but I only get paid a fraction of the proceeds because content is good for nothing without an audience to look at it (and an ad sales department to sell it).
I'd just make a proviso to the advice about not doing what others have done, and say that looking at what others have done might be the best way to get ideas - and perhaps try to think of a new tangent on a proven business idea.
Don't remortgage the house though, if you don't really understand the market thoroughly.
I look after a small mountain bike website for local riders http://www.boghogs.co.uk
We decided to put some pay per click ads on just to cover the hosting bill and expenses. We make around $15 a month and get around 3,000 hits per month to the main site and the associated blog. You need BIG traffic to generate any real cash and the hourly rate you put into generating the initial traffic will make you cry.
We also sell a few shirts, which brings in a few quid, but again it is only pocket money.
WGA
I've done what you are proposing. As Fanylion says, you need to have a site that people want to use before users will click your ads.
I'd choose something else other than a MTB forum as they market is already flooded with Biking Forums and the advertising budgets for biking are pretty small.
You would be better off choosing a more niche idea with less competition for keywords. If you have a good knowledge of web development and an solid understanding of SEO you can make money but don't expect to be making a lot in the short/medium term.
My sites were a hobby site that made me money from Ads. Companies approached me to advertise on it though. I make enough to pay all my hosting, internet access and a few holidays/bike bits, but sadly not enough to retire...
im torn between pay per click on here.
the majority of the forum traffic will have seen the ads a million times before and wont care a jot.
then again, when im on here, my minds on bikes, and if i want to go from STW to CRC for instance, ill click the ad, rather than type the url.
i would go there anyway, but i suppose they are still get paid for essentially providing links...
almost certainly peanuts though...
I certainly noticed that ad revenue drops off rapidly when the ads arent changed regularly - I had both google adsense (which does provide a steady stream, about £60 a year ) and seperate ads, the amount of time and effort I had to put into selecting new ads for the banners etc made it not worth while. I reverted back to adsense alone and just made them merge perfectly with the site. This increased the clickthrough a bit more but by far the most lucrative was to include a page that essentially forwarded ebay searches, I got a percentage of each sale and considering the sport i was "advertising" was kitesurfing and items tend to be £3-400 a time, I was getting £7-15 quid a day at one point but again that rapidly fell off as the content of the site rarely changed. The site was a club site for locals, they were very pleased with the site etc but then couldnt be bothered submitting any news/info or hanging about on the forums as a more populated one existed elsewhere. In the end I dumped the site as it was barely covering its costs and I got frustrated that I was the only one adding content.
And here you go Parp, parp, parp.... - a perfect example of how you can make the interweb work for you - there has been over 8m clicks on this site - and what does it do? What does it offer? Almost nothing - but that is the power of thinking laterally about what people want from the 'web...
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