16 May 2007
Questions from JayPeah
Well, I have a suggestion/questions for a post dude (this is fuckinmetal/jaypeah BTW). I think an overview of affiliate programs would be a good one. The ones that pay the best as opposed to the ones that get the most clicks. The ones that pay the most without conversions (you know, just pay per click or impressions and other stuff).
Another one would be on tools of the trade, best CMS, Statcounter, mailer and crap like that.
Oh and maybe something about gaining traffic whether it’s paying for it or gaining it other ways…
good lookin out…
I stared at this for awhile to figure out what to write about it as a lot of the questions are really broad… I concluded that I could just give really broad answers 
As far as affiliate programs go, it really really depends on the nature and volume of traffic you have. I have a bunch of insurance shopper traffic so I deal with affiliate programs that I can XML post leads to and keep the surfer on my site. I have a couple sites that I just run adsense on (I’ve never been a huge fan of adsense sites but the ones I have have retaded eCPMs). On another project we’re working extensively with Azoogle.
If it’s something where I’m going to be doing gigantic volume I often try to partner directly with a program instead of going through a network. Affiliate networks are great though for finding tons of offers and using trial and error to see which work best. If you have any specific sites you’re having trouble monetizing just let me know and I’ll help out.
As far as tools of the trade, all I use consistently are: WordPress for blogs, awstats & google analytics for traffic.
In regards to traffic generation, again it really really depends on the site and what you’re trying to do. My best advice is to try to be comprehensive in your approach. Make sure it is well optimized, spend some time link building, set up some ppc campaigns, try to come up with something viral if you can. You can always join related forums, etc. and try to generate word of mouth (in a non spammy way otherwise you just annoy people).
Anyway I hope that answers some of your questions.