I signed up for Chitika a few years ago and to be honest, I just hadn’t done anything with it. I didn’t invest time in learning the setup or even exploring the advantages. I just signed up, set up a few referral buttons and let it go.

It wasn’t until I got a notice that I had received a payment from Chitika that I even thought about looking into it further – but hey, if someone is paying me, I’m thinking if I made money for doing absolutely NOTHING, I wonder what I could make with a little effort.

Chitika is an alternative to Google AdSense Contextual Pay-Per-Click Advertising. I run Chitika on a couple of my blogs. It performs best on product related blogs, but can achieve good results on blogs such as this on also.

Here is a snippet from the Chitika Publishers website that contains two stats that show Chitika is a respected Ads Publisher:

Fact 1: Chitika has over 70+ power-packed revenue earning ad units, the largest collection of revenue-generating solutions catering to publishers of all sizes.

Fact 2: More than 17000 bloggers and publishers are already using Chitika’s ads to earn revenue.

Fact 3: Chitika passes over 50,000 publishers in June 2009

One of the greatest advantages to using Chitika is that you can use them on the same page as Google AdSense. This allows you to maximize the earning potential of your blog. Chitika tends to have a higher CPC than Google AdSense in alot of the areas I have used it in.

Since Chitika is still kinda sorta new to me, it will be a short while before I can give you much detail on profits – but I’d say $50 for absolutely NOTHING is something. What I can tell you however, is it is currently outperforming Google AdSense on two of my blogs and I’m only a few days into actually using it.

What you waiting for, You should sign up for Chitika Now!!!

Do share your personal views or experiences with Chitika and how it has performed or is performing for you.

When you decide to enter the world of affiliate marketing, there are a number of markets you should consider. Here are three programs that have captured the attention of a lot of people, simply because of their stability and reliability.

Perhaps the best known of the three programs is ClickBank: http://www.clickbank.com. There are a number of reasons why people find ClickBank such an attractive option when it comes to affiliate programs.

One aspect is that the revenue generated by any purchase made through the ad portal is credited to your account within two minutes of the completion of the transaction. Because ClickBank provides such a comprehensive tracking program, it is easy for affiliates to see how things are going, even if they run multiple sites as part of the program.

This handy software interface means that you do not have to set up a separate ClickBank account for every different program that you are working. Everything can be routed to a central ClickBank account, and the transaction detail will be plenty to help you sort the transactions into workable detail on how much you are making from each web site.

Along with the ads on your sites, you will also have a branded portal that will take visitors over to the ClickBank marketplace. Any items that are purchased at the marketplace through your portal will also be subject to a commission payment to you, and will reflect in your daily detail, just as any purchase from the affiliate ads would do.

This in effect allows you to maximize your earning potential using the resources that ClickBank provides. Payments are currently made by check, which are mailed out every two weeks.

http://www.paydotcom.com is also an excellent choice as an affiliate network. Just as with ClickBank, PayDotCom provides an easy to use affiliate interface that allows you to view your numbers in real time. You can easily track such data as the number of clicks on the ads and the amount of commissions you have made by directing visitors over to the marketplace through the portal on your web site.

One of the advantages of PayDotCom is that this program will interface with your PayPal account, which means that vendors can send your monthly commission directly to your PayPal account. It is important to note that not all vendors will use PayPal as a payment method, so you may still receive payments by check as well.

Still, a number of the vendors do utilize PayPal, and that can often mean generated revenue without having to wait for a long time. Keep in mind that if you select PayPal as your preferred method of payment, you will be subject to any fees you normally incur when receiving funds.

In like manner, you will pay a small percentage of the payout on each purchase to PayDotCom as well. This program is easy to sign up with, and the staff does a great job of working with persons who are new to affiliate marketing.

http://www.sharesale.con is a third option that is rapidly gaining recognition among affiliate marketers. As a program that is designed to match up to the content of your existing web site, Sharesale is free to join as an affiliate.

Basically, you can sign up for the program and then browse through a list of available merchant programs, selecting the ones that you believe will be of interest to the readers and visitors at your web site. The merchant list includes a wide variety of industry types and products, some of them digital, but many of them physical.

Earnings for the sale will vary. Some merchants prefer to use a flat rate for a sale, while others go with a percentage commission on the purchase amount. It is easy to determine which method is preferred while you are checking out the merchant listing.

Persons that want to take a look at the merchant list before signing up for the program can search by category, by method of compensation, and by the newest programs added in the last twenty days.

As with all the best affiliate programs, Sharesale makes it easy to view your traffic and earnings around the clock. The reports are all web based, so you do not need any special software to load the reports.

Payments on generated revenue can be received via a check mailed to you, or by direct deposit to a bank account. At present, you have to earn a minimum of $50.00 USD during the previous calendar month in order to receive a payment. Any amount under that will roll over into the next payment period.

What are your preferences in affiliate networks?

When most people have a task to do, they usually do well once they get started, and finding affiliate programs for your site or blog is no exception — you just need a little kickstart to get your brain into the right mode.

There’s a really easy way to get things started…go look at one of your competitors. There are tons of ways to do this — the easiest way would be to put your keyword(s) into Google and see what pops up.
The order of the results is based in good part on Google’s PageRank, which has a lot to do with the number of other sites that link to a particular site.

Pick one of the results near the top and click on the link. Hover on a banner or text advertising box and see where the URL leads. Take note of the particular network such as Shareasale, ClickBank, Linkshare, etc. and the particular programs on the site. I keep a list using Microsoft Notepad when I surf competitive sites for clients.

Most of the time I ignore CPM-based networks like DoubleClick or AdBrite, and contextual ad networks like Google and Yahoo. I do pay particular attention to the category affiliate network banners and text ads. For example, if you surf a few competitors and find a lot of banner advertising for web site hosting, that means your competitors are having at least some luck with website hosting affiliate programs.
When you come up with a good list of networks, programs and categories, go visit the networks that appear the most on the sites (try to go to 5 or 6 different sites so you can see any patterns that emerge).

You should now have a terrific list to start from, including a list of networks, programs and keywords. Now all you have to do is poke around and see which pay the best and try to figure out which your visitors might like.

While you’re on the other sites, try to get a feel for where on the page the ads are placed, which can make a huge difference in clickthrough and conversion.

Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of participating in several interviews. One of the most common questions I’m asked was also asked by well known names in the affiliate marketing world.

There’s really no major secret to my online success really, a simple search of my name reveals darn near everything — including the niche topics I focus on. In much the same fashion as the famed blogger, Darren Rowse, I’ve chosen to take the same approach in not over talking my niche too much.

If you’re one of the few interested in knowing the various ways I monetize my blogs, you can find all those ‘not so secret secrets’ revealed on my My Money Makers page.

I’ll keep that page updated with changes to my monetizing status — if I add a program, it will be listed. If I find one is just not working for me anymore, I’ll remove them. Occasionally I will share a glimpse inside the actual profits and share what I am making and with what.

I truly have nothing to hide and hope to share what I’ve learned along the way with anyone who would like to work from home, so if you have a question you’d like answered, please don’t hesitate to ask!

K?