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• Editor's Perspective
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• News Roundup by MoreOver.com
• Help Your Friends Out

"The current advertising market is difficult and I've read many webmasters in the SitePoint Forums complaining that it's becoming impossible to generate a decent income. Here's my 2 cents on the subject.

I'm not sure about the SitePoint Forums, but in the other ones where I hang about I've grown to realize that most webmasters have 'freebie' sites, bikini ones, or galleries of actresses/models etc. They're always boasting about how much traffic they get. They're not so keen to divulge how much income they are earning.

In my opinion, it's difficult to make money with freebie and babe sites, etc. The type of people you are attracting are unlikely to own credit cards, much less spend serious money online.

Hence, the only income these sites can earn is 1 cent per click that most freebie affiliate programs now 'pay' you or 30 cents per lead. Of course, you have to send about 500 people to generate one lead. Of course, in many cases you'll get paid zilch because the affiliate program will close down/not track your referrals properly.

I have done the opposite of what many people are doing.

I run a family-friendly intellectual literary ezine called 1Lit.com. Terribly serious. Terribly boring. We discuss Latin literature and the like; Latin as in the language of the Romans.

Approximately 60% of my subscriber base has an income of over $80,000 per annum. I receive regular emails from online and offline businesses asking to advertise with me. The income from those advertisers is good.

I'm not saying this is the only way to go, but it's the way I've been able to survive. I'm not making mega-bucks, and the current market condition are affecting me. But times are not ALL that bad for me.

I believe you have to find your niche and then try to dominate it as much as you can.

There are TOO many general and webmaster freebie sites out there and the demographics of the people who come to these sites are poor. If the only hook you have is to offer FREE stuff on your site, you are going to find it difficult to sell a $50 product to the surfer who has headed to your website.
Promoting a freebie site is akin to screaming: "Who's spent all their money on lottery tickets and cigarettes and now can't afford to buy anything on the net? Come to my site and I'll give you *everything* for gratis!"

Of course, nothing really is free and so you, or the merchant you are an affiliate of, have to persuade these surfers to purchase something. Which is an impossible task. Unless you are exceptionally talented."