One way to monetize your blogs, sites or other online media is to promote items from other websites. For instance, Ebay has a nice affiliate program called the ebaypartnernetwork.com. You get some very nice kickbacks for promoting ebay, including 5% of the total listing fees, and $25 when someone signs up for a new account with ebay. The types of sites you can promote stuff on are only limited by the types of things sold on ebay. I personally like light, high value items that many people search for on ebay, and then I build a website around that niche using either Build A Niche Store or wordpress. I also try to find a niche that I can write a series of articles about so that I can do some ezinearticle.com submissions. This method usually helps to move my site up in the Google natural listings to help with the organic traffic. Next, I try to add some unique content to the site itself – tying into the articles I submit. Once the content is in place, I like to make sure that I get the site listed, so I choose a few select directories to list it in.
Now, one other thing I do to jumpstart things is a carefully worded ad on craigslist. This will get some hits right away for you. It takes a few hits to get things going, and a week or more to see some income. My most recent success was a niche clothing site. I put several ads on craigslist, and nothing more. In a week I had my first commissions – 3 sales worth $3 and one ebay signup netted me $25. This was with 51 targeted hits!
If you would like more information on the ebay partner network or Build A Niche Store please contact me. Build A Niche Store recommends the hosting from HostGator, and I have found that they do work the best for hosting BANS.