I have been making websites for a long time now. However, I have never had this many websites demanding my attention at once. I currently have about 5 different communites that need to be updated. Three of them are blogs (including this one).

Blogging for three different topics on three different sites is a full time job on its own. Taking care of my other two communities on top of them is hard work. Then, consider the fact that this is only a hobby, and I still have to keep up my day job and maintain a decent personal life.

I need to cut something out of my life. I think I’m going to cut out sleep. During the day, Brandon will have a normal outside life. At night, Brandon is full-time blogger! My plan can’t fail!

The stats are in. Looks like my blog network isn’t going to slow down any time soon. Once again, I beat last month’s record. Take a look for yourself.

Money made online in May
Google AdSense - $106.24
Kontera ContentLink - $52.59
Text-Link-Ads - $1.59
AdBrite - $4.13
Chitika eMini Malls - $0.57
Total Revenue: $165.12

In May, I made a total of $165.12 across my blog network - a 13% increase from April. I’m not totally surprised though. This was the first full run of Kontera. I also added Chitika into the mix at the end of the month, but it only made 57 cents.

If you multiply last month’s revenue by 12, I’m making about $1,981.44 a year from a part time hobby. Do you think I can pass the 2k mark next month? We’ll see!

As I’ve expand my website & blog network over the past couple years, I’ve learned what could be the most important rule: only develop sites that you would visit. It’s true. I could easily create a decent blog about knitting, but I have no interest in the subject… Let’s just say it would be a boring project.

Next to web development, my biggest hobby is music. Or more specifically, playing electric guitar. I love to rock out as much as anyone. In fact, I just purchased a new Les Paul last weekend.

Anyways, my next venture is one that I’m very excited about. This is a project that I’ve thought about doing for years, but never got around to actually doing it. This new venture is titled “strumstrum” - a place for people who play guitar.

If you look at the site now, there is not much there. Just a parking page until the site opens.

Once again, this is another solo venture. Originally I had a partner but we parted ways (he was only interested in made-for-adsense sites). The basic idea is that strumstrum will offer a community for guitarists to interact, get song tabs, share their videos, and read the latest music news. Of course, I have a lot of secrets up my sleave that should make this a VERY unique venture.

I’m not going to monetize the site immediately, but when I do it will be a part of my monthly earnings report so that you can get an idea of how its doing.

Stay tuned.

April has come and gone, and so has the money. Every month I tally up the money I’ve made online across my blog network. In addition to AdSense and Text-Link-Ads, I signed up for some new ad networks in March including ReviewMe, AuctionAds, AdBrite, and AdVolcano. So far, AdBrite is the only one generating revenue. However, in April I added Kontera ContentLink to the mix, which has become my second best money maker next to AdSense.

Anyways, here is my earnings report for last month.

Money made online in April
Google AdSense - $91.59
Kontera ContentLink - $35.13
Text-Link-Ads - $15.43
AdBrite - $1.90
Total Revenue: $144.05

This is very exciting news, since this is the best month yet for my young blog network. There was a 37% increase in revenue over last month’s $104.91. Making $1,728.60 a year from a part time hobby is not a bad deal.

While new posts on Ontora have slowed down, they continued at a normal rate on my other sites. So clearly, the increase in revenue is largely thanks to an increase in traffic. Another important thing to note is that my AdSense revenue for April was almost identical to March. Using a variety of different ad placements (in this case, Kontera) may stifle your individual networks, but it will help your total revenue in the end.

We’ll see how things go in May. Think I can beat $144.05 this month?

Want to get my latest tips and tricks for making money online? Join me on my quest to take over the internet and subscribe to Ontora’s full RSS feed.

John Chow has definitely earned the title of the “root of all evil” with his tricks to make money on the internet. But is John having a change of heart? Is he losing his edge as the root of all evil? In his latest blog contest he is giving away a brand new Microsoft Zune to one lucky blogger. All you have to do is write about it and your name gets thrown in the hat. Today is your last chance to enter the contest. Don’t stress too much over it though, since I’m going to win anyways.

Anyways - to answer my own question - no, John is not losing his edge as the root of evil. In fact, this is just another one of his schemes to get back links to his blog! Not only is he evil, he is deceivingly evil!

The next step in my quest of trying different ad networks was signing up for an in-text ad network. Originally I wanted to use Intellitxt, but they have a stiff pageview requirement that none of my sites currently meet. Luckily, I was able to get in on a special partnership with Kontera that accepts blogs based entirely on the quality of their content.

An example of in-text advertising (using Kontera)

There is a little bit of confusion with branding here, so let me explain. Kontera is to ContentLink as Google is to AdSense. Kontera is a marketing company that manages an in-text advertising network called ContentLink.

ContentLink ads are more invasive than some people like. I think you have to decide on a site by site basis. They can clutter your design and annoy your visitors, depending on your content. Generally, you only want to use in-text advertising like Intellitxt and ContentLink on content-heavy pages, with at least a few paragraphs of text.

The ad code is just a simple Javascript code that your put at the bottom of your pages. The script scans for keywords on the page and matches them with advertiser’s products to create the in-text ads. The ads are CPC, so I get money every time someone clicks them. The best part about it is that they are relevant to the content, so I know both my readers and my advertisers are happy.

Kontera ContentLink pays well too. I’ve been running the ads on one of my blogs for the past two weeks now. On good days, it will make more money than AdSense. On average days, it makes slightly less than AdSense. Still, it’s by far one of the best ad networks I’ve ever used.

Now, you can signup for Kontera ContentLink and start making money too, thanks to the John Chow / Kontera partnership. All you need to do is fill out the application and put “John Chow Kontera partnership” in the Comments field. If your content is deemed acceptable, you should be approved within a few days. Enjoy!

Last month, I set out to take over the internet. I am well on my way. Every month I tally up the money I’ve made online across my blog network. In addition to last month’s AdSense and Text-Link-Ads, I signed up for number of new advertising services including ReviewMe, AuctionAds, and AdVolcano.

Unfortunately, the only new service that brought in additional revenue was AdBrite. Anyways, let’s get on with it. Here is my earnings report for last month.

Money made online in March
Google AdSense - $92.04
Text-Link-Ads - $10.77
AdBrite - $2.10
Total Revenue: $104.91

$104.91 is not bad, that’s a 16% revenue increase in 30 days! Keep in mind, this is a part time hobby, so the fact that I’m making money online is only a bonus. Times my March revenue by 12, and I’m making about $1,258.92 a year.

Once again, AdSense is the biggest money maker for my blogs, with Text-Link-Ads bringing in a fair amount. I rotated several other ad networks throughought my sites, however, none of the made me a single penny (with the exception of AdBrite).

March has been one of my best months ever. Coincidentally, I also slowed blog updates in March - I didn’t even get on a computer last weekend because I was on vacation! The fact that I can spend less than an hour a day updating my blogs and make $1,258.92/year speaks for itself.

Want to get my latest tips and tricks for making money online? Join me on my quest to take over the internet and subscribe to Ontora’s full RSS feed.

How often do you stare at your blog, drawing a complete blank on what to write about? Or perhaps you know what you want to write about, but you just don’t want to do it? It happens to the best of us. Between my three blogs, forums, email, and school work, I get my share of writing done a day. Keeping a fresh stream of posts on your blog(s) can be especially difficult.

Here are a few of the strategies that I use to stay motivated.

1. Read. Constantly. If you already know what you’re going to blog about, but don’t have a clue where to begin, go read some other blogs. My Google Reader is overflowed with content so I know there’s always something interesting to read that may get my juices flowing. Going back and reading your own blog’s old posts may stir some motivation inside you as well.

2. Check your stats. This always helps me get motivated. When I look at my Google Analytics and see that page views are up 20%, I feel that I owe it to my readers to write a new post.

3. Go offline. Sometimes it’s just best to take a step back. If I’m really dreading having to update my blogs, I’ll just get away from my desk for a few minutes. Going for a walk, playing a game, working out, and listening to music are just a few of the ways that help me clear my head.

If you’re having trouble mustering up the energy to write a new article, try one of the ideas from this list and let me know if it works!

It’s time to take a moment and recognize our sponsor for the month of March. Showing some love to your website’s sponsors is good for them and great for you. It was never part of the agreement that Ontora’s Text-Link-Ad advertisers would get a whole post dedicated to them. However, I like to appreciate my advertisers.

If you over-deliver to your advertisers, there’s a good chance they will reorder a spot for next month, and perhaps even become a long-time sponsor. Over time, your sponsors will be willing to pay more money for the spot as your space becomes more competitive.

We would have only had one sponsor this month, but Greenlight jumped on at the last minute.

Thanks to Fool.co.uk, who offers deals on credit cards, and Greenlight Search Engine Marketing, who offer search engine optimisation services.

Want to sponsor Ontora next month? You wont be disappointed at $20 a month.

A particularly easy way to make money online is by syndicating other news sources. This was once a tactic used only by spammers, but it has developed into a popular and legitimate way of making money online.

The idea is pretty basic: using a blog (a free Blogger account will do just fine), you can scrape content from other sites in the genre, paraphrase the article in your own words, and then cite them as the source at the bottom. If you write a unique summary, Google will give you credit for the content.

For example, if I started a scraper blog about video games, I would subscribe to IGN and GameSpot e-mail updates. If an interesting news story came up, I would summarize the article in 3-4 sentences, pull a quote or two, and post it on my blog.

Getting back links with scraper blogs is not too difficult either. If you link to an article from another blog, not only will you get a trackback in the comments, but the blog’s author may be so inclined to link back to you.

Once you get the blog rolling with content, you will be making easy dough.