Michael Janzen

One of the main methods green bloggers use to support themselves financially with their blogs is by working with advertising networks that sell ad space for them. Google AdSense is often the first choice by bloggers because their solution is so easy to implement. Virtually any blogger can sign-up and start earning money right away, including those with low traffic blogs. Google also does a reasonably good job of targeting relevant ads to the website content too. This is good for the advertiser, blogger, and reader because it keeps the paid content in context and improves the effectiveness of the advertising as well as the user experience.

Once a blog’s traffic increases to a certain level it becomes eligible for ad networks that pay per impression instead of per click like Google. Google limits you to three ad units per page. The benefit of adding another ad network is that you can theoretically double your ad revenue by doubling the number of ads on the page, as long as you don’t run into the downside of the law of diminishing returns by filling the page with ads.

I was running 7 ad spaces on TinyHouseDesign.com until today, but finally became dissatisfied with the pale green ads my second ad network was delivering. I also became very dissatisfied with their management when my sell-through rate dropped dramatically without any satisfactory explanation. I’ll keep one ad unit running in a prominent spot for a few months to see if this is just a temporary issue.

Catch-22 for Ad Networks

You see I think the main problem is that most of the advertising dollars out there right now are coming from large corporations that typically to focus on green-washing campaigns more than truly green endeavors. So ad networks are probably caught in a catch-22 just like most small businesses in America. They can either cling to their ethics and face ruin or accept a wider variety of advertising deals and survive.

Catch-22 for Bloggers

Green bloggers who rely on advertising revenue as their main source of income are also stuck in a hard spot. They can either choose to struggle and cut out these pale green ads or buck it up and let them continue running.

Thanks God for Day Jobs & Multiple Income Streams

Luckily for me I have a good day job. So instead of continuing to let these pale green ads run on TinyHouseDesign.com, I’ll refocus my attention on monetizing my site in other ways, like drawing more tiny house plans.

I just finished submitting two of my busiest blogs to be published on the Amazon Kindle. It was really easy to do but there is no guarantee they will approve it. I’ll post here again and report back later on whether my blogs were approved or rejected. But in the mean time let me explain why and how to publish your blog(s) on Kindle.

Overview

What’s a Kindle? Amazon has developed a electronic tablet for reading electronic books.

A blog on Kindle? Amazon has opened Kindle up for reading blogs just like you would read an electronic book. Subscribers pay a monthly subscription fee to Amazon.

Why is there a subscription fee? There is no option to deliver the blog free on Kindle at this time. I guess Amazon is thinking that a small subscription fee is worth the convenience of reading blogs on Kindle.

Do I get paid? Blog publishers get 30% of the monthly subscription fee. The subscription rate pricing is determined by Amazon.

How To

Step 1. Create an Account: (Create your Kindle Publishing Account) You’ll need to provide your tax identification number (like Social Security Number), address, and answers to security questions like your mother’s maiden name, and other information just like you would for any affiliate account. This is not the same as your Amazon Associates account.

Step 2. Add a Blog: You’ll need to prepare the following graphic images and information before you’ll be able to complete their submission form:

Screenshot: This image must be 800×600 pixels or smaller and less than 1.0 MB. You must use GIF, JPEG, TIFF, or BMP.

Masthead: This image must be 430×50 pixels or smaller and less than 1.0 MB. You must use GIF, JPEG, TIFF, or BMP.

Blog Description: Write a concise description of your blog that surfaces the most popular features of your blog. I always refer to my Google Analytics account when trying to understand the most popular content on my blogs.

Keywords/Tags: They allow 128 characters worth of keywords/tags. Be sure to choose wisely because these are used when people search for Kindle content.

RSS Feed URL: I submitted my original WordPress generated RSS URL. I didn’t want my Kindle account to rely on my Feedburner RSS URL. If you don’t know what your RSS URL is just view source and look for a line of code that looks like this:

<link rel=”alternate” type=”application/rss+xml” title=”Tiny House Design RSS Feed” href=”http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/feed/” />

The RSS URL in this example is: http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/feed/

Submission Form: Here is a screenshot of their submission form. Just click the thumbnail to see the full size image.

Step 3. Wait for Approval: It takes up to 72 hours for Amazon to approve or reject your submission.

Conclusion

This seems like a really interesting way to monetize and promote a blog. I think it’s still too early to know if Kindle will be a big hit like the iPhone but it does make sense to jump in early and get your blog on Kindle. It takes little time and costs no money and has great potential.

The newest Kindle seems like a really nifty device. I like it mostly because it would make it easy to downsize the bulk of a library and reduce the number of possessions we own. As a simple living advocate and anti-consumerist it’s a little ironic that I’d actually see value in any consumer product but this one would actually reduce the books your have to store.

Create your Kindle Publishing Account

Update! Both blogs I submitted were approved and are now available on Amazon Kindle. Take a look:

• Tiny House Design
• Tiny House Living