Since 2007 I’ve been utilizing (TLA) on my hiking trail website, Virginia Hiker. All I’ve had to do is put up a small widget code on my site’s sidebar and let it run. Every so often I get an email from TLA saying that they’ve sold a link on my site and that’s it – I don’t have to do anything else. The links are automatically added through the widget and there is no maintenance on your end.  Then the following month the check just shows up!

Now, the amount that I’m making each month from Virginia Hiker (which is currently my only site that has sold links through TLA) is not anything to go crazy about and call my self an expert on. However, every amount helps at the end of the month and puts you on your way to growing your business!

Here are a few answers to common questions you probably have about TLA.

How long does it take TLA to review a submitted site?
It can take 24 hours to be approved. Then you need to add the code on the exact same page that was approved, then 1-3 days to get packaged on and placed on the site depending on number of submissions. Another great feature is that you can keep adding multiple sites if you have them and manage all your sites under one account. This can really grow your earning potential!

Can I control what links appear on my site?
Yes, you can choose to be emailed every time a new ad is sold so you can approve it or deny it from being published. This is great because it also helps you keep track of how many links have sold on your site by notifying you that a link has sold.

Can I run Text Link Ads along with other ad systems I am currently running?
If you’re link me, you are trying to expand your money making avenues and running multiple different ad programs on your site, or selling links and banners privately. Well, it’s great to know that Text Link Ads can be run along any contextually served product. They do ask that TLA be the sole provider of static HTML advertisements, as this will protect the value of the advertisements as well as give you the highest payout.

I hope this quick post has given you some ideas about different revenue streams out there. There is so much talk about making money on Facebook, Twitter, and all the other social media sites, that sometimes people forget to monetize their own website!

Give Text Link Ads a try and let me know what you think! Like I said, I’ve been with them since 2007 and have only had great experiences. Their support has been great when needed too, so if you have issues with getting your widget to work on your site, just contact them and they will be quick to help!

Good luck!

Anyway, with the month finished, its about that time that I sometimes put together a earnings post for the month and all around update on the status of the site. So, lets get started.

SEPTEMBER EARNINGS

Private Ads: $10.00
Sponsored Reviews: $9.75
Text Link Ads: $25.52
ReviewMe: $40.00
Adsense: $14.73
TOTAL: $100.00

Some notes on the earnings and other items…
On top of the $14.73 that I “earned” from AdSense for the month, I actually got my latest Adsense payment of over $100. Since I don’t make enough through AdSense to get a monthly deposit (more than $100), it is nice every couple months when it does come through.

I have sold a few private ads on the site over the past few months and there has also been a lot of interest in purchasing advertising on the site. If you are interested, check out the rates on the Advertise page and then get in contact with me to discuss. All the ad formats are available (text link, image ad, and sponsored posts).

I am happy that I hit the $100 mark again for the month, that is good news. I hope that this month we will be able to get over that and get closer to $150. With two new bloggers on board to help write for the site, I think we will be able to pump out some great content that will hopefully attract some more monthly advertisers and sponsors. Page views and visitors have taken about a 40% increase in September from August and just about doubled from July. I know they are not impressive numbers (1200 visits and 1600 page views) but they are continuing to go up daily and look forward to what October brings.

With college classes back in full force for everyone, I will hopefully be able to put out some useful content for student entrepreneurs – if you have ideas for posts, please let me know and we will write about them! Also, if you have questions you’d like for us to try to answer, email me and we will either email you back or post about it on the site!

Obviously the most popular post from the month was the contest post. As I already reviewed after the contest finished, there were over 300 combined entries and over 80 comments. Some of the other popular posts for the month included:

• 12 Websites You Need to Be Using As An Entrepreneur
• Are You A Toilet Entrepreneur?

We also got out 14 posts for the month, which equates to almost one every other day. October is going to be better – I swear! Keep a look out!

I think that is about all the updates that I have for now. October is a busy month for me (as far as the weekends go) but I should be able to get a lot of posts written while at work…like I am now.

Anyway, keep your heads up, keep hustlin’, and keep making the green!

-Chris

P.S. New Dorm Room Biz design is still in the works – look for it to be launching this month…..I hope! It should be great!

P.S.S. Thanks for continuing to come back and visit the site! Be sure to subscribe via RSS or Email and then follow me on Twitter!