Comments on: Interview with Jim Kukral about BlogKits

By: Rob @ SearchEngineZ

Rob @ SearchEngineZ — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 08:14:55 +0000

Blogger makes it pretty easy non-marketing-savvy folk to whack some ads on the page and make a little cash. This means that AdSense ads are almost like wallpaper, part of a blog’s layout, and not standing out.

BlogKits offers non-marketing-savvy bloggers an alternative easy-to-set-up money maker, and the ads will look fresh to the blog’s readers. I like how they say “sponsored by” – that will encourage folk to support the blog they read.

By: Mona @ Time To Budget

Mona @ Time To Budget — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 07:28:41 +0000

I am responding to all those wondering why someone would want to use something like BlogKits rather than using theire own affiliate links. I am been involved with affiliate marketing on a small scale but I have noticed that many advertisers change their links or drop affiliate marketing programs which means you have to update links and banners. I don’t have the time to keep track of all the lastest sales and promotions so I am all for using BlogKits. Many sites are using Chitika and but if you have low traffic you’re out of luck. I think this is a great opportunity for low traffic bloggers to generate an income. They way I see it is that it does’t hurt to try it out. I also believe in multiple streams of income. Adsense, affiliate marketing, and sponsor advertising are all avenues for generating income. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket as they say. Thanks for the information Darren and Jim.

By: Jim Kukral

Jim Kukral — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 22:42:24 +0000

Allen, I just responed on your blog with a really long and boring detailed response. Summary: We’re easier to use, easier to setup, etc…

We’re for bloggers, not marketers. If you want to just blog and let us worry about the dirty work of helping you make money, BlogKits is for you. If you aspire to be a problogger. Just stay here at Problogger and read every page and learn everything, and you will.

The point is, not very many people want to learn how to be marketers, they want it simple, fast and easy. That’s BlogKits.

By: Allen

Allen — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 03:55:16 +0000

Ok, I have been working with cpa ads since they began about 10 yrs ago so I thought I would take a look at this. I posted my thoughts and questions for Jim here:
http://www.centernetworks.com/blogkits-review

Yes, there are a couple nice new formats for blogs, but other than that what else? Why not use CJ or Amazon?

By: Quoi9 » Blogkits est de retour avec un challenge

Quoi9 » Blogkits est de retour avec un challenge — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 19:04:33 +0000

[...] update : J’ai posé la question de l’efficacité de l’adsense tool de blogkits à Darren Rowse – Problogger.com, qui a récemment fait un billet là-dessous, voici sa réponse (en anglais) En gros il critique le ‘tool’ mais au même temps il dit que blogkits offre une véritable option supplémentaire. [...]

By: robson

robson — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:44:01 +0000

Thanks Darren, you answered the question and more.
I see why your blog is widely read, some interesting comments as well, I’ll certainly be back for more.
cheers

By: Raghu

Raghu — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 15:17:13 +0000

Have been following the launch of Blogkits and as a starting blogger I jumped into BlogKits for a few reasons

1. As a new blogger I was impressed by the fact that there is a solution targeted towards ‘me’ – if or not it will work for me is a question that I am still to figure out an answer for. Just imagine the exodus if even 5-10% of the bloggers in my category decide to try BlogKits – big numbers (John – what are the number of subscribers you have signed up now – sharable ?) !

2. As a new blogger any reading you do always tells you that Google Adsense is a great option and you are frustrated when you dont see $$ in your adsense account and giving an option is a killer approach to get people to try blogkits. If ofcourse people do make money they will stick with BlogKits else there will be a transition out of BlogKits sometime later

3. Having both options running will anyway cause me no harm – low risk possible high benefit approach – barrier to get people to try is very low and once they try the battle is half won !

By: Jennie Rosenbaum

Jennie Rosenbaum — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 04:10:12 +0000

This looks very interesting, thanks for the insightful interview. Personally, I find it hard to find an advertising solution that works for my niche and for wordpress.com (as wordpress doesn’t allow ads)

I use targeted affiliate advertising in posts to amazon. it would be nice to have further options that are javascript free.

By: Enrique

Enrique — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 01:02:28 +0000

Looks promising. I love these kind of services. I’m not lazy, I’m work overloaded and tired of managing dozens of affiliate programs. I always look for centralized services.
I have one question though. You have 1&1 internet as an affiliate. Aren’t you worried about the awful press they had recently?
Read this post by GrayWolf:
http://www.wolf-howl.com/index.php?s=1%261
I will certainly subscribe to your service as soon as possible.

Enrique

By: Darren

Darren — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 23:28:20 +0000

It’s true that you could make more money by finding your own targetted affiliate ads, but for small blogs that’s not worth the effort. What’s the point in spending time maximising the ‘income per visitor’ if your visitor numbers are in the toilet? You’d be better off spending that time writing killer content that would grow your visitor numbers.

I see BlogKits as a great stepping stone for blogs just starting out. Once you’ve got your blog online, slap Adsense and BlogKits on it and then forget about monetising for a while. Put all your effort into content and promotion – they are what you really need at this stage. For now, let the Adsense and BlogKits ads cover your hosting fees and maybe buy you a coffee every few days.

Once your traffic grows to decent levels, you can reduce the time spent promoting and writing content, and start to develop your revenue streams. Try out a few targetted affiliate programs and see how well they work. Sell some Text Link Ads. Promote an eBook or online training course. Experiment and see what works for your blog and your visitors.

The key to success in blogging (and I guess, in anything!) is to get your priorities right for where you are *now*.

By: Jim Kukral

Jim Kukral — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 22:51:58 +0000

“So your strategy with BlogKits is to target the “average joe” blogger who is too lazy (or uninterested) to learn affiliate marketing?”
@Matt, Not being motivated to learn how to be a marketer is not being lazy. Some people start blogs just to write, and have zero aspirations of learning how to be a marketer.

“People who settle with throwing up a turnkey like this on their site are never going to make any real money due to their lack of motivation or enthusiasm ”
@Matt, if you look at it that way, sure, but if you look at what blogging really is about… about people “writing” about their passions. Should a blogger spend more time figuring out how to make money, or just continue to write about their passion? Wouldn’t you agree that the #1 best way for a blogger to succeed is to just keep writing good quality content? That’s what they should be motivated to do, instead of worrying about how to be an online marketer… in my opinion of course. :)

By: Working at Home on the Internet

Working at Home on the Internet — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 19:19:09 +0000

[...] Yesterday I read the Interview with Jim Kukral about BlogKits by Darren Rowse on ProBlogger. It seems to be a pretty decent possibility for setting up some affiliate programs on smaller Blogs. (And you can’t get much smaller than this.) I would suggest reading it if you are considering trying BlogKits Performance Marketing as a potential source of income. [...]

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:11:30 +0000

@Jim: So your strategy with BlogKits is to target the “average joe” blogger who is too lazy (or uninterested) to learn affiliate marketing? I just don’t know if I agree with that viewpoint. In my opinion if you’re going to make a real effort to monetize your blog, website, or any other sort of online presence you should do the research and organize your own ads. People who settle with throwing up a turnkey like this on their site are never going to make any real money due to their lack of motivation or enthusiasm – despite how many people come along with these super easy methods of monetization.

By: Ted Demopoulos

Ted Demopoulos — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 15:34:01 +0000

The AdSense estimates are off – I was making LESS money :)
Yes, I understand optimization pretty well – and have done it well on friend’s and client’s blogs.

AdSense revenue depends greatly on visitors AND topic! Some topics are great, some do NOt work with AdSense. You can make educated guesses, but pretty much need to experiment.

By: Glen

Glen — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 15:15:20 +0000

I have been using the blogkits program on my blog for a few days now and was wondering when I would see a write up about it. In my case the Adsense estimates are off. What was projected to be made in a month for my type of blog I make in a few days.

I’m really interested in seeing how Blogkits performs vs Adsense and would love to see a referral program come out. A lot of my audience is new to blogging and would benefit greatly from a program geared for low traffic blogs.

By: John Hood

John Hood — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 14:44:51 +0000

Jim,

Although I’m averse to marketing rhetoric that over-emphasises alleged weaknesses in a competitors product, I welcome any well-conceived means to monetize my blogs and look forward to a successful business partnership.

Best,

John

By: Michael From The Future

Michael From The Future — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 14:05:23 +0000

Hi Jim – Hi Darren !

I would like to say THANK YOU for offering ‘us’ something else to try.
The program may not be for everyone but it may be GREAT for some of us!.

I myself am VERY INTERESTED in trying this out.

Thank You JIM for bringing this to the table ( I am NEW to blogging and find
this offer very nice) and thank you Darren for keeping on top of these types
of stories.

Appreciate it guys !

By: Jim Kukral

Jim Kukral — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 06:21:48 +0000

@MM, your second comment is way off, the targeted bloggers have a much better/real chance at actually making something, instead of nothing. It might not be for you, but that doesn’t mean it’s not legit and good for others.

By: Jim Kukral

Jim Kukral — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 05:25:03 +0000

@MM, All of your comments make sense, if you’re talking about bloggers who are marketers, or who want to be. Millions of bloggers don’t know, or care to know about optimizing ads, contextual ads, etc…

Not to be snarky, but have you ever seen a non marketer try to figure out a normal affiliate marketing network? It’s not pretty, and not easy. That’s all we’re trying to do… help make it easy for those who want easy. :)

As for Adsense, we admit we may have over calculated what the real numbers are. Check this case study out about John Chow’s blog and his November Adsense earnings.

We way over estimated based upon John’s numbers. In our estimation John should be making between $3000.00 – $15300.00 a month, and he’s pulling in $800 and change.

By: MM

MM — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 05:18:10 +0000

Oops, I submited that too early.

All in all, it’s not a bad move on his part. If he can SELL enough people to run his affiliate ads on their pages in exchange for a cut, he could make good money based on the total volume… while the bloggers make virtually nothing.

F***edcompanies.com anyone?