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Monday, February 18, 2008

5 Ways To Make Money in Social Networks

There are plenty of social networks out there in cyberspace and a number of ways to make money as a member. I'm going to share some of the ways you can start using social networks to earn some extra cash online.

Use Your Profile to Promote Your Business
Almost every social network comes with your very own profile page. You should consider this space as your own little billboard and take advantage of the free advertising space. Not only is it free space, but it's permanent advertising! Unlike classified ads where you have to post on a regular basis.
Your photo should be a nice head shot or a company logo. Take the time to write a professional "about me" section. Share some information about your business and your experience. You can use the blogs and bulletins to post direct links to your website.Spend some time joining or creating groups to interact with other members in the social network. Some networks have forums and the option to chat as well. Use all the social networking features to your advantage. Most importantly socialize and have fun with other members in the community.

Get Paid To Participate
New social networks are popping up with monetary incentives for their members. Paid forums like MYLOT pay you to post discussions and to respond to other members discussions. The amount you earn there depends on your participation and the quality of your posts. You also earn a commission of the earnings people you refer make. Yuwie is another relatively new social network very similar to Myspace, the big difference is you will be getting paid to do the things you normally do in any other social network. Again, the amount you earn will depend on the amount of time and participation you commit too.

Revenue Sharing
Some networks have a revenue sharing program in place. Members have the option of participating and earning a share of the revenue generated in the social network. Most of these communities are strictly Google adsense revenue sharing programs but some of them do give you the option of using another ad network such as Yahoo or Bidvertiser. The way this programs works is, you have a section on your personal profile to copy and paste your sponsored ads. You would earn a share of the revenue generated from ads clicked on your profile page. Your share normally ranges between 50-100%. Sales Spider and Dada are strictly Google adsense revenue sharing social networks but Lazzeo and Bizpreneur include other sponsored ad networks. The choice is yours to make.

Refer Other Members
Some networks pay you a flat out fee to refer others. In a previous post, I listed some social networks that were paying $1.00 per referral. Other networks like Yuwie, Dada and Mylot will pay you a commission on whatever the earnings are for the members you refer. If you have active referrals, you can easily make a nice chump of change without much effort other than referring others. If you are in a church group, PTA or involved with any other off line activity, you can easily join a social network and invite these people to join you online. Create a private group and interact online.

Create Your Own Social Networks
Oh my I tried this a few months back and I kind of put it on the back burner. Places like Ning and Snappville (previously me.com) allow you to set up your very own social network. I'm a member of Ning but only as a member of social networks created by other people. Anyone can create a social network but you do have to pay for a premium service to have the option to run ads on your network.
I'm a little more familiar with Snappville. This is where I created my social networks. I didn't have to pay any fees to create the Lingerie Lounge and Anime Fetish communities. I do participate in the Google Adsense revenue sharing program there and earn a 50% share of the revenue generated from my community. Creating a social network there is fairly easy but you would need to make an effort to promote your social network and recruit new members.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like your posts. Social sites can bring in some money if used correctly.

Getting your own started though is extremely difficult these days as there are so many around.

Anonymous said...

This is a wonderful piece for newcomers to the social network online arena! It can be overwhelming where to start, but you brought out some of the great tips to get people going.

♥vans♥ said...

im a stay at home wife, I can't work yet, so Im looking all the possibilities of earning income online..thanks for a very helpful post/site.. I added you as favorites on my entrecard, so I miss any of your topic, keep it up! goodluck

Anonymous said...

i use youtube to link to my blog. it sends a few hits every day. not sure if i'll do that with myspace or facebook.

Anonymous said...

Ecxellent post! Thanks for the useful info!