Earlier, I presented tips on how to choose a WordPress theme and mentioned that your choice of a theme can be influenced by your decision to monetize your blog. There were two opposing reactions : WP doesn’t allow and YES you can! IMHO, it is possible in a way that WordPress.com or the [.] org version for that matter doesn’t officially offer referrals or affiliates schemes. It’s the themes and the plugins that do the talking…or rather, monetizing through Google Adsense and other Pay Per Click programs.
Perhaps one of the most preferred programs is the Adsense that has allowed few good men out there to earn as much as $300,000 a month. The likes of Markus Frind of plentyoffish.com – a dating service website, and Kevin Rose of digg.com, and Jeremy Shoemaker of Shoemoney.com are lucky enough to earn really big bucks. Of course, these people have worked hard to make their websites popular as they are now. No, they don’t use WordPress on their websites I’m sure of that. But the figures they are earning are enough to motivate us bloggers.
The closest thing bloggers and web marketers like us have to earning online is obviously blogs. Whether you use WP, Blogger, MySpace, or whatever obscure blogging platform, you can put AdSense. Work harder to be more popular and get noticed via some linkbuilding here and there or writing some controversial posts, you can laugh your way to the bank after you get your AdSense check.
The thing with WordPress is that there are hundreds to thousands of themes and plugins being made by designers and developers all over the world. Some people are smart enough to design themes that allot spaces for PPC ads.
But just because you can monetize through WordPress, it doesn’t automatically mean you WILL. Most people forget about “hardwork”. Remember that Frind, Rose, of Shoemaker didn’t get rich quick—they worked hard for it. They may not use our beloved WP on their sites but their bank accounts more than motivate.
