While the king of internet publishing advertising networks remains Google’s AdSense, there are other ad networks that can make you more money. You should not only optimize the design of your ads, but also the network serving them.

You should test and retest different advertising networks (like AdBrite, Adsense, YPN, etc.) until you find that you have optimized your EPC (earnings per click). Once you’ve done that, test and retest again. Don’t just assume that you are going to make the most money using AdSense . . .

Use YPN if Your Audience is from the USA

YPN is still not paying publishers for clicks outside the US, so if your site concentrates on an international audience, it is probably not the network for you. If you do have a sizable concentration of viewers in the United States, I highly suggest trying it out.

Here’s one reason why:

This weekend I removed my AdSense ads from one of my blogs and replaced it with YPN ads. Although traffic was slow (happens on the holidays), my advertising revenue for the blog was over twice that of an average day while I served AdSense. I have many months of data to review, but the numbers speak for themselves. I’m going to obviously continue to watch the blog and see how things continue.

My Complaint with YPN

The only problem I’m having with YPN, and one of the reasons why I believe the network is not respected by the online world yet is that there still seems to be a lack of advertisers. I’ve noticed the same 5 ads running on site each time I’ve visited. This can certainly get old to our viewers. I hope that Yahoo can get their act together and start competing with Google; right now, they are not even in the same league. I think it is time for a radical restructuring; Yahoo needs to target publishers and give them a reason to switch over, or they should consider selling off their ad network to someone who can come up with some fresh ideas to compete with Google. At this rate, sadly, it looks like they are going nowhere and fast.

Why AdSense?

Like I mentioned earlier, while my Google ads are not paying as much as YPN ads, there is a much greater inventory. I have a feeling that the increase in revenue I’m seeing from YPN will be short-lived. As my readers find that the ads have grown stale, they will stop visiting them. The benefits of greater inventory, in my mind, will prevail over the long term for this reason.

I shot a video of my dog Brooklyn this afternoon at the farm, hanging out with some pigs. You have to see the video. It is hysterical!

I’ve got a few more and will post them online soon!

If anyone is going to take you seriously as a blogger, you are going to have to have one key thing — your own domain name. While using sites like Blogger and Wordpress make it easy to blog, to put forward a professional appearance and have greater flexibility with your blog, you’re going to need to register the right name.

Before I cover that, lets look at the other steps you’ll need to take to get going.

Pick a Topic You’re Passionate About

Realize that blogging is a time intensive activity. While very addicting, it is easy to run out of material if you’re not passionate about what you’re writing about. With that in mind, it is important that you find a topic that you love. People are making money blogging about most anything you can think of, so narrow down your topic and find your niche.

Sit down and look at your hobbies, your interests, and those things that get you excited. If you can convey your sense of love of the topic, your readers will respond to that passion by coming back to your blog.

Pick a Domain Name

Now that you have a topic that you want to blog about, you need to pick a good name for your site. Since many of the easy domain names are probably taken by someone else, you’re going to need to do some work. In the past, I’ve used Register to do my searches, but I’ve found a site that is much easier and quicker to use, Instant Domain Search.

When picking domain names, I usually will play with words until I come up with something that is related to the topic I’m blogging about, which usually results in something quirky or obvious — like TimeforBlogging! I can’t speak for anyone else, but it usually takes me a few hours of brainstorming before I’ve found something I’m happy with.

Order Your Domain Name and Find a Host

Now that you’ve found a domain name, you’re going to need to register that name and find a host. For those of you that don’t know what a host is, it is a company that provides computers for you to keep your website on. Most hosts have packages that include domain registration, so you’re going to need to do some shopping around.

Starting out, you’re going to want to go with a shared hosting plan, which just means that your website is on the same computer server as other sites. Once your site grows, you may start to consider dedicated hosting, but I do not recommend this for beginners. For shared hosting, I have been very happy with the pricing, service, and uptime of LunarPages and Globat (both have great plans starting at $6.95/month).

It is Very Inexpensive to Start Out!
As you can see, it shouldn’t cost you more then $100 for a year of hosting and registration, so don’t let the costs stop you from moving forward. You can usually start uploading files to your new servers within a few hours, so get ready.

Find the Right Blogging Software to Power Your Blog
You’ve got your idea, domain, and host, and you’re ready to start blogging, but you first need to find the right software to power your blog. Without going into other packages, I recommend that you use Wordpress. It has practically become the industry standard, and for good reason.

It is extremely easy to set up, and there are tons of different ways you can modify the blog with this software. In addition, the software is secure and upgraded when needed. Since so many people use wordpress, there are many different skins that you can use to change the appearance of your blog. There are also many different plugins you can use to enhance your blog’s functionality.

Once you download and install your blogging software, you’re ready to start blogging for money. Of course, there is much more to cover, like where does the money come from and which plugins should I install, but we’ll cover those later.

Blog Passionately and Blog Often
This is it! You’ve taken things into your own hands and are now on your way to becoming a professional blogger. Get writing!

After waiting for some time, we’re finally blessed with the new version of AzoogleAds “2.0″. Shoemoney posted about users first impressions of the new website and reporting system, while the Earners Blog does a great indepth review of this new release.

I’m not yet an affiliate, but I filled out their application (like 8 pages long), and hope to be accepted soon. I’ll keep you posted.

This just keeps cracking me up!