Reddit (shown in the figure below) is a popular social bookmarking site known for its “no frills” appearance. To use Reddit, you create a free account and begin submitting content by clicking the Submit button on the Reddit site. As users vote content up and down, the most popular content makes it to the home page of Reddit and drives a lot of traffic to that blog or Web site. Reddit has a reputation of focusing on offbeat news and unique commentary on current news.

Members of Orkut, a social networking site owned by Google, can communicate, connect, and share information, pictures, and videos. Although Orkut isn’t one of the most popular social networking sites, it has a strong Brazilian user base. You can sign in to Orkut by using the Google Account information you set up when you created your Blogger blog (see below), so it’s easy to get started.

The BlogHer social networking site is unique in that its intended audience is women bloggers. BlogHer (shown below) offers a directory of female bloggers, advertising, forums, and conferences. Additionally, members can create their own blogs on BlogHer to share thoughts, ideas, and news so female bloggers can communicate, network, and grow.

The popular Friendster site is very similar to other popular social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Friendster (shown below), which is open to anyone over the age of 16, invites its more than 75 million members from around the world to connect, share information, and communicate in a common space. The site offers a variety of applications to users to customize their experiences, including a mobile application. The clean design of Friendster helps you easily find friends and try applications.

The popular impression-based advertising network TribalFusion operates globally. The site offers a variety of ad formats to publishers that receive a minimum of 2,000 unique users per day. Additionally, the blog must be active and updated frequently and must have a professional design. Tribal Fusion pays publishers 50 percent of all revenue made from their blogs. The payout threshold is $50 with payment made by check.

You can control the types of ads delivered on your blog by Tribal Fusion by blocking ad categories or specific advertisers. The site includes Flash ads and pop-up ads, which might be viewed as intrusive to your visitors. Be sure to monitor your Tribal Fusion revenue as well as any traffic changes to ensure that your efforts help you meet your overall goals for your blog. To apply to become a Tribal Fusion ad publisher, simply complete the online application on the Tribal Fusion Web site. A representative from Tribal Fusion reviews your blog and responds to your application within one business week. If your application is accepted, instructions to establish your account are provided so that you can begin publishing ads on your blog.

ValueClick is an easy-to-use, impression-based advertising program that offers banner ads, pop-unders, videos, and rich-media ads. As the publisher, you can set the minimum cost per impression (CPM) that you’re willing to accept on your blog. The minimum traffic level to become a ValueClick publisher is 3,000 impressions per month, and you can pick and choose which types of ads you want to run on your site.

Take the time to read the complete ValueClick terms of service before you apply. The site has a wide variety of restrictions related to the types of blogs (for example, you must host your blog on your own domain) and blog content (no non-English pages or excessive advertising) that are accepted into the ValueClick ad program.

To sign up to become part of the ValueClick ad network, follow these steps:

1. Visit ValueClickMedia Home Page and click the Join button in the Publishers section of the Web site. This step opens the online application.

2. Complete and submit the online application. You receive, within 24 to 48 hours, an e-mail notifying you whether your application was accepted with additional instructions to set up your new account.

The popular text link ad broker TextLinkBrokers accepts applications from blogs with a Google page rank of 1 or higher. This site sets the ad rate for text link ads that appear on your blog based on your Google page rank and an evaluation of your blog. The ad publisher can approve or deny ads, and the payout threshold is $100. Overall, the process works similarly to Text-Link-Ads.

To become a TextLinkBrokers publisher, visit TextLinkBrokers Home Page and complete the Publisher sign-up form. When you submit your sign-up form, TextLinkBrokers reviews your application and e-mails you with an acceptance or rejection. It also notifies you of the amount you’ll be paid for links if your application is accepted and sends you a list of questions to answer in order to add your site to the TextLinkBrokers inventory. When your site is added to the TextLinkBrokers inventory, an e-mail is sent to you with the information you need to create an account in the Partner’s Console section of the TextLinkBrokers Web site. After your partner’s console account is created, you receive a link to activate the account.

When an advertiser selects your blog to place a text link ad, you receive an e-mail directing you to log in to your account to view details of the request. The publisher’s terms of service with TextLinkBrokers says that you agree to place ad requests (or deny them) on your blog within two business days.

The popular text link broker Text-Link-Ads helps bloggers get paid for publishing text link ads, as shown in the figure below. Ad publishers receive 50 percent of the sale price for each text link sold on your blog, and Text-Link-Ads integrate seamlessly with other advertising programs, such as Google AdSense. As a Text-Link-Ad publisher, you can approve or deny all ads that are purchased to display on your blog. The payout threshold is low, at just $25, and payment is sent by way of check or PayPal on the first day of every month.

Even though the payout threshold is low, which makes Text-Link-Ads attractive to bloggers with lower traffic levels, smaller bloggers find it difficult to get accepted as a Text-Link-Ads publisher. Blogs with a Google page rank of 4 or higher are automatically accepted; blogs with a rank lower than 4 are manually reviewed and typically aren’t accepted. The price of ads shown on your blog is set by Text-Link-Ads using a proprietary algorithm that first considers your blog’s traffic and page rank statistics.

To become a Text-Link-Ads publisher, follow these simple steps:

1. Visit Text-Link-Ads Home Page and complete the online publisher application. When your application is approved, you receive an e-mail providing you with your account information.

2. Sign in to your Text-Link-Ads account and follow the instructions to install the ad code on your blog in the Get Ad Code section of your account. You can find here the ad code to copy and paste into your blog, and instructions for doing so. After the code is pasted into your blog, ads begin appearing on your blog as they’re purchased.

Kontera is another popular contextual link advertising program. When you sign up to serve Kontera ads on your blog, its ContentLink function automatically links contextually relevant keywords in your blog posts to ads. Those keywords appear with a double underline within your existing blog post. When a visitor hovers the mouse cursor over the Kontera linked text, a small bubble box appears and displays an advertisement served by one of Kontera’s advertisers. When a visitor to your blog clicks that advertisement, the advertiser’s Web site opens in the browser. Kontera works harmoniously with Google AdSense and is open to bloggers whose blogs meet the current requirements outlined on the Kontera Web site.

One of the best features about Kontera is its virtual lack of a footprint on your blog. Rather than use space in your sidebar or header or between your blog posts, Kontera in-text ads appear within your blog posts and link relevant ads to the words that are already used in your posts. It’s a simple way to add a moneymaking option with some upfront effort but little ongoing work to keep it going. You can customize the look of your ContentLink ads, create filtering instructions to define the number of ads and advertisers allowed and customize other factors, too. Of course, for optimum results, you should monitor keyword performance and write your blog posts with high-performing keywords in mind.

The key to a successful blog is quality content. Don’t write with keywords as your priority. If you write for ads, your visitors will know it. Ads should enhance people’s visits on your blog, not overpower them or detract from them.

To add Kontera contextual link ads to your blog, follow these steps:

1. Visit Kontera Home Page and sign up for an account. Complete the online application to request a Kontera publisher account.

2. After your application is accepted, simply sign in to your account and click the ContentLink Setup tab that allows you to add Kontera in-text ads to your blog.

After you add Kontera in-text ads to your blog, analyze the ads that are served based on your content to ensure that they’re relevant and helpful to your visitors. Also, review your Kontera-provided reports to ensure that the ads are driving revenue. Some people find Kontera ads to be obtrusive. You must analyze your results and your blog traffic statistics to ensure that the amount of money you make from Kontera ads is positive in relation to the effect of those ads on your blog’s traffic.

After you decide to include advertising on your blog, you need to begin reviewing advertising and moneymaking options to find the ones you want to try. Most bloggers begin with monetization programs that are:

✓ Easy to add to their blogs.

✓ Open to all bloggers regardless of traffic.

As a Blog owner, you can sign up for a wide variety of blog monetization programs. Your blog monetization efforts don’t have to stop with the programs discussed in this site. You can find out more about blog monetization from a variety of Web sites and blogs.

Not all blog monetization options are equal. Take the time to research a new opportunity before you apply or implement it on your blog. The rules and requirements for different blog monetization options change frequently, and a program that might not work on your blog today may work perfectly tomorrow. For example, some moneymaking programs aren’t compatible with Blogger blogs now, but they might be compatible later. Always check the restrictions and ensure that your blog qualifies to participate in a blog monetization program before you spend time applying.