Commission Junction is the number one Affiliate Marketing provider on the net today. Commission Junction’s aim is to connect publishers and advertisers in the most beneficial way.  Advertisers basically pay publishers a commission in return for sales from traffic sent to their sites by the publishers. This system provides a great way for blog/website owners to monetize their online spaces , whilst advertisers receive increased sales and traffic.

Signing Up for an Account :

1. Select to signup as a publisher or advertiser.
2. Fill in personal details.
3. Select Functional Currency – This is the currency that your commission is Reported in and cannot be changed later. (This can be different from the currency in which you are paid.)
4. Accept Terms and conditions.

Once you’ve signed up for an account you’ll receive your password and username in an email. In order to receive payment you need to complete your payment and taxation information first.

Payment  :

1. Log into Commission Junction.
2. Go to the “Account” tab.
3. Select Payment method – Check or Direct Deposit
4. Save info.

Taxation:

• US Resident : Complete a W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification and Certification.
• Non-Us Resident : Who have employees in the US or own any equipment in the US. Complete the W-8BEN withholding tax form.
• Non-Us Resident :
  • Without any employees in the US  AND
  • Who don’t own any equipment in the US
  • Complete the Certification of no United States Activities.

  Important:  A Non-US resident that hosts a blog on a  US Server , does not own that server (aka equipment) and does thus not have any US equipment. The majority of  Non-US  blog owners would use the ” Certification of no United States Activities” form with regards to taxation.

Once all the above is done you simply have to search for advertisers and then apply to each one who’s product/service you want to advertise on your site. Hope this guide provides the necessary info to help you monetize your website. For more info visit Commission Junction’s website here.

Here are the steps to quickly transfer you domain from Godaddy to another registrar:

1. Unlock your domain with GoDaddy:

• Login to your Godaddy Account.
  
• Next to Domains click on Launch
• Select the domain to unlock and click Locking
• Deselect Lock Domain to have the domain unlocked, click OK

2.  Obtain EPP code from GoDaddy:

• Login to your Godaddy Account
  
• Next to Domains click on Launch
• Click on the domain you need the EPP code for
• Click Send By Email in the Authorization Code field
• Click OK

3. You also need to disable privacy protection service for the domain ( if it’s enabled).

• Go to the DomainsByProxy.com and login to your account (the login details are not the same as for your GoDaddy account. Look for the email sent by support@domainsbyproxy.com for the login details)
• Select a check box next to the domain name you need to disable privacy protection for.
• Click Cancel Selected, OR click on the cancellation icon next to the domain name

• Click OK to confirm.

Once the domain name is unlocked and you have your EPP code you can start transferring you domain.

Where ?

• High as possible – The basic rule of thumb : Higher = Better.
• Top of Sidebar – Top-Right is best , but if your sidebar is on the left , then top-left.
• Top of Post  – People need to start reading from the top , so they’ll definitely see it at the beginning of a post.
• Within  Post – The reader has to read through your post and will see ads within a post. This could easily annoy your reader though. (Banner ads or in-text advertising can be used)
• Bottom of Post – When done reading your post , the reader starts looking for somewhere else to go….
• Keep it Simple! – Overdoing it with hundreds of ads will in the end irritate your readers.

The basic principle is to rather think about where to place quality ads, instead of adding so many ads that your readers stop coming to your website! Experimentation with different ad placements within your website is highly recommended , as you can then see where ads perform best on your specific website. I recommend a minimum of 14 days for experimentation , as less than that might not be sufficient time to assess the success of a particular ad placement.

Tools :

1. Above the fold Tool – This Google AdSense tool simply asks you to  insert a URL link and it will then show you where the optimum ad placement will be. Check it out here : http://as-abovethefold.appspot.com/
2. Heat map Tools – A heat map tracker basically tracks the most popular places on your webpages , according to mouse movements from your readers. CrazyEgg.com is one of the most famous premium services available. If you use WordPress , there are also various heat map plugins available.
3. E Formation – As can be seen from the above picture the strongest and best performing ad placements are generally in the form of the letter E.

Whatever you do, always remember that ad placements should always take your reader’s needs  into account first. Obviously you want your reader to see your advertisement , but you don’t want to overdo it in such a way that you chase the reader away in the process. Once again experimentation makes perfect and only you will be able to determine what works best on you specific website.

OK , so you’ve  created a quality website/blog and you are getting a good amount of traffic…. So now you’re thinking of making a bit of money from your work…. When you start searching online for ways in which you can monetize your website, you’ll very quickly realize that there are crazy amounts of options available. So below I’ll be discussing the different  ways in which you can actually monetize your website.

Monetization Options:

1. Banner Ads – Advertising is done by either placing text or image ads within  your website pages. Revenue can be cost-per-click or cost-per-impression. (This Terminology explained further in my other post here). Examples:  Google AdSense – Undoubtedly the most famous advertising network in the world. Adbrite , Chitika and Bidvertiser are some other options.
2. In-Text Advertising -  Words on your web pages are turned into pop-up advertisements. Examples:  Infolinks, Vibrant , Contera.
3. Affiliate Ads -  You specifically create a link on your web page to a merchant’s product/service and you receive a commission once someone has bought the product or signed up for the service.(Also referred to as click-per-action) Examples:  Amazon Associates and Ebay Partner Network – You receive a commission for every sale made from your link.  Skimlinks and Viglink -  These two services scans through your website and automatically turn relevant content into affiliate links.
4. Direct Advertising – You can sell space on your website directly to companies out there. This could be more lucrative , but more time-consuming if you take into account that you need to organize everything yourself with the potential advertiser
5. RSS Feed Advertising – Advertising  placed in your RSS feeds
6. Branding – Once you’ve established a brand you could consider selling branded merchandise for your website.
7. Membership - Once your website becomes really popular you can decide on whether some of the content needs to be paid for. The general model used would be for a free or trial version and then a premium membership.

This list provides the most common ways of monetization of a website or blog , but I think the emphasis should be placed on diversification. Whilst experimenting with the ways in which you can monetize your website you’ll also learn which types of advertising works best on your specific website.

WP-PageNavi is a WordPress plugin that makes WordPress pagination possible. Simply put , this makes the navigation between different pages within your archives easier and more user-friendly. It’s been downloaded close to 3 million times ,as of September 2012 , so it is a pretty popular plugin.

A really important thing to note is that in general your information as per your plugin and your selected theme must always correlate . Hence the reason why some WordPress themes need to be modified in order for a specific plugin to work effectively. One example of a theme where a modification is needed is the Arthemia theme.

The problem arises from the fact that the amount of posts shown per WordPress page differs when comparing the theme files and the WordPress main installation files, hence the WP-PageNavi not working perfectly.WP-PageNavi only worked for the first 5 WordPress page , but would return a 404 “Page Not Found” error after going to page 6 and onwards on my WP-PageNavi navigation bar.

Steps to Fix Artemia Wp-PageNavi Error :

1. Check how many posts are shown per page. (Default 5)
2. Log into your WordPress admin panel.
3. Go to Settings > Reading >” Blog Pages show at Most “  and change this number to the number as per 1 above. In my case I needed to change it to 5.
4. Done.

The Arthemia theme’s information and that of the WordPress main install’s will now be exactly the same and the theme should work effectively. You can change these two numbers to anything , as long as they are exactly the same in the end. This solution worked perfectly for a friend’s om mine’s install and should work in cases where you get this error when using the Arthemia theme.

If you do drink alcohol it is inevitable that you’ll wake up with a hangover sometime in the near future… A hangover is basically a sign of a really good night out , as well as a sign of the physical effects of alcohol consumption on your body. Many things should be taken into consideration when looking for remedies , this includes your body weight , what types of alcohol you drank and your general alcohol tolerance level.

The Science behind a Hangover:

1. You consume way too much alcohol.
2. The alcohol interferes with the body’s normal  mechanisms that regulate your body’s water levels.
3. Due to this  interference you end up urinating excessively and your body ends up loosing 4 times more water  than it normally would… (Hence the Dehydration)
4. Excessive urination forces your body to lose vital minerals and salts more rapidly than it would normally have.
5. To compensate for the loss of water , your organs start to “steal” water from your brain and your brain shrinks temporarily. ( Hence the Headache)
6. Alcohol also negatively affects your liver’s natural ability to break down toxins , this definitely contributes to your hangover the next day….

Preventative Steps ( Before )

1. Food - Eating before you go out drinking protects your stomach’s lining and also helps in fighting the effects of a hangover.  Also , eating before you go to bed decreases the effects of a hangover. Eat whatever you can find!
2. Fish – Fish and fish oils are generally seen as the best food to eat before you go out for a night of  heavy drinking , as this “lubricates” you stomach wall the best.
3. Water – Drinking water in between drinks helps fight hangover symptoms. Also drinking water before you go to bed can only help your body.
4. Stick to one type of drink – Mixing your alcohol types ( beers and hard liquors) can definitely increase the effects of alcohol consumption the next day.

Morning after Remedies :

1. Re-hydration is probably the single most effective cure for a hangover – Good old H2O will help your body hydrate.
2. Eggs  will actively help your liver break down toxins left behind after a night of drinking.
3. Bananas  will help replenish your body of vital nutrients lost during drinking.
4. Milk or milkshakes are  my ultimate hangover cure. I don’t know the science behind this , but it definitely works for me.
5. No Coffee , as it will only further dehydrate you!

After years of Varsity I’ve definitely  had my fair share of hangovers in my life! My personal favorite hangover cure is a nice farmers breakfast with eggs on toast , bacon and a large cup of milk or a chocolate milkshake. Simple , but this seems to do the trick for me..

Meatballs are for sure one of my favorite dishes to make. The great thing about meatballs are that it can easily be integrated into pretty much any meal , whether as a main or a starter (small meatballs). There are tons of different meatball recipes out there, but this is the one I prefer. I enjoy serving it with mashed potatoes and a tomato-onion sauce . Here goes….

Ingredients:

•  500 g Minced beef (1.1 lb)
• 1 finely chopped onion
•  2 slices of  white bread, crusts removed ,soaked in half a cup of water (Alternatively you can use 1/2 a cup of soft breadcrumbs,without any water added).
• 2 eggs , beaten
• 3 garlic cloves , crushed
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of parsley ( Ground or chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of thyme ( Ground or chopped)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch of Nutmeg ( Optional)

Directions:

1. PreHeat oven to 180 deg Celsius ( 350 deg Fahrenheit).
2. Combine all ingredients together and mix thoroughly.
3. Use hands to roll meat into balls.
4. Place meatballs in oven-proof dish that is slightly greased or sprayed.
5. Bake for 40 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Enjoy

Tip: You can add a variety of other ingredients to suit your taste : Chilli , Curry,Tomato paste and other vegetables.

Easy Tomato-Onion Sauce

1. Add 2 finely chopped onions to olive oil in a small pot and cook until soft.
2. Add 2 chopped garlic gloves and 5 chopped tomatoes to the mix.
3. Add 1 cup of tomato paste to the mix (to increase volume).
4. You can also add a pinch of salt and pepper for taste.
5. Cook for about 10 minutes until sauce thickens. Done

The great thing about meatballs (and any minced meat in general) are that you can eat it the next day as is or you could use it as a filling for a great lunchtime sandwich. Anyways all this writing about this recipe has made me in the mood for food! Enjoy.

If you run a blog or website , odds are that there is some form of advertising on your site.  Google AdSense is obviously the most famous advertising network out there , running close to 70% of the world’s advertising campaigns. The thing with online web-based advertising is that it often uses some really confusing terms and abbreviation. So here I’ll list some of the more popular advertising terms used by Google AdSense and other advertising  networks.

Here’s the list :

CPC  -  Cost-per-click . So the publisher only receives income once someone has clicked on a specific advertisement.

CPM  – Cost-per-impression. This basically refers to people viewing an ad and is usually priced per 1000 views. (AdSense uses both CPC and CPM on the banner ads.)

CPA  – Cost-per-Action. The user needs to “click through” and take action. There needs to be an actual sign-up for a service  or a  purchase of a product as advertised by your ad campaign.

CTR  -  Click-through-Rate. So the page click-through rate would indicate  the percentage of users  that actually clicked on your advertisements.

RPM  -  Revenue per 1000 impressions/views. This is based on an estimate calculated by your Advertising network.   (Estimated Earnings / Number of Page Views ) * 1000

Hits  -  Request for a file from your website. One page can create many hits from 1 visit , this is due to different files (example html , images , video etc. ) on a webpage. So this number really is not that important at all. Rather look at page views.

Page views  -  Number of times a user views a page that has an advertisement on it.  Really important to note that AdSense only counts 1 page view for every time someone views such a page , irrespective of how many ad units you have on the page.Page views from website crawlers and robots are excluded from AdSense page views ,as those are not human…

The basic idea behind this system is to ensure that page views that you see in your Advertising network’s stats are  actually representative of  real page views from real people…

Unique Visitors  -  Number of  unique individual users to your site for a specific period. The differentiation is done according to unique IP addresses and every visit is only counted once , irrespective of how many pages are viewed.

Hope this explanation of these terminologies as used by online advertisers helps clear up some of the confusion surrounding online marketing and benefits those learning about the process of monetizing their sites. Good Luck!

Running is without a shadow of a doubt one of the easiest accessible training methods out there. I mean all you need is a pair of shoes basically…  So whatever your goals and conditioning are , some form of running is definitely better than simply lying on your couch and doing nothing!

Your fitness level and your ultimate goal with your running  has a huge impact on whether long-distance running or sprinting would be  best suited for you. For me personally a mix of the 2 should be the ultimate goal for everybody out there. I mean you wouldn’t want to be in perfect shape , but unable to run a 5k (3miler) , would you?

Starting from zero :

If you’ve never run before or haven’t run in a long time , then starting with a short walk or jog is probably the best way to go. From there you should slowly start increasing the mileage as your endurance levels  improve. Be careful as to not push your body too quickly too hard. Listen to your body , but make sure you don’t become stagnant on the same workload for too long ,as that only shows that your body is adapting and not improving!

Basic Rules

• Mix it up – Your body adapts to a routine very quickly. This is bad as you don’t want to reach a plateau ever!
• Listen to Your Body – You know your body best , so listen to it!
• Set Goals – Set goals for yourself  – example : times , distance etc.
• Get a Buddy – Well the best way to keep motivated is to get a training buddy , especially for those days that you’re just not in the mood….

Fast vs Slow running :

There are so many contradicting studies out there that it is easy for people to get confused….

The fact is that Long Distance Running over an extended period of time ( > 40 minutes ) burns more calories!

But , you have to take into consideration the following things when doing the comparison:

1. Time – Long Distance running takes up way more time than sprinting and not everyone can devote 1 to 2 hours every day to go for a long run.
2. Muscle – Long Distance running burns fat , but also burns muscle. Hence the long-distance marathon athletes you see on television that are always extremely lean/thin….
3. Impact – Continuous pounding on your knees over an extended  period can’t be good in the long run.
4. Plateau – Your body gets used to a specific pace very quickly and your performance/results will then start to stagnate.

Interval Sprinting :

Interval Running is basically where you alternate intervals of sprinting and distance running. The basic idea is that instead of resting between vigorous sprints, the rest period will instead be spent jogging. You are thus continuously running , but at different paces.

Benefits of interval training:

• High-Intensity sprinting exerts more muscles than long-distance running.
• High-Intensity exercises elevate your body’s natural metabolism throughout the day ,which leads to continuous calorie burning throughout the day.
• Less time is needed than for long-distance running.

Warning: Generally speaking someone who has never run or who’s extremely unfit should never start with interval sprinting , but should rather start off  jogging until they are at a competent fitness level.

Conclusion:

Running is definitely one of the most natural things you can do… So  my suggestion is to have a combined routine where you do 2-3 interval sprints in a week and 1 longer distance run possibly ,over the weekend. Being cross-fit and continuously keeping your body guessing is certainly the best way to go.  So put on your shoes and go Running! Enjoy

Google AdSense is a way for website publishers to earn money by displaying targeted Google Ads on their websites. If you’re running a website or blog , odds are that you are familiar with the Google AdSense program. For those not so familiar with how Google AdSense works , this guide is aimed at clarifying the basics surrounding Google AdSense and exactly what the process is to monetize your website and hopefully start earning some money….

Steps in Making Money from your Website:

1. Decide on a subject/niche and create a website for yourself.
2. Sign-up for a Google AdSense Account here – google.com/adsense
3. Enter website details – website URL and the language it is in.
4. Enter personal details – name , address etc.
5. You’ll receive an email with an Ad Code from Google to place on your website.
6. This Ad Code is Blank (no visible ads) in order to not disrupt you site.
7. Once Google is happy , you’ll receive final approval and the ad Code will begin to show live ads.
8. You’ll now also be able to add more Ads to your website.

Once you’ve been accepted to Google AdSense you’ll be able to place Advertisements throughout your website. You can also place these Ad Codes on other websites you own or create in future. As in all things ,it is important to note that whenever you enter into a business relationship , as you do here with Google, then there are rules that need to be complied with.

Basic AdSense Rules

• NEVER click on your own Ads!
• NEVER use Automated click programs to click on your Ads.
• NEVER Ask people to specifically to click on your Ads.
•  MAX  3 Ad units and 3 link units  per web page
• MAX 2 Google  search boxes may be placed per web page.

Once you are familiarized with the rules and your account is active you can start creating more Ads and place them on the different pages of your website. Here you have different options as to what kind of advertisements you prefer and also the styling of these Ads. It is important to note that research has shown that Ads that “fit” your website’s overall theme and style best , tend to also perform the best.

Creating an Ad:

1. Go to the “My Ads” tab.
2. Select the “Create New Ad Unit” and create your Ad.
3. Select the Ad Name and Size
4. Select Ad Type – Text , Image or Text and Image
5. Select Backup Ads – What to do if there are no Ads to show.
6. Select Custom Channels (See my other post on AdSense Channels here )
7. Select Style
8. Save info and copy code to your website.

Once your Ad is shown on you website it is important to note that you can always edit it later or replace it by going to the “My Ads” tab.

Other General Info :

• First payment threshold – 100 Us$ and paid by check.
• Block Certain Ads – Go to “Allow and block Ads” to include or exclude certain types of advertisements or advertisements from specific advertisers.
• Performance Reports – Provides detailed information on revenue per date , type , country or channel.
• AdSense Revenue Share – You receive 68% of the revenue AdSense receives. Thus the Revenue as per your account is after Google’s 32% has been deducted.

These are the basic information relating to opening an AdSense Account with Google and the process to relatively easily monetize your website. Good luck on your quest to make money online!