To monetize a website, you have to sell something. You can sell advertising or you can sell products.

If you sell advertising, you can either find your own advertisers (#3) or use a program that will find advertisers for you, such as AdSense (#1).

If you sell products, you can sell your own products (#2) or someone else’s products (#4).

Finding your own advertisers is obviously more work than using AdSense, and creating your own products is obviously more work than selling someone else’s. The strategies that take more work make more money.

I remember asking somebody what the main online monetization strategies are and he broke them into four categories:
1. Adsense
2. Selling your own info products or services
3. Sponsors
4. Affiliate programs

I didn’t know the affiliate term at the time, but I recognized the pattern.

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