I need a site idea. (or a few) Something that can be put on cruise control. Adsense or some other PPC style adverts need to generate from $20-$40 per month. (or any other type of automated suituation) I see a lot of websites/forums saying things such as "we need to pay for our hosting....so please donate...etc" Is it really that hard? Im not looking for your million dollar baby. Not looking for your revolutionary net changing blueprint. The ideas dont even have to be unique to tell you the truth...lol. They just need to generate a little change each month.

The blog thing is interesting but... Im sort of a "know a lil bit about a bunch o' stuff" type of fella and cant pinpoint one thing I would consider myself an expert in. (Its not a confidence thing either...lol. My mind is just everywhere at once...." Perhaps a catchy parked domain littered with ads? Do those actually generate double digit income? Whats the catch? What type of legwork has to be done? (Maybe I shouldve named this thread parked domains....or something...lol. Thats the easiest type of webpage I know of but not sure they could make enough cash though)

I know this thread will probably generate some flame.... "You lazy bum git yer own ideas" "So this is what the net has become.....???" I have been brainstorming for a minute on on websites and every idea I have come up with is not short and sweet. Nor can it be put on cruise control. They are ideas that would benefit greatly from being fully developed and maintained and my interest is in doing so. So it ends up being a "Wow thats a cooool idea.... I could do this or that and Ooooh this and....." type of situation.

I dont know... I guess I would appreciate some folk who have sites making that amount of money, giving me some realistic expectations. The more details the better.... I not a techie I dont write scripts and such and so. I do believe in opportunity though. I tend to think there HAS to be a way to generate some "chump change" to pay for a decent hosting account so I can develop these other ideas I have. I dont want to spend $40 a month out of pocket if I dont have to. There has got to be a way........

Thanks in advance.....

And oh yeah.... Two Oh Oh Six is here!!! Congratulations you made it....lol.

Oh yeah... lets remember folks.... A smart business person will prefer to create alternate means of funding new projects over using revenue from current activities. Im not looking for a handout.... or an easy get rich quick scheme... Just wondering if there was a smarter way than I can think of, to host these domain names while the site ideas are in development. With the vast amount of indivduals who frequent the net it would seem to me that it shouldnt be too hard to scrape up $20 or so a month.

On the other hand maybe $20 IS a lot of money when it comes to advertising revenue. Maybe my site would have to be of WHT stature to generate that type of whopping income. I am no expert on these matters and leave it up to the community "set me straight" so to speak.

And maybe the world doesnt need another "me too" site with targeted ads, but... in 2006 I have a lot of goals to accomplish. If there is a smarter way to do something, well.... lets say im open to more ideas than in 05. Please remember to keep your posts relevant.

Thanks in advance....

here's the biggest problem with generating revenue on the net: how do you get traffic to your site?

Every tom, dick and harry has a website these days and as a result, Google & Yahoo are so full of useless crap that searches, unless specific, are absolute crap. So there's a few things you can do to deal with the traffic generation issue:

link/banner exchange
SEO - get your listing higher up in Google
good marketing

unfortunately all require work. You need a site that stands out and is appealing. Don't ask me how, I have ZERO abilities when it comes to web design. There are other things you can do but the old proverb, "it takes money to make money" holds true. AdWords/AdSense are not free unfortunately (to advertise but to put the snippet on your page, you just need to sign up).

So there are some things you can do in the interim. There are quite a few people on this forum a helluva lot smarter than I am in this realm but this should get you a basic start. Hope it somewhat helps.

Well I can assure you it is possible to make some decent change on the net. It takes a lot of hard work and patience thats for sure as there is no overnight success.

Here is some advice I have learned that seems helpful.

Do something your interested in or you will run out of steam with stuff that does not interest you. Find something you are good at or know a lot about and do something related to that.

When managing your online business focus on your strengths and outsource stuff you are not good at. If you are good at design, but not coding, outsource the coding part etc.

Focus on a certain niche market rather then a board market. It is easier to solidify a strong position in a niche market.

Unless you have a large budget don't tackle oversaturated markets such as budget hosting etc. It is virtually impossible to gain any ground there.

Before starting any project draw up a business plan and research before jumping in! There is nothing worse then getting deep into an idea only to find someone else has already done it.

Work hard, be patient and never give up and it will come!

What Carro said.

I have another business ideabut I still need to work some things out. Good luck to you!

Great general advice on starting on online business. I really appreciate the supportive words. Please please please dont take this the wrong way but........... All this to make $20 or more dollars a month to pay for hosting on parked domains?


Unless you have a large budget don't tackle oversaturated markets such as budget hosting etc. It is virtually impossible to gain any ground there.

Before starting any project draw up a business plan and research before jumping in! There is nothing worse then getting deep into an idea only to find someone else has already done it.

Work hard, be patient and never give up and it will come!
Maybe I should have asked the question a different way....lol. Budget hosting? Im just trying to find a way for my parked domains to pay for themselves until I can actually start developing the websites. I really want to know how feasible and how much effort is required to make a small amount of money using one or more parked domains. Perhaps I need to start a new thread focusing in specifically on that aspect. (I can be longwinded at times...lol)

1. it's not easy to make a domain earn $20 per month, thats $240 per year on a $10 investment (domain registration) if it was easy, thousands of people would have thousands of domains each earning a fortune.

I have a domain that brings in 190 visitors per month and makes less then $2 per month from clicks on ads. I am using sedo.com parking program (which sucks but I just use it to see what kind of traffic my domains are getting)

If your domain gets lots of natrual type in traffic then its easy to make money, otherwise you are out of luck and need to do some work!

It's easy if you have the right resources, talent, and money. And it's hard if you dont.

Now take me for example.

Currently in the development process of an entire media network.
Anime, Books, Games, Movies, Music, TV, and whatever you can think of or possibly want.
So far this has run me $100,000

Why? Because of Programmers, Servers, Designers, and Content Staff (Editors)
Even more scary is that I don't know if it will work, or flop. It's all just a big gamble this internet business.

You can however give it a try yourself, just you have to be willing to drop a few hundred dollars for a Domain, Hosting, and Advertising.
And if you can't design a website, or program that's even more money right there and will easily run you about $2,000 at the end of it all.

You have to work work work and work a lot if you are running your business online.
In case if you are lazy will be better to work as usual employee: more free time, more fun.. more sleep.

1. it's not easy to make a domain earn $20 per month, thats $240 per year on a $10 investment (domain registration) if it was easy, thousands of people would have thousands of domains each earning a fortune.

I have a domain that brings in 190 visitors per month and makes less then $2 per month from clicks on ads. I am using sedo.com parking program (which sucks but I just use it to see what kind of traffic my domains are getting)

If your domain gets lots of natrual type in traffic then its easy to make money, otherwise you are out of luck and need to do some work!
That sounds like what im looking for.... Some realistic expectations. I did a lil research (once I had a clear understanding of what I wanted to know). Even $2 a month can be hard for a domain to earn.

You can however give it a try yourself, just you have to be willing to drop a few hundred dollars for a Domain, Hosting, and Advertising.
And if you can't design a website, or program that's even more money right there and will easily run you about $2,000 at the end of it all.
$2000 to earn $20 a month? Soooo I would recoup my investment in maybe 5 yrs? Then after that the site could just barely pay for its own hosting? Ummmm I need to come up with a better business model than that. Thanks for the insight. I will keep everyones contributions in mind when it comes to long term plans though.

All in all, I think I need to switch gears a lil. Probably go with some inexpensive budget hosting while the sites are in development, and (reluctantly) switch hosts (and plans) when it cant serve my needs anymore. I was trying to avoid cheap hosting but until my sites are fully developed, but paying 5-8 times as much out of my own pocket, just doesnt make sense.

This was solid advice that I think falls both in line with the title of the thread and what I was actually trying to ask....lol. (thanks Pete) I welcome any more insight, but I think those thinking of starting an ebusiness can benefit from what has been said here already.

making money on the net is hard but you need to put time in it. plus first you need to think of it as a project not a business or a money backing way......... when you start a web site its like a child that doesn't have friend but you need to make the child fimiliar with the visitor so they can talk to child = web site..... so when I make a web site I think of as a project not a money making thing... :D

I think it is important to note that you have to put money in first to get money out in time, its hard but if you run somthing you like - you will have fun and should get there one day! Good Luck

I think it is important to note that you have to put money in first to get money out in time, its hard but if you run somthing you like - you will have fun and should get there one day! Good Luck


yep that is correct....... good thinking.... for every project you need to have money in place to make money.....

What's good about the internet is that running a website is probably the least expencive kind of business around, so if something goes wrong, all you lose is a hundred bucks and everything is alright.

What's good about the internet is that running a website is probably the least expencive kind of business around, so if something goes wrong, all you lose is a hundred bucks and everything is alright.

depends what kind of business you have. Some of the more extravagant ones cost thousands. But yea thats about right, you'll lose all the money and stuff. Or you can just sell out if you have a hosting company. Friend sold their 300 clients for close to a thousand.

Take a C++ course and do other stuff. That'll make the money and you'll be able to do something I can't.
The reason: If you can do more than just HTML you'll be popular among really small companies. BUT you have to be good at whatever you can do:agree:.

It really wasnt that hard for the guy who invented the million dollar pixel site. If you can come up with an idea like that, its smooth sailing after.

You have to find the niche, the smallest niche. I think that's crucial.

The last time I heard, a lot of kids that still in their high school are making hundreds per day, whether doing those turnkey sites, scrape sites, or web hosting. Hmmm..

I would first say you need to have an idea for site with real, interesting and compelling content - banner/ads farms never get many repeat visitors/bookmarkers.

Build a site based on a subject you are interested in, update it regularly and do lots of marketing work to build up the visitor profile. If people like your site they will come back and recommend friends, and the more fresh pairs of eyes you get the more chance you have to make a few extra coppers.

you don't get something for nothng and will have to work at it 24/7!

Well here's some advise from an old timer (5 years actually, online thats a millenium....lol).
Forget any promises you've ever read about getting rich quickly.
Work hard & be prepared to fail at several sites b4 you find one that people actually want to give you money for & then maybe you'll get rich.
Whatever you do - DON'T DIE TRYIN', whatever a rapper might tell you.

If you don't have any, any money to invest, you can try getting a blog site, and put adsense and affiliate programs on it. But you would have to write, and write good content! Soon search engines and visitors will find it, if your content is truly unique.
This is a very short term idea. You should have your own domain and hosting.

To make some profitable site you need at least half-to one year,some design skills.And marketing knowledge is also important:)

You need to learn. Start up a site, with the aim of learning. If you dont know how, its because you need to learn. So just learn :|