It used to be that anyone could make money on the internet. That still might be true in part. But, there has been a lot of push back from the casual browser who does not like the incredible exposure  to flashy adds or the annoying e-newsletters that promises one thing and deliver another.

Tools like Ad Blocker which disables ads on webpages and replaces them with gray (at least in how it is configured with my Chrome theme), are on the rise. As the modern equivalent of a do not call list, this has wrecked havoc on some small businesses. There is a great article on this at  Arstechnica.com I would recommend checking it out.

Additionally, many people are utilizing most email providers’ filterers function to screen out solicitude newsletters. These newsletters end up becoming cluttering Gray Mail that fills up in boxes and hampers productivity.

Therefore, if you want to make money on the internet, be willing to look for other forms of monetizing or getting your information out there. The buyer has become aware. Now it is the vendors turn.

There is no doubt that Infographics are becoming the next big thing. The easily convey information and are engaging. I cannot count the number of times I have stopped to read an Infographic that I knew did not pertain to my interests simply  because the information was presented in a visually engaging way.

Below are some links to examples of well designed Infographics. I don’t want to fill up the page with images so you will have to click through. However, before you get there, a few points of observation.

1. They all use color. This might sound simple, and there will be the exception, but for the most part this is still profound. Color is engaging. Color can also help lump ideas together and creat a cohesive whole out of many parts.

2. They all have data. Each of the below is trying to convey something that is important. So important that the creator does not want you to gloss over it. But, the data is presented in small chunks that help us grasp the whole picture without being overwhelmed.

3. They all have a flow. They understand the importance of telling a story and do so in a format that we might not expect. Reading left to right is so 2000′s. With new social media sites (like Pintrest and Tumbler) that are vertically driven, these image based graphics work well.

http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/05/08/64-pinterest-marketing-tips-and-tactics-infographic/

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/infographics-tips-resources/

http://www.coolinfographics.com/

http://images.sixrevisions.com/2009/05/09-10_favorite_drugs.jpg

http://community.pennfoster.edu/blogs1/b/pfblog/archive/2012/04/10/student-debt-in-america-and-the-penn-foster-promise.aspx

http://visual.ly/

Finally, an image that , as a student who just finished finals, can relate to. Have fun!

Any entrepreneur considering building a website needs to strongly consider making it mobile friendly. Having a site that is designed to be viewed on a big AND small screen is now more important than ever. With the prevalence of iPhones, Android, and Blackberry phones among most target markets, the likelihood of a potential user visiting via mobile devise is tremendous. The real question is whether or not your site will be up to their standards.

Do you have the mindset you will need to design and keep track of such a site? If not, I would suggest you go over to LimeCuda and read their article about The Mobile Future of Your Business. The concepts, such as having realistic expectations, keeping track of statistics, having goals for mobile based usage, taking the time to gain an accurate understanding of what your users are looking for, are all familiar to the internet entrepreneur. But, that being said, there are some unique ways to implement the ideas.

The startup social media advertising company Adaptly recently raised over 10 million in funding from Valhalla and Time Warner. (As far as I am concerned if a company is good enough for Thor it is good enough for me.) The company’s homepage claims that they are, “the easiest way to advertise across the social web.” They go on to explain that they are a social media ad buyer, which unifies campaigns across multiple platforms. They are able to capture the unique flavor of each social media site, which increase user engagement.

The CEO, Nikhil Sethi, says that the money will in large part go toward international expansion. The major value proposition is the ability to buy ads from multiple social media websites and the ability to maximize the organic effectiveness of these online campaigns. According to Techcrunch a Facebook report estimate that an average post will only reach about 16% of a page’s fan base. One of the more forward looking aspects of Adaptly is the ad content monitor. Adaptly claims that it does not allow its customer to put out bad ads. Techcrunch quoted them saying, “We won’t let an advertiser put money behind a piece of content that doesn’t pass an organic threshold of engagement.” They seek to make more effective, interesting, and engaging advertising to increase the effectiveness, not just the multiplatform reach.

The metrics that adaptly is using has more to do with traditional marketing. They are measuring the effectiveness of their ads not just in CPMs or actions, but rather in eyeballs. They are more focused on creating a large reach rather than getting a high percentage of conversions. Sethi said to Techcrunch, “Some people will argue that it’s a shame that [this model] is reappearing, but for the social space, it’s necessary to become more validated against the marketer’s budget”

In experimenting with wordpress plug-ins I recently discovered an interesting company useful to almost any blogger looking for a new source of advertising.  Most bloggers know about Google adsense, I recently blogged about the company Skimlinks which assists blogger in gaining affiliate links, but what about your own readers? Anyone who has ever read a newspaper classifieds has seen reader generated ads. Why not look to your readers to get some more ads? Your readers are obviously interested in your field and like your writing. Quite likely some of them will be in business in your field, or on relating to it. But do you really want to sort through countless emails negotiating price ad method of payment?  That’s where Komoona Ads comes in.

Komoona ads provide a simple and easy way to allow your readers to purchase ad space on your site. You can set up both the size and location of this advertising and they can set up the images and links. You even have control over who have advertise on your site, because komoona gives you the opportunity to review ads before they go up on your site.

If you have a small/local business, you know how hard it may be to create a viable presence online.  However, there are a number of tools available to you which can be used to boost the online performance of your business.  This article on entrepreneur.com outlines their top fifteen sites to promote such a business.  Refer to these tips and you will quickly build a respectable online presence.

Remember that to grow a presence takes more than just being there.  You must also act on various SEO tactics on each one of these sites.