John Chow is an internet success story.
Who Is John Chow?
Chow built TheTechZone, a major resource for hardware news and reviews, in 1999 and it’s still going strong.
He also built TTZ Media Network, which provides a shopping and price comparison engine for technology-focused web publishers (with over 250,000 page views per month). It’s his main source of income.
Make Money Online
At his site, John Chow dot Com, he turns out a flurry of articles on how to make money online, but he also throws in content on food, travel, and cars. His website is full of ideas of how you can monetize your website, increase traffic, and build an online business. For example, he has offered to link back to your website if you review his website. John Chow dot Com is currently PR6 with Google, so the linkage can be valuable.
Chow gets paid review requests (currently at $400 a pop) through ReviewMe! and does a good job of focusing on how each website or service makes money online.
Each month since the fall of 2006, when he turned his personal site into a profitable experiment in professional blogging, he has broken his income down at the site by source and provides commentary on the process and his thinking. Some of these sources are Text-Link-Ads, Kontera, ReviewMe!, AdSense, and affiliate sales.
More Than Money Grubbing
Though John Chow dot Com is about turning online ventures into cash, Chow adds slightly goofy humor, fun, and a positive outlook to his writing. Look no further than his About John Chow page for a sample of his style.
John Chow, a damn fine person, friend of the community, Ultimate Fighting Championship contestant, member of the Save the Whales Foundation, the man who controls the black market on baby seal pelts and member of the “probably yo’ daddy” foundation..
More importantly, John Chow is generous with his readers. Obviously there’s the linkbait jugernaut he’s piloting that has put him at the top of Google’s results for “make money online” and that provides a PR6 link to the reviewer’s site, but there are other examples. For instance, he set up a special deal with Kontera to allow small-time publishers into their advertising program that normally has very high traffic requirements. Of course he makes money off those deals, but it is a win-win for him and his readers. Also, he frequently gives away stuff he gets for free, like video cards, Zunes, or whatever (in exchange for links to him, of course).
John Chow dot Com is a must-read for anyone interested in monetizing a blog or other website, or just generally interested in how SEO techniques work.
