Monetizing A New Web Site

[Liz]

Hi! I'm launching a new Web site next month and was wondering what are the best affiliate/ad networks for a brand new site? The site will be aimed at women in their 20s and will have lifestyle/fashion advice and news. Ideally, I'd love to join a network that includes major retailers, but I probably won't have enough unique visitors to be accepted right away. What would you suggest? I already know to do Adsense, but I'm not sure what my other options are. The site has spaces for ads and I don't know what to put in the spaces! I've been looking around and some of these smaller ad networks have no-name retailer ads that might make my site look cheap.

Do you think selling my own ads would be a good idea? The site would have very low traffic at first, so I'm honestly not sure who would want to buy my spaces. Is there a good service that might help me sell my own ads?

I also have an existing site that generates some good traffic and would probably get accepted into major affiliate/ad networks. I'm going to fully monetize that site as soon as I finish redesigning it. Do you think having one site in major affiliate/ad networks would help me get my new site into those same networks? I'm under the impression that I can only register one site at a time with them, unlike Google.

Thanks very much! :)

[Chris]

I normally do not recommend monetizing new sites, rather to focus on growth first and money second.

But if you have ad space in your design it can look funny being empty.

I would go with adsense ads and affiliate program banners from nicer merchants.

As for your question about affiliate networks, for most once you're in you can include the ads on any site that meets their guidelines without having to reapply.

[Liz]

As for your question about affiliate networks, for most once you're in you can include the ads on any site that meets their guidelines without having to reapply.

Really? That's good to know! I was under the impression that I might have to apply separately for every site I own. Thank you very much for your advice. :)

[MaxS]

Really? That's good to know! I was under the impression that I might have to apply separately for every site I own. Thank you very much for your advice. :)
It's situational. Networks such as Adsense will allow you to publish ads on any of your websites (assuming they comply with the TOS), while networks such as ValueClick Media request that you reapply.

If you're looking to display ads for major retailers, you may want to try a CPA network. These networks have campaigns for all sorts of "free" apparel. However, these type of campaigns are not actually sponsored by the major retailers.

If your site caters to a limited niche, you may have better luck with private advertisers.