Many websites today (including this one) are using RSS feeds to promote their business and expand readership; if you are one of them too then you can also use your feed to directly make more money. In this post we consider a few ways that you can do this.

1. Promote Affiliate Text Links in Your RSS Feeds

One of the simplest ways to monetize your RSS feed is to add affiliate text links to your feeds. Provide useful information on the product or some subject related to the product and then provide a text link where people can purchase the product from. In this post I inserted a few of our contest winners affiliate links and provided reasons why the reader should sign up.
2. Monetize Your RSS Feeds with Private Advertisers

Contact other websites that you feel will be able to provide useful products or services for your subscribers and ask them whether they would like to advertise through your RSS feeds. This is a more difficult and expensive way to monetize your RSS feed as you will need to go out and find advertisers but once you have them can be fairly easy to implement. All you really need to do is append the ad to each post, which is a snap in Wordpress and other popular blogging platforms.

3. Use Feedvertising to Monetize Your RSS Feeds

Feedvertising is an advertising service that allows you to add text ads either from the Text-Link-Ads program or your own to monetize your RSS feeds. Unfortunately this is currently only open to Wordpress users, but they do plan on extending the number of platforms they operate on. Part of what makes this great is that you can use it for your own advertising (including the method outlined in #2). Right now I’m using it to promote our iPod giveaway, and when the time comes I’ll be placing the iPod giveaway code-phrase via Feedvertising.

4. Yahoo Publisher’s Network

If you have a US social security or Tax ID number then you may be eligible to use Yahoo Publisher’s Network as a way to monetize your RSS feeds. Yahoo offers a guide on how to use their system, (it’s called the Ads in RSS Setup Guide), and is available on the ad setup page. Personally I don’t use this one but from what I gather if you have a Wordpress or MoveableType powered blog you can be up and running in no time.

5. Keep an Eye Out for Adsense for Feeds

Adsense for Feeds is currently in the Beta phase but with Google’s acquisition of Feedburner will hopefully soon become more publicly available so if you are currently using Adsense or are looking for another way to monetize your RSS feeds then keep a watch on this progress.


** THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND **

If you do opt to advertise through your RSS feed, keep in mind you may be shutting the door on bringing visitors directly to your site. Since RSS feeds allow your readers to view your content away from the confines of your site, adding advertisements to this medium could work to further separate your users from your site.
Ultimately it always boils down to writing good content. If you continue to write content that is of value to your audience, you will be able to maintain healthy levels of advertising.

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