AdSense Is For Introverts
As anyone who reads this blog regularly knows, I’m a big AdSense fan. But some people don’t understand why. I’ve gotten comments from Internet marketers over the years saying that it’s silly for anyone to focus on AdSense with its “low payouts” and “unpredictable earnings”, that you can’t really make lots of money with AdSense these days. (AdSense Resurrected notwithstanding, of course 
) So why do I stick with AdSense? I gave this some serious thought over the Christmas break. And I think it has as much to do with who I am.
What I’ve concluded is that AdSense is great for introverts. The “classic” Internet money-making technique is to build a mailing list and mail product recommendations to that list. If you’ve built a good relationship with that list, you’ll get some percentage of the list buying the products you recommend. If the list is large enough, that percentage will translate into significant income, whether you’re promoting your own products, resale rights products, or someone else’s products. Mailing lists are a form of relationship marketing, in other words. The best list marketers are the ones that build trust with their lists, that can get their readers to believe that their lives will improve because of the products and services they recommend.
Every marketing textbook will tell you that it’s important to build a relationship with your customers. It’s easier to make money by selling to your existing customer base (marketing theory refers to it as a “re-buy”) than to find new customers. That’s what a mailing list is all about, essentially. Get someone to signup for your list by giving or selling them something, develop a relationship with them, and start selling (overtly or not) them other things.
But what if you’re an introvert and you don’t really want to develop chatty, ongoing “relationships” with random people? I think that becoming a successful list marketer is much harder for introverts than it is for extroverts, just because introverts are disinterested in the networking aspect that is fundamental to list marketing. (If you’re not an introvert and can’t relate to what I’m saying here, I suggest you read Jonathan Rauch’s great article Caring for Your Introvert.) If you want to be a success at list marketing, you have to communicate with your list. You have to give them stories. You have to personalize the message to make it look like you’re talking to just one person at a time, even though you’re really sending the same message out to thousands of people. You have to get them excited. Ugh!
There’s a parallel between list marketing and social networking. Extroverts are the best social networkers, because social networks give them tools to extend their natural need for interaction. Us introverts, however, don’t see the point. Yes, I have Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace profiles, but I don’t use them, and I don’t think I’m unusual in that respect. I’ve staked out my territory, so to speak, but I’m not really interested in doing much more than the bare minimum to maintain it.
Back to AdSense. AdSense is perfect for introverts. Once your account’s been activated, you don’t need to talk to anyone. You put up a site, slap on your AdSense code, and move onto the next project. You don’t have to interact with anyone if you don’t want to. You provide a way for advertisers to connect with potential customers, after which you step out of the equation entirely. That’s perhaps one of the biggest criticisms of AdSense from Internet marketers, but from my viewpoint it’s the saving grace. Give me my money and leave me alone. That’s why AdSense is perfect for the introvert.
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Eric Giguere is the author of several printed books and knows a thing or two about content monetization. Subscribe to his AdSense blog today and never miss any of his insightful comments. And the not-so-insightful ones, for that matter.
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15 Responses to “AdSense Is For Introverts”
Wow, Eric, I think you hit the nail on the head. I wondered why I could make money with AdSense (although not much) and nothing from affiliate sales or other extrovert-ish techniques. Ancient Traffic Equalizer sites are still generating the nickels and dimes for me. But the portal garbage just didn’t bring in enough for all the work, so I’ve had to get a real job and put IM on the shelf. Maybe when AdSense Resurrected comes out…
When I think of the successful IMers I know, it seems obvious to me that they’re typically very extroverted… so for them list-based marketing really works. Us quiet types have to find other ways to prosper, and I like the automated, hands-off approach that AdSense offers. It lets me concentrate on content and traffic.
Remember that I’ve given everyone the only AdSense blueprint that matters. Things like AdSense Resurrected just flesh out the details. The main thing is to go and DO. Read 26 Steps to 15K a Day for real action steps that are still relevant today.
I was going to leave a chatty, extroverted message, but realised I don’t risk developing a relationship. So I won’t.
Very interesting post, Eric. Tuppy’s description of “laid-back & modest” is quite apt to describe your manner online, and one of the reasons that I’ve continue to stay subscribed here, although much of what you teach and most of what you recommend in terms of product reviews/endorsements doesn’t apply to my business model.
Strange as it may sound, especially after some recent combative exchanges, I actually have a significant introverted side…and I think that’s why I’m drawn to AdSense as well. I also have a somewhat more black & white view than others…and it’s easier for my gills to come out in defense of principles that others clearly don’t always share. And I think you’ve identified, at least in part, why you’d prefer to share in an informational tone…rather than get pulled into a discussion/argument of some of the larger issues which may be involved. I have a much harder time being quiet in such a situation…at least when I think there’s potential for someone to be persuaded to go in a better direction.
But I enjoyed this post, and agree with your observations.
I think you really nailed that one.
We have come up with some tools we use ourselves that could probably be sold. I have been asking myself if I really want customers. The answer of course, is that I don’t. With AdSense all I have to do is write interesting pages.
Hi!
Well, you might be right that you can get started very easily with AdSense.
However, one should not remain being an introvert. Life in general, business in particular and even most jobs require more or less level of being extrovert.
@Paul:
Why don’t you want to have customers? Creating and selling a product is more beneficial than you think.
Yours
John
John,
Having customers for a software product means I would have to deal with complaints, install issues, etc. In other words, lots of person to person negotiations. I ALWAYS loose in those situations. I don’t charge enough, I take responsibility for things that are not really my problem, etc. Worst of all, I have to deal with customers on their schedule, not mine.
With AdSense (or Ebay’s program) I can wake up in the morning and look forward to a completely uninterrupted day researching and writing about whatever seems the most interesting. It was a really liberating feeling when I realized that I can make a living without customers
John, telling an introvert to be more extroverted just doesn’t work. It’s not something you can easily change.
Eric
John’s attitude reminds me of the old saying:
“When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail.”
There are truly many options there…including developing sites and tools just for yourself. It’s hard for someone who doesn’t create products to understand the expectations of a public who wants a lot of something for almost nothing. I wouldn’t want to put myself thru that kind of hell, either. And that’s why most of these product-producing gurus put layers of buffering (forums, trouble tickets, etc) between themselves and the public. They don’t want to deal with it, either.
@(Paul & Eric & Chuck): I appreciate your replies, although, we have quite different points. I did not show a certain “attitude”, nor was I giving specific tips, I was sharing my humble observations only.
Yours John
John,
I wasn’t intending the comment to mock you…only to suggest that it’s a human trait for each of us to view every situation through the blinders/filters of our own personal experience. We tend to believe that if it works for us, it would work for everyone. Sorry if it came across as anything more than a humorous observation. It’s very familiar to me, because others say the same about me all the time.
c-
@Chuck: It’s alright
You know that’s why a mentors and coaches can have great value. They are straight forward and force you to take the blinders off.
John, all I’m saying is that you can’t tell an introvert to be more extroverted and expect it to work. That’s a common response by extroverts, because it’s what they understand. Boy I wish it was that easy! It also works the other way: telling an extrovert that they need to learn how to spend time by themselves doesn’t actually help them much…
Eric
No matter what sort of personality you have, I think it is VERY important to consider that when looking at the kind of business you want to develop. It is terribly easy to start something which is not a good fit and find it difficult to change directions.
I do some work for a used car finance company and see the same thing there. The sales guys and the finance guys have completely different personalities. They both do best if they work in the area with the best “fit”.
Well spoken, Paul. There are few truer observations in business than the drastically different types of people who “make the promises” (sales), those who “deliver the goods” (production) and “the bean-counters” (those who deal with the actual numbers).
All those types are critical to the process…though they don’t always care for each other, or even get along. And most people can only fit naturally into one of those categories.