Why Google's AdSense works
One reason why AdSense works is that it combines "useful content" with "relevant ads."
For example, the people who make a lot of money with AdSense usually have a very good blog that provides a lot of useful information. Google then takes care of providing relevant ads, based on key words appearing on that blog.
What we can learn from this -- whether we are professionals or business people -- is that advertising is dead (or will be soon). What will work and make people rich, is the idea of giving valuable stuff to potential customers.
Now, what is the one thing that is valuable and that, when you give it away, you still have it?
That's right: KNOWLEDGE.
In 1998, I wrote an economics paper on "Intellectual Capital: the New Wealth of Organizations" (read it HERE).
If I were to rewrite that paper, I would use the title "Intellectual Capital: the New Wealth of Professionals."
This is a secret that most professionals have not yet grasped: the most valuable thing they have is their knowledge and they should GIVE IT AWAY ASAP.
Hiding your valuable knowledge, is like hiding money under the mattress. That's the one place where it will NOT earn interest!
To earn interest, your knowledge must be in somebody's head. Another human being must be thinking about your valuable knowledge, and must be wondering to himself / herself: "Hmm, this John (or this Jane) sure knows a lot of stuff... maybe I should hire him/her to help me solve my problems."
Here's a powerful sort of riddle you can play with, and I suspect that you if you think about it long enough, you will discover insights about wealth creation in today's knowledge-based economy:
"Is anybody willing to pay you $50 to hear you talk about what you know best, so that he/she can use your knowledge to improve his/her life? If someone is willing to do that, you're doing great. But if nobody is willing to pay you $50 to hear you talk for one hour, then is it possible that what you know has no cash value? If it has no cash value, why do you keep all that knowledge in your head?"
For example, the people who make a lot of money with AdSense usually have a very good blog that provides a lot of useful information. Google then takes care of providing relevant ads, based on key words appearing on that blog.
What we can learn from this -- whether we are professionals or business people -- is that advertising is dead (or will be soon). What will work and make people rich, is the idea of giving valuable stuff to potential customers.
Now, what is the one thing that is valuable and that, when you give it away, you still have it?
That's right: KNOWLEDGE.
In 1998, I wrote an economics paper on "Intellectual Capital: the New Wealth of Organizations" (read it HERE).
If I were to rewrite that paper, I would use the title "Intellectual Capital: the New Wealth of Professionals."
This is a secret that most professionals have not yet grasped: the most valuable thing they have is their knowledge and they should GIVE IT AWAY ASAP.
Hiding your valuable knowledge, is like hiding money under the mattress. That's the one place where it will NOT earn interest!
To earn interest, your knowledge must be in somebody's head. Another human being must be thinking about your valuable knowledge, and must be wondering to himself / herself: "Hmm, this John (or this Jane) sure knows a lot of stuff... maybe I should hire him/her to help me solve my problems."
Here's a powerful sort of riddle you can play with, and I suspect that you if you think about it long enough, you will discover insights about wealth creation in today's knowledge-based economy:
"Is anybody willing to pay you $50 to hear you talk about what you know best, so that he/she can use your knowledge to improve his/her life? If someone is willing to do that, you're doing great. But if nobody is willing to pay you $50 to hear you talk for one hour, then is it possible that what you know has no cash value? If it has no cash value, why do you keep all that knowledge in your head?"
posted by Super Peter at 10:00 PM
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