Week 2 (PART 1): Organizing Links In A Blog...Or Two

Don't you get excited when you spot promising sites, promising offers, promising deals and you want to share them right then and there?

And yet don't you just hate it when you have to cram EVERYTHING in one blog? I, too, would feel a little confused when I see a blog that's cluttered with links. Surely, I cannot be just clicking aimlessly at any banner, button, or link.

So, while I fix this little glitch, can I just trouble you with something?

Look at this. I mean, pass your cursor somewhere upper right. Got it? w000t!!!

Wordpress users, give this a try, and tell me what you think.

My First Online Money-Making Site? Definitely eBay. But...

My first, and only, online money-making endeavour before I took a chance in the pay-to-click world a few weeks ago is eBay.

Who does not know eBay? I personally earned enough money from eBay to finance some of my vices, like eating out in restaurants, backpack traveling, nightlife (you know, bar gigs/booze/late night movie/late night meals) ... I can go on and on. When you know the current demand and the pulse of the buyers in the online market, eBay does work well.

I will not divulge my eBay account ID, but suffice to say that I was making good money from selling items in our local eBay site in spite of the competition. So many sellers vend products similar to ours. What probably set us apart from them are the quality of our products (when we rate our products in the item description, we tend to underrate them), the type (some of them being sought by some serious collectors), and communication (we emphasize constant communication via email for formality rather than sms messaging which is more preferred in the place where I am from).

Then eBay made a couple of somewhat drastic changes in their policies which I will no longer enumerate as they have not impacted much in our sales ... until one fateful day. There was one new policy that somehow affected the outcome of this particular incident.

The policy: Sellers are not allowed to leave negative feedback on buyers.

It began when we were selling items fast that competitors and more shady buyers were taking notice. Encouraged by our sales, we began releasing more rare, high-ticket items. One item was particularly high-ticket. Soon buyers were placing their bids.

Some unscrupulous accounts took advantage and pushed the bid to hundreds of thousands of dollars (unheard of!) which was an outrage. These accounts were reported to eBay. The case was studied and was ruled in our favor. But the damage has been done. People in a number of forums were suspecting that we actually rigged the bidding process. It was mentally and morally harrowing for me that I soon got tired of selling because I no longer want to experience the same incident again.

I do not mean to discourage you nor solicit pity. It's all water under the bridge. And definitely I do not blame eBay. Maybe we had been too optimistic, which in business is not always a good virtue.

My purpose for this anecdote is for those of you wanting to get into eBay to be a bit wary. Be careful when doing transactions. For, in spite of your efforts to conduct business as honestly as you can, there are many people in the world who succumb to this deadly sin: ENVY.

Nice Offer From WordLinx to Twitter Users

Wordlinx has a nice offer to Twitter users, whether they be WordLinx users or otherwise. All it takes is to follow WordLinx at Twitter to qualify for the monthly USD100 draw. You might want to read more here.




Not a lot of effort there and it is worth trying. Don't tell them I told you. (Or maybe you can. ;P)

Week 1: Some Paid-To-Click Sites, Traffic Exchange Sites, Referrals Link and Unusual Social Network Sites

Week One of my trek towards financial independence took me to some Paid-To-Click Sites and then some.

I am wary of the scams that exist right and left as regards these means of making money online. It does take a little bit of trial and error in finding out what sites really pay and what sites will rip you off. There are sites and forums that can help the newbie clicker (like me) with this. For instance, PTC-Investigations listed down hundreds of Paid-To-Click sites that are labeled as "SCAM". Is your favorite PTC site one of them? Check it out.

You can also check out forums that you can trust for advise and guidance. You have to find out yourself so you can choose a forum in a language that you can be comfortable with.


PAID-TO-CLICK SITES

Obviously no site has paid me yet. It is too soon for that. But some sites look realistic and do not make hefty promises. I will enumerate a couple of these sites and post some more in the days to come.

1. Neobux


This site has a good reputation. I have not come across any bad feedback so far. You can start by being a standard member. You can sign-up for free and start clicking. An ad is USD0.01 per click. Drag in a friend so you can have a referral and hence you get commissions from his clicks. Upgrade your account and more ads will be made available for clicking.

2. Wordlinx


Another site that consistently receives good reviews. Works essentially the same way as Neobux.


TRAFFIC EXCHANGE

Here are some reputable traffic exchange sites. Please bear in mind that Traffic exchanges are not exactly that profitable as far as direct income is concerned, but they do bring visitors to the site that you advertise with them.

I am currently using these sites and will add more later.

EASYHITS4U


TRAFFIC SPLASH



REFERRALS LINK

LINKREFERRAL


Came across the site a day ago. You can visit websites and write your reviews. In return, you get ranked and in essence able to bring visitors to your own website. Go check it out.


SOCIAL SITES WITH A TWIST

I am listing three sites that incorporate forum discussions, games, searches, chatting, and tasks, aside from the using ad clicking in their money-making opportunities. They are very fun sites. If you like social network sites, you will probably enjoy these sites.

PRIZELIVE


MYLOT

That would be it for now. Will keep you guys posted.

So, My Goals, and What to Expect From My Blog

Whenever we work on a project, it is necessary to set goals. It is the same in this case.

My personal immediate goal is to get me out of my debts in one month.

In the posts to come I will discuss some online money-making means that I have tried and will provide you with my experiences and a walk-through of sorts.

An Introduction

Hello everyone. Before I embark on my journey towards financial independence, let me tell you a little about myself and my reasons for setting up this blog.

I am a professional, working in at least four mid-scale locations eight hours a day, six days a week. Being in a field where income is erratic, I have somehow managed to get through financial difficulties, with most of my help coming from the vouchers of my partner and sister. I did not care much that my expenses were being subsidized, as I was concentrating on building and making a name in my chosen career even with little pay. Everything went ok, until one year ago.

My partner died and my sister contracted a serious disease. Suddenly I felt like my anchors were pulled off my feet. I found myself in serious debt soon enough, and virtually living a hand-to-mouth existence. My career has not taken off financially yet and it is barely sustaining my daily expenses. I could not get a loan because I do not own a property. Of course! I am still relatively new in my chosen profession! How frustrating!

I thought, I was working hard and I am in debt. My closest friends (for I find it too embarrassing to even talk about this to mere acquaintances) find it odd that I am going through this, and yet they understood how unrewarding most of our passions in life are. As for me, my goal in life is to live it, be able to do what I want, without having to worry about financial woes.

A few days ago, I woke up, saying, I want to rise above all these. I started searching for maverick means of claiming my independence.

It is for reasons of documenting my journey that I created this blog, which hopefully will also help you in the same financial situation as I am.

Let us learn together and get out of our financial quandaries. After all, we all deserve it.