Open Your Mind And Save Money Too!

I almost hate to admit it, but when it comes to buying software I am a bit of a cheapskate and will avoid upgrading or buying new applications if my existing setup is working ok. Fair enough, it is important to keep Operating Systems and Virus Checkers up to date, but do I really need the latest ‘bells and whistles’ version of Word for example?

Being a cheapskate, when I do have the need for new software I usually try to find a free or cheaper alternative to the usually expensive commercial titles. One of the better examples is Open Office which I use on a daily basis for word processing. The latest version is easily as good as its competitors and it would be very wrong to dismiss this powerful application just because it doesn’t cost mega bucks to buy.

But whatever the software need, whether it is PDF creation, Image Editing, or Flash Website Building, there is usually a Freeware or Shareware version available to try before deciding to shell out any hard earned cash on the commercial alternative. And very often, as with Open Office, the free or cheaper version can turn out to be perfect for the job at hand.

There are many sites where you can download Freeware and Shareware (just search for “freeware shareware download”), but one of my favourites is Tucows - you can find it at www.tucows.com. And remember that whether you consider yourself a cheapskate or not, you shouldn't dismiss the alternatives because you can save a lot of money on software just by keeping an open mind...

Key Words For Money Or Happiness?

I found an interesting site recently, it’s called Googlefight and it allows the user to compare keywords (search phrases) to see which is the most popular in the Google database.

Interestingly, when comparing the words money with happiness, money wins hands down with 746 million results compared with just over 38 million for happiness. What this suggests is that people are far more pre-occupied with money than happiness. Or does it? Not necessarily, because I then compared wealth with love and the results were completely of the opposite with wealth being overshadowed by love to the tune of 385 million.

When I compared the phrase make money online with get a job the results showed 203 million to 450 million, indicating that the majority of people are still entrenched in the traditional view of earning a living as an employee.

All good fun, but how much use is this to a webmaster beyond novelty value? Probably not much, there are far more comprehensive keyword services on the Web including the excellent Wordtracker, but then again it has given me the information I needed to write today’s blog.

Anyway, it’s an amusing little tool if nothing else and I found it very entertaining to compare search phrases. You can find it at www.googlefight.com

Is It Real? Yes It Is!

Every now and then I check the major search engines to see how my blog is doing for certain phrases. Last time in the results I came across a question that had been asked in a popular webmaster forum about a money maker I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. The thread was titled “Is It Real?” and referenced my post Make Money Without Selling Anything so I thought I would answer a couple of the questions here in case anybody else has the same doubts.

Yes it is real. You do make $40 for each successful referral (I get paid via Paypal at the end of each month). However, this is not a PPC program like Google Adsense. The way it works is that if you refer another webmaster who subsequently signs up as an affiliate then you make your $40 - so that is why your referrals don't need to buy anything. If they do buy something you can make up to $80 per sale. (Incidentally that is US Dollars and not Australian Dollars)

Personally I think it's a very good program and better than a lot of others out there (including the Adsense referral program), which is why I originally wrote about it. If you want to give it a go, and remember it doesn't cost anything to try it on your own website or blog, CLICK HERE

How To Become A Millionaire In Just 28 Days

The first time I saw this I was quite surprised, and so was everybody else I showed it to, so I thought I would put it on My Rich Pickings as some inspiration...

If you start off on day one with one penny and successively double your money each day, by the end of 28 days, or just 4 weeks, you will have well over a million pounds! Don’t believe me? Look at the table below to see exactly how it works…

Now all you have to do is work out how to successively double your money!

Yes, there's always the difficult part, isn't there? If you figure it out, please drop me a line to let me know how you did it.

Things You Should Know Before Opening A New eBay Account

The world's biggest online marketplace is a great venue for finding bargains or for making some extra money selling unwanted items. Many people even go on to build up a full time eBay business, and quit their day jobs because of it.

I believe the appeal of eBay lies in its simplicity - once the basics are mastered it really is very easy to buy and sell goods online - it can even get quite addictive! But if you are a complete novice and are considering creating a new account there are a few things you should know to help get the best from the eBay phenomenon.

• Choose a good user id - eBay has millions of members worldwide, so often the ideal name will already have been taken and a bit of lateral thinking is necessary - try not to go for an easily forgettable name like john1234. If you have a website, consider using a variation of your domain name as your eBay name. You won't be able to use the exact domain name because this isn't allowed, but using an underscore or a dash in place of a dot will still get the message across and promote your website.


• Feedback - If you intend to sell items on eBay you will need to build up some feedback so that prospective buyers will have confidence in your service. Ten feedback points will get you a yellow star next to your user id and I would consider this the minimum for sellers. It is easy to achieve by buying several low cost items, but remember that a point is only generated from transactions with different eBay members, so you will need to buy from separate sellers to build up feedback points.


• Paypal - The majority of eBay transactions use Paypal as a fast and safe method of payment - in fact; some sellers will not accept any other payment method for certain items. There are many advantages using Paypal, it costs nothing to set up and there are no fees for buyers, so get an account.


• Postage And Packing - always check the cost of p&p before bidding on an item because there are some unscrupulous sellers who will bump up their profits by charging ridiculous amounts. Be aware that once you commit yourself to an item it is a legal requirement to pay for it.


• Don't Worry! - The vast majority of eBay traders are honest, reliable people just like you and the sharks really are in the minority. Simply checking out a member's feedback is often all it takes to verify their reliability. If in doubt contact the member before committing yourself, and if you are still in doubt then don't bid.

Useful Links

Click Here to Buy and Sell on eBay!

Get A Paypal Account

Easy Profits with eBay™

What Makes A Good Affiliate Program?

Promoting products and services online as an affiliate can be a lucrative venture, but in finding a ‘good’ affiliate program there are some things to look out for…

Is it a quality product or service?
To assess whether a program is likely to perform well, ask yourself if you would buy the product or service. If the answer is no then why should you expect anybody else to? Stick with your gut instincts on this one – if a product is not appealing, regardless of the commission, leave it well alone.

Is it appropriate for your website or blog?
Surprisingly, many bloggers and webmasters don’t seem to realise that visitors to a website about football are highly unlikely to be interested in clicking a link for financial services. Keep it relevant and in context with your site’s content.

When and how will you get paid?
Be aware that some schemes require a minimum earning limit before they pay out and it can take a while before reaching this threshold. Sites without huge traffic volume might be better sticking with a regular monthly payment system. Another thing to consider is whether payments are received as a cheque, bank transfer, or online payment system such as Paypal.

For a wide selection of products and services you can promote as an affiliate from your website and in emails to your customers Click here…

Making Profits Online With Adsense

Making profits online with Google Adsense is a great money spinner for countless webmasters, and there are lots of eBooks and forums dedicated to the subject of milking the maximum profits from the program. One of the main tricks seems to be disguising the text link ads so that they appear to be a normal part of the web page. The logic behind this is that surfers seem to be fed up with website advertising after the bombardment of flashing banners, and simply ignore it. It is quite a surprise then that Google are promoting the Adsense program itself with image links.

You may have noticed the banner at the top of this page? It is one example of the various links available for the Adsense referral program. If a webmaster doesn't have Adsense on their site already then they simply click the banner to sign up and start earning. There are various sizes of image link available, but as yet no text links. This is disappointing for me because I would prefer to put text links on my pages, but maybe this option will be available soon. For each referral you get paid $100 just as soon as they generate their first $100 - that's money for nothing other than recommending Adsense.

Of course, in order to get the most from Adsense itself a webmaster will need to target high paying keywords. But the beauty of the system is that the ads are automatically generated to fit in with the context of any website, so it is simple for a hobby website to start paying it's way and the webmaster to start making profits online.

Has The Penny Dropped Yet?

Most people are programmed to accept the idea of working a 40 hour week in exchange for enough money to meet their living expenses, and most people do exactly that for the duration of their working lives. But as the old cliché goes; you’ll never get rich by digging another man’s ditch. Far better instead then to get the other man to dig your ditch.

The wonderful thing about the Internet is that it’s a great leveller. Small companies and even sole traders can have all of the online advantages of a multinational corporation. In fact, anybody with a product or service to sell can get lots of people to dig their ditch and act as one big sales force out there in cyberspace. But how is this achieved?

By recruiting affiliates who will advertise and pre-sell your product or service for you.

It’s not difficult if you offer a good incentive, and you don’t have to pay your sales force one penny until you make a sale. So if you really want to get rich then you must abandon the concept of trading your time for money. Create a killer product or service and then use an affiliate program to create the leverage of a huge marketing department.

Find out exactly how to create your own sales force by clicking here now!

Don't Get Paid To Post In Forums!

I said it would be interesting to watch, and also wondered how the owners were financing the scheme, but it was a surprise to learn that the Office.us forum has closed so soon after I discovered it.

Apparently it is nothing to do with paying for posts, with the reason cited as being too little interest in the forum. I'm surprised that more people didn't jump on board because there are some very popular forums which don't pay, so it would seem to be a good bonus to make a few dollars from something you would do anyway.

Ah well, I cashed out last night with the grand sum of $1.86 en route to my Paypal account. I wish the owners of Office.us the very best of luck for any future projects.

Make Money Without Selling Anything

Can you make money with no product, no inventory, no customers and no hassle? Yes, you really can and what's more - you can start right now with nothing. You don't need any capital to invest or any secret knowledge to take advantage and start making money now - I am referring of course to putting advertising on your website or blog.

The current trend seems to be Google Adsense, with many bloggers and webmasters making good profits from the contextually generated ads. But the trouble with Adsense is that you have to target high paying keywords to make the most money, and there is a heck of a lot of competition out there.

So how about if I told you about a link you can put on your blog or website that will pay you $40 for each and every successful referral you make? Would you be interested?

This really is one of the best affiliate programs I have seen because your referrals DON'T NEED TO BUY ANYTHING for you to make $40!!!!

But hurry! I believe that when the number of sites advertising this great program reaches capacity then commissions will drop, so it is vital that you act quickly and get in before your competitors if you are to make the most money. DON'T LET THEM BEAT YOU TO IT, START EARNING TODAY!!

Click here to check it out now!