I've had Justin Brigg's site SEOZombie.com on my short recommended reading list from the beginning of this blog but I haven't yet made a post about it. Before I tell you a little about Justin, you may want to know, what is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. That basically just means improving websites in a way so that search engines such as Google.com or Yahoo.com rank your websites higher for different terms. When you type something in Google like "what hair products does Brad Pitt use" (I know that's, like totally, the kind of stuff that I look for online), have you ever wondered how in the world Google knows which website to list first out of millions of results? Well, search engines have a kind of invisible voting system to determine who shows up number one for that term. The voters are website owners and the ballots are the links they send to various websites. It's much more complicated than that, but just think of search engine marketers as politicians who try to round up votes for their websites.
SEOs can be very powerful. They can make money out of thin air just by getting votes. You might not think it, but if your website was listed #1 for "what hair products does Brad Pitt use", you could make money from that. You could put up an article about what hair gels, sprays, or man-pastes the Pittster uses, and then point an affiliate link to that product. After little Billy Smith in Boise Idaho finishes watching the movie "Troy" and flexing in the mirror, he'll look to the internet to figure out how he can get his hair to look just like Achilles. He'll type it in, and he'll come to your website. He'll read your article, click on your link to the store that has the gel, and he'll purchase it with his dad's credit card. You make money by getting a percentage of that sale.
I stumbled upon Justin's blog a while ago and he is one of probably 4 or 5 people that taught me how to actually make money online (as opposed to all the idiots who just pretend to make money online). He is very knowledgeable not only about general SEO knowledge, but about many different aspects of it. Check out this post he just wrote about web design tips specifically with an emphasis on SEO. When I read that post, I think, wtf? How does he know all this stuff? Well he knows it because he loves it. He follows the industry and much more important, he constantly experiments and develops his skills. If I ever had to hire a professional SEO to go after some big boy keywords, I would go to Justin without hesitation. He knows how to rank keywords and if I was a total newbie, he wouldn't rip me off. If he knew I was wasting my money going after a bad keyword, he would tell me. He wouldn't just make false promises and take my money like I'm sure a lot of others would.
Anyway, check out his blog for yourself. He tells you in layman's terms what works and what doesn't. Justin taught me how to find the best products to promote through BANS. He, among others, taught me about the importance of links and how to get them. And more important, he's going to know what will work five years from now, because Justin's the kind of guy who stays on top of things and craves details. All right, enough of this cheesy pitch (which by the way, is unsolicited). He's got the goods, like the other two guys in the sidebar. That's all.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Make money online winning t shirt contests
For those without artistic skills, I've shown you how to make $50 a day online. It's basically making a bunch of niche websites and getting lots of anchored links to them. Boring, boring, boring. I've done it enough to prove to myself that it works. Am I following through with it? No, I'm undisciplined and lazy. So I always try to reinvent the wheel and I always move on to other things. Jack of all trades, master of none. I hate my mentality, but that's who I am right now.
For any artists out there looking for an interesting way to make money online, my buddy told me about this site, woot.com. Woot is basically a site that sells one product per day, and only offers it until it sells out, which sometimes is within hours. I don't shop like that, so it's not my cup of tea, but I guess they have good deals so whatever. Woot does this with t-shirts too at shirt.woot.com. The interesting part for t shirt designers is that woot has what's called derbys, where aspiring artists send their designs after a new theme is announced.
The buyers at woot vote on the designs and the top 3 places get $1000 each and their designs get printed and sold. I think you also get like $1/shirt after so many hours or days or whatever. The competition is fierce, but hey, come up with a good idea and make a good design, and you could win it. I've only submitted one and submissions are a pain if you don't have Photoshop. There's a new derby every week. Hey, if you're good enough, maybe you can become one of their regular designers too, who knows. Here's a link to the t shirt contests. Just throwing ideas out there. Later.
For any artists out there looking for an interesting way to make money online, my buddy told me about this site, woot.com. Woot is basically a site that sells one product per day, and only offers it until it sells out, which sometimes is within hours. I don't shop like that, so it's not my cup of tea, but I guess they have good deals so whatever. Woot does this with t-shirts too at shirt.woot.com. The interesting part for t shirt designers is that woot has what's called derbys, where aspiring artists send their designs after a new theme is announced.
The buyers at woot vote on the designs and the top 3 places get $1000 each and their designs get printed and sold. I think you also get like $1/shirt after so many hours or days or whatever. The competition is fierce, but hey, come up with a good idea and make a good design, and you could win it. I've only submitted one and submissions are a pain if you don't have Photoshop. There's a new derby every week. Hey, if you're good enough, maybe you can become one of their regular designers too, who knows. Here's a link to the t shirt contests. Just throwing ideas out there. Later.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Site Build It Reviews
When I first started to try to make money online, I was recommend to the the website builder SiteBuildIt. I was recommended to it through an ebook I bought and, since $300 was a good sized investment for me, I did a Google search for "SiteBuildIt reviews". They were all glowing reviews so I bought it.
At the time I bought it, there must have been something wrong with my computer because I couldn't see any of the videos! (I'm not being sarcastic, I really do think there was something wrong with my computer's flash player) There was a series of tutorials, but they were all videos! So I said screw it, let me just fire this puppy up and create a website (boy was I new ha ha, I didn't understand that you have to have a niche or a keyword or a business model before I built a site). Unfortunately for me, (or lucky for me), I couldn't even figure out how to get myself a website through SiteBuildIt. They seemed stubbornly against the idea of a quick-start and wanted me to go through their training first. Being the brash internet marketer that Iwas am, I got very frustrated and asked for a refund, which I promtly received.
Now this is probably the crappiest review of SiteBuildIt there could possibly be, and I would have never written a review about it because I haven't even really tried it. So why did I waste your time with this review?
Well, like I said, when I was new to it, I Googled for SiteBuildIt reviews and all that I found were glowing reviews of how to start building a website with SBI. They all seemed so satisfied with it, that I felt like a fool for not buying it. Little did I realize that all of those glowing reviews of SiteBuildIt were getting a cut of the profit when I bought it! No wonder nobody had anything bad to say about it.
Just like any other high-affiliate payout product, it's plastered all over the internet like it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
I wouldn't have taken the time to write this review (or non-review), but a bunch of SBI supporters are attacking a blogger Lis for her review of SiteBuildIt. In their defense, it looks like Lis got several things wrong in her review. But they literally swarmed on her and enough happened to get Vic and Grizz's blood up and being as both of these internet marketing professionals have the same general take on SBI, it's worth linking up. Here's Lis's original SBI review. And here's some professional internet marketers' take on it, the kind of Site Build It reviews you probably wouldn't have found unless these guys got involved. Regardless of your thoughts on the quality of the SBI service or your thoughts on the merits of these posts, one thing is for sure, you will now see both sides of the argument on SiteBuildIt.
At the time I bought it, there must have been something wrong with my computer because I couldn't see any of the videos! (I'm not being sarcastic, I really do think there was something wrong with my computer's flash player) There was a series of tutorials, but they were all videos! So I said screw it, let me just fire this puppy up and create a website (boy was I new ha ha, I didn't understand that you have to have a niche or a keyword or a business model before I built a site). Unfortunately for me, (or lucky for me), I couldn't even figure out how to get myself a website through SiteBuildIt. They seemed stubbornly against the idea of a quick-start and wanted me to go through their training first. Being the brash internet marketer that I
Now this is probably the crappiest review of SiteBuildIt there could possibly be, and I would have never written a review about it because I haven't even really tried it. So why did I waste your time with this review?
Well, like I said, when I was new to it, I Googled for SiteBuildIt reviews and all that I found were glowing reviews of how to start building a website with SBI. They all seemed so satisfied with it, that I felt like a fool for not buying it. Little did I realize that all of those glowing reviews of SiteBuildIt were getting a cut of the profit when I bought it! No wonder nobody had anything bad to say about it.
Just like any other high-affiliate payout product, it's plastered all over the internet like it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
I wouldn't have taken the time to write this review (or non-review), but a bunch of SBI supporters are attacking a blogger Lis for her review of SiteBuildIt. In their defense, it looks like Lis got several things wrong in her review. But they literally swarmed on her and enough happened to get Vic and Grizz's blood up and being as both of these internet marketing professionals have the same general take on SBI, it's worth linking up. Here's Lis's original SBI review. And here's some professional internet marketers' take on it, the kind of Site Build It reviews you probably wouldn't have found unless these guys got involved. Regardless of your thoughts on the quality of the SBI service or your thoughts on the merits of these posts, one thing is for sure, you will now see both sides of the argument on SiteBuildIt.
How to really make $50 a day online
All right, here it is, a very barebones, but real way to make $50 a day online. This isn't the only way to do it, but it's the best way I know.
You will:
Find keywords.
Create websites.
Get these websites ranked in the search engines (Google.com, Yahoo.com, etc. on the left side).
Monetize the websites.
Repeat.
I do not need to write it all down step by step because Vic and Grizz show you how to make money online on their entire blogs. But keep in mind that this is a changing business, so advice that worked a year or two ago may not work the same way today. The principles will largely be sound and unchanging though.
If you are completely new and have no idea where to start, I recommend first going to Grizz's how to make money online blog. Grizz has a way of explaining things that everyone can understand and he is very patient. You won't have to spend a dime doing this business Grizz's way (though you will probably want to as time goes by). If you read his blog from start to finish, you will notice that his blog was at first not intended to really be read. That sounds strange, but you'll understand as you read. It has quickly morphed into an incredibly helpful site.
Vic's Bloggerunleashed.com is no longer a site that's being updated with make money online advice, but it's still a treasure trove. If you're new, a lot of the stuff will be over your head, but read it anyway and learn the principles. Vic curses a lot in his videos and he calls people names, so if that bothers you, just read Grizz's blog. Also, BANS sites, which you'll learn about, are being de-indexed now in Google, so you may want to hold off on that. The .info's are harder to rank from what I understand as well. Please understand that Vic no longer wants anything to do with Blogger Unleashed, so please don't email him about making money online. He has since moved on to The Affilate Academy, but as of now, he's not even taking new members. I think he's tired of the MMO (make money online) scene and would rather just make money by doing what he teaches.
The only major differences that I have noticed between the two is that Grizz recommends people use free blogs and he recommends beginners use Google Adsense. Vic likes having total control of his sites so he does not use free blogs. He is also adamantly opposed to beginners using Google Adsense. Don't let these differences fool you, though. They are largely in agreement with the basic principles of how the business works.
How to read their blogs
Go to Google reader and click "Add a Subscription". Under "Enter a search term to find feeds or paste a feed url" paste in http://bloggerunleashed.com and then add one for http://makemoneyforbeginners.blogspot.com/ You can then scroll all the way down to find their first posts, and work your way up.
These guys are both selfless and I love them (in a very manly way). Grizz hates b.s. and Vic really hates b.s. I have since stopped reading all of the other "gurus" (the fakes). These guys woke me up to how to really make money online. Now if only I got off my ass and actually did what they taught, now that would be something.
Update: Since I first wrote this post I've added other really good blogs over there on the right. All of these people make money doing the same things that they teach.
You will:
Find keywords.
Create websites.
Get these websites ranked in the search engines (Google.com, Yahoo.com, etc. on the left side).
Monetize the websites.
Repeat.
I do not need to write it all down step by step because Vic and Grizz show you how to make money online on their entire blogs. But keep in mind that this is a changing business, so advice that worked a year or two ago may not work the same way today. The principles will largely be sound and unchanging though.
If you are completely new and have no idea where to start, I recommend first going to Grizz's how to make money online blog. Grizz has a way of explaining things that everyone can understand and he is very patient. You won't have to spend a dime doing this business Grizz's way (though you will probably want to as time goes by). If you read his blog from start to finish, you will notice that his blog was at first not intended to really be read. That sounds strange, but you'll understand as you read. It has quickly morphed into an incredibly helpful site.
Vic's Bloggerunleashed.com is no longer a site that's being updated with make money online advice, but it's still a treasure trove. If you're new, a lot of the stuff will be over your head, but read it anyway and learn the principles. Vic curses a lot in his videos and he calls people names, so if that bothers you, just read Grizz's blog. Also, BANS sites, which you'll learn about, are being de-indexed now in Google, so you may want to hold off on that. The .info's are harder to rank from what I understand as well. Please understand that Vic no longer wants anything to do with Blogger Unleashed, so please don't email him about making money online. He has since moved on to The Affilate Academy, but as of now, he's not even taking new members. I think he's tired of the MMO (make money online) scene and would rather just make money by doing what he teaches.
The only major differences that I have noticed between the two is that Grizz recommends people use free blogs and he recommends beginners use Google Adsense. Vic likes having total control of his sites so he does not use free blogs. He is also adamantly opposed to beginners using Google Adsense. Don't let these differences fool you, though. They are largely in agreement with the basic principles of how the business works.
How to read their blogs
Go to Google reader and click "Add a Subscription". Under "Enter a search term to find feeds or paste a feed url" paste in http://bloggerunleashed.com and then add one for http://makemoneyforbeginners.blogspot.com/ You can then scroll all the way down to find their first posts, and work your way up.
These guys are both selfless and I love them (in a very manly way). Grizz hates b.s. and Vic really hates b.s. I have since stopped reading all of the other "gurus" (the fakes). These guys woke me up to how to really make money online. Now if only I got off my ass and actually did what they taught, now that would be something.
Update: Since I first wrote this post I've added other really good blogs over there on the right. All of these people make money doing the same things that they teach.
About me
Hi, I'm Joe. I don't like most of the make money blogs that I've read. They're usually full of crap and only want your money.
In short, the way this game works is people sell "make money" products online, typically called "ebooks" for anywhere from a couple of bucks to hundreds of dollars (and sometimes into the $thousands). They also sell services, like access to forums, private memberships, or the like. Most of these are full of inaccurate, outdated products, and they make bogus claims about what you can make or lie about how easy it is to make money.
The reason you see so many products like this is because these people who sell products usually have an affiliate program, which is nothing more than a cut of the action. Example: I show you a link to a $100 ebook. You click the link or the image that says "The Worlds Greatest Superest Easiest Funnel Wealth System" and are directed to a long salespage promising you they'll show you how to make money. If you buy the $100 ebook, I get $50 of that sale because I showed you where to buy it.
This is why there are so many phony product review websites. If I know I'm getting $50 when you buy a product, I'll tell you how great it is even if I've never even used it.
Ashamedly, I even did this when I first started because I read how to do it in the popular "Rich Jerk" ebook and I saw everyone else doing it. "Fake it till you make it" garbage. I am extremely ashamed of it. Thank goodness I sucked at it and my conscious kicked in early.
I vowed I wouldn't make another "make money website" and frankly I'd be more comfortable not making one. But something interesting happened. I ran into a couple of guys, Victor Franqui and "Grizz". These guys were actually spilling the beans about how this game really works. These guys are making tens of thousands of dollars a month and they're not making it by selling phony "make money" products. They make their money primarily in real niches (like oil filters, window blinds, etc). They started outing the scammers and showing people how to really make money online, and they were doing it for free.
Ug, this sounds like a sales pitch. Let's cut to the chase, Vic has since stopped showing people how to make money online for free because people were reporting his sites and screwing him over. Grizz, however, is still teaching people how to make money online for free at his blog. And that's it, that's my pitch. A couple of free blogs.
As far as why I made this blog, it's for one reason, to help get the truth out about this game. I've spent hundreds of dollars on products that I didn't really need. I've learned a lot, yes, but you don't need to spend money just to learn this biz. This whole blog is just a pay-it-forward kind of thing, that's all (though I have zero intentions of promoting it, how's that for illogical?).
Note: Before you head off to these two blogs, here's a little more about these sites and how I recommend you look through them. It's worth the read here how to really make $50 a day online.
In short, the way this game works is people sell "make money" products online, typically called "ebooks" for anywhere from a couple of bucks to hundreds of dollars (and sometimes into the $thousands). They also sell services, like access to forums, private memberships, or the like. Most of these are full of inaccurate, outdated products, and they make bogus claims about what you can make or lie about how easy it is to make money.
The reason you see so many products like this is because these people who sell products usually have an affiliate program, which is nothing more than a cut of the action. Example: I show you a link to a $100 ebook. You click the link or the image that says "The Worlds Greatest Superest Easiest Funnel Wealth System" and are directed to a long salespage promising you they'll show you how to make money. If you buy the $100 ebook, I get $50 of that sale because I showed you where to buy it.
This is why there are so many phony product review websites. If I know I'm getting $50 when you buy a product, I'll tell you how great it is even if I've never even used it.
Ashamedly, I even did this when I first started because I read how to do it in the popular "Rich Jerk" ebook and I saw everyone else doing it. "Fake it till you make it" garbage. I am extremely ashamed of it. Thank goodness I sucked at it and my conscious kicked in early.
I vowed I wouldn't make another "make money website" and frankly I'd be more comfortable not making one. But something interesting happened. I ran into a couple of guys, Victor Franqui and "Grizz". These guys were actually spilling the beans about how this game really works. These guys are making tens of thousands of dollars a month and they're not making it by selling phony "make money" products. They make their money primarily in real niches (like oil filters, window blinds, etc). They started outing the scammers and showing people how to really make money online, and they were doing it for free.
Ug, this sounds like a sales pitch. Let's cut to the chase, Vic has since stopped showing people how to make money online for free because people were reporting his sites and screwing him over. Grizz, however, is still teaching people how to make money online for free at his blog. And that's it, that's my pitch. A couple of free blogs.
As far as why I made this blog, it's for one reason, to help get the truth out about this game. I've spent hundreds of dollars on products that I didn't really need. I've learned a lot, yes, but you don't need to spend money just to learn this biz. This whole blog is just a pay-it-forward kind of thing, that's all (though I have zero intentions of promoting it, how's that for illogical?).
Note: Before you head off to these two blogs, here's a little more about these sites and how I recommend you look through them. It's worth the read here how to really make $50 a day online.
Privacy Policy
Your safety and privacy is very important to me. In short, I believe in the law of karma, so I won't mess with you. In long,
I never sell or share your personal information to 3rd parties. What information I do gather can be found in detail at Blogger.com's Terms of services. Keep in mind that Google owns blogger.com, so some browsing information on this site is probably noted by them as well.
Collected data- Like most other sites, I collect data contained in log files. The information in the log files include your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as Comcast or Cox), the browser you used to visit our site (such as IE or Firefox), the time you visite, which pages you visited, and where you left. I actually don't care about any of this stuff on this blog, but hey, it's there.
I don't collect email addresses or real addresses or phone numbers or anything like that.
Cookies- not the eating kind, the internet browser kind.
I may use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit or advertising tracking or things like that. This doesn't include pop-up ads or anything annoying like that, and it doesn't include malicious phishing or adware viruses or anything like that.
You can clear your browser of cookies at any time. Okay, that wasn't so long after all.
I never sell or share your personal information to 3rd parties. What information I do gather can be found in detail at Blogger.com's Terms of services. Keep in mind that Google owns blogger.com, so some browsing information on this site is probably noted by them as well.
Collected data- Like most other sites, I collect data contained in log files. The information in the log files include your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as Comcast or Cox), the browser you used to visit our site (such as IE or Firefox), the time you visite, which pages you visited, and where you left. I actually don't care about any of this stuff on this blog, but hey, it's there.
I don't collect email addresses or real addresses or phone numbers or anything like that.
Cookies- not the eating kind, the internet browser kind.
I may use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit or advertising tracking or things like that. This doesn't include pop-up ads or anything annoying like that, and it doesn't include malicious phishing or adware viruses or anything like that.
You can clear your browser of cookies at any time. Okay, that wasn't so long after all.
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