I frequent writer message boards, and came across a woman on WAHM.com who claimed, a few months ago, to be making $700 per month on eHow. I didn't quite believe it at first.
eHow is a revenue-sharing site for "How to" articles. eHow is the site where Demand Studios articles are published. If you are a Demand Studios writer, then you are paid $5 to $15 for writing an eHow article--you get that money upfront and release all rights to the article.
If you are an eHow writer, you write for yourself in the eHow Writer Compensation Program (WCP). You make NO money upfront, but you get a percentage of ad revenue from readers reading your articles, clicking on ads, etc.
$1,600 a month is what the writer from last summer is up to now. She's published around 300 articles and earns $1,600 in PASSIVE income (older articles continue to earn money while she does nothing). Other writers following in her footsteps are reporting making $400, $500, more in passive income on eHow as well.
I decided to give this a whirl.
I've made $2.17 so far, with 3 articles and 1800 page views (you generally earn a specific amount per 1,000 pageviews). The more "friends" you have on eHow, the more likely you are to gain readers, which gains pageviews, which gains earnings. I've written articles on How to Get a Customer Service Telecommuting Job and How to Get a Writing Telecommuting Job, plus I threw in How to Cook a Gluten-Free Christmas Dinner for kicks :p
Generating passive income on eHow takes patience. Most writers report putting 20 articles per month on eHow, with first month earnings in the $10-$20 range. You gain "friends" on eHow, put a link to your articles in signature lines on email and on message boards, and you continually add more articles. By the time you hit 200 articles (by the way, an article takes me 10 minutes to write--we're not talking about long how-tos here) you can easily hit $200 per month, and go up from there.
Passive income is great because you only do the work once, but you reap the rewards on an ongoing basis. You're paid once per month, via PayPal, as long as your income is $10 or more. It's very simple, and the interface is easy to use.
Yet another tool to consider.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Showing posts with label Internet Program. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Internet Program. Show all posts
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Internet Programs: ChaCha Guide
I signed up to be a ChaCha Guide a long time ago, and then (ducks head in shame) never followed through. Now, ChaCha is exploding everywhere, turning into quite the trend on parenting sites such as Sybermoms and Mothering, with busy moms earning $.05 or $.10 per question throughout the day.
What is ChaCha? Basically, people using mobile phones can send a text message to ChaCha--a question, such as "Where are the cafes with free WiFi in Leominster, MA?" The ChaCha guide, logged in to his or her system, does a quick search engine search, finds the answer, and text messages the answer back, with links.
That's the BASIC explanation. You start at a low level on ChaCha and then prove yourself as a ChaCha guide. I was rather blase about the program until the ladies (I use that term loosely) at Sybermoms began signing up one after the other and nattering on about ChaCha. When one ChaCha guide commented that she'd done 228 questions, at $.10 each, in one day, my ears perked up. That's $22.80 for the day, for doing quick searches and texting.
From the ChaCha FAQ:
The ChaCha guides I know are either stay-at-home/work-at-home mothers or folks who already have office jobs where they can answer questions during their down time (and technically pull a salary while making something on the side).
Anyone ChaCha? Unfortunately, ChaCha isn't hiring right now--they have 4 levels of Guides (including transcription), but you can check the site regularly to see when they resume hiring.
Post your comments, PLEASE!
What is ChaCha? Basically, people using mobile phones can send a text message to ChaCha--a question, such as "Where are the cafes with free WiFi in Leominster, MA?" The ChaCha guide, logged in to his or her system, does a quick search engine search, finds the answer, and text messages the answer back, with links.
That's the BASIC explanation. You start at a low level on ChaCha and then prove yourself as a ChaCha guide. I was rather blase about the program until the ladies (I use that term loosely) at Sybermoms began signing up one after the other and nattering on about ChaCha. When one ChaCha guide commented that she'd done 228 questions, at $.10 each, in one day, my ears perked up. That's $22.80 for the day, for doing quick searches and texting.
From the ChaCha FAQ:
How and how much do I get paid?
Guides are paid on a per-transaction basis. The more efficient you can be, the more you can make. Guide pay currently averages $3 to $9 per hour, though many top Guides earn more than that. See specific roles for the amount of pay per transaction. Payments are made one of two ways: via a debit card from First Internet Bank of Indiana, or via direct deposit to your bank account once a month if your account reaches $100 or greater.
The ChaCha guides I know are either stay-at-home/work-at-home mothers or folks who already have office jobs where they can answer questions during their down time (and technically pull a salary while making something on the side).
Anyone ChaCha? Unfortunately, ChaCha isn't hiring right now--they have 4 levels of Guides (including transcription), but you can check the site regularly to see when they resume hiring.
Post your comments, PLEASE!
Monday, November 24, 2008
The $100 day
Plenty of online workers--especially those who work from home as freelance writers or internet program junki...er, professionals--set daily goals for earning. This keeps you motivated. It sets an end time for work (you're done when you've completed $100 worth of work), which is important when you work from home. It keeps the money flowing. You can insert your own benefit as you think of reasons for working toward the $100 day.
You can choose a different number...$50, $150, $200. $100 per day, 5 days per week, is $2,000 per month. Not bad for anyone working from home.
How do you do it? Take a look at the older posts here:
Associated Content
LetterRep
Demand Studios
BrightHub
I'm only listing sites that can pay off immediately, or within a week or so. Demand Studios and BrightHub both require that you apply (send resume, fill out web form), so those are contingent upon acceptance. Once accepted, you pick up assignments.
You could, for instance, in 1 day write 4 articles for Associated Content--the pay is very low there ($4-6 per article these days), but you do get residual income (ongoing ad revenue share). You could then write 2 letters for LetterRep; if accepted, that's $20. Write 3 $15 articles for Demand Studios (article fees range from $5 to $20 now). Write 2 articles for BrightHub and earn $20 (plus residuals).
That's 9 articles (each in the 400 word range), 2 letters (250 words each), and around $101-$109 for the day. If 9 articles and 2 letters sounds like a lot, it is--but it's very doable once you get going, and this is your typical work-from-home, earn $100/day scenario.
All of these sites pay via PayPal. Associated Content and Demand Studios pay weekly, while LetterRep and BrightHub pay monthly. This is why steady, constant work is important--you keep a pipeline of money coming in.
Give it a try! In the meantime, keep checking back for telecommuting job leads--I post them around 3pm EST.
You can choose a different number...$50, $150, $200. $100 per day, 5 days per week, is $2,000 per month. Not bad for anyone working from home.
How do you do it? Take a look at the older posts here:
Associated Content
LetterRep
Demand Studios
BrightHub
I'm only listing sites that can pay off immediately, or within a week or so. Demand Studios and BrightHub both require that you apply (send resume, fill out web form), so those are contingent upon acceptance. Once accepted, you pick up assignments.
You could, for instance, in 1 day write 4 articles for Associated Content--the pay is very low there ($4-6 per article these days), but you do get residual income (ongoing ad revenue share). You could then write 2 letters for LetterRep; if accepted, that's $20. Write 3 $15 articles for Demand Studios (article fees range from $5 to $20 now). Write 2 articles for BrightHub and earn $20 (plus residuals).
That's 9 articles (each in the 400 word range), 2 letters (250 words each), and around $101-$109 for the day. If 9 articles and 2 letters sounds like a lot, it is--but it's very doable once you get going, and this is your typical work-from-home, earn $100/day scenario.
All of these sites pay via PayPal. Associated Content and Demand Studios pay weekly, while LetterRep and BrightHub pay monthly. This is why steady, constant work is important--you keep a pipeline of money coming in.
Give it a try! In the meantime, keep checking back for telecommuting job leads--I post them around 3pm EST.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Internet Program: Sell your old papers, book reviews, etc. for $15 each
Essay mills, paper sales, and so forth aren't new. The Internet, though, has made them more widely available. Technology is catching up, though; companies such as Turnitin.com allow professors and teachers to compare papers with a database of known papers, to weed out plagiarism.
Oboulo.com is one of the newest players in the "we only sell these papers as 'reference guides' and would never encourage anyone to turn one of these papers in as their own" websites. What's unique about Oboulo, though, from the writer's standpoint, is that they pay a flat fee, upfront, for your work.
In addition, while Oboulo is new in the English language world, they're not new in France and Brazil, where they've gained tremendous popularity.
Here's how it works: register at Oboulo and upload a document you want to sell. Fair warning: you have to sign a "work for hire" contract, which means you've just signed the copyright over to Oboulo. If you're a grad student and you might publish part or all of a paper, BAD MOVE.
You can't retain/reuse any of your paper if you sell it to Oboulo and later the Journal of Very Important Tenure Track Jobs comes a-calling and wants your paper titled "Shakespeare, Transgender, and Amazon's Mechanical Turk: Amorphous Social Dichotomies, Sexual Economies, and Scatalogical Digressions of Microlending Communities in .NET".
On the other hand, if your review of Emile Zola's "Germinal" from 1990 is just molding in the closet, why not spend 15 minutes typing it up and make $15?
If you're so inclined to sell your work to worried-well undergraduates who have money to burn, then you get a straight $10 for selling your work to Oboulo, but you can get $15 if you enter MY "ambassador" code when you upload a paper: 70bbbe
I used someone else's ambassador code, uploaded an old paper I never plan to use again, and it was accepted within 24 hours. Payment is processing (haven't received it yet). $15 via PayPal (yes, you have to use PayPal).
Yes, I make money when you use this code. It is the Jedi Way of the Internet Ref ID. You make an extra $5 when you use my code, so have a gallon of gas on me (but hurry before prices go up).
70bbbe
Oboulo.com is one of the newest players in the "we only sell these papers as 'reference guides' and would never encourage anyone to turn one of these papers in as their own" websites. What's unique about Oboulo, though, from the writer's standpoint, is that they pay a flat fee, upfront, for your work.
In addition, while Oboulo is new in the English language world, they're not new in France and Brazil, where they've gained tremendous popularity.
Here's how it works: register at Oboulo and upload a document you want to sell. Fair warning: you have to sign a "work for hire" contract, which means you've just signed the copyright over to Oboulo. If you're a grad student and you might publish part or all of a paper, BAD MOVE.
You can't retain/reuse any of your paper if you sell it to Oboulo and later the Journal of Very Important Tenure Track Jobs comes a-calling and wants your paper titled "Shakespeare, Transgender, and Amazon's Mechanical Turk: Amorphous Social Dichotomies, Sexual Economies, and Scatalogical Digressions of Microlending Communities in .NET".
On the other hand, if your review of Emile Zola's "Germinal" from 1990 is just molding in the closet, why not spend 15 minutes typing it up and make $15?
If you're so inclined to sell your work to worried-well undergraduates who have money to burn, then you get a straight $10 for selling your work to Oboulo, but you can get $15 if you enter MY "ambassador" code when you upload a paper: 70bbbe
I used someone else's ambassador code, uploaded an old paper I never plan to use again, and it was accepted within 24 hours. Payment is processing (haven't received it yet). $15 via PayPal (yes, you have to use PayPal).
Yes, I make money when you use this code. It is the Jedi Way of the Internet Ref ID. You make an extra $5 when you use my code, so have a gallon of gas on me (but hurry before prices go up).
70bbbe
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Internet Program: Amazon's Mechanical Turk (this is a weird one, folks...)
So imagine a freelance site where you can make anywhere from $.01 (yes, one penny) to $8 for anywhere from 3 seconds of work to about an hour.
Amazon Mechanical Turk does this. Register using an existing Amazon.com account. Sign up for Amazon Payments (they walk you through it). And then go to Amazon Mechanical Turk and find, oh, 15,000 possible "freelance" jobs. Labeled "Human Intelligence Tasks or HITs, these are bite-sized jobs that you do, and you earn real money doing them.
I've earned ONE ENTIRE PENNY using their system, have another THIRTY CENTS waiting to be approved, and will earn another $.50 shortly! Woo hoo!
You won't get rich doing this. Really. But you can convert the pocket change into Amazon.com gift certificates. You can find something fun to do in between reading about Jamie Lynn Spears and Yahoo's demise.
:)
Amazon Mechanical Turk does this. Register using an existing Amazon.com account. Sign up for Amazon Payments (they walk you through it). And then go to Amazon Mechanical Turk and find, oh, 15,000 possible "freelance" jobs. Labeled "Human Intelligence Tasks or HITs, these are bite-sized jobs that you do, and you earn real money doing them.
I've earned ONE ENTIRE PENNY using their system, have another THIRTY CENTS waiting to be approved, and will earn another $.50 shortly! Woo hoo!
You won't get rich doing this. Really. But you can convert the pocket change into Amazon.com gift certificates. You can find something fun to do in between reading about Jamie Lynn Spears and Yahoo's demise.
:)
Friday, May 30, 2008
Internet Program: UPromise
UPromise is simple: register your grocery and drugstore cards, and your credit cards, with UPromise and get small bits of cash back toward college.
I joined in 2002 and now have slightly more than $300 in my account. Once you register your cards, it's passive income.
But for years I thought it had to go straight into a college account called a 529, and opening a 529 involves a fee and paperwork, so I didn't bother.
I recently learned, though, that you can just request a check from UPromise, up to $150 per quarter, and they will send it.
I sent my request off back in December and haven't heard back. I'll try again. That's $300 I didn't have to earn (about $50 a year). You never know if you have some hidden cash there, so if you have an account, check it out: UPromise check request.
I joined in 2002 and now have slightly more than $300 in my account. Once you register your cards, it's passive income.
But for years I thought it had to go straight into a college account called a 529, and opening a 529 involves a fee and paperwork, so I didn't bother.
I recently learned, though, that you can just request a check from UPromise, up to $150 per quarter, and they will send it.
I sent my request off back in December and haven't heard back. I'll try again. That's $300 I didn't have to earn (about $50 a year). You never know if you have some hidden cash there, so if you have an account, check it out: UPromise check request.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Internet program: Ebates $10 bonus right now
I've been using Ebates for ages--1999? 2000? I've earned around $400 in dribs and drabs. You get a percentages of online purchases back as a rebate (Ebate) by shopping through their links. Like MyPoints, you earn something for activity you do everyday. Unlike MyPoints, you get straight cash with Ebates, instead of points that you exchange for gift cards.
Ebates is having a no-brainer, simple promotion right now: sign up, make 1 purchase through Ebates, and get a $10 bonus ($5 cash, $10 Target gift card--your choice). Learn more here: Ebates $10 promotion.
In the interest of full disclosure: I earn a gift card when you sign up through this link. Such is the Way of the Internet Kickback.
Ebates is having a no-brainer, simple promotion right now: sign up, make 1 purchase through Ebates, and get a $10 bonus ($5 cash, $10 Target gift card--your choice). Learn more here: Ebates $10 promotion.
In the interest of full disclosure: I earn a gift card when you sign up through this link. Such is the Way of the Internet Kickback.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Charter Member at HomeStars, Bzzagent, and more....
Try this: HomeStars Click on "You're invited to become a Charter Member"--you earn a $20 Amazon gift certificate for writing 5 reviews of local home improvement contractors and retailers, telling 5 friends, and filling out your basic profile.
You can also try BzzAgent at BzzAgent
I joined about 3 years ago. Got some great coupons for cream cheese--just as I went dairy-free. Oops.
I've known folks who received free Senseo machines back when they were the hot new thang. I just donated mine to Goodwill because frankly, the pods suck, are expensive, and the machines (we used a Melitta and later the Senseo) leak.
And more...check out Constant Content again. I mention it because apparently, this blog is the 4th ranked term when you do a Google search for "Constant Content," and I think that's cool.
You can also try BzzAgent at BzzAgent
I joined about 3 years ago. Got some great coupons for cream cheese--just as I went dairy-free. Oops.
I've known folks who received free Senseo machines back when they were the hot new thang. I just donated mine to Goodwill because frankly, the pods suck, are expensive, and the machines (we used a Melitta and later the Senseo) leak.
And more...check out Constant Content again. I mention it because apparently, this blog is the 4th ranked term when you do a Google search for "Constant Content," and I think that's cool.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Internet program: Squidoo update
$.76
I've earned $.76 since May 4, 2007, with my Squidoo Lens on Gifted Children.
Well, that's a waste of time. Squidoo's payout threshold is $10. At this rate, I will earn $10 in 2016, at which point it will be worth $4 Canadian or 1.33 Euros.
Is anyone earning money on Squidoo? It took me a few hours to get the site set up, and to be fair I've promoted it with another hour or so of time, but 4 hours = $.76?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
I found some commentary here and here and here, with people raving about earning $10 or $70, but that's with 13 or more lenses, and after many months. Or, using Squidoo to post affiliate links. Again--why do that when you can drive traffic to your OWN site?
Unless you have a reason to drive tons of traffic to a site (and if you do, why waste that traffic on another site?), Squidoo seems like a waste of time.
I've earned $.76 since May 4, 2007, with my Squidoo Lens on Gifted Children.
Well, that's a waste of time. Squidoo's payout threshold is $10. At this rate, I will earn $10 in 2016, at which point it will be worth $4 Canadian or 1.33 Euros.
Is anyone earning money on Squidoo? It took me a few hours to get the site set up, and to be fair I've promoted it with another hour or so of time, but 4 hours = $.76?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
I found some commentary here and here and here, with people raving about earning $10 or $70, but that's with 13 or more lenses, and after many months. Or, using Squidoo to post affiliate links. Again--why do that when you can drive traffic to your OWN site?
Unless you have a reason to drive tons of traffic to a site (and if you do, why waste that traffic on another site?), Squidoo seems like a waste of time.
Internet program: Make money through affiliate programs
Now, this is 100% ancient in terms of the Internet. I've had an Amazon.com Associates account since 1997, when I started fooling around with HTML and established some basic, incredibly lame websites.
Affiliate programs work like this: someone clicks on a link to a store. They buy something. If they click on YOUR link from YOUR site, you get a % of their sale.
That's it.
For instance, we eat a gluten-free diet. We recently discovered Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Click on that link. I dare you. It takes you to Amazon.com's Grocery section, where you will find a 4-pack of the chocolate chip cookie mix for 31% off the retail price of $6 per bag, right?
(Don't get me started on the cost of gluten-free products. $2.40 for a box of mac n' cheese, and that's the sale price. I might cry.)
If you buy that 4-pack of Bob's Red Mill Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, I get a cut, anywhere from 5-10% of the purchase price, depending on the whim of the Amazon.com marketing gods, who determine how much to throw our way.
If you don't have a blog or a website, you might be wondering what this has to do with you, and with making money working from home.
Let me ask you: how much do you spend on online shopping each year? $500? $1,000? $5,000? More? What's 5-10% of $5K? Do the math, and now I might have your attention.
I spend a LOT on Amazon.com, because their bulk gluten-free products are the cheapest price anywhere. I buy through my own Amazon.com link and shave 5-10% off their sale prices. You can email your affiliate link to friends and family and encourage them to buy through your associates account.
You can--check terms and services before doing this--link to Amazon or other companies' products when talking about them on message boards, and make a small affiliate commission. You can help a charity of your choice by setting up an affiliate store on their website and encourage their supporters to shop through it.
But more to the point: you can use affiliate links through Amazon.com, or Commission Junction, to affiliatize your Internet life and make a little money.
By the way, those gluten-free cookies are GOOD. You know you want to click. Click and buy. Now.
Affiliate programs work like this: someone clicks on a link to a store. They buy something. If they click on YOUR link from YOUR site, you get a % of their sale.
That's it.
For instance, we eat a gluten-free diet. We recently discovered Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Click on that link. I dare you. It takes you to Amazon.com's Grocery section, where you will find a 4-pack of the chocolate chip cookie mix for 31% off the retail price of $6 per bag, right?
(Don't get me started on the cost of gluten-free products. $2.40 for a box of mac n' cheese, and that's the sale price. I might cry.)
If you buy that 4-pack of Bob's Red Mill Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, I get a cut, anywhere from 5-10% of the purchase price, depending on the whim of the Amazon.com marketing gods, who determine how much to throw our way.
If you don't have a blog or a website, you might be wondering what this has to do with you, and with making money working from home.
Let me ask you: how much do you spend on online shopping each year? $500? $1,000? $5,000? More? What's 5-10% of $5K? Do the math, and now I might have your attention.
I spend a LOT on Amazon.com, because their bulk gluten-free products are the cheapest price anywhere. I buy through my own Amazon.com link and shave 5-10% off their sale prices. You can email your affiliate link to friends and family and encourage them to buy through your associates account.
You can--check terms and services before doing this--link to Amazon or other companies' products when talking about them on message boards, and make a small affiliate commission. You can help a charity of your choice by setting up an affiliate store on their website and encourage their supporters to shop through it.
But more to the point: you can use affiliate links through Amazon.com, or Commission Junction, to affiliatize your Internet life and make a little money.
By the way, those gluten-free cookies are GOOD. You know you want to click. Click and buy. Now.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Internet Program: Tips, tips and more tips
Can the Internet be any more tip oriented?
Lifehacker.com wants your tips--send them a link to sites that help you streamline your life. FamilyZip.com wants tips on local businesses (**coughreviewdisguisedastipcough**).
The FBI is in on the tip thing: submit a crime tip at https://tips.fbi.gov/. Ideal Bite helps you take a bite out of life--in a green way, as you tip the world eco-friendily.
Tips, tips and, of course, more tips.
Is this Web 2.0's way of distancing itself from the word "review" or "opinion" and capitalizing on the new jargon of the new mini-bubble? "Tip" sounds so simple, so light, and it carries a connotation of money. I'm going to give you a tip; I'm going to give you information that makes your life richer.
Or am I extracting a tip from you to make my site more widespread on the tubes, for more organic search results and better rankings long-term, by capitalizing on that whole "25% of Google-indexed information is user-generated" model? Free content. User-generated content. No $10 SEO article purchases. No contracting with Bangalore for $.001 a word keyword articles to drive traffic. No stress wondering where the freelance articles are, no excuses from late writers.
Get the Internet users who post on Perez and TMZ and Sybermoms and Mothering and Fark to come to your site and write your site for you.
Technology is driving the tip thing. It's beyond easy for sites to create interfaces and databases that allow users to input information that users think is valuable, and for end users to extract the information that they find valuable.
It's GIGO but garbage goes in, the garbage that comes out is custom-requested garbage, and anything that's never requested sits in the middle like a Salvation Army donation reject bin. Too expensive for disposal, not useful enough for distribution.
FamilyZip gives some revenue sharing, so you can even monetize your tips now. Give us a tip and we'll give you--a tip? 60% revenue sharing is better than the 15% waitresses receive, although at least when you wait tables (and I did it for 6 years) you have a user consuming a product with a defined value, and that 15% comes from a concrete number that you know early in the transaction.
60% of ad revenue for your tip may add up to $100 in 2027. But here's a tip: you would have to write many, many tips. The tip model works only when people want to share information, but again--what drives them to share?
Figure that out and send it to me as a tip. That's Web 3.0 right there.
Lifehacker.com wants your tips--send them a link to sites that help you streamline your life. FamilyZip.com wants tips on local businesses (**coughreviewdisguisedastipcough**).
The FBI is in on the tip thing: submit a crime tip at https://tips.fbi.gov/. Ideal Bite helps you take a bite out of life--in a green way, as you tip the world eco-friendily.
Tips, tips and, of course, more tips.
Is this Web 2.0's way of distancing itself from the word "review" or "opinion" and capitalizing on the new jargon of the new mini-bubble? "Tip" sounds so simple, so light, and it carries a connotation of money. I'm going to give you a tip; I'm going to give you information that makes your life richer.
Or am I extracting a tip from you to make my site more widespread on the tubes, for more organic search results and better rankings long-term, by capitalizing on that whole "25% of Google-indexed information is user-generated" model? Free content. User-generated content. No $10 SEO article purchases. No contracting with Bangalore for $.001 a word keyword articles to drive traffic. No stress wondering where the freelance articles are, no excuses from late writers.
Get the Internet users who post on Perez and TMZ and Sybermoms and Mothering and Fark to come to your site and write your site for you.
Technology is driving the tip thing. It's beyond easy for sites to create interfaces and databases that allow users to input information that users think is valuable, and for end users to extract the information that they find valuable.
It's GIGO but garbage goes in, the garbage that comes out is custom-requested garbage, and anything that's never requested sits in the middle like a Salvation Army donation reject bin. Too expensive for disposal, not useful enough for distribution.
FamilyZip gives some revenue sharing, so you can even monetize your tips now. Give us a tip and we'll give you--a tip? 60% revenue sharing is better than the 15% waitresses receive, although at least when you wait tables (and I did it for 6 years) you have a user consuming a product with a defined value, and that 15% comes from a concrete number that you know early in the transaction.
60% of ad revenue for your tip may add up to $100 in 2027. But here's a tip: you would have to write many, many tips. The tip model works only when people want to share information, but again--what drives them to share?
Figure that out and send it to me as a tip. That's Web 3.0 right there.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Review Nation
Our opinion is important, isn't it? Associated Content runs content requests for reviews of products at times (paying as much as $10 per article). Epinions pays $1 or more for short reviews at times.
TripAdvisor.com asks for reviews on travel, and lately, HomeStars.com is asking for reviews on home improvement companies, home accessories stores, and anything related to home renovation.
Why are our opinions so important?
Back in the day--1999, to be exact--RatingsWonders.com offered an entire pound of Dunkin Donuts coffee for reviewing online companies. Yes--you wrote a review and they spent--what? $6?--on a pound of coffee, and then $3-4 to send it two-day shipping via UPS. My opinion was worth a lot of Joe back then.
I think I earned 60 lbs of coffee with that promotion. My friends got some, we drank some, we freezed some, and eventually I got so tired of the coffee that I just...stopped writing reviews. They broke me!
Epinions used to give $2+ for a review; again, back in the day, earning a few hundred there was easy. SharingReviews.com is a new site offering money for reviews; a pot of money is divided between reviewers based on readership, so it's another spin on this idea of revenue sharing. Rather than ad revenue, it's a predetermined amount of money. Talk about a zero-sum game.
When did our opinion become so important? When social networking became key. It's not just about user-driven content. It's about user-driven relationships and--harnessing? managing? controlling? shaping? collaborating? Pick a term.
How about "making mad loot off this process"?
Web companies want to develop relationships with their users; message boards, email pings, "trusted user" designations, contests and giveways all seek the same end: to get the user to come back.
And yet the users need to be motivated by some intrinsic desire to visit web sites, right? Shoppping for an item, searching for an answer to a question, seeking like-minded users--with HomeStars or Angie's List it's all about home renovation and home-related items, while with Amazon.com or Powells.com reviews, it's all about books, dvds, videos, and gadgets you buy. The grocery section on Amazon.com has become one of my favorite places to shop--that review on Bare Fruit dried cherries does affect my purchase. It's user-driven content that shapes my behavior and dollar pattern.
Is user-driven content about social engineering?
You bet. And why not? Why not let word-of-modem replace word-of-mouth?
So go do your part and socially engineer someone in Bangladesh, or Des Moines, or London right now. Write a review. Do it for free. Sometimes the free content is worth more, in the end, than anything you're paid for. It worked in 1997 when I landed a job as a result of free material I put online. Perhaps "Review Nation" can do the same for you.
p.s. You can review this post by leaving a comment.
TripAdvisor.com asks for reviews on travel, and lately, HomeStars.com is asking for reviews on home improvement companies, home accessories stores, and anything related to home renovation.
Why are our opinions so important?
Back in the day--1999, to be exact--RatingsWonders.com offered an entire pound of Dunkin Donuts coffee for reviewing online companies. Yes--you wrote a review and they spent--what? $6?--on a pound of coffee, and then $3-4 to send it two-day shipping via UPS. My opinion was worth a lot of Joe back then.
I think I earned 60 lbs of coffee with that promotion. My friends got some, we drank some, we freezed some, and eventually I got so tired of the coffee that I just...stopped writing reviews. They broke me!
Epinions used to give $2+ for a review; again, back in the day, earning a few hundred there was easy. SharingReviews.com is a new site offering money for reviews; a pot of money is divided between reviewers based on readership, so it's another spin on this idea of revenue sharing. Rather than ad revenue, it's a predetermined amount of money. Talk about a zero-sum game.
When did our opinion become so important? When social networking became key. It's not just about user-driven content. It's about user-driven relationships and--harnessing? managing? controlling? shaping? collaborating? Pick a term.
How about "making mad loot off this process"?
Web companies want to develop relationships with their users; message boards, email pings, "trusted user" designations, contests and giveways all seek the same end: to get the user to come back.
And yet the users need to be motivated by some intrinsic desire to visit web sites, right? Shoppping for an item, searching for an answer to a question, seeking like-minded users--with HomeStars or Angie's List it's all about home renovation and home-related items, while with Amazon.com or Powells.com reviews, it's all about books, dvds, videos, and gadgets you buy. The grocery section on Amazon.com has become one of my favorite places to shop--that review on Bare Fruit dried cherries does affect my purchase. It's user-driven content that shapes my behavior and dollar pattern.
Is user-driven content about social engineering?
You bet. And why not? Why not let word-of-modem replace word-of-mouth?
So go do your part and socially engineer someone in Bangladesh, or Des Moines, or London right now. Write a review. Do it for free. Sometimes the free content is worth more, in the end, than anything you're paid for. It worked in 1997 when I landed a job as a result of free material I put online. Perhaps "Review Nation" can do the same for you.
p.s. You can review this post by leaving a comment.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Internet Program: Epinions
I have been a member of Epinions since 1999. Between the end of 1999 and early 2001 (14 months) I earned $290 on Epinions. I earned about $21 per month back then. MAD LOOT!
I recently returned to my account on Epinions to find some old product reviews I'd written (more on this in a future post). Epinions is a website where users post short product reviews on products, services, colleges, restaurants--you name it. In 1999 it was innovative. Now, frankly, it's quaint.
Epinions earns money for the company in two ways: advertising (of course) and click-through purchases. If you write about a baby toy, and someone buys that baby toy from Amazon.com from your review, then Epinions earns an affiliate kick-back (normally 5-15% of the cost of the item).
Epinions, in the past, paid reviewers a flat rate ($.10 to $1) for each review, and then a certain amount ($.01 to $.10) every time the review was rated by readers.
That system has changed. It's now a "revenue share" model, which means you don't know up front how much you'll earn per review. The 42 reviews I posted in 14 months are still generating small streams of revenue, ironically ($.50 in my account!). So the good of Epinions is that you write your review and it lives on, earning non-active revenue.
The bad of Epinions is that your revenue stream may amount to a trickle that isn't worth the initial time to set up an account and write reviews. On the other hand, in March 2007 Epinions had a "10 for 10" promotion--write 10 reviews, earn a straight $10 upfront plus revenue share. So there's potential when Epinions runs promotions.
Epinions can be an excellent tool for those who enjoy writing reviews of products and services, and can be a nice addition to a "recycling content" model I will share in coming days--a way to take one 400 word review and "monetize" it on multiple sites and accounts to maximize effort and money.
More on that later. Click here to join Epinions: http://www.epinions.com
I recently returned to my account on Epinions to find some old product reviews I'd written (more on this in a future post). Epinions is a website where users post short product reviews on products, services, colleges, restaurants--you name it. In 1999 it was innovative. Now, frankly, it's quaint.
Epinions earns money for the company in two ways: advertising (of course) and click-through purchases. If you write about a baby toy, and someone buys that baby toy from Amazon.com from your review, then Epinions earns an affiliate kick-back (normally 5-15% of the cost of the item).
Epinions, in the past, paid reviewers a flat rate ($.10 to $1) for each review, and then a certain amount ($.01 to $.10) every time the review was rated by readers.
That system has changed. It's now a "revenue share" model, which means you don't know up front how much you'll earn per review. The 42 reviews I posted in 14 months are still generating small streams of revenue, ironically ($.50 in my account!). So the good of Epinions is that you write your review and it lives on, earning non-active revenue.
The bad of Epinions is that your revenue stream may amount to a trickle that isn't worth the initial time to set up an account and write reviews. On the other hand, in March 2007 Epinions had a "10 for 10" promotion--write 10 reviews, earn a straight $10 upfront plus revenue share. So there's potential when Epinions runs promotions.
Epinions can be an excellent tool for those who enjoy writing reviews of products and services, and can be a nice addition to a "recycling content" model I will share in coming days--a way to take one 400 word review and "monetize" it on multiple sites and accounts to maximize effort and money.
More on that later. Click here to join Epinions: http://www.epinions.com
Friday, April 27, 2007
Internet Program: My Points
MyPoints is one of the oldest Internet "get paid to" or GPT programs. Founded in 1996, the company made it through the dot.com crash in the early 2000s and stands as one of the grandfathers (or grandmothers) of Internet points programs.
I earn about $60 per year in gift cards through MyPoints, for roughly 4-5 hours of my time. that's a return rate of $12-15 per hour, tax-free. MyPoints pays you in points for clicking on emails you receive (called BonusMail)--you generally receive 5 points for these emails. You earn points for shopping through the MyPoints website; for instance, 10 points for dollar is the payout for shopping at Overstock.com through the MyPoints website. In addition, taking short surveys and updating your profile on MyPoints can earn you small numbers of points.
750 points = $5 Panera gift card, so you would need to click on 150 BonusMails to earn the $5 gift card. That's an average of 5 emails per day, 30 days straight. The BonusMails tend to come in waves. Nothing for a few days, and then suddenly 15 fill your inbox. All BonusMails have an expiration date, so be careful. I will sort my email alphabetically, and then click on all the BonusMails in one quick shot every 3 days or so. 5 minutes or less.
The choice of cards is impressive--Target, WalMart, Old Navy, Panera, barnes & Noble, etc. And--unlike many other programs--these are regular gift cards, so they are suitable for giving out as gifts as well.
One great way to earn 1,000 points immediately--"Refer-a-friend." Get 10 friends to sign up for MyPoints and earn 100 points per friend.
Quite simply, I've been doing MyPoints since 1998 and it's the one program I've stuck with, through thick and thin. I generally cash out my points when I gather 3,250--this earns me a $25 gift card to Panera, so I can indulge in my insatiable desire for their vegetarian black bean soup and salad combo, with the little French baguette. Ahhhhh....
http://www.mypoints.com
p.s. If you want me to send you an email invite so *I* earn 100 points and so that I can be a kept woman, awash in You Pick Two at Panera, email me and I'll send you an invite. I can only do this 10 times, though, so once those first 10 are done, I'll start sending the new requests to my first requests, helping those first 10 earn their first 1,000 points. And so on, and so on, and so on...
More information on points programs in general: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/158492/using_points_programs_online_to_earn.html
I earn about $60 per year in gift cards through MyPoints, for roughly 4-5 hours of my time. that's a return rate of $12-15 per hour, tax-free. MyPoints pays you in points for clicking on emails you receive (called BonusMail)--you generally receive 5 points for these emails. You earn points for shopping through the MyPoints website; for instance, 10 points for dollar is the payout for shopping at Overstock.com through the MyPoints website. In addition, taking short surveys and updating your profile on MyPoints can earn you small numbers of points.
750 points = $5 Panera gift card, so you would need to click on 150 BonusMails to earn the $5 gift card. That's an average of 5 emails per day, 30 days straight. The BonusMails tend to come in waves. Nothing for a few days, and then suddenly 15 fill your inbox. All BonusMails have an expiration date, so be careful. I will sort my email alphabetically, and then click on all the BonusMails in one quick shot every 3 days or so. 5 minutes or less.
The choice of cards is impressive--Target, WalMart, Old Navy, Panera, barnes & Noble, etc. And--unlike many other programs--these are regular gift cards, so they are suitable for giving out as gifts as well.
One great way to earn 1,000 points immediately--"Refer-a-friend." Get 10 friends to sign up for MyPoints and earn 100 points per friend.
Quite simply, I've been doing MyPoints since 1998 and it's the one program I've stuck with, through thick and thin. I generally cash out my points when I gather 3,250--this earns me a $25 gift card to Panera, so I can indulge in my insatiable desire for their vegetarian black bean soup and salad combo, with the little French baguette. Ahhhhh....
http://www.mypoints.com
p.s. If you want me to send you an email invite so *I* earn 100 points and so that I can be a kept woman, awash in You Pick Two at Panera, email me and I'll send you an invite. I can only do this 10 times, though, so once those first 10 are done, I'll start sending the new requests to my first requests, helping those first 10 earn their first 1,000 points. And so on, and so on, and so on...
More information on points programs in general: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/158492/using_points_programs_online_to_earn.html
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