Win 10,000 Entrecard Credits with John Chow

If you hadn't already heard, John Chow will be giving away 10,000 of his Entrecard credits.

This is a worthwhile move for him because the marketing he would recieve from spending that many credits couldn't be nearly as worth what attention he will generate from this contest.

Just a few weeks ago, I bought a spot on Problogger's Entrecard widget. Over the course of the day I got about 60 clicks. I paid around 250 EC credits for that 24 hour placement.

Now, with the new Entrecard system in which the price floats up with the demand, I would likely have to pay at least 1000 credits. Simply put, it would not be worth it. Although you might not be able to afford a spot on John Chow's or Problogger's widget, there is no denying that a sound marketing plan could field good results from those 10,000 credits.

Click here to check out John's Contest page. If you're entering like me, good luck! And good luck to me!

Are you entering the competition? Don't forget to comment!

Need A Credit Card? Mmm?

Ironically, when I started off blogging, I didn't even own a credit card. I used debit, and it greatly hindered my online money making opportunities. This is definitely the biggest embarrasment to date I have revealed to my readers. I'm not all that old, 19 in fact, and I recently signed up for my first card. As some may remember, I am a university student. Therefore, I started off with a student credit card (not the best). Ever since taking this step, my profits have skyrocketed because many online opportunities require a credit card for the transactions. I have steadily been able to build my credit rating as well.

When you're signing up for a card, you want to make sure you are working with a company you can trust. Comparing Credit Cards, est. 2001, can be just that. They are a third party website which provides the insight required to pick and apply for a credit card or find related services. They offer a very wide array of services and deal with many credit card companies. As they put it, you can 'get the credit you deserve' with this site. Whether you have good credit, bad credit, or want to be instantly approved for a card, you should be able to find an application which accomodates your current situation.

It's always good to be responsible with your money, but sometimes you just need a helping hand. This website can be that helping hand. Of course, the site is a good place for finding a card regardless! Just take a peek if you're considering.

This is a sponsored post!

Quick Info Product Ideas You Can Use To Make Money

There are so many people wanting to make money online by marketing information products these days because there is a huge demand for information on the Internet.

However, creating profitable info products requires a lot of time and work. You have to possess deep knowledge on a topic, take the time to gather the information needed and be able to write. But fortunately, creating info product doesn’t have to be this way. There are many easier and faster methods for creating a profitable info product. And with some of these methods you don't even have to be an expert on the subject that you'd like to create a product on.

Conduct an Interview with an Expert
One of the fastest and easiest ways to develop a valuable info product is to do an interview with an expert on the topic where you want to write about. Or you can interview several experts and put together all the interviews into one info product that cover different aspects.

To entice the expert accepts you interview, you would let the expert know the free publicity he/she would get from your marketing effort for the interview later.

Turn Existing Content into Products
You can just contact numerous experts to ask them whether they can submit their articles or reports on a particular topic. Then combine them into an e-book or an info product.

You would let each expert to include website links at the end of their articles so that they will get free web promotion. This is a way to encourage the experts so submit content to you.

Another idea is to borrow or reprints sections of existing e-book. Contact the product creator and ask permission for reprinting the content of the product in exchange for free marketing and promotion to them.

For example, if you have decided to use 'copywriting' as the subject for your info product, you may contact a few copywriting experts and request them to send you a sale letter they have written for a product. Once you got their sale letters, you can combine them into one collection of 'proven effective salesletters'. And that's it you have created an info product that can make you money.

Use Private Label Rights Content
There are many websites providing private label rights (PLR) articles, e-books and reports. Some are free and other charge a fee for downloading the PLR content. What you can do is to gather as many PLR products as possible then bundle them into a package and sell the package at a low price such as $9.99.

You can set up a sale page to market and sell your package and also post your offer on forums and ads site to get more sell.

Thanks to Money Maker Info for this article.

Why Adsense Sucks

There are a few mistakes I have made as a blogger trying to make money online, and the biggest one I've made on the monetization front has been using Adsense. There are multiple reasons not to use it, and I think they apply to both new bloggers and veteran ones.

Once you shake that hand, you are screwed!

1. By the time you make the $100 withdrawal threshold, you will have found better ways to monetize you blog. Yes, Adsense is easy to use, but you wont get a penny unless you get all 100 dollars they require you to get before sending you a cheque. I personally like using Project Wonderful because you are connected directly to the advertisers, and you instantly scoop up any sort of money they're willing to throw at you. Because you get paid first, and because the advertiser can place whatever bid on your ad spot they feel it is worth, you will be able to monetize your blog at any stage.

2. The ads make you look tacky. Darren Rowse explained why he stopped using Adsense as being because 'other advertisers did not want to be associated with the Google Adsense program'. By the time you've made that 100 dollars, you will be trying to court private advertisers. If they see Adsense on your blog, they may wonder how committed you are to your blog, or whether you're just in to make a quick buck.

3. Your pay relies on clicks, not traffic, not quality, not Alexa Rank or Page Rank. You don't earn very much unless people are actually clicking on the ads. That means if your blog about something other than consumer products, or something otherwise useful or insightful, you aren't going to do well.

4. Because you're stuck with them until you get that damn 100 dollars! Google knows they win either way - either you leave and they don't have to pay you, or you choose not to leave and they earn more money off of you. Doesn't sound very fair, does it? I would much rather deal directly with advertisers than with Google each and every time.

If you're a new blogger - steer clear of Adsense! You will regret it.

So then, Peter, why on earth do you still have Adsense on your blog? Because I haven't gotten my 100 dollar cheque yet. Once I do, that's the last you'll see of it - probably.

A Larger Pile Of Sites That Pay

There are several miscellaneous ways to make money online. I've already done a few of these before, so here are some more.

All do not require a website, nor do they require an investment. The only thing required is a little time put aside. They wouldn’t be for everyone, but they are all relatively easy ways to make some extra money.

Google has a User Research section which pays individuals to participate in their online studies.

Microsoft has a feature called the Research Panel which pays you to offer feedback on their products and services.

Amazon’s Mechanical Turk will pay you to do very simple tasks which will earn you a little bit of money.

eJury – Act as a mock juror in practice trials online. Earns you $5-$10 per trial.

WorkingSOL – A more demanding job which will pay you to provide technical support over the computer or phone. You choose your hours.

Appingo – Pays you to proof read and edit. To get accepted you must first submit a resume.

IntelliShop – Will pay you to shop at stores and then write reviews about the products/shopping experience

Mahalo Greenhouse – Pays $10-$15 per site you submit to their directory. Not all sites will get accepted.

Focus Pointe Global – Join up and participate in focus groups for pay.

Arise – Pays for you to provide phone, internet and email support for several companies.

CraZoo – Get paid to post in forums and start topics.

Tutor (.com) – Get paid to tutor people online.

ForumBoosting - Get paid to post in forums and start topics.

Opuzz Voice - Earn money by doing voice overs for their clients online.

SlashMySearch - Get paid based on how much you search on their search engine.

That's all for now.