My Study "Ends"

Day thirty has come and gone, and I'm so busy that it's hard to find time to write. My latest escapade is Twitter Marketing, which I'm trying after reading an e-book on how to make money online. It's surprisingly easy--establish your niche, provide quality content (often by subscribing to the RSS feeds of related blogs that you know and trust), and then sell only the best products. You can open as many accounts as you want in as many niches as you want, and selling as many products as you want. This method is actually much more work than it sounds, but I'm taking it one niche at a time, for now focusing only on my Online Income account. The trickiest thing is building a following, as last time I checked I had only about twenty-seven people. But I'm following more and hopefully it will build up (supposedly I can pass a thousand in a month if I do it right). If I have a thousand people on each of ten different accounts, and if only three or four of them buys anything per week, I'll have reached my goal! The best part is that it's mostly automated, and I can be sure of providing people with quality insight and content, which has been one of my biggest fears about monetizing Twitter.

In other news, results, etc.: I am now making three times my original rate at Neobux. Granted, twenty cents a day is still pathetic, but at this rate I'm expecting it to pick up nicely. Now it should be only about three or four days until I can rent my next three referrals, and then very soon after until I can rent three more. I've had bad luck with Clixsense lately, only making a few pennies a day instead of dollars, but hopefully it won't matter too much--I should be able to upgrade my account soon anyway, since my sponsor doesn't seem to be following through. I do have a good $3 coming in for sure next week from Protypers.

As for getting paid to draw, I took and drew several pictures I thought would be good... but they weren't high enough resolution to sell. I'll see if there's anything I can do to fix that, and if not I'll have to request a refund, as I just don't have the supplies needed.

I have not been paid yet from Richgo PTR, and I expect I never will. That makes it painful to go on the site every day and watch several ads to remain "in good standing." I'll admit, the way they do the payments is sketchy. They pay out only $50,000 a week, supposedly, and upgraded members (again supposedly) get first dibs, and they're drawn at random. The only way I can get paid is if they genuinely run out of upgraded members demanding payment and just so happen to draw my name instead. So... this would be kind of like winning the lottery, only with a lot more work put into it. I don't know if I'll bother waiting the full thirty days or not.

This blog, as you already know, has been a total failure in terms of making money. I did what I was supposed to, but it went nowhere. I also fell dramatically short of my goal of $100 a week--making a measly $5-10 a week instead. But I still have two months to figure it out before my wedding, and there are still many options I haven't tried yet! As I continue to earn money and re-invest it, I'm able to move on to more and more advanced options and services. I'm hoping to climb it like a ladder and stop after I've reached my goal.

As the thirty days have now ended, this blog will probably cease to be much of a priority for me. I'll try to keep you posted on the big things, but I really have much more important stuff going on in my life right now. Cheers!

Day 28: Updates and Info

I'm almost done now with my 30-day project, but I feel like I'm only just starting to figure things out! I have several notes and discoveries to jot down today, and most of it very positive.

• RichgoPTR did actually contact me last night to say that they have received my request, etc. Yes, they did suggest I upgrade, but it was still optional, and there was a decent explanation as to the limited payouts--they claim they can only afford to pay $50,000 every day and the priority always goes to upgraded members. I will hold them at their original word that basic members would get paid within 30 days. I will remain active so I can at any point be considered a member "in good standing" and so that they won't have any excuse not to pay me.
• I don't remember if I mentioned this, but I spent some of my Clixsense money on a "Get Paid to Draw" program after researching it and deciding it was worth it. I've only read through the e-book and watched some of the drawing tutorials so far, so have had no opportunity to try it out, but it looks fun, if not promising as well.
• Protypers.com, one of my moneymakers, has just bumped up the payouts another 50 cents per thousand captchas at any time of the day. That's huge, if you can't tell. I expect my profits there to get almost as big as they are at Clixsense. Ok, maybe not that high, but at least to the point where I can have weekly or bi-weekly checkouts.
• Donkeymails is awesome--so far. No, it doesn't pay very much, but there is NO payout limit at all--meaning that if you realize you can't earn more than five cents a day and decide to give up on day one, you can actually withdraw that five cents that you earned. A refreshing load of confidence, at least. And there's also the fact that you seriously could spend all day earning on that site, which, despite the fact that you're only earning fractions of pennies, is a cool thought. Be warned, though--I have just read up on it and apparently it has a reputation for randomly deleting people's accounts after they request payouts. I have not yet requested one, so I can't say one way or the other. But so far so good!
• I joined and explored Hourly Chic Pay. It's a cross between investing and surfing, where you get paid hourly according to your investments and the success of the website. They also promise a free $12 for signing up so that you don't have to put your own money in to invest. That might be true on a technicality, but I was disappointed to find that the $12 is not in your account--it's spread out among their different payment processors (which unfortunately don't include PayPal or Payza) on $3 per site. On top of that, you have to have at least $10 on the given processor to withdraw. That frustrated me. Maybe someday I'll be able to invest in Hourly Chic Pay, but right now at this point I think it's not worth it.

So, that's my report for the day. The good, the bad and the awesome. Two more days until my final concluding report, and until then be sure to follow me on Twitter or join me in Clixsense. You won't regret it!

Day 27: Scam Alert!

Yes, I took a day off yesterday--largely because I had nothing new to report and also I had better and more productive ways to spend my time. But today's different: last night and earlier today I decided to investigate the site I was telling you about (Richgo PTR) that was hinting at a large paycheck very soon. I've been suspicious of it from the start, which is why I never overly encouraged any of you to sign up. The English was horrible, there were parts of the site that seemed less than professional, there weren't any forums to see what other people were saying, and I couldn't figure out how they could afford to pay $150 per click.

Be that as it may, I've been optimistic as ever and put a lot of effort into making the required amount of money to withdraw. Today I reached that amount and requested payment, but let's go back to my research itself. I looked up reviews of the site in several places. It's been listed as a scam on several different sites (never a good sign), though it is also a secure site--no viruses or x-rated content that will suddenly leap out at you.

What did people say themselves? Most people were asking whether or not it was a scam, and some people said it was. The best odds I could find were that they pay half their people. Some claim to know people who have gotten incomes, or that they got money themselves once or twice before suddenly being cut off (usually after being upgraded). There were some horror stories of people being told that they had to upgrade before they could take money out, and then after they upgraded they kept getting the same message. Fortunately, that didn't happen to me.

My payout request went very smoothly and simply. RichgoPTR did not ask me--or even suggest to me--that I upgrade, nor did they make the payout requesting process any more confusing or hassling than it needed to be. Just a few clicks and that was it! Now, the question is: will I get paid? According to the site, free members should get paid within thirty days if the member remains active in the site and "in good standing." I've heard that they push it out to four months (though so far they haven't done that) but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. They did say that they would be in touch with me shortly, hopefully within the thirty days. If in a month they haven't contacted me or anything, I'll write them and see what's up.

Ten thousand dollars would be awesome, even if I didn't get it till fall. It seems that most of the people complaining about it being a scam are the people who paid $166 for an upgrade, so I'm hoping that that's the ploy--they take your money and run. Sure enough, I had been planning on buying an upgrade first thing if I got paid, but now I wouldn't dare.

My verdict? RichgoPTR is almost certainly a scam. At best, it's unreliable and unstable, and you can only hope that the instability works out in your favor. Don't invest a penny in it, and don't assume that the money you earn is anything more than numbers on a screen.

In the meantime, Clixsense still reigns as the absolute best PTC. I've gotten two checks from it already, and I highly recommend it to any of you who are thinking about generating an online income. But my search isn't over! I still have three days remaining in this study, after which I'll write down everything I've learned and every conclusion I've come to. Follow me on Twitter for more tips and updates, and beware of scams!

Day 25: What if Your Dreams Came True?

All right, I have a question for you: what would you do if your dreams came true? More specifically, what would you do if someone suddenly gave you $10,000? The reason I ask is shocking: that same thing might be happening soon... to me. Yeah, it looks like one of my online gigs is paying off big time! I'm a bit overwhelmed at the thought for now, after just checking my account and realizing that within the next three days I should have payout.

I know this entry isn't much, and that's really the biggest thing I have to say. But it's also worth noting that I put some of my new online marketing skills into practice through Clickbank, though I have yet to have results.

Please follow me on Twitter for updates and tips on how to make money!

Day 24: Risk Taking

I took a risk today. I bought something that was six dollars on the pretense that it would pay itself off.

Well, I couldn't resist. I was very curious about the whole e-mail processing thing, and even though I can see right through the scams (most of them, at least) there were a couple opportunities that seemed like they might be legitimate, so I figured, why not? The condition that I set for myself was that I would spend no more than $10 for it--almost everything out there costs at least $15 to get started, suspiciously identical to the cost you get per e-mail. The site that I decided to try out was only $6 and appeared to be different--not an MLM scheme or a pyramid format at all. I bought the system and then downloaded and read through the manual, hoping the money would be rolling in by the end of the day.

I can safely say that what I bought was not what I was expecting. It was well worth the $6 I spent on it, I think, but it's not the guaranteed moneymaker it claimed to be. It provided some fabulous e-mail marketing ideas and a long list of ad sites to explore, along with pre-written messages. The catch? You have to sell something... and it's up to you to figure out what. While at first it sounds great--"you can choose which companies to write for and then it's easy!"--the only options they list are for online affiliate programs. There's no product, no guaranteed business at all, no assignments... just a nice marketing scheme.

So now what? I'm obviously frustrated at how incomplete the system is, but at least it isn't a pyramid scheme where I just get people to "purchase" info on how to do exactly what I'm doing. I'm trying to decide what to sell. Affiliate links are the best I can find. I have several PTCs to promote, and I joined one of the recommended sites. I'm trying it out, and we'll see if it works.

More positive news today is about one of the huge PTCs that pays a hundred dollars or so a click, Richgo PTR. Minimum payout for basic members is $10,000, and I'm already past $6,000! This is for sure one of the fastest moving PTCs I've found. If the payout is fast as well, then I'll have it made!

It really is amazing to see things picking up speed now, and I can't wait to see how it all goes over! Please follow me on Twitter for more tips and updates, and check out Clixsense--and Richgo!--to start making money on your own!

Day 23: Five Strategies for Working Online

There are many different ways to make money online, but whichever you decide to pursue will require some degree of strategy. No matter how optimistic you are to start out, you'll go nowhere if you don't have a plan or don't know how to space out your time and money correctly. Here are some strategies I have found to be useful:

1. If you can multitask, do. Don't overload yourself or take more than you can handle, but many PTC sites will allow you to have something else on the screen at the same time as the advertisement and still give you credit. Even if it doesn't, try to find other things you can do. Do you have homework? Are you working on a craft or manual project? Then have your computer at hand, running through ads while you get something else accomplished.
2. Budget time and money. If you don't, you'll lose it all. Decide before getting involved how many hours or minutes a day you want to devote to this project, and how much money you're willing to invest in it. It's fine if your initial strategy won't work out; you can always change it. But it is important to have something to refer to so that you don't get carried away.
3. Have patience. You won't be an Internet millionaire overnight, no matter what you put into it. Likely it will take months or even years before the income starts paying off, and you need to be willing to work on it steadily until then.
4. Look at all the options. There's always something better out there. With so many programs available easily online, take your time in deciding what's for you. Join a few sites and work on them all at first, and then after a couple weeks see which one is making money. I've already cashed out two checks from Clixsense, and I'm not even close on the other sites. What does that tell me?
5. Set standards. How desperate are you for cash? Are you honestly willing to be a telemarketer or send spam mail to make a few dollars, or do you want to keep your dignity and find other means? There's no right or wrong answer, here, but it's a good idea to know where you stand.

As always, you can follow me on Twitter for more updates and tips or check Clixsense out for yourself if you want to start making your own Internet money!

Day 22: A Hundred Dollars? Per Click?

I cringe when I think about how much I've been neglecting this blog. Views have been dropping too, and it's no wonder. The content isn't as fresh as it was a few weeks ago, the posts have gotten lazier and possibly less helpful to others, and I'm only writing one post a day now instead of three. And I'll confess--I've considered dropping this altogether. I've gotten so busy, and a certain number of my projects have been so promising, that I feel this log is no longer needed--its original purpose of making me money is completely obsolete, and I have a solid plan now that I'm following.

But I had decided to keep this up for thirty days, and so I figure I won't stop so close to finishing--in a little over a week I'll be all done with this, as far as my commitment goes, and I can focus on my wedding and my actual earning money instead of this study.

I mentioned yesterday that I've been making so much money that I wouldn't bother telling you because you wouldn't believe it. I'll tell you a little bit about it now, but first I want to mention a few things:

• I fully realize the following and programs like it could well be a total scam. I have invested no money into it and, for the most part, expect to receive no money in return.
• Yes, there are strings attached. Payouts take a suspiciously long time (thirty to ninety days after the request, or a "reasonable" amount of time after).
• I'm not putting all of my eggs in this basket, tempting though it is. I'm keeping up with Clixsense and Neobux, programs that I know and trust, at the same time.

I found some ridiculously good PTCs. Ridiculously! The lowest on the list pays ten cents per click, and the highest? How does $200 sound? Per click? Yeah, I'm suspicious too. But these programs were all free to join. The big hangup is that even though you could make several thousand dollars in a day, you'll be lucky to earn enough to cash out within the next month. So, unless a flock of you join up under my referral and start clicking on ads like mad, I won't have a check by any of these companies by the time I finish this blog--though, if such a check ever does come, I'll be sure to tell you and probably also show a proof.

Today, when I decided once again to look for a good data entry job, I found more--only with these sites, you could earn up to $1000 per click! What's the deal? (Well, part of it is that you have to earn over two million dollars before cashing out, in which case the money's as good as nonexistent.)

I'm still working it out, but if so much as one of these programs is NOT a scam... I could well have a six figure income as of next month. That would be nice. And, as I've joined a lot of these, hopefully at least one will pay out before I get married. Needless to say, all I care about is getting one hundred dollars a week by the beginning of August. And I'm looking at all the options. And this if one of these is legit, well, I've got it made.

Please follow me on Twitter for more tips and updates, or join me on Clixsense if you want to start making your own online cash. If your curious about joining a site like the ones I've mentioned above, Mail Cash 24 is one of my favorites so far. Good luck!

Day 21: Earner's Report

Well, I'm having to go down to only one post a day now because I'm so busy. I've commenced packing for my wedding in a couple months and have joined enough sites that I could literally go from one to the next to the next and stay busy all day. That being said, I realized that today marks the 2/3 mark in my experiment, and it's time for a report!

When I started out, if you had asked me how much I'd have earned by this point, I would have said, "Probably not much. Maybe a couple sales or so." I would have been wrong on both points, but for opposite reasons. I've earned a substantial amount--so much over the past couple days that you won't believe me if I tell you, so I'll keep quiet. But I do have a steady income now, and am incredibly optimistic about my goal of $100 per week. I haven't made any sales, though. At least not unless you count referrals. The blog has done nothing for me but help me organize my thoughts and eat up a lot of time (about an hour per post).

Where has my money been coming from? PTC sites, mostly. Clixsense has hit it off so well that if my sponsor doesn't automatically upgrade me in the next few days, I'll simply upgrade myself, now that I can easily afford that. I'm currently deciding which accounts of mine I should focus on upgrading. True, it's kind of frustrating that I'm working so hard on this money just to put it back in the system, but once I reach my goal I should be able to relax and use the money for what I want.

So, what have I done right, and what have I done wrong? Here are a couple lists.

What I've done right:

• I was willing to start small, working for pennies and fractions of pennies in the hopes that they would add up eventually.
• I looked into many different forms of income. If I had decided to do this blog and nothing else, then I would be overly frustrated by now, begging over and over again for someone to buy something or click on links.
• I put everything into it. I've spent hours and hours on traffic exchanges, only to get a few clicks and referrals as a result--but that's all it takes. A click here, a signup there, and before you know it you've got a downline! But you won't get any results if you only put in a few minutes every day.
• I didn't spend. I've come across so many tempting offers that required a payment that several times I've almost given in--I did give in, in a couple $1 instances which I regret. I've stayed with the free options, and now I'm making enough money that I can actually afford to look into some of the pricier options. But a rule I've formed is that I'm not going to put my own money into this. It has to be money I've earned online that I can earn again, or else there's a chance I'll ruin everything.
• I kept a log of my efforts. Even if it hasn't earned me a penny, I'm glad I started this blog. Writing down my thoughts, successes and failures has been an immense help in deciding where I should go next.

What I've done wrong:

• I did invest a couple dollars. I weakened because of some great advertising and gave away occasional dollars in the hopes of striking gold, which didn't happen. The big reason for that is because after they make you spend one dollar, they'll ask for more. The won't just leave it there.
• I put all my eggs in one basket. Several times this month, when I thought I found THE solution, I spent all of my time and effort on it, not bothering to look for a better alternative. I cringe when I think of the many wasted hours out there, the subscriptions I've never used, the possibilities I hadn't recognized.
• I didn't bother to look for reputations. I know, I've mentioned several times in the past few weeks that reputation is important, but I didn't listen to my own advice. I often blindly joined something or signed up for something only to learn later that it was a total scam. Ouch.

One week left until I end this project, cash in hand. I'll probably keep it going, more or less, but without the dedication that I've been giving it. I'm getting married, after all--I have enough on my plate as it is. Please follow me on Twitter for updates and tips, and check out Clixsense if you want to start generating your own online income!

Day 20.1: It's in the Reputation

I was looking around for the best data entry jobs available yesterday, frustrated at how many scams were out there but still hopeful that there had to be something legitimate and awesome. I've done these searches practically every day since I started this experiment, but yesterday I finally decided to take a different route: I would search according to reputation. I was still on that e-mail processing kick, so for a start I typed in "earn money processing e-mails proof," and that changed everything. Many of the sites that had been on the top of the list suddenly disappeared, and instead I found some others, lesser known, that actually offered proof of their payments.

My biggest find actually wasn't in the area of e-mail processing or data entry at all, but rather a list of the top twenty PTC and PTR (paid to read) sites. Not the same Neobux and Clixsense that I already know about, but sites that actually pay dollars. Dollars? Per click? Honestly, I hadn't even thought there was such a thing. There's a catch, of course--the minimum payout for some of these sites could be as high as $1000, so you can't expect to be cashing out a check every week or two. Anyway, I joined the sites and will let you know how they go. Currently I am compiling a list to describe them that I will share probably today or tomorrow.

I learned a lesson in that. You need to look for reputation instead of claims. Is there any proof of the payments? Are there any forums where people talk about their personal experiences? By the way, that's also how I discovered Instant Cash Sweepstakes, a short survey site which I visit several times a day. It appears that I might have two referrals on there, though I can't say for certain yet. If you are one and you're reading this, thank-you!

I still recommend Clixsense over everything else so far--it's been dependable, consistent, and at the rate I'm going I should be able to cash out $8-10 every week without upgrading. Not to mention, it's the only site that's actually paid me since I started this experiment.

Please follow me on Twitter for updates and tips!

Day 19.1: Data Entry

Yesterday, as I continued my ongoing exploration of ways to make money online, something caught my attention: get paid to process e-mails. This was good pay, too--$15-25 for every e-mail, as many as you want. You're getting serious pay for copying and pasting and then clicking send! Of course, a deal that good is also likely a scam, so I began my research. Sure enough, you have to pay $15-25 just to sign up for one of these jobs, and I found reviews saying that they were pure scams. Looking closely, you can even see on the sites themselves that whoever wrote it does not know English very well and did not bother to put a lot of work into putting the site together. Very fishy! But is there really a job like that? Can you get paid money for processing e-mails without having to pay for it first?

It took some searching before I could figure out just what I was looking for: an online data entry job. "Data entry" encompasses a lot of miscellaneous jobs, such as processing e-mails, taking surveys, and filling out forms. It doesn't sound as glamourous as "Get paid to copy and paste!" but data entry jobs are very real, and there are a lot of legitimate countries that will pay for you to assist in small tasks. However, there are also a lot of scams that claim to be good data entry companies. How can you tell the difference?

• You shouldn't have to pay up front. If they're really going to pay you, then why do they need your money?
• Look at the site. Does it feel legitimate and professional? Can you find all of the answers to any questions you have, and is it free of typos and bad grammar?
• Ask why they need you. Is it a job that they really need humans to do, or is there a computer service that could do the same thing for less? If they really just need you to copy and paste e-mails, why don't they just use an auto-responder instead?

If you want to know for sure what some good companies are, I've joined a few that have proven to be legitimate. Amazon Turk, while not exclusively a data entry company, does include a lot of that same work. Different employers have different reputations, but in my experience I've always gotten paid for my work. Protypers.com is another good data entry service. Though the pay is not much, the job is very simple: fill in captchas to help provide options for the visually impaired. 

Lastly, I have recently joined Onlinejobsfree.com, a fabulous organization that provides you with multiple streams of income by doing data entry work. I've only been a member for about a day, and so I can't offer a full report, but it appears to be legitimate and a great option for people who want to earn some cash on the side but don't want to trouble with possible scams.

Hopefully these tips are useful to you, and remember to follow me on Twitter for tips and updates! You can also join me on Clixsense (my best moneymaker so far!) or freeinternetmoney.com.

Day 18.1: Marketing 101

I'm afraid I've been out with my family for most of today, so I have very little new to write. However, I've recently been talking with some pros at marketing about how they do it. As I've said before, I'm not a salesman. As a matter of fact, I'm very shy and socially awkward by nature. I need pointers on how to get others excited about things and motivated, even for times when I'm not trying to sell anything at all. So what did the experts have to say?

• Downplay the actual selling. I've made huge mistakes in this asking people to please join this or subscribe to that. However, there are tools designed that do a much better job at selling than I ever could. All I need to do is get them in contact with that tool, and I'm all set. Leave buying and selling out of it, and you'll be much ore successful.
• Be enthusiastic. Duh! Obviously you need to be enthusiastic! But you also need to be genuine in your enthusiasm. Why do you use a product yourself? Play out how well it's worked for you and how much you're loving it, and others will become curious.
• Be yourself. Your friends and family will know if you're copying and pasting from a pre-made script of any sort, and they're much more likely to take an interest in something if they know you're genuine.
• Sell to potential buyers. Don't waste your time selling something digital to your aunt who doesn't even have Facebook. Look for people who already have a history for that kind of thing and who would likely be interested.

Well, those are my starter points. In upcoming days I'll try to put those words into action myself, and then I'll give a report on how well those tips work. But they're words from the experts, and they make a lot of sense.

To get more tips and updates, please follow my Twitter feed. To make your own online income, check out Clixsense, and to join me on the best new up-and-coming social network, please e-mail me about Rippln and I'll send you an invite! Watch the video below for details.

Day 17.2: The Rippln Idea

It's so late that I could have almost put this as "Day 18.1," but I remembered that I hadn't yet written my second post of the day, and I do have something to write about!

A couple days ago I came across a new social site called Rippln. It's still in an invitation-only Beta, but I was curious and looked into it further, and before long I got my own invitation, an account, and was an active member on their Facebook page.

What is Rippln? As I said before, it's a social site, roughly along the lines of Facebook, Twitter, and Google +. But it has some interesting ideas about it, too. For one thing, it has a mobile base. It's especially designed to be an app on a smart phone and to fit in with modern mobile technology. It also has a fascinating geographical feature about it called "ripples" that can be particularly addicting. You ripple out to your friends, who ripple out to their friends, who ripple out to their friends, etc. You can see just how far your social influence can spread, and believe me, it's surprising. And what's more? You get paid for effort. What other social app pays you for telling people about it?

So, does it work? In its first four weeks, Rippln already has over 500,000 registered users all over the world--very impressive for something that's springing up out of nowhere. The people I've met on their Facebook page are friendly and helpful and, well, I'm very impressed. Take a look for yourself.

I've joined, and it really is that good. And I really do want to let others know about it. If you want to check it out for yourself, I'll give you an invite free! Just send your first and last name, email, and phone number to my e-mail address, specterpoet@gmail.com. I'll sign you up, and you can be guaranteed that your info will be used ONLY for me to sign you up and send you your code. It's awesome, and if you're not already convinced that it works, try it out anyway and you'll be surprised.

Day 17.1: The Neobux Strategy

First of all, a progress check. When I dropped down to only two posts per day instead of three, my views dropped in proportion. It shouldn't have been a surprise--besides, the last post I made every day was also almost always the most successful. But at the same time, it does feel wonderful to be able to relax a little in the day, too, and invest more of my time and energy in things that actually pay.

By the end of the day, I'm hoping to be able to afford rented Neobux referrals, and so I thought it was fitting that I jot down a post on what I have discovered so far regarding the Neobux strategy. First, it is important to note that it is almost entirely different from Clixsense. Clixsense works on a faster and more immediate system. You can easily get two or three dollars a day without any referrals at all! But there's also a lot more chance involved. There's no way to hire referrals, so instead it is necessary to get actual people to sign up under you. What's available from one day to another also changes. You could find yourself getting a lot of money one day but struggling for a few cents the next. It's a gamble.

Neobux is different. There aren't nearly as many ways to get money through Neobux. It is almost entirely a PTC (paid to click) site, where your income comes from clicking ads and referring others. But  Neobux has one thing that Clixsense doesn't: rented referrals. I believe it costs about 60¢ to rent three referrals, and then three cents each to renew them every month. After reading up on their referral system, the best thing to do with Neobux is to keep investing your money in the referrals. If one of them isn't active, recycle it and get another. It takes a long time still before you start earning any real money, but it's also very dependable and well worth five minutes a day to keep up.

And that's the Neobux Strategy. Slow but dependable. I still don't think it holds up to Clixsense, which I would much more strongly advise if you were interested in earning money through a PTC. I advise joining one or both of these sites. They cost nothing more than a few minutes occasionally if you can spare it, and even if you can only check in once every few days the money still adds up. You've got nothing to lose!

Day 16.2: $10.80

I cashed out my Clixsense money for the first time today: $10.80, or a little more (I forget how much PayPal takes out). Granted, only a tenth of my weekly goal, but at least it should cut the load off of my Amazon Turk job if it doesn't get any worse. One fun discovery I made today is that Clixsense can actually pay you for listening to the radio, not even signing up or downloading anything to do it. What? That's crazy! The more I learn about Clixsense, the more impressed I am. I also discovered Instant Cash Sweepstakes (which is actually a paid 3-question survey program with sweepstakes every hour). I have 75¢ so far. It's fun and takes only a few minutes at a time. Not a huge income, mind (unless you win the sweepstakes). But a couple dollars here and there isn't bad at all. And it's fun besides!

Within the next week I should easily be able to upgrade my account, if my sponsor doesn't upgrade it for me. I think it will be totally worth it. And then when my downline keeps growing, I think the difference might be a very good one. I am also only a few pennies away from being able to rent referrals on Neobux, though it hasn't been nearly as profitable as Clixsense. The only real advantage is that you don't have to worry about not getting any referrals. Just keep renting them, and I guess it's all taken care of!

So Clixsense wins yet again! At this point, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to make some decent cash on the side. Check it out!

Day 16.1: Confessions of An Optimist

In case you haven't already gathered, I'm a serious optimist. I can't help it. No matter how many times I've been disappointed (and it's been a lot), I can't help assuming that next time, it's going to work. That's what got me started on this experiment, and that's hopefully what will drive me to be able to earn at least a $100 a week from home. My innate optimism has been a mixed blessing for me, however, and for this post I decided to write about how much optimism is too much.

First of all, if you're going to be an entrepreneur either you're already an optimist or someone's holding a gun to your head and forcing you. (I doubt that's the case.) It's necessary to be an optimist if you're going to try new things. You have to have the vision to see your endeavors prosper, and you have to see a light at the end of the tunnel if you're going to chase it.

My problem is that I get so caught up in chasing the light that I don't realize that it's actually coming from an oncoming train and not the end of the tunnel at all. I get carried away with things. I obsess over something and then if it doesn't work out, I'm devastated. While being an optimist might be a necessary attribute to an entrepreneur, it's also vital that you be a realist. You can't simply walk around with high hopes and your head in the cloud and expect that good things will show up. You have to see how they will show up and what you can do to make that happen. You have to anticipate your own weaknesses and work out a way to combat them. That's an area where I really struggle. I'm a rotten salesman, period. Something could be cool and awesome and totally free, like Clixsense, but despite my own personal enthusiasm and even the fact that I'm going to get my first paycheck tomorrow, none of you will click on that link. And if you do, I'll be totally shocked and surprised and thrilled and incredibly grateful. Now see, you (almost certainly) didn't click the link. I love it, I'm excited about it and telling you... but I'm not getting any results.

So why is it that all of my plans hinge on referrals? Ok, true, Traffic Exchange Profits does have a way of working around that, but what about everything else? Why do I keep thinking I'll make it work, when it never does? I don't know. I guess I just can't stop.

Please follow me on Twitter for more updates and--please--check out Clixsense if you want to make your own cash online!

Day 15.2: Halfway Point

Well, tonight marks the halfway point in my 30-day experiment. Money earned is about $15, money earned from this blog is zero. Here's a list of what works and how much, from my experience the past two weeks:

• Clixsense--over $9.
• Other PTCs--over $3 combined.
• Protypers--about $2.
• Amazon--about 20¢ (practically no work involved).
• Writing articles--nothing.
• Traffic exchanges--nothing.
• Fiverrs--nothing.
• This blog--nothing.

So patterns are starting to emerge, and I am thrilled to say that some things are working, though not the things I thought. Honestly, when I started I thought that for sure any money I got would be from this blog and from other articles I wrote.  But I guess I just don't have the touch there.

Please follow me on Twitter for more tips and updates, and by all means check out Clixsense! It's an awesome opportunity, and you've got nothing to lose!

Day 15.1: First Paycheck!

It is now official: I'm getting my first paycheck from Clixsense on Friday. I passed the minimum $8 today, so it's already guaranteed. Quite a fitting note for the halfway point of my project! Honestly, I wasn't expecting to cash out money this soon. What am I going to do with it? Reinvest it! There are actually several options. First, I plan on saving up for another week or two until I can upgrade my account--but if my sponsor upgrades me before then, my money will be mine to do with whatever I want. I've decided that I should put it into a downline builder or something, or possibly upgrade my account on a traffic exchange site. Actually, according to Free Internet Money (or Traffic Exchange Profits, sometimes I get the two mixed up), that's exactly what I should do. I forget which site is the most important that I upgrade, but it could double my traffic and explode my downline. And I already know that traffic exchanges can work if you put enough effort into it.

Clixsense has definitely proven to be a real money-maker for me, and I want to get an upgrade there as soon as I can. I'd be collecting profits from nine more people and I'd have a lower threshold for cashing out checks, so I'd get much more money faster. A no-brainer, if you ask me.

Eight dollars isn't much for two weeks of work. I admit that. Amazon Turk is faster and higher paying, so why don't I just focus on that instead? It's because Amazon Turk isn't going anywhere. There's no mode of advancement or downline profits. I earn what I make and no more. While that's better for the short run, I don't feel like it will be as profitable in the long run. Also, I might note that I haven't even earned a dollar on all of my other PTC sites combined!

I'm excited to see what will happen after I upgrade. Will the difference be noticeable or just a faint touch? Will I go from making money to making serious money? I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but my ultimate goal is to be able to generate $100-$150 per week by the time I get married in the beginning of August. While I think I could do that on Amazon Turk, I'd prefer to have at least some of that money come in more automated by other sites. Fortunately, it looks like it might be possible!

Stay tuned for updates! In the meantime, please follow me on Twitter for tips, or join me in Clixsense or Free Internet Money. I'm already proving that it works, so why not give it a try for yourself?

Day 14.2: Sweet Success

I've made a couple discoveries this evening that have given me reason to celebrate! First, I've been discussing lately the success I've been having with Clixsense. After looking up my stats tonight, I realized that tomorrow I can easily take out my first payment! Not even ten bucks, but it should be enough to reinvest in something that will help out my traffic even more. Or I might just decide to leave it in until I can upgrade my account.

The second discovery is equally exciting: mailing lists work. I've heard it time and again in my research, but never wanted to get too involved with it. It sounded too much like spam, and I didn't need to be working on putting together a "list" on top of everything else. I'm busy enough as it is! But I did join a few safe-lists a while ago just to experiment with it. I get hundreds of e-mails to that address every day now, and so can only read a few of them in a sitting. Each one gives me "credits" for reading the email and clicking on the link, and each credit is one more person that I can send my own e-mails to. For the past week or so, I've been sitting around reading e-mails whenever I have some odd spare time and collecting credits. Yesterday I finally decided to try it out for myself. I sent out emails to two different lists and promptly forgot about them when I didn't get any immediate referrals. I was honestly puzzled this afternoon when I was checking up on my sites and saw that one of them had gotten nine views in the past day! I tried to think up what I was doing differently when I remembered the e-mails.

To put this into perspective, I've been using traffic exchanges right and left, milling through hundreds of sites every day on seven different exchanges. It's gotten me two views and one referral (with nine referrals under her). I didn't get any referrals with the letters I sent out, but I got nine views in one day for copying, pasting, and clicking--about five minutes total of work.

What does this mean? It means I'm going to be reading a lot more e-mails and storing up credits. It wasn't as responsive as the traffic exchanges, but hopefully it won't take many more e-mails to do that! If this e-mail thing works as well as I think it will, my Free Internet Money plan will have another step to it: join a safe-list. Any safe-list, and preferably two or three. Read e-mails for a week or so before sending your own, and you will get results. Period.

So those are my two bits of excitement today, and now I'm super encouraged to keep at it! For more information on the Free Internet Money plan I'm following, please click here. To join Clixsense and start generating your own online income, click here. And please come back tomorrow for more!

Day 14.1: Adaptability

As you can tell, if you're a regular reader of this blog, I did wind up deciding that I should spend less time here and more time out making money. I've had to adapt my plans to go along with what actually works, now that I've been in the game to get a bit of a feel. There are some things I've tried, like this blog, that haven't made me a cent, while Clixsense is proving to be more amazing with every visit.

That's one thing that's really hitting me at this point: adaptability. If you want to make it as a freelancer, you need to be willing to alter your plans. This is not to say that you should go hopping from one thing to another. Try several different plans simultaneously, and after a while shift your emphasis. Invest in what works, and drop what doesn't. I'm not ready to drop anything completely, yet. This blog has been a great success for me in terms of publicity, and it's been a fantastic log for me to record my progress, successes, and mistakes. But this isn't where the money's at.

The good news is that there is money out there and I am getting it, more every day. The Free Internet Money plan is actually working, and so I think that's where I should spend my time and effort!

Day 13.2: Investing Time

In my last post I talked about investing money into my projects, but now it's occurred to me that I should probably look into time investments as well. If there's one thing about working online that's caught me off guard, it's how much time everything takes. I easily spend over twelve hours a day working on all of my projects, publicizing, writing these blog posts, running through my PTC sites. Even though I've done all I can to use my time efficiently, there seems to be no end to the amount of work I need to put into it.

Twelve hours a day is a lot. Even though I'm doing work that I like and I'm finding this study very interesting, it's also getting exhausting at this point and harder to keep up. I'll try to keep going through the month, but at that point some things will need to change. I have a life. I have a family that I like to spend time with and a wedding coming up in eighty days. Even though I am currently on a hiatus from my usual job at Comic Booked (which is how I can ever possibly afford to spend so much time on something like this), I do have other things to do.

How much time is the ideal amount to put into projects like this? I don't know. Part of the reason for that is that "this" is much more than one project. It was supposed to be just this blog, at first, but then I got involved in so many other things that it takes me all day to do them all. Perhaps I should cut down on the things that aren't working and keep at the things that are. So what has been working? Amazon Turk. Clixsense. Protypers.com, a data entry job that doesn't pay much, but does pay. What hasn't been working? ...Actually, the thing that hasn't been working the most is this blog. I started this with the strict goal of three posts a day for thirty days, after reading something that said that if I followed all the right steps I'd be sure to be generating an income by the end of the month. Technically it was right--I started this blog, followed all the steps, and am now generating a growing income online. But the income is not coming from here at all. What makes matters worse is that this is also by far the most time-consuming of my projects. Not only do I have to write three articles a day, but I have to format them and post them in all the right places to get views. It takes a long time.

I'm hesitant to give up on this blog. I keep feeling that if I can just keep it up for a couple more weeks, something will sell. Someone will click on something; someone will interact with me here or something! But it's eating up all of my time, every day. Is it really something I can afford, knowing that I'm making money doing other things?

At any rate, being able to document my thoughts and experiments here has been far too valuable to stop altogether. Maybe I should just move it down to one or two posts a day instead. I don't know. Maybe I should just hold out until the thirty days are over.

That said, I still advise you to follow my Twitter feed (@onlineincome19) for updates and tips. I haven't posted it in a while on account of a lost password, but hopefully tonight or tomorrow it will be up and running!

Day 13.1: Investments: When Spending Earns

One of my unofficial rules for this 30-day experiment was to come into the game without a cent. The only money I was allowed to spend on advertising or optimization was money that I'd already earned. Fortunately, I've been able to keep that rule with little discomfort, using only free program to help me out. But what if I decided to break that rule?

I've had many options over the past 13 days to spend money as an investment to do better than I have been. Looking back, I'm glad I stuck to my rule, because there are so many things out there that I wouldn't have any funds left at this point, and most would have been spent on products I would later find were total ripoffs! But I've also begun to develop a strategy for when I do get enough money to invest (probably in a week or so, at the rate I'm currently taking it). How should I go about it? How can I know for sure something is worth it? I put together a bit of a list to help figure it all out:

1. Can I get a refund? Is there a money-back guarantee, and can I be sure to return the product/service if it doesn't pay for itself in the specified length of time?
2. Is it credible? Who is using this, and what success have they had? Can I find any dissatisfied customers on the Internet?
3. Is there a free alternative? I've been surprised at all the times I've found completely free alternatives to services that were charging an annoying amount of money.
4. Is this something I'd really use? There are some tools that I've gotten that, in the end, didn't do a thing for me. They did everything they were guaranteed to do very well, but it wasn't something that helped me. This goes back the the notion that you shouldn't go into online business unless you have a defined strategy to begin with. Does this service fit my strategy perfectly?
5. Is it a one-time payment or a subscription? Depending on the price and service, either one might be better than another. But frankly I don't want the horrible surprise of finding $20 taken out of my bank account every month for something that only gives me $5 in return.

There's my list so far, and I'll try to work on it more as the week progresses. I do think I could make a lot more with the right investment, but I don't want to be spending my money willy-nilly. Please follow me on Twitter (@onlineincome) for updates and tips, or join me in my Free Internet Money endeavor!

Day 12.3: PTCs: Can You Make Money by Clicking?

Ok, since I know that none of you joined anything through this blog, so I figured that I'd cover the basics of what you'd find in a PTC, a site that pays you to click ads. When I first heard of that idea, I was very curious. I've looked at hours of commercials on TV, but I couldn't imagine getting paid for such a thing. But I was too curious to ignore the opportunity, so I got accounts at the two best known PTCs out there: Neobux and Clicksense. And I got started. Here's a review of my experiences with the two sites right now, and a bit of what you could expect if you joined.

Neobux. Probably the best known PTC with a good reputation. Unfortunately, the ads pay almost nothing. It does have one distinct advantage in that you can rent referrals, and the referrals can help a ton when it comes to earning money. A disadvantage is that you can't have referrals or advertise the site to others until you've earned enough money and have been there for over two weeks. I've been on it for a week and a half and have about 34 cents. Not impressive. But I'll stick with it anyway to check out the referrals.

Clixsense. With Clixsense you can do more than just watch ads. I've only recently found out that you can do offers identical to some of the options on Amazon Turk, and there are many opportunities to make even more money. You can make several dollars a day independently, and then with referrals, it can pick up pretty quickly. Also there are some really awesome games on the site. You don't get paid for them or anything, but they're fun.

So what does this say about PTCs? The clicking itself doesn't earn you much money at all, and my advice is to look at what the rest of what the site has to offer before joining. But Clixsense at least is surprisingly worthwhile. Even without referrals, you could earn a premium upgrade within a week!

Day 12.2: Begging vs. Selling

"Please buy this. Please? It's a great thing to have. Super nifty. No, wait! Don't go. Please? Come back!"

That's just about what I sound like whenever I try to sell things, both online and in person. Whiney, annoying, and all-around obnoxious. No one wants to buy things from a person like that! I can't sell, and that's a problem. Pretty much every industry requires people to sell something--skills, impressions, tangible objects. Some people are fabulous at selling. They can get anyone to do anything just by saying things in the right tone of voice. How do they do that?

I've tried everything I can think of. I've tried to be bold; I've tried to be subtle; I've tried to make it as friendly and personal as I can, but nothing works. What do I do?

 Perhaps I need a new approach. I've quite proven that I am useless a salesmen myself... but there are others who can sell easily. What I need to do is find someone--or something--who can do the selling for me. I get frustrated when I see that sites that claim to be able to help with advertising only give me the tools but not the knowledge of how to use them. So far Traffic Exchange Profits has been the only company I know of that actually covers that part of the business, and it's very clever about it--it does its own selling. You'll notice that I haven't mentioned it very much on this blog, and there's a reason for it. I don't need to. Actually, the site advises against it. It's designed to be advertised only through traffic exchanges, and that makes sense. I'm selling something to people who, by definition, could use it. But it is a useful system, and if nothing else I'd recommend joining it just to see the training videos.

But that's the approach I need... a product that is literally designed to sell itself, placed in front of an audience who will actually like it. I know my sites are all awesome and that you should all join, but I just need to find a way to communicate that without getting you to tune out.

Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (@onlineincome) for more updates and tips, and by all means check out Traffic Exchange Profits or Free Internet Money. I'm going to keep saying that even if you don't respond.

Day 12.1: Importance of Layout

Happy Mother's Day, everyone! I just got back from a fine brunch myself, and am spending some time with my family today. I thought I'd temporarily shift the focus of this blog from online moneymaking back to self-publishing and offline work.


I've used both Createspace and InDesign to craft my own books before, and there were some things about it that caught me off guard. Whatever you do online or offline, you want your work to look professional. You want to give people confidence in your service, and you want to give them the feeling that you know what you're about. To do that, you need to be an observer.

When self-publishing a book, you need to know everything about books. Inside, outside. If using Adobe InDesign, it's a good idea to pick a few printed books that you like and examine their layouts. How thick are the margins? How big are the pages? How is the Table of Contents laid out? You should  keep in mind also that it's not a word document. The paragraph indents will probably be not nearly as dramatic as on the computer, and the font size is probably going to be smaller than you use typing (usually p10 or p11). With Createspace it's much easier to design a book for mass production, but you still need to study the details. Without a professional editor you should keep an eye out for the tiniest of errors. Ordering or printing a proof copy is an important step here. With a proof copy you can examine the physical book and decide what needs to change.

Hopefully these tips will help those of you who are specifically interested in self-publishing. If you're more interested in online publishing, you should also take into account the layout of your page. Is it easy to maneuver? Does it look pleasant, and does it give off the over-all feel of whatever your writing?

I'm not that great of an artist, but people do judge books by their covers, and the details do make all the difference.

Please follow me for Twitter for more updates and tips, or join me in Clixsense for some fun!

Day 11.3: Social Media: Acceptable for Business?

My most recent entrepreneurial endeavor was joining an interesting service I just learned about that uses Facebook and Twitter to advertise. You don't advertise your own link--you go with someone else's instead, and then someone else will advertise yours. I'm curious to see how it works out in a while. I'm using my personal Twitter account, which has a bit over 300 followers, almost all of whom are total strangers. I feel kind of bad about it, though. When I first got Twitter about a year ago, I posted tiny short stories on it or cheerful thoughts. After I joined Comic Booked, I used Twitter almost exclusively to advertise for it, and then now I'm using it to advertise some links. I still post something more personal once in a while, but there's no question that my personal Twitter feed is nothing fun to read. Just a list of ads. Is that ok?

One of my big fears about running an online business is that I'll start abusing social media. I've said before that I hate spam and I don't want any association with it. I've also said that I'm a horrible advertiser, and so anything I post promoting anything winds up just like an annoying ad. How far is too far?

One of the most common advice given to those who want to promote anything, online or offline, is to tell friends and family! Get the word out! Post about it on Facebook or Twitter! My big question is... will anyone still want to be friends with me if I do?

I don't know the answer. My current views are that if you're going to use social media for business, then get a separate business account for it, just as I've done with Twitter. But I don't want to have a dozen Twitter accounts and five Facebook accounts just to get my point across to the right audience. I want to advertise, but not spam. How can I do that? How can I get my notices to people who actually want to sign up instead of just shouting out to everyone? I guess I still have a lot to learn.

Day 11.2: Free Internet Money

I've been out running errands ever since my last post, so I'm afraid I really don't have anything exciting to say. I don't even have a picture this time around because they're not loading onto the blog. As I can tell none of you have clicked on the link to the Free Internet Money site I keep mentioning, I guess I'll ignore your apathy and tell you a bit more about the strategy.

Basically, there are several good PTC (paid-to-click) sites out there, and it's a good idea to join the best ones. They're listed easily on Free Internet Money, so it's easy to go from one to the next and join the ones you haven't joined yet. The site also tells you how to bookmark them so you can open them up to open them every day easily.

There's also a lot of tools on Free Internet Money to aid with publicity and training for getting the best out of the sites. It's the training that's valuable. Learning from the experts how to get started is a great way to set out in the right direction, and all the sites listed have proven to be honest and paying sites.

Take a look! You'll be glad you did.

I'm sorry this post has been rather pathetic as far as my other posts, but I have been busier than usual. Hopefully if you visit the site, the information that you glean there will make up for it.

Day 11.1: What Kind of Online Worker Are You?

Eleven active referrals now for Clixsense. I decided to take money out of my Amazon Turk account to invest in an upgraded membership, because at this point I feel as if I'm practically losing money in not doing so. I didn't expect it to pick up so fast!

Anyway, this morning I've been thinking about all of the different approaches I've now tried to earn a profit online. As the list is getting rather long, I decided to jot it all down here along with my progress for each. Note that my own progress is affected very much by my personality, level of commitment and abilities. Feel free to try out any and every method here--people have been able to earn a substantial income from each of these.

1. Amazon Turk. A very dependable and controllable income, though it is hard to make more than a few cents at a time. You can do whatever kind of work you want, though, and new options are constantly turning up.
2. Writing freelance articles. Sites like Squidoo and Hubpages allow you to write articles without the responsibility of running a website. You can write about whatever you want whenever you want. However, your income depends on ads and selling products, so it's hard to earn a serious income from it.
3. Blogging. It's a lot of work to maintain a decent blog. I write three articles a day and then optimize them like crazy, and I've yet to make a cent. But the work is very independent, and you can focus on whatever area you want and specialize it. This blog has been as profitable as a college class in terms of education--as I maintain it and record my progress, I've learned a ton about online work.
4. PTCs. They felt like an amusing waste of time at first, but right now Clixsense is taking off like crazy, and a lot of the money is generated--meaning I'm literally making money in my sleep. It's nothing without referrals, but get even one person to sign up and it's very much worth it.
5. Online Marketing. I still feel like a little fish in a big sea here--so many people are clamoring for their ads to be noticed that it's easy to get overwhelmed when you're trying to market something yourself. I've had better success than most in this area--largely it just takes insane determination and long hours of work.
6. Joining an organized program. Free Internet Money and Traffic Exchange Profits are both programs that you can join on the side, promoting any business you want. This is my favorite form of monetization so far. You use plans made by others that have already proven to be successful. Wash, rinse, repeat. It's hard to find free plans, though, but it's a great learning opportunity as well.

I think that's it. I've had different levels of success with each one, and have actually had results very different than I was expecting. I honestly thought my writing would be the big moneymaker here, but it hasn't gotten me anything, whereas the silly paid-to-click sites are actually seriously paying. It's going to be interesting to see where I wind up by the end of the month!

Please follow me on Twitter for more tips and updates, and to see more of my personal strategy visit the Free Internet Money site. It's well worth your time!

Day 10.3: Traffic Exchanges: Do They Really Work?

By the end of the day now I have two direct referrals in addition to the two indirect for Clixsense. If any of you were the second, thank you! If not, you should totally join. Anyway, I was looking at where exactly my referrals were coming from. The second one I couldn't trace, but the first referral... wasn't from this blog. It shouldn't have been a surprise. My personal advertising stinks.

My first referral was from a traffic exchange. You might be familiar with them--Traffic G, Easy Hits 4 You, etc. You go from ad to ad, and for every one you look at someone looks at yours. I was a total skeptic at first. Even though I do sometimes click on ads to learn more about whatever program they stand for, I considered myself the exception. Who would really care to look into something that I posted? Seriously? And then decide to join it? But that's what happened.

Don't get me wrong, that was only one person (that I know of) who signed up, and it really was about time. I joined the top seven traffic exchange sites to check out a program called Traffic Exchange Profits. Every day lately, I've been pulling up all seven in different tabs and clicked through them nonstop for a long time. Hundreds of ads a day, and these are the best traffic exchanges out there.

So are they really worth joining in the long run? The answer is, that depends. If you don't have much time and don't want to sign up to more than one or two, I'd have to say no. You'd be better off asking friends and family instead, or posting something on Facebook. If you really want to get something out of traffic exchanges, though, it's possible. I'd recommend joining Traffic Exchange Profits first to get a list of the best ones out there and strategies for how to work them. Be committed to your work and set aside some time every day to do nothing but surf. It's not as boring as it sounds--many of the top sites offer rewards for surfing or allow you to play games or win prizes. And if you join enough, you won't have to worry about idle waiting time.

Traffic exchanges can work, but only with the right strategy, and only if you're very committed to making them work. Otherwise, I'd say not to bother. There are many ways to advertise out there, and there are bound to be some that would work perfectly for whatever you're doing!

To know more about my personal plan for earning money online (and it's working, too!) go to Freeinternetmoney.biz. To join Clixsense and start building your own money-making downline, click here. And for updates and more tips on online entrepreneurship, follow me on Twitter!

Day 10.2: Is It Time to Invest?

Earlier I broke to you the thrilling news that I got my first referral on Clixsense. Well, now she has two referrals of her own. Yeah, all in one day, and my downline is building seriously! Unfortunately, when I read the fine print, I noticed something. I can get as much as I want through my referrals just fine... but that's where it ends. It doesn't matter that my referral has two referrals of her own now, I'm only profiting through her. Hmm. Well, the Premium membership would help fix that so I could profit through eight levels. Seeing how well things are growing, I'm starting to think it would be a decent investment, and it is a great price (seventeen dollars for the whole year). However, I've decided to invest only my own earnings, so... at this rate it could well be a couple months before I could afford that. On the other hand, my sponsor says he rewards active members with premium memberships. That would be awesome. Maybe I should ask him? I don't know.

At any rate, Clixsense is turning out to be an awesome investment. I mean, it was always good, but now it's awesome! And at this point I'm thinking that if I got it, it would pay itself off pretty quick. And that would be sweet. Oh well, we'll see where this goes.

I don't want to lose money in this venture. I've come across so many disappointing scams and "free" things that cost money that I don't want it to happen again. I set aside twenty-odd dollars to spend on things, but I'm trying to get by without losing my shirt.

At least I have a good plan now. Free Internet Money has been a fabulous way to manage my accounts, and if I can keep up steadily building profits, I don't think I have anything to worry about!

In the meantime, though, seriously. Give Clixsense a try. There's a lot to do there, and it's fun. And free. And easy. And... there's no reason not to. And that's it for my lame salesman pitch.

Please follow me on Twitter for more tips and updates, and check out my working strategy at freeinternetmoney.biz!

Day 10.1: When PTCs Pay Off

Today it happened. It finally happened. I was going about my merry way, clicking adds and collecting pennies this morning, when I noticed that my Clixsense account had more money than it had last night. What??? I quickly checked the referral page, and it's started! If you're reading this (and you know who you are!) I really want to thank you for totally making my day today, and I can assure you that you'll feel the same way when you get your first referral. One of the things that I like about Internet marketing and PTCs is how the more I work it, the more the money score adds up and the closer I get to cashing out my first Internet pay check. And for you skeptics out there, I'm actually intending to cash it out by Monday.

Referrals make it all worthwhile in the end. Even without referrals, you can earn a steady profit and work your way up in many sites, and often sites will allow you to rent referrals as well. But the feeling of actually having a downline lets you know that you're doing something right. So I can assure you, if you've been thinking about going into this but still aren't convinced, it's worth it. It's so worth it.

So, the Free Internet Money plan is working! All I had to do was to follow the instructions on the site. Easy peasy, as one of my professors used to put it. Just have patience and stick to it!

And, for current and future referrals of mine...

Again, thank-you very much for making my plan a success, and I hope it works for you too!

Day 9.3: The Ten Rules of Conducting Business Online

1. If it feels like a scam, it probably is.
2. No one wants to buy, but everyone wants to sell.
3. You are the most gullible person in the industry.
4. Traffic does not equal money.
5. There's no such thing as fast, easy money.
6. There is no single perfect approach to online business.
7. If you're alone, you're dead.
8. Forget rule number one. If it feels like a scam, it might still be worth investigating.
9. You'll never be done optimizing your online business. Never.
10. Free Internet Money rocks.

A short post, but true. Please follow me on Twitter for more updates and tips!

Day 9.2: Making Traffic Work for You

When it comes to any kind of business on the Internet, whether blogging, marketing, or even just posting a cute little webcomic for the fun of it, there's one thing we can all agree on: traffic is awesome. Every site need traffic to survive, and when you know you've been getting it, that's a good feeling. Trust me. But for some of us, traffic isn't enough. If your online business is primarily for entertainment and recreation, traffic might be all you need--just the satisfaction of knowing that you've brightened someone else's day or spread awareness of an important issue. But if you're trying to make a living online... you'll need more than just traffic. You'll need active traffic. People who are willing to try out what you've got. People who like what you stand for so much that they decide to stand for it themselves

This blog is now at almost a thousand views. Considering it's only been up for a little over a week and that I'm a total newbie to online marketing, that's substantial. I get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever I think of someone else reading my own words or joining my Twitter feed. It's an author's dream come true! But one of the goals of this blog was to generate cash. Obviously, I knew that no matter how good of products I advertised and how well I advertised them, only a fraction of a percent would click a link, and even fewer people than that would go through with something--even if it was free and easy and awesome, like Clixsense. Almost a thousand views... and not one click. Not even out of curiosity. I'm giving this blog a full thirty days to generate so much as a cent, but my point is this: if I'm getting traffic, if I've got the whole world hanging on my words, but no one clicks, I can't make a cent off of this. Traffic without action is dead. (Well, not entirely, I really do love views and readers!)

So what can be done about it? My problem is simple. I need to find a way to make my traffic work for me. Unfortunately, I lack the tools and the knowledge to do so. As the old adage goes, you can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. This is especially frustrating when I consider my own willingness to be an active member of traffic. I always want to explore and learn, and it's hard for me to understand why not everyone does.

So what's my strategy? I might not know the secret to making my traffic work for me, but there are people out there, masters of the Internet, who do. I have taken it upon myself to figure out what there secrets are and how I can replicate them! I've already got a start. Traffic Exchange Profits (I dare you to click the link!) is a program built around the idea of driving traffic to action. While it hasn't fully answered all my questions, it has a free video series explaining the concepts involved. I highly recommend them.

I don't know how to move my traffic to action, but I'm going to find out! Follow me on Twitter for more updates and tips, and to take a look at my own strategy on making money online, check out Free Internet Money and Turbo Income Charger. Cool stuff's happening!

Day 9.1: Setting Standards, Setting Limits

Two things that are especially on my mind this morning are the importance of setting standards and the importance of setting limits. Since I started this blog, I personally set a standard for myself that I have practiced every day since then--write three posts per day, share it on the right websites and search engines, look for ways to improve the system. I've said again and again that it's a lot of work. You could easily make a full-time job out of doing exactly what I've been doing, and if that's something you can't afford, then you'd better look out. The Internet is a vast and growing whirlpool. If you have Facebook you know what I'm talking about. It draws you in, and before you know it, hours have passed and you've hardly done a thing that would help. Hence, the importance of setting limits.

Hopefully you already know the grand rule of bidding. When you're bidding on something from Ebay or Amazon, you need to decide beforehand how much you're willing to pay. If you don't, adding just a few more cents and a few more cents becomes all too easy, and before you know it you've paid $65 for something that should have cost $40. Ouch. You need to set limits, and you need to stay with them. It's the only way to get a genuinely good deal on business sites, and it's also a vital tip for any form of freelance work online.

Let's say you decide to start up a blog, like this one. You'll go for one post a day and get all the publicity you physically can without paying. You travel from site to site, search engine to directory, posting links to your blog article everywhere. You investigate all of the different methods of publicity, join more programs than you can keep track of, and sign up for all the newsletters. You do your homework, and you're not going to leave any stone unturned. You've got patience and you've got grit, and you're going for it! While I have to say it's a brilliant start, and I have to applaud you if you can keep up with that for even so much as a week, let's get realistic. Do you have time for that? What about your actual day job/homework, family, social life? What about giving your mind a break from it all and just playing a dumb game or reading a book for a while? You need to take care of yourself. You can't stop living all for the sake of a program.

Fortunately, there are solutions to this, and they're easy. The first is to plan. Decide what path you'll follow, and stick to it. You'll save a lot of time and energy if you don't even bother with alternatives after a certain point. Does it fit in with your goal? Include it. Is it a bit different? Don't even bother. The second is to set limits. How much time are you willing to put into this daily? An hour or two? Before opening or turning on your computer, look at the clock. Pick a time you'll be free, and work diligently until then. When the time's up, exit your programs and go on to enjoy the day.

You can be an Internet entrepreneur without selling your soul to the Internet. Remember--you shouldn't work for it, but rather make ways for it to work for you. That's how it's supposed to be, and that's the best way to succeed.

Please follow me on Twitter for more follow-up tips and updates, and check out my strategy by visiting Free Internet Money today!