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 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!

Day 7.2: How to Get Rich

Note: I am not writing about how to get rich quick or how to get rich easily. I'm simply focusing on how it is possible to eventually be able to generate a huge income from doing simple tasks online. I was on my usual PTC sites today, Neobux and Clicksense, and I decided to take a look at the forums, which I'd never bothered to look at today. One forum was for people to share their massive daily income from that site alone. What? How is that possible? Is it possible? I felt a bit more assured when I saw that these members had all been working there for years, but still--hundreds of dollars a day? What?!

Then it hit me. Like a ton of bricks it hit me. The key I think I've been looking for all this time, and it's so simple! Only two basic tricks, and if you master those, you'll make a fortune. I'm not sharing those now, as I want to keep it a secret until I know for sure that it really works like I think it will, but maybe by reading my past few posts you can guess what the two steps are. Seriously, I'm really tempted to tell. Two steps. Simple, though not necessarily easy or fast. I considered writing it all down in an e-book and selling that, but then realized that it was a dumb idea--I didn't want to make people pay for a system I wasn't sure would work, and if it does work, why would I bother charging? (That's the problem I have with a lot of paid "systems" out there on how to get rich.) But if it does work, if I can just figure out how to optimize one little part of it, you bet I'll tell. See? There is a reason to keep up with reading this blog. You could get rich from it!

As I've decided to keep what works,  I've also decided to make a careful list of what doesn't work, as noted by my own experience on this blog:

1. Don't stilt yourself. Don't try to act like your someone your not. My best viewed posts are actually the ones where I felt like I was drifting a bit from the topic just so I could write about something I love (self publishing). Be an honest, real-life person, and people will like you a lot more.
2. Exploring is good, but don't walk into things blindly. This relates a lot with getting good deals online--make sure you know what you're signing into before you agree to do it.
3. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Depend on many different outlets for both income and publicity. When I left Reddit, I was panicked because that was what I had been counting on the most for publicity. I've been grateful for all the views I've gotten since then, but I realize that I should not have been depending on that one site so completely.
4. Don't be afraid to try something new. I'm not contradicting point number 2. By trying something new I mean working out your own formula for success. My formula for this blog has changed dramatically since I started it a week ago, and I think most of it was for the better. Be flexible. 
5. Don't assume you'll be successful. Don't assume anything, in fact. Wait it out and keep notes of your activity--what works and what doesn't. Those notes WILL help you in the long run!

Ok, as I finish this post I will give you some hints. Again, I don't know if my system will work or not, but if it does I'll tell you right off the bat I would like if you could sign up for Clixsense or Protypers.com (code 116M). I would really like it. If you join Clixsense under my referral I'll even send you a personal note of thanks. I would really, really appreciate it, and I think you will too, if you can stay with the program and keep "earning pennies," though you'll probably earn much more than that if my plan works. Also, feel free to follow me on Twitter for more notes and updates!

Day 6.1: Am I a Spammer?

I hate getting spam. I hate the idea of spam. I especially hate the idea of my being associated with spam, with those creeps who sit behind their computers sending out mass emails every day. I prefer to think of myself as a young entrepreneur, trying to see if I can make it big time on the internet--or at least, trying to see if I can make it small time with a decent income. I use methods that I have learned from experience or that have been advised to people in my predicament. I try not to go too overboard with my advertising... but have I already blown it?

Ok, let's see what's happened. Reddit is awesome. I got an account only a few days ago, and it's a fun site to explore and get a good laugh out of the latest meme. Really. It's also a good place to get your voice heard on the internet and to share your views with others... isn't it? I've been told before to take advantage of Reddit. Honestly, I thought half the point of Reddit was to share your thoughts... but I guess I was wrong. I was banned from one of my favorite groups, Writing. No reason was given, but the only one I could think of was "blogspamming." Is that what I was doing? I only submitted each link once, and for the most part, they've been positively reviewed if anything. And only one or two were even addressed to writing. But two have also been voted down, and my views dropped substantially yesterday. I've lost my favorite audience. Why?

What constitutes spam? I usually think of it in terms of junk mail or excess "newsletters" that no one wants to read, or annoying tweets by robots. On the internet, I think of it as posting the same thing over and over again on forums and sites. On Reddit, I would have thought that submitting the same link two or three different times would count as spam. I didn't think there was any problem with "harmlessly" promoting my own work, my own thoughts and ideas. I only wanted to engage a community of interested readers.

I was almost in tears as I went to bed last night, thinking about the ban. Why couldn't it have been just a warning instead? I had no idea I was doing anything at all wrong! But apparently, the misunderstanding was on my part. I have decided that until further notice, I will not post anything I write to Reddit. Of course, I'd be honored if someone else did, but that will be left to the readers. I never intended to bother anyone at all with this blog, and I can take a hint if I'm not wanted.

Will I keep blogging? Of course! Will I keep trying to engage online communities? Yes, if I can. Will it be a success? I'm very doubtful right now. Losing Reddit means losing most of my publicity, and without publicity a blog dies. I don't want it to die. Help me, Internet! Please... just keep reading. And I'd love if you could follow me on Twitter or join me on Clixsense or Swagbucks while you're at it!

Day 3.1: Five Reasons to Consider Self-Publishing

As I mentioned near the beginning of this blog, I'm a writer who would like to remain a writer. I want to be able to work on a good novel all day long every day and not have work get in the way. I also want to have some means of getting an income. Hence, this blog. I am out to explore the possibilities!

Today's topic is self-publishing. As a former English major, I know that self-publishing is largely still frowned upon in serious writing communities. There aren't any quality requirements for publishing your writing yourself, it's expensive and a lot of hard work for little acclaim. However, I've noticed that much of the same could be said of published books. I've seen horribly written published books, books that looked bad on the inside and out. Getting a book published professionally doesn't seem to depend so much on being a good writer as it does on being in the right place at the right time and having the right editor getting his hands on your manuscript. It's a hard world out there, and even if you do get successfully published, you must cater to the publisher's every whim and forfeit the rights of your own book. If it's a small publishing company, it will probably give a higher priority to your book, but most bookstores will likely not bother carrying it. If it's a huge and well respected publishing company, your book will probably be a the bottom of their priorities. It's time for a different strategy.

When I first decided to self publish a book, I was a skeptic. Actually, the only reason I decided to go for it was because of the code I got after completing NaNoWriMo that year. That was how I discovered Amazon's Createspace, a stunningly high quality self publisher and distributer. I would have taken it for a scam if one of my friends hadn't already used it, and I couldn't resist. When I got my copy of the book in the mail, I was shocked to see that not only did it look nice, but it looked better than several published books I had seen.

I'll save the details of Createspace for a later post, but for now, let's just focus on why you should give serious consideration to self-publishing if you want to be a serious writer:

1.  There are a ton of options. What do you want to make? Do you want a solid, physical book? A blog? An e-book? Something to sell on Kindle, or something that will invade all sorts of media? You got it.
2. You save time and anxiety. Traditional publishing includes a lot of waiting and a lot of rejection. Writers often spend years going from agent to agent and publisher to publisher without any success, and often it takes months until you learn that you were rejected in the first place. If you hate rejection, you're not going to like this.
3. A testing ground of inspiration. If you have a manuscript that you'd like to be published, but you're not sure will make the cut, self-publishing is a great way to see for yourself what it would be like. With Createspace, you can order a test copy of your book to review before officially "publishing" it, and trust me--it's fun to see your own book in print.
4. You're in charge. You can do your own publicity and make sure that the book is going where you want it to go. Yeah, it's work, but it's better than no publicity at all!
5. It's fun. Seriously, I love going through the different templates available on Createspace and working out something that really fits the book. Whether you want to do everything yourself or just slide around pre-made options is entirely up to you.

I have self-published several books now, some more casual and some more serious. My biggest problem has been the fact that even though I've been at it for several years, I've never made more than about $20 income from it. I'm terrible at publicity, and again that leads me to why I started this blog in the first place.

Self-publishing is an awesome way to make an income from home, and it's easy to go about. First of all, however, you need to be able to sell your book! Get the word out there. And speaking of which, here are some links to the ones I've written, if you want to take a look.

The Chrononaut was my first. Not the best story or cover, but considering how new I was to the whole thing, I was very pleased with the results.

Temporation is the sequel to The Chrononaut, though also readable on its own. My designing is still below par, but the writing is much better.

The Star Chronicles is the first book in a set of six, though I have not yet decided whether to publish the other five.

Anyway, those are some of my other projects, and I encourage you to take a look if you're considering self-publishing. It's a fun and easy process, I can assure you!

Day 1.2: Publicity, Publicity, Publicity!

If you're going to make money by writing online, you're going to have to do more than just write. I know that. Every time I've tried "just writing" in the past, my blogs have flopped to the point where I might as well have kept them in private journals. So... how do you get the word out?

1.Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one important way to let people find you online. I first learned about it when I worked as a writer and editor at Comicbooked.com--the best entertainment news site ever. The biggest thing to remember is to take advantage of keywords and tags. The more of those you have, the better chances there are of people stumbling onto your site. How do you choose a keyword? Examples for this post would include "search engine optimization," "keywords," and "comicbooked.com."

2. Another way is to take advantage of social media. Don't overdo this one--I've lost friends by advertising my writing too much. Use Twitter, Facebook, and Google + to get the word out about what you're doing, and your own personal friends and family will be much more interested and likely to tell others. Not interested in social media? Open accounts anyway. All you have to do is send out the link every so often with a friendly note about how awesome it is. Now, as I said, it's easy to overdo this one, and people don't like when you spam them, even if it's something really amazing. Keep your tweets and statuses personal and witty, if possible, and try to balance your business notes with your personal notes. But do stay active, and do promote your own work.

I have a confession to make here. So far for this blog I haven't done anything more than a simple Facebook post. No social publicity, no nothing. That might be part laziness on my part, but largely it's out of my personal desire to keep something as experimental as this blog to myself until I have an idea how it will work out.

3. And now for the hard part, the real labor: put your posts in directories. Ok, so what's so hard about that? Aren't there ways to submit to a bunch of search engines and directories at the same time? Of course there are... if you have money. If not, tough luck. Digging around, I have found some good search engine submitters, but directories? Not a one. At least not so far. I'll keep you posted if I find anything worthwhile.

Publicity is vital to monetized blogging, and it's work. For me, more work even than the blogging itself. But with eight views to this blog so far today since my last check, I know I must be doing something right.