My Money Making Journey

I am a member of SocialSpark. If you're a blogger and haven't checked it out then you should go ahead and take a look. They use a ranking method called Real Rank, which takes out all of the extrapolation used by Google statistics and just bases the blogs rank only on the concrete, links, traffic, etc. Despite using this ranking method, they also display the Alexa rank for each blog in the community and gives really nice statistic graphs that allow you to track your progress. Well I signed on to SocialSpark today and looked at my profile. When I clicked on my blog's Alexa rank, this the chart that came up:

I was really excited because I saw that all of my efforts in link building and article writing, and the various other strategies that I have utilized to bring more organic traffic to my site are paying off. Granted, I am not at the top of the Alexa ranks, but in about 10 days I have managed to bring my rank from 5 million to 2.75 million. It is great to see how my site has progressed, and really gives me the motivation to continue to do the most to help increase my Alexa and hopefully there-after, my Google rank as well!

At the start of the summer I decided to dedicate more time to making this site more successful. I am always talking about getting more free, and targeted traffic to you site, and realizing that search engines, especially google and yahoo, are the cornerstones to receiving more free targeted traffic I set out to learn SEO (search engine optimization). In order for you website/blog to take advantage of search engine traffic, you must optimize and make it stand out in the eyes of search engines.

So you sign on to your computer in the morning. You sit down, open and read your e-mail and then open 8 tabs. You want to visit all of your favorite websites to see what's news. So you move from tab to tab, either typing from memory or selecting bookmarks and you're off...

Now what is wrong with this picture? (I hope none of you out there are actually doing this) But what is wrong is that you are wasting your precious time manually surfing the net. Why make things hard for yourself when it can be so easy?

So What is RSS?

This is where RSS steps in. I'm sure that you all have seen this symbol on the web: I'm sure that this symbol has been shoved down your throat. But let me assure you that it was in good reason. What RSS subscribe does, is allow all of the new content from all of your fav websites to be delivered right to you, all on one page.

In order to utilize your subscription, you'll need a reader. What a reader is, is just an account, very similar to your e-mail, differing only in that it delivers the newest posts, content and changes on the websites that you visit most often, instead of e-mail. Both Google and Yahoo offer you very convenient reader services and you can definitely find a handful more if you just Google "RSS Reader". But don't despair if creating a new account rubs you the wrong way. Many websites (including this one::ahem) allows you to subscribe by e-mail. So all of the newest and freshest content is delivered hot off the presses right to your mailbox.

So if you don't already have RSS subscribe on your website, get it immediately. And if you didn't know what it was, or was a but fuzzy, I really hope I made things clear. RSS is like TV on the net, you can just change the channel and get the latest news.

If you like this post please consider subscribing. Thanks!

For the people just tuning in for the first time, I am heading into my 4th year of college, but the start of the 2nd on my money making journey. I was taking classes and working away from home this summer (as a matter of fact for the past 2 summers) and I've been home for a mere 8 days. But alas I am returning to school this upcoming Saturday. Realizing that I had just one week left of freedom I started to think about a couple of things that I wanted to achieve in this last week. So here goes:

1. Purging...if you don't know what I mean, check out my post:
Purging...The Good Kind

2. Develop a routine for traffic building

3. Create a daily tasks list

4. Intense week of link building


If you can't already tell from this and my previous posts, lists are one of my favorite things. They help me to stay organized and with the school year looming its absolutely essential for me to make lists, especially my the daily task list so that I stay focused between all the school work and lab work during the academic year. In a or so week, I'll have an update post about how this list of activities went. But as you begin to think about going back to school, or back to work, or just because, make a list of things you want to achieve. Post it on your refrigerator, or your desktop, post it on your forehead for all I care, but stick to it, stay focused, and before your know it, you'll realize that putting things in lists, or goals, irregardless of how small, helps you to achieve them.

What are some of the goals that you are trying to achieve in this final stretch? Post your comments!

Besides just money making programs, traffic building is a topic remains a stable on this blog. I can't say enough that traffic is the life-blood of any and every online business, and it is absolutely necessary for your internet success. So today I want to cover just another way to increase traffic to your site or blog.

When you think of Press Releases, you immediately think of a podium, bouquet of mikes and flashing lights. But press releases have made their way online, and provide a really nice medium for people to introduce their topics of interest, including anything from their take on recent news to explaining their businesses...In writing a press release it is essential to have an eye catching title, be easy to read, and provide exciting and valuable information. Remember that you are trying to draw the reader in, to turn them from a suspect into a prospect, lead, or buyer. Present your topic with enthusiasm and make it smart.

So where will these press releases go when they are all complete, and proof-read, and perfect you ask? Well there are a number of sites, both paid and free on which you can submit your press release and have it be available to all online viewers. Here is a list of some sites to look at:

Free Press Release Services
PR Log
Free Press Release
I-Newswire

Paid Press Release Services
PRWeb::The Online Visibility Company
24/7-PressRelease
PR ZOOM
PR Newswire

Again press releases are a great way to drive free targeted traffic to your website or blog. They allow you to express more than an ad or banner could do and are a great medium in presenting content to the online community.
Here is a press release I wrote a bit back introducing Qyao. It's my first one, so be gentle. Tell me what you think about it, and then go out and write your own press releases.

Alzheimer's Memory Walk

I just want to take a minute out from online money making, to talk about doing something selfless for a change. I think that people in this world, and especially Americans operate under the delusion that we are solely individuals, that our actions are our own and that we live in this isolated bubble of comfort. But the truth is that we are all interconnected and interdependent. Our success depends on the success of others, and our progress rests of the shoulders of our peers.

One company that understands this fact is the Alzheimer's Assosication. If you haven't already seen the commercial, head over to the website and read more about it there:



This is a topic that is close to my heart because my grandfather died of Alzheimer's, and if anyone has seen it in action, they know that it is a disease that we should tackle with all of our resources. What you probably do not know is that "Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S.," this is a fact that we just cannot ignore.

The Alzheimer's Association is hosting a Memory Walk to help raise money for research. You can join an existing team, or start your own in your area. I will give you a minute to head over to the website and enter your zip-code to find a walk near you. Bookmark the website and visit it later to find out more. I hope that everyone will take some time to do something selfless. We only have the time we are give and Alzheimer's can effect anyone's family. So do the most you can, to ensure that for those it does effects, the cure will be ready!



Sign-Up Now

Pictured here are my earnings so far, utilizing Qyao.com. This is a milestone for me, because as you can see, I have reached and surpassed the $30/day mark!! I have $575.59 in my account and I have spent a total of $73.73 (in advertising) since I began in Qyao. I cannot really gush anymore about how great Qyao is going for me, you can see the proof for yourself. By taking advantage of an August promotion, I was able to leverage $50 into my current daily earnings. The one great thing about Qyao is that the earnings that you receive are based on the balance in your account (the more money in your account, the more money there is available for advertising, and by extension earning as advertisers pay your for both pay per click, and pay per impression). So I am able to request payment to my main account on a daily basis, so that by tomorrow I will be earning from a balance of $606 or so.

The promotion that I took advantage of, doesn't last long, so if you guys really want to make some money, sign-up for Qyao and begin to make a plan that will help you leverage your money. There is another Qyao member who was able to take advantage of this August promotion and receive $16,200 from spending only $1,530. Check it out here.

While I didn't spend nearly as much, I am as of now, this moment earning > $30/day and growing!

SIGN-UP HERE

**For anyone who would like more information about Qyao, or need help in anyway after they join, leave a comment, or send me a message using Qyao's internal messaging system, my ID is 60702.

When I started this blog, I really had no idea where it was going to go. I just want to try to make some money online doing different things and document it, mostly for myself. But as I began to do more and more with the site, and learn more about making money online and money making programs, I wanted to expand this blog to become more of a helpful and friendly resource and reference for people who were looking to do the same. As I began doing some of my traffic building tasks such as submitting to search engines, requesting link backs, joining communities, etc. a serious problem became clear to me:
My site (http://internetreviewsandnews.blogspot.com) was completely forgettable. There is nothing that would allow a person who clicked on my link to be able to remember my URL if they tried to recall it.

Preferring for my blog to have a lasting effect on its visitors, I decided to invest in my own domain name. www.mymoneymakingjourney.com!! There it is, my very own domain name hosted by GoDaddy.com. What was great about it, is that I purchased it through Blogger so that all of the old links that direct to http://internetrev...... now redirect to my new domain.

I can honestly say that there are no downsides to deciding to purchase your own domain. I got mine for a measly $10.00 for a year registration and it officially became my property. Having a custom domain name, adds a sort of credibility to your site. It gives the reader a sense that you own the site yourself, and are therefore automatically more legit.
More than that, having your own domain name, allows your site to be more memorable. Now we both know that no one would have remembered my long winded blogspot address, but my new domain offers visitors an easy catch phrase with the same name as my blog so that it sticks more vividly in their minds.

If you have a blog and are looking to expand its functionality or simply want to solidify its place on the internet, then I would highly recommend investing in your own domain. The cost is usually negligible in comparison to the benefit that it brings.

Here are the steps to buying your own domain name with Blogger:

1. Log into your blogger account and click on the "Settings" link for the blog for which you would like to register a domain

2. Under your settings tab click on "Publishing"
3. If you do not already have a domain name, click on "Buy Domain Name"
4. Enter your desired domain name and keep your fingers crossed that it is not taken.
5. Checkout and you're done! There might be a problem, where you run into the predicament that all of the domain names that you desire are already taken. To view all of the domain names related to your desired one that are both take and available. Check out GoDaddy Here.

6. Enjoy the comfort and confidence that owning your own domain name brings.

Leave a comment and tell me if you guys out there have purchased your own domain name, or are you still stuck with a blogspot or/blog address?

I'm don't think that I've ever talked about InstantBuzz before even though I have used it for quite some time. For people out there who want to be constantly and passively advertising their site, and receiving targeted traffic, then InstantBuzz is for you.

Here's How To Get Started:

1. Head over to InstantBuzz: here.

2. Scroll to about the middle of the page and click on the link to download the toolbar.

This toolbar is the basis of InstantBuzz. Located very inconspicuously at the top of your browser, the toolbar will display text link ads that change every time you navigate to a new page. Simultaneously on computers all around the world, similar toolbars are running on other people's system. They are viewing ads and clicking on ones that interest them.

While you would think that this method would be ineffective, the complete opposite is true. Members often say that they will glimpse at the toolbar because they know that it's there, glancing at the ads to see if any one of them piques their interest. Also, because the ads are rotating every time a page change, refresh, etc. takes place, your advertisement gets seen very many times based the number of members in the community and the amount of surfing that they do.

3. Create an account and sign-in to create your very own text link ad.

Because of the way that InstantBuzz works (limiting the number of characters in your ad), it will force you to be creative and come up with ads that are both enticing and concise. Try out different combinations to see which ads are converting best for you. (By converting I mean, how many of those views are turning into visits, purchases, sign-ups, etc.)

Besides the toolbar ads, InstantBuzz offers its members a number of other methods for delivering your ads including hyperspace ads, and mailspace ads. More than that, they offer fairly priced advertising packages that include banner ads, mail space, and e-mail ads to name a few. Whether you want to pay for your advertising, or just utilize the toolbar, InstantBuzz offers a unique way to deliver your ads to potential customers or affiliates. Especially because its FREE, there is nothing to lose!

I just wanted to write a post that explained the basic premise of Qyao and why it is, and will continue to grow into an opportunity that will revolutionize the way that people earn money online. Here is some more about how Qyao is structured:

Qyao has a partnership with the three advertising sites ("units")

Qyao charges you for displaying ads tagged with your ID in its ad network and at the same time, the advertisers are paying you for displaying their ads. All automatically, you do not have to do anything, but sign-in and click a button and your banner will begin to run.

You receive a $15 sign-up bonus with which test and run your advertising campaign. You will being earning from day one. There are a diverse number of other ways that you can use Qyao to earn money, but this is the main one.

You will earn a total of 50% return on the money that is in your advertising account for the month...guaranteed.

The structure of Qyao allows its members to take advantage of a social community, including profiles, forums, etc. But also earn with its advertising structure. I love this program because your earnings depend entirely on you. While it is true that the more people you refer, the more money you will have in your account (Qyao also pays for referrals), the money that you decide to put into your advertising account is up to you, meaning your earnings are entirely in your hands, independent of your referrals or associates.

Qyao truly offers the best of both worlds in that you and participate in a friendly and active social network, while at the same time, excelling financially. If you have not already signed up for Qyao, I suggest that you do so. You will not regret it. Qyao Sign-Up

"That program is a scam", "They just take your money and there are no results"...These are some of the many negative reviews that you can find for just about any one of the money making programs that run online. And while these claims can most certainly be true of the program, there are times when the claims are just coming from the mouth of what I like to call a "program whore." who hasn't spent the time or exerted the effort to try and succeed with the program or opportunity in the first place.

I won't go into the importance of not being a program whore, but I will just say that you should at all costs avoid it, for the sake of your time and money. I'd like to jump ahead to the part when you have already chosen a program to stick with. True, that some of the promises and earning potentials are mere hyperbole, it is also true that there is a grand amount of earning potential in a lot of the programs that are out there today.

So where do people fall short? When does it transform from the next big thing, to the last great scam? The disconnect occurs when people believe that they can make the big money on their own. Most all of these programs are founded on the premise that the more people they have in the program, the better......duh, right? More is always better...well, not always, but it is definitely the case of making money online. Building a team of like-minded people who are going after the same things that you are, who will put in the time and effort that you are willing to put in, is the cornerstone for success in these online endeavors.

So forget the business leads, and the bought sign-ups. Just go out and connect with people. Talk to people and introduce them to your opportunity as you would a friend. Don't force it down their throats. Allow them to see your opportunity transparently for what it is and make the decision on their own. Because think about it, half the business leads that you receive are often program whores, or skeptical people who half doubt their ability to make money online in the first place. That is where social networking comes into handy. If you haven't already, read up on it and turn it into a practice. So go out there, choose a program, build a team, and teach each person to do the same, and you will definitely be ensuring your earnings online.


That being said....seeing how this is my blog, and I get to say just about anything I want to say...I am currently building a team in a program called Qyao.com. I have already talked a lot about in on this blog. If you are at all interested, or if you just want to know a little more about it, leave me a comment, or shoot me an e-mail at tamara_sus@yahoo.com and I will be more than happy to talk to you. Thanks!

When I first "got serious", about making money online last year. And by get serious, I mean be tempted by all of the programs that had really big promises and flashy testimonials and guarantees. I signed up with multiple programs and tried it out for a while, but when I didn't see the money come in or any progress I got frustrated, quit that program, and moved on to the next one.

Appealing to the more ADD portion of my desire, I turned to the instant gratification programs: GPT sited, where I was paid to click on ads and I could see immediate returns for the work I was putting in. Surveys allowed me even more ($2-10 per survey) return for less work, although less frequently. Working with those programs I was still not making the money that I wanted to make.

So coming into the new year I knew that I wanted to begin with and stick with one program that I would decide to grow in. I realized that I was expecting the programs to make money for me, with little or no input, and now when I see and hear people that are discouraged about not being able to make money, I think of myself back then trying to reap reward with no input. I didn't understand the lapse in my judgment that made me believe that I could some how get something for nothing.

Looking back at the year that has elapsed, I'm really glad that I have moved on from that and actually became serious about making money on the internet. I am sticking with Qyao.com, which you can read about in some of the older posts. And after that shameless plug, I just want to say that whichever program, product, or business that you decide to enter, stick with it, put the petal to the metal, and make your own success, take responsibility for yourself as a member in the program and help to make it better, because I've been told over and over again that programs, don't fail, people do....and having been one of those failing people, I know that its true.

I checked my traffic stats today and saw that one of the referring websites was Google.com so I went over to Google and did a couple or different searches that it could possibly be. When I did a search for "Qyao review" in Google, this page is listed 2nd, listed second only to my MyBlogLog profile linking to this site. Whoopdy Doooo, right? It is a very small victory because I know that my site is at least being seen and indexed in one of the most popular search engines. While this is just one keyword, I am confident that it will become more popular as Qyao begins to grow, which is a very exciting prospect....But back to earth, traffic is the most valuable thing on the internet, more than any money making program or special product. Traffic is what drives everything on the web, and like any vital resource, for your site to survive, it needs traffic.

The best targeted and free traffic comes from search engines, but the level of competition for keywords is enormous, especially when you are vying for a piece of the keyword "money making programs", or "home business". For a small upstart site, it is damned near impossible to get a listing when competing with bigger, badder, and older sites and blogs.

By maximizing on a smaller and more specific money making opportunity, I get a very nice listing in the search engine and also gain exposure for my whole site, that can spark a visitors interest in other areas and create other opportunities for making money, or finding lead prospects, or what have you.

Ways in which you can improve your site listing in the search engines include:

1. Increase the number and quality of links that point to your website
Google and other search engines look at these connections and take them into account when listing your site in search results. You can see an article that I wrote a while ago that explains ways to get more back-links to your site. You can find it at Ezine Articles: here.

In this way, I gain more traffic to my site by linking to it in my submitted article, and Google sees the link between my site and Ezine Articles, which is a very popular site, thus making my page look more appealing/valuable to search engines.

2. Social Networking
If you don't already have a profile on a social network, go out and get one. And if you do have one already, go back and make another one that can be dedicated to your business or opportunity and being to add friends that are in the same groups, or forums that you are in, and begin to build a network of people, who are essentially sounding boards for whatever opportunity you are trying to pursue.

3. Link Exchange
There are a number of websites that serve as somewhat a matching service for people who are willing to trade links on their web pages. The way that this works that you submit your url for review and then display in a marketplace of sorts, members who would like to trade a link on your site for a link on theirs will contact you and the website master. Just like a marketplace, a moderated agreement is met and you post the links, while the matching-making website makes sure that the links have been posted as agreed.

You do not have to use these websites however, if you come across a site that you really like and would like to link to, you can contact the webmaster personally and ask for a link exchange, it is a little less "secure" if you will, because there is always a chance that your site will not get linked to, but at the same time, it is just a matter of deleting a link on yours, if the terms of the informal agreement were not met.

Concluding Remarks
Listed here and in the article are just a few ways that you can increase the traffic to your blog or site, posting in forums, blasting your ad to safe-lists, etc are also some other ways to increase the number of back-links that your site has. Be sure that whenever you decide to publish an article or submit your site for a possible link-back, that your article and site are both valuable and helpful information. Just be proud of the material that you put out, because everyone appreciates a job well done!

Hey all, I'm just writing with an update of payment from one of the survey companies that pays me to take surveys online. LightSpeed Panels is a great company because it is international, so all of you out there that do not live in America can still join and earn. Some of the surveys that I have received include watching a new concept for a show made for MTV, looking at brand and product advertisting, etc. I enjoy taking surveys that pay out anywhere from 75 - 5000 points. You can cash out when you have reached the minimum for payment. $10 worth of Paypal was 1150 points and I reached that easily with all of the surveys that they send me. Looking over my trash and read mail in my account I would say that I get about 25 survey offers a month. Some of them I decide to take and some of them I just ignore. I am able to take surveys when I want, and not when I do not want to. Your earning depends entirely on your participation. Lightspeed Panel as of now does not have a referral program but they do have a $5,000 sweepstakes very often, submissions to which you receive when you complete surveys in addition to the points that you earn. I would recommend LightSpeed Panel to anyone out there. If you would like to sign up, head HERE.