Google Hot Trends, Domain Transfers & Moneymaking sites

It's been a while since my last post, and if you're a longtime fan or reader I apologize for that. If you're involved in self-employment or internet marketing, you know just how time-consuming it all can be. Sometimes you find something that is a good thing for moneymaking and you end up putting more effort into that then other projects. Throw in other aspects of "real life" and you've got a busy time of it. It's nice to have a life outside the net right? Luckily, my previous work as a project manager and caseworker helps me figure out my priorities. I'm big on goal setting, writing lists and getting things done. But I do have my "procrastinator days" as well.

So what have I been up to? Well recently, a lot of article writing. Mostly with Google trends which offers pros and cons. The great part is this can give you nice surges of traffic to wherever you want if done right. If you pick the right hot topics and get in on them in time, you can link to offers or seller sites, and generate nice sales for making money online. The downfalls are copycats who steal your material so they can make a quick buck too. And trust me, I've seen it happen quite a bit. I've even had someone accuse me of plagiarism on a site, when in fact it was another site copying my work. Strange but true!

The other thing with Google trends is we know the Big G wants to keep their searches honest. They don't want people searching for a hot news topic and finding someone's 5 sentence article about a story with a link to a news site. I see it often, or I see sites with poorly written content that has tons of grammatical errors and sentences which keep going and run together and they don't make sense but they are trying to make money as fast as they can - you know what I mean? Google will want content as always. In the past year, I've seen the Google Hot Trends listing go from 100 sites to about 40 to the current 20, and I often wonder if it will go down again to 10. I'm guessing that Google has done this to prevent all the "crap" content that gets spewed out. They limit people's ability to prey off 100 or even 40 topics.

So to solve the problems of competition and finding more hot topics, you have to be creative. For that, figure out what the recent hot topics are and then use Google suggest. You know, the tool that will provide you with additional searches. From that you can gauge your own topics to write about, and make post titles based on them. To get traffic flowing you'll probably need authority for your site, or to write for Associate Content as a news writer. Or you can play the social bookmarking game and use Socialmarker to get your site ranked up on page 1, for a bit. I'm not going to go into what topics to look for to make money, because you'll have to develop your own strategies. I'd also recommend Yahoo! Buzz, Bing X-rank and this site News on Rails which lists 100 trends for a day.

Now about domain transfers, I do have a gripe with GoDaddy.com. Over the past year I set up about 5 new sites/blogs and used sales deals with GoDaddy to get the domains. I host with Hostgator. After hearing about the Netfirms site I decided I would switch over to them for the upcoming renewal. Netfirms offers a privacy protection in their deal that GoDaddy doesn't. The problem came when trying to make the transfer.

Netfirms requires that you set up the transfer by authorizing it with the old domain site (GoDaddy), acquiring a AUTH code from them, and then another code from Netfirms. Once you enter all that info into your Netfirms area for the domain, they are supposed to handle the switch. The problem was that GoDaddy didn't allow the transfer, and has their nice little GoDaddy page parking ads on my sites now, offering people to buy the names up when they're available. So lesson learned, the hard way.

I've seen many a domain seller site talk about how easy a transfer is, but it's really a headache. As of this article, I have yet to transfer any domains, and basically GoDaddy has blocked my attempts. Maybe it's good business, but you can imagine the frustration after all the work to write posts, build backlinks and get ranked for those moneymaking sites. But you live and learn and I'll have to go forth from there.

A few other notes of recent interest, WidgetBucks has chosen to close down. If you missed that email they basically are choosing to focus their funds and efforts in a new way. Anyone whose account was over $50 threshold at the time will be paid by the 15th of March. If you were under $50, your money is not going to be paid to you. Also, Squidoo has been adhering to their newer standards and if they decide your lenses seem too spammy or not under their guidelines, they will lock you. I must have missed an email from them at one point, but five of my lenses have been officially locked. But then again maybe that's because I had the biggest payout from Squidoo yet just today. Even in a tough economy these moneymaking sites want to tighten up their purse strings a bit.

I hope everyone else is doing well in 2010. It's been a great start for me despite the problems I've mentioned. Mainly because I have been reaching some big goals and am looking forward to the impending moneymaking season coming up.

Here's to your success,
The Monetizer

Debt Cures 2 Book by Kevin Trudeau debt strategies

One thing I love are the money making and money rescue infomercials that are floating around on TV these days. I've already examined Jeff Paul's Shortcuts to Internet millions ad which parades women in bikins around a high-priced estate, while two beautiful model-quality hosts talk to guys who "got rich" off Jeff Paul's easy-to-use internet product. Now let's look at the the Debt Cures 2 book by Kevin Trudeau, which is selling currently for prices of about $35 new and $27.55 used on Amazon.com. It makes you wonder if this updated Debt Cures title from Kevin Trudeau really contains all the magic answers to people's current credit problems. The skeptics come out in large numbers when Trudeau is concerned because of his shaky past. He's served time for fraud, and been involved in numerous lawsuits and other court actions against him and his ventures. While this is not unusual for entrepreneurs or business ventures to have their share of troubles, Trudeau treads on thin ice as the materials he presents usually involve health or money cures. Additionally, while he's served his time, it's still a glaring fact that he was involved in "credit card fraud". This is not a smear campaign though. It's very possible Trudeau offers some help for everyday citizens swimming in debt.

"Debt Cures II - What They Really Don't Want You to Know About" by Kevin Trudeau sells for $19.95 plus $11.95 shipping and handling via the book website. The official website for the product promises specific ways to reduce or eliminate your debt, lower the payments on loans and slash your overall credit card debt. Included in the deal for that $30 (which is equal to some credit card payments) are a "Free Money" Book, "Secrets To Easy Money" CD and a"Lower Your Payments" Guide. I'll have to admit that "Secrets to Easy Money" would be something I might fork over $30 for, because that's my main interest here. Easy money helps pay off credit card debt, so possibly that deal is worth our $30. It's an investment, which may be risky, but may ultimately help you gain more money to gain more financial freedom.

I've found personally that the best debt cures are persistence, determination and patience. The snowball effect is one of my favorites debt strategies for paying down credit card debt. It's just one strategy, where you simply target your smallest debt first, working as quickly as possible to pay that one off. Once you have, you gain a mental edge on your debts and momentum towards the next debt. You shift that former debt's monthly payment (the one you payed off) into your next smallest debt, and so forth until you're able to pay them all off, one by one. When you hit the final debt which would have been your biggest, you're able to devote several payments towards it to hit it harder. You're basically building a snowball of a bigger payment to attack those debts. For fun you can even imagine that the credit card companies are seeing the debt go down quicker than expected, and they're pounding their fists on the table enraged. I've used this tactic recently and in the past, and it has worked nicely each time. It doesn't guarantee a cure to your debt immediately, but it also doesn't require tactics like bankruptcy or consolidation. I once heard on a Suze Orman show that most of what the consolidation and credit counseling agencies do for a fee, you can really do on your own, to in effect save more money.

If you've read Debt Cures or Debt Cures II book by Kevin Trudeau, I'd love to hear your comments on the books below. Are they worth the money, or is it better to save that $30 and apply it towards your debts?

Paid2YouTube Review update

Well it's been over a month now since I've been part of the Paid2YouTube make money opportunity. That's the site where you are paid to watch YouTube videos (although they had a lot of other sites that you were directed to). At this point, it's not a make money program I'm going to recommend wholeheartedly, mainly because the last several times I've logged in there was only 1 opportunity to watch a video. That calculates to making a few cents a day off this site, and honestly your time spent logging in would be better spent logging into another site.

However, if you're able to generate hundreds of referrals to the Paid2YouTube program you might have a chance at some money, if they are earning that 5 cents a day. It's a tough sell for me, unless they upgrade the opportunities to maybe 10 a day. They do offer an opportunity to buy referrals, with the lowest amount costing around $7 or so. Still I would avoid putting too much time in with it. Alot like Cash Crate, you'll need a huge amount of referrals to make easy money with Paid2YouTube, and it's certainly not your shortcut to internet millions!

Instead of wasting time with those "get paid to do something" sites, I'd recommend learning to build passive income via blogging, websites, through an e-book or internet product, or from writing articles which get heavy search traffic. It may not seem glamorous or easy at first, but I'm finding these are the ways towards big money online!

Goals, Determination, Optimism & Moneymaking in 2010!

As I reflected back on my 2009, it was quite a good feeling, mainly because I achieved many things that I didn't even really plan for or expect. That's not to say I didn't work hard to get them or focus, but when you achieve more than you planned on, it's a great thing. In the past year, I made more money online than in any previous year, and probably more than in my first two years of internet moneymaking ventures combined! That's an incredible surge of positive energy when you realize the vast possibilities that the world wide web holds for turning passion into profits...

I say passion because if you are doing something and enjoying it, then you will work even when the money isn't necessarily flowing to you. Writing has been a passion of mine since a young age. While I don't write novels or write for awards these days, I was a finalist in several contests back in grade school. I continued writing from there, working on a school newspaper and other projects, but I chose a major that was totally different from that. Oddly enough, the major I chose, Criminal Justice, lead me right back here to the internet, to writing and to making money on my own. I ended up in a job where I was put in charge of the agency's web operations and IT.

As of three years ago, I was in debt bigtime, after losing that job as an IT Project Manager. It can be a scary feeling not knowing where or how you'll get the money to pay rent, and having to use credit cards to cover bills doesn't exactly make you sleep well at night either. There came that proverbial point of "rock bottom", but amazingly what goes down often bounces way back up. I feel as if in 2009 I have bounced back up, and the momentum feels pretty darn good.

I'm telling you those little tidbits not to impress or give a tale of woe, but more to say I'm much like the average person out there who wants to make money on the internet. What I chose to do was become passionate, determined and not give up in my quest. Continual education through several websites really helped and inspired me to get where I did this past year. And oh yes, a lot of writing, writing and more writing. But as I mentioned, if it's something you're passionate about, the writing isn't necessarily so bad.

I'd like to give credit to a few internet marketing mentors who really motivated and inspired me this past year. In no particular order they are Courtney Tuttle of the Keyword Academy, Ben of Make Money Online with SEO, and Jackie Lee of Beginners Internet Marketing Strategy. These three individuals' efforts really drove and inspired me to do more with my time and focus on what was important. I recall when I first began this whole making money thing I was an avid reader of John Chow and Problogger, sometimes even Shoemoney. Honestly, if I had to count how many times I read their blogs this past year, it wouldn't require both hands to do so. No disrespect to their efforts, but I've found that what the three bloggers I mentioned above teach is invaluable information to all people who want to seriously make money online.

I give credit to them, and also to the fact I read a lot of inspirational books. That keeps me going as well. From Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" to a new favorite of mine "The Top 10 Distinctions between Millionaires and the Middle Class" by Keith Cameron Smith, I probably read at least 20 success/personal development titles in 2009. I plan to do more of that in 2010, because the more of those you read the more you begin to incorporate positive beliefs, values and inspiration.

A bit about my 2009, it was the Christmas shopping holiday with Black Friday and Cyber Monday in particular that really showed me how much is possible for making money online. Between Amazon, Squidoo and several other sites I now realize that if you can get the traffic, you can get the money. And when the money rolls in, it's quite a nice feeling. Additionally, as I mentioned before Courtney Tuttle and Ben were two bloggers this past year who really pushed me to work with Hubpages, infobarrels and Blogger blogs. Doing that increased my Adsense income to a nice level that hadn't been seen before.

So it's with great optimism that I head into 2010. On New Year's Eve I not only reflected back but jotted down my 2010 goals in a journal under headings such as Health/Business/Personal/Mental. I have several goals ready to be focused on for the new year. In 2009, I paid off several debts, and in 2010 I will pay off the rest. I've set a goal to become an eBay Powerseller which seems very achievable at this time. I already bought myself a brand new website back in late 09' which will be my pet project for the new year. I believe based on my success with specific efforts online this past year, I can turn my new site idea into something quite profitable.

I believe you also can achieve great success making money online in 2010. But remember, it will always come down to how much work you're willing to put in, how determined you are and how optimistic you remain while you're on this course to make money online.

Wishing everyone health, happiness & prosperity in 2010 and beyond!