The Cow is Selling Out!

Ok not really, but the Monetizer learned of some unfortunate news via a blog email update Friday; John Cow has decided to sell his blog. Apologies in advance for a bit of a rant and several puns, but the Cow is easily one of my favorite blogs due to its high creativity factor.

There's two blogs I always check on a daily basis by the email updates. Lately, it's been all I've had time for with all my blogging and other projects, bill paying, research, checking emails, catching up with friends and all that good stuff. The two blogs I make sure to stay with are Courtney Tuttle and John Chow. Court's got extremely valuable and helpful info on SEO, in fact he's the best around for great tips and info to get your traffic rolling in. I also look to John Cow as one of the benchmarks in terms of the internet marketing & MMO niche due to his highly regarded blogging creativity. He snatched up a great idea and URL with Johnchow.com, which ranks 1st for "John Chow". His clever move payed off in terms of typo traffic and the spoof factor of "Making Mooney Online". He really milked the idea and has one of the more stylishly layed out blogs around.

So anyhow, the news came from the Cow blog on Friday that JohnCow.com is officially up for sale. Unfortunately April Fool's day was over a week ago so this is no joke. The Cow is getting tired and needs a break, possibly to stray from his current territory to "greener pastures". He's making a move to Australia and needs several months away from the internet to get situated. So some lucky buyer can snatch up a great opportunity now. The blog has impressive stats as Cow points out in his post about the sale:

The stats:

* PageRank 3
* Alexa 22,100
* Compete 41,020
* Technorati 1696, Authority 1457
* 382 Posts
* 13,417 Comments
* 47,412 Backlinks (Yahoo!)
* 2,830 indexed pages (Google)
* Average of 40K uniques per month (without social media)

Whoever buys the Cow has some big hoofs to fill. While milk may do a blogger good, will the new blogger be able to deliver the milk like John Cow has? This remains to be seen and it could be quite a tough task. It also makes me curious what the Cow will do after leaving the blog. Start a new blog? Get a 9-5? Or simply retire from online ventures? That could be tough to do as well. I know that blogging can be addictive and if you've started a project and then sell it off, if may be sorely missed. You'll eventually want to return to the field because you have that constant hunger.

Now here's the real "beef" of this Cow story with regards to making money online... there's a nice little referral/commission reward if you help bring the buyer to the Cow. You could net anywhere from $1,200 to $2,500 for yourself which definitely is nice pocket change, so consider writing up your own post, emailing your contacts or using your social media connections.

So with this Monetizer post I raise my glass of milk in toast to the great work of John Cow which I've enjoyed day in and day out.. I also hope that whoever buys Johncow.com knows what they're doing and gives more of the make mooney posts many of us have come to love...

The Big Give: Making Money & Giving Back

"I can't help the poor if I'm one of them, so I got rich and gave back to em, that's the win-win" - Moment of Clarity, Jay-Z

Big Give or Go home. That's the motto of Oprah Winfrey's interesting new reality game show that airs Sunday nights at 9PM on ABC. It's been running several weeks now, but covers an important aspect of moneymaking that many overlook; the concept of giving back.

Many of the books which discuss wealth acquisition also delve into the topic of giving in order to receive. Roberty Kiyosaki, author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", says that most often you'll find that once you've given a donation to your church or other charity, you'll find the gift somehow returns to you with interest. That doesn't mean if you donate $1 to a church, expect to find a bag full of 100 dollar bills, but that you may have some act of gratitude come back to you for your charitable expression.

On Oprah's "The Big Give" contestants are given a unique challenge each week. They are usually given the names of specific people or locations with a set amount of funds, and told to give as big as they can. The goal is to see who can give the biggest by improving life for the community, family or individual. On this past week's episode the four remaining contestants helped give big to two individuals suffering with cancer. One woman got her wish to play piano on stage in the famous Carnegie Hall theater in NYC. The audience included her family and friends, and Natalie King Cole surprised her on stage.

There was a second man who the team also gave big to, also suffering with cancer. He was worried about his piling up medical bills and his mortgage with a wife and kids. The contestants used the help of Jada Pinkett-Smith and Donald Trump. The man and his family were treated to a fun-filled day in New York which included shopping sprees and a ride in Mr. Trump's very own helicopter around NYC. The day ended with the man's entire extended family arriving to see him via horse-drawn buggies. The team then let him know that his mortgage was payed off (thanks to celebrity donations), and that he would have money for his kids' college funds. In addition, he was given a brand new Ford truck.

It's now down to 3 contestants on the show, one of whom is Cameron Johnson, a dot com millionaire and entrepreneur. After reading his book months ago, I was familiar with Cameron and realize that entrepreneurs do have the powers to give big. That's not to say everyone doesn't have this charitable power, but the entrepreneur can usually network with many connections and is good at project management. They also tend to be good at raising up capital to start up ventures, and most companies have trouble saying no when asked to contribute to a charitable function. I'm expecting to see Cameron as the winner, however he really doesn't need the 1 million dollars that Oprah will surprise the final contestant with. So maybe he'll turn around and give big.

The Big Give is down to just 3 contestants and resumes Sunday at 9PM EST on ABC. The Monetizer also encourages you to take a look at the extra earnings they make online and consider earmarking $5 to send to a charity you truly believe in. Or if you'd prefer donating time and help, Oprah's Big Give site also offers printable Good Deed Coupons" here. Remember it's not just about making money, but what you do with that money you make.

Cash Crate - the Site that Keeps on Paying!

I've written a few entries about the Survey & Get-Paid-to site called Cash Crate here. Since joining, I've received 5 checks from Kingside Media, but that was way back when I was actually filling out their surveys. Recently, I've seen money come in from the site without even logging into it (other than to check stats). That's what makes it a great site to belong to, because it keeps on paying, whether you're active on it or not. All you need is referrals.

The beauty of Cash Crate is their referral system. You start out by earning % commission on any of your referrals' earnings. Once you've referred 50 members to the site, you begin to receive a 25% commission for anything any of those active referrals does (surveys, offers, etc). So let's say 1 member earns their $10 to get paid. That means you've earned $2.50 and are 1/4 of the way towards another easy check for the month. The more active members you have referred the better...If at least 4 people are earning $10 a month, you've earned a check, and without ever touching a survey or offer. (4 people x $2.50 commission for you)

In addition, for every member you refer after your 50th sign-up to Cash Crate (referred members 51, 52, 54 etc.), you'll earn 10% of their earnings. This is the second tier for commissions.

Even better, when any of the members you refer hit their first $10 at Cash Crate, you'll receive a $3 bonus. So if a first timer gets $10, you're making $5.50 off them. And now you're over halfway to your payout.

Cash Crate is a very simple to use site, and the checks come anywhere from the middle towards the end of the following month. I still haven't heard of anyone becoming a millionaire with Yuwie, and know that people are constantly trying to promote that social site. It may even work out for some people, but as of right now Cash Crate is working for the Monetizer. With Cash Crate you can refer enough participating members and sit back to let the money roll right in. Eventually it could become like an extra dividend check every month coming to you from the folks at Kingside Media.

Join CashCrate here and get started on your earning spree! You'll also be able to participate in their April contest where they are giving away a Nintendo Wii and cash prizes.

If any part of this seems confusing, or if you have tips, advice, or concerns about Cash Crate feel free to comment below...

Making a Million through Social Networks

So what's the true way to make a lot of money online? Some may say it comes through networking and being extra friendly. A 19 year old internet entrepreneur from Canada has created a new website/blog called The Social Millionaire. Pat Harkinson is the lad and he is attempting to do the ordinary online feat of generating 1 million dollars. He will then take that money to invest into other new internet projects. So how does he plan to raise the money?

Pat's Social Millionaire site sells keyword links to the highest bidder. The bid starts at $5 for any keyword. If another bidder bids higher than you, they will appear on Pat's site for the keyword. These keywords are seen by any visitor at the Social Millionaire homepage.



Pat also has set up several social media networks, where you can be social with him. Included on the list are:

MySpace
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Orkut
Stickam
Bebo
Squidoo
MyBlogLog
Blog Catalog

Definitely some of the biggest names in online social media & blogging networks. According to Pat's site stats as of this entry he has raised $2,759.48 via keyword sales, and has befriended 384 people amongst his social networks.

It's an interesting concept and experiment. Pat's not the first to go for a million using a website, keywords, links and/or advertising. Another example was the Million Dollar Wiki or the site way back when that simply sold screen pixels as advertising space. Each of those generated enough buzz to put a nice profit in their creator's pockets. The best part of Pat's plan is the "being friendly" part. When I first started blogging, it was a creative Myspace profile which now has over 15,000 friends that was bringing me traffic for interesting blog posts I did. The power of Myspace bulletins posted for friends interested in your subject matter shouldn't be underestimated! With Pat harnessing the power of Myspace, Facebook, Youtube, et al, he's most likely going to reach his goal at some point, using clever strategies. He's already had interviews and site reviews on John Chow, John Cow, and MomsCashBlog.

Pat keeps a regularly updated Social Millionaire blog where he talks about everything from making donations to charity, generating free traffic and Rhinoseptoplasty. The Social Millionaire is also a member of Entrecard.

The Monetizer extends best wishes to Pat on his goal! Even if he misses the mark, he will still have the benefit of many friends and valuable connections...