It Pays to Run Kontera Ads!

Hello make money online fans, just wanted to let you know that real checks are sent by Kontera (see image above)! They're the advertising company that provides those underlined in-text links to various products and services, and you earn per click. Out of the blue, I received a check from Kontera in the mail last week (I don't check Kontera stats as regularly as some other advertising programs). Now while they took longer to earn with than Google Adsense does, they did send a real check as promised once my account reached the $100 mark. I recommend them strongly as a passive, additional income supplement. You may even be surprised with another check in the mail as I was! (That book The Secret really works!)

I was able to apply for Kontera way back when I first started blogging thanks to John Chow, A-List blogger. Chow provides a post on his blog called How to Make Money Online with Kontera which gives you a great starting point for this advertiser. Your best shot if your blog(s) haven't taken off yet in terms of traffic and page views is to enter “John Chow Kontera partnership” into the Comments field. This will allow smaller, newer blogs to participate with Kontera. Also be advised as John Chow tells readers, the Kontera advertisements take about a week to learn the content of your blog, so don't be discouraged if the links aren't showing up immediately!

Here's to your success,
The Monetizer Making Money Online

Zenni Optical offers Stylish, Affordable Glasses!

Having trouble reading this blog post or are you finding yourself squinting at the computer screen often? It may be time to get your eyes checked or purchase new eyeglasses! Zenni Optical provides Stylish prescription eyeglasses at very affordable prices. Zenni's prices start at just $8.00 for their selection of eyeglasses and stylish frames! Among the types of lenses offered by Zenni Optical are the single vision lens, sunsensor (potochromic) lens, tinted sunglasses lens, bifocal lens and progressive lens. It's the stylish shades that really can make your glasses a truly functional fashion accessory and Zenni doesn't disappoint with their multitude of frame selections!



Pictured above you can see just one of the stylish types of frames Zenni offers for Men. These are the 9116 Stainless Steel Half Rim Frames which start at $25.95. These particular frames are available in silver, grey, gold, blue or black depending on your preference. Zenni also offers goggles, Women's Fashion glasses, Children's Frames, Full & Half Rim frames, Rimless frames, Alluminum Alloy and Pure Titanium, plus many more offerings!

Zenni Optical also provides tints for your lenses in varying colors as well as clip on 80% polarized sunshades for $3.95 each. I know if you use the internet alot like the Monetizer does, you may need to get your eyes checked or increase your lens strength in your prescription. Zenni Optical provides you the ease and comfort of ordering stylish frames on your new glasses right from home!

For more info about ZenniOptical.com please see:
http://clarkhoward.com/liveweb/shownotes/2007/06/27/12362/

How to Make Money with Barack Obama

Hopefully our next president Barack Obama will bring us all the change we need... that is, large amounts of change deposited into our pockets! But seriously, one of the biggest dilemas facing Barack as president will be what to do about the poor United States economy. There's already been discussions of Mr. Obama signing a new economic stimulus package into effect once he steps into his new office. That could be great for our economy, and great for you and me!

Now there's some other ways you can make money with president-elect Barack Obama right now. Recently, I've given you tips and advice for how to effectively run an eBay business. Right now, Barack Obama is hotter than hot, and all sorts of his items are selling like hotcakes on eBay! People across the country and even across the world want to own a piece of history, so they're willing to pay for Barack Obama merchandise or memorabilia online.

A recent example which you may be able to get in on, is the special commemorative Barack Obama issue of Time Magazine, pictured above. The magazine (sans mailing label) is selling for around $17 or so on eBay. If you're lucky enough to have received a copy in the mail with no label (maybe yours is delivered in plastic bag), or even grabbed a copy or two at the newstand, then why not take advantage of selling it to gain some extra cash? Or perhaps you'd like to hold onto your copy and see if the value jumps, pending Barack's success in office!

Other items you can consider selling, Barack T-shirts, Barack buttons or any other novelty you may have received during the campaign and historic election! Just make sure you have the item in a condition people will want. Sky tends to be the limit for what you can sell on eBay, but people will always prefer mint items to ones you have stepped on, recovered from the trash or taken away from the dog...

Check out this search results page for Barack items at eBay to get some more great ideas!

There's other ways people are cashing in on Barack's success by creating their own T-shirts or novelty items at Cafepress and of course creating blogs and fan sites devoted to Obama. Use your imagination and you just might be able to cash in on the amazing amount of hype and hoopla riding the new President-elect's coattails!

Also see:

Monetizer's 5 Tips for an eBay Business

Ways to Make Money with Craigslist & eBay

Auctiva.com - eBay seller's Best Friend!

Monetizer's 5 Tips for an eBay Business

As mentioned before, The Monetizer recently started another part time internet income venture, the almighty eBay business. Many individuals have turned trash into treasures as they've scoured garage sales, yard sales and thrift stores. My experiences have been interesting so far, and I feel that if you truly commit to this sort of part time business it can be fun and rewarding. I'd like to share 10 things I've learned so far that may help you in your own eBay venture.

1) Best deals come from yard sales - I've had more success so far buying items from yard sales and garage sales to resell on eBay. I also read about a lady called the Queen of eBay sales who once bought a yard sale item for just $2 and sold it for over $2,000!! It's amazing that people are willing to part with items for the prices they are, but there are many people who just need money badly right now. For example, picking up a portable DVD player for $5 at a yard sale, and it turned into a $40 sale on eBay. Most of my best deals have been items I purchased for under $5 at garage/yard sales. Make sure you have specific items you target...

2) Know what to buy - The biggest personal investment you can make into this business is constantly being up-to-date and knowledgeable about what sells. After your rounds at the yard sales and thrift shops you'll remember items you considered buying. Look them up on eBay when you get back home. See if you missed a blockbuster deal and start to learn what's selling. For example, many yard sales list in their classified ads "childrens toys" or "DVD's". There's also some great blogs out there which suggest items to buy from thrift stores and places like Dollar stores or Wal Mart. Knowing what's hot on eBay or familiarizing yourself with these categories will go a long way.

3) Buy what you know - This is very similar to blogging in that if you focus on buying items that you know about, you will tend to enjoy your business more, and in turn enjoy greater success. At one yard sale, a woman was selling probably about 100 different DVD's. The Monetizer enjoys movies and was able to select 15 of the hotter titles she had (action, drama movies from the past few years) for just $5. That $5 purchase turned into another $40 sale on eBay. You can already see the potential profit if you do your homework and buy what you know.

4) Handle shipping from home - One way to greatly save yourself money and make sure you're not losing money on shipping charges, is to invest in a postage scale. The Monetizer bought one soon into this business venture from Amazon.com for just $25, and it's worked quite well. It's already allowed me to save on several shipping jobs. Knowing what your items weigh with packaging is key to pricing the auctions right. You can also order free priority mail boxes, print USPS (or UPS) postage online and have the mail carrier pick up your packages. All of these things save you time and money with your business. You can also set a flat rate shipping charge and should you get lucky, your winning buyer is from a close by state meaning you can either refund the extra shipping money, or you've made a little extra!

Another tip is to utilize the flat rate boxes from USPS, as they can save you money on shipping heavy items. The charges on these are about $9 and $12 to ship as much as you can fit in them. There's also been important recent changes made to eBay shipping. For items such as books, DVD's and other media eBay has a maximum shipping charge you can charge ($3 or $4). I was able to slyly change a category to "Toys" just by adding a toy to the auction, therefore allowing Priority shipping. Keep this in mind before you try to sell. Also, I strongly recommend using the shipping insurance option on your auctions for items that are breakable. It goes a long way to protect your customer's purchase and your eBay reputation!

5) Reinvest in the business - The biggest goal is always to grow the income and profits of the eBay business. Warren Buffett gave the advice that reinvesting profits into your business is one of the most important things you can do to help it grow. So that means if you've made $20 off your latest eBay sales, take that money back out the next weekend to more garage and yard sales. Set yourself an item budget in the beginning or else you might buy just 1 item you think is great for $20 and end up not selling it. That's a quick way to diminish your profits and your eBay business! Also, consider buying necessary items for shipping or your business. Examples are the postage scale, bubble wrap, packing tape and books to educate yourself on eBay selling.

Once again, I guarantee that an eBay business can be profitable for you, but you have to put in the effort and not give up quickly. If you start it on a part time weekend basis, take it slowly. Do your research, find ways to save on shipping costs and keep reinvesting in the business to make it thrive!

(Bonus tip: Find freebies to sell to offset your eBay and Paypal costs. These can be things like new gift items you received that you don't really want, coupons you get in the mail, or free sample products. These days people buy just about anything on eBay so look it up, you may be surprised!)