The Monetizer was recently keeping an eye on "DealDotCom" just waiting for them to offer me a deal for relatively cheap, such as $5 and under. Mainly I wanted to see how good the deals are, and if it had the resell option, I figure it could more than pay for itself. The deal I purchased just yesterday evening was a $4 e-book about how to use forums for generating traffic. A basic concept, but I figured if it had at least one valuable nugget of wisdom, it'd more than pay for its cost. If nothing else, it did have that re-sell option and I could turn to eBay or elsewhere to make back the purchase money.
Nothing against DealDotCom, but I was a bit disappointed by the "deal". It was a 16 page e-book (PDF) which had a lot of already known info. It's a good reference for newbies to the game of getting traffic to their blog or site, but if you've been at this a while it doesn't give much. At this point, it'd be hard for The Monetizer to re-sell because it's not a product I would truly believe in. I also recently learned on another site that eBay has banned sales of eBooks on its site as well as domain name sales. Anyone heard this or to the contrary?
On the flipside, I do agree that forums are a great way to get traffic to your site and make money. Participating in the right forums can build up new readers for your blog, as well as provide valuable backlinks (from your signature) pointing to a keyword phrase you want to rank high for in Google.
Are you an active participant of forums within your niche?
5/5/08
My 1st DealDotCom Deal
5/1/08
17 Principles of the Rich & Poor
The following principles are derived from T. Harv Eker's book called Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth
- 1. Rich people believe "I create my life." Poor people
believe, "Life happens to me."
2. Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people
play the money game to not lose.
3. Rich people are committed to being rich. Poor people
want to be rich.
4. Rich people think big. Poor people think small.
5. Rich people focus on opportunities. Poor people focus
on obstacles.
6. Rich people admire other rich and successful people.
Poor people resent rich and successful people.
7. Rich people associate with positive, successful
people. Poor people associate with negative or
unsuccessful people.
8. Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their
value. Poor people think negatively about selling and
promotion.
9. Rich people are bigger than their problems. Poor
people are smaller than their problems.
10. Rich people are excellent receivers. Poor people are
poor receivers.
11. Rich people choose to get paid based on results. Poor
people choose to get paid based on time.
12. Rich people think "both." Poor people
think "either/or."
13. Rich people focus on their net worth. Poor people
focus on their working income.
14. Rich people manage their money well. Poor people
mismanage their money well.
15. Rich people have their money work hard for them. Poor
people work hard for their money.
16. Rich people act in spite of fear. Poor people let fear
stop them.
17. Rich people constantly learn and grow. Poor people
think they already know.
The above principles definitely can be applied to blogging, your web-based business, or other online moneymaking endeavors. Fine tuning your beliefs so they are "richer" just may lead you on a path of riches! Eker also has developed a 3 day "intensive seminar" which deals with the topics above and those in his book. View more about Eker's Millionaire Mind Intensive Seminar at www.millionairemind.com
4/30/08
Google PageRank - From Hero to Zero?
Say it ain't so, but Google has made a recent Page Rank update which helps some, hurts others. Much has been blogged about the latest updates, with John Chow recently discussing those who benefited. Several high profile bloggers have gone up to 5's and 6's. Several bloggers penalized for doing PayPerPost and other sponsored reviews went from 0's to 3's. It appears as of today, the Monetizer who once enjoyed a PR of 3 has been "Google-slapped" as they call it, right down to the 0 mark.
I take all rankings in stride, even this PR one which is quite important. Page Rank is Google's view of the importance of your website, blog or individual pages within them. While I respect Google for its search engine traffic, Adsense, Analytics, G-Mail, and other great features, this drop in rank won't defeat The Monetizer. Most likely this is due to taking on more paid reviews, but let's face it, we all want to get paid right? Recent logins to PPP have revealed more "gray opportunities" which mean they would be available but were taken. There haven't been any recent green or white opportunities, but this could simply be other bloggers quickly snatching up the work. The page rank drop could also be due to not having enough link love out in the web to satisfy Google. Either way, this just proves I will have to work harder to re-establish the rank here. Google, the Monetizer has no hard feelings. I will still make my money... Fans of the Monetizer, don't take down the posters off your walls just yet.
The Alexa traffic rank is still doing well here, as it has seemingly increased steadily for months after this blog was started (Entrecard helps a tad). As of today it's at 355,000 mark. As for the 0 rank, I realize that success doesn't come without some failures and hard work. I also refer to the old fashioned cliche, "things can only go up from here!"
(Note: If anyone shows a PageRank besides 0 for this blog, please let me know..)
4/29/08
Make Money with Entrecard & eBay!
Oh no, it's another Entrecard article! Well this has an interesting spin to it, in that you can actually profit from your "hard-earned" Entrecard credits. Basically there's been plenty of sales of the EC's done via the leading auction site online, eBay. Smart bloggers now realize that purchasing these otherwise free credits can help them establish their blog through cheaper advertising. Time is money as they say, and who really has the time to go around dropping their card off on 1,000's of blogs?
Check out some of these recently ended eBay auctions:
View the latest Entrecard auctions on eBay.
Apologies if the image makes the prices hard to read...But, as you can see you can make money off those "free" Entrecard credits you can accumulate by allowing others to advertise on you, or by dropping your card, or having others drop it on you! There's no word on how long these will be in demand on eBay, but advertising costs people, so why not buy it in the form of EC's? This way if someone buys a few thousand credits they can advertise on a blog like John Chow or Problogger for a fraction of the cost. While it's only for a day, that exposure can be pretty big for a new blog. One of the most successful days for me with Entrecard was the day I was on Problogger, as it brought many visitors, EC droppers and hopefully a few new readers!
The other interesting thing here is how prices vary. You see someone received $7.50 on a Buy it Now for 1,000 credits, while another sale of 2,000 credits went for just $6.50? Yet another auction for 2,000 credits reached $12.50? The average cost for 1,000 credits looks to be about $4.50 to $5 based on the higher auctions, but I think most people would take what they can get for a free online credit! Supply and demand is clearly still there for the EC's on eBay if you price them just right and promote the auctions well. Flipping them for extra money could help you purchase that domain name for your blog or other services....Or on the other hand if you're looking to advertise, you could find a low-cost EC auction on eBay. There doesn't appear to be any restriction on selling the credits, although EC itself appears to be forming its own online market to sell them amongst members too.
If you've sold EC's, or have bought them on eBay, or are considering either, or just want to weigh in on this moneymaking move, feel free to share your thoughts here.
