Why you shouldn’t be reading Chow or Shoe
There is no denying that John Chow and Shoemoney are gods among men when it comes to making money online. Shoe’s infamous AdSense check it just amazing. And Chow’s monthly income reports are worthy of envy. But if you want to make money online you should not be reading Chow and Shoe.Chow and Shoe have been making money online for quite some time. (And this gringo actually subscribes to both of their feeds.) But when it comes to learning how to make more money online I learn more from newer blogs than I do from Chow and Shoe. You see, they’re like a well-oiled machine. They have gotten to a point where an impressive monthly online income is seemingly effortless to them. They are not having to scour the web for new ways to make money because they are already making money. And plenty of it from the looks of things.If you’re reading Chow and Shoe then it needs to be for motivation purposes only. What John Chow dines on and who sent Shoemoney a free shirt are not going to help you make more money online.
Is completely passive income a myth?
Last week I discussed the difference between passive and active income. But some people out there suggest that completely passive income is a myth.So, I ask you - is completely passive income a myth?In my experience, no. It is real.Here are some examples of my passive income streams.Over a year ago I was writing articles for Associated Content on a fairly regular basis. At the time I needed some extra cash and this was active income for me. I have not written for Associated Content since December of last year. However I make money from Associated Content each month. See, a while back they started a program where you got a page view bonus for your articles each month. So, each month I make around $50 in completely passive income even though I have not written anything for them in almost a year.Affiliate programs are great passive income earners. Amazon Associates is a fave passive income earner of mine. And the great thing about it is that people end up buying more than just one thing usually.Google Adsense is also a passive income earner in a sense. Sure, the only work you do technically is put up the html code on your site. However, you do have to generate traffic to your site to get those clicks.Ebooks and edocuments are another great way to earn passive income. You only have to create those items once and then promo them some way. After that you just wait for the sales. I have a $4.99 item that sells regularly that I created over 2 years ago. I typically make around $125 a month from this item but have made as much as $450 a month from this item. To this day I still sell this item.
Is joining the “Make Money Online” niche a mistake?
Do you think that joining the “Make Money Online” niche is a mistake? Would you join it or do you think it’s overcrowded? Jim Karter at Make Money Online seems to think so. This gringo disagrees.I think that the key is that you have to make your blog stand out some way. Why? Because tons of schmucks are starting up how to make money online blogs. So yes, it is overcrowded. But you just need to stand out from the crowd.
I heart vague rejection notices
I do a lot of paid blogging opps. And I love when I get vague rejection notices. Like this little gem:
We are unable to approve this post. You have not met the advertisers requirements. Please be sure to read all the advertisers requirements before posting paid ops.
Wow. Thanks, I really know just what to fix now.
A Smorty update
I emailed Smorty about my referral money that is due to me. In total, it is only around five bucks but still - it’s my money dammit!
Smorty responded rather quickly. They are trying to pay the “we paid you your referral payments with your regular payments” card. I’m not falling for it. Not only do I keep meticulous records of my online income, but they have a payment history tab. And that payment history details the exact thing you were paid for and the amount.
I responded that they still owe me. And now I wait.
Enough is enough
I decided that enough is enough. I could be earning interest on the money that Smorty owes me. Instead, those bastards are earning my interest. So, I shot them off an email inquiring about it’s status. Let’s see if/when they respond.
Here is my polite email:
Just wondering how long it takes to get paid for referrals. I have referred someone that I know has approved posts yet I have not seen any referral income.
Please advise.
Smorty announces new income stream; I announce that Smorty owes me referral money
Smorty is an money making venture that should really be avoided. In fact, I need to take down the link to it that I have in my sidebar. You see, Smorty apparently does not like to pay. It is like pulling teeth to get regular payments. And then there are referral payments. I know I have referral payments due to me. Yet they are no where to be found. I sure wish they would pay up.
Apparently the money that they have been withholding was being used to develop a little something new. Here is the email I just got from them…
Dear Smortians,
We have an exciting new feature! Digxa Mini Stores.
Publish contexual click through advertising on your blog with Digxa Mini Stores. This customizable solution allows you to place both standard and pop up product banners from related words within your posts. For example, the words “mobile phone” may generate a visible link that pops open a banner advertising a “mobile phone” if the visitor places their mouse over it. If this product is clicked on, you will receive a commission ranging up to $0.60.
Login to your Smorty admin panel to get started today for free! https://members.smorty.com/
The new http://www.smorty.com website is also ready. Check it out for all the information you need.
Good luck and happy blogging to you all.
Team Smorty
Douchebags.
Kontera: Money Maker or Traffic Killer?
Since I got my latest Google PageRank spanking, I have been investing other ways to get my income up. One of those things that I am testing out is Kontera. I have added it to a few of my sites so that I can see how it performs for me. From what I have read, it really depends on your niche as to how Kontera will perform for you.
In February, Living off Dividends reported making almost $100 from Kontera in the second month of using it on 3 sites. And just a few days ago, Jim Karter reported making more than $9,000 with Kontera for 32 sites.
I added Kontera to 8 of my sites on April 8th and made $1.73 total. Clearly I am going to need to tweak it a bit to get anywhere near the results that I listed above.
Why I use a free theme for my blog
It took me quite some time to find a free wordpress theme that I was happy with. In fact, I cannot say that this gringo loves this theme entirely. However, it is the closest I could find to what I was looking for.
After my last post you might be wondering why I am using a free theme as opposed to a premium theme.
Simple.
I’m trying to make pesos not spend them.
Granted there may come a point when I take the plunge and buy a premium theme. I’d love to. I’ve seen several by Unique Blog Designs and Adii that I would like to have. But they are close to $100, which is a dealbreaker for this cheap gringo at the moment.
The question is, if I wait to get a premium theme and even a logo will it hurt my branding? It is likely it will. However I am not trying to build an empire. I’m just trying to be a peso millionaire. And none of my blogs that I run have premium themes. However, I have found a new free theme that I plan on changing too. It looks a bit more professional and crisp. The only downer is that it has problems when viewed in Internet Explorer. But I think I can live with that.
Why you should use a premium or custom theme for your blog
If you look around the web at the people who are consistently making big money blogging on the web, they have at least one thing in common.
They all look different.
They might have started out using free themes, but now they are all using custom themes that were designed specifically for them.
Have a premium theme or a custom theme sends the message that you are serious about your blog. It looks professional. It is also a useful way to do some branding. And branding is important. And if you are blogging in a specific niche, then it helps you to look like an authority.
Of course, premium themes cost money. And those coveted custom themes cost even more.
I have several blogs that I work on and I know that at some point I need to move away from the free Wordpress themes. I think that free themes have the same handicap with them that free blogspot blogs have.
Of course, there are people out there with free blogspot blogs and free themes that are making money blogging. But I think that they are far outnumbered by the alternative.
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Progress
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Goal: 1,000,000 MXN
Current: 64,288.69 MXN
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The Donation Piñata
Help this gringo out with a little donation!
I'm trying to get to one million pesos by 12/31/08.
As of March 31, I am at 64,288.69 MXN.
For more on my progress, click here. -
The exchange rate
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The goal? 1,000,000 Mexican Pesos.
Current exchange rate as of 4/15/08 is 1.00 MXN = 0.10 USD.
So, 1,000,000 MXN = 95,350.23 USD.
Check out the Currency Converter at XE.com.
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Mexican Flavor of the Moment
Laura Elena Harring
