Fun4TheMoney

I've been writing DIY articles for publication and on some of my websites. I wanted to link to some real people's experiences, but an hour of Google searching turned up very little. If any of you have DIY websites, articles, hints, photos, links, or anything else to share on this topic, please let me know. What I'm most interested in right now are testimonials about sweat equity projects. Our own is dramatic, but too general to be of much help to others. We bought a fixer-upper for $90,000, put $30,000 into it, spent 3 years of hard labor on it, then when we refinanced, it appraised for $241,000. We now have 50% equity, no other debt, and a nice, juicy home equity line of credit for emergencies. The article I published was on the general benefits of sweat equity. I linked to a followup article about the best projects, but that's where I sorta crapped out. Here's a link to that folloup article so you can decide if you have something to contribute. It really needs a lot more resources. Best Sweat Equity Projects TIA for anything you can share.

Have you looked into Moneybookers.com? I've heard good things about them, but no personal experience yet. I think they're based in the UK.

Actually, I enjoy surfing. In fact, if things keep going this well, I plan on getting a faster connection and another computer, so I can surf more.

Terrific! Thank you. I've been piling up thousands of surf credits with no time to figure out what to do with them. Thanks to you I can learn all about PTP at one well-organized location. I've already put your site in my faves.

I do autosurf and I do get paid. I put about $1,000 in, got it all back, and now I have a little over $2,000 working for me. I'm getting back about $600 a month. It should go up at least $100 per month, if all goes well. Some people think autosurf is a no-brainer, but it takes a lot of time and brain power researching good programs and figuring out how to make money in each one (they're all a little diffeent). Some people think all autosurf programs are scams. That isn't true either, but there are definitely more scams and Ponzi schemes than legitimate programs, which makes this a real gamble. Also, there are more crooked members than crooked owners, so many good programs get hacked out of business. Then everybody loses. Most people can't figure out how these sites can afford to pay so much, but the honest ones invest in other even higher paying schemes so they can continue to pay members even if nobody new signs up. (The real money is in currency exchanges, but I haven't figured them out yet--LOL!) My advice to anyone who wants to play this dangerous game is to go through everything you don't need anymore, that still has value, sell it on eBay, then go looking for autosurf sites that take PayPal (they're safer). Use your eBay/PayPal money to gamble with (and this is definitely gambling) and see what happens. If you aren't into eBay, think of some other way to make some extra money, so you aren't using the rent or grocery money for this, or borrowing off a credit card. You want to use money that you can afford to lose, because none of these things lasts forever, so you could lose it all. I'd be glad to share everything I've learned and all the programs I'm in, but I don't fool with free stuff, so you'd have to be able to put about $10 in each one to make them pay or my programs won't help you much. I can still share some info, however. I've been working on a site for autosurf. It isn't finished, yet, but it can't hurt and I'm not selling anything, so you're welcome to check it out without getting spammed, scammed, or blasted with ads (except Google Adsense). Fun4TheMoney Autosurf Site If you have any questions about autosurf, I'd be happy to answer them.

July and august are the worst months of the year for making money online. If you know anyone who's getting discouraged by poor sales and poor traffic, please let them know that this is just a seasonal slump. It happens every year. In the US, the majority of Internet users are young. They're active singles, active marrieds, and active parents. During the summer months, with long days, beautiful weather, and the kids out of school, these millions of people leave their computers for the great outdoors. Almost all of their time and extra money go to vacations and home improvement projects.When the days get shorter, the weather gets colder, and the kids go back to school, these people will bring their money and come back to the Internet. Over the past several weeks, I've seen autosurfs struggle, a new marketing program put on hold, eBay sales drop, and message board postings drop off to almost nothing. Many of the people running these programs don't live in the U.S. Some of them are "down under" where it's winter right now. They might never consider this "summer slump" and think they're doing something wrong. Please spread the word. After Labor Day (the first Monday in September, when the kids are all back in school) business will start to improve, gradually. The shorter the days and the worse the weather gets over here, the better things will get for traffic and money online.Am I just guessing about this? No. I was an eBay Power Seller for 3 years. During the school year--September through May--our sales averaged $3,000-$5,000 per month. June, July, and August our sales dropped to just barely over $1,000 per month every year. Now, I don't even bother listing anything during these months. It's not worth it.That's all I have time for--gotta go outside and play. Notice from Klass: Everyone Please Read & Share is not a good topic description.

I found this while surfing, today. It looks interesting, but I can't find anybody who actually does it, and I'm past jumping into things without a personal recommendation from someone. Here's the link--NOT a referral link: All Solutions Network It looks pretty straight forward, but I don't want to waste my time promoting it if it's not worth it. Any opinions, ideas, experience with it?

I asked the question because I do a lot with deep links. I thought that having people link back to any of my pages would help my overall ranking in Google. When I thought about it, since the term is PAGE Rank, not "overall site rank" I started thinking that maybe I wasn't doing myself any good by spreading myself out like that, so I asked the question. I said "dilute" because it appears that 10 links back to my home page are worth far more than 10 links spread out among my various other pages. If that's true, then we should be having people link only to our home page, then direct them to our other pages. That's a pain for visitors, however, making them do all that clicking when we could send them straight to what they want. OTOH, Google finds all those other pages, too, during a search, so maybe it just doesn't matter. If you have a popular page, promote it and be happy. Who cares if it's not your home page? Hint: I've also been told that part of Google's ranking scheme is how many links you have on a page. If you have a nice description of each of your links, Google will rate it higher than if it's just a page of links. You don't want Google to think you're just a "link farm." The problem with all this is that nobody really knows for sure how Google "thinks" so this is all just conjecture anyway.

Sorry, I don't play games, so I'm not sure how they work, but I think it's just forum stuff--no graphics or live action or anything like that. Telling you how much I got paid wouldn't help you for 2 reasons: 1) I put a lot of money in, and 2) they had a 3 for 2 upgrade offer going, so that inflated my account level. They pay 2% with no payout fees (Studio Traffic pays 1% and charges you 2% to get paid). You only need $15 to get paid at MH ($25 on free accounts). Studio Traffic makes you get $100 in there before you can take any out. Payout at MH was right after the month ended. (I got paid on August 2 for July.) I'm not sure how long it takes at ST, but I don't think it's that fast. I'm in Studio Traffic, too, but it will be a year before I'll see any money, and then it will only be $5 with a free account. If you play free at MH, you'd get $24 when the upgrade expires after 120 days. That's a dollar short of payout, but if you watch when you surf, you get a few 2-cent bonuses every day, so that would get you to payout without ever putting a penny in, and in less than half the time it would take to get less money at ST. Surfing there is more fun than ST, too. You don't have to sit through all those ads for their own products. Naturally, you'll see a lot of the same stuff day after day, but not nearly as bad as ST. I also like the bonuses. Even though they're only 2-cents, it's fun to win something. AT ST, you just sit there until your eyes glaze over.

Don't ask! I fell in love with the thing and put in money I couldn't afford to lose, but they do have a free program. They start you with $10. Upgrades last 120 days. It's a really fun place to hang out even if you don't put any money in. What I like is that admin is smart and responsive. I really think this is an honest setup. OTOH, I thought Netbux and Greenzap were, cool, too. Hint for anyone thinking about autosurfs: Check out their forums. That's the best way to learn and find out about the best programs and offers. Before you put any money in any of them, check out places like GetPaidForum and make sure they're paying on time and nobody has any complaints. There are also rating sites that will tell you which ones have good reputations. Bad things still happen to even the best of them, but it's amazing how many that are known scams still show up in rotation on even the good sites. Autosurfing is fun, but you do have to be very careful which ones you put money into.

I haven't been here for a while, but it looks like we can't post referral links anymore. Mission Hits is worth talking about even if you can't sign up under me. It's a very nice autosurf with no payout fee, responsive admin, really fun, friendly forum, and they take PayPal, which is really rare in autosurfs. I just got paid, today, for July. That's FAST. Here's a link to their forum, which also has topics for other money-making opportunities. MissionHits Forum You can get to the main site by clicking on "Go MissionHits Surfing" near the top of the page.

Thanks so much for the info. Your timing was perfect. I decided to write an article about DXInOne for my online mag this month, but I got in way over my head. Thanks to another friend who belongs to DXInOne, and now you, I have enough links to give my readers someplace to go after exhausting my very limited knowledge of the subject. Here's a link to the article, with your link included: DXInOne Brief Introduction Thanks again for the helpful info.

This looks interesting and very complex. Anybody have any experience with this one or any other currency exchange programs? Are they goofy like autosurf or are they safe and sensible?

eBay has something along these lines, but not just for programmers. It's called "Want It Now" where the buyers advertise what they're looking for. It could be anything from merchandise to custom knitting or web design. As with everything at dBay, it changes constantly, so you need to check it often. On the Payment thing, have you checked out StormPay? I have an affiliate link, somewhere, if you want to send me a PM. They seem the most like PayPal, but I don't know which countries they support. Their fees are higher than PayPal too--I think. I'm not sure because I get one of the best deals at PayPal from my days as an eBay Power Seller. On just the regular consumer level, the fees might be about the same. Also, StormPay has a better affiliate program than PayPal and they offer free auctions--no listing fees--no final value fees. I haven't listed anything there, yet, but I think I might try it. BTW, anybody interested in starting anything online right now should be aware that July and August are the worst months of the year for doing just about anything online with money. eBay is really dead in the summer.}}

I agree. Google, eBay, and Amazon are my foundation programs. They're honest and steady.

My sincere apologies to Round and anyone else I may have offended with this topic. Please let me explain: 1) I am NOT fishing for hosting credits. I have all I need and will probably let my Xisto site go, anyway--it's a forum site and nobody posts there. 2) I have never spammed anybody in my life and never will. I am not selling anything or promoting anything on this forum. 3) My motivation for starting this topic was born of excitement, because I now believe I can do it. I wanted to share my enthusiasm. If I can do it, YOU can do it. This enthusiasm comes from 2 people I met online. One of them makes almost $10,000 a month, mostly on autosurf programs. The other makes even more, and he won't touch autosurfs. He does it through various online marketing schemes. These 2 people are for real. How do they do it? They spend their time researching and acting on opportunities that are available to all of us. They hang out on serious money-making forums and brainstorm with other serious entrepreneurs. They reinvest their profits in a broad range of programs. I'm sorry I can't tell you more--they aren't giving away their secrets. 4) Why don't I shut up and get a real job? This IS my real job. I'm a writer. This is what I do and how I make my living. I have just discovered several forums that will actually pay me to post. When I get paid, I will reinvest that money in something risky with a high return. If I get lucky there, I will reinvest that money in something safer. If I lose it, I'll try again. The most important thing I learned from Rudy Corey is to keep at it. Learn from mistakes and don't give up. He became a multi-millionaire online, so add him to my inspiration/motivation list. 5) Why don't I list specific programs and sites? That WOULD be spamming. Also, I think we all need to find our own way in this world. What works for me might not work for you. Also, if something DOESN'T work for me, and I get you into it, we both lose and then I'd feel guilty. Now I'll shut up and go away.

Absolutely. I used to have money, , and had several stock market accounts online. It was wonderful. If I could get back to that level I would never surf for pennies again.

That's always been my problem with MLM--I hate recruiting and most kinds of marketing. I did find one the other day that says they'll do all that for you. It's called UP--Unlimited something--can't remember what exactly, but if you throw $15 a month at them, they'll take care of your downline and marketing. That one sounds pretty good to me. As soon as I make some money in autosurf, I think I'll try that one or something like it where I don't have to drag everybody I know kicking and screaming into the programs.

Me? Make a mistake? Are you sure? Since I'm grossly undercapitalized, my plan is to make some quick money on the autosurfs, then start trading up into safer investments, with some $$ left over to reinvest in my own products and services. The idea is to have several things going at once, since my little website can't by me a Coke all by its little self. If I can find a way to compound my meagre profits, however, I might be able to get where I want to be.

You won't need the $100 for at least a month. First, get the website, Google Adsense, and some good affiliate programs going. Then start researching places to reinvest the money you make from your ads and other products you sell. (eBay is still the best way to make money online, IMHO.) I can't tell you exactly what to do because I don't know what you like or what you're good at. Do you like products? Do you want a store? If you like that, you can try SFI. They'll build you a store and help you learn how to sell products and build a downline. It's all free. Then, if you're happy with it, they'll want you to invest about $30 in merchandise to become an affiliate and make more money. That would be someplace to put part of your $100. If you don't like that, you could try surveys. Maybe someone else could recommend a reputable survey company. I know a lot of them try to get money out of you and that's NOT where you want to spend any of your $100. Do you like to read emails? There's another company called MoneyList that gives you complete training in how to make money reading emails. Again, it's free to join and get all their training. If you like it, you could put some of your $100 there. I lost interest in that when I discovered autosurfing, so I don't know if it's worth putting money into or not. Again, maybe somebody else can help you with that one. What I'm doing is autosurf/HYIP. It's very risky, but it's also exciting and offers insanely high ROI. I can help you get started doing that, but I can't honestly recommend it because I haven't been paid on anything, yet. OTOH, it won't cost anything to start, and you never have to upgrade if you don't want to. Another really hot area online is investing in currency exchanges. Think about all the transactions that take place online every day. There's money going back and forth all the time and ways to make money yourself by investing in the companies that deal with all that stuff. I haven't studied any of that, yet, but I understand it's a lot safer than autosurfing. In fact, one of them, DXon1 (or something like that) swears it's the safest investment online, but I don't think you can start free. I think that one is a straight out investment. The whole point is to find several different places to reinvest the money you make with your website. The principle is called compounding. It's just like putting money in the bank and getting interest. Then you leave the interest in the bank and you get interest on your interest. The difference is that these programs all offer extremely high rates of return--several percent PER DAY, not per month or per year. I'm sorry you think my articles are too long, but this is complicated stuff. If it were easy, we'd all be millionaires. If I had a magic formula, I'd be selling it, not giving it away, here. If you're still confused, send me a PM and I'll try to help you out.

The good news about getting rich on the Internet is that the average person has a good chance of making it happen without any money out of pocket. It?s a gamble, but the odds are in your favor if you really apply yourself.The bad news is that it takes a long time, a lot of work, and more than a little luck. In my own case, if my current programs hold up for just a few more months, I should be making a full-time income in about a year, and be ?rich? in 3, if I decide to work that hard or that long.So, if I?m not rich already, why am I writing this? Because I see posts, here, all the time, asking if it can be done, then a whole bunch of responses saying ?No?they?re all scams.? I?ve only been researching this stuff for a few months, and only been involved, myself, for a few weeks, but I?ve already met several people who are either rich already or will be soon. These are not people who are bragging about it, trying to get me to sign up for something, but real people like us who are quietly generating serious cash online, month after month.I wish I could give you a magic forumula, but I can't. I've seen people who are successful with MLM, PTR, and PTP programs, as well as high-end investment schemes and development projects. The people I know who are making big bucks are into a little bit of everything. I'm doing it with autosurf/HYIP programs, but it's too soon to brag yet. As soon as I can, I will branch out into other things.I think the key to the whole thing is to hit all these boards, hard, and learn from other people's ideas, recommendations, and mistakes. I have a whole list of forums for making money online. I haunt them all every week and that's where I find the programs I sign up for.A few general hints are:1) Sign up for free programs, first, and learn the ropes.2) Only upgrade the minumum amounts, do it when there's an added incentive, and only use extra money--don't take it from your household budget or use a credit card you can't pay off. You can get your seed money by selling stuff on eBay, promoting strong affiliate programs, or doing something offline for extra cash, like having a garage sale. This is very important. If you can't find a way to earn your start up money--not just steal it from the grocery fund--you probably don't have what it takes to get rich online. It takes dedication, attention to detail, determination, and tons of research.If my calcs work out right, all you need is about $100 to get some really good programs going, then let them build and work for you, reinvesting and swapping programs as you go along. Something else to remember is that the people who are making the really big money aren't going to come here and talk about it--they're too busy either making more money or spending what they already have. The people who talk about how much they're making are usually trying to sell you something. Here's an example: Gimme ten bucks and I'll tell you how to make a million. Okay, here's the ten bucks now how do I do it? Simple, just get 500,000 people to buy this same program for $2 each and there's your million bucks. Next?I can hear you groaning over that one, but it's the basic concept for most get rich quick schemes. They get rich, you get left holding the bag, and all you learn is that you won't get suckered like that again. Now that you know you can do it, go for it. When you find something good, come back here and share and we'll all get rich.

It's a great idea, but don't quit your day job. Competition is fierce and marketing, as always, is the key to success. If you know lots of people online who will help spread the word, you should be fine. Otherwise, you'll have to get creative.I know a lady who just won a total house makeover for $5,000. It was an "ugliest house" contest that she won. You might do something like that and have people submit their ugliest web site. You could have your visitors vote on it--everybody loves polls. Then, the winner gets a graphics site remake by you.You could learn a lot and generate some interest that way, but even the contest would have to be promoted, then you'd have all the work without generating any revenue. Be sure to have Google Adsense in place before you start. A few dollars from them could help ease the pain.Ooo, I'm really getting into this, now. Your whole theme could be like DIY or HGTV, where they have little workshops for renovating rooms, yards, etc. You could have a whole lot of fun with this and make money in lots of different areas, helping people remodel their websites.Another angle is to throw in with people who have expertise in other areas--like scripts for forums and other programming stuff, and marketing gurus for promoting their sites. You could promote their services while they promote yours and your visitors could reap the rewards by having everything they need in one place.If you decide to go with this, please send me a PM with your info. I'm a web content writer and graphically impaired. Every once in a while one of my clients will ask for a referral for graphic stuff, and I never know where to send them.

Best of luck. How are you going to market your services? Marketer's List is free. It's still pretty new, with not much traffic, but should get better and better. I know the guy who started it and he's pretty cool. There's no hype there--it's strictly legit. Marketer's List

That's what I was afraid of. Thanks.

You can only use this free money online, which means finding somebody who'll take it for whatever you want to buy or sign up for. I didn't realize that when I posted my original message--sorry. In order to get real cash, you'd have to deposit real cash, which I would not recommend. Right now they're trying to get people to do that. If you upgrade with $100 of real money, they'll give you another $100 of their web money. That scares me more than a little, so I wouldn't do that, but you can't go wrong with this free deal. If the whole thing disappears, all you've wasted is a few minutes. If it takes off, you have $25 to spend plus $5 each from the people who sign up under you. Also, if you have something to sell that really doesn't cost you anything--like an ebook--or you don't mind giving away some product to get new customers--it might be worth taking GreenZap as a payment method, and posting that on your site right now. Since they're giving away $25 to all new signups, they'll let you take credit for that. You can advertise a $25 free bonus for your customers to use GreenZap, if they sign up from your site. You'll get the $5 bonus, too. The downside is if the money turns out to be worthless, later. You would have sold your product for worthless money. The upside is that you might get lots of free publicity while this thing is in its launch phase.