You Will Not Get Rich From This Blog

I remember a radio commercial recently that was advertising for a sales position with their station. The one line I remember from that commercial was, “How much money will you make? You’ll make as much as you earn!”.

Makes sense. The harder you work, the more advertisers you bring in, the more money you make for the radio station ( and hopefully the advertisers as well ), and of course more commissions for you. I’m pretty sure someone selling “radio advertising” doesn’t make a whole hell of a lot hourly. So commission’s are crucial.

In online marketing. It kinda works the same way. The harder you work at generating sales and commissions, the more money you’ll make. If you do nothing, then nothing will happen. Meaning, you’ll make little money. If you do nothing more than click a few ads or read a few emails, maybe even complete a survey once in awhile. Then you’ll have a nice little hobby on your hands and you’ll make a little extra cash. Nothing wrong with that. Your making what you earned!

So whats my problem?!! I have a semi popular blog. My list grows everyday and I’m making a bit of money from my efforts. Actually more than a “bit”. I can do more though. Much more!

I can use the excuse that life is busy.. blah blah blah. I can use the excuse that I lost my private office when we moved last November, but honestly I’ve had many moments when I chose to play a game or two on SwagBucks, or watched a video or three on YouTube, or even spent too much time checking my stats and earnings. Instead of writing new posts.

Pathetic, I know. Especially since I usually have plenty to talk about; both online and offline.

although, playing games on SwagBucks is both rewarding and fun!!

So I’m going to start writing again!!

I’m not always going to write blockbuster posts, but I will write. Even if it’s just a couple paragraphs. Might be meaningful, might even just be me ranting for a few minutes about something that pissed me off or got me all warm and mushy inside, but I will write.. I promise!!!

In the meantime, today I worked two real time jobs and still found time to write this post. Perfect! That’s what I need to do to rise above. In an honest way of course.

As always, thanks for all the love and stuff. All the emails, comments, concern and encouragement really mean a lot.

Phil ( philsfault ) Ames

One thing I’m an advocate for in the gym is the basics. Sure I’ll hit my muscles with different techniques and exercises, but my foundation is always centered around a few basic fundamental exercises. Bench Press, Squats, Bar Bell Curls, Military Press and Rows for back. These exercises were the corner stone of my growth when I started bodybuilding ( not professionally ) in my 20′s. While it’s a bit tougher to get in the gym these days, when I do however, I always focus first on those few basic exercises. Did I mention “Incline Dumbbell Presses”? Man I love those!!

Anyways..

In today’s PTC ( paid to click ) market, where new sites pop up everyday and just as fast.. shut down for whatever reason. I feel it’s important to not forget some of the basic programs that have been doing there thing for many years. A lot of the money I make online today is from the programs I joined years ago. Although, some might not be as flashy or exciting as some of the newer sites that have come and gone over the last couple years, but at the end of the day what are you looking for. Flash or Sustainability?

Of course ClixSense is a must join. Online and paying since 2007 and now with weekly payouts and a new look. No referrals to rent, a very reasonable yearly upgrade ( recommended but optional ), and one of the best multi-tier commission structures in the industry. ClixSense is arguably the best and most sustainable programs today.

Hits4Pay, I believe is one of the oldest Paid to Read ( PTR ) programs out there. Although I joined in 2006, Hits4Pay claims to have opened shop back in 1998. Hits4Pay is one of the few sites without an upgrade option. Meaning everyone earns at the same payment structure and everyone has the same cash out level. Although you won’t see a ton of ads, the two levels of referral commissions is quite generous.

Since 2003 WordLinx continues to be one of my favorites. Lot’s of daily ads and a great place to advertise.

Other notables worth exploring include: AdPaid ( since 2004 ), Donkeymails ( since 2005 ), and although not a PTC, MyFreeShares ( since 2004 ) is definitely worth adding to this list…

…and of course MatrixMails. Online and paying since 2002 MatrixMails frustrates me sometimes. They have promised a brand new site since last March and the off again on again PayPal status is something I hope they figure out soon. Still, the upgrade options have always been more than generous and “MatrixMails” remains one of my favorite sites.

In closing, I learned the basic’s in the gym years ago. In regards to online money making, like I’ve said before I don’t join a lot of new programs. Mostly I stick with the Basics.

Phil ( philsfault ) Ames

Why Yes, it has been over two months since I wrote my last post. Thanks to all who have noticed ;)

One of the cool things about having a blog and making small attempts at SEO ( search engine optimization ) is that even when you don’t write for two months people seem to find you and a couple new referrals a day seem to magically appear in the programs we write about. I don’t suggest you start a blog and then only write a new post every two months. You obviously want to provide as much relevant, honest and useful content as you can. Then later down the line when you do want to take a break, at least you can find comfort in knowing that your past efforts will pay off a bit.

Anyways….

Pet Peave – I don’t get the whole “paying to remove Direct referral” thing. I ( we ) spent the time and money to introduce direct referrals to our various programs, why should we have to pay more to remove them. Some programs ( PTC ) have referral limits for various membership levels; which I’m not a fan of in the first place. Based on our membership status, upgraded or free, we might find that we can only have a certain amount of direct referrals to earn from. Whether this is to encourage us to upgrade to a higher membership level or whatever. Having to pay a fee to lose inactive direct referrals seems a bit shady to me.

Example. When I joined Schnaap Klicks last year, I upgraded to the six month level; advantage pro. At that level of membership I could have 150 direct refs. I questioned this a bit but what the hell, let’s see what one hundred fifty directs can do for me. I promoted a bit in December and quickly brought in over one hundred direct referrals. My earnings ranged between fifty cents and a dollar a day. Not really stellar numbers but profit non the less. Adding to my daily earnings is always a good thing.

Recently my current membership with Schnaap expired and I quickly found out why most of my direct referrals were not encouraged to click every day. No Ads!! As an advertiser myself I often target my promotions towards “upgraded” members. So this was not my problem. My problem was that in order to earn from my direct referrals as a Free member, I needed to click just one ad a day. Easy right? Except there weren’t always ads to click on!! So at 128 direct referrals I not only lost the ability to earn from “All” my referrals but now since I wasn’t getting that one ad to click on.. I was losing out on ALL commissions from my directs.

Seems a bit unfair to have this rule when Schnaap Klicks can’t at least provide the one ad to click on.

Instead of boycotting Schnaap.. a took a deep breath and decided to upgrade at a lower level. To be honest, they have always paid on time, so even though I’m not really thrilled about their business model, I’m going to see how my numbers look in a couple months.

The bottom line is that I want to join and promote programs that are both fair and profitable for both upgraded and free members alike. In my opinion Schnaap Klicks is falling a bit short, and obviously I’m not really encouraged to promote any further since I’m sort of at my maxx.. hmmm who’s really the loser here?

Anyways ( again )

Hey!! Guess what? It’s summer time. Although I BBQ year round here in California, the warm ( HOT!! ) summer weather makes it more enjoyable. This is my time of year! As most of you know I wear shorts year round. The only jacket I own is a couple sweat shirts ( hoodies ) and my jeans are only seen a couple times a year. I’m happy, and I don’t have to change my wardrobe to match the seasons… I’m just always ready for summer.

Although, too many consecutive 100 degree days in a row can be a bit overwhelming, I tolerate it more than the cold. Ideally though, I’m hoping to retire someplace where the average temperature is around 77 degrees; hmmm perhaps the Virgin Islands.

Phil ( philsfault ) Ames