My Thoughts on Paid Posts

I just wanted to let you know that I am considering using sponsored posts in my blog. These won't make up the majority of my posts, but I might use them, and here's why:

1) College is expensive. Therefore, I am poor. Therefore, I need to make some cash somehow. Paid posts allow me to do the work whenever I have time, as in, whenever homework is light.

2) It takes a lot of effort to run a blog sometimes, and it feels good to be rewarded with cash to post.

Don't worry, I'm not going to sell out and just praise random companies. Even the sponsored posts will be real, and I'll make sure to tell the truth. And I'll still be posting my regular posts. Thanks for understanding.

Brightspot.tv

Update: Unfortunately, it looks like Brightspot.tv is no more. Read more here.

Brightspot.tv is a neat little website that I found about a month ago. Basically, you get money added to your account every time you watch a commercial and answer a couple short questions about it. You get between $0.25 and $0.50 per commercial. You can then apply the money to specific providers that they list. I was able to get a free month of MLB TV, so I could watch all the baseball I wanted online for a month. It saved me $20 for some pretty easy work. Check it out.

Linkreferral - Free Traffic and Reviews for Your Site

In my quest to get traffic to my site, I came across a pretty neat website: Linkreferral. It's a large directory of sites, but with a twist: you can visit other member's sites, review them, and increase the ranking of your site. It's a good concept, and I've seen good results from it. The more sites you visit and review, the better a ranking your site gets. So not only do you get visitors for your site, you also get people reviewing it, and giving their opinion on what needs improving. You can also refer people, and they'll give you more traffic for that.

If you're looking for traffic, and even some people to review your site, then check out Linkreferral.

CREAMaid Update

A few posts ago, I told you that I experimented with CREAMaid.com, which allows you to earn money by posting on a specific topic that they give you. I told you that I hadn't made any money with it. Well, I made some today: $1! Thrilling, isn't it? Like I said, you probably won't make too much with CREAMaid, but know that they do pay.

Getting Traffic is Tough

I told you about my website, Aaron's T-Shirt Review, a couple posts ago. Well, I'm having a tough time getting much traffic to it. It has been increasing in each month that the site has been up, but it's not where I would like it to be. Google is by far my highest refferer right now. I guess I just need to keep making content, improving the design, and tweaking things. If you have any tips, I would welcome them. I'm off to research some traffic techniques, and I'll post the results sometime in the future.

Freeware

Being a college student, I'm poor, and need all the free stuff I can get. That's why I love freeware. Freeware is just software for your computer that is free, as in...costs nothing! It's great, because software can sometimes be expensive. Instead of going out and buying it, you can find some great alternatives that are just as good, if not better, than the stuff you would pay for.

I just wanted to let you know that I might be blogging about freeware in the near future, and letting you know about some of the coolest free programs on the web. So stay tuned!

CREAMaid: Make Money Blogging

I recently discovered a site called CREAMaid, which pays you to write blog entries. Unfortunately, you're not guaranteed to get paid. Basically, you go to their site, look for assignments that interest you, and write. You only get cash when your entry is featured in the little widget that you insert after every post, or if someone else posts through your widget. I tried this out a few days ago, and haven't made a cent. I can't really recommend this site, but go ahead and try it out if you want. I wouldn't expect to make much, if anything, though.

Best Buys: Side by Side Service Comparisons

When I first stumbled onto Best Buys, I thought it was a cheap site trying to get clicks from users that meant to type in bestbuy.com. Looks like I was wrong. Most of the site is in a generic comparison shopping type format, but because I found a pretty neat little section too: Comparison Reviews.

They actually pick two competing services, such as Blockbuster and Netflicks, and compare the products head on. Their reviews could be a little more detailed, but the strengths and weaknesses are pointed out, and a winner is chosen. I have been contemplating purchasing a movie rental service, which would be great while I'm stuck at college, and found this comparison to be quite helpful.

Their list certianly isn't exhaustive, but it is a helpful start. I would like to find more of these types of comparisons online, as they seem to be pretty helpful in choosing what to buy.