Posted: June 23rd, 2008 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Tips | Tags: How To, Income, money, writing | 17 Comments »
“You want to be a writer
But you don’t know how or when
Find a quiet place
Use a humble pen”
~Paul Simon,
Hurricane Eye
The Internet is a wonderful thing.
Consider freelance writing. It’s one of my 10 cheap hobbies, but thanks to the Internet, it’s more than just a hobby. I’ve been writing (on and off) for about 16 years or so, but few people ever read any of it – until now.
If you wanted to make money writing before the Internet, chances are you never got the opportunity. You would have had to have been lucky, or industrious enough to find an agent or grab an editor’s eye for a magazine or publishing company. Not anymore!
With the advent of the Internet, more accurately Web 2.0 and the content development business model, if you have the writing bug, a computer and free time – you can get paid for what you write about. How cool is that?
Here’s a list of 5 channels, if you will, that I’ve been successful with so far.
1) Personal Blog.
Some blog for fun, and others for profit. Personally, I aim for a happy medium between the two. I don’t see the point in writing something just for money. I’d feel differently if I was a professional writer, but at this stage of the game I don’t have the luxury of pursuing that career change. But I feel that I do put a fair amount of effort into what I write (this site is a good example) and if I can get some compensation for it – all the better. Also, I’d like this site to become self sufficient at some point, so I can get some hosting bells a whistles and the like.
The most obvious way people earn money with personal blogs is through the inclusion of advertisements and affiliate links. Google Adsense is the biggest player here, but also Amazon, Yahoo, Adbright and others are also available. I haven’t made millions off advertising, or even tens yet. But I have had some increasing success. Perhaps I would have more if I plastered the site with ads, but that would go against my desire to write meaningful, useful content. I would lose my balance, in other words.
All you need for this method is a blog and an idea. Well, several ideas really because it takes more than just a single post for people to hang around.
2) Pay Per Post.
Once you have a blog, a topic and an appropriate amount of posts you can sign up for sites like Pay Per Post. Pay Per Post operates like a hub connecting bloggers and advertisers. Advertisers post topics, along with guideline and any images or links they require in the post. Bloggers can then claim the topics and if their post meets the requirement of the advertiser, then they get paid.
Payment ranges from a couple of dollars to over $20. Some advertisers require the blogger to engage in blatant advertising, and expect a rave review. Others are more free market in their approach and allow the blogger to state how they really feel about the product. In short, you don’t have to sell your soul to the advertiser- you can avoid topics or conditions that make you feel uncomfortable. Sign up here. or learn more about getting paid to blog here.
3). Helium.
The is the first of the pay-for-content sites that I tried. The concept is simple. Helium gets writers to join them, offers topics and contests and writers get a cut of advertising revenue as well as contest rewards. The name is derived from their method of quality control. The writers vote on articles from other writers. The theory is that the good will out weigh the bad and the best articles with rise to the top of the quality list. Rise to the top. Get it- like Helium rises above ordinary air.. well, OK so it’s a clunky metaphor, but it seems to work for them.
The topics are diverse, and the contest rewards are generous – $60 for 1st Prize, $40 for 2nd Prize, and $30 for 3rd Prize. They also offer a market place of post requests, where advertisers request topics from the members. These can pay quite well too. Learn more here.
4). Associated Content.
AC is much like helium, except there is no concept of community voting on content quality. Articles can be submitted for up front payment, but also earn a performance payment. If the editors feel your article is unique and engaging then they will accept it for up font payment. This ranges from a couple dollars up to $20 (so they say). The most I’ve had up front is $8. The performance payment is based on page views, so the more you have, the more you earn. Learn more here.
5). HubPages.
HubPages offers much more control, but no up front payment. Where both Helium and Associated Content control ads, HubPages gives that control to the writer. If you don’t want any ads in your content, so be it. If you’d like ads all over then you can do that too – to a degree. The revenue is split 60% – 40% with the writer receiving the majority. They also allow for Amazon and eBay affiliate links, where the others do not.
I think the thing that sets HubPages apart from Helium and Associated Content though is that HubPages has more of a sense of community. This is because writers are essentially bloggers who can write on any topic and HubPages brings the readers and traffic. Learn more here.
Conclusion.
I hope I’ve done a good job of detailing the strengths and weakness of each opportunity. Each has its place in a freelancer’s toolbox or the hobbyists bookmarks. If you’ve got an interest and some decent writing skills, then you can really develop quite a good network of friends and associates while earning a little extra cash on the side. It’s a winning situation all around.
Technorati Tags: Income, Money, Make Money, Writing
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Posted: June 17th, 2008 | Author: Joe | Filed under: spending, Tips | Tags: Saving Money, Software, Tips | 3 Comments »
When I started this blog, I developed a sort of split personality. In my real life I’m a software engineer and all around computer geek. But when I sit down to write, or read a financial book or magazine, the finance driven “me” comes out. I never really noticed how little these two me’s interconnect until I was trying to think of a post topic and realized I was staring one right in the face, so to speak. My word processor is entirely free- and portable. But more on that in a minute.
DISCLAIMER: I am entirely PC based and have little Mac experience, so please bear that in mind.
There are free software applications (A.K.A. freeware) that provide similar functionality to many high-priced versions in the stores. The ridiculous part is that in many cases, they’re just plain better than their high price counterparts. This is usually due to what we call “bloatware” in the biz. But that’s another blog.
Here’s a few freeware apps I’ve come to love:
1.) OpenOffice.
OpenOffice is an open source (read, “free”) alternative to Microsoft Office. This suite of applications can entirely replace MS Office because it provides most (if not all) of the functionality that the average user requires AND it is capable of reading and saving in the various Microsoft Office file formats.
OpenOffice is a full office suite and includes a word processor (called “Writer”) and a spreadsheet app, called “Calc.” It also has a power point rival and a simple database app called, simply enough, “Base.” Both Writer and Calc are virtual Word and Excel clones, so adopting them is fairly easy.
The best part is – it’s free! So you can save a couple hundred dollars right there. Download OpenOffice here.
2.) GIMP.
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is freely distributed under the GNU open source license. It’s practically a Photoshop replacement. It provides the same concept and functionality of layers, filters and brushes that make Photoshop so powerful, and it handles just about every image file type out there. I wouldn’t recommend this for basic image editing, but when you’ve got a serious graphic editing task the GiMP can step up to the plate. Download GiMP here.
3.) 7-zip.
7-Zip is an excellent Winzip replacement. I know, Winzip was shareware and not that costly. And 95% of its users probably never bothered to register the damn thing. But now with 7-Zip you can compress and un-compress for free and without guilt.
It handles MANY compression file formats: arj, lzh, gz, cab, iso, rar, tar and zip to name just a few. The best part (too a geek like me anyway) is that 7-Zip has its own proprietary file compression format, “7z”. 7z can actually compress files smaller than the standard zip format. 7-Zip does all of this (and more) all without the annoying nag-ware screen to click past. Download 7-Zip here.
4.) Audacity.
This aptly named gem is an audio editor. Its functionality is on par with professional software like Cool Edit Pro. Audacity features multi track editing and recording as well as sound effect filters and the like. It supports editing of wav, mp3, and Ogg Vorbis formats. This one can also save you a couple hundred smackers if you’re into sound editing, but not quite professional. Download Audacity here.
5.) FileZilla.
From the makers of the ever popular Firefox web browser comes FileZilla. FileZilla is a full-featured FTP client (they also have an FTP server) and supports open connections, SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SSH FTP. It’s incredibly simple to use, supports drag-and drop and resume. Download FileZilla here.
6.) Jarte.
Jarte (pronounced ” jär · ‘tay”) is a lightweight, simple rich text editor. From the website:
“1. A free word processor based on the Microsoft WordPad word processing engine built into Windows.
2. A fast starting, easy to use word processor that expands well beyond the WordPad feature set.
3. A small, portable word processor whose documents are fully compatible with Word and WordPad.”
It is all of these and more. Jarte is my primary tool of choice for all my writing projects. I find it provides all the functionality I need most when I’m just getting my thought on “paper”. If I’m formatting my resume, I’ll use OpenOffice Writer, but for simple text formatting, spell check and multi tab interface – it’s Jarte. Download Jarte here.
7.) IrfanView.
IrfanView is a fast, compact and portable image viewer, and lightweight editor. It runs on virtually all versions of Windows still in use today ( 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista), and it’s FREE.
IrfanView handles a HUGE number of file types but the most common are:jpgs, bmps, gifs, multipage TIFF, animated GIF and ICO files. It also has the major editing functions of any decent image package: Cut, Crop, Resize, Sharpen, Blur, Flip, Rotate, Red eye reduction and a whole lot more! Download IrfanView here.
8.) Cobian Backup.
Cobian Backup. Cobian. The name is a mystery. The website is hideous. The software is exceptional!
This small, powerful program handles full, differential, and incremental backups. It uses file compression and offers encryption. You can also backup to an FTP if local or network drives aren’t what you need. There’s all sorts of bells and whistles here, like scheduling and running the backup as an automatic background service and sending notification emails upon completion, but what I love about it is its simplicity. It has a very straight forward UI and fast and effective. Like the website, the icons need a good graphic designer, but that’s a small downside to a app as good as this with a price tag of zippo. Download Cobian backup here.
9.) Avast! Antivirus.
There are actually quite a few very good Antivirus programs out there, but my favorite is Avast!. It’s free for personal use and covers basic run-time scanning as well as scheduled system scan, IM/chat, email, network and website scanning. It has all the bells and whistle of premium Antivirus programs like virus vault, file cleaning and removal, automatic updates and more. I’ve tried AntiVir, AVG and Avast!. Avast is my favorite, though AVG is a close 2nd. Download Avast! Antivirus here.
10.) KeePass Password Safe.
Modern life has many wonderful and convenient improvements over the days of yore, but many of these technological perks come at a price. Identity theft is a huge problem. There are many causes, but one is that passwords are cumbersome. It’s an age old dilemma in the IT field: users should have secure passwords, but they often can’t remember them so they end up either using something less secure (like their pet’s name) or writing down the secure password on a post-it, thus making it less secure.
That’s where KeePass comes in. It’s a password safe, that allows you to store all your password info (encrypted and password protected, of course) and organize it by category. The benefit is that you only have to remember 1 secure password to open the program. After that, you can see what the password was for your ING savings account that you force yourself to keep away from lest you spend what’s there. Download KeePass Safe here
Oh, and every application in this list is portable (except Cobian, and Avast!). That means you can “install” (copy) it on a thumb drive and take it with you where ever you roam. Pretty sweet, eh?
You can find more FREE and portable software at http://portableapps.com/ and http://portablefreeware.com. It’s definitely worth a visit to see the wonders that abound out there in the open source community.
Photo, Free software badges, © marcomolinari.it
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Posted: June 11th, 2008 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Saving | Tags: Banking, HSBC, ING Direct, Interest rates | 2 Comments »
I just got an email from HSBC Direct saying that they’ve upped my interest rate to 3.5%! WooHoo!
Most of the time, when I say “WooHoo” it’s dripping with sarcasm but this time I really mean it. It was a very pleasant surprise. The rate is effect until August 15, 2008 and may adjust after that, but 3.5% is a very decent rate with the federal funds rate so low (currently 2%).
Of course, it’s all to get more money under their control since the amount they can lend and invest is dependent upon the amount of money deposited with them, but that’s OK because I use HSBC for my primary emergency fund savings anyway. It’s a win-win.
ING is also offering a savings incentive. They call it their Automatic Saver Sweepstakes:
“Every month that you have a recurring deposit of at least $100 with an Automatic Savings Plan or Direct Deposit into your Orange Savings Account or Electric Orange, you’ll be automatically entered to win. This will give you a chance to win one of five $1,000 prizes every month, or our Grand Prize – $30,000 to be paid to your Orange Savings Account or Electric Orange. That’s right we are giving away a total of $60,000″
I LOVE ING, but since HSBC pays more interest, I keep the majority of my savings with them and use ING for smaller, goal oriented savings: new computer, sewer and water bills, etc…
For a free $25 when opening an ING Direct Orange Savings account, grab a referral here.
It seems like ING and HSBC aren’t the only banks trying to squeeze out some more deposits. J.D. at Get Rich Slowly has a post title, “Current Deals and Contests from Online Banks“, that runs through ING, HSBC, Washington Mutual and more!
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