How You Can Make Money Blogging

As a college student constantly looking for ways to make some extra money online I know how difficult it can be to come across scam after scam. You spend countless hours reading about 19 year olds and their success stories in making money online yet you managed to make $0.39 the past 5 days. Trust me, I've been there done that. What most websites won't tell you is that there is no magic program that allows you to make thousands of dollars with little to no effort. If there was, then the world would be filled with teenage millionaires. The reality of this story is that you probably won't be making thousands of dollars online this week, let alone this year. However, what if I could promise you that there is a way to possibly make upwards of $100 a day, if not more in the next few years? Well I can, and the answer is blogging.

 Chances are that you are passionate about something in your life. Whether it is basketball, video games, 13th century historical figures or even food, there is money to be made in it. The nice thing about blogging, especially as a college student or teenager, is that there isn't much effort that you need to put into it. If you can come up with 2-3 interesting articles on your niche that are well written a week then you are well on your way to getting an established following which translates into cold hard cash. I've always loved blogging as a source of income because I am writing about something that I thoroughly enjoy, while being paid at the same time. Got a favorite sports team? Blog about them. Technology geek? Blog about the latest tech gear. The list truly is endless.

How to Start a Blog?
Teensmakemoneyonline.com is a blog based on Google's Blogger platform. I pay $10 a year for hosting and receive a load of benefits that really make things easier for myself when managing this blog. In the past, blogger was the go to platform in terms of where to begin when starting a blog. However, times have changed and while blogger is still phenomenal I highly recommend you check out Wordpress. Just like blogger you can start a free blog, or receive your own .com domain name for a fairly low cost. The reason that Wordpress is so highly coveted is that it is so easily designable. Basically every big website on the internet now days is made using Wordpress and I think that just goes to show how high of a reputation it has. However, Blogger is definitely more user friendly and if you have little to no design expertise then you will struggle on Wordpress, so chose your host website wisely. Once you go to Blogger.com or Wordpress.com the process to start your blog is as easy as 1-2-3.

How to Get an Established Audience?
It's one thing to write a few articles and own your own blog, but it's quite another thing to actually receive traffic and readers to your blog. As I have stated numerous times in previous posts, you need to know "how" to write for SEO (search engine optimization). Keywords and Backlinks play a huge role in how successful your blog will be and I highly suggest you check out those posts before you begin.

How to Make Money With Your Blog?
Advertising. Now you're probably thinking to yourself, I'm only a teenager looking to make some money and I just started off, how in the world am I going to get people to advertise on my website? 1 word answer for that, Adsense. Google Adsense is a program that allows you to monetize your blogs traffic and is very easy to implement. All it takes is a google account, a website/blog and traffic. But before you get excited, Adsense like all other programs on the internet, is not a get rich scheme. You have to have an established blog with consistent traffic before you can expect to earn decent income on the side. However, I'm not trying to scare you off, I know many college students on the internet that have their own websites and earn close to 6 figures a year. All it takes is a plan and ambition to realize that anything is possible.

Advertisers pay google to have people like me and you advertise their ads on our websites. Every time some one clicks on an ad on your blog you receive roughly 68% of what the advertiser paid google, and google receives the rest. Page views without traffic are irrelevant in terms of generating revenue, commissions are only applicable when users actually click on the ad, so ad placement is very important.

Summary
There you go, those are the basic guidelines to follow when you begin your blog. It's important to keep in mind that you should spend about 20% of your time writing articles and 80% generating backlinks and increasing traffic. It may seem like your blog is going no where when you first start out, however if you keep to it and put a solid effort in then you will be heavily rewarded. It may take some time, but I can guarantee that if you have a well written blog on a good niche then you can make hundreds of dollars a day in the future. Just implement a plan and stick to it! Good luck everyone!

College Students Get Paid to Listen to Music

Recently I stumbled across a post on Craigslist claiming that Students could get paid to listen to and review the latest music, starting today. As intrigued as I was, I skimmed over the ad as I have seen hundreds of similar ads that were nothing but scams, plain and simple. As I continued to scroll through Craigslist I noticed the same ad over and over, so eventually I caved in and gave the website a shot. I clicked the link, created an account and within minutes I was listening to a rather impressive acoustic track. After 90 seconds I wrote a short review, rated the song and received $0.30. I continued at it and after an hour had $9.21 in my account, far surpassing my expectations.

                                                                  Screenshot from Slicethepie.com
What is Slice The Pie?

Slice The Pie is a website that allows artists and aspiring musicians a chance to have their music reviewed and rated. The fans (or yourself) are referred to as "scouts" and are paid a commission for writing an in-depth review on musicians work. Each review brings you back at least 5 cents and upwards of 40 cents. Obviously, the better the review the more you will be making. You can't just write "nice song" and expect to bring in any money.

As a college student constantly looking to make money online I am very impressed so far during my time at Slice The Pie. It's perfect when I'm just sitting in my apartment, skimming the television when nothings going on. I can just turn on SportsCenter, listen to some great music and earn some cash in the process, it's a win-win.

Write Meaningful Reviews

Although your goal is probably just to make some extra cash on the side, it's pretty cool knowing that your reviews are helping artists improve their work in hopes to one day make it big. Artists that have the best reviews become eligible for financing that ultimately help them record their own record. And trust me when I say this, the more effort you put into your reviews the more you will make and the better your experience will be.

Some Tips

• Write while you listen! You are required to listen to 90 seconds of a song before you can submit your review, so use the time to write your review. More reviews = more money!
• Use creative words. Interesting, talented, strong, rich, creative, imaginative, original, heart-warming, inspiring, awkward, powerful, memorable, the list goes on! Better reviews contain a wide variety of vocabulary that genuinely help the artists. 

Sample Review

"I was very impressed with this upbeat song. The lyrics were genuinely unique and I could tell that the artist sung them through her heart. The song was unlike anything I have ever heard and I know for a fact that there is tremendous commercial potential in it. If I were in my car and I heard this song on the radio, not only would I leave it on, I would turn it up. Amazing!" 

So there you have it! Knock yourself out and check out Slice the Pie today. I have made some great extra spending money and plan to continue to use it, because it really is an experience that is not only fun, but exciting as well! College Students and teens share your experience!

How to Increase Your Google Ranking in 9 Steps

Finding ways to increase your traffic ranking to make money online can often be quite the daunting task for adults, let alone teens. Many people struggle and spend countless hours wasted with little to no results. Don't give up too fast though, there are many guides and tips out there that can help you in your journey to rank higher on those pesky search engines. 

In this quick guide I am about to present to you, you will find some basic, yet incredibly useful tips that you will greatly benefit from.

1.) Have a targeted domain name
Having a good domain name will not only add to your websites credibility, but if it has a popular keyword in it, then chances are that google bots will pick it up and you will index faster and to the top pages.

2.) Include Keywords in the Title of Articles
As long as you are writing for search engines then putting relevant keywords in your article titles will be very useful. Just make sure that you make your titles are catchy and something that a person would be willing to click on. 

3.)Write Your Keywords in Bold/Italics
While I personally do not use this method, I have seen a lot of websites with this tactic implemented and apparently the results are staggering. It is usually most beneficial to include this syntax in the first paragraph of a post when people just begin to read it. Just make sure you don't go overboard and bold a keyword every time you use it.

4.) Write High Quality Content
I cannot stress enough the importance of writing unique, well-crafted content. If you want to increase your page rank then you need to write impressive material that people want to share and read.

5.) Keep Updating
Google and other search engines like websites that are updated regularly and have interesting content. So don't be expecting to write one article, come back a year later and be on the first page of google for your niche. Aim to write at least one article a week.

6.) Participate in Forums and Other Blogs
Backlinks! Backlinks! Backlinks! I have mentioned this in several of my other posts but I want to make a note again of the importance of backlinks. Google loves forums and blogs with a high PR and there are many out there that are do-follow and allow you to leave your website as a backlink in the comments section. Just make sure you leave informational comments and don't spam. Heres a few great blogs that you can get started on:

• www.comluv.com
• www.blondish.net
• www.bluehatseo.com
• www.selberg.org

7.) Create Multiple Pages
By having more than one page on your website/blog, this will strengthen your internal ranking and google will rank you higher.

8.) Social Bookmarking
It seems like every month the newest social media hit is coming out. Instead of looking past these opportunities use them for your benefit. Not only will you receive direct traffic from these websites, but you will also receive a high quality back link. Heres a list of the most popular ones:

• Facebook
• Google+
• Digg
• Squidoo
• Hub Pages
• Stumble Upon

9.) Target Niche Keywords with Low Competition

I can tell you right now that unless you are a killer writer and know how to use SEO like a professional then you wont be making it to the first page of google for the keyword "money" anytime soon. If you haven't already, check Google Adwords to see how popular certain keywords are. 

There you have it, chances are you aren't a big company with paid professionals to do the dirty work for you. However, if you work at it, spend some time each week developing your website and its' keywords, then you will be on the first page of google before you know it. Having a high ranking website when you're trying to make money online as a teen can be the difference between succeeding and wasting your time. Good luck!

How You Can Make Money Online Without any Money

You may have heard the common quote "you need money to make money" sometime in your journey to make a living throughout your life. While that may be true in some circumstances, there are definitely many opportunities out there that allow you earn some some solid income without spending a dime.

However, it is often difficult to separate the scams that are available from the opportunities that are the real deal. With that being said, I am about to present a list to you which you can use to begin and use as a supplement to your efforts in making money online.

Online Surveys

Still one of the top opportunities for teens to make money online are paid online surveys. While it may be difficult to earn a living with these surveys, it is definitely possible to make $10+ an hour with companies such as CashCrate and Treasure Trooper. Also, in my previous posts I have taught you all you need to know in regards to using referrals to make even more money on paid online survey sites. You do not need to spend anything when filling out these surveys so everything you make is pure profit.

Blogging

At websites like Google Blogger you do not need any money to create a blog, the domain and hosting are completely free. By using Blogger or Wordpress, you can make beautiful blogs or websites and use advertising platforms like Google Adsense to display ads on your website to make money off of. I have found that if you are passionate about something, like sports or video games then you can make a killer blogging. Just write unique, informational posts using good keywords and google will love you. Spend around 80% of your time getting backlinks and using SEO and 20% of your time writing exceptional posts. If you stick with it you will find yourself making upwards of $500 a month, and usually more if you have a good niche, a fantastic way to make money without money.

ClickBank

Check out my previous post on ClickBank and how you can maximize your profits. Although affiliate marketing can be difficult at times, if you have a good niche and an even better system you can practically quit your day job. There are stories of people making hundreds of thousands of dollars a  year so making a few hundred a month is definitely plausible.

Reviewing Services and Products

Usually when you go to buy something online, you find yourself looking up product reviews to ensure that you are spending your money wisely. Don't be surprised, but you can actually make money reviewing many common products online. These reviews require no degree in writing, just be honest and straightforward when reviewing products or services for consumers. Here are 2 websites to get you started.
SharedReviews.com- Signup required, how much you make is dependent upon how much traffic and views you get to your content. The higher your rank is, the more you will be making.
viewStream.com- No signup required, will earn $2.00 per review/$0.10 per vote each time a reader votes on your review.

Write

Many websites nowadays pay for your articles or blog posts. Yahoo Voices will  "pay for performance" based on page views on just about any content you can think about. Passionate about the latest technology? Make an informative/unique post on the latest Macbook and you could be well on your way to earning some solid cash by writing articles. Yahoo Voices will pay you $3-$20 per article so there is definitely some room to make some money as long as your post contains solid formatting and spelling/grammar.

There you have it. If you use the above methods you can easily make a hefty profit online without using any of your hard earned money. Just stick with it and give it an honest effort and you will find yourself making money after the first day.

Good luck!

Make $100 a Day With Clickbank For Beginners

I'm sure most of you have heard about the affiliate marketing program that is Clickbank. If not, I'll give you a brief explanation. Clickbank is a third party vendor in which you can have have people (like you or I) promote your products you are trying to sell, or you can promote other peoples products and receive a commission in the process. It's a great way to make a lot of money online in your spare time, but only if you know what you're doing.

Now as a beginner I can guarantee that you will have a lack of success when you first begin promoting these products, however do not fear, I am about to present to you a sure fire way to begin making $100+ a day.

First go to www.clickbank.com and sign up.

After clicking sign up you will be prompted to select if "You need to build a following" or "I have an established audience." Regardless of what you pick you will be able to use the method that I am about to present to you. After you are fully signed up click on "marketplace" in the top right corner.

Once in the marketplace you can search for just about any products you think you would be good at selling. As a teen trying to make money online, some good ideas may be video games, or anything sports related. For this example I will search "weight loss" and see what comes up.

The Fat Loss Factor: Guaranteed Highest Converting Front End On CB. I can tell that this will be a great program to promote because after visiting the website it looks 100% legitimate and I also read some reviews and people swear by it. Also, another hint I can give you is to look at the "Grav" listed. Anything about 10.0 is generally a solid product to promote. As you can see, this product has a 310.18 gravity which is extremely good. After I've decided that this is a good product, I will click promote and receive my affiliate link which people click on to allow me to receive a referral from them.

The next part I'm about to share with you is how you will get people to click on your link and really make your money. Find 3-5 products with high gravity that have good reviews. Once you do, create a blog and do reviews for the 3-5 products. I usually find rip different reviews from different websites and just word them differently. Generally, a .com domain will work better than a free platform, because it ranks better, so I suggest you look into that. Make sure at the end of each post to make a comment like "Try The Fat Loss Factor Today!" and link that with your affiliate link. After you have established an attractive blog with great reviews its time to do some SEO for your website. 

Once you have your blog, set up google alerts for your keywords at www.google.com/alerts.

[product name]- For each different product you have reviewed

[your niche]

[competitor products]

[anything else thats relevant]

Check your alerts regularly and if you've pick a niche that is popular enough you should be getting around 100 alerts a day. The purpose of using these alerts is that whenever a new blog post/forum post/PR/etc. comes out, you will be around the first people to comment on it. In the comments provide a useful comment, something along the lines of "great post! I really enjoyed your point on..... and tend to agree with you" blah blah blah. Make it a genuine comment and not spammy, then link your review website as your name (whatever your blog is called, in my case I usually make my name "John @ Lose Weight Today") People wont take spam comments serious and they almost always get deleted. 

The goal in this method is that you will receive short term traffic from the comments, and once the posts begin to rank, they will be back linked and eventually long term traffic will come.

Rinse and repeat, and thats it! By using this method you should easily be able to make around $100 a day and even more. Just find a great product to promote and create an attractive/useful blog and you will be golden. If you find that you aren't getting enough hits for one product, switch it up and try something new to promote. You can of course add on to this method, but this is a basic method that is a sure fire way to make money online as a teen. Good luck everyone!

Know Your Audience When Writing

A common misconception I have seen from people who begin writing blogs to make money online is that they often do not know their audience. They randomly throw out posts about how they make a ton of money online, with no proof to back it up as well as writing towards no one in particular. I have mentioned in past posts that a lot of people, kids and teens especially, make their first blog about "cashcrate" or "swag bucks." While this may seem like a good idea at the time, I can guarantee you that there are few people looking up cashcrate on google. Search "cashcrate" on google and these are the results on the first page.

Click on cashcratetips.us, and you will find that the person in charge of the blog has received a check for $30 last month.... Theres days when I make well over $30 on cashcrate alone...I think this goes to show you that there is no market for the term cashcrate and making money online. 

You're not out of luck though! Take this blog for example. Teens and how to make money online. Theres my niche. I myself am a teen, and I try to write these posts in hopes that I am helping my fellow teen friends out. Other good audiences could be...stay at home moms, college students, money for video games, the list goes on. Just pick something that you yourself are and you'll be well on your way to knowing who your audience is and how to approach them.

Knowing who your audience means that you can learn and adapt from what your viewers want to see/read. For example, if your audience wants more information on anchored backlinks, then you should be able to give them more articles on anchored backlinks. I personally know that the majority of people reading this are teenagers so I try to cater to your needs, how to make money online as a teen. To get started I suggest you do some research on what blogs are already out there, and what blogs aren't. If you notice that theres a lack of blogs related to "moms making money online" then nows your golden chance to get your foot in the door. Good luck and if you've got any questions post em below and check out some of my older posts!

Article Marketing Works
Stop Being Lazy
How To Get Referrals to Paid Online Survey Sites

$397.71 CashCrate Proof of Payment

Check out my most recent check I received from Cashcrate from December 2012 for $397.71. You too can start earning money like this on your spare time from home! So instead of laying around playing Halo all day making zero cash, put in some work and be able to buy all the games you want!

Join CASHCRATE TODAY!

Have a great day everyone!