oldbuddy

Before we get too far in this discussion, read http://mycloudhelp.biz/definition-of-cloud/ In my opinion, it's just another buzz word to get usn excited about paying more for a resource that has been there all along. Off-site computing can be nothing more than a managed server (dedicated or shared) where some company takes care of all the technical details like uptime, updates and security.

Robert the problem with that path is you don't know where the dropoff is. It's very easy to start thinking you are not spending enough for advertising when it's not producing what you expect and raise your budget a little more. I can't speak for others, but I don't buy that nonsense that you need to think of it as a business and not a hobby. I have been doing this stuff for over 15 years and now I am quite content with making a few hundred dollars a month and keeping it all. Free advertising works fine for me. I like to say I don't have a business and all the attendant expenses and frustrations that go with it and I don't want one. Just send me the money.

Since you asked, take a look at http://WhyTrafficSwirl.com

I agree with what John Bell said above and I am a lifetime upgraded member and promoter of his Traffic Swirl I do surf there every day to mingle with the very people who are raising their hands to identify themselves as those who are interested by being there, but I don't use the credits I earn, to get them to click and ignore my pages (as has been stated by others here). The unique benefit of this exchange, is I can sell those credits (along with other prizes I win) in the Marketplace and turn them into Tokens. Then use those Tokens to attract people who are doing more than just surfing. Those who actually engage other members in the Chat or look for programs to join in the Tasks. I know most say they just join to get the Tokens offered, but I have referals I found there turn into my best team players, once they discovered what I showed them really does work. I never would have had that chance by just showing them a page.

And how much does tht cost you?

You are most welcome, glad I could contribute. I agree that was probably my problem with Google, but I no longer see it as a problem at all. My results from my first attempt to make money with Google AdSense were so dismal I have no further interest in that. Even after I did finally make it to the $100 minimum, they terminated my account and kept the money, so I don't miss them.

I remember trying to start earning from Amazon as an affiliate a long time ago and it was so complicated for the little it offered me, I finally figured it was just for the big guns and forgot about the idea. Last night I had a particular product in mind that I wanted to blog about, so I decided to give it one more try. I just know they must have made some HUGE changes, because it was nothing at all like I remembered. I not only got signed up in a matter of minutes, but they opened the entire program to me so I could start earning right away! I added the links I wanted to my blog and sent an update to my list, so now it's just wait and see. Even if it takes me six months to make a dime, the experience was a real boost to my appreciation of Amazon and the high regard for the little guy they have now.

I use my blog to connect with other people on the same path I am on, only a little behind. I am realizing there are a ton of people trying to make a few extra bucks online, that have no clue how valuable a blog can be. By giviing them a real time dynamic demonstration of what I do with mine, they may get the idea to use a few of the products and services that pay me commission every month. Of course it helps that they cost less than the competition and provide high quality performance.

Food for thought, Blogger is famous for terminating marketers blogs for trying to make money with a Blogger blog, so I don't want to waste much time with something that may be gone tomorrow. That's why I keep a very low profile with Blogger and only use it so when I comment on other Blogger blogs, I can attract people to my real blog. Blogger does allow us to have a non-referral link in the sidebar. The real question is, why use Blogger when your own domain and quality hosting can be had for $1.33 a month?

Here's something to think about Steve. I set my autoresponder to send just one email instantly, which is a simple introduction to what I do and a promise to send them only update notices for my blog with no pitches. One benefit with this is when I broadcast the next email it is current, not something I composed a year ago and included in my sequence to go out on day 3 forever.

So it doesn't bother you when you send out a KILLER offer and check back to find only 1% to 2% of the 1600 emails you sent, were even opened? Then figure how many opened them just to get credits and your message may have been seen by only a handful of people. How much is that worth in hard dollars?

Good luck getting them to do it.

From my perspective you are dead wrong. I spend money online all the time, but I don't join paid safelists. I have evaluated their contribution to my particular money making efforts and determined they don't fill my purposes, but that doesn't mean I have no intention of spending money at all.

Like anything else in life, that depends a lot on who you know. Only in Internet Marketing it's even better, with everyone who has experience usually looking for more friends to help.

Keep in mind that retargeted traffic is people who have looked at a similar offer and didn't buy. If I didn't buy the first time, what makes you think I will be any more responsive to a second chance (or third or fourth), or even start getting tweaked because someone seems to be hounding me? I still think the best way to get buyers is to attract them by continuing to hand out valuable information on a niche they are interested in, then let them decide when they want to take the next step. Since you have been there for them, it's natural they would look around on your site they already visit.

At $350 to mail 1000 post cards, plus the cost of the actual media, I can't see this working unless there is an extremely good reason people would be willing buy from you. I get them all the time and they go right into the recycle bin. On the other hand, I got 4,000 page views from my blog in the first two weeks of this month and my cost was $1.33, with the second half still to go. Go Figure.

There is no misconception if you are aware of how little buying adpacks will earn in comparison to just clicking Cash Links and getting referrals who do the same. You also need to realize that revenue sharing has been around for decades, but none of the websites last longer than a couple of years before they collapse or get shut down. You do NOT want a large balance when that happens, like I had a few years ago when Adventures4U collapsed and I had $11,000 in my account (or more recently $7,000 in ZeekRewards or $1,500 in Genius Fund) that vanished overnight. The redeeming factor was it was all money I earned from them. Don't get me wrong, I love Traffic Monsoon as long as they don't hold my money for long. About once a week when my balance gets to $15 I withdraw it, then start building for the next week. I can't lose any more than $15, or less depending on when my last withdrawal was. Of course you need to get active referrals to make this work and the best way to do that is with your own simple blog, where you can share your success and build a list. Then you can build a more stable income with the money Monsoon pays you. It really is that simple. I would rather have $400 in the hand than $500 in the bush! http://morehelp.aiop-hosting.com/monsoon/current.html

Reading through this thread should be an education for anyone who even thinks about marketing with these.

I agree with Kevin, but I think you need to add one more component. To get people to keep reading what you blog about, you should have an optin list of your own. If your blog contains true value they are going to want to read it, so let them request to get updates so they don't miss anything. After all, being on Marketing Checkpoints list is what got me to read this post, or I surely would have missed out on yet another valuable and interesting tip to help my business.

Exactly, but we are talking about PAID safelists specifically. You pay first, then you get X number of others to pay and yours is free, then as you continue it produces a profit, but the safelist part is the same as it always has been paid or not. The safelist part of Marketing Checkpoint works the same way, but this forum makes the difference and it's free (unless you want to upgrade). A Ponzi scheme is when you pay and the way you justify that is you get others to pay or you don't make any money. The only profit comes from getting someone else to pay just like you did.

It still amazes me how many people think they can make money using a free blog platform, only to wonder why they get terminated after so much work and all that stress and frustration to save less than $1.50 a MONTH. If you are into making money online and can't afford the $1.50 a month, I heard that McDonalds is hiring.

I'm sorry, but I have belonged to many paid only resources and it comes down to the same bottom line, do your ads produce any money in YOUR pocket or is it just another not so camouflaged ponzi scheme?

It surprises me how many people are members and say they want to earn money, but don't take advantage how much you are giving us for the taking. What part of free don't they understand? Open your profile and click one link each day until you look at all this program has to offfer.

So for the brand new optin's you only get 20% open them? If that 20% only counts those who have been on the list for a while, I would say the value is not there in your early messages so they get in the habit of looking for them. Another problem I saw early on was the server that sent my emails and my return address werenot the same, so they ended up in spam or had warnings generated by the subscribers client, which of course would reduce your open rate. Even at 20%, I would not quit. If you increase your subscribers to 1,000 that's 200 people reading your message at a cost of less than $2 a month, which is a penny each.

My latest autoresponder series consists of ONE email, to demonstrate my product (the autoresponder) and share my concept of only sending examples of what I am actually doing and not just pitches. My agenda is to build referrals for the system I use, by showing them how I use it. If they are interested, they stick around to get more ideas with an assurance they are not going to be bombarded with one product after the other. It's that simple. The other shift from the normal list building I was taught previously, is I use a blog instead of a capture page and I give them plenty of information to start, instead of just a teaser to get them to optin. If they do optin, it's because they like the information they received so far and want to be notified when more is available. If you want to see an example: http://supercheapblog.info/commenting/