A Sugar-Free-Cube

I have a good friend that is re-embarking on the “paid blogging” world to get some extra cash because gas prices are still thru the roof.  I feel his pain, and not just on gas prices.  Money is tight here too.  Granted, annoying links inserted into blog posts and ridiculous product reviews are a sucky way to bring in revenue and infiltrate an extraordinarily witty blog, but I actually admire him for doing it.  I admire the fact that instead of bitching about the economy, he’s actually making some extra cash while bitching about it on his blog and continuing to do what he loves. Writing.

But, is it possible to make money quickly by just posting a few ads on your blog?  Now he’s lucky because the traffic to his blog is steady and good.  It’s not that easy because blogging takes time and establishing a good, well-read blog takes even more time.  So I’ve done some research and found some more ways to make some extra cash online.

Here are some other ways to make some extra cash all by doing what you love:

1. Big Stock Photo.  For all you photography nuts that take good pictures and have a steady hand with Photoshop, this is the site for you.  Take some breathtaking photos, create and account, follow the strict rules and before you know it, people will be downloading your photograph and you’re getting paid per download.
2. eJury.  I’ve actually been part of this one.  Create an account and enter which county you live in.  Attorneys in your county submit their case and are looking for your opinion.  Read the case and answer their questions.  They are real cases and you are paid a nominal fee for your “verdict”.  It involves a lot of reading, but a case usually takes you approximately 30-45 minutes to complete.  But you can look at it as catching up on the gossip in your county.
3. eBay.  Duh.  We’ve all been here.  Just clean out your crap and sell it.  Remember that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
4. Linkshare.  Linkshare has worked well for us because if you massage it right, you can make some quick cash by using their “private offers” that are sent to your e-mail and promoting those specific ones.  The thing I don’t like about Linkshare, is it takes time.  You have to place the ads right and really promote them.  But nonetheless, we have made money off of it.
5. The same as above with Amazon Affiliates.  This affiliate program works nicely in the ways of posting widgets and such on your web site, but I don’t ever seem to make any money off of it.  Again, it’s because I’m not placing them in the right places or promoting it because I just don’t seem to have the time.  Linkshare has worked a little bit better for me.
6. CafePress.  Designer people love this kind of site.  Create your design and place it on a t-shirt, mug, photo frame, you name it.  Then internet surfers that are looking for quirky, clever and witty gift ideas and they can download your design and you get paid. Nice.
7. Lulu.  This is a good site for writers who are looking to get their work published.  I’m currently using it for my eBook.  It’s not done, and certainly not published yet.  But once it is completed, I will use Lulu to take care of the formatting, publishing and downloading stats.  Not just the stats, they keep track of the actual downloading and payment procedures.  Then they will send a check for your work.
8. eLance.  Seems like everything starts with the proverbial “e” to make it sound techy.  eLance has been around for quite sometime.  And it pays well if you are a programmer, coder, or some other web geek that can write code for people.  But it also pays well for designers and art people that can create flyers, brochures and other promotional marketing items.  Be a virtual assistant.  Or hire one from this site.
9. Ether.  This is good if you’d rather talk on the phone than be on the computer.  Hey…some people are just better on the phone says the former telemarketing girl.  Basically, you set your price and people call the number (that you’ve set up) and ask you for your advice.  No this isn’t phone sex.  It’s life coaching on the phone.  Personally, I wouldn’t pay for it, because I’d probably end up with some lowlife.  However, if someone was lonely and wanted to pay me for my advice on what to do with their life, I’d do it.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  I haven’t done this one, nor do I plan to, but it falls into my research for making extra cash.  Besides that, some people reading this post are good at making up crap and statistics.  And you know who you are.
10. Software Judge.  I haven’t used this, but I might try it out.  Basically you give your opinion on software.  Software junkies like me love this kind of crap.  Download some wannabe’s stuff and tell them how it works (or not).  And then get paid for it.

So, I’m not sure if it’s worth it or not.  But again, desperate times call for desperate measures.  And it sure beats getting a second job and McDonald’s.  So I admire my friend for embracing paid blogging.  Let me know how it works out for you and if it’s worth the time you put into it.