Making $5000 Per Month Online

Recently, I posted a rather interesting question in a DigitalPoint thread. I asked the outstanding people at DP how I could make $5000/mo online.

Currently, I am making around $3.50/day so I explained that I would need to increase that up by around $164 for a nice $5025/mo. I also explained that I have PHP/MySQL skill and that I'd created websites like BlogFlare.com. Here are some of the ideas that they came up with that I'd like to share with you:

• Multiply Success
  
  Essentially this idea means that if you're making $3.50/day with your current websites, multiply your ideas enough times so that you start getting up to that amount. So if you need $167/day to make $5000/mo, just divide $167 by whatever you're currently making per day. That's the formula, and for me it comes out to about 48X which means I'd need to multiply my ideas out 50 times to bring in that kind of income.
  
  Not only that but I would have to keep them updated somewhat frequently.
  


• Create Your Own Product & Market Using Affiliate Sales
  
  The idea here is to create your own eBook, software, online software, etc. and market it online. For eBooks, you can use something like ClickBank.com to get other people to sell it for you.
  
  Any of these things can be marketed using affiliate-based sales. This way other people can sell it for you and if it's a great topic, perhaps a LOT of other people will sell it for you. They usually take a bigger percentage for profit but you aren't doing much to sell this way.
  
  So any way you can do affiliate driven sales, do it. You won't be upset you did.
  
  Personally, I'm going to write an eBook on how to get traffic to your websites since I am reasonably knowledgeable on the subject. You could write an eBook on anything you're good at. Just make sure to research what you're talking about so people spread the word without you paying them to! ;)
  


• Sell Affiliate Products
  
  You can also be the middle man, as discussed on the previous topic and make a ton of money just selling other peoples' eBooks and such. ClickBank.com is a great way to find eBooks you can sell on your website or blog!
  


• Write Hosted Scripts in PHP/MySQL
  
  If you're proficient with PHP and MySQL like I am, then a great idea is to create a script that many people can use and then put it in a hosted environment for them.
  
  This way, you can charge for the product, the support and the hosting and group it into several packages if you'd like. Or you can just offer one package and make things simple.
  
  You can charge anywhere up to $200/mo+ for something like this. If you can get 25 customers, your $5K/mo mark has been met and you can continue the business just offering support. You could even outsource support for around $150 to an online company and only take care of the big support requests, thus freeing up your time.
  
  And if you know me, I'm all about freeing up time while maximizing income! :)
  


• Freelance Programming & Contract-Based Work
  
  You can find plenty of freelance work on the internet if you take up jobs that pay $500 at a time that take a few days. Just do 10+/month and you have your income.
  
  A great idea, I will admit but not one I am comfortable with. For me, I'd rather create something that brings me money residually and increases in profit as it continues.
  


• Sell A Kidney
  
  Someone did joke about selling a kidney as they go for $5K or more, but I replied saying I only had two and the cost of living without kidneys would far outweigh the benefits of the two month's income I'd get from selling them. :)
  


• Sculpt Your Content/Ads Around Your Traffic
  
  Not the other way around! So the idea here is to tweak your content/ads to increase income on content you already have.
  
  This is a great idea because it's something I can test on projects I already have and doesn't require me to manage as many websites if I were to use the multiplying theory.
  
  If I can get my current income up to $10/day for instance, I only need to multiply my efforts by 17X to get the desired outcome.
  


• Don't Use Just AdSense
  
  If you rely on one ad agency to provide you with all of your income, it's kind of like putting all of your internet eggs in one basket. If you spread yourself over a few networks, you might do much better than if you go with just one.
  
  A great testament to this is John Chow's article from January 1st, 2007 on using a bunch of different revenue sources which brought him a total of $2790.05. This isn't $5000.00 but it's a start in the right direction.
  
  Read the article here.
  


• Use Email Autoresponders To Generate Cash
  
  At first, I was thinking the author meant just using the kind of email auto responders you see when you email someone and they're on vacation. Although this is a great way to get advertising to people as well, the idea behind this is to use a service like Aweber.com to set up a mailing list that goes out at intervals you can specify.
  
  For instance, you can set up a 5-day course on getting internet traffic and people can get one email per day over five days about getting internet traffic to their website or blog.
  
  In the e-mail, you're smart to include links to your own blogs as well as affiliate links and things of that nature. This way you aren't only helping people but you're also generating income from people that actually ask for what you're offering.
  
  I say this because the way you get people to sign up is through a sign-up form on your website. This way it isn't like you're spamming. I hate spam.
  


• Create An Adult Website
  
  Believe it or not, someone did suggest this idea. And why not? If it doesn't negatively impact your sense of morality and no one is getting hurt, I don't see the problem with it.
  
  I personally wouldn't do it, but it is an idea, nonetheless so don't discount it right away.
  
  The cool thing about this is that you can use Turnkey Adult Sites that cost you about $500 upfront. They provide you with all the content and you own everything else. They update the content every day so people don't get bored and they also handle the credit card transactions.
  
  The adult industry is definitely going to make anyone money that jumps into it. You can probably make much more than the $5000/month that is the goal of this post. :)
  
  Just check out what's available in this google search.
  


• Start A Retail Business Online
  
  Someone also suggested earning money the good old fashioned way. Start up a retail business for something you're interested in and after about 8 months, you can be making $5000/mo online if you work full time.
  
  I agree with this notion and I would not mind going that direction. The trouble is that there are sometimes high up-front costs for creating the business as well as buying the inventory so for someone with a small budget, creating a retail business isn't always the best option.
  
  I just thought I'd mention it because it's a great idea.
  


• Focus On Subscriptions Rather Than Ads
  
  I think this ties into the creating your own product section of this post, but I thought I'd give this one its own area.
  
  A great idea is to get rid of ads altogether and go with a subscription based service, as ads only bring you one-time income but subscriptions are recurring and therefore, you aren't losing money.
  
  If you can come up with a service where you can charge $25/mo, you only need 200 sign-ups over 6 months and you can meet your $5000/mo goal. That's an average of 33 sign-ups per month over a six month period, which isn't bad at all.
  
  The problem here is coming up with something people will pay $25/mo for. ;)
  
  A great idea nonetheless.
  

5 Skills To Teach Your Kids

There's a lot my parents never talked about with me and my school never covered that I had to learn on my own, especially when it came to finance. I wish that my parents had helped me to develop good habits when it came to money but unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way. This article will give you a few great ways to help your kids get a head start on money management.

1. Manage Checking/Savings Accounts
   Most guides will tell you that teenagers need to know how to manage their checking/savings accounts, but I firmly believe that you should start teaching your kids about these things at an even earlier age.
   
   Every child should have an account for their own good and learn how to keep it balanced.
   
   
2. Managing Allowance
   I recommend starting your children early on allowance, no matter what your financial situation. I also believe it should be set up according to their age.
   
   If your kid is 12 years old, give him $5/week to spend and don't pay for him. Let him figure out how valuable money really is when it comes to paying for even small things.
   
   
3. Goal Saving
   On top of teaching your kid how to manage their allowance, throw in the added complication of saving up for a goal. No matter what the goal is, this will teach them money management that will help them for the rest of their lives.
   
   
4. Price Comparison
   Comparison pricing at the grocery store is a fantastic way to teach children how they can save money to reach a specific goal and still buy what they need. Start with cereal comparisons and work your way up to clothing. They should know that brands aren't necessarily everything.
   
   
5. Time Value of Money
   And finally, your children should know that money saved over time can amount to a lot. Start your kid up with an INGDirect or HSBC account and let them put their own money into the account and watch it grow. Make sure they know that whatever goes in gets locked in until they're older. This will inspire them to save as much as they can. Run some numbers with them to help them see how easy it will make their lives later on, especially if you show them how they can actually become millionaires at an early age.
   

Hopefully you use these tips to guide your children on the right path to financial freedom. They'll thank you later for the lessons you hard-code into their little brains.

5 Easy Ways To Save Money

Here are 5 easy ways to save money that don't involve a high risk or even a lot of effort on your part:

1. Get Your Cash In Gear
   After you've set aside more than enough money in your checking account for bills, food, etc., make sure you set aside a good portion of your paycheck to put into a high-interest account (money market, high-interest savings, etc.). Places like INGDirect and HSBC are great places to do just this. You can earn a nice 4-5%+ APY on your money which is tons more than your bank will pay you.
   
   If you have a bunch of money just sitting around gathering dust, think about CDs (also offered at the aforementioned banks) which will most likely offer a higher rate if you keep your money in for a long period.
   
   At ING's current rate (4.4% APY), if you just left $1500 laying in your account, you'd have $66.00 extra at the end of the year. HSBC offers higher amounts for balances over $25k!
   


2. Go Solar
   If you have the money, I suggest you front the cost of getting a solar powered home. The tax breaks and money you'll save will pay off in the long-run. Plus, your home value will go way up.
   
   If you don't have the money, then you may want to go with an alternative money saving method. You can get up to 30% off of a solar hot water system with the federal energy tax credit. Systems are in the neighborhood of $3500.00 installed. Depending on which state you are in, you can get a rebate of up to 60% off of the rest of the cost.
   
   You can save around $500.00 in your first year alone going this route, and even more as time goes on.
   


3. Raise Insurance Deductibles
   Figure out what you can afford to actually pay if you get into an accident with your car or had to do repairs on your home. Once you have a number, discuss it with your insurance agent and ask them how much you can save by increasing your deductible.
   
   You can save in the neighborhood of 15-30% off of your monthly payment by raising your deductible a few hundred dollars!
   


4. Save Your Change
   Spare change always adds up! Make sure to consolidate all of your spare change in a central place. It might not seem like much at first, but at the end of the month you will probably have a good amount.
   
   According to MSN Money, most people have $30.00 in loose change every month. That's not a bad dinner night once in a while!
   


5. Skip The Theater
   If you're like me, you LOVE the theater but those tickets aren't getting any cheaper. For the price of a movie ticket for one, you could afford at least two rentals from your local video rental place.
   
   For a little more than the price of the theater every month, you can subscribe to a great service like Netflix!
   
   You can save around $6.00 every month by staying at home and watching a movie!

So the total savings add up to an average of $84.00/mo, including the interest you'll gain on your high-yield savings accounts. That might not sound like much, but at around $1000.00 every year .. well, you can see for yourself. Not bad for a few minor changes, huh?

Using Kazook To Generate Income

Using Kazook To Generate Income

I just started using the Kazook service, of course, to give the good word to you great people. I thought I'd review it and make a bit of cash in the process.

The idea behind the service is that searches you'd normally just do on a search engine would probably be lost money to someone. Simply put, Kazook wants to be the someone it doesn't get lost to. By using their search tool, you get paid $0.01 per search you do and there's a limit of 200 searches you can do per day (or $2.00 per day) max to get paid for.

The secret to this site is referrals. If you can find a way to generate referrals, you get 50% of their commission. So if you refer 50 people and they all max out their paid searches per day, the site says you'll get $3,000.00 but I think you'd get more like $1,500.00 (50 * 2 * 30 / 2), plus your own commission.

What's cool is that if you can train yourself to search using only Kazook, and you max it out daily, you can pay for your cell phone or something like that. Not a bad trade-off for just searching on their website, I think.

You can test it out by clicking here:

Kazook.com - Search and make money!

Anyway, I've been using it for about 15 minutes and going search crazy. I've already made $1.00 but we'll see. Keep me posted with your earnings.

Using Kazook To Generate Income