The system deployed is pretty standard whereby reviewers get paid based on the popularity of the product, review length and overall quality of the review itself. In ComparedBy.us, reviewers will USD 1.00 for above 1,000 characters review and USD 0.25 for reviews between 250 to 1,000 characters. This is to justify their emphasis on the quality of reviews.

Upon joining, you will enjoy a review bonus upon approval of your very first product review. Review approvals are made by the editors and one particular feature I like is the ability to request for approvals once per pay period which is on the 20th of each month. Here are some of their review writing guidelines:

How do I write a review?
On any product information page simply click on the write a review link.

Are there any review requirements?
Every field in the review form must be filled in. A review of between 250 and 1,000 characters is considered a quick review. Reviews of more than 1,000 characters are considered extended reviews. Each review submitted must be unique, well written, concise and helpful. Reviews that do not pass our editorial review will be removed from the site and we will not be eligible for payment.

Can I post the same review more than once?
No. Each review must be unique. You will find that many products contain commonalities (i.e. Ipod Nano in various storage capacities), each review should differ substantially in content.

Can I post more than one review about the same product?
No. Each member is limited to writing one review per product.

Can I include links in my review?
No. We do not currently support HTML tags in our reviews.

Does ComparedBy.Us edit or delete reviews?
Yes. Our editorial staff reviews each review for acceptable content and style. In addition, any visitor to the site can flag a review as containing offensive or otherwise unacceptable content. When a review is flagged as unacceptable it triggers a second review of the content. ComparedBy.Us will not substantially modify the content of any review and will never influence the bias of the review. Our editorial process is intended to remove foul language, offensive text and unacceptable reviews.

How do I update a review I wrote in the past?
A list of all the reviews you have written is available in your member profile. Following one of these links will take you to a page with an “Edit This Review” link.

Can I post my reviews to other web sites?
No. ComparedBy.Us is dedicated to collecting unique, well written reviews from our members. We regularly check our review database for uniqueness and quality. Reviews that are found to exist on other websites, particularly other shopping comparison websites, will not be eligible for the Member Incentive Plan or any future revenue sharing plan. In addition, members who have been found to submit content from or to other sites may have their Member Incentive Plan earnings revoked or suspended altogether.

Besides writing reviews, you can also earn with referrals which will be available soon. Sadly though there are no revenue sharing model and review rating system.

Tags: earn money online

Their advertising rates are as follows:
USD 7.00 – 7 Day Square Banner Ad
USD 10.00 – 14 Day Square Banner Ad
USD 14.00 – One Month Square Banner Ad
USD 36.00 – Page Peel Ad

As you can see it is reasonably priced, especially for the one month duration. The question then lies in exactly how effective will the advertising be. So I placed an ad back in early February for a brand new webmaster content aggregator site of mine for one month duration. After completion, I was very happy with the results but decided to try again by advertising 2 blogs of mine to properly gauge just how effective Adgitize is as an advertising channel.

Well my 2nd ad has just completed it’s one month duration and the results is even better than my 1st campaign whereas my 3rd ad is still running with about 9 days left. This is probably due to more bloggers joining the Adgitize network. Anyways here are the stats screenshot for your perusal:

So if you have some extra cash to invest in promoting your blog or website which appeal to bloggers, then I highly recommend giving Adgitize a try. Do submit your blogs as well to enjoy extra bonus points as well by being an advertiser.

Tags: optimize blog

Nevertheless, there are various ways to drive traffic to your website. Some of these methods are free whereas the others are paid. Obviously the paid channels are more effective but today we shall look into the free methods which of course requires some effort on your part.  The following is a discussion about the various free ways which can be used to drive traffic to your website:

1] Good content: You should publish good keyword rich content on your site. Such content will help in search engine optimization and drive free targeted traffic from the search engines.

2] Article submission: Article submission involves writing short articles on various topics related to your website and submitting them to different article directories. There should be a resource box or bio box at the end of each article which should contain a short description about you and a link to your website. The articles should be keyword optimized. When people read your articles, they may visit your site through the link in the resource box.

3] Press Release Submission: You can write a press release about your website and submit it to different press release sites.

4] Forums Participation: You can participate in various discussion boards and forums in your niche. You should not try to promote your site directly. Instead, you should offer advice and help to other members so that you can be regarded as an expert. At the bottom of each posting, you can have a link to your website. This is a very effective way to drive traffic to your site.

5] Publish a Blog: You should publish a blog and network with other bloggers. You can easily add a blog in your existing website and use it to share news or as a form of communication with your customers or clients.

6] Yahoo Answers: You can answer questions related to your niche on Yahoo Answers. After each answer, put a link to your site.

7] Free Classified Ads: You can put free classified ads in high traffic sites such as Craigslist.

8] Directory Submission: Submission of your site to free directories also help in driving traffic.

9] Yahoo Groups: You can join different Yahoo Groups in your niche and participate.

10] Social Bookmarking: You should bookmark all the pages of your website and all your blog posts.

11] Media Marketing: You can record a podcast and submit it different podcast directories. You can also submit a video on YouTube.

12] Blog Commenting: Visit blogs within the same niche and place sincere comments on articles or posts that you like.

Tags: work at home

Obviously there are a small amount of bloggers make a decent income by blogging especially the well-known ones but I personally doubt that number is close to 500,000. Even for myself, what I earn isn’t enough to consider it as my main income. Perhaps for bloggers from countries where their currency works to their advantage, this would make much more sense.

Tags: seo

Sounds excellent, right? So the question is why doesn’t all business sectors have a marketing plan? Let’s have a look at a few of the points on why you may not:

1. “We have a marketing plan formulated, but it did not work.”
No marketing plan will act if you don’t properly execute the plan. The documentation is there for business managers to utilize as an important reference throughout the year, as programs in the plan are accomplished and as other chances get along. Any marketing plan that is filed and unnoticed as soon as it’s penned is totally worthless.

2. “Mr. X had a marketing plan and it didn’t boost his business at all!”
Marketing is a procedure, not a single upshot. A marketing plan is just the initiative towards that procedure. It directs your clientele in the correct path by detailing marketing schemes and plans that will motivate towards your business targets.

You must accomplish the projects in your plan so that you can assess program success. Seldom does a marketing program act fullest on the 1st attempt. It’s up to you to study roadblocks to success, then fine-tune and mend until you’re having positive results. If you neglect decisive follow-up, most of your marketing plans will go wrong or fall short of their potential for success.

3. “Marketing planning is just too difficult.”
Writing a marketing plan does not have to be too complex. There are many levels of planning. More complex merchandising planning methods will lead to more polished strategies, with ample prospective for success. But, if you have little resources, a top-line approach to planning is a lot better than no planning at all.

4. “We don’t know the process to compose a proper marketing plan.”
There are many articles, software system, “toolbox” resources, and e-book that take you stepwise through the procedure of making a marketing plan. Honestly, not knowing how is an apology, not a reason, to avoid marketing planning.

5. “My clientele is too small for a marketing plan.”
Good marketing scheme is decisive to small business sector’s success, particularly new businesses. Statistics change widely counting on the source, but most reports quote bankruptcy rates for micro business at 70% – 85%. Cognizing early how you’ll contend and how you’ll be successful in your market can dramatically boost your probabilities of success.

Your marketing plan is a critical step for micro business success. If you do not have an actual plan, do begin one now. Your company’s achievement depends upon it. Also it’s never ever too late to make one, so Good LUCK!

Tags: optimize blog

This campaign is to ensure the participating members are giving their ec dropping credit advertisers 100% FULL exposure on their respective blog. I hope if enough Entrecard members participate, the people behind Entrecard might consider this paid ads feature and do something about making it a fairer system for both advertisers and bloggers.

To join in this ‘Strictly No Paid Ads‘ crusade, simply place any of the following button below your Entrecard widget:

Copy and Paste the following code below your Entrecard widget to use the above button:
<a href=”http://earn-money-blogging.com/2009/04/12/entrecard-strictly-no-paid-ads-campaign/”><img src=”http://earn-money-blogging.com/images/ec-no-ads-s.gif” alt=”Strictly No Paid Ads Campaign” /></a>

Copy and Paste the following code below your Entrecard widget to use the above button:
<a href=”http://earn-money-blogging.com/2009/04/12/entrecard-strictly-no-paid-ads-campaign/”><img src=”http://earn-money-blogging.com/images/ec-no-ads-m.gif” alt=”Strictly No Paid Ads Campaign” /></a>

Copy and Paste the following code below your Entrecard widget to use the above button:
<a href=”http://earn-money-blogging.com/2009/04/12/entrecard-strictly-no-paid-ads-campaign/”><img src=”http://earn-money-blogging.com/images/ec-no-ads-l.gif” alt=”Strictly No Paid Ads Campaign” /></a>

After adding any above button, kindly post a comment below indicating your blog url to be added into the list of participants for the ‘Strictly No Paid Ads’ campaign.

Strictly No Paid Ads Campaign Participating Blogs

1] How To Earn Money Blogging – http://earn-money-blogging.com/
2] Hillbilly Willy – http://hillbilly-willy.blogspot.com/

Tags: business opportunities

UPDATE – 12th April 2009
After much consideration, I’ve decided to only display and approve EC credit purchased Ads on this blog. I felt it was fairer and I wanted to go back to the basic of what made Entrecard such an internet phenomenon in the first place. I will consider paid ads once the system is perfected or when they introduce dual widget but until then my EC widget shall remain paid ads free.

The blogsphere is buzzing the last few days due to the new paid ads feature released by the Entrecard Blogging Network system. Earlier it was all about helping bloggers to network and gain exposure to our blogs but recently they launched the Entrecard Ad Network where advertisers can purchase 125×125 ads space for $ 0.02 CPC or $0.30 CPM during the beta stage.

Now for those of you who are familiar with Entrecard, this is quite a huge feature but personally I am not sure if it is going to be good for the Entrecard community. Reason being the system is in my opinion quite complex and doesn’t provide any outright or clearcut benefits to it’s members although it promises 75% of all revenue back to the members. The explanation made by Graham on their official blog can be quite hard to fathom so I shall break down the main points here which I hope will be easier to comprehend:

1] New Ads System will rotate 50% of the time while the normal credit purchased ads will be displayed for the other 50%.  So basically overnight those purchasing ads using EC credits will only get half of the normal exposure.

2] Bloggers will NOT receive any direct compensation or credits for accepting ads. The whole idea is to normalize the Entrecard credit in the market. So as Graham mentioned; by accepting ads, you investing in the Entrecard economy and also help to increase the value of EC Credits.

3] Bloggers can Cash Out their EC Credits which will be launched this Saturday (11th Apr 2009) but their value is not yet determined although it might return to the earlier value of $15.00 per 1,000 EC Credits or even more depending on the economy.

4] Bloggers are encouraged to utilize the ‘Market’ to buy and sell their services as a way to improve EC Credit channel of usage.

5] Bloggers CAN filter the type of paid ads from their dashboard.

6] Paid Ads will run for the duration set by the Advertisers or when their credit runs out. This means bloggers have to be careful in accepting paid ads as they will probably run for long period of time.

7] In the near future they might introduce multiple ads grid widget to display both paid and credit purchased ads.

That’s about it in a nutshell. Here on the other hand is the summary by Graham:

“Short and brief description. We are selling advertising across the network to anyone who wants to buy, permitted they adhere to these guidelines. With that money, 25% goes to us to help keep us online and developing new features. The other 75% will go to Entrecard members who want to turn their credits into cash. This will deflate the economy, make credits more valuable, and lead to lots of exciting new products and services in the market. By approving paid ads, you are investing in the Entrecard economy.”

All in all I feel it is a good idea but perhaps the execution was not right when they introduced this system several days ago. A lot of bloggers like myself were confused especially suddenly seeing dozens of paid ads awaiting for approval in our dashboard. There are still some loopholes which I have mentioned in the Entrecard blog post but I guess only time will tell if this is going to be a runaway success.

One thing for sure is that casual Entrecard members will definitely lose out with this system if we’re looking at exposure vs credits earned ratio especially for those with relatively popular blog with moderate or high traffic. For the time being, I can say that the Adgitize system is still superior based on experience.

Tags: optimize blog

* Type of Host: There are different types of hosting services available such as managed, shared, dedicated etc. If your blog or site is relatively new with moderate traffic, a shared server will be sufficient. But for a large site, you need a virtual private server (VPS) or even perhaps a dedicated server.

* Disk Space: Disk space is the space provided by your hosting provider to store different pages, files and images of your website. The space required depends upon the size of your site. If you want to create a simple website, then a little space will be alright. But if you want to store a large amount of files including audio and video files, then a large disk space will be required. You will also have to keep in mind the requirement for the future expansion of your site.

* Bandwidth: Take note of this especially if you intend to host your own audio and video files. Some web host will charge you additional fee for using more than the allocated amount of bandwidth per month. Generally if you are just hosting blogs, you should have ample bandwidth but just make sure you optimize your image files.

* Features: There should be sufficient capacity for E Mail, MySQL and FTP accounts. You may require different FTP accounts for file uploading. Look at the type of scripting supported such as Java, PHP, Pearl etc. If required, it should also support eCommerce activities and video streaming or FFmpeg if you are hosting your own videos. It should host unlimited domains and sub-domains.

* Add-Ons: Many hosting companies provide free add-ons which can be installed through the control panel. Some of the add-ons include features like blogs, guest books, mailing lists, customer support facilities etc. So look at which features you may require now or in the future.

* Price: Price is a major factor to be considered. But price is not everything. Remember that you get what you pay. You should also try searching for coupons or vouchers online once you’ve decided who you would like to host with.

* Support: The hosting company should have a good customer support system. It should offer 24/7 mail, phone support and live support on their website.

* Flexibility: The hosting provider should be flexible in their server types, languages and other features. Some web hosting company would also offer free transfer of your blog or website from your previous host.

* Reputation: Go for an established company which has stability and reputation. Look for references from satisfied customers and search the web for reviews.

Finally, you should have full control and access to your account. The systems should be easily installed through your control panel. Preferably, the company should offer a money back guarantee for three months.

Tags: seo

1] Help organize your favorite website links where you can access anytime and anywhere
2] Share with others your bookmarks
3] Gain in link popularity through backlinks

Anyways the last time I featured 6 do follow social bookmarking sites but today I am going to share an enormous list of more than 300 of them which are updated as of 26th March 2009 for your submission pleasure. Here they are in random order:


technorati.com/
ask.com/
stumbleupon.com/
twitter.com/
2collab.com
mister-wong.com/
connotea.org/
reddit.com/
blinklist.com/
myweb.yahoo.com/
backflip.com/
segnalo.alice.it/
multiply.com/
ma.gnolia.com/
weheartgossip.com
buzz.yahoo.com/
tumblr.com/
pownce.com/
mixx Â.com/
plurk.com/
diigo.com/
bibsonomy.org/
sitejot.com
jumptags.com/
caboodle.com/
clipmarks.com/
clipclip.org/
searchallinone.com/
wists.com/
searchles.com/
kwoff.com/
kirtsy.com/
linkk.com.br
quadriot.com/
faves.com/
mylinkvault.com/
smallbusinessbrief.com/
mashfactor.com/
linkatopia.com/
dropjack.com/
getboo.com/
rhymetorrents.com/pligg/
spotback.com/
a1-webmarks.com/
oyax.com
it-ideas.com/
blurpalicious.com/
jamespot.com/
myspacezoom.net/
socialogs.com/
humsurfer.com/
myusa.com/news/submittednews/
rambhai.com/
wirefan.com/
lifeinnews.com/
dancehaven.com/
dealcomet.com/
sdas.com/
postfun.com/
newsdoggy.com/
yearblook.com/
bestofindya.com/
subbitt.com/
upnews.it/
philoi.com/
jeqq.com/
ausculture.com/
contentpop.com/
bookmark4you.com/
business-planet.net/
toctoc.it
socialdanger.com/
affiliated-business.com/
webmaster911.com/
yoorl.com/
mushly.com/contribute/
wagg.it/
patheticblogs.com/
womcat.org/
bookmarkplace.com/
xerpi.com/
thinkpocket.com/
aboogy.com/
newsgarbage.com/
gyach.com/
startaid.com/
ifancyit.com/
agentb.com/
gaddiposh.com/
votocilina.com
cmymark.com/
articlesnetwork.net/
favoriter.name/
fa.vorites.com/
blipoo.com/
linkets.com/
confer.com.au/
gamedumper.com/
inhealthtoday.com/
.linkbin.com/
theseotree.com/social/
latestramblings.com/
pinoymug.com/
blogsvine.com/
pr4links.com/
socialmedia1.com/
lucrativ.es
dizzed.com/
hendrahy.1sthost.org/
addthisto.com/
toxiclemon.co.uk/
veryhotlinks.com/
therealpassport.com/
allcharts.org/news/
bukmark.net/
uan.me/
socialbookmarking.org/
koolontheweb.com/
mycartel.co.uk/
bookmarkglobe.com/
topstorybox.com/
firdaus.info/
mysocialbookmarkers.com/
youngistan.in/social/
oinko.net/astpligg/
dekut.com/
article-publishers.com/
ebizdigger.com/
biggitup.com/
bharatmarks.com/
indianpick.com/
sharelinks.eu/
laflink.com/
bolsayfinanzas.com/pligg/
topstumbles.com/
voteme.gofreeserve.com/
starton.us/
linksmarker.com/
hotmarx.com/
th3scoop.com/
oopza.com/
homebusinessvoices.com/
tagbud.com/
gadgetsieve.com/
moogme.com/
betplug.com/=
motherapproves.net/
playgroundbaby.com/
indianbytes.com/
v0v.com/
dingyy.com/
emotionalspirit.de/speaker/scuttle/
socialbookmarkingseo.com/
quickieclick.com/
dikk.co.cc/
techinreview.com/
web2pt0seo.com/
vetritalia.com/
cloudytags.com/
2centsnews.com/
brightsapphire.com/
qiel.com/
jackool.com/
social.topredline.com
buzztagz.com/
zippe.net/
upp.me/
piecex.com/
maple.nu/
letsbookmark.net/
stories.netscype.com/
passthebeer.com/
socialbookmarkingwebsite.com/
your-bookmark.com/
jetmarks.com/
internet.byethost33.com/
webvoting.1sthost.org/
hibookmark.com/
bharatinfo.com
potongstim.com/
tell.web.id/
limca.info/
locateahotel.com/pligg/
oldrec.com/
vindianz.com/
goodsubmit.com/
fattybeauty.com/stories/
bookmarking.in/
uberall.es
bookmark-site.com/
digufun.com/
topinews.com/
elmera.com/
weheartgossip.com
youngistan.in/social
rescuebuzz.com
voteitfly.com/
scoopsanta.com/
toprankclassifieds.com/
twinprime.net/
gregucci.com/
elementalscape2.com/
diggdirect.com/
blessedit.com/
taxonomies.info/
greatest.ws/Links/
shoutingstones.net/
goodwebdirectory.com/seo-news/
squigglr.com/
diggez.com/
dealfollower.com/
rockvibes.net/
advetise.org/links/
egenhost.net/pligg
landcarenews.com
sitesmash.com/
linxserver.com/
megite.com/my/
jompop.com/
yeawo.com/
thefb.net/
webgare.com/
ludicrous.net/
majeeka.com/
dnigg.com/
biginternetdirectory.com/
kaplunkit.com/
xbot.cc/pligg/
hitmarks.com/
socialbookmarkwebsite.com/
f1mad.com/
nuz7.com/
kwcloud.com/
dzugg.com/
ngetop.com/
newz.890m.com/
7878748.com/
newskicks.com/
venture-buzz.com/
web2news.us/
votedlinks.com/
lolsci.com/
ad-bookmark.co.cc/
republicinformer.com/
sportstrouble.com/
whatnwhen.in/
altnewsonline.com
sgping.com/
onedepot.com/
wedigg.co.uk/
ajaxamsterdam.com/
torqq.com/
socialho.com/
toastednation.com/
kapely.net/
hookersanddrugs.com/
ramnathinfotech.com/
news.netscype.com/
emsplanet.corank.com/
7don.com/
bbs.shang-shan.com/
igameit.com/
socialbookmarker.ning.com/
celebhungama.com/
bookmark-tag.com/
socialbookmarksite.com/
gcurious.com/
gamerflex.com/
developernewz.com/
reviewmysite.temi.co.uk/
share.websitemagazine.com/
inkanarchy.com/
topbest.org/
iselect.ru/
bookmarks.newsbeet.com/
gadjoo.com/
sidetalkz.com/
mytwopence.net/
indiasphere.net/
getdickenscider.com/
idigg.utopedia.de/
szpo.com/
bookmarkindo.com/
indopligg.gofreeserve.com/
bixx.co.cc/
mybatam.co.cc/
vote4us.co.cc/
bookmarkindo.gofreeserve.com/
blogvote.co.cc/
myrandy.co.cc/
erdablog.co.cc/
wahyuabdkarim.co.cc/
hyerd.co.cc/
kototuo.co.cc/
simabur.co.cc/
erdaweb.co.cc/
broadcast.firstclassfashionista.com/
dikk.co.cc/


Tags: work at home

I will be updating the figures on the Updated Earnings page soon to reflect this as well although I will think of a way to accommodate the cumulative figures. That being said, I will also remove some channels which I am no longer participating or I felt isn’t working for me. Bear in mind though that what doesn’t work for me might be a good earning channel for you due to various reasons such as interests and geo-location to name a few.

Without further ado, let us look at the past quarter earnings (Jan-Mar 2009) summary:

As you can see, Adsense is still my main source of income and this is quite surprising cause I haven’t been blogging much or at all for the past year or so. The next largest contributor is from direct advertising and the bulk of it comes from my directories. Clickbank which opened up for Malaysians last year comes in 3rd and I strongly believe this figure could be even more if I wanted to focus on affiliate marketing which sadly I do not have too much of an interest to be honest. From browsing the net and through my network of webmaster friends sharing, usually the high earners most often than not uses black hats techniques.

Just to note, I am no longer using Bidvertiser on any of my blogs or websites and that $10 was from a referral payout. Needless to say that particular person whom I referred had to generate a payout of his own in order for me to receive this, so a hearty congratulations to whoever you may be.

Tags: earn extra income