zerotomed.com

I didn’t know if it would really work, but I have to say one thing…Since starting to heavily use Stumble Upon on my sites, specifically my science forum, I have seen a tremendous increase in profit and traffic to the sites. For those that don’t know, Stumble Upon is another one of those social networking sites. Basically, people decide what kind of sites they are looking for and click a little button that says “Stumble!” and then they are sent to a random site. For some, they do it just for fun, but for others, they do it to genuinely find sites of interest to expand their horizons.

Now, I got as many people as I could to stumble all four of my big sites. My debate forum, make money online blog, and this site got stumbled. All of them have shown an increase in traffic since getting stumbled simply because so many people use the site. Now, I am very pleased with this growth and I can honestly say it is showing in my earnings, so obviously the use of social sites like this are really quite good tools for getting a nice consistent amount of traffic.

Now all that really matters is getting individual blog posts and individual threads stumbled as well. This will just increase traffic even more and that’ll make more money. Since adding ads after the first thread on science chats, every impression now counts since I am using a new CPM company. So, I’m looking to hopefully get more stumbles as well as potentially get a digg going. If I could get a digg on any of my four big sites, it would really mean some nice profits since I run this CPM on all of them. And since I get to choose how much I get for CPM, it really is great. Anyways…I just wanted to say that I am confident now in Stumble Upon and their ability to offer growth.

I was trying to think of a new way to perhaps expand on my blog a little and I suddenly realized (when helping my friend set up a new site) that I could offer people information on the latest deals on the web for hosting companies. Since there are, I am sure, new people that come to this site reading about me, I figure I could snag some people to sign up under my affiliate. Yes, I will be using affiliates, but I figure that in return for the information I provide you, a little compensation on my part is not bad. It’s no more expensive for you, so why not?

The first set of coupons that I wanted to offer everyone is through HostGator. They are what I use for this site and I have to say that it is a really great web host company. Their prices are reasonable and they allow you to set up as many domains as you want to set up. These next codes will get you their “baby” plan for a penny or take $9.94 off of whatever plan you set up with them. The coupons are:

• “iceishot”
• “jury”
• “webhostingunleashed”

These three will get you the hosting for a single penny. I have to say, for this great hosting, it really is a great deal for people and I highly recommend it. If you are interested in signing up for hostgator hosting, click here.

I decided to keep tonight’s blog post sort of relaxed and with nothing about business. So, I thought about it and then decided that I would post a little something about me that no one really knows. And that is what my favorite movies are. And, I will also tag some people to see what their favorite movies are. So, these are my top three favorite movies and why:

• 300: I don’t know why, but this movie is just AMAZING! Gerard Butler plays a mean Leonidas and the rest of the cast is just downright amazing. If you have not seen this movie, you are missing out and need to get the hell to the store and buy the DVD. It is downright brilliant and I might just watch it again now because it rocks so much.
• Boondock Saints: This is that story about those two Irish twins that go around Boston killing all these mafioso. It’s a really great movie and although some of the stuff is weird like the gunshots (sometimes), it’s just downright brilliant. I already watched it once tonight and it’s just one of those really awesome movies. It has a kick ass cast to go along with it, so I highly recommend it.
• Star Wars: As much of a nerd as that makes me, I can’t help it. I am a Star Wars geek and I have been for all my life. I own some comic books and I own all the movies. I can’t pick one, so Star Wars just goes under this list as my favorite all together. I don’t have to tell people to watch these since so many people love them. But they really are awesome. And if you watch it, it has a lot of Mythological stuff in it that people would never understand. But, thinking about that could steal from the movie.

The Godfather was close to ranking up there, but since it was only the top three, I couldn’t fit it up there. I have to say that those three movies are just some of my many favorites, but they are my top three favorites. Now, to spread a little link love and to see what others love, let’s send a tag to: Lithman, Andreas Bard, King Nomar.

I was thinking about something today when I was skipping all the lines at the amusement park (I got one of those flash passes). Since politics has become something of more interest for me since I am legally allowed to vote now, I have begun to ponder who I will vote for in ‘08. Will I go Democratic and vote for Clinton or Obama? Or will I go Republican and vote for whoever takes control (Giuliani I hope). And then something else dawned on me…How can I make money because of these candidates trying to make money. Now, I am not going to be making a website about it because, well, I don’t want any more websites. However, I began to think of ways on how I could make money and then I realized something.

People will Google the candidates as time gets closer and closer to try and learn about what they have to offer. By simply mentioning this opinion, I could get indexed and someone might just come across my site because of the word CLINTON. That’s pretty exciting, you know? And that’s when I realized that since this is my blog, I am entitled to post whatever I want. Like other bloggers post the most random shit, I can do the same. So, that brought upon an idea of mine…What if I were to post an opinion about politicians every once in a while? By offering it every once in a while, I could tap into a market of people that are not heavily marketed. And, since my blog is gaining notoriety and strength, it’d become easier and easier to get indexed.

Now, I am not going to do it all that often probably because this blog is about my journey to medical school. However, I answer my own question when writing this and when thinking about it. Webmasters can make a KILLING simply because of this Presidential Running. I know of websites that make hundreds and thousands a month simply because of information about the Presidential running. So, I definitely feel that there is a lot of money to be made because of this Presidential Running. Perhaps I will tap into it or perhaps I’ll get the enjoyment of seeing someone else take my idea. Either way, like people say, make money anyway possible. Here’s a massive way to do it.

That’s right ladies and gentlemen…For those in the North Eastern United States, you have probably heard of Six Flags Great Adventure. It’s in New Jersey and that is where I will be going tomorrow. For those that don’t know, it is one of the BEST amusement parks in the world and has some of the tallest (actually, the tallest) roller coasters in the world. Now, you may be wondering: “Jacob, what is the tallest roller coaster in the world?” That answer, my wonderful readers, is very simple.

In 2005, Kinga Da opened up. Now, how tall is tall? Is 456 feet tall? You bet! That’s a tall damn roller coaster. What about going down 90 degree declines? For those that don’t know, 90 degrees is perpendicular to the ground. That’s straight down. Basically, it provides a big of free floating air time. That sounds great, huh? That’s because it is. Now, I’ve never been on it before, but let me tell you, I cannot wait to go. I cannot wait to go on Nitro, Superman, Batman, etc, etc, etc.

Now, the only down fall is that this is one day where I cannot work. But that’s alright, I intend on using time stamps to get the work done for me. Since I am working on a four part piece for Dorm Earning, the time stamps will be good to get them out there for individuals and it’s easier for me to write them. Multiple pieces for one big theme is much easier to write than trying to think something new up every single night. Anyways…That’s what the battle plan is for me. So tomorrow, at around 1:00, when you’re all stuck inside, I’ll be on a roller coaster. HAVE FUN!

Back in July, I showed my excitement when my blog passed below 600K (even though I am above it again) and mentioned the reason I thought that this had happened: the FireFox toolbar. In all of my excitement, I did not care so much about whether it was even important. All that mattered to me was that my alexa, as my traffic increased, would begin to go lower and lower because more and more people were using the toolbar. And the truth is, this really excited me. But, why did it excite me?

Sites like ReviewMe and PPP both like the user to have a lower alexa ranking. So, if your blog has a ranking of under 100K, it looks better than if your blog has a ranking under 300K or even worse. This really excited me because since the firefox toolbar was out, I would hopefully go lower and lower. But, after those first few days of excitement disappeared and reality sunk in, I began to wonder if Alexa was honestly all that important. Could a big site be a big site and still have a horrible Alexa ranking?

I came to this conclusion…If you are going to earn from PPC companies, having a high or low Alexa ranking is irrelevant. However, if you are going to use programs like Text-Link-Ads, ReviewMe, PPP, you have to realize that the better your alexa ranking, the more likely you are going to make a better profit. Alexa ranking and increase in traffic go hand in hand. Sure, Alexa may require you to have the toolbar for your ‘vote’ to count for the site’s ranking, but as more and more people get it, the differences between traffic and alexa ranking will become smaller and smaller. So, my opinion is that Alexa is important for increased profits.

I was just cruising the internet when I came across something that caught my eye: Forex. It’s basically the trading of currency to try and make a profit. Now, I was sitting there and it dumbfounded me that something like that could happen, yet at the same time, it made sense to me and I realized just how brilliant it really sounded. I mean, all I would need to do is get some money and then invest it the right way. But, I began to think to myself that if I was going to go into something so damn risky, I would need to really start doing my research.

The first thing that I did was head on over to wikipedia to figure out what exactly it was. I learned something remarkable from there. Every single day, $2 trillion is traded on the forex market. Another great thing that I learned is that, unlike the stock market, you can trade currencies twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. There are very few businesses that are like that because most take place in America and they just work from 9-5. This is a totally different business and I have to say, it is ideal for anyone, no matter the time zone.

So, that leaves me with the one question…Is Forex a good way to make money or is it something that only the elite can do? Do I need to have a lot of money to go into it or can I start with something small like $100.00 and then expand over time? I am not very smart when it comes to this and I intend on reading up on it, but any feedback would be great. If anyone has any advice they may have about this, I really hope that they can give it to me. I appreciate it and let’s hope I learn enough to make some extra cash!

I got into a conversation with my friend over at online marketing and we started talking about an individual we knew who lied about his stats to his advertisers in the hopes of increasing his profits. And that got me thinking…How many people are genuinely honest when they start to sell their advertising? How many people tell you where they are going to place your link? How many people tell you just how many unique visitors that they get? So, it got me thinking just how low people will go to make a buck. Here are a few things that I recommend you do when you are going to start selling advertisings.

• Be honest with the number of people you get to your site. To do this, I recommend signing up with Google Analytics. I have yet to do it myself, but after much irritation (friendly of course) from Nomar, I think I will get to work on that.
• Let the advertiser know where exactly their link is going to be. If you intend on selling FOOTER links, let them know that. Don’t tell them that it’s going to be in a ‘great place’ and then put in the footer. Let them know that the location will be there. Or, if you do it like I do, put it in a good place like the upper sidebar.
• If you guarantee that their link is one of five, ensure that you keep true to that guarantee. Don’t start changing things around after you’ve sold all five and then sell another five. This is being dishonest to the advertiser. One of the things that attracts an advertiser is few outgoing links. The fewer links that are outgoing from your site, the stronger each link is worth.
• If you agree to keep the link on for a total of two months, keep it up for two months. I have seen a lot of people take the link down after believing the advertiser would forget. Be honest to the advertiser and don’t rob of their money. Advertisers are the way that we are able to continue doing what we do. If we’re dishonest, they won’t come back.

It’s very important that you are honest to those that you work with. If you want to make money on the internet, you can attempt to be a swindler and a cheater. But, the thing with the internet is that word can spread very easily. And especially on blogs, if you cheat a blogger, they’ll let everybody know. That’s our business. We tell stories and we let people know what’s going on. That’s why I let you know about digg changing ad companies. We let information get circulated and if you cheat a blogger, they’ll let people know. So, be honest with the people you are selling advertising to. It’ll give you a better name on the net.

Since reading that article about digg firing Google, it dawned on me that the war for control over the market is beginning to take charge. Yahoo first started it when they started to pay their publishers considerable amounts of money per click, definitely a lot higher than Google was paying at the time. But, after a while, they began to grow lackadaisical and started to take away from the profits that the publishers were making because their advertiser’s were not making a profit. Microsoft decided one day that they were going to go to war against Google and they created Adcenter. Adcenter was their CPC program, but they were the tiniest of the three. No one heard from them, no one really did any business with them. And then DIGG hired them. Now, one must begin to wonder: who will reign supreme in the CPC world?

• Adsense: They have got a strong following as well as a lot of BIG time websites. If you look at CNN.com, they place adsense ads on their site which shows that such a highly trafficked site still uses their program. Although they have begun to become stingy with the money they give their publishers, people are still signing up and people still are making money with them. But, will their constant banning of members start to weaken them in the end?
• YPN: They started out strong with their high paying ads and then grew even stronger by offering to pay via paypal, something that these ad companies never did before. However, their ads were horribly targeted and they started to lose strength because of their undercutting the publishers with the excuse that, “our advertisers are not making a profit so we can’t give you as much money.” Can they increase their power and attempt to take control of a chunk of the market again or are they doomed?
• Adcenter: Microsoft’s attempt at taking a chunk of the market started off horribly with no one knowing who the hell they were and what exactly they had to offer. What will they bring to the table? With the recent acquiring of Digg.com’s advertising, could this be the break that they need to finally get out of the sandbox and start going to elementary school? Can they finally make it in the world of CPC or will they fail?

Who do you think will take it in the end? Who will reign supreme in the CPC world? Will Adcenter gain more big publishers like digg.com because they are ‘young and creative’ or will Adsense finally learn their lesson and stop banning their users so simply? Can Yahoo step up and target their ads better or will they just disappear? Who knows what the future holds? Who knows who will reign supreme? I can say one thing I do know, though. It’s going to be a very interesting next few years as these companies go head to head to try and control the millions and millions of dollars in online advertising. It’ll be very interesting to see who takes control.

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One of the things that I talked about was creating another forum with a friend of mine. A lot of people think that creating too many forums and blogs is a tough thing, especially with me going back to college; however, I think that this is the right move. I have been disciplining myself quite a bit since school ended and I have been preparing myself for the work load. You may be asking how I am doing that, but it’s my little secret. But, I have been ensuring that I get my work done and that I also don’t get screwed with school. School is number one!

With the help of my friend, we created a forum that allows for all sorts of debate. I really love to argue with people and my friends were saying that I’d make a great lawyer because I argue so much. Well, I chose medicine, but that doesn’t change the fact that I love to argue. On the forum, you can debate whatever you want and if you ever feel like debating with me, you’re welcome to join and we can debate. I like to debate, so I am willing to debate both sides, even if I don’t believe what I am arguing. And I think that’s what’ll allow the site to grow.

Now, I would’ve loved to use vBulletin, but I didn’t have the money for it. However, we decided that we would use phpbb3. I have to say, this program is really nicely made and it does rival vBulletin. It was difficult at first to deal with, but I really think that it is a great program and if you are looking to create a forum on free software, go with phpbb3. It is the fourth release of phpbb3 and it is pretty much bug free; but there are always going to be more releases, the same as for any other forum software. I am excited to get this forum big, but I know it’ll rely heavily on word of mouth advertising. We’ll see.