For the test I signed up to a new UK survey site called Toluna and they say they have an almost unlimited amount of surveys for people to fill out and its free to signup. You get paid in points for each survey you complete depending on the time it takes and the market they are targeting. You can then cash out your points from your rewards page for online vouchers. I choose to cash mine out for an Amazon e-voucher, some may prefer cash but you can use the e-voucher straight away on Amazon plus they sell almost everything I like anyway. I needed 30,000 points for my Amazon voucher so that was my goal.

So as soon as I signed up I started to get emails inviting me to take part in certain surveys, for the experiment I just decided to take part in every survey I could for a few hours just to see how much I could make. It’s worth pointing out that not everyone gets the same surveys because many are targeted to your specific interests (you fill out what you’re interested in when you sign-up). You can either wait for them to email you a survey or you can login to your account and go to the “my surveys” section, after you update your interests they offer you a survey straight away.

The first survey I got was about movies and what kind of films I liked to watch. Only took about 5 minutes to complete and made me 3000 points!

Next one was about games consoles and it took me a bit longer to complete (about 10 minutes) but it got me another 1800 points.

Getting into the rhythm of things now, feels like I’m doing it all on autopilot! As I finish the last survey I get an email invite for a “consumer topics” survey, no idea what that means but they are paying 4000 points so I’m in! This survey was a little more complex, some more detailed answers needed but I just powered through it in 20 min.

I’m on a roll now so decide to keep going, most of the surveys are quite interesting so it really doesn’t feel like work. Also the site has smaller polls available as well which only take few seconds to answer a basic question like “what’s your favourite TV channel”. These only pay a few hundred points but I fill out lots between the big surveys.

I keep going with a video game survey I spotted on the Toluna homepage for 3500 points. I’m interested in computer games anyway so this one was interesting, took about 10 min.

Quick food survey for 1500 points, 5 minutes.

Then I got a big survey, it’s on health care and it’s for a massive 5000 points! Survey takes 15 min to finish but pretty easy to do and I have 5000 more points!

Another consumer topics survey, 2000 points but only takes 3 min.

I think I must be a power user of Toluna now because I’m getting lots of invites for different surveys. I mentioned on my profile preferences that I use computers and the internet a lot so get invited to take an “internet use” survey for 4000 points. Its most about what ISP you use etc but it gets me 4000 points.

Then another “Food services” survey for 3000, takes 5 min.

Consumer topics – 2000 points, 3 min.

I take part in another round of quick polls on their homepage for about 1000 points, while I’m answering some question about my “favourite fizzy drink” I notice that my account balance at the top of the screen is more than 30,000 points! So I decide to redeem all of my points for the Amazon voucher just to see what happens, I’m too excited to fill out more surveys lol.

After I redeem my points I get a voucher code by email that I can use straight away on Amazon for £40. Not sure what I’m going to buy with it but been looking at this micro helicopter which charges on your pc usb:

So as you can see you’re probably not going to make millions from Toluna but it is a legit way to make some money right now. I was able to make £40 in just over 2 hours which is quite impressive since I was watching TV while filling out most of the surveys J If you’re interested just follow the link below and give them a try.

(Disclaimer – this case study is for illustration purposes only, your results my vary)

So what does all this mean for you? Well there is money to be made on YouTube but like everything it’s not easy and you definitely need to put your own spin on things.

YouTube partner program

So as I mentioned YouTube are now showing ads before many of the videos start to play, what’s new is that you can now get paid a percentage of the money YouTube makes from the ad if they show it on your video. So before you buy that Ferrari take note that the amount per view is very low and they only way you’ll make any real £££ is if the video goes viral. The thing is if it’s possible to go viral anywhere it’s online because if you create something people like it can be all over the web in days and that’s when the real money rolls in. For example that Charlie bit my finger video (which I really don’t get) made over a £100,000 for the creator.

A few things you have to bear in mind with the partner program though:

• All work must be 100% original (you must own the rights)
• To get accepted you need to be publishing videos regularly
• Your video needs to make over £60  before you get paid for it (so you can’t make millions of low quality videos)

Sponsored videos

If you have a knack for creating viral content or even just something that gets people interested then sponsored videos could be an easier way to make money than the partner program. Big brands are really starting to embrace viral marketing as it gives them the potential to reach millions of people overnight for a fraction of the price of TV advertising. A great example is the “Old spice guy” commercials (yes they are commercials) on YouTube which went truly viral last year. Over a hundred million hits from essentially just a guy talking in a bathroom!

So how do you get these kinds of jobs? Well you have to get noticed, start by making  free videos for a local business and if it works you can bet other companies/advertisers will be contacting you. But there are two important points:

• You need to promote the product/service too and not just make “a funny video”, remember it’s all about money for the advertiser!
• You need hard numbers when pitching for work, being able to show over a million views on a video will be very impressive to any business owner.

Promote your own site/blog/product

You don’t just have to promote other peoples products or rely on YouTube to pay you pennies per thousand views! You can use the video to promote your own business or website. Again with this and the other methods of earning money you do need to be able to create videos that people want to watch and share. But if have that ability it’s a great way to drive massive amounts of traffic to your site.

All you have to do is watermark your video with your website address (don’t forget to put it in the description too) and people will be able to visit your site if they like what they see. Also since YouTube is owned by Google they are starting to incorporate YouTube videos into certain search results. Indeed for some high value terms on Google a YouTube video is often way ahead of larger established sites, this is incredible opportunity to make money if you have the right skills for creating content.

That’s all folks

So that’s my YouTube roundup! As you can see making money there isn’t a simple 1-2-3 process, for a start you need a lot of people (think thousands) to hit your video before you make any real money. But there are lots of opportunities too particularly the “sponsored videos” option, could be a pretty cool gig if you had a job creating viral videos for an ad agency, would it be like madmen? Until next time.

Well it’s taken me quite some time but I have finally managed to put my entire system into one eBook that you can download and read in minutes. But what are the main features of this eBook and will it really make you rich? The answer is yes and I am willing to show you the same secrets that I have used to clear my personal debt and create an income that even makes me money when I’m asleep!

So what are some of the main features of the system?

So as you can see this is a real chance to make money using the net that isnt a get rich quick scheme or some system that you have to pay monthly for. This is one simple ebook that contains everythnig you need to make a living on the net today! If you want to know more just head over to the ebook page and ill explain just how this eBook could change your life!

The thing is no matter the size or function of your site unless you embrace SEO, PPC or both then your doomed to failure. The problem is though both these skills are time consuming to learn and implement, but isn’t everything? Even when you know seo it still takes plenty of time to get results so that combined with running the site could make it hard to achieve part-time, but anythings possible.

Ok so after all that negativity what do you actually have to do to make it with your site?

• You have to get out there and connect with other bloggers and websites, this is at the core of Internet marketing. A good way to get started is guest posting, this is were you write a post or article for someone else’s site and in exchange they give you a link back, sounds simple but trust me its still a lot of work. As we know incoming links help both with search engines and your overall popularity so no-matter how long it takes you’ve got to do it. If your not sure where to get started myblogguest is a free forum where you can write guest posts for other webmasters.
• You have to stand out at least a little bit because there’s a million sites out there all doing the same thing. Honestly if you want to build up return visitors you’ve got to give them a reason to come back. Ultimately you’ve got to give your audience what they want and in a clear structure they can understand. So if your an online store offer discounts the competition cant because even though you take a hit in the short term on price the exposure you gain long term is always worth it.
• Consistency is another big part of the equation, are you going to stick with this gig? Are you going to be getting new links for your site on a weekly basis. Will you be creating content for your site for the next 12 months every week to keep it fresh? Obviously the amount of work required is going to depend on the niche your in but even so the work is going to be there until you reach your goal, are you prepared for that?

So that’s my problem, I’m just a realist I suppose but better that I think than one of the get rich quick gurus. I’m always looking for legitimate ways to earn money online that actually deliver a return for the time spent. I cant imagine anything worse than spending lots of time and money on some system that I didn’t fundamentally understand, are you prepared to trust in luck? Or do you want to spend time learning a process like Internet marketing which is already proven?

You still have to buy the product!

Also bear in mind that you’re handing your personal details over to these guys who will most likely be spamming you to death for the next 100 years until you finally tap-out. Am I a born sceptic or just hard to please, I can’t tell but my view on these “free for all” systems that allow anyone to make money has never really changed, it can’t work, it doesn’t work and it never will.

One thing I will say is you can’t really lose anything with these cashback schemes apart from your time, this is different from the daily “stock market secrets” eBook that gets pedalled to my junk folder. The real scams always involve some crazy up-front investment with promises of millions down the line, I wonder how many people get sucked in, probably more that you’d think.

So is it possible to earn real money on the web?

Well yes it is but as mentioned many times before it always involves time and effort. Sometimes it’s in research of the idea/concept and sometimes it’s just 100% application. My main money making “scheme” is web-development and internet marketing which in a nutshell is building websites and getting as many people too them as possible (like how I summed up a few years work in one sentence?). Well actually it’s not going to take years but at the same it’s not like you’re going to get to a certain level and quit, its lifelong learning and not in the pretend university way.

The Idea that I have a system is also a bit of a misnomer, I have concepts and ideas that are never set in stone. The web is constantly changing and how people are finding websites is too, just look at the rise of social media companies like facebook and twitter. Traditionally seo people are terrified of social media but I think it just provides even more opportunities, ten years ago if you wanted to reach a few million potential customers it would cost you thousands. Now with a good idea and some effective viral marketing you can do it for about a £10!

Still you’re not going to see any of these money making ideas that actually work in the mainstream any time soon,  its way to complicated to fit into a 30 second TV spot. Until next time…

I hear a lot about passive income these days but I think many people have the concept wrong. It’s not an income without work but it does mean the business doesn’t need constant attention in order to earn money, you can often put the time in when you have it which is ideal for many people. So what is the system and how much does it cost? Well I’m not selling a system for a start but in short I make money by building sites that I then sell advertising on, the great thing about this concept is I’m not responsible to anyone. How much time you want/need to put in is really up to you, but ultimately only you will be responsible for your success.

There are some other great little businesses that earn money with the net but if you’re looking to start part-time then:

• You can’t be spending too much time dealing/negotiating with people.
• Shouldn’t need you to check in every day, you want to only spend time when you have it.
• Not much investment (I’m assuming if you’re willing to do 2 jobs you’re not rich!)
• You want to focus on learning one or two main skills, you don’t have the time to learn everything.

The great thing is that building sites really does tick all of the boxes above and its getting very accessible for non-technical people to get started. But since I’m not trying to sell some overpriced ebook or pyramid scheme there’s no need to promise a magic formula that will do the work for you. It’s still a complex and time consuming business to learn, but if it was easy wouldn’t everyone be doing it?

On a slightly un-related note check out the video by Jim Rohn above, only just discovered his stuff lately but he does have some genuinely good points (not just the Anthony Robbins hype). Until next time.

I’m not trying to say that everything needs to be complex to work but I can guarantee if its point and click it’s unlikely to produce results on its own. That doesn’t mean simple ideas can’t be part of a much larger money making plan, for instance:

• WordPress CMS, 5 minutes and you have a website.
• Cheap web-hosting that’s point and click to setup.
• Contacting other webmasters to promote your site, time consuming but simple.

The thing is I keep seeing people starting up these out of the box ecommerce sites selling the exact same products at the exact same prices as everyone else, why bother? Everyone seems to think that “internet” is a magic keyword that results in instant money. You look at some of the most successful net businesses and while the infrastructure they used was simple the concept and idea were unique and original.

I really think that in order to put together a collection of ideas that work you need to try a lot of things that don’t. This too is another stumbling block as fear of failure can be a major hurdle for anyone starting a business on the net.

Foundation 07 // Chris Sacca from Kevin Rose on Vimeo.

Also on a slightly unrelated note I wanted to post this great video by Kevin Rose I found. It’s one of a series where he interviews successful entrepreneurs and tries to decipher their methods. It’s quite long but I promise its worth a watch, only problem with these kind of videos is they can be quite addictive, information overload can be a real problem!

In some ways it does depend exactly what idea you’re trying to get off the ground because not every site is competing in the same type of market. However the principle of getting what you’re doing out to influential people holds firm no matter what your site is about. To me the basics are:

• Contact other bloggers, don’t just ask for a link but explain what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.
• Forums are a great way to get in touch with real people. But not just any forum, try to find one which is related to your industry, you need people who are engaged.
• Twitter/Facebook/Youtube have changed the game in terms of how fast you can become popular. It’s now possible to reach millions of people in a matter of hours, but only if you have viral content (that’s a big if).

You see whether you’re the exec at coca-cola or your some local mechanic trying to rank your site in your home city, the principles are the same, it’s just the scale that changes. At the heart of this game web promotion is a popularity contest and there’s a million ways to become popular (just like the real world).

The reason I’m pointing all this out is that so many people do have great and unique ideas for websites and ways to earn from them. But unless you have your marketing/seo/ppc strategy 100% then you’re going to fail. The problem still remains that even in 2011 internet marketing is the afterthought post web-design. Honestly id rather spend ¼ of the budget creating the website and the rest promotion, at least that way I have a real chance of making money.

So that’s it for this post, what crazy methods do you have for promoting your idea?

• Some technical knowledge. Note I’m only saying some because you don’t really need to be able to program to build a website, most out of the box platforms look great from the start e.g wordpress, but it is handy to know a little html.
• Design know-how. Again I’m not really talking about this from a technical point of view, just from the viewpoint that you know what looks good and what doesn’t. Having an eye for creating something that people find easy to use is also very important.
• Marketing. Probably the most important factor and worthy of more than just a paragraph here. However you really have to know what you’re doing here if you’re investing money into the business, the only real way to learn is to practice so it’s best to start with a small project/site before going crazy.
• Perseverance. Also very important and actually the one that causes the most failures. It can take much longer that you expect to create a successful site so how are you going to keep going? Also what if it fails completely, do you have the willpower to start again, most people don’t.
• Analysation. Fancy word but all it means is the ability to figure out what’s working/not working for your site and why. This could be anything from what your seo efforts are not successful to why visitors aren’t converting into sales. It’s that ability to interpret stats into action and to adapt what you’re doing that separates great webmasters from the rest.

Five points seems a bit sparse for what can be a huge process, still you always need a base to start from so I hope it helps. Part of the problem I’m finding with trying to document a lot of this website building process is there’s just too much to cover, plus the fact that everyone has their own process for doing things and overloading people with too much info could do more harm than good! Still I hope the tips above help if you’re thinking about starting a site.