A free education on SEO

I just wanted to make a quick post to link to Pat Flynn's excellent post at smartpassiveincome.com. Pat is conducting an experiment that looks very interesting. He is letting us "peek under the hood" as he tries to get ranked by Google for a specific set of keywords. I am going to be watching this closely because I have been a reader or of Pat's blog for 8 months or more and really respect how he goes about things.
I think this will be a great opportunity to get a primer on SEO without all the hype of the usual IM ebook. Pat's not selling anything here, he is going through the process and letting us tag along for the ride.

Available now: CVS Flu Shots

Without your health, you got nothing!

I was intrigued this morning to read that CVS pharmacies are making 100,000 seasonal flu shots available to unemployed people.

The company will give out vouchers for the free flu shots at its pharmacies and MinuteClinics. The company said the free flu shots will cost it about $3 million.

This is a really cool corporate gesture, or some brilliant marketing. Maybe both.
Here is the official press release from the company:


Press Release
CVS/pharmacy and MinuteClinic Encourage Americans to Protect Themselves Early with a Seasonal Flu Shot

Seasonal Flu Vaccinations Conveniently Available at CVS/pharmacy and MinuteClinic Health Care Centers Nationwide

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (August 31, 2009) /PRNewswire/ - CVS/pharmacy, the nation's leading retail pharmacy, and MinuteClinic, the largest retail health care clinic provider in the U.S., today announced the availability of seasonal flu vaccinations and urged Americans to protect themselves early against the flu. CVS/pharmacy and MinuteClinic are divisions of CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS), the largest provider of prescriptions in the country.

Beginning September 1st, seasonal flu shots will be available daily without an appointment at more than 500 MinuteClinic locations inside select CVS/pharmacy stores. Most MinuteClinic locations are open seven days a week and offer evening hours. MinuteClinic will offer vaccinations to adults and children over 18 months. And starting September 15th, more than 9,000 flu shot clinic events will be held in select CVS/pharmacy stores nationwide. Consumers can call 1-888-FLU-SHOT or go to www.cvs.com to find a list of vaccination locations.

The vaccine offered by CVS/pharmacy and MinuteClinic will protect against the seasonal flu. Vaccinations are covered by most insurance plans.

The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) encourages getting a seasonal flu vaccination as soon as it is available. Yearly seasonal flu vaccinations are recommended especially for those at highest risk: people ages 50 and older; those with chronic disease such as diabetes, asthma or heart disease; pregnant women; and those who care for or live with people that are most susceptible to the flu and its complications. According to the CDC, 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths result each year from seasonal flu alone.

A new study from CVS Caremark found that more than 50 percent of those surveyed did not receive a flu shot in the past year. The 2009 CVS Caremark Health IQ study reports that misperceptions about the risk of becoming ill from the shot were a leading reason, with over one-third believing the flu shot can make you sick. The study also revealed that young people are least likely to get vaccinated, with only 33% of those age 20-34 reporting they got a flu shot last year, compared to 72% of seniors age 65 and older.

"Flu shots save lives and they prevent the illness that flu brings to millions of us every year. The fact that so many Americans still choose not to get a flu shot means that we in the health care field have work to do when it comes to educating Americans on the value of flu shots," said Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for CVS Caremark. "A flu shot can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in medical care costs and prevents the aches, chills, fever and more serious complications of flu."

This year, epidemiologists are also bracing for the full impact of the H1N1 flu virus. So far this year, H1N1 has caused approximately 8,500 hospitalizations and more than 550 deaths in the U.S. A new vaccine against the novel H1N1 virus is in production and will be available in the coming months.

"If you're not protected with a seasonal flu shot, you risk getting sick," said Donna Haugland, FNP, Chief Nursing Officer for MinuteClinic. "Individuals need to get vaccinated to protect not only themselves, but their families, friends and members of the community at large."

Along with an annual flu vaccine Haugland recommends the following healthy habits that everyone can follow to avoid the spread of germs this flu season:

* Frequently wash hands with soap and water, or an alcohol-based cleanser
* Refrain from touching the eyes, nose or mouth - the virus can only be caught in the membranes of these body parts
* Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you sneeze and dispose it in the trash
* Cough into your elbow or tissue
* Avoid contact with people affected with cold and flu
* Use a germ-killing disinfectant to clean surfaces
* Stay home from school or work if you become infected with the flu

"Prevention is always the first step, but should you come down with the cold or flu CVS pharmacists can help find the right products for your symptoms," said Papatya Tankut, R.Ph, Vice President of Pharmacy Professional Services for CVS Caremark.

Maybe it's naive of me , but I say "well done" to CVS. I just had to say it.

The First Payout from eHow

I have a love/hate relationship with eHow. I love the concept, I love checking my stats and views every day, but it hurts to make myself write new articles. Once I get going, it's not that big of a deal, but it's like sitting down for a root canal to start.
I got a great encouragement over the weekend when I realized that I am now over eHow's minimum $10 threshold, so I should be receiving my first check from them next month. It's a very strange emotion, because, after all, it's only ten bucks. But the flip side is that it's my first semi-passive income check....Now, I get regular checks from doing surveys, but I look at that money as working by the hour. I complete a survey, I get paid once. (If you would like to see the surveys companies that pay pretty dang well, check out my previous post.)
The eHow check represents the beginning of the dream we are all chasing...online income that is passive or semi-passive. It has the potential to pay out again and again.
What an amazing concept.
So, back to the grind. I am rejuvenated at the possibilities.
Andy

Using internet marketing techniques on offline businesses...

As an internet marketer, I know just how lucrative it is to make money marketing online businesses. However I have to let you on a secret I just stumbled upon. I have just found out that instead of concentrating only on online businesses, it is just as easy to earn easy cash using internet marketing techniques on offline businesses!

The main reason for this is because to offline businesses, internet marketing proves to be something new. They are not aware of this market and avenue of free marketing, which brings increased sales and profit for them.

We as internet marketers have nothing to lose as all we have to do is to teach all of them the tricks of internet marketing. Basically, offline businesses at present carry out similar marketing and advertising tactics like using coupons for promoting their businesses and perhaps getting listed in the yellow pages.

They save while we earn

However what they do not know is that they can save money through internet marketing (while we make money!). Instead of spending money printing coupons, we can teach them how to use online coupon companies for free. And instead of getting listed in the yellow pages, we just have to show them the global audience the business gets by listing their business in online yellow pages and directory sites.

We can also carry out workshops to teach them all there is to internet marketing and earn some money by charging for attending the workshop. We can also offer to start blogs for them, and manage them by adding fresh content on a regular basis, and by perhaps starting an e-newsletter for interested people to sign up for.

So you can see that by offering our internet marketing skills to offline businesses, not only do these businesses flourish, we can also earn a sizeable amount through their internet marketing.

There are more tips and techniques to learn by implementing internet marketing techniques in offline businesses. This is why I highly recommend you download this free report called Easy Offline Cash. It discusses everything about using internet marketing techniques in offline business. If you care at all about making more money with what you always to, you will at least download and read the report, it's free!

Click Here To Download Your Free Easy Offline Cash Report

One of the reasons I want to have independent income

This is way off topic, but I just had to let you all in on the pride of Illinois. This is one of the reasons I strive for forms of independent income. So that I can make a living from anywhere on the planet. Because if this guy opens his mouth one more time, I am outta here.

How to sell covered call options | Option Trading System

How to sell covered call options | Option Trading System
Here's a great explanation of selling covered call options. Sounds really scary, but it's not. This is something I have been interested in for a long time. The concept of "recycling" your passive income into other passive income streams is truly an exciting concept. Read this post and let me know what you think about this strategy.

Selling for others on eBay

Sorry for the long time between postings, it seems the holidays got the best of me this year! I hope everyone had a nice holiday season. I have kept after my online income streams, concentrating on writing for eHow, completing some surveys, and something new that I stumbled on....

After a conversation with a friend of mine who works at a trucking company, we agreed that I would market some of the things which he finds from broken pallets and items left behind on trucks. Apparently, after the carrier insurance is settled, the trucking company was throwing the items in the dumpster. When he asked if he could take them home, he was told to get the stuff out quickly because it was crowding the loading docks.

We were discussing my efforts to make a second income online when I suggested that I market his collection online. This solved a problem for him, because he could get the stuff out of his garage and get a much better price than he could locally, even after my percentage share.

I sold some things on eBay and even found some places online to sell directly to used equipment suppliers for some of the more industrial stuff. This turned into a nice arrangement for both of us. It gave my online efforts a nice year end boost as I was able to clear $312.50 for my efforts. This has been by far my most profitable venture online.

I would encourage you all to look around for opportunities like this because it really is a win-win deal for everyone involved. People that you and I both know who have little knowledge of the internet just can't grasp the massive market that can be reached. They are grateful to pay a part of the sale proceeds to you because, if you didn't sell it online for them, it will probably end up on next summer's garage sale 50 cent table.

This isn't passive income. It takes some research to find what things are worth and what sites will give you the most for your items. Bit I have to say it can be well worth your time. I estimate I made about $60 per hour doing this in December.

Let me know of any experiences you have had doing this.....