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.

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.....

SurveySavvy.com provides another income stream

I have belonged to SurveySavvy.com for about six months. They are another reputable survey company that pays regularly. It usually takes about three or four weeks to receive a check once you request one. I don't get a lot of invitations to complete surveys from this company, but when I do, they usually pay well. You can not only make money by completing surveys, but also by referring other people (just like I am doing here!). Registration is simple and straightforward-fill out a short profile form and you are ready to start receiving surveys.

A Review of Opinion Outpost for Surveys

Most of the paid survey sites you see out there are just rubbish sites that you need to sign up for a service or subscription in order to get paid. But over the course of the last year I have found a few reputable sites I'll share with you. For full disclosure, I do get a referral fee if you join through my link, but know that I regularly receive money from completing surveys through these guys, they are an honest straight-up operation.
Opinion Outpost is the one of the main sites I use for completing surveys. Surveys are not going to make you rich overnight, but they are a nice way to make some bucks while watching a football game, or when you are waking up. I love to tell my wife when she wakes up that I made $3.00 already that morning! This site pays by check when you have reached $5.00 in earnings, and they arrive within a couple of weeks.
We use these little checks only for paying off debt. We refer to them as "snowflakes" (referring to Dave Ramsey's snowball method of paying down debt. Snowflakes start to make a snowball....get it?) It's our head game we use to keep motivated. I'll share some more survey sites with you soon.

Mechanical Turk starts the flow of money

Needing to start somewhere, I began doing projects or "HITs" at Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk site. This is a good way to get your feet wet making some bucks online, but it is a lot of work for not a lot of money. The site allows you to accept projects that require human intelligence to catagorize, and describe, for instance.
I did it quite a bit over the last few months while I was drinking coffee and waking up at 4:30AM. Yes, I am a freak that has always gotten up at that time since I was a little kid.

The registration process is simple and straight forward, and within a half an hour you can be completing projects and banking some coin. You need to have earned a minimum of$10.00 before you can withdraw via Amazon Payments. The money goes straight into your bank account in just a couple of days. I have received two payments without a hitch.
Again, a good place to start, but be prepared to work. This is not a passive income stream by any means, but a good beginning income stream to start making some bucks online.