My New Blog: Surveyosity.com

Yep, Mama's got a brand new blog! I was kinda on and off with surveys last year, but I still managed to make a couple of hundred from it. This year, I wanna get back into doing them. If I managed to make over $300 last year with on-and-off committment, then I'm curious to see how much I can potentially make if I up the committment a couple of levels.

I decided to set up a separate blog for it. Give it its own island, you know.

Surveyosity will be a mixture of survey reviews and updates on how the survey world's going for me. Last year, I aimed to make $500 by December. Didn't quite work out that way, mainly because I set the target too late (in August). But, well, this year, I'm starting out real early with the same target in mind.

I put my earnings on there in pounds 'cos most of the survey sites I'm with actually pay in pounds anyway, but I've also put the dollar equivalent in brackets.


Anyway, wish me luck!


(p.s.: I'm curious to know if you've taken up any new projects of your own this year or have any plans to. How's it going for you? Good luck, anyways.)



Have a great weekend, people.

Ebele.

My Xomba Experiment: an Update…

Hey! How do? (you superstar, you)


Right, I thought it's time I wrote an update on how it's going for me with Xomba; it's kinda overdue.

Briefly, Xomba is an article-writing/bookmarking site monetised with Adsense ads. For a bookmark, you just need to write a short summary of a site you want to point people to. Any ad revenue that's generated via anything you write is shared between you and Xomba (50/50). You can read more about the site here.


I joined Xomba about 10 months ago, but wasn't that active on it. It was only in October that I started picking up pace.


How Much I've Made Since...

I haven't made a killing, but I'm pleased to see that posting on Xomba has made my Adsense earnings do what they hardly ever used to do: grow. Also, a lot of this is residual in some ways 'cos once I've posted up, I haven't had to do anything else, but I've still earned.

So far, my Adsense earnings (via Xomba) are as follows:

November - £2.31
December - £2.32
January (so far) - £4.60 (update: finished january at £5.82)

(p.s.: on Adsense, I changed my earnings from dollars to pounds)


My Observations, Dear Watson:

- my bookmarks seem to earn me more than my articles do

- the popularity of an article/bookmark isn't always directly related to how much I'll earn. A less popular article/bookmark may earn me more than a more popular one.

- I get to write about different topics without the need to set up a blog (or a niche blog)

- I find Xomba is also a great way to experiment with any ideas I have – to test for popularity or my own passion for the topic - before pressing on with my own blog if I want to.

- even though I could do away with the middleman, set up my own blog, put Adsense on it and get a 100% cut, I like the fact that Xomba gets me traffic quicker than if I'd set up my own blog. I'm happy to share my ad revenue with them on that basis.

- I'm enjoying the idea of discovering what works and what doesn't. I've had some surprises.

- some posts are instantly popular and some take time to mature

- Xomba can also be a good affiliate/referral marketing tool. I'm only beginning to explore it, but I've gotten a few sign-ups that way.



So, yeah, so far, so good...

Was just a trial, but I think I'm gonna stick with Xomba a lot longer and keep on experimenting. The bookmarking suits me to a tee; prefer it to writing articles. Plus, it seems to be rubbing up my Adsense account the right way. I've never reached payout on Adsense. This year I'd like to. Would be cool. I'll be the first to admit I've had a cynical attitude towards Google and Adsense; I still have my reservations, but maybe part of the problem was I didn't understand the mechanics of it all.


Anyhoo, onwards and upwards.



Our faces were made to touch the sky, you know?

Ebele.

Guess What I Got In The Post The Other Day :-)

...a little cute bottle of Baileys Irish Cream! Coffee flavour.


I've only ever tried the coffee once... in the duty-free section at Heathrow; samples were being offered in lil cups when the new flavours first came out. I tried all three: Caramel, Mint and Coffee. Can't say they really floated my boat as I was so used to the original, but it's not as if they had to force me to try them though! - I was VERY willing to be a guinea pig!


I love Baileys. Always have. It's my favourite tipple. Come Xmas, I go all delirious with it. Me and my sister.

The coffee's not my favourite, but I'm gonna enjoy it nonetheless. No ice. Just neat. I like to really taste it, swish it slowly round my mouth, savour it.


I found out about the Baileys freebie...

...via a freebie site I'm subscribed to: MagicFreebies.com. I get regular email updates on various freebies out there. So far, I've gotten a few things: BodyForm products, SIM cards, and now the Baileys sample.


Hmmm, you know what?

I think I'm gonna start paying attention to getting hold of free stuff out there. I mean, it's not literal cash, but it could save me money. Saving money can be just as good as earning it. I could also sell some of them too, I guess.

Something to think about.



Have a great week, y'all. Glitter it!


Ebele.

Making Money with Surveys: If I Can Do It, So Can You...

img credit: ajawin

I frequent a lot of forums as it can often be a fertile ground for learning and exchanging ideas and experiences. At times, some members will ask about surveys and whether it's actually possible to make money doing them. Well, I'm proof that it's definitely doable. Yes, there are scams out there, but you can still find reputable survey sites that can make you some good pocket change. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really take that much time: most of the surveys I do are usually on average 10-20 mins long. Focus group (face-to-face) surveys are the exception. Those are usually 1-2 hours long, but they tend to be super interesting and pay very very well.

Making money with surveys is possible. Couple of tips for you:

- commit to spending 30 mins to an hour a day doing surveys. Take weekends off if you want. Up to you.

- keep a spreadsheet of all the survey sites you're a member of, the money/points you've accrued, and the actual money/vouchers you've cashed out to date.

- taking surveys can get tedious and boring, so put some music on in the background, have some nibbles to hand and a nice cup of coffee, tea or a small glass of wine to keep you company. Taking some time out from doing them altogether can also help. I've been known to take days, weeks and even a month off from doing them. I feel refreshed coming back to them after that.

- set yourself challenges, for e.g., do 2 surveys a day for a week, 3 surveys a day the following week, 4 surveys a day the week after that, then take the next week off. Or you could look for a new survey site every week for the next month. Set your own targets.


Whatever you plan on doing online to make money this year: surveys or otherwise, hope you learn beautifully from it and have bucketloads of success with it.


Ebele.

December '09 Earnings + Total Earnings for 2009...

img credit: bradtollefson

December '09...

I was trying to make more than I did in November, but that didn't pan out. Money's still money though, so it's all guuuud.

Freelance writing - $96.30 (private client)

IM Report Card: $20.37

Surveys - $11.65 (Crowdology, LightSpeed Panel (UK), Wisad)

Private work - $10.35

Cashle - $1.15

QuickRewards Network - $1.05


TOTAL MADE: $177.41



2009: Total Earnings...

In total, I made $3369.53:

Freelance writing - $2,450.33
Surveys - $347.69
IM Report Card - $182.72
GetaFreelancer affiliate - $117.25
Proofreading - $85.31
Sold used books - $83.56 (Amazon.com, GreenMetropolis.com)
GPTs/PTCs - $36.53 (Cashle, Earnawad, QuickRewards, Neobux, You-Cubez)
Linkworth - $27.81
My ebook - $14.97
Private work - $10.00
Flipnoobs affiliate - $7.39
Sold picture - $4.50
Pickjack - $1.43
Cloudcrowd - $0.04


Not bad considering I had quite a shitty year on a personal front, plus the economy wasn't much to write to Martha about.

Naturally, I wanna make more this year than the previous. Now I've totally given up freelance writing, that's a big chunk of potential earnings gone. No regrets though. I made the right decision for me. It's not one I came to lightly. Sooooo, part of the challenge this year will be to look for other income sources.

Hey, 2010, How You Doing?

img credit: Optical illusion

I kinda started my New Year back in November 'cos I didn't wanna wait 'til January. Even though my enthusiasm quickly fell by the wayside, it was nice to feel the euphoria of wanting to change and taking steps towards it.

So January is like Take Two.


Money's been a problem for me for a long time because it's been a symptom of other stuff going on in my life. My finances, for the most part of 2009, looked like a ball of knitting wool a kitten had had a field day with.

This year, I really wanna get on top of my finances while making a lot of my dreams come true. I don't want things to be the same ol' same ol' anymore. I don't wanna do things I don't wanna do. I want to do plenty of what I want to do. Like, plenty. So plenty that I'm pooping out fucking rainbows.

No more 'thinking' about it. More 'doing' about it. I'm saying goodbye to freelance writing for a start. Mentally, I moved on from it a long time ago, but forced myself to keep on doing it. This year, I'm making a clean break.


I don't think I could stand it if this year was like its predecessor. I'm gonna keep that thought in the back of my mind and use it to drive me.


I hope y'all have a year that leaves you speechless with joy and contentment. Let's rock it this year, strumming pink air guitars everywhere we go.


'The beginning is always today' - Mary Wollstonecraft.


Ebele.