Making Money Online: the Dream That Won’t Leave Me Alone...

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I've been making money online since 2007 and have found the experience fascinating, exciting, and at times, frustrating (actually, more times than I care to mention).

The most I've ever made online in one month was just under $800 (Oct 2008). The least, under $20 (Jan 2010).


I don't wish to go back to my highest-earning month if it means I'd be doing something I don't really enjoy. On the other hand, I don't wanna go back to a 20-dollar month either.

My ideal scenario is to marry interest/passion/creativity with a comfortable amount of online income (this is a balance I'd like to achieve offline too).


To me, the internet represents freedom and an endless ream of possibilities.

However, I've created a ceiling for myself.

I feel that, by now, I should have achieved more than I actually have.

When I see how much some people make online, how well they're doing, I'm happy for them (and somewhat envious. I ain't gonna lie!), but I also feel annoyed at myself because it reminds me that I should be doing better than I am.


On the one hand, I have this self-created ceiling. But on the other hand, I can't shake off this dogged dream I have of making a comfortable living online (actually, I wanna go a bit beyond that, but 'comfortable' is a good start).


I'm stuck between having a dream and not believing in it.

It's not that I can't make it; it's that I don't believe I can.

And that's the truth.

And it's a truth I can apply to pretty much most areas of my life.



Ebele.

My Blog's Back! Happy, Happy, Happy!

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It's guuuuuuud to be back.


Long story short. Google deleted my blog. Labelled it as spam. I'm like WHAT?


When I first got the notification in my inbox, I thought it was a joke. 'Til I re-read it, then went to my blog ...and my blog wasn't there. :-(


My blood pressure danced the salsa.


After doing some research, I learnt that it happens to quite a few blogs that aren't spam at all. From what I've learnt, Google has an automated system in place to detect spam blogs. Unfortunately, things can go wrong sometimes and innocent blogs can get caught up in the spam wave.

It's been five loooong days and I've missed my blog.


I braced myself for the chance that Google might decide "Yep, it's spam alright" and not restore it. Part of me dreaded not getting my blog back, but another part was resigned to that fact and was ready to start afresh elsewhere if need be. In fact, I'm really not comfortable with the idea that my blog can get deleted just like that, whether by mistake or otherwise. It's a vulnerable position to remain in, especially with three years worth of content.

So, I'm gonna seriously think about self hosting. I already own the domain: getpaidtofart.com, and I already pay for hosting. I could move it to WordPress. Self hosting means I'll have more control. One of the reasons I've been reluctant to move my blog to Wordpress is 'cos of all the stories I've heard about people having their blogs hacked into. There's also the learning curve; all the things I have to install in order to transfer the blog, set it up, secure it, update it. Blogger, in that sense, is so much more straightforward. I'm also wondering if all the comments on my blog can transfer over, and all the post images. It feels like major work.

I think I have to weigh up two things:

- moving my blog to WordPress (self hosted), to its own domain, and the chance that it might one day get hacked into

against

- the chance of my blog being pulled down again on Blogger for whatever reason and the vulnerability & inconvenience that that presents --- and the possibility that if it's pulled again, it might not get restored.


Hmm...

How I Got my Blog Restored: the Process...

I'm gonna outline the steps I took from the time I was notified my blog had been deleted 'til the time it was restored as it might help someone:

- at first, all my blogs were deleted, not just this one. I also lost access to my dashboard. I had to verify my Google account by filling in some personal details when I tried to log in. A verification code was then sent to my mobile phone which I used to verify my Google account. Once I did that, I had access to my dashboard. All my blogs were then automatically restored almost immediately, apart from my Get Paid to Fart blog.

- I didn't know how to get the remaining blog restored, so I did a search on Google and came across the following blog post which I found extremely useful.

- I followed the steps outlined in the post (request restoration, make an appeal, create a thread in Blogger's 'Something is Broken' forum)

- I also browsed the Blogger 'Something is Broken' forum and came across an official process outlined by one of Blogger’s top contributors (nitecruzr). I found it incredibly helpful as there was a crucial step I'd missed (which I then went and updated in my thread). You'll see the process outlined by nitecruzr in: this thread.

- My blog was deleted over the weekend; I had to wait two working days to see if it would be restored. I gave it ‘til early Thursday. When it still wasn't showing, I updated my thread on the Blogger forum stating I was still waiting for an outcome. It was then escalated by one of the top contributors and my blog was restored later on that day.


I'm real grateful to the contributors that helped the restoration process along (Katney & DarkUFO). I don't think they're Google employees. They just try and help people out, which I think is really good of them.

Tips for you if your blog's been deleted (and you feel it's really not what Google's accusing it of being)...

- follow the steps exactly as outlined by nitecruzr

- once you create the one thread, do not post another. Just bookmark and update it when you need to.

- I know how shocking and frustrating it can be when a blog's deleted, but do try and be civil when posting a thread on the Blogger forum. I felt I was being accused of something I hadn't done, then I was angry that it happened at all (even if it was a mistake). I felt helpless. Years of work potentially down the drain. My way of coping was through the use of humour in my thread, focusing on providing the information that was required of me, and then just getting on with other day-to-day things in my life.


I've missed my blog. If anything, the lockdown made me realise how important it is to me.



Big Mama, over and out...

Ebele.

Total Online Earnings for October...

img credit: pinksherbert

Definitely happier with my October earnings. Made $278.31 (a $114.86 improvement on September).

October Breakdown:

(any figures in pounds means it's how I was initially paid.)

- CloudCrowd: $116.09 (paid to complete tasks)(read my CloudCrowd review)

- Amazon UK: $41.78 (£26.54)

- eBay UK: $25.99 (£16.37)

- Proofreading: $23.93

- Triviala: $23.82 (£15.00) (games/trivia site) (read review)

- Techdoctordeals: $19.19 (didn't really take off for me. The admin couldn't seem to make his/her mind up about the rules (was real schizo like that), so I split.) (read my Techdoctordeals review)

- Swagbucks: $10.00 (paid to search, do polls, surveys, etc. To find out more about Swagbucks, read review)

- ToneADay: $9.86 (for the work I did the previous month)(read review)

- Pinecone Research: $4.79 (£3.00) (read review)

- Neobux: $2.01 (paid-to-click site)

- QuickRewards Network: $0.85 (GPT site) (read review)

Total --- $278.31


My aims for October were to:

- put up one item on eBay or Amazon every day

Outcome: Didn't do it every single day, but was very frequent for a good 3 weeks. Glad I pulled my finger out and put stuff up. I'm around £45 richer for it.

- sell off an unwanted domain of mine if I can

Outcome: Didn't manage that, but it's OK.

- get as close as I can to breaking even on my $10 Clixsense investment

Outcome: Made over $12.95. Should be getting that by Nov 10th.

- open an AlertPay account (to receive payments from sites like Clixsense that pay that way)

Outcome: done.

- make at least $50 on CloudCrowd

Outcome: achieved. /// CloudCrowd's starting to account for a significant chunk of my monthly earnings. Though I appreciate the extra income I make there, I want to find one or two other sources of income that pull as much weight. That way, if my income dwindles at CloudCrowd for whatever reason, I can lean on those.

- make at least $10 on ToneADay

Outcome: goal not reached, but I did make around $5.00. Couldn't really get into the flow of it for some reason. Should be getting October's earnings in November some time.

- reach min payout ($20) on Weegy (q & a site)

Outcome: goal not reached. Hardly used it.

- reach min payout ($20) on CashCrate (gpt site)

Outcome: goal not reached. Didn't really feel up to doing the offers.



I made $163.45 in September. Money's money. However, I was disappointed in myself 'cos I knew I was capable of throwing better fireworks than that. It boiled down to whether I was happy with me....and I wasn't.

So I'm glad October was better.

In November, I'll be looking to beat that.



Have a fabulous month, pee-pole. Go all disco on its ass.


I'm outtie'oh...

ebele.

October Update: Week 4 (22nd-28th)...

img credit: kekremsi

Week 4 was much better. Made $107.59. I'm happy with that.


Breakdown:
(any figures in pounds means it's how I was initially paid.)

- CloudCrowd: $47.07 (Read my CloudCrowd review.)

- Triviala - $23.82 (£15.00) (games/trivia site) (read review)

- Proofreading: $22.56

- Amazon UK: $8.73 (£5.54) (Sold a book I didn't want.)

- eBay UK: $3.40 (£2.17) (Sold another item at auction.)

- Neobux: $2.01

Total --- $107.59

PROOF OF PAYMENTS
 (click images to view larger versions)

CLOUDCROWD PAYMENTS

TRIVIALA PAYMENT

PROOFREADING PAYMENT

AMAZON PAYMENT

EBAY PAYMENT
(this is the amount made in the past 31 days. The £2.17 is include.)

NEOBUX PAYMENT

Not sure if I'll continue with weekly earnings updates as I find it a bit cumbersome doing the screenshots. I mean, it's not as if someone forced me to do the updates. But it did help keep me motivated, though, so I might do it again this month. We'll see.



Anyhoo, I'm out.

Ebele.