Haha, okay so I didn’t realize this… but I published this post as a blank post earlier in the day and some readers found it live! Let’s scrap that, and get into the review.

One of my blogging buddies Kris Trujillo from CashTactics.net engaged in a contest over the second half of January. The game? Get more RSS subscribers than the other website in 15 days. Well as it so happens, I won the competition with an increase of 49 against Kris’ measly increase of 64. Pssh… what a terrible showing Kris!

What’s This About Cash Tactics?

Even though I obviously beat the pants off of Kris, I have decided to throw him a review as a sympathy prize for the competition that he had no chance of winning in the first place. Cash Tactics is one of my favorite blogs on the internet, because it actually offers real information. I know that people throw this around a lot… everyone claiming “no fluff.” However, instead of claiming this, CashTactics.net comes up and provides useful information over and over again.

There really aren’t a lot of internet marketing blogs that I can go to and learn a new trick every week again , and one of the few exceptions is Kris’ fantastic blog over at CT. One of his more popular series was a 6-part + recap case study series that basically takes readers from square one to PPC (pay per click) marketing domination. These are tutorials that really got me excited about marketing, and have fueled a lot of profits for many people. If you are interested in the internet marketing aspect of making money (more risky than other forms, but more rewarding)… check out his stuff!

So who is this guy anyway?

I know what you are thinking… who is this jerk Kris that comes up, loses a contest by over 200 subscribers, and then forces me to write about him? Well, to be fair he is very very persuasive. In fact, I was doing some research on his website and started thinking about who exactly he is. Kris Trujillo? Sounds like some kind of cross between Pepperjam Network CEO Kris Jones and Metallica Bass Guitarist Rob Trujillo. That’s one heck of a combo, eh?

After laying down some tasty riffs on his bass gutar, Kris likes to hop into a business suit and start making cold calls to clients in Germany and New Zealand, arranging for some marketing conventions before hitting the road on the Metallica tour bus to their next concert destination. The man obviously doesn’t live the glamour life.

Better than Sliced Bread? No Way Jose!

I have subscribed to Kris’ blog in every way imaginable, and definitely think that all of the content is as high-quality as it gets… but better than sliced bread Kris? Get outta here. Recently, Kris and I were talking about sandwiches and what you can put inside of them. Then, I started talking about how I was going to “brb” because I was making one for myself. This guy comes out and says: “I am better than sliced bread.” What hubris!

Better than sliced bread Kris? Your blog may be filled with tasty tidbits of search engine marketing, lead generation and email marketing… but you are in no way better than a fresh loaf of Wonderbread. And sure, you own a lot of real estate through your web activity. From a PPC search engine to a drop-shipping service, he practically controls the internet. But again… do you own a bread slicer? The answer is: probably. But there is a chance that you don’t. So, I am going to go ahead and establish that Cash Tactics might be a great looking website… but it is no sliced bread!

Bottom Line: In all seriousness, Kris Trujillo is a fantastic marketer with irrefutable information that will help you make money if you pay attention to his tips. And yes, clearly I concede that he did take victory in January. This is a blog that I read personally, and this post was completely unpaid… I would have been happy to recommend him regardless. So check it out!

-Jimvesting

Aack! Missing Sunday once again!? I can explain. Sunday, I was a day late because of “Jimvesting’s Fight to End Poverty” contest that I am going to be running this month sponsored by Motive Interactive. However, over the past two days I was out-of-state at a conference in Washington D.C. But enough excuses, I am getting back into action this week… and going way way back to LAST week to run down some of the best posts for the week ending January 31, 2008:

• Tips From a Network Marketer – Are You an Effective or Defective List-Builder?
• Blogsessive – Use the AIDA Model to Sell Your Blog Posts
• SEO Revolution – Directory Update
• Winning The Web – How to Create Information Products that Sell
• Enkay Blog – Hiatus Vs. Selling Your Blog
  

We had some cool stuff come out this week, and one of my favorites was about selling your blog from Tips From a Network Marketer… who I believe is a first-timer here. Blogsessive talks about really structuring blog posts so that they SELL to the consumer. SEO Revolution put together quite the list of blog directories that is useful for anyone looking to boost Google rankings. Winning The Web talks about making info products that sell like hotcakes on the online market. Finally, Enkay get’s back to blogging… talking about taking a “hiatus” or cutting loose altogether.

Stock Market Update

Last week on the markets wasn’t much different from the general trend we have gotten used to seeing. Another period of “no news is good news” as more and more economic indicators came out negatively. One interesting tidbit was that 4th Quarter 2008 GDP for the United States fell off 3.8%, which was much better then the consensus 5.4% to the downside that was predicted. Other than GDP, the rest of the news was largely bad and didn’t help as the market fell considerably on the week.

We started out the new week to the upside, rallying 1.78% on the Dow Jones for no apparent reason. There is a lot of unease about the latest Barack Obama stimulus plan. After the nation rallied behind a president who promised to fuel our economy with massive spending plans in places like road infrastructure, electric grid reform and transportation efficiencies… we haven’t seen much more than bloated stimulus packages that target all the wrong areas (or so we think) and are being held very unpopular in legislature.

Blogosphere Update

Have you noticed pages loading faster around here? Well I made one of the craziest mistakes ever, and fixing it has jump-started my blogs speediness. The old Revver WordPress plugin that I had installed (and never used, because it is terrible) was really causing major slowdowns on my blog. This alone added around 5 seconds to the load time of the blog… which is a major no-no. After disabling and removing the plugin… it was still loading up with the website even though there was no visible code in the WordPress files. SO, I ended up manually going into my server and deleting the files… and now, problem fixed!

My good friend Ben Patton from Big Ben Patton has gotten back to blogging after an extended hiatus from the sport. Hop on over to his blog if you can, and show him some support! Make sure to check out “Jimvesting’s Fight to End Poverty” contest that I am going to be running this month sponsored by Motive Interactive. It’s going to be a very exciting competition, and I have decided to donate everything to Covenant House for solving the problem of poverty in America. If you are an affiliate looking to win some big prizes and feel good doing it… this is your win-win situation!

Interested in the stock market? Check out the exclusive offer that I have made for a package from a partner company of mine that has released an extensive report for the best stocks of 2009. This week, I am going to be looking to post about starting your own business. Additionally, I am going to hope to discuss my method for scoring top-placements in Google keyword SERPs. Finally, on Friday I have the exclusive report going out to everyone that has fulfilled the requirements as stipulated.

-Jimvesting

Jimvesting is holding a contest ladies and gentlemen. From February 1st to the 28th, you have a unique chance to earn money, win prizes and help the homeless… all at the same time! Sounds like a pretty good deal, eh?

One of my new favorite affiliate networks (with the BEST back-end system in the industry), Motive Interactive, came to me during the month of January and we got to talking about blogging contests. After a few options, I felt strongly about donating to charity, and Luke Smith (my manager) agreed whole-heartedly to the concept. Because I grew up in the Washington D.C. area, I have had a habit of helping fight homelessness in America. Luckily for all of us, we have this month’s earnings made through this competition send to one of the biggest poverty-fighters around… Covenant House.

We have tons of prizes available for everyone, and because it is a tiered-earnings system… if you earn $x, you will get the prizes listed in that level guaranteed! In addition, we even have an iPod Nano to give away to one lucky blogger that helps us promote this charity competition. It’s a good cause, so let’s all rally around the $1000s of dollars in prizes available… and join Jimvesting’s Fight To End Poverty!

Stopping Poverty, Problem Number One

Ending poverty is something that is very important to do as we move forward. While most other bloggers would have you donating to science and research, I believe strongly that we must start from the ground up to really make progress. Did you know that over 750,000 kids in America are homeless on the streets every day? This is a problem that really has a never-ending cycle… starting with a lack of education, and ending with unemployment. We can help put an end to it, and if you sign up to Motive Interactive and help get this under way… you can make $100s to help stop the poverty cycle.

A Look at The Prizes You Can Win

Every prize has been generously donated to the competition by Motive Interactive, our contest sponsor and a great affiliate network. When you win a prize, you will ALSO be donating money to fight poverty. That’s one heck of a combo-punch if you ask me.

Blogger Prize:

Outside of our main prizes, you also will have the chance to win an awesome new 8GB iPod Nano. These things are much better than their predecessors in my opinion, as they not only have the compact size… but now can play videos on an upgraded screen!

There are a few ways to win the blogger prize, and there will be a random drawing to select the winner:

• Ten Entries: Sign Up with Motive Interactive and confirm/verify your account
• Five Entries: Subscribe to Jimvesting.com via email subscription RSS
• Fifteen Entries: Write a 500+ word post on your blog about this contest
• Ten Entries: Promote this competition on your blog with a 125×125 banner ad
• 1/2 Entry: Leave a comment anywhere on this blog (must be a real comment!)
• Five Entries: Promote the competition by “Stumble”ing or “Digg”ing this post
• Ten Entries: Subscribe to the new Jimvesting dot com newsletter

Bronze Medal Prize:

If you can earn over $2,000 in the month of February… you will score yourself a brand new XBox 360 Elite! That’s right folks, the top-notch gaming console from Microsoft with an upgraded hard drive and more speed than any other gaming system on the market. Get the latest in gaming technology from Jimvesting’s Fight to End Poverty. In addition, if you can earn $2,000 you will automatically get a donation of $100 to Covenant House. The best in gaming technology and a nice boost to ending poverty… what a great combination!

Silver Medal Prize:

Got an affiliate itch? If you are an above-average earner and can bring in more than $18,000 from Motive Interactive… not only can you pocket that huge earnings number… but you will be sent a brand new ASUS EeePC 1002HA notebook computer! This bad boy has a 10-inch screen, and is the latest in the move to mini-pcs. These things are speedy, advanced and compacy to get the job done when you want it and where you want it. The ASUS EeePC is the top-selling small PC on the market… so earn some dough for homelessness and grab yourself the latest model. If you can rack in $18,000… we will donate another $300 to fighting poverty through Covenant House.

GOLD MEDAL PRIZE:

Ah yes, the top prize… the cream of the crop. Are you a super affiliate, looking to lend a hand to charity while getting some awesome gear? I’ve arranged for anyone that scores over the $40,000 mark to get one heck of a prize pack! First up: a brand spankin’ new Vizio LCD TV! We’re talking 37 inches of glorious 1080p technology in a high-definition set that will make your house the best on the blog for the big game. Not only that, but you will also be receiving a high-tech 8GB Apple iPod Touch! The touch is a fantastic iPod and you can do everything from music, to games, to video to internet!

Need more? How about every affiliate who signs up through me and earns over $40k will net a whopping $500 donation to Covenant House… without a doubt saving someone’s life and helping to end the cycle of poverty in the US.

How You Can Participate and Earn Prizes

A contestant can participate in this contest by ether earning entries or earning money with Motive Interactive. The high-end prizes are available only to those that want to sign up to Motive Interactive and their new Advent 2.0 management system, and earn some cash! Those that want to enter as bloggers can do so with the methods above… and can rack up as many entries as they would like. Anyone who has already done an action in the past (e.g. subscribed to rss) is already entered!

Tiered Prizes:

Contestants looking to earn the top prizes must be registered through theNetFool.com’s official referral link so that I might track your earnings progress. Don’t worry, you still have complete privacy as I can’t see anything but a number and an earnings total. Already signed up to Motive Interactive? You can still participate if you email Luke Smith your referral ID and your intent to enter this competition… then they can track you, and you can earn prizes!

Signing up to Motive Interactive is completely free, so you have nothing to lose! It is one of my top networks… and if you sign up and run even one campaign, I can pretty much guarantee that you earn money with them. If you put in a lot of work, you will get a big prize. Just put in a bit of effort? You will get a prize that is slightly less in value. At any rate, if you earn with Motive, you will make money and will get a nice donation to Covenant House… our sponsored charity to fight poverty.

Blogger Prize:

We’ve outlined how to get entries above under the “Blogger Prize” category. You can win yourself a nice new iPod Nano 8GB if you participate by doing things like subscribing to the blog and writing about the contest on your blog. At the end of the month, I will compile ALL of the entries together and do a random draw a’la Random.org to pull out our winner. Therefore, the more entries you have earned… the better your odds become!

Contest Rules and Regulations

Every participant in Jimvesting’s Fight To End Poverty is eligible for only one prize. If you are in a higher earnings bracket, you may opt for either the prize in that bracket or a prize in a bracket below… but not a combination of many tiered prizes. Each contestant is only eligible for one prize. This means that if you get to a higher prize you will not be eligible for the lower ones. Since the theme of this competition is fighting poverty, if you are making money with Motive Interactive and pass a tiered earnings bracket (or win the blogger prize), you will see a donation from Motive to Covenant House take place in the amounts specified above.

I want to encourage everyone to get in on this… even if you don’t know much about affiliate marketing. I will do my best to provide all of you with tips and tricks to make money on the internet by using internet marketing… but in the long run it is really just a need to try and test until you are making more then you are spending (i.e. profit). Again, all earnings brackets are not based on profit… but revenue/sales. So if you are new, perhaps you lose 5% on your campaigns… but you will still win the prize and donate to charity… so it is a nice hedge against loss, eh?

This contest will be open from February 1st till the end of the month (February 28th) 2009, so stay tuned for updates as I track who is winning and who is doing the best according to the most recent statistics. Again, another big shout out to Motive Interactive for sponsoring this charity drive to ending homelessness in America. Have fun, earn lots of money and stay bullish on the net!

-Jimvesting

Jimvesting’s Fight to End Poverty is OPEN!