We had a pretty good turnout for the third Q&A session run here on theNetFool.com. And now it’s time to get all of your questions answered! As promised, everyone who asked a question within the allotted time slot will be on the receiving end of a free link back in the answer replies. In addition, the best three questions (totally my opinion) are going to get access to my $15 premium eBook that can show you how to make money by writing effective material on the internet.

Danny from LinkersBlog.com asked:
“How many copies of ebook-rich have you sold?”

Well Danny, to be quite honest I do not track the total number of books I have sold since half go through my automated system and half go straight to my PayPal account. As far as a rough guess, I have sold about 50 copies of the book to date. Its been especially useful to give away as a prize in the competitions I run here as an added incentive though… so it’s definitely served its purpose.

Ryan from SmarterWealth.net asked:
“What is your number one affiliate marketing program? (IE: Ebay, Amazon, etc.)”

This is, in fact, a question that I do get answered a lot. In reality, I am not much of an affiliate marketer. I am the guy who goes around promoting different networks and trying my hand at some more simple offers… but I don’t even take in $100 a month in internet marketing. Simply put, it’s something that I am interested in, but not an active participant.

Don’t be taken aback, I understand how everything works and how you can get more revenue from your campaigns… all that good stuff. Really, I am (and have been) far too busy as of late to seriously get into campaigning different programs. If I had to answer, I would say that my top aff. marketing platform would be HostGator… since I have done a good job selling out hosting to partners.

Melvin from MelvinBlog.com asked:
“What do you think of your current affiliate marketing challenge?”

Things haven’t panned out the way they have for my Affiliate Marketing contest, and I am honestly very shocked that the turnout has been so poor. My basic thinking behind this is that everyone is already signed up to alternative referrers already. Market Leverage does a heck of a job promoting their company around the internet, and it is very hard to pick up any “super affiliate” that will earn you $1000s by waving a Nintendo Wii in their face.

Harry from TranHarry.com asked:
“What effect does the current economic crisis have on advertisers and the publishers ability to remain profitably sustainable in online marketing?”

Nobody on the online universe seems to know or care about the economic crisis, and this will be their downfall. The credit crunch is now internationally spread, and it will be effecting all industries for the considerable future. Google has already seen their earnings crunch effect the amount of advertisers who are putting money into the system, and there are honestly WAY too many affiliate marketing companies to stay profitable.

We are going to see online advertising companies cut their work force, and the entire industry is going to get more competitive. People will be less than willing to pass profits on to you, so all publishers will be feeling less profit margins on their internet marketing campaigns as we continue along. Again, this is a prediction and not necessarily truth. But I feel it is inevitable.

Nicole from GreatPricesHere.com asked:
“What is your take on Warren Buffet’s suggestion that we buy American stocks now?”

People put way too much trust into what Warren Buffett does. He might be a great investor, but as of now he is getting incredible deals on preferred shares of stock (not common stock like everyone else buys)… so his risk is a lot less than the individual investor trying to make some money in the markets. At any rate, I trust Buffet’s call to invest in American equities in 2008. Companies like General Electric and Goldman Sachs have fallen off the map, and don’t deserve to be so cheap. If you invest now you will make money in the long run… it just might be a bit too risky to jump in right now.

Yan from ThouShallBlog.com asked:
“Who is your biggest inspiration in blogging? and why do you usually share all your secrets?”

My biggest inspiration in blogging is probably John Chow. Let’s be honest, the man is good at what he does. If I could get my blog to the level that John Chow has his… I’d be quite satisfied, haha. On the subject of secret-sharing… I typically give everything away just because, well, I don’t care enough. People that horde everything for themselves are all concerned about keeping their profit margins high. I am only a marketer on the side, so my focus isn’t there. Because of this, I can share everything I learn without regret!

Ganesh from BlogSmartly.com asked:
“What should I do to increase my RSS count?”

Increasing your RSS count is one of the harder things to do when you are first starting out as a blogger. I would recommend going all out during your first few months of operating. This might be a pain, but by going around and commenting on other blogs every day, posting comments in related forums and making sure that your presence is felt you will eventually get your solid footing in the niche. My best advice is to never give up, because you WILL have a breakthrough sooner or later.

MomsCashBlog.com asked:
“Which is more important money or Page-rank?”

Money.

Sherry from NameSherry.com asked:
“How do I avoid spam comment when commenting?”

When you are commenting, you might get labeled as spam by Akismet (the most common spam filter) if one of the following applies to you: 1. You have been filtered as a spam comment before; 2. You have included a link somewhere in your comment; 3. You wrote a very long (75+ words) or a very short (>5 words) comment. That’s pretty much all the advice I can get you on that. You can actually email Akismet at their website and ask to be “white listed” if it is continuing to happen.

Emma from GettinPersonal.net asked:
“With the way the economy is going and the USA and the way it is effecting neighboring countries, what do you think will happen to blogging?”

“Blogging” itself is a pretty recession-proof industry. The one thing I would be concerned about is the possibility of lower ad revenues if you happen to maintain a for-profit blog. People spend less, you get less… that’s the bottom line. As far as blogging goes, you’ll be fine.

Shawn from theBrokenBox.net asked:
“How will each candidate affect the online income I make?”

Minimally. The effect you are going to see is in the taxes. Under the Obama campaign, you are going to see higher capital gains taxes on a good bit of your income. I’m actually not quite sure how this will play into online earnings… since a lot of what you make online is under the table and the IRS can’t really get a hand on the records very easily. John McCain will probably be keeping the taxation on your earnings more or less where they are now.

Simon from Otooo.com asked:
“How do you block an IP address from commenting?”

I have had some pretty annoying commentators here at theNetFool.com, people that post trash all day and it is clearly the same person time and time again. WordPress actually has blocking built right into the system. Log in to your Dashboard and head to “Settings” –> “Discussion” –> “Comment Blacklist” and enter the IP addresses you would like off your website!

Najat from MiniSiteSpot.com asked:
“Who are your favorite online money making gurus?”

My favorite online money making gurus are Derek from ClickConsultants.com, and Jonathan Volk from JonathanVolk.com. These guys both have pretty loyal blog readerships, and have a good amount of influence around the internet because of their talent.

Jackie from GetAngryWithMe.com asked:
“I’ve been reading a lot of posts lately that say micro-blogging sites like twitter are about to kill traditional blogs. What’s your take on that? And do you twitter yourself?”

Eh, I believe that micro-blogging has its place. It’s more of a medium for communication than anything else… and I doubt that they will ever replace the obvious function of blogs. Bloggers write to educate others around them and make the world a more opinionated place. Websites like Twitter simply help us bounce ideas off each other faster. And yes, I do Twitter!

Brad from BradBlogging.com asked:
“When internet marketing, do you suggest starting out small with smaller websites (via advertising) or going big with larger websites (via advertising)?”

When you go about internet marketing, you HAVE to start small. Too many people start out with big ideas and can’t contain themselves. I’ve wasted literally weeks of my life trying to do everything myself. The fact remains, you have to start with a set niche goal in order to dominate and profit in this business. Especially with internet marketing, you want to target a small niche… and over time expand outwards to a more profitable area.

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OKAY! Whew!!!!

We’re all done with the third Q&A session and I hope that you were all satisfied with the replies I gave. As I have said before, I can’t devote an entire post to every one of your questions. However, if you shoot me an email with anything extra… I wil lbe more than happy to give you a more personalized response to get you making money in a flash.

The winners (best three questions) of my eBook are:

• Jackie from GetAngryWithMe.com
• Harry Tran from TranHarry.com
• Yan from ThouShallBlog.com

Shoot me an email to claim your prize! And to the rest of you… thanks so much for participating. I hope that you all have a great week… and stay BULLISH on the net!

-Jimvesting

Time to break out the Q&A session… that’s the big numero tres!

I haven’t done this in a while, and with the amount of questions that I get about blogging, making money and even stocks and bonds, I feel like making a separate post to address these common questions is the way to go. Want to know what I know? Ask a question and find out your answer here.

Every Question Gets A Free Backlink!
One of the biggest pluses to the question and answer sessions that I run over here at theNetFool.com is that I take the questions and answer them in a separate post. In these posts, I’ll list your website or blog and give you a free link back. This means you are scoring a completely free PageRank 3 link back to your website and some potential traffic flow, that’s probably the easiest link back you’ll ever get!

Naturally, if you’d like to remain anonymous, that’s not a problem either. If you don’t specify your website in the comment area… I promise not to link back and potentially give you some unwanted views.

Question Suggestions and Ideas
Since I’ve run two Q&A sessions in the past, I generate a lot of buzz and have been getting more and more questions to answer each time I do this. Because of the high demand, I am going to have to ask that you limit yourself to one question. If you ask two, I’ll simply pick the one I feel would be more beneficial to the rest of the readers to answer. Again, you can always email me directly anything specific.

I am in the business of blogging, making money online, affiliate marketing and equity investing. As such, you could really ask anything from “what are your favorite names in the tech business?” to “which affiliate network is your favorite, and why?” I’m not saying I’m obligated to answer you on everything (haha), but I usually share all my secrets unlike 100% of other bloggers that selfishly give you half-tips to keep their competitive border. I like to shake things up, so feel free to ask whatever is on your mind.

Since we are so near to the U.S. Presidential election, I will allow you to ask questions form this domain as well as I know a good deal about each candidate. Just know that if you ask a question in this testy area, you are going to get a very bi-partisan answer because I’m not trying to twist your mind one way or the other as the media tends to do (e.g. “Sarah Palin buys $100k of clothing” or “Barack Obama removes American flag from private jet”).

Here’s a list of categories to get you thinking:

• Blogging
• Making Money Online
• Internet Marketing
• Affiliate Programs
• Investing Research
• Monetization
• What I’ve Learned
• Economic Theory

Three Lucky Winners Get A Copy of My eBook!
I like a good question, so if I feel that yours is one of the top three asked you’ll get a free copy of my popular eBook “Work Smart, Get Rich!”… which is available through Ebook-Rich.com. No, this isn’t a random selection because the world is not a “fair” place, haha. It’s going to be totally based on what I feel constitutes a more effective question… but shouldn’t discount anyone else’s comment either. My eBook retails at $15, so this should be a fun little incentive (as well as the free backlink automatically included) to spur some conversation.

Comment Below With Your Question
Ends Saturday at 2:00pm EST

Great turnout for the second question and answer session hosted here at theNetFool.com. I saw a great response from you guys (as always) and have a whopping 19 questions to answer for you today. I know that some of you had massive multi-part questions, but to be fair and conserve space… you are going to need to wait till next round (or email me!) to get all of your burning questions answered publicly.

This time around, questions ranged from personal blogging issues to my opinion on investing techniques. I’m answering everything that came my way, and giving each of you a 100% free backlink as a reward for your participation. The two winners of a 30-day text link ad will be announced at the tail end of this post, so I encourage you to read through all of the questions asked.

Ralph from ForTheLose.org asked:

“Being a PR 4 blog and having so many subscribers/visitors a day, I was wondering what strategies you use to get the word out about your website here.”

Initially, it was a big struggle getting my blog noticed in public areas. I feel that the best way to increase your subscriber base initially is to comment frequently on 15-25 other blogs in your niche, be an active member on some niche forums (webmaster forums like DigitalPoint and Bloggeries in my case) and link often to other websites. People often sleep on the fact that you can get the word out without actually marketing, but just by writing posts and linking out to other blogs/sites in your niche. People notice incoming links, and traffic is generated organically from the inside out!

Hugo from BloggerVenue.com asked:

“Based on your knowledge and experience what do you thing it would work best for making money purpose. Using usfreeads or Squidoo|Hubpages?”

As far as “bum marketing” goes, I really have never used USFreeAds (an online classifieds service) to promote my blog. So this is biased, but I would have to go with Squidoo/Hubpages on this one. I actually would prefer submitting articles to a free resource like EZineArticles as a start to getting solid Google page ranks. By submitting articles, you get targeted keyword traffic coming into multiple pages of your website through Google, so it’s a lot better than just making one Hubpage or Squidoo.

John from AffiliateObsession.com asked:

“Do you find that you have more visitors interested in the STOCK topics or the BLOGGING topics?”

I have been shying away from stock market topics (making a new blog for that purpose) because I feel that my visitors are primarily interested in blogging and making money online. The whole “entrepreneur” look is really what I am going for, and I feel like people like the stock-twist to go along with it, just not as a primary focus. I try to keep a solid balance, but I am definitely starting to favor the MMO crew here.

Movva from ContestWinner asked:

“What is affiliate marketing exactly: Is it driving traffic or selling products. I am a newbie to affiliate marketing, which program should I join?”

Affiliate Marketing can be either driving traffic or selling products, as leads alone can make you money. Essentially affiliate marketing is any time you are doing something to market someone else’s service or product. They will give you a commission to drive traffic to their site, or sell their product, which you can use to make a good amount of money. I would recommend Market Leverage or Never Blue Ads as a good start.

Yan from ThouShallBlog.com asked:

“How do you make yourself visible amongst the pros when you are just a new kid on block? What approach should a beginner take when participating in the discussion in a more recognized blog?“

Everyone’s been there. Being fresh on the scene is really a great opportunity to make a splash from the get-go. When I first started, I pretty much tried to establish the notion that I was an authority, regardless of my low subscriber count. You need to act tall to be able to get that authority and reputation on the internet in my opinion. If you are a beginner, it can be especially vital to start some constructive debate, or even poke fun at a more popular blogger. People may not like it at first, but it’s going to get you recognised and will benefit your exposure in the long term.

Trent from SellPornMakeMoney.com asked:

“How do you handle tracking for incentivized promotions?”

Tracking for incentivized promotions, such as affiliate marketing or referral programs, is typically handled automatically by the third-party provider. For example, Market Leverage or NeverBlueAds has a whole system built in so that you can see who is signing up to promotions through your links. Referral programs through websites to gain users typically track people that sign up under you by email. By comparing the emails that sign up under you to your list of feed subscribers (through FeedBurner), you can award people free prizes and digital downloads for their participation!

German from TheGermz.com asked:

“How long did it take you to get the PR you have now?”

Seeing as this blog officially started in late-October, it would have been about 6 months. However, I mark the beginning of Jimvesting as March, since that is when I saw any noticeable traffic, that is when I premiered the new design, and that is when I began actively promoting my site. Using March as a starting point, I believe it was only 2-3 months before I landed on a PR4. Nobody is quite sure how the system works itself out, so I count myself lucky of such a distinction. You can get a nice PageRank by ensuring that you publish quality work, and that people are spreading links and discussion to your blog.

Matthew from BlogAboutYourBlog.com asked:

“How important has commenting been to network and build your blog to what it is today?”

Commenting is, in my opinion, the best networking tool in the shed. There is simply no better way to form a lasting relationship with other bloggers in your niche than by participating in discussion on their blogs. I know that people appreciate the occasional comment, as it boosts the value of both websites. In addition, you get a free link back to your website every time you drop someone a note. Definitely the easiest method in increasing your exposure available. It’s been my most effective method in starting out, and has continued to provide steady traffic to this day.

Mattaw from MoneyBites.com asked:

“What is your view on conferences and you ever plan to attend any?”

Conferences in my opinion are effective for networking purposes, and not much else. I’m honestly not a fan of being dragged to some off-site hotel in order to hear speakers talk about what most people in the room already know; however, there really is no better way to form a relationship than by talking face to face. As far as my plans, I don’t have any pending interest in attending a webmaster/blogging conference. If a following ever develops around my blog, I could definitely see that happening though.

Pete from BibleMoneyMatters.com asked:

“What strategies would you use to monetize a site using affiliate income?”

My site is monetized in a unique way, in that a lot of my income comes from referrals that are strategically placed throughout my articles and website. A lot of people don’t realize that links I post are in fact referral links due to my affiliate ID cloaking method. Because of this, and the sheer placement of ads, I have been able to increase my referral commission steadily month by month on various websites… which really serves as a motivational tool.

AxioBlogger from AxioBlog.com asked:

“Which is easier to write about for you, either stock market or make money articles?”

This is actually a tough question. I really would have to say make money articles, but only because I have saturated a lot of obvious topics that are out there in the industry. Stock market articles are typically more time consuming, as I do a lot of equity research beforehand to make sure that I provide “what you need to know” and no “fluff” material. However, simply coming up with an idea for a blogging or a make money online article is a lot harder the more that you post!

Ben from RevenueReservoir.com asked:

“What is the hardest challenge you will face when starting a new blog?”

The hardest challenge you will face on a new blog is getting the initial 100 subscribers. 100 users is an important mark. I found in my own experience that once I hit around 100 subscribers, people saw Jimvesting as a lot more legitimate and a good amount of my users started coming from the inside out. It’s important that you aggressively market your website by advertising, commenting and networking to get an initial user base. Never be afraid to ask for help during that initial period!

Flimjo from Flimjo.com asked:

“Do you think that the “buy and hold” rationale for investing in stocks is really just a “buy, hold, and PRAY” mentality for the majority of stock investors and, ultimately, a recipe (for making money) that fails due to investors’ lack of knowledge about stocks and the companies in which they’re investing?”

There has been a lot of bashing of the “buy and hold” model over the past year. This is basically because we are no longer in the bull market environment that we were used to seeing, where most stocks would appreciate in value as a whole. You will be able to apply the “buy and hold” mantra once again in the first quarter of 2009 in my best estimate, sustaining growth for about five years forward. In a recessionary environment, you are literally committing suicide by buying stocks without a good amount of research and understanding. In short, the model fails in a bear market, but can actually work in a bull market. Jim Cramer says “buy and homework,” which I think is the best idea.

Hussein from Niessuh.com asked:

“What did blogging bought you (e.g. mobile phone, laptop, appliances, etc.)?”

Most of the money I make from blogging is either re-invested into Jimvesting or re-appropriated to my various web projects. There really aren’t a lot of luxury items coming in because of blogging other than perks (like the nice care package from Market Leverage). I mean, if you want to blog to afford things… that is definitely possible. I prefer to simply re-invest my earnings to increase my revenue month-over-month.

Prophet from DayTradingProphet.com asked:

“Do you believe its smarter to focus all of your attention on just one or two blogs, or is it better to own a lot of blogs?”

People who try to make 100 blogs just to flip them for $50 a piece are fools. Bottom line. The optimal earnings will come from operating 2-3 blogs, no more and no less. I am in the process of launching my second project, and will be sticking with the two for some time. It take a LOT of work to get a blog to succeed. People often overlook this, and try to do too much at once. Killing yourself with work is never a good thing, and you’ll be better off starting with one blog… before maybe making an additional to increase your earnings potential.

Marko from GnosticDesigns asked:

“How do you actually make money online? Using this blog only?”

It’s funny that you should ask, because saying that I am only using this blog to make money is a bit deceiving. Jimvesting dot com is my primary revenue stream on the internet, but this is not done through advertising and paid postings. Rather, you get a lot of great money from the referrals that sign up through your website into affiliate programs, and people buying products that you are promoting. Because you can essentially leverage a blog’s user base into making money elsewhere, it’s kind of a central hub to making money on the internet that provides for itself!

Ganesh from TeenBlogger.net asked:

“What advice can you give to a 14-Year old to get started with investing? Do you know of any affiliate programs that allow under 18’s to join?”

If you are talking about investing in the stock market, there’s really nothing you can do until you are 18 for legal purposes. In addition, being that young you will be taken advantage of in the markets 98% of the time due to a lack of understanding in my opinion. Anyone under 18 can make loads of money on the internet by fashioning a blog, offering freelancing services, and joining in with affiliate programs to make money. I’m not sure if you are going to be able to access and actual affiliate networks if you are under 18, so you will need to check the terms of service. You can, however, register a PayPal account and sign up with individual sponsors to make money through their affiliate programs.

Pweng from PwengBee.com asked:

“What can you say about the Google-Digg issue?”

Reportedly, Google is in the negotiation process to buy Digg for $200 million. This isn’t much of an issue in my mind, as $200 million isn’t much of an expense for a company the size of Google. With the amount of talk and exposure that Digg fetches on the net, Google is getting their money worth by acquiring the website. The most important issue for them here should be NOT letting Microsoft get the deal. Microsoft would be smart in bidding up the price of the deal, simply because they can afford it and get some great market penetration by making the bid. This is an interesting one.

Sherry from SherryGo asked:

“Here what I like to know if blog having many affiliate programs or links does it affect the blog Page Rank?”

A common misconception about Google’s PageRank service is that you will damage your reputation by linking often to other websites. That you can only have a good PageRank if more people link to you, then the other way around. This is completely false. Link as much as you want, it will only help. I would suggest trying out my affiliate link cloaking method (mentioned above) for ensuring that Google doesn’t look down upon the way you are linking to affiliate programs… but feel free to flood your website with reasonable amounts of link love.

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Well, you guys have successfully gotten my fingers to burn holes through my keyboard on this post! That was a fantastic round of questions, so I want to thank all of you that participated once again. If you have any further questions or want a longer explanation, feel free to use the contact page to get a hold of me and we’ll talk further. Now, on to the winners of the text link ads!

Winner of 1 Month Text-Link: Flimjo from Flimjo.com!
Winner of 1 Month Text-Link: Matthew from BlogAboutYourBlog.com!

I’ll be contacting both of you winners to get set up, but I wanted to thank everyone for the great questions this time around. If nothing else, you got a nice link back just for dropping me a quick comment! Hopefully, I will do this again soon, as I feel it adds a new level to the blog that only a Q&A session can accomplish.

-Jimvesting

On the back of a fantastic showing in the first round of “question & answer” here at Jimvesting dot com, it’s time (as promised) to head into round number two! I know that a lot of you had questions left over from the original post that you didn’t have a chance to ask… so now is your time to get the answers you want!

As those of you who have been in contact with me over email or instant messenger already know, I love to talk and teach about everything business. I feel that the best way to learn something is to hear from someone who’s been there, so I am going to try my best to give you the best answers and information possible. Everyone who asks a question before I start up with the answer post will get a response, that’s my guarantee. So go ahead and shout out your off-the-cuff or well-researched questions, and you can pick up some valuable information that you might otherwise need to dig and dig to find. As an added incentive, the top two questions are going to get a free text link ad for one month here on theNetFool.com! That’s a free Pagerank 4 link back to your website for all to see… for making me answer your question. That sounds fair, doesn’t it?

Some ideas for questions: Blogging Tips & Tricks Monetization Information Stock Market Picks Stock Analysis (Buy, Sell or Hold & Rationale) Making Money Online Personal Updates & Plans Sportsbook Info & Sporting Events Affiliate Network Programs

These are just some ideas, and I really don’t know what the bulk of you want to hear about. I am going to try and field as many of these questions asked as possible. Please refrain from the use of profanity or generalizations in your questions, and try to use the best grammatical layout possible. I will be answering these questions in a new post, which will be available either today or tomorrow.

Best Two Questions Win A One-Month Featured Text Link!
That’s right! I’m upping the ante this time around, and the best two questions I find here will get a nice featured text link right on top of my sidebar. So get your questions in now for the chance to get a Google PageRank 4 link in a great position at absolutely no cost to you!

-Jimvesting

After posting the first-ever Jimvesting dot com question and answer session, I saw a tremendous response from you readers. It looks like you guys had a lot of lingering questions, so its awesome that we have the opportunity here to discuss some things you were wondering about.

Questions ranged from personal ones about how I got my start to more complex issues such as making money with a $0 initial investment. As promised, I am going to answer all of the questions to the best of my ability and give what I felt to be the best one a free one-month text link right here on theNetFool.com. But hey, I like suspense, so you’ll find the winner at the end.

Desmond from GradeMoney.com asked:

“I always wanted to optimize my blog for the search engine but I do not know where to start. Should I start by using a SEO WordPress theme or do SEO manually?”

I think that before all else, you should check out my post about optimizing your blog for serach engines. If you want to optimize your blog, I recommend a few things. 1. Download and use “All-In-One SEO” for WordPress. 2. Utilize “Permalinks” through your admin->settings page. I like to set the custom field to “/%postname%/” to eliminate those pesky numbers. 3. Install a plugin that can make your blog run faster, such as “WP-Cache”. Speed is always important. Other than that, I would always choose a theme that is clean and professional… although the theme itself won’t typically hurt.

RockStar Sid from Blogote.com asked:

“I want to start private advertising like you,so how can I find those advertisers? And what price should I set for my 125×125 advertisement banner? Also I can see that the ad spot is for 20USD and you have 6 filled spots which means you make 120$ (That’s less compared to the competition and prizes you give for the readers )!! Do u make money from this blog?”

I find that advertisers like my cheaper rates. It’s really a judgment call how much you are charging, and takes some time to experiment with higher/lower rates. Since you have around 50 RSS subscribers, I’d recommend setting your rates at just $5 to start to draw in some advertisers. You can post your rates around forums to draw in potential clients like Bloggeries and Digital Point. As for me, don’t you worry about me not making any money. A lot of my contests are sponsored prizes, so other than the coordination work… I’m not left in a money pit!

Flimjo from Flimjo.com asked:

“Which of the following ventures do you think has the best potential for lasting and consistent passive income: (1) a blog; (2) an affiliate niche site with a sales page and CPA offer or e-book; (3) an online business with a real product; (4) your own book or e-book; or (5) anything else you can think of.”

I know that Jason posted a blog as an answer, but I think that’s entirely incorrect because if you do not maintain a blog regularly you lose out on traffic. I would have to say that it is easiest to get passive income from an eBook, like my latest. I literally wrote it, made a site and forgot about it… I’m still getting sales every other day from people randomly finding it on Google. This pretty much builds on itself as I keep seeing better rankings… and it makes for a nice recurring passive income.

Agent001 from GreatestReviews asked:

“Is there any web hosting service which accepts PayPal payments?”

I use 1and1.com for my domain names, and they have web hosting plans that are affordable as well. They accept PayPal. I can tell you that GoDaddy.com and NameCheap.com do as well. Most of these websites are for domain names, but offer good hosting as well, which is typically overlooked. I feel that most of the hosting-focused websites do not have PayPal as an option just yet.

Germs from TheGerms.com asked:

“What made you begin blogging?”

As this was my first blogging venture, this site was started originally for a resume builder. I feel like blogs offer a great deal in the way of responsibility and reputation, so it is more often for the practicality of owning a blog rather than pure education or revenue… which would be the typical answers.

Ralph23 from ForTheLose.org asked:

“Where do you come up with your ideas to blog about? When you have these ideas, how long does it typically take you to (from start to finish) publish the blog post? How do you organize yourself?”

I have a great post that can help you out here, it’s called “Things To Blog About – When You Run Out of Ideas.” I like to keep a notepad of ideas to default on if I don’t have a remarkable post already in my mind. It typically takes me 2-3 hours to write each post. This is basically 30 minutes of idea-research, an hour of organizing my thoughts and writing, and an hour of editing and modifying/adding images. I like to make things look orderly and uniform, so this really extends the time I spend quite a lot!

Nick Throlson from NickThrolson.com asked:

“How Often do you use GPT Click Sites?”

The answer is never. Click websites are entirely worthless and will drive you mad. The rate is something like $3 and hour and you need to be clicking constantly with a good system in place. Don’t mess with GPT click websites, use the standard GPT offer-completing offers! Why make $0.01 a click when you can make $0.50 per free ad? It’s a lot easier, and a lot more exciting.

Hussein from Niessuh.com asked:

“What makes you different from other blogger or other internet marketer?”

Lots of things. First of all, I am a student writer.. which puts me in a different class entirely. But I am also not writing to make money, I am writing to make you money. My goal is a finance job involving the stock market, not to sit on a computer all day trying to set up an ad campaign.

Melvin from MelvinBlog.com asked:

“Why do you keep on promoting an industry where most marketers and bloggers (like I) despise [GPT] ? Is there really a goldmine on gpts?”

I really don’t understand why so many people don’t like GPT websites, a trust issue perhaps? Look. There are a lot of cheap scam sites that will rip you off, but it’s pretty obvious which are good and which are bad. Stick with the industry leaders and you’ll make money. I got my roots on GPT because it put money into my PayPal which allowed me to buy domains and hosting so I could get off the ground. Lots of people like to hear about these services, and I’m here for the readers!

Mary_Freebies from InternationalFreebies.net asked:

“Have you ever seized an online money making opportunity that cost you $0 investment? What was it? Also, I want to sell my freebies blog, but have no idea how much it’s worth, nor where to start to get it sold. Any tips?”

My only true $0 investment win was with GPT services, which is exactly why I recommend them. Since I have money in my PayPal now, I really don’t hesitate to spend on a domain and other things to get started faster… time is money! For example, making my eBook required just $7 for the domain and I have made hundreds.

If you are planning on selling a blog, I recommend advertising it in one (or more) of four places: 1. SitePoint.com 2. DigitalPoint Forums 3. eBay 4. Craigslist . Good luck!

Ryan P. Lenz asked:

“Is it possible to turn affiliate programs and such into your full time job and actually make a good living?”

Well it’s definitely possible to do this. I feel like the field is expanding, and there are going to be more and more ways to make it rich online. However, it is a tough road that requires a lot of time stuck in the basement by yourself just working… which I wouldn’t recommend. There are people making 6-figure annual payments with relative ease, it’s really all about knowing what you are doing. The problem here is that a lot of people try and fail, and waste a lot of time and money in the process.

Failing is costly in internet marketing, even more than almost any other job. You need to be prepared to be in a hole before you start making serious money online.

G. Smith asked:

“After reading about all the money making blogs on the net, I would like to give it a go myself. Any tips for a blogging newbie?”

If I see you making an MMO blog of your own, I will be forced to hurt you! Too many bloggers are writing about things when they have no idea what they are doing just because other people are doing it successfully. Write about what you know is my advice for an amateur. There’s an audience for everything from dinosaurs to professional wrestling, so don’t sell yourself short and focus on what you love!

Catherine from Digiosity.com asked:

“Would a post about the item with a buy now widget to eBay or a complete website with shopping cart be the most profitable. What do you think is the hottest stocks today and will be way above today’s purchase price in five years?”

Two-parter, okay. I think that if you are trying to sell multiple items steadily, you would be better off posting about each item in eBay or CraigsList. I know people who have made tons of money from these systems, and its definitely the better way to go than wasting time on a whole website.

I think that 90% of NYSE stocks will be a lot higher than today’s purchase price. If you are feeling risky, I’d look into a home-builder like TOL. But for the good money with a good value, I have two great picks for you today: Deere and Co. (NYSE: DE) and L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL). I wouldn’t own Ford in this market.

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Whew, that was an exhilarating round of questions… you guys tired me out! Let’s get right to the reader who I think asked the best question(s). I loved the two-parters and everyone who expressed an interest in my input, so thanks for all the good work!

Winner of 1 Month Text-Link: RockStar Sid from Blogote.com!

Keep it tuned to Jimvesting dot com for more ways to make money online, without all of that fluff that nobody needs to hear. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them in the comment form or over email at jim@Jimvesting.com. Stay bullish on the net!

-Jimvesting