One money-earning opportunity out there that you may not be aware of is website usability testing. In short, this is exploring a website and voicing your thoughts into a microphone as you navigate. Many companies — particularly start-up companies — are willing to pay you to do this because they want to know what real people think of their sites so they can make any necessary changes for the best user experience possible. Thanks to this need, there are lots of different websites cropping up that act as the middle man. They provide the software to make the user test possible and take care of recruiting the testers. The companies who want their sites tested pay for the service. Then, the user testing sites take that money, keep part of it for themselves, and send the rest to the testers. There are many different websites out there that will allow regular people like you and me to sign up to test out websites. For the most part you will not need any special skills although some of these sites may require that you take a test first to see how well you do. The only equipment you need is an [...]

How does Facebook make money? A question on the minds of so many thousands of people. Facebook, the biggest social networking website doesn’t charge membership fee, it’s 100% free to join. So how is Facebook making money then?… How much money does Facebook make? Its amazing how fast Facebook has grown, both in terms of attracting more members and also generating revenue. The fact is that no one knows for sure how mcuh money Facebook makes. Just like most other privet companies, Facebook tends to shy away from revealing exact numbers when it comes to their revenue. But, most analysts think that Facebook has been doubling its revenues every single year. According to estimates, in 2007 Facebook banked a “mere” $150 million. In 2008 Facebook generated around $300 million in revenue. But in 2009, Facebook’s revenue was an estimated $500 million. The number being thrown around for Facebook’s earning in 2010 is a jaw dropping $2 billion!How does Facebook make money? These numbers certainly answer the question of how Facebook makes money. But these numbers are huge and it just makes you wonder, how is Facebook making money and where did all that revenue came from. Well, it’s simple really. [...]

Content marketing is getting more and more important every day. People today are finding more and more content through social networks and less and less through search engines. That means that creating content people want to share is becoming ever more important. Here’s how to use content marketing to your advantage. Build Your Personal Brand At the end of the day, the only thing that travels with you after every job, deal or business venture is your personal brand. A lot of people fail to consciously build their personal brands. Yet this is truly one of the most valuable assets you have. By creating high quality, unique content for a certain market, you establish yourself as an expert. Finding jobs, getting business partners and even attracting investors for businesses gets much easier if you’re a known content publisher. Build Trust with Your Customers A customer would much rather trust their money with an industry leader who provides a lot of quality content than a site that’s just out there to sell a product. There’s something about consistency that really builds trust. Anyone can put up a website to start selling a product, but if you’re producing high quality content for [...]

Outsourcing is one of the most powerful tools in any entrepreneur’s toolbox for increasing their productivity, output and eventual profits. Most entrepreneurs start out doing everything themselves. This allows them to keep a pulse on everything in the business during the critical start-up process. Unfortunately, this attitude can also become detrimental in the long run. The “I Can Do It Better” Dilemma Most entrepreneurs generally feel like they can do a better job if they did it themselves than if they outsourced it. Even if this is true however, the critical question isn’t whether or not you can do a better job – but whether you should do the job at all. Your job as the head of the organization is to grow your company. You bring home the bacon. As Michael Gerber, author of “E-Myth” put it, your job is to work “on” your business, not “in” it. In the beginning, you’ll have to do both, but in the long run you’ll want to phase out of actual operations and outsource most of the manual work. In other words, even if you could write better customer service emails, that doesn’t mean you should. Learn to think in processes and [...]

The recent economic recession is one of the most serious financial blows our world economy has taken in the last several decades. Its influence ranges from finance to real estate to online businesses to small businesses. While just about everyone’s affected, there are still many businesses that are thriving. How can you make sure you still do well in these tough economic times? Here are a few tips. Offer a Cost-Saving Option When faced with choosing between either a cheaper option or a higher value option, many consumers today would choose to go with the cheaper option. Instead of just selling your normal product line, consider creating a “lite” version for customers who still want to use your product but don’t want to spend all the money. Starbucks is selling their coffee in packets instead of just ground beans for a fraction of the price. Cable companies are offering fewer channels. So on and so forth. How can you offer cost-saving offers for your customers? Go International Have you considered shipping internationally or servicing international customers? Hardest hit in the recent recession are the United States and the European Union. However, many Western countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand [...]

There’s still a lot of money to be made online. One great business model is to create a niche store. A niche is a specialized topic or product. For example, smart phones might be a niche. Blackberry smart phones would be an even more specialized niche. Repurposed Blackberry Smart Phones is even more specific. Niches work well because you don’t have the same amount of competition. And you know that people who come to your website are interested in your specific product. There’s a higher rate of conversion. This translates into more sales for you. If you have an idea for a niche store, here are a few tips to make it a reality. Plan it! You want to have a solid plan before you launch a store. Go into business without a plan and you may end up with a mess. Your plan doesn’t have to be formal. Instead, write it for yourself and anyone who will be working with you. Include: * Vision and mission * Your goals * Your available time/schedule * Your business model. For example, will you be a reseller? Are you going to join a direct sales company? * Are you going to outsource [...]

Becoming a mystery shopper is an easy and fun way to make extra money. As a mystery shopper you help companies and manufactures conduct costumer service evaluations. You are invited to shop at a certain store. They give you all the details of what needs to be done. You shop and report back your experience either by phone or through an online surveys. You get paid based on length, requirements, location and the type of business you shopped from. The good thing is that you don’t have to work on each and very mystery shopping jobs that you are invited to. You can choose or deny to work on a specific assignment. It is totally up to you. How much can you make with mystery shopper jobs? As a mystery shopper, the amount of money you can make with each mystery shopping assignment depends on many different things like your location, the type of business, whats required of you and etc. A mystery shopper can expect to get paid anywhere from $10 – $30 to up to $100 – $150 per shop. How long til you receive your first assignment as a mystery shopper? After you apply with mystery shopping [...]

Work at home scams are all over these days. With the current financial situation and the job market being at its lowest point since the great depression, more people are trying to find ways to make money. And one of the most appealing options out there is the opportunity to work from home. There are lots of work at home jobs out there, but the reality is that there are lots of work at home scams out there as well. It’s not too far fetch to believe there are more work at home scams than actual legitimate work at home jobs. Finding a no scam work from home can be tough these days. Do you know how to avoid work at home scams? Can you tell apart work at home scams from real work at home jobs no scams?…Here are 7 tips to help you avoid work from home scams: Use common sense We all heard this saying ” if its too good to be true, it probably is”. Use common sense, if its promising you huge financial gains in a very short amount of time without any prior knowledge or skills, it probably is just another work at home [...]

Why do some stores perform better than other stores? Why is it that two stores in the same industry that get the same amount of traffic can make drastically different amounts of sales? It comes down to how well optimized your online store is. When you first launch your store, you’re probably only collecting 50% or less of the total amount you can earn once you’ve optimized your site. Here are a few ways to boost your online sales. Test Different Layouts What products should you put on your front page? What theme should you use? Where should you put your navigation bars? Where should you put product recommendations? These are all things you can test. Don’t just make your placements based on aesthetics, but actually try different variations and see how they affect sales. Cross Sales and Upsells A very high percentage of your profits will come from upsells and cross sells. Any time someone buys a product, try to recommend a few other products for them. Do this both before the checkout process and after the checkout process. Optimize Your Site’s Load Time There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to browse an online store that’s loading slowly. It’s [...]

Local advertising could be the great untapped market for many small businesses. If you operate a freelance operation or an online enterprise, you can still advertise in your local area. What makes a business grow? It’s clients and repeat business. Through repeat business you can build a reputation that will carry your revenue up and up. One way to get the word out is through advertising. We know that when you are starting out, money is really important. You want every cent you put into your business to make a difference to your bottom line. Local Advertising Efforts Give some thought to advertising in your local area. Even though the Web opens up your business to millions of people worldwide, it won’t make a difference if you can’t reach them. Advertising locally can help you jump-start your online business and discover a new client base. Here are some ways to make it happen. * Send out flyers – It seems a bit “old school” but it works when done in the right way. Don’t just stuff them into mailboxes. Whenever you attend an event, let other attendees know that you have a business that they may be interested in. Chat [...]