Google to rival Paypal?

Being a keen and regular user of Paypal myself, I thought I should bring to attention some great news that I heard that Google is set to be challenging Paypal with their own internet payment service.
Although Paypal continues to earn eBay more than $200 million dollars in a quarter, I've still seen many people complain about account blocking and money problems associated with Paypal. Check them out (beware there are quite a few):
www.paypalsucks.com
www.paypalwarning.com

GBuy, is set to be the latest development from The Mountain View in California with owner Eric Schmidt saying that Google Inc. were about to introduce a "person-to-person, stored-value payments system", which apparently is the same description Paypal gives to itself!
I have had a good experience personally with Paypal. All my eBay auctions rely on Paypal, so I shouldn't really be grumbling. Has anyone had any experiences that they would like to share about Paypal?
I think that with Google the way they are, leading the Internet forward, Paypal are no competition to them, who knows GBuy could be eBay's next associate!

Blogging builds Self Esteem

Found this article on Blog Business World, and I thought it was actually very informative so I will share the key points about it with you...

Blogging builds self esteem.

Self confidence and a more positive outlook on life is a seldom discussed aspect of blogging. Because bloggers are often thought by many people, to be reclusive and typing anonymous posts into the blogosphere, without any human interaction. While that stereotype may be true of some bloggers, many more blog writers have gained self confidence from their blog postings.

Personal bloggers have found writing their posts to be powerful therapy. Putting their thoughts and ideas to keyboard, and then presenting them to the world is a courageous act. For many people, the personal blog might be their first entry into the internet community. That first step can be very frightening for many people. Once that initial hurdle is cleared, however, the blogger can continue posting with confidence.

Business and professional bloggers gain confidence as well. For many business people, the idea of writing anything can be a daunting task, and the idea of posting to a blog can be doubly worrisome. One those initial fears of rejection, by current and potential clients and customers is overcome, the business blogger discovers that her ideas are welcomed warmly and with enjoyment. The first step to building an ongoing business relationship has been taken in a positive way.

When a business blogger enters an offline networking event, a new sense of self confidence is brought along from the blog. The business person knows the ideas expressed in the blog posts are usually very well received. As a result of that previous positive experience, the effect carries over to other aspects of business life. The blogger already has experience with networking from comments, sharing e-mails with other bloggers, and from knowing the blog is read by others who value its postings.

The blogger will be much more inclined to reach out to others than ever before, and make the initial introduction. After all, a blog is all about starting conversations and building relationships. Reaching out to others is the purpose of blogging. Making that important first impression, of a confident and professional or business person, is very important in landing new customers and clients. Thanks to the blog, the business person can develop that confidence in abundance.

I would truly recommend as a blogger myself to start a blog today. It's free and its very easy to maintain. Register at www.blogger.com just like I've done!

How RSS and Blogs can Increase Traffic for you!

Welcome back to Blogtrepreneur, where today I will be focusing on RSS and blogging.

Well firstly, what’s the difference?
Let’s make this clear…
Blogs are frequently updated web pages that a person
must GO TO in order to read the information. RSS
feeds actually COME TO YOU, containing the new
information provided by the publisher.
Blogs simply are posts made by a publisher in an
attempt to express opinions, give advice, or market
their products and services.
RSS is a delivery channel that actually sends either a
portion of your blog entry or the entire post to your
RSS subscribers, giving them immediate gratification,
as well as giving them reason to return to your site.
I think one of the main benefits of using RSS feeds to
notify subscribers of your new blog postings is that
your information can be immediately devoured by
those who are hungry for what you have to say.
Using RSS and Blogs together, your subscribers can
access your new blog posts immediately through
their RSS reader, or aggregator, within minutes of
you submitting your post, and could be quickly revisiting
your site as a result!
What if you DON’T use RSS with your blog?
Let’s say you have a blog set up on your site, but
you don’t have an RSS feed that delivers your new
blog posts to interested subscribers.
You just made a new post that you feel will really
excite your target market, so you decide to shoot an
e-mail off to them, telling them that they just have
to visit your blog to get the juicy details of your
new message.
That’s great, and I recommend that you still take
action by doing this, however, your message may
either get intercepted by spam filters, the recipient
may not check his e-mail for a couple days, and so
on.
Or…
Maybe you intend to send out an e-mail to your list
about your post, but because you have
entrepreneur’s A.D.D. like I do, you get distracted
and forget, or put it off for a couple days.
As a result, the only traffic you’ll receive for your
blog will come from those who either decide to visit
out of the clear blue, or just happen to stumble upon
your site through some other avenue.
How RSS and Blogs Increase Traffic For You!
Of course, if you create good, keyword rich content
in your blog, and continue to add new content on a
consistent basis, search engines will spider your site,
and your search engine positioning should improve
as a result. But there are many other things you can
do…

In addition to making your blog available via RSS
feeds, not only should you mention your blog in every
email sent out to subscribers, prospects, and clients,
you should consider creating a monthly "best of"
email newsletter of your best blog posts of the month
that proactively directs people to visit your blog.
Many people still haven’t warmed up to RSS
technology (oh, but they will), so even though you
must consistently battle the evil "spam filter empire",
creating a "Best Of X Blog"-type email each month is
an excellent way to drive traffic to your blog, and thus
to profitable links on your blog.
Here are some other tips:

1. When you use an RSS feed to promote your blog,
other web sites can publish your blog by pulling RSS
feeds automatically from related web sites (yours)
according to certain targeted keywords or content.

2. You can submit your RSS feed/blog to RSS and
blog directories. This site will give you a nice list of
places to submit your RSS feed:
http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55.

3. If you already have a blog, but haven’t
implemented an RSS feed, use the content from your
blog to create as many valuable articles as possible,
submit these articles to article directories, and
promote your blog/rss feed in EACH OF THESE
ARTICLES.

4. Add Adsense ads, affiliate links, and/or your own
product links onto your post pages in order to
monetize the increased traffic you start receiving as a
result of your efforts.

5. Participate in forums, helping others with their
concerns, and direct them to visit your blog.

6. Turn your RSS feed into a radio broadcast with
"Podcasting". Podcasting is simply adding audio files
to your RSS feed or blog, enabling subscribers to
listen to new information on their computer, through
an MP3 player, and so on. We’ll talk more about
podcasting in future issues.

7. Blog and Ping. One of the best ways to
get traffic to your web sites is by linking to a web
page from your blog entry, and then send a ping
request to some sights that want to know when
blogs are updated, i.e., when new entries are added.
This technique works like a charm.
RSS technology combined with your own contentrich
blog, geared towards a specific target market, is
a must-have strategy in every online marketer’s
toolbox.

Battle of The Blogs: Blogger vs. WordPress

Hey Guys.
Well, I thought I should better start writing an article of the best blog around, as Im thinking of changing blogs. Anyone have any recommendations? As you know, I am currently using Blogger made by Google to write all of my articles, however, I found out through forums, that other people had started to talk about other blogging software, like Wordpress. Well, is it really any good? I'll try and outline the main pros and cons of having Wordpress compared to Blogger.

1)Both Blogger and Wordpress are free! However, with the full (and recommended) version of Wordpress, you need to have your own hosting on which to place your blog. Therefore, you also would need your own domain name, which costs around £6-8 for a .com name, with the hosting which starts off at about £3 per month. Blogger 1-0 up!


2)One of the main things which made me want to try out wordpress was categories. Blogger doesnt have a category feature! Therefore, for all you people out there reading my blog, it probably takes you ages to try and find a topic which you prefer. Wordpress back to 1-1!

3) It is very easy to use Blogger using the WYSIWYG editor, with previews available before you have to publish the article/template. Wordpress, although easy to write articles, does require amateur knowledge of HTML/CSS, which is one of the reasons which I was more inclined to using Blogger. For all you pro's though who can handle the messy stuff Wordpress is the way, but being realistic, most of the population doesnt have a clue about CSS, and WordPress has no preview, so Im afraid that one will have to go to Blogger, 2-1 up!

4) Blogger has few themes. Most of these although 3 column (with room for adsense, affiliates), are pretty similar, and so you cant get any real personalisation. Wordpress on the other hand now has over 400 to choose from, massive choice! Although these dont have the customary 3 columns, they still look pretty damn good, so WP is back on level terms at 2-2!

5) The FTP connection on Blogger is really poor. Although at the moment I only have 10 or so articles, I've heard that if you have 100 articles, it doesn't connect 99 times out of 100, or if it does, it takes an age to upload! WordPress is instantaneuos which another good thing I like about it! 3-2 WordPress Wins!

I think overall, I now prefer WordPress over Blogger mainly because of the customization that's possible, the amount of plug-ins are endless! But now, Im in a dilemna over which one to choose, what do you think I should do? Please reply to this post, or email me using the link in the "About Me" section.

Finally, as I am a broke student, but looking to get a .co.uk or .com site, I would appreciate any donations. If any of you guys out there have been liking reading and subscribing to my blog, then I thank you for allowing me to continue what I like doing.
Keep doing what you're doing!

The Da Vinci Code - Darren Brown

Hi again, hope you're all busy making business!
Well I've just finished reading Darren Brown's The Da Vinci Code, and all I can say is WOW! Let me tell you that if you're one for a conspiracy then this book is for you.
Let me explain what it's about without giving too much away for you.
Basically, the story revolves around the murder of an old curator of the Louvre museum, and the reasons for his death, who killed him and most importantly what he was apparently protecting from his murderer. Characters Robert Langdon and the curator's grand-daughter Miss Neveu, help to unravel the meaning behind his death through the breaking of cryptic codes and clues that the curator had left behind minutes before his death.
As the story unfolds, it will become apparent to you that this story is very controversial, taking 'stabs' at the Church, and I suppose it is this which has made it so famous. The Holy Grail is the main theme, the object/thing/idea which everyone is searching for. Do you believe in the Grail? Well start believing because this story challenges its existence, and as the trailor puts it, "threatens to destroy mankind and all it believes in.
I highly recommend this book who anyone who is after a bit of action, thrill and suspense.
Also, check out the great trailer (gives me the creeps!)
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/da_vinci_code/
Keep up the business!

How I make money on the Internet - Part 2: Google Adsense

Hello all on this rainy March day here in the UK!
Hope you have all been blogging you heart out.
Anyway, as promised here is Part 2 in my series of How To Make Money on the Internet.
Click here if you missed Part 1: eBay, as it will show you valuable tips on using the ever-growing auction site.
Anyway, in this issue, I will focus on the ever growing phenomenon of Google Adsense. If you are new to this though you may have a few questions which I will try and answer:

1) What is Adsense and how does it work?
Google AdSense is the programme that can generate advertising revenue from each page on your website - all you need to do is add a snippet of code, and hey-presto, your ads appear!.
AdSense delivers relevant text and image ads that are precisely targeted to your site and your site content. And when you add a Google search box to your site, AdSense delivers relevant text ads that are targeted to the Google search results pages generated by your visitors’ search request. So basically, if you have a site on Golf Clubs, then Adsense will show ads from other companies who also specialize in Golf Clubs.
To get revenue, someone must click on the Google Adsense link, and in return, you will be rewarded with a fee which can range to a few cents to a few dollars if you use the right keywords. Most programs like Adsense operate on a CPC (Cost Per Click) scheme, however there are some which also use CPM (Cost per 1000 impressions or views).

2)What are the advantages/disadvantages of using Adsense?
If you have a site which has a high amount of traffic, then Adsense can be very beneficial. Getting a six-figure sum from the program is not unheard of if you have a large amount of people coming to your site daily.
However, there are a few drawbacks: Google only sends your accumulated money once you have reached the $100 mark, so if you don't reach that, then you don't get your hands on that hard-earned cash!Also, by placing content relevant ads on yor site, you may be attracting people to buy items on competitors sites, which is never a good thing in business. Also, if Google finds any trace of malicious clicking (you clicking on your own ads), then your account can be indefinitely suspended...probably for ever! Finally, your site must not have anything of illicit nature (I hope you wouldn't have a site like that anyway!)

Now for the real business, my tips on how you can make money using Google Adsense:

1)Place your ads in a place on your page where all your visitors will see it. It has been proven that generally the top left or right corners of your page are the most eye-catching to visitors.
2)Dont put Adsense on a retail site!Doing so will only hinder your chances of making that all important sale.
3)Use colours which really stand out from the general theme of your webpage. It has been noticed that even the ugliest of sites can make a good income due to the boldness of their ads.
4)Your ads will only make money if you have lots of traffic, and people who are interested in the information your ads have to offer. This is a concept I will talk about in later parts of the series on How To Make Money on the Internet.
Make the leap to Adsense and you should be building up a nice amount of cash on the side, or even you could be a Six-Figure Blogger, and that would be something wouldn't it! Have I left anything out? Please comment on this article, and tell me!

Please see the next in the series on How To Make Money on the Internet - Part 3: Affiliates
Happy Blogtrepreneuring!!!

Do you consider yourself an entrepreneur?

I've always considered myself as a bit of an entrepreneur, but what really is an entrepreneur, and what types of things make them so different to everyone else.

According to Wikipedia.com, an 'Entrepreneur' is a "loanword from the French language that refers to a person who undertakes and operates a new venture, and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks."

To be an entrepreneur, I think that you've got to possess certain qualities that make you different from the rest of the wheelers and dealers who want to be the next Richard Branson.
Firstly, and most obviously, you have to be business-minded, meaning that you always want to make money out of every situation possible, whether it be at work, school, college, at home.
Determination is also the key to entrepreneurial success. If you suddenly have a brain-wave, you must be prepared to follow through with that idea and be prepared to work long and hard in order to achieve your goal. I myself have been a culprit of this, but in reality, it is only those who really motivate themselves, that will get all the riches and fame.
Finally, you have to be a bit risky and a bit of a gambler. Thats not to say that you should spend your whole life's savings on a dead-end project, but it means that you should calculate the risks, but then have the guts to make a quick decision, that could cost you or could see you rise up the ranks.
What if you dont have one of these qualities? Dont give up. As the Army advert says "Aim Higher".

How I make money on the Internet - Part 1: eBay

Ever wanted to make a little extra cash online, or wanted to turn your internet career into something big? Then this is the two part article for you, focusing on the main aspects of making money on the internet, and how you can generate a good revenue solely from advertising and auctioning.
In this first part I will look at eBay, and how you and others can easily make good money, just from selling online.

I started off selling various items on eBay that I no longer needed around the house, things from young children's books, to unused computer keyboards. At first, the results can be a little disappointing, especially when you are new to the auctioning system, and when you have no feedback to rely on.
After a while however, as my item description began to get more professional in appearance, I realised that people were starting to actually bid on my items, things I thought never would have sold!
Although I generated a small amount of profit from each item I sold, there were also fees which I had to pay for, Paypal fees, Listing Fees, Final Value Fee, Postage....it all adds up!
When you are selling an item, you have to plan how much the item will cost you in all of these fields, if you are going to make a loss, there is simply no point in auctioning your item (unless you are willing to sacrifice a few quid for some good feedback).
My first selling venture on eBay, was through the selling of the Nike Anti - Racism Bands, where I made an amazing £6-8 profit on each band!! It was this that really got me hooked on the power of eBay, and the easyness of making money.
I would recommend though that if you are thinking of starting of making a full - time business out of eBay, you consider your market.
Firstly, which audience are you aiming at? If you are thinking of becoming a full time football boots auctioneer, you need to make your descriptions appealing to teens, and young adults.
Secondly, what is the competition like in your field or niche? If there are already hundreds of people selling football boots at competitive prices, you will have to decide if your products will stand out from the crowd in terms of quality or price.

These are my points that will help all of your listings be successful and will attract potential bidders:

1) The Item title must be appealing, stuff like "ATI Radeon Card X450603924 Dell" is not going to really catch the eye, unless there is someone who actually wants exactly that. Try to spruce up the title a bit by adding exclamation marks "BRAND NEW ATI Radeon Card!!!Lowest price ever". Captions like this will be sure to pull visitors to your item.
2)Once you have lured a visitor to your item description, make sure that its not just a load of gibberish, speak in the customers language. Colour helps!
3)A lot of people simply hike up the postage to cover for all of their fees and loads of profit on top, but I think that this definitely puts people off bidding. If you put a modest postage price, people are more likely to think you are being kinder to them by offering a lower postage amount.
4)Offering a Buy-It-Now price as well as normal bidding can help raise the price of your item, as people can see what you are expecting to get for that item, and so think that the item is more valuable.

I could go on forever with ways to increase hits on your auction listing, but a simple bit of advice, imagine yourself in the customer's shoes and think whether you'd place a bid if you saw your item description. If not, find out ways to improve your listing.

Please read my next in the series, Part 2: Google Adsense, or Part 3: Affiliates