Making money is art
(Andy Warhol)
Hi everyone,
This week I looked at ways not just to save but to make money.
My employment contract prohibits me from taking on another job (as if I’d have the time!). So I needed to think outside the box a little for this challenge.
Something I’ve considered in the past is getting my car shrink-wrapped in advertising. You can even specify whether there are some adverts you’d refuse to drive around with. Unfortunately this isn’t an option for me; firstly because I don’t do the required mileage, secondly because I lease my car from the company I work for, and I doubt very much they’d allow it.
For anyone with a half-decent car, doing a fair amount of miles on a regular basis, though, I think this is a good, no-effort way of making money.
So, no second job and no ad-carrying on my car. How about ad-carrying on myself? I don’t mean getting a brand logo tattooed across my forehead, but there is another place where I’m visible. Here.
I set out investigating getting adverts on this page, to raise a bit of extra cash for the piggy bank. My application takes a week to process, and the guidelines state explicitly that I would not be allowed to instruct my readers to click the ad links, nor could I click them myself. That’s because the revenue is paid “per-click”. In other words, I’d be committing fraud if I artificially inflated my income through non-genuine clicks. Until I hear back about my application, then, I continue my search for ways to make money.
How about using my talents for profit? With a good reputation, tutors can charge a small fortune, which yummy mummies are only too happy to pay for, if it helps nice-but-dim-Tim get through his GCSEs/ A-Levels/ UCAS application.
With a degree in French and German currently going to waste, perhaps I could take a philanthropic route, passing on my skills to the next generation. I bet, even with my rusty French, I’d have no problem with the “j’ai un chat” level required for an A* at GCSE.
On the other hand, I can imagine how time-intensive it would be, learning the latest syllabus and preparing lessons. I’m no PGCE-qualified teacher, either. Who’d trust me to improve their child’s grades? I’m not sure I would.
That option is out the window too, then. The trouble is that I’m time-poor, cash-poor, and that’s not a great situation to be in.
In the “Help!!!” page of this blogs I’ve already had some money-making tips. I’d love your input.
One of these was to sell some books. As I’ve mentioned a couple of times, I’m a bit of a hoarder when it comes to books. Other than books I’d be embarrassed for people to see on my bookshelves (summer holiday drivel, mainly, NOT 50 Shades…), I don’t get rid of books. To put it bluntly, making money that way is out of the question.
On the other hand, I have no such emotional attachment to DVDs. Websites suggest grouping them by genre or star, and selling them off in bundles. Let’s give that a go then, shall we?
P.S. I’d love your ideas – just click on the “Help!!!” tab and add your comment.
Shopaholic Cuts Back 
oi oi, when I had my blog up, I put up an ad for Amazon. Every time someone click on that add and makes a purchase you used to get either 17 cents per transaction or 10% of their transaction. Or there is also a website (whose name I have forgotten) where you list your blog and people rate it by giving it money. The only problem with that is that you have put into it with a minimum of 10 bucks. And you can’t give your own money to yourself. Ads work as long as people are clicking on them and using them to either purchase things or fill out surveys.
Yeah, I did get some code to post up ads, but I couldn’t work out how to embed it into the site. Techie help, please?
OK, I forgot that you have to have the paid service with WordPress in order to put up ads and what-not.
Pingback: Day 25: Defensive? Me? NO, I AM NOT! | Shopaholic Cuts Back