tired of being a broke, 20-year-old college kid.

D

dollarsfordays

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Jan 9, 2011
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Hey guys, I just signed up today and I've been reading a lot of the stickies and whatnot; WF seems like a really great community to be part of :).

First a little bit about me:

I'm 20 years old and attending the art institute in Minneapolis, MN. I've made some decent money making flash games over the past few years and freelancing. When you make a flash game and when you get sponsored you split it 50/50 with the person who used actionscript to make the game interactive. the problem with this is that profits are cut in half and sponsorships aren't a "for sure" thing. Plus with freelancing sometimes you complete projects and people neglect to pay you or ask for an insurmountable number of revisions -- it becomes very taxing.

Sometimes I can't even make it to school due to lack of funds for the bus, and parking my car downtown is very expensive, not to mention gas & car insurance. So I started looking for better ways to make money rather than being a freelance artist and animator.


That's when I stumbled upon affiliate marketing, I just started a few days ago after some quick research regarding video marketing and using youtube as a means to generate traffic to a web page, and thus make sales.

I'm having some issues getting started though...my videos aren't getting enough views and I have yet to make a sale. Plus since I have no money to start with, I had to be resourceful. I made a blog instead of an opt-in page because I lack the funds to buy a keyword-rich domain name. I came to this community seeking advice on how to start making sales and start making enough money to ride through college comfortably (I still have 2-ish years left) maybe even enough money to pay off my loans once I'm done...That's my dream.

So if you could steer me in the right direction regarding generating some income with affiliate marketing, or putting my skills as an artist and animator to better and more profitable use, I'd be eternally grateful.

My youtube channel is:

YouTube - dollarsfordays's Channel

If you wanted to check out my videos and critique them, see if I'm tagging and titling things right.

My blog is:

Make Money

I've also written a plethora of posts on another blog that didn't get many views either, I was thinking I could compile the ones on there into some sort of Ebook or something.

Enriching your Existence

or if you wanted to take a look at what I can do creatively:

MelonCat on deviantART
Works by Taylor Payton

So yeah, I know I'm coming across as pretty desperate, but the simple fact Is I could really use a mentor of some sort... Or at least an evaluation of my methods so I can attune them into actual profit.

Thanks in advance, if you'd like some sort of artistic compensation (a mascot, logo, quick splash animation for your webpage, etc...) I'd be happy to offer my services artistically if someone is willing to help me get up and running. I'm having too much trouble trying to make it alone, haha.

Much love all the same though :D.
 


write some articles to get some startup money

then you can afford some shared hosting, couple domains, maybe scrapebox etc.
 
Addicting Flash Games + Facebook + Tapjoy/BlamAds/Offers for Virtual Currency = $$$

If you have already been making games, you have already learned the hardest part.

Check out popular facebook games for inspiration - farmville, restaurant city, yoville, etc.
 
+1 <-- your already headed in the right direction with the misa campo BG :D

Having a real TLD is a crucial part of a website. Not really worth putting in hours on a blogger IMO.
 
I'd suggest that you stick you what you do well, money making is an 'almost saturated' niche and it will take ages + lot of luck to actually make considerable amount of money there.

So switch to something else you know better, flash games, I've heard they make good money on facebook.
 
Whoa! I didn't expect such a quick and awesome response, let me first extend my thanks to those who've solicited their advice :).

Second, I'll begin today conceptualizing a facebook game that appeals to the masses, that has some $-making ads, and the option to purchase premium virtual content...once I have some more solid designs I'll be sure to post 'em.

I've also started researching scrapebox, though the program seems currently over my head in terms of how to put it to use. I've also been reading some of the money-making posts in the WF treasure chest archive.

My only problem right now is that I need a more expedited way to make money aside from making games...Since the only foreseeable $ I've got coming is $125 for a game that recently got sponsored and another $50 that someone owes me for freelancing. The good news is I'll be able to afford a few domain names, though I'm not sure how I begin turning them into profit once I buy them. I know so little about the world of internet marketing, and I keep having to google a lot of the jargon that's used here, haha.
 
imo stick to one thing or you'll over analyze everything. SEO or Games, make a choice and stick with it.

That troubled me for years trying to do 3-4 projects at a time. The second I started focusing on one thing at a time i started having success.

You could always get a campus job to help pay for online projects.. just a thought
 
Quick pay your rent type of money?

BST section here.
http://www.wickedfire.com/sell-buy-trade/

Start doing like $10 logos or Banner ads or whatever. (check around and see what prices are)

Also if you're a decent writer (which by this post shows you're better writer than 80% of the BST now) the going rate is like $1/100 words and as english native speaker you've got an advantage there.

Also... how are you going to tell people how to make money online when you can't (or haven't yet)?

Plus it is really saturated by people with big $$$

good luck bros
 
dollarsfordays said:
My only problem right now is that I need a more expedited way to make money aside from making games...Since the only foreseeable $ I've got coming is $125 for a game that recently got sponsored and another $50 that someone owes me for freelancing.
Click to expand...

Do you have only graphics skills or coding/scripting skills too?
If you are a good ActionScript developer send me a pm with proof of your past works, I have a huge number of AS3 projects to manage.
I want good coding skills (code documentation is a must), projects are mostly minisite viral games for Fortune500 companies.
Remember: only good coding/scripting skills....
 
Affiliate marketing is not as easy as guru's will make you believe. It is virtually impossible to make money just by making blogspot type of sites.

As many people have mentioned here. If you really need money fast you should go to Buy Sell Trade section and look around. See what people are offering.

Since you are designer, designing logos and other stuff should be relatively simple for you. You can also write articles. Start off by charging $1/100 words. Since you are native English speaker, you will be able to raise your prices once you prove that you are good. I know this is a hard way to make money, but it is fast and you will always be able to survive.

While you are writing content or designing logos for other people, keep learning affiliate marketing or keep doing your gaming thing.
 
There is money to be made in affiliate marketing, with this type of business model. I think building up your sites slowly, so gradually earn more and more. So even after a few months you can have a group of websites earning a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand dollars month. If you want to cash in, listing on a site like flippa.com would be a good idea.
 
Good news guys! I've sold a game which means I had enough money to open up a site as well as start making videos for my youtube account again (a link to my channel is in my first post.)

My new site is Epic Money Methods - Home

Right now I only have some product info and links, along with some articles for SEO and extra content.

Regarding My newest youtube vid-- I had enough money to pay for some extra traffic. it's up to 712 views in only two days. Not bad for a niche advertising video, but I haven't made a sale yet.

Any tips would be appreciated at this point, I don't know how to monetize a site other than to use it to direct your affiliate stuff or post ads on.
 
You want to make some money online, so you start a site about how to make money online... why write about something you don't know anything about? Why not pick something you're actually good at like a hobby?
 
How else is one supposed to get good at something if one doesn't even attempt to do it? I actually do make money online, just not through the methods I'm trying to promote. I'm currently figuring out the whole affiliate marketing thing, but I know if I keep trying new things I'll start making sales soon.

I also printed out fliers at my school promoting my website and posted them in various high-traffic areas. I'm hoping that those generate some sales as well.

I find that advertising and marketing is actually something I'm beginning to enjoy quite a bit, but I know I'll like it better once I see some more results. Hence why I come here for advice, not only to add to my knowledge pool but to apply it indefinitely.

If I were to start a website detailing how to make money by making flash games, getting them sponsored, putting ads in them, etc..I'm not sure how big a niche that is. I'm not even sure if It'd be one of those "blog" sites where I just post useful information to generate traffic as well as for SEO purposes, or if I'd actually write a whole ebook detailing the process and use the site to sell it.
 
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