Paid Reviews

buy & sell text links with TNX

I’d heard of TNX before now. I’d seen their threads over at DP - yes that’s right - they actually talk to members on external forums - something which i love as it makes people feel more comfortable with them and ultimately can only improve communications.

I should mention they also have their own forum which will clear up any questions or problems you have.

I guess i was just lazy and wasn’t interested in trying TNX out, but now i’m forced to study them in detail (as this is a sponsored review) and test the waters, which is always a good thing!

TNX are a text link ad network which allow advertisers and publishers to buy and sell text links. Unlike text-link-ads, TNX keep site and membership details private and sell links by category and per impressions.

Your site and membership details are kept private.

So this alone caught my eye as it makes sense, given the fact google are so anti-paid links nowadays. This is, in effect, ‘text only adsense’ with do-follow applied. Advertisers dream

Anyway, i’ve applied for a few sites and await confirmation, and i’ll definitely be testing TNX out over the next few weeks and be reporting results here.

You can sell a max 4 links per page, so this blog, for example can sell a max of 4 x 800 (pages) = 3200 links.

TNX don’t technically pay you in cash, they pay you in points, which in turn can be invested in ads or cashed out for REAL cash. So sort of like entrecard only you can actually exchange points for $$$

They do have a snazzy design a decent affiliate program and boast over 43,500 members, so it all looks promising

For more info & to sign up, head over to tnx.net and check it out for yourself..

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Smorty - get paid to blog

I’ve just signed up to another ‘Paid to Blog‘ service called Smorty.

I’m already signed up with PayPerPost and ReviewMe so i’m in a good position to see how Smorty fairs against the ‘big two’.

It’s too early to say whether they’ll replace PayPerPost, i doubt it as they’re a small start up playing catch up with the big guns, but so far, it appears they’ve a nice ads/blogs ratio with 4 ads available to me in one day. All are unrelated however so it could be a while before a related offer pops up.

I love Smorty’s funky design and no-nonsense interface. The usual rules apply when it comes to terms and conditions however there were a few nice little things which i came across;

• It takes just 5 days to approve a post.

• You get paid on a weekly basis (monthly with ReviewMe, with PPP you get paid 30 days after the post has been submitted).

• Maximum word count of 400 (in other words, we don’t want waffle - just keep it short and sweet.)

So another potential revenue stream for me and that’s what this game is all about…. diversity, trying things out and not putting all your eggs in one basket
To get accepted you must have a blog of a few months old that’s not full of spam and updated regularly - you know the score - no ‘made for money’ blogs

I should mention Smorty also have a decent referral program of 5% for life of your referral’s earnings.

$20 in Free Clicks

*This is a paid review through PayPerPost and although sponsored, i’ll keep it honest and fair throughout.

Bidvertiser grabbed my attention today with their press release;

BidVertiser is used by tens of thousands of bloggers to make money from their blogs by showing the BidVertiser ppc ads. Anyone can join BidVertiser either as a publisher or an advertiser, but we would like to share a new opportunity that not everyone is aware of:

BidVertiser now opens the the opportunity for bloggers to join as a referral, and as a unique benefit - a $20 coupon of free clicks is included with every referral account! This coupon can be shared and passed on to anyone - by placing a referral button on the blog, by adding the coupon link to a newsletter or even to an RSS feed

Once you signup as a referral, you get your unique referral link which will give $20 in free clicks to anyone that clicks it, adding great value to your blog as well as being a great benefit to your readers. Referral earnings are tracked online in the referral control panel and payments are made monthly, via PayPal or check, with a minimum of only $10.

If you choose to also activate your publisher account, you will also be able to get access to a new set of referral links that will both give your readers $20 in free clicks and will enable them to advertise directly on your blog via BidVertiser, increasing your earnings even more!

So what’s all that about? Basically if you sign up for Bidvertiser, you’ll get $20 in free ads to promote your blog/site. It’s a bit of a no brainer deal - free promotion for your blog for taking a few minutes to sign up.

Bidvertiser also offers you the chance to publish ads and make money on a CPC basis (cost per click). Worth a shot as a Google Adsense alternative, or even to replace Adsense if you’ve been banned or don’t like the payout/click rate etc..

Bidvertiser didn’t rock my world when i last tried them, i think that’s because the sites i placed them on were too narrow/local a niche to generate related ads. That said, i have made a few bucks from them and may try them again soon as a publisher.

The bottom line is that Bidvertiser may not be up there with Adsense in terms of targetting, payout etc… but they ARE a genuine alternative and are doing their best to prove that by giving away $20 of Free Clicks to guys like us

Click Here to Signup as a BidVertiser Referral!

Support Chat Software

This is a paid review about LiveHuman support chat. The review is through PayPerPost and although sponsored, i’ll keep it honest and fair throughout.

A ‘Live Chat’ help feature is a must have any online business imo. It’s my favourite way of contacting businesses and getting things done as it’s instant. No waiting about on emails or being bounced about on phone calls from one assistant to the next…

With live chat, it’s live. It puts the assistant and you at ease because neither can really be frustrated. No yelling, no holding listening to annoying music, no hassle. That’s why i love live chat features on websites.

It’s remarkable how many IT businesses DON’T have this feature and it’s a shame as i believe it’s a much more cost-effective and stress free method of communication for both parties.

LiveHuman is a site which offers live chat software for your site.

You simply signup, download the software (1.2mb’s) and that’s it, just copy paste some code into where you want it displayed. Costs from $13 a month, however they’re offering a FREE 7 day trial.

The software also allows you to see the IP/location of the person you’re chatting too, plus referrer links and keywords used to reach your site, so unknown to the user, you actually have a nice bit of information on them before you even start chatting, which is always good

LiveHuman also keeps logs and stores chats for up to 2 months, so now worrying about immediately backing up or reviewing old chats, which is also a nice feature.

Solar Powered Houses

I’m by no means a safe the earth/green campaigner, but i do hate the way people waste stuff just for the sake of it..

An example is paper watch, or simply throwing bottles into rubbish bins rather than recycling them.. takes likes 2 seconds to separate wastage from recyclable stuff. I also came up with an idea about having mini turbines under neath keyboard keys… every time keys are pressed, they generate power and re-charge/power the battery. That would be cool

Anyway, how about creating a 100% solar powered house, completely livable, green, clean with zero energy wastage? Good idea, eh?

Well that’s what the guys at the BP Solar Decathlon are doing… trying to create attractive eco-friendly houses. It’s a competition in which 20 teams from around the world compete for the best designed solar powered house.

You can check out some the pics on their blog.

Like i said before, all of this save the earth / no nukes type of stuff gets annoying, but if it’s cheaper in the long run and better for the environment, then what are we waiting for?!

30 years ago, nobody would have though my college, DKIT would be powered by a big wind turbine in the back garden. Nobody would have thought we’d have hydro cars like the Toyota Prius. Nobody would have thought we’d be recycling bottles and cartons and have electric rail systems like the LUAS in dublin.

This is technology my friends, and this is the way things will continue to go. As we become more globalised, we’re more open to new ideas and cultures and therefore more respectful of our environment and the environment other people live in.