Paid to Play?

I've been hearing a lot about websites where they will pay you to play games, but Bid 4 Prizes has a completely different model. You bid on things, and the person with the lowest bid, who is also the only person who bid that specific amount, wins the prize!

Now, even though you're "bidding," no one at Bid 4 Prizes pays what they bid. It's simply a new way to determine the winner. It's simple to enter a bid either online or with text messaging from your phone, and the site has clear instructions.

They have at least one winner every day, and it's more fun than the other sites, especially since there's some amount of strategy involved. In case you have trouble, Bid 4 Prizes has three methods of customer service, online, by email, or by telephone. Overall it's a fun and entertaining site, easy enough for my mom to use! (Hi Mom!)

*This is a sponsored post.*

A Moment of Reflection

I'm going on vacation for the next two and a half weeks, so there may not be an update in that time.

I would like to point out the benchmark of hitting $1.00 at Helium, and that the benefits I've derived from MyLot have been greater than their simple monetary value. I've gotten a lot of comments and linkbacks from using mylot as a place to genuinely respond to discussions, and if appropriate, link to one of my blogs as a helpful resource.

In the absence of my direct influence, I'd like to ask you, my ever-loyal following, for your advice and input. What's the best way you contribute to community?

The Best

Ironic as it may be, I think the best and most time-effective methods of earning money online are through article-writing sites.

Helium, Triond, and Associated Content are all well and good, but they are pretty indiscriminate in terms of what content they take. The closer you get to freelance writing, the better off you'll be. Look at it this way, even if an article that pays $60 (which is low for quality freelance work) takes you three, four, or even five times longer to write than an article for those other sites, you're still making over 100x what you would make on that other article, even if it were posted at all three sites.

I think paid posting is a nice middle ground if you don't want to put in too much effort and you like the blogosphere. You can increase your earnings as your reputation increases by writing on specific subjects, but a little more casually than if you were writing articles. However, since I've begun "the real thing," i.e., a blog about things that interest me, I've discovered how much more difficult it is to promote a blog that's not in this "making money" niche. I hope, though, that it will be easier to get regular readers, and I know that with a topic I'm more passionate about, I will be able to produce higher quality content.

Expect further bulletins as warranted, but on a less frequent basis.