5StarPromotions Closing Down

Bad news from the owner of 5StarPromotions and NoBannerZone:

As some of you may have read on your Member page, I have been on bed rest for the last four days. I went to the Doctor on Monday and again on Wednesday, and have been diagnosed with a chronic, debilitating disease that has no cure - the good news is it is not fatal. This is in addition to Stenosis, and Spondylitis that causes my dizziness and blackouts. This disease will involve days that I will not be able to do anything. Knowing how things get posted on a lot of forums I will not be going into any more details or naming this disease. I was told that I have to remove as much stress from my life as possible, and make some other life changes. One of those changes is to close 5 Star and NBZ.

Running a Paid to site is not something you can do a couple times a week. Even while I was on bed rest I spent some time on the computer to make sure that there was no viruses or adult content on the hit exchange, and to see if there were any major problems that needed taking care of. Even though Angie was listed as the point of contact, people were still sending me support emails. The get well emails were very much appreciated.

I have closed the signup pages on 5Star and NBZ, and am closing both sites within the next week. I have already started making payments. Once a payment is made the account will be deleted. I am waiting for payments from a few affiliate payments, so all payments will not be made before the sites are closed. E-gold payments are going to take a while, due to the fact that I have to find and purchase some. I have recent upgrades and advertising purchases to refund to some Members. I can not give exact dates for the completion of payments as I have no control over the time frame for the income.

I feel like I am letting you down by closing the sites, but I don’t want to sell the sites and be another program owner that sold your information, and I can’t leave the sites up and randomly disappear for days. After I get all the payout information exported and the member data deleted, I am considering selling the scripts. I have set up a contact email for anyone that wants to contact me after the sites are closed, Contact xxx@.com. (Remove the blank spaces to send me an email)

It has been a pleasure working with you. Perhaps things will change, and I will be able to work with you again.

Lia

That's a real bummer. 5StarPromotions was one of the few Paid to Read programs where I'm still an active member. Lia has served as a shining example of how PTR owners should conduct their businesses. She was honest and extremely professional and never succumbed to the "follow the herd" or "plague of locusts" mentality that most PTR owners seem to suffer from.

It goes without saying that managing her health is FAR more important than anything else, but if at some point Lia decides she'd like to get involved in the PTR industry again, I hope she does. Maybe not as a PTR owner, but as a consultant or in some other capacity that wouldn't involve as much time and energy as running her programs required.

Take care, Lia. You will be missed.

Tags: Paid to Read, PTR

Paypal ATM Card

I was checking out the "virtual mall" at 5starpromotions.com, and I thought it was really smart that they let members know what payment methods the merchant accepts in the little blurb about each "store." Specifically, they let members know whether or not they can shop at that online store using Paypal. That's important for a lot of PTR members, because most of them are paid with Paypal.

But one thing to keep in mind, for US-based Paypal members anyway, is that if you get a Paypal ATM/Debit card, you can shop at any store, online or offline, that accepts Mastercard. To be eligible, you have to have a Paypal Premier or Business Account. Premier and Business accounts get charged a small fee for receiving money, so PTR members who get paid small amounts ($2.00 and under) might want to keep their Paypal personal account as well (the Paypal user agreement allows you to have one personal account and one Premier or Business account).

Since having a Paypal Premier account lets you accept credit card payments, I think everybody who sells anything online (at their own website, or through eBay or whatever) should have one. The ATM card is an added bonus, and gives you more options for buying things with Paypal.

I think having a "virtual mall" is a good idea for PTR programs, and I think it would probably be smart for the PTR owners to provide information to their members (the US members, at least) about that ATM card. It might increase their affiliate sales if they did.

Tags: PTR, Paypal

Don't Risk Your Adsense Account

Click attacks can cost you your Adsense account. That's what Brian Thibault found out when he discovered that he'd been banned from Adsense after an unexplained spike in traffic (and clicks on his Adsense links, presumably) to one of his websites. From his own description of events, it doesn't sound like he handled his appeal very well, but regardless, the point is that Google can, and sometimes will, close your Adsense account if they find anything going on with your account that they consider suspicious.

And based on Brian's case, it doesn't necessarily require that you're the one doing anything wrong.

This is something that should be of concern to everybody with an Adsense account, but I think it could be an issue in particular with people who are involved in any sort of incentivized traffic. Whether it's traffic exchanges, or purchased traffic, webmasters need to keep in mind that a sudden spike in traffic could result in a spike in clicks. Particularly if your visitors think clicking your Adsense links is likely to benefit them -- either through a sort of "you scratch my back" mentality with traffic exchanges, or because of their belief that if they click your Adsense, you'll buy more ads from PTR sites.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Google is not looking favourably on incentivized traffic at sites with Adsense ads.

Recommended PTRs

Things change quickly in PTR, and I'm way behind in updating my list of recommended programs.

5StarPromotions
AdPaid
Avant-Cash - No longer recommended
BeehiveMail - No longer recommended
BGPaymail - No longer recommended
DestinysDollars - No longer recommended
GainSeek - No longer recommended
HeavenlyEmail - No longer recommended
ItPaysToLearn - No longer recommended
PolarPTR - No longer recommended
Random-PTCs - No longer recommended

Keep in mind that most of these PTRs are heavily dependent on ads for PPC search engines, and for that reason, there's little point in joining unless you're living in one of the following countries -- Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.


Last Updated 22 March, 2007

Recommended Paid to Read Programs

Based on various things that happened last month, there have been a few changes to my List of Recommended PTRs. A few added, a few removed.

5StarPromotions -- I joined 5Star at the end of June and so far I've got $1.07 in earnings. Everything's done on-site, and sometimes I forget to visit the site, so my earnings could be higher. It's not a fast earner, but it has some interesting ads, and it only takes a few minutes a day, so I think it's well worth it.

EmailCash -- Any Australian who is interested in making and saving money online needs to be a member of this program. That's all there is to it! The free rewards are great, but the real reward comes from doing business with some of their awesome partners because not only can you find some great deals, but you also earn Rewards Points when you make a purchase.

MyPoints -- Another great rewards program. If you live in the US and you shop online, you should be a member. Just like at EmailCash, the free rewards are nice, but the points you receive after shopping with their partners is where the real rewards are. They don't pay in cash, but have lots of great gift cards and gift certificates available. And if you can't find one you like, you can always get a Webcertificate, which is like a virtual MasterCard.

Update: This list was last updated on 22 March 2007.

Recommended Programs

After reviewing the results for June, I've made a few revisions to my list of recommended programs. They include:

Paid to Read

5StarPromotions
EmailCash (Australia Only)
MyPoints
PecoMail

Traffic Exchanges

BlogaZoo*
BlogExplosion*
BlogSoldiers*
ClickCrazey
ClickVoyager
DeepSeaHits
ExchangePilot
FastLaneTraffic
MysticalMaze
RewardingTraffic
ScreenRotator
ShareAdSpace
Surf4theEarth
TrafficRoundup
WebMasterQuest

* Blogs Only

Paid Surveys

American Consumer Opinion Panel
Ciao! (Au,NZ,Can)
ClickIQ (US)
ePoll (US)
Greenfield
NFO MySurvey (US,UK,Can)
PureProfile (Au)
Socratic Forum
SurveySavvy
SurveySpot (US,UK,Can,Au)



Last Updated on 25 March, 2007

Tags: PTR, Paid to Read, Traffic Exchanges, Paid Surveys, surveys

Joining Spree

Yep, I did it. I went on a bit of a joining spree, and signed up for a bunch of new programs. Before I've the process of dumping a bunch of old ones. Sometimes I just can't help myself. Some have been around for a while, and I've been meaning to join. Others are new, and were impulse sign-ups.

Some of the new programs include:

ScreenRotator -- a new traffic exchange with a twist -- you can earn credits running a screensaver.

StormOfCash -- this one's been around for a while, but never really made onto my radar. Today, for whatever reason, it did. (Note: This program has recently been sold to a known scammer. My advice is to stay away from it.

MailerMart -- absolute impulse sign-up. But they're a no-min (no minimum amount required for payment) so I'll see how it goes. UPDATE: After a week I've decided to cancel my membership at MailerMart. Nothing wrong with it, just not for me.

ItPaysToLearn -- I've been meaning to join this program forever, and today I finally did it! You can earn cash and points from reading emails and doing quizzes! I love it!

I also joined a few more paid survey programs -- mostly Australia-only ones.

Search-Free Paid To Read Programs

Here's a list of Paid to Read programs that do NOT send search ads:

5StarPromotions - member since 24 June 2005
Boonz
CashFold
CTMailSolutions
EarningByEmail
EmailsForMoney2
Fantasy-WorldMails
GloballyPaidEmail
HalloweenPTR
HistoricalWanderingsPTR
Hits4Pay
InboxDollars
ItPaysToLearn - member since 17 June 2005
KoolahClicks
LillythsMagickMails
MesmerizingMails - member since 5 Jan 2005
MesmerizingMails2
MSClicks
NewGenerationPTR
NoBannerZone
NovemberTears
OurPTR2
PartyTimeClicks
PTParty
Searchers-Haven
SendEarnings
ShareLoot
Shocking-Results
The Kerosene Cucumber -- member since 30 July 2005
VerifiedClicks -- member since 30 July 2005
WanderingElfEmails
WeAllGetPaid
WolfEmails

Paid to Search? Absolutely not!

If you join a few Paid to Read programs one thing you'll notice is that the quality and variety of ads often leaves a lot to be desired. Instead of ads for Apple, Foot Locker, or Starbucks or even online companies such as Amazon, eBay, Google, or NetFlix, what you tend to get at PTRs are ads for PPC (Pay Per Click) Search Engines.

In fact, with many PTRs, if you don't have 'Search' (or some variation) selected as an interest in your member preferences, you may not get any emails at all. So what's the story with all the search engines?

Here's how it works. Somebody buys a set of scripts that let's them create their own PPC Search Engine. Then they partner with other search engines that provide them with search results through what's called a search 'feed.' In some cases, the search engine website you're visiting gets results from a number of different 'feeds', and these feeds may go through a number of layers (sometimes called 'tiers') until somewhere in the whole process there's actually a somebody who gets the money from advertisers in the form of 'bids' for specific keywords.

Big search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Overture make money from these kinds of keyword bids, and other companies use the same technique. The difference is that these other companies then use a form of multi-tiered affiliate networking to get more search traffic for the keywords their advertisers have purchased.

So Joe of joeswidgets.com might bid 50 cents for the keyword 'widget' at ABCDSearch.com. This means Joe pays 50 cents every time somebody visits his website after searching for 'widget' and clicking on the link in the ABCDSearch results. And to get more search traffic, ABCDSearch offers to 'feed' its search results to other PPC search engines, and pay them 40 cents every time one of their users clicks on Joe's link. And then those search engines offer to pay other search engines 30 cents, and so on. And in the end a search engine affiliate figures they can make money by buying an ad through a PTR and paying people to visit their search page.

But here's the thing. Those search engine affiliates can't pay people to search. It's against the rules of the search engines they're affiliated with. Why? Because ultimately, Joe is the one paying for the traffic. And Joe's paying for people who searched for 'widget' because they were interested in widgets -- hopefully interested in buying widgets -- not because they're a member of a PTR and they were paid 1/4 cent to do a search.

Search engine advertisers can only pay you to visit their website. They can't pay you to search.

The end result is that PTR advertising is in a fairly sorry state. Most advertisers just don't see any value in advertising through PTR programs. The search engine advertisers continue to do it only as long as they feel they can make a profit. And to make a profit, they have to get paid more for the searches made by PTR members that they spent on the ad. When they consistently lose money because not enough people search, they'll stop buying ads. But on the other hand, if Joe keeps getting traffic that isn't interested in widgets, but only in getting paid by the PTRs, he'll stop paying to advertise his website in the search results. Either way, the money dries up.

Ultimately, PTRs have to find ways to attract other advertisers. If not, they'll die. There are a few who seem to be managing to do just that, and I think they're worth having a look at. I think I'll create a list of them in a new post.

I Got Paid!

Wow, it's been a pretty good week online so far. I received a $30 check from EmailCash, as well as quite a few paid surveys (total value around $10-12), and a $50 payment for some short articles I wrote. Plus my wife has made quite a few eBay sales. And somewhere in there I think I received a payment from BeeHiveMail -- only $1 but hey, you got to start somewhere, right?

Investing in the "Get Paid" Market

A lot of people ask me why I got involved in "Get Paid" programs -- and I haven't always been able to give them a clear answer. The simple answer is that back in the late 90s I was spending a lot of time online (that hasn't changed), my wife and I had just had our first baby, and we were learning how to save money. And a lot of the people that talked online about how to save money were talking about a company called AllAdvantage.com that paid people to surf the net. It seemed like a pretty good idea to me, and I've been into it ever since.

Eventually, AllAdvantage crashed, and since then a lot of other programs have been created all more or less based on the same concepts -- incentivized advertising and loyatly rewards. A lot of those programs and companies have also crashed, but a few have found ways to keep going, and even prosper.

So why did I mention investing in the title of this post? Because that's generally how I think about the "Get Paid" business. You can make money by "investing" your time. Of course the value of reading email advertisements isn't huge, so you won't make a lot of money -- but it's a way to get started with nothing more than a computer and an email account.

I'm not talking about "easy money" or "money for nothing" or "get rich quick" here. I'm talking about being paid for your time and your attention. Of course the money's got to come from somewhere, and the best way to increase the return on your investment is to add value.

One way to do that is to re-invest a portion of your profits back into the market. In Paid to Read programs, you can do that by buying ads. As I've said before, reading advertisements is never going to pay much. But it's a start, and all you need is time.

So that's why I'm still involved in PTRs and other "Get Paid" programs. Because I think its a good way to get started making money online. I think you can get started using nothing but your time, then use some of your earnings to re-invest in the programs, and eventually you'll be making enough to move beyond PTRs.

But you've got to start somewhere.

Get Paid to Read More Email

At the end of every month I look at what's been happening with my PTRs (Paid to Read programs) and make any adjustments that might be necessary. If I'm not earning enough to make membership worthwhile, I'll either decide to put more effort in, or quit.

This month has been reasonably good. Not a lot of payments, but a few. Enough that I could buy a few things on eBay, purchase a few ads, etc. All the programs I listed in my last PTR entry did fine. I didn't earn as much as I could've from Avant-Cash and HaulingCash, but only because they sent more emails than I could find the time to read.

I'll add a new program to the list of those that I recommend -- BeeHiveMail. Edited on 18 Mar 2007: This program is no longer recommended. In fact, it's completely disappeared. Good riddance.

That's about the only new program I've found to recommend, but hopefully I'll find a few more soon. I joined several that seemed promising, but they just can't seem to find enough advertisers to get going.

One new thing I tried this month was buying some referrals. I've never thought much of the idea of paying people to join your downline, but in this case, I won an auction for 5 signups in the program of my choice for $0.99 so I thought I'd give it a try. If I make more than $1 in referral earnings, then I guess it was worth it.

Get Paid to Read Email

While there are big companies like MyPoints and EmailCash that essentially operate as multi-store shopping rewards programs, there are also a lot of small one-person sites that pay their members to read email ads (PTRs). The most important thing to remember about these sites is that they're not big companies, they're a guy named Dave or work-from-home Mom named Stacy. A lot of them have no experience running a business, know little or nothing about marketing and advertising, and add 2 + 2 and get 5. And they're operating in a seriously overcrowded market with razon-thin margins, so most of them end up going broke really fast.

But there are a few who have managed to be successful, or at least managed to keep going. A lot of their success is based on the fact that they've managed to make enough advertising sales to keep their members interested. Usually, that means search engine advertisers. For members, that means instead of seeing ads for interesting products and services, they get ads for search engines. Not big search engines like Google or Yahoo! Search, but little search engines who's owners get paid every time somebody makes a search.

So if you join any PTRs, be prepared to visit a lot of search engine pages.

Over the last few years, I've joined hundreds of PTRs. To be honest, most of them aren't worth the time it takes to sign up. But I've found a few that are ok. They're run by hardworking, professional people and if you do what you're asked to do -- read the email, click a link and visit the advertisers website until a timer expires -- you'll be paid.

If you want to give it a try, I suggest you start with these:

• Avant-Cash
• BeezyClickin
• Disco-Dollars -- No longer recommended this PTR (30 June, 2005).
• HaulingCash
• HeavenlyEmail

Actually, I no longer recommend ANY of these programs. I'll try to put together a new list of recommended programs (they change over time) and link to it from here. -- 28/09/2006

How much can you earn? Not as much as you could flipping burgers. Maybe $10-20 a month. Not enough to pay the mortgage, but its a start. You can earn more by getting referrals -- people who join the program using your special affiliate link.

To give you an idea of potential referral earnings, let's say you get 100 people to join a program. If that program pays you 15% referral earnings, then instead of earning $1 a month at that program, you could make $16 ($1 + ($1 x 15% x 100).

When I'm looking at a PTR and trying to decide whether I want to join or not, I don't worry too much about referral earnings. It's a nice bonus, but to me, if a program isn't worth joining for what you can earn without referrals, then it's not worth joining at all.