I have profiled Ning here at JMMO as a social network platform where people can possibly make money from. And, I have written about how people might charge membership fees using Ning. And, I have mentioned Ning again when I wrote about making money from membership sites.

Obviously, I have been a fan of Ning, long before it became a popular tool for many people who want to create their own social networks – without the usual technical knowledge needed. Now, Ning hosts a few thousand social networks – from educational and non-profit groups to techie and literary groups.

The latest buzz, however, is that Ning will be slowly phasing out their free option beginning the 4th of May 2010. This has created a lot of ill feelings, especially from people who have been working hard on building their Ning sites and who aren’t prepared to shell out the money for the premium fees.

One of the biggest question posted as a challenge to Ning folks is: Is it right for a company to just take away their free services just like that? Especially since they have been running ads on those free sites.

What do you think? How do you feel about this kind of deal?

Have you ever used Ning before – either just as a member or as a creator? What do you have to say about Ning’s move?

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Ning Social Network Platform – To Remove Free Option?

In our last poll of the month, I asked the question: “Which social networking site do you use the most for your online business?”

And, based on 129 respondents, it was found that Facebook was the most popular social networking tool being used by JMMO readers and visitors (49%) who run their own online businesses.

Twitter comes as a far second, with 28% respondents saying that they use it for their online business. Then, there are MySpace (13%) and LinkedIn (10%) users.

Thanks again to everyone who voted. We’ll be sharing our latest poll shortly.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Poll Result: Most Popular Social Networking Tools for Online Business

We’ve had a few discussions on social networking and making money online lately, so hopefully you have had a chance to look in to this concept. And, if you haven’t done so yet, please vote in our poll of the month -

I will be closing the poll shortly and sharing with you the findings. I’m looking forward to your input!

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Poll Reminder: Social Networking and Online Business

One of the very first social networking sites that I have enjoyed is Multiply. But, it doesn’t seem to have the same pull as MySpace or Facebook. In spite that, I know a few people who are using Multiply actively. In fact, some of them are using it as a commercial platform, as some of its built-in features lend to ecommerce.

If you’re thinking of ways to monetise Multiply, here are some ideas*:

1) Use Market Feature – This has to be the most obvious built-in ecommerce feature of Multiply. Basically, when you sign-up for a Multiply account, you get a section on your Multiply site called “Market”. There, you can add products that you wish to sell – just upload photos, add a description, and include other details like pricing and categories. I know some users who build a full online store using this function. However, one drawback is that it doesn’t really have a shopping cart or built-in payment system. You have to arrange this yourself, either by finding ways to incorporate something like Paypal links to your market listings or coming up with alternative payment systems.

2) Create Affiliate-Linked Reviews – Another built-in feature of Multiply is a section called ‘Reviews’. It pretty much does what it says — you can write reviews of just about anything. Some people then review books, music, and other products – and add affiliate links to their reviews.

3) Write Other Affiliate-Linked Posts – As long as you don’t overdo the affiliate linking, you can actually add affiliate links to Multiply’s ‘Links’ section or even write-ups on the ‘Blog’ section. Just make sure you also include other interesting content for your contacts. Otherwise, you might just be seen as a spammer.

4) Create Gift Items for Sale – If you upload photos on your Multiply account, you can easily turn them in to gift items such as photo books, calendars, cards, and prints through Multiply’s Shop. Once you have such items available, you can sell them – anywhere you want (including your ‘Market’ section on Multiply!).

* Please note that you must always check the Terms and Conditions of the site before following any of these ideas.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

4 Ways to Make Money on Multiply

One of the reasons I hardly ever write about MySpace is because I’ve never been a fan. I love social networking in general, but I’ve never taken to MySpace due to a number of reasons. However, I know that many people still think that it’s a great place to maintain an online presence. And, some even continue to find ways to monetise MySpace.

So, here are some ideas for those of you who are interested in these 5 Ways to Use MySpace as a way to make money online:

1. Use it as a way to promote your product or service. Whether you’re a musician, an artist, an online seller, a crafter, or a writer, you can use MySpace as a way to promote your business. Just make sure you don’t spam anyone or you might end up banned. So, be discreet and make sure that you still offer other good content on your MySpace pages. And yes, this really just works if you have a lot of friends on MySpace.

2. Share reviews with affiliate links. Like most social networking sites, you can have your own blog with your account. You can use that blog as a way to write reviews of some products, and you can add affiliate links to them. You might also want to share Bulletin posts to your reviews to make sure your contacts get the message. Just try not to do this too much or too often.

3. Start a MySpace service. If you know bands, authors, actors, etc who might want to have a MySpace account but do not have the time to maintain those accounts, offer your services to them. You can then charge them for creating and/or maintaining their MySpace accounts.

4. Sell MySpace digital products, such as templates and graphics. If you’re a talented graphic designer, create digital products for MySpace users, such as templates and graphics. Or even quizzes and signatures. You can either offer these products on a per use basis or you can create a membership site that offer such products on a regular basis for your paid members.

5. Offer advertising space. If you have a good number of friends on MySpace, you can approach businesses or individuals who might be interested in targeting your friends. These advertising posts may be done through your blogs and/or bulletin posts.

Also, before you use MySpace as a way to make money online, please check their current terms and conditions to make sure that you’re not violating any of them.

So, do you have a MySpace account? Have you tried using it yet to make some money online?

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

5 Ways to Make Money with MySpace

As promised, here’s our newest poll of the month -

It’s interesting to know what social network do JMMO readers and visitors use the most when it comes to online businesses. Looking forward to your votes and comments.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

New Poll: Social Networking and Online Business

Every now and then, I receive specific questions from JMMO readers who are seeking real advice about making money online. Here’s one email* that I received recently about the social networking service called Ning, which I wrote about last year -

Hello, I have created my own art studio network on ning and want to feature workshop videos. I have spent the last two days trying to find out how to charge a membership fee using paypal for the payment processor on Ning, to no avail. I have been looking for add ons, etc. I see others doing it but I can not figure it out. Can you help me?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you, Karen (cottonpickinranch.com)

Thanks for your email, Karen. As far as I’m aware of, there is no built-in solution yet at Ning for charging membership fees. From what I learned from other Ning creators/social media group managers who are charging membership fees, this is what they do:

1. Create a private social media group on Ning.

2. Set up a subscription payment scheme on Paypal. Grab the code.

3. You can either use that code directly – or find a widget that you can use.

4. Set up another site, blog, or another public Ning group (free membership), which can be your “launching pad” for your paid membership group. (For example, see this page.)

5. Add your code or widget to that site/blog/public Ning group.

6. Every time someone pays for a membership to your private paid membership Ning group, you can add them manually by sending them an invite to your paid group.

7. Of course, every time someone doesn’t pay their membership fees, you’ll have to remove them manually too.

As you can see, it is a bit of work. And, while I know there are people doing it, it’s not the most ideal solution from what I can see. That’s the bad news.

The good news is: I heard that Ning developers are trying to come up with some monetizing scripts that will enable easier integration of Paypal, etc with Ning. I’m not sure when this is going to happen, and if it’s going to be a free or a premium service (like their Adsense module). But, if it does come through, it will be a more attractive solution for folks who wish to run their own membership sites on Ning.

In any case, good luck with your membership site, Karen. I hope it works out for you. Do let us know how it goes!

And, to other readers who may be running their own membership sites, we’d love to hear about your experiences too.

* Email slightly edited for presentation.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Money Chat: How do you charge membership fees on Ning?

During our last poll, we talked about using social networking tools to make money online. And, as you can see from the chart, majority of the voters reported that they do use social networks for their online work.

46% reported that they use social networking as part of their online business strategy. 11% reported that they do it a little. And 32% said that although they’re not using it yet at the moment, they plan to do so. And, I hope that they do. I wonder though, what’s stopping those who folks who don’t use social networking?

There’s 11% who said “No way” to the idea of making use of social networking as part of their online work plans. Does this mean that they actually don’t see the point of using them? I wonder why?

In any case, thanks again to all who voted. I’ll be posting a new poll of the month shortly.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Poll Results: Do you use social networking to help you to make money online?

It’s that time of the month again, when we wrap up our monthly poll. This time, we’re talking about social networking and online businesses.

If you haven’t voted yet, I encourage you to do so. I’ll be closing this poll shortly and reporting the final votes in the next few days or so.

If you already voted, thank you. I really do appreciate your feedback.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Poll Reminder: Do you use social networking to help you to make money online?

Twitter is something I’ve been writing a lot about on my personal blog. One of my post popular Twitter articles is: Top 9 Ways to Use Twitter.

If you think I’ve always loved Twitter… Well, I have to say that I wasn’t always a fan. When it first came out, I signed up for it. Tried it. Then, immediately discarded it. Tried it again, still nothing. I even ended up deleting my first Twitter account. A few months later, I tried it again. Liked it a bit better. But, still felt lost on why I should use it. Tried it again. And slowly, I found more and more uses for it. Now, it’s part of my work and social life.

What about you? Do you use Twitter at all?

Our current poll already asks whether you use social networking as part of your online business or not. And, I was wondering if Twitter plays a role at all in your online work? If yes, how?

And, if you do Twitter, please feel free to share the URL to your Twitter account in the comments section below. Maybe fellow JMMO readers can check them out too.

If you’re interested, mine’s at http://twitter.com/shaicoggins.

Image: Based on Microsoft Stock Photo. Edits, Shai Coggins.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Open Mic Monday: Do You Twitter?