Just a little over a year ago, I bought my first premium WordPress theme – Thesis. And, while I really like it – and I have been using it a lot since (still do) – I felt that I needed more time and technical know-how to make Thesis to look less like Thesis and customise my blog’s appearance a lot more.

I mean, JMMO has had the standard installation of the Thesis for over a year. I didn’t tweak the design much partly because I found it a bit of a challenge to make it look really different without a lot of coding/designing knowledge. So, I kept it “as is”. Having said that, I did tweak my Thesis installation on my personal blog a little bit. But, it took a lot of time. And, it still looks Thesis-like to me.

Anyway, I guess that’s why I thought it’s time to start experimenting with other WordPress themes.

That’s why when I encountered the Headway theme a few days ago, I decided to give it a whirl. Partly because I was impressed with some of the reviews I found. And partly because I was blown away with some of the sites and blogs that were shown in their showcase section. Each one of them looked really different – and nothing like the basic template that comes with Headway.

After purchasing Headway, I immediately tested it on one of my sites. I couldn’t quite get the hang of it. Plus, the header upload feature just wouldn’t work. So, I stopped and restored my old theme. I was initially really disappointed. Especially since I already paid the Developer’s License fee.

Then, I kept reading about Headway and posting some questions on their support forum. I found that while Headway’s community isn’t quite so big yet, they do have a handful of really helpful folks over at the forums. So, I decided to give it a go again.

Since it’s JMMO’s 5th birthday this month, I decided to give it the makeover treatment. It took me over a couple of hours to get the hang of it.

When I started getting to know how some parts of Headway’s visual editor works, I began to work quicker. And, I started liking it more. That’s why after over a year of being on my old plain blah Thesis theme, I managed to jazz up JMMO’s site a bit more. Nothing major (I’m still a Headway newbie after all), but at least my initial disappointment with Headway has been abated. The header uploader feature still doesn’t work (I’m using version 1.6 at the moment)… and the Visual Editor still freezes on me every now and then… plus, the whole “drag and drop” thing isn’t really as easy as they make it sound… some aspects of the layout still isn’t all that flexible.

But, having said all that, I like the fact that it IS possible to customise a blog site on WordPress using the Headway theme and make it look totally different from its original template. In fact, it’s even possible to come up with different themes and layouts for different pages of your site. Without tweaking any code – just using the visual editor. So, yeah, there’s potential here.

My plan is to play around with it a bit more to see if I can make it work the way I really want it to work. I’ll keep you posted.

What about you? What theme are you using on your WordPress site? Have you bought a Premium theme yet? If yes, which one and how do you like it? Have you tried Headway?

If you’re interested to give it a go too, check out Headway Themes.

And yes, they do have an affiliate programme, so you can sell the theme as well. The affiliate programme has its own tracking and reporting system so you can easily see your referrals, etc. Affiliates get paid 33% of final fee. And, there’s a $75 payment threshold (which sucks, as I’m really not a fan payment thresholds ).

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

Headway Premium Theme for WordPress: My First Impressions

Crowdsourcing has been around on the web as one way to make money for beginning freelancers. There are many online companies around catering for such a business.

One of these companies is CrowdSpring. They started off offering design jobs for crowdsourcing. A couple of weeks ago, they started offering writing projects too.

So, if you’re a publisher or a business that may be looking for content writers, you can post your requirements on the site. Writers or content providers can then browse the available projects to see if anything interests them.

If you’re interested, you can browse existing writing projects on CrowdSpring. There’s only a few projects available at the moment, as they only started. In any case, some available writing projects include: guest posting for blogs, website naming, and copywriting.

Do let us know if you have any feedback regarding CrowdSpring’s writing projects section – either as a publisher/business or a writer/content provider.

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

CrowdSpring Writing Projects

If you fancy the idea of making money from creating your own books, then Blurb might be of interest to you. It follows a DIY model of publishing books (similar to self-publishing). But, without all the hassle of coming up with a huge capital and plenty of unsold books in your garage.

In a nutshell, this is how Blurb works: You write your book. You take care of the typesetting and layout. You make sure the whole document is publication-ready. Then, upload your book on to the system. Once it’s ready to be published, you set a price if you wish to sell your book.

Then, you can order a book (or more) from your account, paying the base price. You can just mark-up the price if you wish to sell your book in person.

Or, if you don’t want the hassle of ordering too many books and selling them yourself, you just get people to buy your book directly from Blurb. Then, you get whatever profit/mark-up that you provide when you set your price. You keep the profit.

Some of the things that I like about Blurb:

• Clean interface; really pleasant site to look at;
• You can have your own little Blurb shop, if you wish. You can then share that link to people so that they can buy your books there;
• They have a free software application (called Blurb Booksmart, available both for Windows and Mac) that you can use to create your book – really handy if you want to make sure that your book is formatted for publication. It even has a built-in function that gives you warning signs if your image is not going to be publishable, etc.
• If you prefer to format your own book, that’s okay too;
• Basic books starting price is reasonable (approx. $5 for a 20-page Black and White Text book with coloured soft cover), prices go up from there, depending on the number of pages, etc;
• There are a number of options and pricing available – soft cover / hardcover, 4-colour/BW, etc.;
• Bulk discounts are available (if you buy 10 or more, you can buy your book at a lower price; the more books you buy, the higher your discount); and
• They seem to cater for a number of countries.

In any case, yes, it works pretty much like Lulu.com.

Since I haven’t tried using Blurb yet, I’m not sure about the printing quality of the books. I hope to be able to try it out one of these days and report my findings back here at some stage.

If you have given Blurb a try, do let us know what you think of it. Do you like it? What’s the quality of the printed books like? What about the service?

Right now, they’re currently running the 2009 Best Blurb Photo Books Contest. The grand prize winner gets to win $3,000. The runner-up wins $1,000. Then, there will be honourable mentions, who will then win $50 gift cards from Blurb.

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

Blurb: Make and Sell Your Books

When it comes to making money online, I have a soft spot for online content sites. There are many reasons behind this, and I think one one of them is the fact that it’s how I actually got started in this path on the web. Anyway, one of the places I have come across is a content site called LoveToKnow.

Admittedly, I haven’t tried writing for this site, and I haven’t even applied either. So, I’m not really sure about the whole process. All I know is that they have a permanent section for Hiring Writers, which includes some basic information about how to become a LoveToKnow writer.

Basically, all applicants should fill-in an online application form, which includes providing some basic personal information, choosing your areas of interests/expertise, and sending at least two writing samples. There are a variety of topics to choose from – from art and computers to baking and business, among many others. They also mention that they hire Site Editors.

When it comes to pay, acccording to the site: “Pay for approved writers starts at $20 per 650-word article, with a minimum of 20 articles required each month, pending acceptance.” I did not read any payment options for the Site Editor position.

Personally, I find that 20-article monthly minimum a bit daunting as a writer. Especially since each article should be 650 words – and it only pays $20 per article. Having said that, there aren’t a lot of content sites that offer much more than that, so it’s a competitive rate from what I know. It will just depend on how long it will take for an individual writer to complete each article, as well as the kind of rights the writers get.

In any case, I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have actually tried writing for LoveToKnow. And, if I ever give it a go myself, I will let you know.

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

LoveToKnow : For Online Content Writers

If you love writing about subjects like Technology, Science, Education, Games, Health, and similar subjects, then you might want to check out BrightHub. I have only just discovered this content site myself a few weeks ago, so I haven’t fully explored it yet. But, I have read some positive feedback from people who write for them.

How do you make money writing for Brighthub? Well, the first thing to do is to review their writers’ guidelines. If you’re happy with the type of work that you’re expected to do, their payments, and other terms, then you sign up for an account and apply as a writer. And, you can also apply to be a Contributing Editor.

You have to send in some personal details, as well as choose the areas that you wish to write for initially. You might also want to provide a writing sample, so the reviewers can assess your suitability. Once approved, you can work with your respective editors and submit articles for publication and payment.

So, what’s the remuneration like? Based on their site, they pay writers $10 for every accepted/published article, plus opportunities for revenue sharing.

The one thing that you must take note of, however, is that Brighthub requires their writers to give them full copyright to your articles. So, whatever you write for them should be original and cannot be published elsewhere.

If you’ve ever written from Brighthub, we’d appreciate to hear from you. It’ll be interesting to get some feedback about your work there.

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

Brighthub: Make Money Writing Web Content

Let me tell you something that I don’t get to talk about often. When I first started trying to make money online over 10 years ago, the very first place I found a gig in was at Suite101.com. Back then, I was happy to make something like $15 a month for writing 4 articles or something similar. And, as a managing editor of a channel, I was paid an extra $15 or so a month. I can’t remember the exact details anymore.

But yes, I was happy to find a writing job online that enabled me to do something I love – and get some extra cash at the same time. There were not a lot of those types of places back then. Especially because at that time, the web was primarily a “free” place. So, a lot of online magazines and e-newsletters offered just “free promotion” if you wrote for them.

About a year or so later, Suite101 ceased paying their writers for a certain period of time. I guess, they must have been re-assessing their business model at the time. During that period, I left Suite101.

A couple of years later, I believe they re-introduced a new payment scheme for their writers. And, that’s where they are at the moment.

Basically, as a Suite101 freelance writer:

• You get to choose a specified area of expertise/interest.
• You are expected to write approximately 10 articles every 3 months.
• You receive some “free writing training”.
• You get paid a revenue share, based on the advertising that are running on your topic.

Since I’m no longer affiliated with Suite101, I’m not quite sure what the “revenue share” really entail. And, how much money a typical Suite101 freelance writer gets in a month. However, I do know that some of my online writer contacts who are still writing for them and seem quite satisfied with their working and payment arrangements.

If you’re a Suite101 writer and/or someone who has written for them in the past, I’d love to get your feedback. Let us know what you think about what it’s like to be a Suite101 freelance writer.

If you’re interested, check out the Suite101 Freelance Writer’s Guidelines.

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

Suite101.com : Making Money as an Online Freelance Writer

I first heard of Oronjo a few months ago. However, I didn’t get the chance to check it out until recently.

So, what is it? Oronjo is a site that offers to help you to make money online by selling articles and other premium content on your blog or site. And, here’s a quick overview of its pros and cons:

The Good Stuff

• It’s free. Yes, there’s no cost to signing up and hosting your premium content for sale at the moment. They did say that they might offer some services for a fee one day. But, for now, it’s all free. The only fee you’ll incur will be those that are charged by Paypal/Google checkout.
• You can sell different types of files. And, you can sell articles for a fee. Files accepted include: PDF, DOC, EXE, MP3, JPG, etc. So yes, you can sell just about anything – from ebooks and audio files to software and photos.
• They offer 2 payments systems: Paypal and Google Checkout. Although you can get paid by buyers using either one of these systems, you can only really receive your payment via Paypal.
• It offers some selling tools – from shop buttons to graphical banners. You can add them to your web pages or blog posts.
• It integrates with WordPress blogs. Yes, there’s an Oronjo WordPress Plugin that you can use to integrate your shop with your blog.
• It offers a way to sell for charity. If money making for a good cause is something you’d like to do, you can easily integrate your choice of charity as a place to send your payments.
• There’s a Feed Available. So, people who want to watch your items via a feedreader can do so.

The Not-So-Nice Bits

• No shop front. I would’ve really preferred if there was a place to highlight all items that are available for sale from a single seller. I didn’t see this.
• No auto preview. People like to have an idea of what they’re buying. So, a preview of a photo or a file would’ve been nice. In any case, you can still offer a preview on your blog or site.
• Only 2 currencies available so far. Trading is only available using US$ and EUR.

As you can see, I don’t see of a lot of negatives of Oronjo so far. But admittedly, these three bits of negatives are of high importance to me. So, personally, I’m not sure if Oronjo will be the best selling solution for me if I decide to go this route of selling premium content. Also, I still have yet to see this system in full action. It will be interesting to see what it’s like from a buyer’s point of view. And, how quickly sellers get their payments.

If you have any experience with Oronjo, I’d love to hear from you.

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

Oronjo: Premium Content Marketplace

If you’ve ever considered selling premium content on your blogs or sites, then Klatcher might be a third party service that you might like to look in to. It’s free to use – and you can upload any type of files – text, photos, videos, podcasts, and other documents. But, the only guideline is for publishers to offer at least 10% of their uploaded content for sale.

They offer 65% revenue share (based on content sale price) with publishers. And, it’s all payable via Paypal.

Also, they have offered 10 cents per 99 views to all publishers with a US bank account. But, I’m not certain how long this offer will last.

I haven’t given it a full go just yet, so I’m not sure how the service works. And since I’m based in Australia, their offer of pay-per-view isn’t something I can check.

In any case, if you try it out, I’d be interested to hear from you.

Anyway, for more ideas, here’s a video on Klatcher:

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

Klatcher: Sell Premium Online Content

A few weeks ago, I came across another content site where you can make money online. It’s called HubPages . The basic idea is that you can make money either through (or both):

1) Affiliate Referrals – You sign-up in their affiliate programme and you promote different articles called “hubs” using your unique affiliate referral tracking links.

2) Writing Content via Revenue Share – You write content about any topic you might have in mind (or create content as a response to requested topics).

With the revenue share, you need to provide your affiliate account info with: Google Adsense, Amazon, Kontera, and/or eBay Affiliate Network. From HubPages:

After you’ve joined the affiliate programs from eBay, Amazon and Google, ads for these three companies (and we’re looking to add more) appear on your Hubs. Any revenue generated during one of your impressions (a click-through with Google, an actual purchase with Amazon or eBay) is 100% yours.

HubPages splits the impressions with you in the following way:

1. Your own Hubs: Hubbers receive 60% of total impressions.
2. The HubPages Affiliate Program: You can refer new writers to HubPages and they become Hubbers within 30 days, you receive an additional 10% of their Hubs’ lifetime impressions.
3. Traffic Referral Program: If you send traffic to any Hub, you’re entitled to either 9% or 12% of total impressions. You’ll receive 9% if the Hub you’ve referred people to already has impressions allocated to an Affiliate. If there are no Affiliates, you’ll receive 12% of the total impressions.

Whatever is left from the splits above goes to HubPages. Note that these splits apply only to HubPages and User Profile pages. On all other pages, such as a referral to a Tag page or the HubPages home page, you’ll receive 30% on a traffic referral, with HubPages getting the rest.

Basically, it reminds me a lot of Squidoo, with some adjustments here and there (and not as many affiliate link partnerships). One thing I like about it is that it seems to have a decent community. And, the points system seem to encourage better content quality (or at least, better networking skills).

I have yet to see what are the advantages (or disadvantages) of Hubpages, compared to other content revenue/affiliate sharing sites. If you have any experience working with HubPages, I’d love to get your feedback.

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

HubPages: Writing Content for Cash

Images help everyone get noticed. That’s why businesses try to use them as effectively as possible. That’s why they’ve become staples in blogs and websites.

Now, you may have noticed that I’ve been testing out this image service that’s currently still in beta called PicApp* here at JMMO. Over the last couple of weeks or so, I’ve been trying to incorporate more images in this blog, using their service. Before trying out PicApp, I’ve only ever used photos that I took myself – or free stock images from Microsoft, sxc.hu, and public domain.

So, what do I think of it so far?

The Good:

• The service is completely free. All that’s needed for anyone to use their images is to sign up at their site.
• They have a huge amount of photos. They have stuff from various events (like the Olympics) and celebrities – to conceptual photos (similar to the ones I share here primarily). They even photos from the big photo agencies like Getty Images and Jupiter.
• They have built-in embedding/sharing functions. So, when you post them on your blog or site, people can easily share those images in their own blogs, social networks, and such.
• You don’t need to worry about copyright! They take care of that for you.
• The site offers a search function to help you find the right image you need.
• There’s SOME image control: You can choose from 3 different sizes, alignment, and text wrap.
• Well I haven’t had direct contact with them, I’ve heard a lot of good things about the folks that run PicApp. I believe they’re genuinely interested in trying to keep improving the service.

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

To PicApp or Not To PicApp?