It seems like it has been a while since I shared a round-up of online business-related links that I’ve enjoyed reading lately. So, here you go…

• eBay Australia Moves to Single Payment System – ZDnet talks about eBay Australia’s attempt to get all its users to make use of Paypal as its payment system. Interesting discussions from different readers follow.
• WordPress Plugin Contest – About $3,500 worth of prizes for people who can develop good plugins.
• Monetizing WordPress Plugins – Just found this old post by Lorelle and thought I’d share it here.
• eShopOwner – Here’s another b5 biz blog. Written by Suzanne, it’s all about making money online through selling.

I was planning on sharing more, but my Internet connection’s really acting up right now. So perhaps, you can fill in here and share some of YOUR favourite links of the week in the comments section? Really great links may be featured in the future!

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

Link Love Tuesday

I love Flickr. It’s not perfect. In fact, I have a long wish list when it comes to this service – including better protection for photographers and artists. But, in spite of its shortcomings, I’ve been a loyal customer since 2004 – long before it was acquired by Yahoo (and paying for a Pro account every year since ’06).

And, while there are no direct ways to make money online with Flickr, there are ways you can use the site to help you in your business/career. Here are some ideas:

1) Take a photo of a product and put a link to your affiliate link via notes function. To see a sample of this idea in action, click on the photo of books on the right hand side. You will then be taken to the image’s Flickr page. Once you’re there, put your cursor over the books and you’ll see notes with affiliate links to Amazon.

2) Make your picture available as stock photo and put a link to your sales or downloads page. If you use a service like Tradebit, for example, you can mention in your photo description that a higher resolution/non-watermarked version of your photo is available for download.

3) If you sell on eBay, Etsy, or your own shop, you can take a photo of your product and put a link to your store front. Many Flickr crafters tend to use this approach. Flickr then helps to introduce your products to people. One example is artist and designer Elsie Flannagan: when she has a new piece available for sale, she uploads an image like this and mentions that it’s available as a print or original in her Etsy shop. Another example is Mahar Dry Goods, run by Robert Mahar who tend to upload new product photos on Flickr, and his profile reflects the fact that he is the owner of craft gift shop for kids (with a link to shop front).

4) Build your portfolio and market your service/business. Even if you don’t have products to sell, but you have a service to offer, you can use Flickr as one of your online portfolios. This especially useful for artists, photographers, illustrators and designers. Many folks have claimed to have gained new clients based on their Flickr account. One such person is author/illustrator Debbie Ohi. You can see that her profile reflects the nature of her work and that she accepts commissions.

5) When you use a photo on your blog that you uploaded on Flickr, add a link to your blog post or portfolio site. If your blog runs ads, product sales and/or affiliates, then you might get new customers too.

6) Sell them as prints. You can either use a third party service for creating high quality prints, or you can do the printing yourself if you have the equipment and knowledge to do so. Mention that your photos are available as prints in the description and/or your profile.

7) Create products off your photography. Flickr, for example, has a partnership with Qoop, where various products like mugs, keychains and photobooks may be created based on your Flickr photos. You can create them there and resell those products. Another option is making your own image-based products available on Cafepress. Again, you can mention the availability of these products in the description and/or your profile.

Some Bonus Tips:

1. Make sure you upload a good quality image. Otherwise, it will not encourage people to buy your products or use your services.

2. Adding good titles and descriptions are always helpful.

3. Don’t forget to add tags! Tagging helps to get your images to show in relevant searches.

4. Never ever oversell. Flickr users will know if you’re just using the service to peddle your products/services. Don’t plaster “for sale” signs.

5. Join groups and participate in them. Send some of your good images to these groups (within the group rules). Communities help!

6. Add friends and leave comments. Being an active participant is a good thing.

7. Promote your Flickr photos on your blog, your email signature, and anywhere else you can think of.

8. There are 2 versions of Flickr – a Free and Pro version. With the Free one, you have limited number of uploads in a month, plus a few other restrictions. But, it’s still worth using. The Pro version has unlimited uploads and a few other perks – like getting your photos organised in several sets and collections.

So, do you use Flickr at all? And, do you have any other money-generating ideas with the use of Flickr?

Image credit: Shai Coggins

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

7 Ways to Make Money on Flickr (+ Bonus Tips)

I love comments. People’s feedback help me to improve this blog – and my other ideas. So, every now and then, I like featuring some outstanding comments from JMMO readers like this one from Regan Ware on the $100 Challenge

Hey Shai,

I love this idea, it has so much potential on the teaching/coaching side. I started a mini challenge with my dad, I called it gBay – from garage sales to ebay. We had to go and buy things from garage sales and sell them on ebay to make a profit. I made made -$1.50, but learnt so much (we had to put it on hold due to personal reasons).

I would not have thought about challenging myself if it wasn’t for your blog, I can’t wait for your next challenge to start!! I love reading your stuff it’s so inspiring. Take care. (~ from this post)

Other than Regan’s kind words, what I like about this comment is the story of taking on one of my challenges and turning it in to a real activity – a move towards trying to make money online. And, I really, really like Regan’s idea of making money off garage sale finds.

Again, thanks Regan. I really appreciate your comment. And, I’m hoping to start another $100 Challenge some time.

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

Featured Comment: The $100 Challenge and Regan’s gBay

Can you create 10 lenses in 10 days on Squidoo about everything surrounding eBay and the stuff you sell? If you’re up for the challenge, then you might want to join the Squidoo-Ebay Challenge.

What if you don’t have a Squidoo account yet? Then I encourage you to sign up now.

What if you don’t sell on eBay? Well, I’m sure you can still join. Just create lenses about the stuff you like to buy on eBay.

So, other than the possibility of making money with your lenses and affiliate links within your lenses, you can also get the chance to win the following prizes from the challenge:

- A free ipod
- The lucky winner also gets one of their eBay lenses showcased as the Squidoo Lens of the Day on June 19 (The first day of eBay live)
- And gets featured as a case study in Seth Godin’s talk at eBay Live!

The challenge runs from 4th June to 17th June 2008.

When you’re done, email all 10 URLs to ebayaward@squidoo.com.

Some helpful articles that you might want to read:

• eBay Selling 101
• Tips on eBay Selling
• A Guide on How to Make Money with Squidoo
• How to Make Money Online with Squidoo

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

The Squidoo-Ebay 10 Lenses Challenge

This is part of the A-Z of Making Money Online series. This series covers the various ways of making money online, in alphabetical order.

eBay – One of the most popular online marketplaces. Plenty of people make full time and part time incomes from eBay. Also see tips on eBay selling and eBay Selling 101.

eBooks – Developing information products is another popular way of making money online. Creating and/or selling eBooks is a common route.

eHow – A content site where writers can make money online.

eCrater – If you’d like your own free online store for your products.

Etsy – If you’re in to handicrafts and art, then you should be hanging out at Etsy. It’s a great place to make money online doing something you love to do.

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

E is for…

This article is contributed by Heather Johnson.
Please see the end of this article for her bio.

There are many “power sellers” on eBay who make a full-time living from the online auction site. Surprisingly, this isn’t a hard market to get into. However, there are some helpful tricks that will help you to maximize your earning potential and compete with other sellers. Below are five tips for becoming a more effective eBay seller.

1. List Your Items at the Right Time – Many buyers wait to bid on eBay items until the very end of the auction. If your items end at a time of day when the site is very active, your buyers will be more likely to get into a bidding war. In other words, the auction will end at a higher price. Make sure you don’t list items at a time when the auctions end during odd hours.

2. Mistype Your Auction Title – In addition to correctly spelling your item’s name, you could also include a common misspelling of the item. That way, those who search eBay with the incorrect spelling will find your auction. There are even sites, such as Mistyped Auctions, that will help you to determine how items are commonly misspelled. For example: “Guitar Hero” is commonly mistyped as “Gutiar Hero.”

3. Offer Good Pictures – Not only are images essential when making eBay sales, you need to take quality, detailed pictures. The first picture is free to list, so you may want to consider typing your description in HTML to add more images for free. That way, you can host images on Photobucket or Flickr, and then put them into your description’s code.

4. Don’t Gouge Shipping Prices – Never overcharge for shipping and then cite that extra charge as a “handling fee.” If you really think you deserve a handling fee, then put it into the listing price and not the shipping. Buyers will often choose one listing over the other because it offers a more reasonable shipping fee.

5. Research an Item on eBay Before Listing – Research each item on eBay before you list it. If you are convinced a certain item is worth $10 and you find that same item readily selling on eBay for $2, then you may have to adjust your strategy accordingly.

eBay sales can be unpredictable at times, but you can really tip things in your favor by following the above advice. There are eBay power sellers who make millions each year and everyone needs to start somewhere. With some careful determination, you too could become the next eBay success story.

About the Contributor:
Heather Johnson is a freelance writer, as well as a regular commentator on the topic of airline miles cards. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.

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

5 Tips for Effective eBay Selling

I love eBay. After over 5 years of using it both as a buyer and a seller, I’ve hardly ever had bad experiences. The extent of my bad experiences before was just one non-paying bidder (who left a negative!) and buyers/sellers who withhold positive feedback.

But, lately, my bad experiences seem to be increasing. So, I decided that I’ll start taking more notes here. As a reminder to me of bad selling and buying experiences, as well as to serve as case studies/learning experiences. And also, as a warning to other folks.

Bad Buying Experiences:

• mycameras2006 – Bought a camera remote from this seller. I paid as soon as the transaction closed. The item took a long time to get shipped. I had to file a Paypal/eBay dispute to get the seller to take action. After a few weeks, the item finally arrived. I left a neutral feedback due to shipping slowness and the seller’s poor communication. The seller retaliated with a neutral feedback and accused me of being personally abusive. Seller also receives negative and neutral feedback regularly plus receives similar complaints of being slow in shipping. So, I know it’s not just me.

  LESSON/TIP: Make sure to check not just the seller’s feedback. Also check seller’s habits of leaving feedback. What kind of things do they say to other folks? It says something about the seller.

• jupiter-fam – Also known as Virginia’s Collectibles. I bought a bunch of craft-related items from this person that never arrived. I was told that it was shipped. And, I was even promised that a second batch was sent. No tracking numbers were ever sent both times. Resorted to Paypal/eBay dispute. Paypal/eBay ended up refunding me for my payment (thank goodness!). When I left negative, the seller continued to lie in her replies to my feedback. This one’s a Power Seller who receives negative feedback on a regular basis. Yet, her average is still at 99%. Similar complaints. Shows that the ‘Power Sellers’ symbol doesn’t always protect you.

  LESSON/TIP: Make sure you check seller’s feedback before buying. Don’t rely on the Power Sellers symbol or the overall feedback score.

What about you? What have been your bad experiences with eBay? Any sellers you’ll never buy from – and why? And, if you were to have an eBay wish list to protect you from such bad experiences, what will be included in your list?

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

Bad eBay Experiences

Apparently, a few eBay sellers are holding a strike between the 18th of Feb to the 25th of Feb 2008. This is in protest of some changes that eBay are implementing, such as: new fees, inability of sellers to leave negative comments for buyers, and changing the way listings come up (smaller sellers get less chance to be seen in search).

Here’s an “eBay Revolution” video from folks who wish to stage the eBay strike:

As a former eBay seller, I think I can understand where these sellers are coming from. It really makes eBay a tough place for smaller, independent sellers to rise the search listings. Thus, making it more difficult for new folks to make money from eBay. Plus, this change makes sellers vulnerable to buyers who are malicious.

However, will it really make a difference if a few folks ban eBay? Most likely, the majority will continue with their businesses.

Anyway, it looks like a few sellers already moved on. CNN Money does a small feature on some former eBay sellers and where they’re now selling.

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

eBay Strike?!

If you’re not one of the e-tailers laughing all the way to the bank during the Holidays, nor one of those virtual assistants who actually consider the holidays as one of the busiest times of the year, how do you make money online before wrapping Christmas gifts for everyone?

Do you have a blog? Optimize it.

It’s a no-brainer if you have been in the online publishing industry for quite some time. But if you’ve just started with your niche blogging, tweak, tweak and tweak to make it useful for people looking for some gift ideas and you’ll see your ad earnings shoot up in no time. Or if you dislike AdSense, how about affiliate products? Any blog or website with a theme will most probably have an affiliate product match.

Got gadgets you no longer use? Auction them off on eBay.

I find myself collecting stuff that I don’t really use these past few months. And I’m sure this bit of advice from Chris Pirillo might work for me, too, if only eBay Philippines has the same enthusiastic buyers as that of eBay US.

Are you blog savvy? Be a part of the Problogger Community Consulting 2.0 project.

This is Darren Rowse’s version of paid blog review. Darren will charge $250 and part of it will go to one of those people who add his or her two cents worth of advice. I don’t think someone’s going to get just two cents though. Here’s one of the reasons why Darren’s charging $250:

It will enable us to offer the wider ProBlogger community an incentive to participate (there will be a prize for one person who gives advice).

Who knows that one person might be you, right?

image from sxc.hu

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

How to Make Money Online During the Holidays