Ever since Twitter became the latest biggest thing online, people have been trying to find different ways to make money from it. I have shared some of these ideas here at JMMO in the past. And, I thought I’d share another one that I came across recently.

You see, one of Amazon’s recent affiliate tool is a great way to make money using Twitter by linking to books and other products on Amazon using the Site Stripe. All you need to do is visit a product page while you’re logged in as an Amazon Affiliate (as well as logged in to your Twitter account), and you can find the “Share on Twitter” link via the Site Stripe (found near the top of the web page). Click on that link and you’ll have a readymade Tweet that you can use as is, or edit accordingly.

Now, how will this work best?

Well, say you wish to Tweet about a book that you’re reading or a product that you want to buy. Now, you can easily link to whatever you wish to talk about that’s also available via Amazon (using your affiliate ID). And, your contacts can readily check out the product via Amazon using your affiliate link on Twitter. If they decide to buy, you get the commission.

It’ll be interesting to see how people will use this tool.

Also Read Amazon’s Social Networking FAQ

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

Make Money with Twitter Idea: Link with Amazon Affiliate

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

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?

If you’re looking to make money online by getting a social media job, then the new job board, Social Media Jobs might be of help to you. They list jobs in one of these categories: Tech, Community, Exec, Strategy, Designers, Evangelists, Consultants, PR, or Misc.

There’s still not a lot of jobs listed, but it does look like an interesting service for a particular niche of job seekers. And, while the site is based in Australia, there seems to be jobs available in other countries too.

And, of course, if you’re looking for someone to hire in the social media field for your business, then it might be a good place for you to post your job opening.

Anyway, if you want to keep in touch with openings, there’s an RSS feed available for subscription. The site is managed by Gavin Heaton.

Hat tip: Des Walsh

Image source: SocialMediaJobs, Edits – Shai Coggins

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

Social Media Jobs: Job Board for Connectors

Are you thinking of a way that you can make money online with the U.S. Election? Well, social networking/mini-blogging site Plurk is offering $5,000 worth of prizes in cash (and via gift certificates).
All you need to do is be a member of Plurk, then ask your friends to vote in your mini election page. Plurkers with the most votes in their mini election pages will win prizes.
According to the Plurk site, the prizes offered in the contest are as follows:

• Grand Prize – $2,000USD for the user holding the largest (based on total number of votes cast) Plurk the Vote mini-election.
• Second Prize – $1,000USD for the user holding the second largest (based on total number of votes cast) Plurk the Vote mini-election.
• Third Prize – $500USD for the user holding the third largest (based on total number of votes cast) Plurk the Vote mini-election
• Runner-up Prizes – $250USD will be randomly awarded to THREE of the remaining top TWENTY FIVE Plurk the Vote mini-election holders. The random draw of all eligible entries for the runner-up prizes will take place within 48 hours of the contest deadline and potential winners will be notified by email within 72 hours of the contest deadline.
• Daily Voter Prizes – 30 $25USD Amazon.com Gift Certificate will be awarded at the end of the contest. One entry will be randomly selected from the pool of all voters in any given day over the 30 day duration of the election.

By the way, only U.S. residents are eligible to win cash prizes. However, anyone from around the world may sign up and use Plurk, as well as send in their votes.

To see a sample mini-election, this is my mini election page on Plurk (no, I can’t win the prize as I’m non-U.S. based). If you’re not a Plurk member yet, go and sign up. It’s free and easy.

Image source: original logo, Plurk; edited by Shai Coggins

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

Hold a Plurk Election, Win Some Money! {$5,000 Worth of Prizes}

If you’re wondering how you can monetise Facebook, then here are some ideas for you -

1. Find new business clients. Whether you’re a consultant, a writer, a photographer, an illustrator, or any other kind of freelance or online business worker, you can find new clients using this popular social networking site. Read more about finding clients on different sites.

2. Use various apps that enable you to make money. Some examples include: MarketLodge or TwitCash. You might also want to include apps by other money making ventures like Tradebit. Check some services or affiliate programmes and see if they have a Facebook app that you can use.

3. Use Facebook’s Marketplace. The Marketplace offers you ways to sell your stuff – either old or new. You can even look for jobs.

4. Advertise your business or service using Facebook’s Classified Ads. Although you’re not allowed to advertise your business or service in the Marketplace, you can still advertise them using their Facebook’s ad service.

5. Promote links to your blogs or website. This way, you can attract people to whatever you’re selling or promoting on your blog or site.

6. Be a Facebook App Developer. If you have skills in developing online applications (like those popular apps like Warbook, SuperPoke, Graffiti, etc), you might want to consider promoting your services to individuals or companies who might want their own Facebook app.

So, how do you use Facebook? Do you try to make money online through this social networking site?

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

6 Ways to Make Money Online with Facebook

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?

Podcasting for Profit author Leesa Barnes conducted a Social Media IQ Survey a couple of months ago. And, some of the results of the survey came up with the following information (via Suzanne Falter-Barnes):

• 5 in 10 business leaders spend 2 to 5 hours per week using social media
• 9 in 10 believe social media is somewhat or very important to their business strategy
• Despite their awareness of social media, 4 in 10 haven’t made any money using social media
• Only 1 in 10 have earned $10,000 or more using social media

Of course, I’m taking this data with a grain of salt. Without seeing any ‘real’ numbers and information (e.g., # of survey participants, basic demographic of participants, etc.), it’s not easy to make proper judgments based on these reported findings. But, in any case, I’m still noting these points:

• There are people making money using social media. (Which ones? Well… we still have to figure that out. )
• Some people are definitely using social media as part of their business strategies.
• There are those who may not be using social media just yet. But, they are slowly becoming aware that they need to look in to it.
• Awareness and actual use of social media don’t always yield profit.

What about you? Do you use social media at all? What about trying to use them to make money online?

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

On Making Money with Social Media

Social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon, Digg, Sphinn and Propeller are taking the Internet by storm, and it’s because they’ve been helping Internet marketers promote their products and services quickly and efficiently. Social bookmarking has become one of the best modes of viral marketing, not to mention the best fallback method of traffic building during this Google dance season.

However, not a lot of people do understand the very nature of social bookmarks. Thus, they can’t make the traffic that comes from these sites to linger and make most of the site. What are the right ways to do it then? Here are some tips that can maximize the traffic that comes from social bookmarks:

1. Use common SEO techniques – Make sure your headline can draw attention. Your title should create an impact, if you want your targeted audience to click on your articles and bookmark them into their own bookmarking sites. You should also focus on your description. It doesn’t have to be provocative, just enough to capture their curiosity. Nevertheless, it’s always important to never resort to exaggeration only to increase their interest. Creating a title such as “5 Ways to Cross the English Channel Alone” may only merit your article as a joke.

2. Sustain their interest all throughout the paragraphs. Oftentimes you’ve heard of suggestions to concentrate on your first paragraph. Ideally, that’s the way to go. However, it doesn’t mean you have to forget the remaining ones. One of the best ways to sustain their interest is to settle for short paragraphs. This way, the white space can provide comfort for their eyes, and they don’t easily get tired reading your articles. Most of all, be personal in your approach. Talk as if your audience is just in front of you. Being conversational always goes a long way.

3. Add bookmarking buttons on your site. StumbleUpon, Digg, del.icio.us, and other social bookmarking sites all have buttons that you can add to your site, or even in your articles. This will make it very much easy for visitors to bookmark articles and eventually share those articles to their network.

4. Choose the right category. There are times when you can never be found in social bookmarking websites simply because you have chosen the wrong category or you haven’t picked any. Categories make it very much convenient for your targeted audience to search for articles and sites that they can add into their bookmarks. Hence, don’t pick Technology if you’re talking about Diabetes. If you can’t find any category, feel free to contact the social bookmark sites’ webmasters.

5. Build your network. Being a lonely wolf doesn’t get you anywhere. There are a number of average stories that gain popularity simply because they have solid network of friends who are helping them in Digg-ing or Stumbling for traffic. Thus, ensure that you can have time to take a look at other people’s profiles and start building your contact list.

6. Don’t submit stale news. Remember what they say, “Old news is already history.” . Gather stories that haven’t been talked about yet or add a twist to that topic. You can even go for something controversial as long as you remain objective. Go for how-to’s (StumbleUpon traffic magnet). They’re timeless.

7. Make your RSS feeds subscription chicklet, button, or link and email newsletter subscription options obvious. You can tweak your blog’s layout and set your single post pages to have all the tools that help convert traffic to regular visitors readily available or accessible.

8. Make it a point to understand what type of content your network of social bookmarking friends love. StumbleUpon stumblers (as mentioned love lists and how-to’s) differ from Diggers (games and tech news). See what works for your site and keep on providing relevant content that’s tailored to a certain social bookmarking site’s traffic.

Now rinse and repeat!

So would you mind adding this post to your bookmark of choice?

image from sxc.hu 

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

8 Ways to Increase the Chances of Making Traffic from Social Bookmarks Stay