Monday, October 29, 2007

Taking The Plunge ...

Ok, I have a confession to make (what, another one Nick?). I've jumped onto the paid postings bandwagon about a month or so ago and have since then done about 6 assignments. I've always had my reservations about this and have been really skeptical. I refused to even consider doing it. I'm stubborn and when I make my mind up about something, I normally refuse to budge! Actually it was my wife who kinda convinced me to join up.

She's been blogging longer than I have, well, maybe about a week or so longer ... LOL! When we both first started blogging, we never were huge fans of paid postings. We'd normally skip the blogs that contain loads of them cos they were not really postings. They were more like ads. It's not the kind of blogs I'd like to read.

Then about 2 or so months ago, my wife threw caution to the wind and went full scale into the world of paid postings. Initially I thought she'd lost it ... hehehe ... I asked her what got into her and she said if she was going to be blogging all day, she might as well make a little side money out of it. So I went like ...

'Uh huh, whatever honey ...' (LOL!)

She would feverishly log on constantly and check if there were any assignments waiting for her and if there were, she'd snap it up instantly. I seriously thought her blog was going to get fewer visitors (She has quite a huge number regular bloggers who visit her daily). And I was thinking eventually they would stop visiting her. I mean who really wants to read lots of paid postings right?

But you know, I was absolutely wrong about this. Her viewership went up instead. I had like 1000 visitors more than her and she is actually catching up with me pretty fast. And you know why? It's the way she writes her paid postings. She doesn't just see them as something she's paid to do, she sees them as something of a challenge. And that doesn't turn people off. Any assignment that she gets, she does quite a bit of research on it and then she tries to find something about her personal life or daily happenings that compliments or relates to the assignment and she makes that paid post her own and really personal. And she's getting better at it with every assignment.

That's when I started getting a little interested in it. I was thinking if I could make these assignments run along closely with something that relates to my personal life and if I could make some money from it, then why not? I created this blog strictly for my personal rantings and experiences and I still stand by that belief. I don't want this blog to be boring and I sincerely hope it's not. I'd like it to be a part of me, a part of what I really am in real life, a glimpse of my inner thoughts.

So I signed up with a few of these websites offering these paid assignments. I wasn't 100% convinced yet but I wanted a feel for things first. My blog was accepted and approved but I still didn't want to start or accept any assignments yet. Then I checked out some of the blogs I visit on a regular basis and there are a few that do these assignments pretty well, they make it so personal that sometimes you find it hard to tell if they're really paid postings or sponsored posts. Here are some fine examples of some pretty good paid postings that I think makes the post sound more like a personal one. The only giveaway were the sponsored links attached.

Drive Baby Drive! by Nessa of Mumblings.
Me, Myself and I by Cindy of Foreign Beauty.
I lost my favourite pen! by Shemah of My Sweet Escape.
I want to RIP my hair out! by DiamondsSapphire of Nonsense, Fun, Tears, Happiness & Anger ...

So, I toughened up, took a huge deep breath and about a month ago, I actually posted my first ever assignment. And since then I think I've posted about 6 so far. And I've been paid for all of it already too :) And every single word in those posts are related to some of my personal experiences and thoughts. And I've decided that's the only way I'd do any of these assignments. I've rejected (well, not really rejected, just didn't do them) so many assignments given to me cos I found I couldn't write anything or relate it to any of my personal experiences. So, you might say I'm really very picky about the assignment I am given.

Some of you may say I've sold out, so be it. If I could post something that relates to my personal experiences and get paid for doing it, now that's a good deal isn't it? And with that big motor mouth that I have I don't think it would be too much of a problem for me ... LOL! Then again, it just might be a little problem. I have this assignment waiting for me and it's about Vegas and for the life of me I don't know how I'm ever going to relate that to something personal of mine. I've never ever been to Vegas in my life and all I know about Vegas is what I see on CSI ... LOL! Oh well, nobody said doing this was a piece of cake, right ...

39 comments:

  1. Yay first commenter! You and wifey seem to be doing really well on your paid postings, oh and Spiff too! Keep up the great work! :):):)

    Genie Princess

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  2. Yup, you're the first commenter. Well, wifey is doing a much better job than me with this paid posting thingy. I'm just really starting out and still very picky with my choice of assignments ... hehehe ...

    As for Spiff, it's kinda slow cos apparently, the blog is still too young! Drats!

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  3. Nick, its so nice to hear that your wife is doing all so well for paid post yet not losing her readership. That is one thing I fear too when doing paid post. Some writers can write post so personal that it really doesn't seem like a paid post I really admire their writing style.

    All the best to you & wifey :)

    Janice Ng

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  4. Hey Janice, she's not really that concerned about her readership but it's good to know that she still gets her regular visitors and some new ones returning to her page even after doing paid postings ...

    Yes, you're right about other bloggers out there who have this great writing style that it puts me to shame!

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  5. i started blogging 4 mths ago, all thanks to cindy who introduced me to paid postings.I hope to get extra moolah..hehe good for you and your wife,both get extra moolah and not loosing your readers.I Have to improve my paid posting skills or i'll loose all my readers,grrr..

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  6. I don't think I would be any good at that to tell you the truth. I can't even do things like Sunday Scribblings because I can't write with a prompt. It has to come from within but hey if you can make some coin out of it I say go for it.

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  7. I'm totally lost... where can I read your wife's blog, btw?

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  8. Very smooth, bud. You really nipped it in the butt here. Bravo.

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  9. Good for you Buddy! You're doing it your way! :) Keep it up! Loads of money to be made so its good that you're getting the piece of the pie! :) Speaking of pie...with all that moolah will you be making a paid feast for you good buddy! :)

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  10. Nick - isn't that what GOOGLE is for? It will take you "there" so you can write.

    I have no problem with this paid thing and I appreciate the examples you offered. I've never heard of it, but....

    Go for it!

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  11. Shana, yeah, it's always good to get extra moolah, especially for doing something that you like ... LOL!

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  12. Gypsy, the thing with me is I've got loads of rubbish running through my brain, so why not let people pay me for writing it down, ya? LOL

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  13. BT, You're totally lost? LOL! Hmmm, my wife's blog, eh? I'll private the address to you. The two of us have this arrangement to remain anonymous online, I know, I know, we're a little strange ... LOL!

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  14. Big Pumpkin, welcome to my blog. Are you by any chance the head honcho of Halloween? LOL! Just kidding.

    Thanx for you compliments (*blush*)

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  15. Adrian buddy, of cos there will be a paid feasting for you ... LOL! What's the point of making all that money and not spending it on good buddies ... hehehe ... When you gonna sell out like me and start paid postings? :D

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  16. AB, yeah, I suppose that is what Google is there for ... LOL! Thanx for the vote of support. When I rake in my millions, I'll put your name in my will ... LOL!

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  17. Eh, I thought I've commented on this post, but seems like I did not! Oh my... I'm getting old when I'm not supposed to!

    Thanks for the link back, Nick. Aiyoyo... I so malu kena mentioned like that. :P

    Hey, good luck in your paid posting journey. Happy making money online! :D Perhaps we all can finally go visit Vegas someday! :D :D

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  18. Now I'm tempted to do the paid posting stuff. Goodness knows I can use the extra cash to feed my yarn addiction.

    I know some bloggers do indicate that the particular post is a sponsored post. If I omit that bit, it seems like deceiving the weirdos that actually like reading my blog. On the other hand... eh, I really don't know.

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  19. And you do so well with yours too Nick.. ching ching...:-)

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  20. Hello Nick! Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.You have wonderful blogs that are great to read. I wish you best of luck with your cooking. Cheers!

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  21. Cindy, must be the cough la ... LOL! You're welcome on the link back, nothing to be malu about la ... hehehe ...

    Urrmmm, I think I'd have to do paid postings for about 3 or 4 centuries before I could to go to Cheras let alone Vegas ... LOL!

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  22. Lis, yarn addiction? Whoa, that's deep! LOL!

    What's a little bit of deceiving among friends :D

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  23. Spicegirl, thanx for dropping by and welcome to my humble blog. Hope to see yo around more often.

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  24. keep up the good job nick, there is nothing wrong i guess with paid opps, i will be checking out those posts of yours still and congrats by the way on the approval of your site^^, a thoughtful blogger like you deserve some extra bucks, don't you think so?

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  25. Yes. There is a RIGHT WAY and a WRONG WAY to write paid posts...sounds like your wife is a SMART lady.

    I dont have ANY ads on my 'personal' blog page, I think its tacky.... but I do rock ads on my 'professional' blog. Because thats where they belong.

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  26. People will read as long as the writer is true to themselves. You still write what means something to you, which makes and interesting read. If you can make a buck or two. Go for it!

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  27. Lord Manila Stone, Thanx. Yeah but I'm still kinda skeptical with paid postings so I'll only post things that I find I can relate with.

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  28. Meleah, I agree with you on the tacky part but unfortunately my other blog is just too new to even get approved for any paid postings, so this blog will have to suffer some tacky sponsored postings for now ... LOL!

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  29. Micki, thanx for your show of suport :) I'll definitely be giving it a try seeing as how my wife has been pretty successful with it. She's my guinea pig when it comes to trying new stuff out. I'll let her try it and if it's good, I'll jump on the bandwagon ... LOL!

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  30. thanks for linking back to me!:D

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  31. its just too tempting not to write paid post, what's more it is in USD. everyone can use a little extra money.. just make sure we continue to write good posts to make the reader keep comign back.. :)

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  32. Cbenc12, oh I have to agree with you. It's just too tempting for us here to not want to do paid postings especially when it's in USD :)

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  33. Shana, you're welcome but I can't for the life of me find the part where I linked you ... LOL!

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  34. wait till i do my own plunge as well...let's see, i have like one month to go before my blog matured...LOL

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  35. Carol, one month is not too long to wait. Before you know it, it'll be time to do your paid postings ... LOL!

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  36. What do you need to know? I'm right here in Vegas!

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  37. MP, you're from Vegas? That's cool :) The things I need to know about Vegas could take up an entire post ... LOL! Let me think and get back to you.

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  38. Hey everyone,
    Check out http://www.quizlee.com/web-lingo to see how much of a web lingo expert you really are. Apparently I have no clue when it comes to the stuff! LOL

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