Make money online

Is Cash 4 Gold a Scam?

Scam or Legit?

I’ve been seeing commercials and other ad’s for this Cash 4 Gold deal for awhile now, and finally requested a packet to be sent to me. I have some old gold jewelry that I don’t wear, that’s super 80’s style, and it wasn’t worth much of anything at our local pawn shop or jewelry buyer. So, I thought maybe I’d send it in, see what I get, right? It’s pretty much worthless right now anyway, so no big loss if I’m unhappy with their service.

RipoffReport.com

I checked them out on one of my favorite research sites, Ripoff Report, and they gave the company really great ratings, and said that while people have reported problems and complaints about Cash4Gold on their site, that the Cash4Gold company has been great at addressing them and offering solutions.

My Experience with Ripoff Report

I used to work for a company called HouseValues, and loved it. I sold services and products, via cold calling, to Real Estate professionals across the country. I KNEW that I was providing quality services, since I had so many clients who, 3-4 months after using our products, would call me and tell me how I literally changed their life. Their business had grown so much, they were meeting so many goals… It’s a really great feeling to know that you’re truly helping people!

But… There were always those clients who signed up with unrealistic goals, or were the type to be unhappy about everything, and would say that we were a “scam”. That’s how I found Ripoff Report for the first time, because a client told me that my company was on there! After reading the complaints listed, I was so shocked… Much of it was totally off base, and not at all what we do.

Grain of Salt…

So, I learned that you have to take those types of complaints with a bit of skepticism. Especially when we later found out that some complaints, once investigated, were not even real customers, but competitors.

Even so, I’ve used Ripoff Report for years now, to research new companies that I might want to use or promote. You can learn a lot by reading the “complaints”, and can usually tell pretty quickly if they are legitimate problems, or just “sour grapes” type of people. It seems like Cash4Gold is an honest company, but that some people expect their jewelry to be worth big bucks, and are very mad when it’s not.

But…..

I’d love to hear your feedback! Since I’m known as the Freebie Girl, everyone asks me for advice on things, and this is one that I get asked about a TON!

I’m using them partly so I can be able to offer an honest assessment of their service, but I’d like to hear some additional REAL stories from my readers. I trust your stories.

Thanks {in advance!} for sharing…

Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 4, 2011 Filed Under: Reviews, Freebies | 1 Comment

Refer 10 Friends to get a $100 Gift Card!

Have you seen the Tell-A-Friend bonus rewards at Ebates?

This is pretty amazing– First, Earn $5.00 for every new qualified member you refer. Refer more and earn one of the bonuses!

10 friends = $100 Gift Card of your choice.
25 friends = $250 Gift Card of your choice!
50 friends = iPad2. {wow!!}

And there are more bonus rewards if you refer even more than that. Super cool. Plus, Ebates is easy to share with your friends, since it’s awesome.

How Ebates works:

Ready to shop online? Start at Ebates, and type in the store you want to shop at. It’ll bring up some great coupon codes that will save you money, click on the one you want, and proceed to the store.
Shop like you normally would, at check out you’ll use your coupon code for savings, and you’re done.
Ebates will automatically add the percent you earned on that purchase {runs anywhere from 3% on up to 25%} to your account. Four times a year, they mail out the checks with the money you’ve earned. So this is totally FREE money! You were going to shop anyway, why not get some of that money back, right? Totally rocks.

Get started here:

Head over to the Ebates site, and do a quick sign up process to set up your FREE account. Then you can start sharing your personal link with your friends to start earning those bonus rewards! Easy peasy.

Shop at 1200 Top Online Merchants and Get Up To 25% Cash Back at Ebates.com! Click Here.

If you’re using Ebates, tell me… What was the BIGGEST check that you’ve earned with them? I do almost all of my shopping online, and over the holidays I made a looooot of purchases. We had just moved to the new house, it was baby’s first Christmas, and I bought a lot of goodies :) My rebate check from Ebates for that quarter was almost $100!! So it is definitely worth your time to sign up and use ’em!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 22, 2011 Filed Under: Shopping, Deals and Coupon Codes, Freebies | No Comments

NEW!! Fresh Ideas Panel– Join Now!

Become a member of our Fresh Ideas Panel!

Please share your thoughts with us on our product ideas and offerings.
By sharing your opinions with us you are eligible for monthly giveaways!

Fresh Ideas Panel – Become a member of our Fresh Ideas Panel! Please share your thoughts with us on our product ideas and offerings. By sharing your opinions with us you are eligible for monthly giveaways!

Your ideas are important! That is why we would like to invite you to join Fresh Ideas; an exciting new panel designed to collect your thoughts and feedback regarding food and what you are looking for in the foods you choose for yourself and for others, such as your family and friends.

This is a brief survey that should only take about 5 minutes to complete. If you choose to join and are accepted into the panel, you will receive one to two surveys a month. In addition, you will have the chance to participate in our rewards program, where you can win gift cards for up to $200.
Click Here

Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 20, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Contests | No Comments

{Blogging Tips} Earning an income with your blog- Part 1

There are tons of ways to earn an income from your blog, if that is one of your goals. For me, my blog started out as a fun way for me to share all of my tips on getting daily freebies, finding sweet deals, and winning giveaways. But when I lost my job, I decided to focus on the blog as a business, and see if it could help me stay home longer with my new baby girl while still paying the bills.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing is when you are compensated by a company for promoting their business. There are tons of different ways that this can work.

Click here to view a larger version.

[Image provided courtesy of the Sugarrae affiliate marketing blog.]

Direct affiliate relationships with companies: Some companies let you sign up {often through an affiliate management site} to promote their store or site directly, and you earn a percentage of sales on every purchase that someone makes, if they arrive at the site from one of your affiliate links.
Finding Partners: A great way to find new affiliate partnerships is to check out some sites for companies that you already love, and look down at the very bottom for something that says Affiliate Sign Up. That will either bring you directly to an application, or most likely, to a management company like Revenue Curve, Commission Junction, Pepperjam Network, or one of the million other sites out there.
Not for Newbies: I signed up for a few of these when I was a brand new blogger, but I don’t advise doing this until you’ve had your blog for at least 6 months. After you sign up and are approved for a site like Commission Junction, you get to choose companies to partner with, and you apply for that opportunity. Many of the companies I liked didn’t accept me because I was so new. Plus, most of these sites require you to reach $100 in revenue before you can cash out, which is really discouraging when you’re brand new. Most of these partnerships only pay you when someone makes a purchase, which is good and bad. Good = You can earn some big profits when you use this type of affiliate relationship effectively. Bad = If you have really low traffic, it’s going to take a long time to earn enough to cash out.

Great Options for New Bloggers:

Here are some of the sites that worked really great for me right away, and that I’m still using today to share quality content, deals, and sites, while also earning some income. Amazon pays you a small percent of anything purchased through one of their links, but since they have such great deals and huge selection, it’s an easy way to find great things to promote.

The other three affiliate programs work very similar; you choose an offer, post the graphic or link to your site, and earn money either when someone clicks on it, or when they sign up for a cool offer you’ve shared. Easy peasy!

Amazon: Learn more about their easy to use program, and sign up as an affiliate, Amazon Sign Up.
MySavings Media: Promote brand name coupons and free product samples on your web site or blog. Great selection of offers and companies to promote. Click Here.
Escalate Media: Very user friendly, with amazing service and support. I participated in one of their live webinars/chats, and it was super helpful. Sign Up here.
Logical Media: Get $25 free in your account when joining through this referral link. Click Here.

Tips for Affiliate Marketing

There are a million places to learn some great tips for maximizing your affiliate earnings; check out some sites like Copyblogger, Savvy Blogging, and Blogelina are some of my favorite resources for blogging tips and great info.

Here are my best tips for getting started with affiliate marketing:

Promotion tips: Only promote a service/offer/company that you would use yourself. You want to be promoting things that you already love, and new things that you find that YOU want to use too, and not spreading around a bunch of random offers just to make some cash. If I read a blog, and they start promoting offers that are sorta spammy, or start posting about companies that aren’t at all relevant to me, I’ll stop following them. You’re FIRST focus is sharing quality content. Find affiliates that can help add to that, and you’ll make your readers happy! Reading about a hair club for men? Not helpful to me. Reading about a really awesome sale on Diapers from Amazon? Very helpful :)
Use ’em yourself: If you use sites like Escalate or MySavings, sign up for the sites that you share with your readers! Example: I only promote survey sites that I personally use, so that I know they’re legit. I would NEVER promote something to my readers that I don’t know much about. Once in a while I come across something that looks cool, so I share before I fully check it out… Big mistake. I once shared what LOOKED like a cool giveaway, but once I tried to enter it, I realized it was FILLED with spammy offers! Yuck.
Always remember… The offers should be providing a benefit to your readers! Ask yourself, “Why am I sharing this link?” Is it a cool brand or product that you think your readers would love learning about? A great sale, or cool freebie site? Make sure you are sharing because your readers will benefit, not because you might make some money. {I mean, obviously earning an income is your goal. Just make sure to do it the right way, you know?}

Ok, so all three of those tips are kind of similar, but good stuff to keep in mind!

Ad Networks:

You can also set up an account with an ad network like Google Adsense, to earn some income on your blog. This can be a pretty easy way to earn, since you usually just set up these ad’s in your header, footer, or sidebar, and then earn money per click or action taken by the reader. It’s the same idea as affiliate marketing, except that you’re not choosing the ads or companies, the ad network chooses for you.

Google Adsense: Get started with an account here- Adsense Sign Up.

BlogHer Ad Network: I haven’t used them yet, since they are not accepting blogs in my category right now. But I’ve heard really great things about them. BlogHer Ads.

Federated Media: I haven’t used this yet, but I’ve heard good things about it. You can sign up here and learn more about how it works.

Sell Your Own Ads!

A lot of bloggers also sell their own ad space, and this is a great option to consider. I plan to start offering paid ad space soon, {I’m in the process of getting a whole blog redesign done by Angie over at Strosgirl Designs, and am waiting until I get the new site launched!}

Selling your own ad space can be a great way to earn some consistent revenue, but has some challenges too. You need to decide how much to charge, what size of ad space to offer, and what the terms will be. This is something that will be TOTALLY different for every blog, and every blogger. The best tip to help you figure it out is… How much value do you think you can provide to the person who buys that ad space? What would YOU pay for that same space on someone elses blog? This will help you determine not how much you can get, but how much is FAIR to charge.

Conclusion:

Adding some affiliate marketing or ad space can be a really simple way to start earning revenue from your blog; it can also be a way to earn a real income once you gain some traffic! The options are endless… You can start with a service like Escalate Media that is super user friendly and easy to get started with, or use a site like Commission Junction to partner with some top brands. Every blog is different, and will have different goals, so check out a few places to find the best fit for you!

Time to share!

I’d love to hear what networks you guys use, who you’re happy with, who you think could use improvement…. Do you sell your own ad space? What advice do you have to share? Lets get some chat going on in the comments section! I love learning from other bloggers :) And if you know someone else that could benefit from this series, feel free to use the share buttons to add this to facebook or twitter.

{Intro} Blogging Tips: What are YOUR Blog Goals?

Starting a blog is loads of work, but can also be loads of fun. In my short time blogging, I’ve already met so many great new people, made great relationships, partnered with some awesome brands, and have gotten some cool experiences!

About Me- The face behind Sunshine and Sippy Cups

As many of you already know, my name is Meagan, and I’m the stay-at-home momma of a little girl who will be turning a year old this month. I started Sunshine and Sippy Cups back in February of 2011, so I’ve only been blogging for about 6 months… But, I do it almost full time, and put a lot of work and effort into learning as much as I can. I was a totally NON-techy person when I started this site, so, um… It was challenging, to say the least! I was SO proud of myself when I realized that I had just purchased a domain name, installed WordPress on a Blog Hosting at GoDaddy.com account that I had set up all by myself, and now had my very own self-hosted WordPress blog! Wooo! I thought that the hard part was over, and it’d be easy peasy from then on.

I was wrong, lol.

There have been HUGE challenges… Learning some basic HTML code, SEO tips, how to add photo and video to my blog posts, and, even though I swore I’d never do it, I had to learn how to use Twitter! {A social networking site that EVERYONE uses but me, then not being able to figure it out, made me feel much older than my 31 years…}

But there have also been HUGE rewards! I’m steadily growing in followers, revenue, and partnerships, which is so exciting. I’ve gotten to partner with Baby Brezza for their new cookbook {you’ll see the baby and I in their new book, released soon!}, I’ve learned so much as a syndicate partner for the ultra-amazing Digitwirl weekly videos, and had a blast learning and connecting with some great ladies at the recent Lady Bloggers Society Online Conference. {I highly reccommend this one if you are a newer blogger who can’t yet afford the time and money to go to one of the big blogging conferences!}

Sharing is Caring, right?

So, since I learned a lot from the advice and tips that other bloggers shared with me, I want to give back and share some of what I’ve learned! I felt like it was really hard to find blogging advice that applied to me when I first started, so I hope I can share some helpful tips with you guys, and answer some questions that I’ve been asked really often lately.

Blogging Tips Series Starts Today!

Over the next two weeks, I’ll be sharing at LEAST one post a day, maybe more, filled with tips and resources to help you be a better blogger.

I’m starting today with some tips on increasing the revenue you earn from your blog, since that is the question that I get asked the most. Over the next two weeks I plan to share on the following topics:

Giveaways: How to run an effective giveaway, some do’s and don’ts, how to promote your giveaway and get more entries, and how to get prizes for those giveaways!
Followers: When I first started blogging, I would publish a post, and it seemed like I could hear the crickets chirping, you know? Was ANYONE out there reading my posts? I know we don’t do it just for the attention, but it’s nice to know that someone is reading, and that you’re information is appreciated. I’ll share some tips on how to get your blog seen by more people, and how to find some new faces!
Product Reviews: I’ll also share a TON of great resources that can help you get FREE products to review, some tips on effective review writing, and more.
Networks: There are so many great networks out there, you’re sure to find a few that are a good fit for you! Joining a network is an amazing way to learn from other bloggers like yourself, ask questions, and partner with others for fun events. You can also find great brand sponsorship partnerships through some of these networks, to get paid post opportunties and giveaway prizes.
More Revenue Options: Like I mentioned, this is the question that I get asked the most, so I’ll have 3-4 posts sharing different ways to earn money from your blog. There are a million different types of blogs, and a million different goals, so I want to give you a lot of fun options to choose from to help you meet YOUR unique goals as a blogger!
Social Networking: Some tips to make the most of Facebook and Twitter, some etiquette tips, and some stuff thats just for fun.

Share your questions and goals!

I’d LOVE to hear more from you guys, about what you want to learn. I don’t know everything {surprising, I know}, and am no expert on blogging at all. But I’ve read a ton of books, subscribed to a load of great newsletters, and have learned so much already. I know many of you are also working full time jobs in addition to blogging, and don’t have as much time to track down the info you need, so I hope the resources I share will help you!

Share your goals for your blog in the comments… One of the things that I like most about blogging is the community of it. I love sharing my thoughts, and then getting to hear back from others when they add to it with their comments. So share with me, and the other lovely ladies reading: Why did you start blogging? What are your goals? What are your biggest challenges? Or, if you have a great tip to share, post it!

{Making Money Monday} How to Earn Extra Income From Home

How to Earn Extra Income From Home:

There are tons of ways to earn some extra money from home. Some add up really quick, some are one-time type deals, some have extra perks, some are easier than others.

Earn Money Online

Today I’ll share a few ways to earn some extra money while surfing the web. I’d also LOVE for you guys to share some of your own tips for earning extra money from home, since I’ll be posting new ideas each week. I’d love to feature YOU and YOUR story!

My Favorites

I love survey sites. I used to have a lot more time {pre-baby, and pre-blog} to complete surveys, and earned about $150 a month with them, which is a nice extra bit of income for such easy work. Plus, I got a ton of free products to test out in my home too! See a couple of them…

Free Salad Dressing from Synovate

I got two different bottles of Italian dressing {both super yumm-o!} to test out from Synovate. This was a really great freebie since we eat a ton of salad.

Cover Girl Mascara from MySurvey

I also got to test out the new Cover Girl Lash Blast Length Mascara from MySurvey. Not only did I get a FREE mascara, but I also earned rewards for giving my opinion on it later!

How to Get Started:

My best advice is to sign up for as many survey sites as you can. That means you’ll have more opportunties coming your way. Some sites send a survey several times a week, some only once or twice a month. You might get a chance to complete them all, or only a few. But you really maximize your earnings and product test opp’s by working with as many companies as possible!

Plus, all companies reward you differently. Some pay in cash checks, some only via PayPal. Others reward you with FREE gift cards to places like Macy’s, Amazon, or Target, which are just as good as cash to me. If I know I’ll shop there anyway, I can use the free gift card, and save my cash. I also like to save lots of gift cards for the holidays.

Here are some of my favorite {trusted and safe!} companies:

Unfortunately, my VERY favorite site, Synovate, is not taking new members right now. But as soon as they open up again, you’ll hear about it from me, and the rest of blogland! It’s a big favorite.

MySurvey: Great product tests! Sign up here, Join MySurvey.
MyView: Earn rewards super fast with MyView! Join me there my signing up, Join MyView today!
Mindfield: Really great rewards here, I’m new to it, but lovin’ how fast you earn! Join Mindfield.
Toluna: You may have seen my posts lately, that Toluna has been sending out lots of big money surveys lately, $20-$30 surveys at least once a week! Rockin’. Toluna Sign Up.
Dollar Surveys: Earn a buck per survey, deposited every Friday into your PayPal account! Click Here to join.
Synovate Tobacco: This is a new one, from my favorite, Synovate, but only for tobacco users. I don’t qualify, but maybe you do? Synovate Tobacco Board.
Inbox Dollars: Get $5 FREE today just for setting up your account! Loads of ways to earn cash, get checks at $30. Click Here to start!
Survey Spot: Fun, short, easy surveys. Great rewards, and you’re automatically entered in lots of giveaways! Click Here to join me!

That’s just a few of my favorites! Each site is so different, and I love being a part of so many different ones. Plus, most sites have exclusive sweepstakes and giveaways for MEMBERS ONLY, and I love having more chances to win. If you have any questions about any of these sites, ask away!

Also, if you have a different favorite to share, post in the comments! Or share your best tips on maximizing your rewards with these sites. Also, how do YOU earn extra money from home? Do you sell stuff on Ebay or Craigslist? Did you open an Etsy shop or other business? Are you a BIG survey site junkie who makes good money with it? Share your story… I’m looking for fans to feature on “Making Money Mondays” each week!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 11, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Product Testing | No Comments

Seen on Good Morning America: Make Money with Inbox Dollars!

How Inbox Dollars can help you make money from home:

As featured on the Good Morning America TV Show! Be rewarded for your online activity with InboxDollars! InboxDollars will pay members to read e-mail, take surveys, play games, shop online, and more!

Sound too good to be true? Absolutely not! Our advertisers want to hear YOUR opinions on every day products and services and will PAY you to try them.

Join over a MILLION Americans just like you who are earning cash from reading emails and taking part in advertiser trials. As a special bonus, anyone that joins NOW will receive a quick $5 in their account just by filling out their user profile, so signup right now for FREE. Click Here to join!

Step-by-Step:

Join Inbox Dollars, Click Here to get started. Fill out your info, then wait a minute for them to send you a confirmation email. Click the link in that email, and you’re set up and ready to make money! Simple, right?
Now, you can log in and fill out some profile surveys, to give them a bit more info about you. This information is just used to match you with surveys that you qualify for. Advertisers and companies PAY Inbox Dollars to help them reach you, and get your info. So they just need to know which ones will be the best match for you.
Now, you can either check out the offers, videos, shopping, and other ways to earn on the site, or wait for the first emails to come! You’ll get survey invites that pay cash, and you get paid EVERY time you open an email ad they send you. Too busy? Skip ’em. But the more you do, the quicker your cash adds up!

How do I get paid?

You earn cash for EVERYTHING you do on the Inbox Dollars site! They have tons of offers you can check out… Example: Join Eversave to get free healthy samples, get paid .25 cents. Or, join Netflix, get paid $10! So, some offers are free to complete, some would have a cost. But most of them are things that you’re gonna like anyway. I mean heck, if you were thinking of joining Netflix, why not do it through Inbox Dollars to earn an extra $10 bucks, right?

There are soooo many other ways to earn too. You can complete tasks {see the explanation on the site}, watch videos, shop, and more. PLUS, you get $5 today just for signing up!

When you get to $30, you can request a check to be sent to you, and you’ll get it in about a week or two.

So, what are you waiting for? Get signed up, and earn your first $5 credit today just for joining me! Any questions, feel free to post ’em up in the comments for me, and I’ll answer them for you!