Updated below.
I was trying to do that pay per post thing. I found a couple of different companies that offer that, so I signed up and signed up and signed up. Then I was rejected, rejected, rejected. One place didn’t bother to reject me, they just ignore me. Well, of course I was rejected. Chipped Polish is a baby in the blogosphere. A new beginning so to speak. No one has linked to us yet. Duh! I have another blog that has a lot more history (3 years worth!) and linkage, but I can’t bear to monetize that one. It’s very different and my readers there like it that way. So, I’ll just scratch that idea for now and go back to what I was doing before I had that bright idea.

“You are not worthy!”

I did manage to do some bloghopping the other day, looking for potential new neighbors. I have discovered that things in the money-for-blogging corner of the blogosphere are a mite different than what I’m used to. And it’s a little disconcerting, to say the least.

For instance, I ran across a blog with no comments and a very short blogroll. I was a little surprised by that because I found this blog on one of the sites that rejected me. Anyway, read the content and it was a little “meh”, so I decided to hop through to one of the blogs on her links list. At the bottom of the list was a link to instructions on how to get on her links list. Of course, I followed it. I need a little help here, can’t you see. Then my little bubble popped and that was when I really decided that blogging strictly for cash was not for me.

This blogger announced that she had a PR 5 blog, which was almost the top of the Google shebang. She then went on to say that if one had a blog that was a PR 3 or better then please contact her for inclusion on her humble links list. But if one had a blog below PR 3 don’t even bother linking her because she did not want her link seen on such a low-level blog.

WTF?

So, what would happen if someone with a new blog- like me, perhaps – were to link to her? I have no idea. But I’m 100% sure she didn’t get her PR from getting linked to for content. My other blog (non-monetized, free from ads, blah blah blah) is small, but it has a decent link score. And it gets plenty of comments. I’m sure, though, if I were a member of a particular site where it was customary to link to other members, that site would be a lot bigger. It’s not, though, because I don’t want it to be. That does sound arrogant of me, doesn’t it? I’m not ashamed, though. There used to be time in the blogosphere where links were exchanged out of courtesy and where bloggers helped their younger, less fortunate comrades get up higher in the ranks. That’s still true for portions, I suppose. That attitude, plus excellent content, helped those bloggers get higher rankings/authority/linkage. Imagine if a few of the more prominent bloggers refused to link to anyone in the beginning, or more aptly, if they didn’t have the content to draw in the readers and still refused. Ha!

Content is KING!

I have learned from the good bloggers what is most important and why being a snob gets you nowhere. For niche blogs (which this started as, but has failed miserably at) it’s important to have information that others want and in a way they can absorb. It’s not hard to copy content ideas from those guys. The harder part is taking it and putting your own mark on it. If you aren’t writing about website optimization, then find something that you’re passionate about and write about that. If I, as a passerby, fall asleep while reading what you wrote, then the Big Guys would probably suggest you rethink what you’re writing about. Yes?

I guess if you’re posting just to meet the requirements for a pay per post thing, it doesn’t really matter what your content is, as long as your PR is high. But can that really be satisfying? Isn’t it important to have organic links and regular visitors? I used to think that it was and sadly still do. I don’t think I can write without thought of pulling someone in so that they want to come back. I’m old school like that. I can’t ever imagine telling someone who’s writing I may enjoy that I won’t link to them because their PR isn’t high enough. There’s something really wrong with that attitude.

And so I have to rethink my goals here. I don’t ever want to become the kind of blogger that snubs her nose at the “lesser mortals” because of their page rank.

Update:
I want to make it clear that I did not request a link from the above mentioned blogger. I was taken aback because the blogger specifically requested that no blogs with less than a Page Rank of 3 link to that blog. It was that request that I found arrogant and snobbish- and I stand by that opinion.

I’d also like to note that my other blog has some links, but has no Page Rank. Also, that blog does link to this one. Why that is important I’m not sure, but I thought I’d clear up that misunderstanding too. I am not begging for links nor do I feel entitled to anything. I know that I have to work hard and plan to do so. This post was an observation I made as a newbie to this particular area of the blogosphere. My opinion regarding that observation hasn’t changed with this update. (Oct.13, 2007)

I’ve been pretty busy today- looking for ways to make money. I’m pretty sure I signed up for about a hundred different programs and sites. Ok, well, maybe not that many.

One that I found that I think I might really like is myLot. I forgot how I found it, but as soon as I remember I’ll post the link to that site too. So, what is myLot?

I’m not quite sure. It’s a discussion site for blogs and articles and news and just whatever. It’s set up like a CMS, so you have your own profile page and blog page. Every time you respond with something substantial (on point and contributing to the discussion) you earn money. I have no idea how much money. I’ve found some really interesting discussions, so it’s not hard to get involved. I’ve seen some discussions that aren’t really substantial too. “What color is your hair?” HUH? Ok, I’m sure that’s not posted so someone can earn points or whatever. Other than that there are some really interesting things going on.

I especially like it because I don’t get out much. That means I don’t get much adult conversation. This gives me a chance to discuss without getting flamed. So many message boards, forums, blogs or whatever now are breeding grounds for flamers. And if you voice an opposing opinion? Watch out! It gets ugly then. I really don’t need that kind of stress. And I’m glad for the moderation. I’ll be spending a good deal of time there, I can tell.

You can find me here. If you’re there, please add me to your friend’s list. If you sign up through here, please let me know so I can add you.

On another note, I’ve found some really good blogs through Blogcatalog. I really like that service for socializing and networking. Later this evening or tomorrow I plan on adding some of those blogs to my links list. Also, if you comment here with something to add to the conversation, I’ll follow your link back to your blog and probably add it to my list. Soon I’ll be adding dofollow tags, but I’m waiting to build up my traffic a little more first.

Edited to add:

I found the site that sent me to myLot. It was The Domestic Diva! Thanks so much, Sela!

I’ve seen a lot of stuff around forums and on blogs about getting paid to do online surveys. People post their referrer links and brag about how much money they’ve made. Of course, I got curious. I’m a work-at-home mom trying to make some extra dough. And if I can do that between other gigs just by picking yes/no/maybe then I’m all for it.

So, I signed up for a couple. Surveysomething and Dollarsomething, I think. It was three but I can’t remember the third one. For the Surveysomething, they would send me these great offers. I could make money if I qualify (by answering a short survey). I did probably about twenty short qualification surveys, each consisting of about 5-10 minutes of my life. I qualified for ZERO. So, I finally unsubscribed. Don’t worry, though, I still get offers from them – even though I don’t want them. Isn’t that great?

The Dollarsomething was a little different. I signed in and was sent to an “offers” page. Here they had lists of surveys and what each one of them pays. It seemed simple enough. I did one initially, just to test the system. The next day I was 50¢ richer. And I was thrilled. Back I went to do a few more. I had an eye on the ones that paid a whole dollar. I did about 10 surveys. Let me tell you about these “surveys” before I go any further.

Each one of them asked the same questions. “Do you know how to lower your interest rates?” “Are you interested in a home based business?”. They were ALL yes/no questions pertaining to one ad or another. For 10 minutes you click the same questions reworded and decline the same invitations to sign up for this thing or that thing. Over and over and over. And if you don’t click ‘yes’ on something you find yourself trapped in an endless loop of CRAP. But I was persistent. I kept clicking no. I think about 20 minutes passed for one before I saw the sunlight again. Worth a dollar?? I don’t know.

You’ve reached the end. And every single one of these offers demands that you choose three search terms to view ads for before they’ll give you your “big winnings”. So, you pick three and you are forced to look through 5-8 pages of ads before you get to the end, where they try to trick you into getting back into the vortex and doing it all again.

Did I mention that I did that 10 times?

So, I followed the instructions, suffered through endless ads and asinine questions. Where’s my money? For the work I did I was paid…*drumroll*… 75¢. So, not only was my time WASTED, my computer infected with adware, and my spam box (on a throw away account) stuffed to the brim these idiots refused to believe I made the effort. I’ve come to the conclusion the people paying you for taking the “paid online survey” are probably the same people who make up the “paid online survey”. Unfortunately, too many people really believe this crap is good business and work really hard to scrape those pennies together.

The third one was like the first, but they unsubscribed me when I sent them the email asking for such. They could be legit, but I don’t know because I never qualified.

I say it’s not worth it. There are plenty of legitimate ways to make some pennies online. There’s no reason to develop carpal tunnel and blurry vision for these survey pennies. You’ll have to do too many of those “surveys” to even make it past the $10 mark. Pitiful.

They will get you to think you can make some money, but the real money is made through the referral links. Which means you have to con some poor people into jumping into a waste of time and effort. That’s just sad and, quite frankly, a tad disturbing. Someone made 5% of my $1.25 from Dollarsomething. Unfortunately she’s also lost my trust and esteem. The next time I see a link under her name I won’t click it, because she KNOWS what those surveys are like. But she chose to sugar coat it to con other people. For shame.

Now I know.