Ever since I was a young kid, I always wanted to find new ways to make money. I used to collect baseball cards, video games, and hot wheels – then I would buy a beckett or a price guide and see what each item was worth and how much I could sell them for.

Well, not much has changed since then – I am still looking for better ways to make money and how to find the next “rare” item.

For many years, I have bought books, read websites, joined forums and more in order to teach myself how to find a potential rare collectible – well that has ALL changed. Now in addition to reading things online – I am WATCHING TV and learning about MANY great items that I would have NEVER KNOWN ABOUT!

Watching TV is not only relaxing but is also extremely educational. Watching TV also provides you with visual items so the image will retain in your memory better.

Today there are SO MANY collecting shows that it is just about impossible to miss them when watching TV. Some are good and others are a waste of time. I am going to list my favorite shows to watch that have taught me something new about rare collectibles. I strongly suggest watching these shows if you want to learn.

PAWN STARS

This is a no brainer. Pawn Stars is one of the best collectible shows. The owners get to see MANY great unique items that most of us will never see in our lifetime. It is also a great way for people to learn the value of collectibles. The thing that annoys me the most are the customers – I never understood why someone would sell something for half of what is it worth? Yes, I know people like cash right away – but if I have a collectible that is worth $1,000 I will NOT take $500 for it. PS – If you have collectibles you can’t sell EMAIL ME! haha

AMERICAN PICKERS

The only reason this show comes second is because it aired after Pawn Stars. If you are a true collector who likes to find gold then this show is for you. These 2 pickers travel across the US in hopes of finding rusty gold. Every single episode has something new and no 2 things are ever alike. Evertime I watch American Pickers, I learn something new and write down the item that they found – just in case I ever come across this item on ebay or at an estate sale.

STORAGE WARS

Storage Wars is based on a concept that I have yet never done. It is about a few people who travel mostly around California buying storage lockers. The tricky part about this business is that they NEVER know what each storage locker contains. They can only use flashlights in order to guess what’s inside each locker. Another interesting fact is that these lockers were owned by people who defaulted on their storage payments. So remember to pay your storage fees or your contents will become someone elses. I like watching this show because each locker is different and the results vary each show. Not every locker is profitable – it is a CHANCE. The hosts talk about their best finds (which has been amazing) and each episode there is at least one person who easily makes a few thousand in profit!

AUCTION KINGS

This is the newest show that I just started to watch. Auction Kings is a show about different people bringing in items to sell at auction. Picture a real life ebay sale – that is what an estate sale is. I have attended estate sales and this is exactly how it is – minus the cameras. Each episode has someone bringing in a rare item and it is sold to the highest bidder.

So there you go – those are the BEST Collectible TV shows to watch. I have personally learned many new things from each show and even found a toy car that was on American Pickers at a recent estate sale.
If you want to make money, you will with the right research.

It seems like everyone today has a blog. It is one of the easiest things to create and requires little to maintain especially with the help of wordpress. However, making money from a blog is a completely different story and is in another world of its own.

Every month, there are literally hundreds of thousands of people who search google for “ways to make money.” If those people searching for these magical ways find websites or blogs, they are NOT making money – they are simply losing money AND time – plain and simple. Do not think that buying an ebook or paying someone else for money making tips is real. It is a lie and the only person you are helping make money is the owner of the site or author of the ebook. So don’t be a statistic looking for ways to make money – be proactive and learn to make money on your own – not by buying an eBook or paying for proven money tips.

Adsense

If you are looking for ways to make money with a blog then you need to do extensive research. One of the main sources of income for a blog is through advertising – especially using google adsense. It is free for anyone to register and with the right marketing many people can make hundreds or thousands of dollars a month. Yes there are people who make this much in a day – but this is NOT realistic for 99% of the rest of us. There is ALWAYS an exception – someone who makes thousands from ads each day, and guess what? Chances are that HE IS SELLING AN EBOOK to help you reach that amount – PURE BS. If you want to make money – you need to learn from scratch.

Header Ad

The most important aspect of adesense is ad placement. This is known as placing ads in a “hot zone” – which is referred to an area that is seen first by visitors. This is an ongoing trial and error process. Personally the BEST ad placement is right under the header. This is a hot zone that everyone reading your blog sees. If there is only text, then most people will not think twice about clicking it. However, if there is an interesting picture or video there, you might get someone to click it – thus making you some money. I suggest using a leaderboard which is 728×90 pixels. This has been the best one on my site.

Another great way to improve your chances of making money is to place ads into the body of your post. If people read your post and a relevant ad shows up, there is a great chance that it will be clicked on. I recommend placing a button (125×125), small square (200×200) or a square (250×250) which is the biggest. A square is working the best for me and is shown below

Paid Advertising

Another way to make money is to have people PAY to adverstise on your blog. It is a very easy way to make money. You simply charge a set amount for either a link to place on your blogroll or a small image – usually it is a 125×125 button. You must realize this – people advertise because they want it to benefit them. If you have a new blog that does NOT have pagerank – then I DO NOT suggest looking for advertising. No one will pay you for ads on a blog or site that does not have pagerank or gets consistent traffic.

You need to spend the time building links, gaining traffic, and acquiring pagerank BEFORE you start asking people to advertise on your site.

Provide a Service

If ads are not working out, then one of the easiest ways to make money is by providing a service. People come to blogs in order to READ something interesting and LEARN something new. If you have a personal blog that does not get traffic – you should not be surprised. Personal blogs are tacky (unless you have readers who enjoy it) and usually dont get much traffic. If you want to make some money provide a SERVICE – NOT an ebook – an actual service. Help someone build a website, show someone how to sell on ebay, start some type of an online business, etc etc. The options are endless. Personally, I use my blog to help other people make money with toys and collectibles. I write about items I think will sell out and how I go about finding great items to resell. I also write about my website projects and what I am doing to monetize them. I am providing my readers a service which makes them come back to my blog. Don’t expect people to click on ads and come back to your blog if you only talk about things you ate for breakfast.

It will NOT happen overnight – but with the right amount of time and research you can start making a steady stream of money and gain pagerank. I know there are MANY other ways to make money but I believe that both of these methods are the most secure ways of making money. I also use both of these methods and they have been working out well. I DO NOT believe in SELLING personal ebooks. I don’t fall for gimmicks. I believe that everything you read on a blog should be free and hey, if you click on an ad you find interesting, I thank you

What ways do you make money? What type of advertising has helped you?