Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Can You Really Make Money Selling E-Books ?
In the past few years, many people was enamoured with the idea of getting rich by selling e-books over the internet. Many have tried but only a few who actually manage to succeed in their journey to wealth. Many who failed then started to lose hope and refused to be “scammed” by those ideas anymore and in fact some of them already invested much money before their failure.
What I want to share today is my own story on how to prove if selling e-books really worth my time or nothing but completely waste of my time …
I have a Paypal account laying dormant so many years .. well maybe not that long .. just for dramatics mind you .. anyway back to the story , I was wondering what should I do so I can actually making money over the internet and they send me the money through my Paypal account but still back then I have no clue so I didn’t do anything unfortunately.
I signed up for an account in Google Adwords before and I use bank transfer for payment menthod and I got dissapointed because after I transferred to Google Adwords bank account, the money didn’t show up in my Google Adwords account. I tried contacting them through e-mail and I already sent copies of my transfer receipt but still no show for the money in my account so I accepted the loss and move on.
Few months ago, I got a Google Adwords Voucher worth of USD 100 on my Google Webmaster Tools and it got me thinking on how to make the most out of it without me losing the money again. So I created another Google Adwords account and still using bank transfer for method of payment. But the difference was I actually using Online Transfer this time instead of actually going to the bank and do the transfer myself and … It worked !!!
Several days later my Google Adwords account was ready to be used and my Paypal account already prepared to receive money. So what’s my next move ? Well I kinda hesitated and thinking what if it didn’t work ? What if I failed ? What if the money I spent didn’t make a break-even point ?
So I started looking product what should I sell over the internet. I bought an e-book worth $8 and promoted it using Google Adwords from Des 14, 2009 and until Jan 2, 2010 I received total $40 Gross in my Paypal account.
Here’s the proof :
Now back to the question in the beginning Can you really make money selling e-books over the internet ? YES !! Does it totally worth my time and why ? YES !! Because not only I got my money back but I also learned that you actually need to spend some money if you want to receive some money selling something. You can use free advertising promoting your e-books but the results probably much more faster if you use paid advertising such as Google Adwords. Does it totally worth your time to try selling e-books over the internet ? It’s totally up to you to answer that and if you already decided to answer … tell me all about it!!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Telecommunications Options In Indonesia
Indonesia is an archipelago and has many cultures, languages, religions and races. According to Geohive, the total population of Indonesia in the year 2009 are 241,164,542. Of course with that many people in Indonesia, there are plenty of demands in all areas of business.
Most of the malls in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, has at least 1 mobile phone store that sells mobile phone accessories, voucher for mobile phones and mobile phones themselves. The prices ranging from cheapest to most expensive regarding the condition of the mobile phones, the features of the mobile phone itself and some brand are more popular than the others such as Nokia.
Indonesian people loves customizing their phones as their way of expressing themselves such as customize casing to MP3 songs for ringtone that can be downloaded directly to their phone.
There are more than 8 mobile phone providers for GSM and CDMA that give service for Indonesian. Although only a few providers that actually covered the whole archipelago. Because of very tight competition, the cost of calls and message sending continue to decrease and depends on the policy of each providers. Because of the cheap cost of calls, people tend to use mobile phone to talk to one another than using mobile phone for sending messages.
All kinds of phones flooded the Indonesian market. From known and sophisticated brand such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson to the unknown Chinese technology brand such as Huawei and K-Touch. 3G Dual GSM with Dual Camera mobile phones can be obtained with price around $125 and sometimes cheaper. Of course you can get the mobile phones cheaper if you buy the bundle package with a Provider service such as Huawei with Esia Provider.
Recently, Blackberry getting more famous and wanted after the booming of Facebook. People can get Blackberry service by registering with one of the Provider such as Telkomsel or Excelcomindo for cheap price you can get unlimited data access depends on the package you intend to take.
Downloading content for your mobile phone is so much easier these days. All Providers have a website where they pampered their customer to just download the theme or pictures or ringtones directly to their own mobile phones. It’s definitely a booming business for content providers.
Mobile Phones have become a much needed part of Indonesian life, and the business itself has created much bigger employment in this country, with not actually real social assistance programs.
Now in Indonesia, a mobile phone user can often call for free, anywhere in the country , or even get hundreds of free sms depends on what kind of Providers they are using. The majority of Indonesian, now own and use a mobile phone not only as communication tools but also as status symbol.
So if you’re planning to visit Indonesia, at least now you know your options for telecommunications. Some Providers in Indonesia also have agreements with Foreign Providers so all travelers from abroad can still using their mobile phone with their own number so their families and friends can still contact them easily.
Danger of Downloading Ringtones
There are plenty of ringtones that can be downloaded these days, it is a miracle that some people does not even know where to look and what steps needed when they want to download a ringtone. It is not really a big secret but there are a few precautions that you should consider before you ever click on any download ringtone icon. Here are some hints to prevent you from going insane during your quest for the perfect ringtone, as well as protect your cell service and equipment.
The very first thing to find out is whether or not the ringtone you are considering for downloading is actually compatible with your cell service and your phone type. As it is true that there are several different types of electronic documents out there, there are also several different formats for ringtones are on the market today. Before you start searching for a ringtone, find out exactly what kind of format that will work for your phone. This one simple act can save you hours of frustration and also help narrowing down the related numbers of websites that you will need to check out.
Another thing to consider is to have an idea of what you think you would like before you start searching. There are hundreds of thousands of ringtones downloadable through the Web these days. Without at least a general idea of what type of ringtone you might like, you can spend days sifting through all sorts of locations trying to find the right ringtone. Help yourself by trying to generate a list of types that you think would be worth listening to, and then start to look around.
It is also important to always make sure that you download any ringtone from a safe and secure site, and one that you can trust to be free of any virus. It is really sad that most computers got infected by viruses that is transmitted through what seems like the most innocent download in the world. Don't think that because you actually paid some fee to join a content downloadable site that you won't have a problem with a virus later on. Make sure that the ringtone file, like any file, is checked for a virus and is clear before you complete the transaction.
Recently, McAfee studied the safety of the information search over the internet and they claimed that most people who actually trying to find information about certain celebrity can get their computers infected by viruses or malware.
Don't think you need to get a ringtone from the first website you visited. First, Bookmark any sites that contains a ringtone that you like, and write down the file name or the code for the ringtone. This will enable you to continue searching for another ringtone, but still be able to come back to any that have caught your attention. By elimination technique, you can single them out to one before you start pressing download button, and much be assured of having at least one that you will enjoy hopefully for a long time.
How To Get Completely Free Ringtones ?
You want to have a cool and very popular ringtone but unfortunately you don’t want to spend some money to buy one. So what you should do ?
Here’s what you should do, try opening your Internet browser such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox and then browse to Google site and enter keywords ‘Free Ringtone’ then you will find results of 51.200.000 websites that related to those keywords.
But then another question come up, “Do you honestly think that all of those websites REALLY offers you free ringtone ?” and another question “How do you find which websites that really gives free ringtone and which one don’t ?”
Say you try to open one of the websites from the google search results then you will find many ads related to ringtone in that page. And when you try to find and click one of the link that you believed to be the real download link then it will take you to another website with another download link and it would happen again and again.
Say some websites offers free ringtone but you need to send an sms to specific number with the ringtone code and there will be a reply with a link where you can download the ringtone directly from your phone. If you download from the link then you need a phone that supported GPRS because you’re going to download the ringtone via GPRS connection. And of course the Mobile Operator will charge you for the GPRS connection.
So far there’s nothing but trouble to get a free ringtone. Instead of getting a free ringtone, you have to spend some times checking which websites are valid and some websites are completely junk and then when you actually think you finally find a website to find a free ringtone, it turns out you’ll have to pay for the Downloading process.
But does that mean there’s no websites really offers free ringtones ?
There are some websites that really gives free ringtones but unfortunately not many of them.
So what you should do if you still want to get a free ringtone ?
Here’s some tip to get a free ringtone :
1. Copy Ringtone From Your Friend
Try to copy the ringtone you want from your friend using Bluetooth or Infrared connection.
But if you have a computer or a notebook, then you can easily transfer audio files into your phone and set them as your ringtone.
2. Recording Your Own Ringtone
Try recording your own voice or other funny voices using your mobile phone and set them as your ringtone.
3. Creating Ringtone From MP3
You can create ringtone using a software to convert your favoriteMP3 song into ringtone format that acceptable for your mobile phone. Or you can directly copy the MP3 into your phone and set them as your Ringtone.
Although be careful when you copy audio files from your friends because if their phone has some viruses then it will create another problem for you. And of course another matter of legality if you copy MP3 to your phone but that’s another topic.
Customized Ringtones : Necessary or Not ?
There are plenty of mobile handsets out on the market nowadays. The brands are vary from a very well known brand to the newest brand that only lasted for a year then disappears. It is very competitive between brands ranging from the pricing, features, looks and designs. Some brands have even no shame copying the designs and looks of other brands.
The most important thing about a mobile phone is feature. Some brand offered simple features for a mobile phone. Simple features means Address Book, Messaging, Call List, Profiles, Games and Settings. A good example for this simple mobile phone would be Motofone F3 released by Motorola. And before you ask, NO, it is not the same as the F1 ( Formula 1 ).
Motofone F3 is a very simple because basically you use this phone only to make and receive calls or sending and receiving an sms and don’t forget this phone is also very fashionable because it is very slim with the candy bar looks.
Other mobile phones have more additional complicated features such as Camera, MP3 Player, Java Supported, WIFI, Bluetooth, USB Storage. A good example for this fine mobile phone would be Sony Ericsson W705
.
.Although both of these phones are completely different, they still have the same important feature which is Ringtone.
In more complicated mobile phone, they split ringtone into 2 categories which are Music Ringtones and Video Ringtones
. The best part of it, you can even record and mixed some sounds into 1 audio file and make it as your own Music Ringtone or better yet you can video your dad/mom/brother/sister singing and dancing in silly way and make it as your own Video Ringtones and although NOT RECOMMENDED you can upload them directly to facebook and youtube just for fun !!
. The best part of it, you can even record and mixed some sounds into 1 audio file and make it as your own Music Ringtone or better yet you can video your dad/mom/brother/sister singing and dancing in silly way and make it as your own Video Ringtones and although NOT RECOMMENDED you can upload them directly to facebook and youtube just for fun !! In a more simple mobile phone we don’t have a choice to customize the ringtone and usually there’s only limited ringtones available in them.
So customized ringtones ? Are they necessary or not ? Of course the most obvious answers would be it depends on your moods.
Some people wants to be told they’re cool and fun so they use customized ringtones that suits they’re image. Some people idolize some singer so they use the song of that singer. Some people just love funny sounds as their ringtones such as cats and dogs fights or baby sings or baby talks. Some even have weird tastes in ringtones such as screaming ghost and even a gun shot. Some people don’t even care what kind of ringtones they have.
There are specialized software so you can make customized ringtones very easy and some mobile phones have built-in editing software.
Among those sophisticated features for mobile phones nowadays such as Wifi, Bluetooth, USB Storage, Camera, GPRS, HSDPA, Video Call, Blogging and many more, when you want to buy a mobile phone, does customized ringtone is one of a feature that you consider in choosing your perfect mobile phone. Or you just simply don’t care ?
MP3 Ringtones : Legal VS Illegal
Thousands of music in MP3 format are downloaded everyday through the internet. Some of them are bought then downloaded and some of them are downloaded for free. For example, you can buy Ricky Martin
Songs for $0.99 from Amazon. They even give you a link to download Amazon MP3 Downloader for that matter. They even claim that the files are free of DRM ( Digital Rights Management
) Software.
Songs for $0.99 from Amazon. They even give you a link to download Amazon MP3 Downloader for that matter. They even claim that the files are free of DRM ( Digital Rights Management ) Software.It’s kind of hard to find a website that have information about what’s legal and what’s not about downloading MP3. I even tried to Google it but unfortunately to many unrelated results showed up. But one of the websites have some information that claims MP3 format itself is completely legal because it’s a mere technology. So where’s the illegal part in this ? It becomes illegal as soon as someone has taken copyrighted music, made copies of the said music, and distributed the said music to others without the consent of the musicians.
According to RIAA, “If you make unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings, you’re stealing. You’re breaking the law and you could be held legally liable for thousands of dollars in damages.” Even if you copy them from a CD that you bought legally, it is still considered unauthorized. RIAA stands for Recording Industry Association of America. Please feel free to visit their website in here.
What if a band or a record company makes MP3 files available for download ? Is it okay to download them ? Or they just want to set you up so they can sue you later ? That’s the questions that somehow we always asked ourselves.
Apparently there’s no strict YES or NO answer for those questions. All depends on circumstances. If you download the music and then sell it or make copies of it then it’s illegal and they have all the rights to sue you. Try to ask the record company or the band specifically if you any intention in selling their music in your website because they might offer you a license to be their partner.
But what about MP3 ringtones ? Are they legal ? Are they illegal ?
Some mobile operator website provides mobile ringtones of famous songs and artists and you can download it for a fee. That way you don’t have a headache thinking of what’s legal and what’s not.
In Indonesia, the fees to download the mobile ringtones are vary from Rp. 3,000 – Rp. 8,000 and you can even pick your choices based on the genre, the singers, the top downloads and many more but you have to keep it in mind not all of the mobile handset are supported and you need GPRS connection to download the ringtones.
Here’s a tip for you, If you record your own voice while you’re singing and convert them into MP3 format and use it as ringtone then it’s definitely NOT illegal. Because the converted audio is definitely not copyrighted music recordings and it’s AUTHORIZED by you but most importantly it’s FREE !
Motorola Q9H
I always love Motorola products. At the end of December 2009, I purchased Motorola Q9H
as a little late Christmast present for myself :)I've always wanted Motorola Q9H
since the first time I saw it on the Internet but unfortunately it was sold out when I was trying to purchase it in June 2009. But then I just can't help myself when I passed an electronice store and there it was lying so innocent on display ... I knew I just had to buy it then especially since it was already late December 2009 so obviously the store offered discount I just couldn't resist :)Once I had it in my posssion, I use it for test drive and the results is definitely Very Satisfying.
Here's the Specification of Motorola Q9H :
- 3.5 G / HSDPA
- Windows Mobile 6
- Memory Card
1 GB supported up to 8 GB
- Camera 2 MP
- Bluetooth = Yes
- Wifi = No
- Documents To Go ( Word, Excel, PDF )
- Facebook
- Opera
- Yahoo Go
And it was very easy to synchronize your Motorola Q9H with your laptop. The CD in the box that comes with Motorola Q9H unfortunately only for Windows XP
. If you want to synchronize your Motorola Q9H with Windows Vista
and Windows 7
, you need to get Windows Mobile Device Center.I love chatting in Yahoo Messenger using BeeJive directly from my Motorola Q9H and of course don't forget the popular Facebook too.
If you have a yahoo.com account then you probably know that you need to have a premium account to download your email using POP3 directly to your Microsoft Outlook
or Thunderbird. But it's really shocking me that I can download my email using POP3 from yahoo.com directly to my Motorola Q9H and then I synchronize with my laptop. Finally I can get my email using POP3 from yahoo.com and I don't have to pay extra for it. Perhaps it's a bug from Yahoo but hey it's a benefit for having a Motorola Q9H !!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)