But the entries to win the $10,000 in cold hard cash are always local.  Why only give locals the chance to win?  This is the age of the internet and connecting with others from all over the world, so I want to offer all of you the chance to win $10,000 as well.

Enter To Win $10,000

The giveaway is a fundraiser to help out the church and proceeds also help out those in the community in need of help and support from the church.

Each entry into the giveaway is $5.00 and there is no limit to how many entries you can purchase. I’ve bought 5 entries myself.

In addition to one $10,000 winner, there is a second place prize of $2,000, so your chances of winning money is actually double what it would be with only one prize.

How To Enter

To enter, simply use the “Chip In” widget below to pay for your entries.  Once you enter, tweet the following message on Twitter:

I just entered to win $10,000 from @steven_sanders ! You can enter too http://bit.ly/1ohOGF #winbig

Announcement Of Winners

The winners will be drawn on September 12, 2009 at 9:00 pm CST, so you have until September 11, 2009 at 11:59 pm CST to enter.

Winners will be notified via email as well as announced on this blog on September 13, 2009.

No refunds on entry purchases will be given.

Good luck and let the entries begin!

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Twitter has become so popular in fact, that many books are being written by it’s more prominant and understanding users.

One such book by Murray Newlands (a Twitter Ebook), called “How To Twitter Successfully & Gain Followers“, helps to guide those new in the Twitter scene to a better understanding of what Twitter is all about and how it can be used to harness the power of your social network to be successful online.

A Look At The Step By Step Guide

The book starts off with an introduction of Twitter for those that don’t really know much about the social media platform, and quickly transitions into setting up a new account, creating your profile, and starting your first tweet.

The book also talks about the etiquette of Twitter, the main functions that can be performed, and the different Twitter tools that are popping up all over the net to make Twitter even more powerful than it already is.

Included are also tips and strategies for building your followers, and grabbing your followers attentions.

My Opinion Of The Book

As one of the early adopters of Twitter, and someone who has read many articles and books on Twitter, this book seems very similar to any other.

As with each book that’s been created there are additional insights from the individual authors that add some unique looks at different ways to leverage the power of Twitter.

All in all the Twitter Ebook is a good read, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in having their Twitter following really sky rocket.

The only downside I see to the ebook is its price.

It’s being sold for $19.95, and with so many other books already in print for free or cheaper, I’m not sure how well it will sell.

On the upside, the author is an early adopter of Twitter and also one of the top 1000 followed people on Twitter.  This speaks volumes, and might be a good reason to overlook the price tag to learn something from someone who has been successful in using Twitter to build a business.

You can get the Twitter Ebook here.

A Free Copy For One Lucky Winner

Lucky for you, I’m giving away a free copy of “How To Twitter Successfully And Gain Followers”.  To enter, simply follow me on Twitter and tweet the following:

Just entered to win the ebook, How To Twitter Successfully & Gain Followers, from @steven_sanders. RT to enter http://bit.ly/Twitter_Ebook

One winner will be chosen on August 10,2009.

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So without further ado, here are the winners:

Winner of the Free IzeaFest Ticket

Congratulations to Corine of Complicated Mama!  She is the winner of a free ticket to IzeaFest 2009.  We had a lot of entries from Blogher, and at one point I felt like I was playing “Where’s Steven”, because I would send out a tweet letting everyone know where they can find me to enter, then I would get dragged off by my wife to a totally different part of the conference.

Kudos to the girls that literally ran after me trying to get my attention just so they could enter.  It was funny and scary all at the same time!

Winners of the Affiliate Summit East Tickets

Congratulations to the following winners of the free tickets to Affiliate Summit East in New York (I only had 3 entries and one already won 4 tickets from other bloggers):

• TheRealThiago
• Roseli A. Bakar (EzyBlogger.com)

Affiliate Summit East is going to rock!

Win Your Ticket to Affiliate Summit East

I’ve still got one free ticket remaining because I only had 3 entrants, one of which already has 4 free tickets.  So here’s your chance to win a free ticket to Affiliate Summit East.

All you have to do is leave me a comment asking for it.  The first person to comment wins!

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What Is The One Dollar Experiment?

Simply put, the One Dollar Experiment is nothing more than asking all my readers to donate $1 to help pay for my travel and hotel stay.

But it doesn’t stop at simply donating a dollar.

For every dollar you donate, you get that many chances in a drawing to win half the money that I raise.

So if I raise $1,000, then one lucky winner will get $500 to use anyway they want.  This means the more you donate, the more money you could possibly win.  And by all means, you don’t have to stop at $1.  You can donate as much money as you want.

Drawing A Winner

The One Dollar Experiment will end July 27th and the winner will be drawn and announced on July 28th.  Anyone is eligible to enter and win, no matter what country you’re from.  The only requirement is that you have a paypal account, as that’s how the money will be transferred.

Gaining Another Entry

To get another entry into the drawing to win or to simply help me get the word out, copy and paste the message below into Twitter.

Here’s your chance to win a large sum of money from @steven_sanders in his One Dollar Experiment. http://bit.ly/14O1ji

Let the experiment begin!

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Free Ticket To Izea Fest

Early last month, I started a giveaway for 2 IzeaFest tickets, holding onto a third and hoping I could come up with some creative way of giving it away.  And I’ve finally decided on giving it away at Blogher.

If you’ve never hear of IzeaFest, you are really missing out!  It covers a wide variety of topics dealing with blogging, but most importantly, this year, it is offering every attendee a free pass to Sea World Orlando on the Sunday of the event.

You really can’t pass up a free ticket to Sea World!

To find out more about IzeaFest, click here.

How To Enter

Entering to win a free ticket to IzeaFest 09 at Blogher is super easy.  Simply find me, and give me your business card.  Much to the warning from Backpacking dad on his How To Attend Blogher As A Dude post, I’ll be the one wearing cargo shorts, and probably an Izea t-shirt.

Might even be cool if Izea gave me a t-shirt to wear to Blogher that said something like “Ask me how to get a free ticket to IzeaFest 2009″.  *Wink *Wink

When I get back home from Blogher (carrying my huge stash of business cards), I’ll mix them all up, throw them in a big pile, close my eyes, and randomly draw one card.

The owner of that card will win the Free Ticket to IzeaFest.

If you’ve already purchased a ticket to IzeaFest or won one from someone else, I’m sorry, but I’ll have to draw another name to win.  What fun would an event be where one person horded all of the tickets?

Are you going to Blogher? Leave me a comment, letting me know.

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Winner Number 1

The first winner of a Free IzeaFest ticket is Anne-Marie Nichols of www.the-write-spot.com.  You can also find her on Twitter under the name amnichols.  How convenient.

Anne-Marie seems to be doing very well for herself with her many blogs and social media profiles.  I’m sure she will bring a lot to the IzeaFest conference.

Winner Number 2

Winner number two of a Free IzeaFest ticket is Stacie Haight Connerty of thedivinemissmommy.com. You can also find her on Twitter under the name StacieinAtlanta.  With over 12,000 twitter followers, she must have something interesting to say.

Stacie is also doing very well with her blog and social media profiles.

Win A Free Ticket To IzeaFest 2009

Congratulations to the winners and remember I still have one more ticket to give away, so make sure you continue visiting my blog or subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss your chance to win a Free IzeaFest 2009 ticket.

Remember, if you aren’t interested in possibly missing the chance to attend IzeaFest because you’re waiting on winning a ticket, you can alway go ahead and buy a ticket to IzeaFest 09 here.

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I have 3 Gold passes to Affiliate Summit East in New York City.  These passes normally cost $399, so a free one could be the difference in whether you can go or not.

What’s Affiliate Summit East?

For those of you who don’t know, here is an exerpt straight from the Affiliate Summit website:

“Affiliate Summit East, the premier affiliate marketing conference, is taking place August 9-11, 2009 in New York City.

This three day conference includes an exhibit hall with affiliate merchants, vendors, and networks, as well as multiple tracks of educational sessions covering the latest trends and information from affiliate marketing experts.

The keynote speaker for Monday, August 10 will be Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs, and the keynote for Tuesday, August 11 will be Peter Shankman, founder and CEO of The Geek Factory.

Our charity partner for Affiliate Summit East 2009 is Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City.

Where: Hilton New York
When: August 9-11, 2009″

How To Enter

Entering to win is as simple as hitting a few keys on your keyboard.  Here are the three ways to enter:

1. Copy and Paste the following on Twitter: (1 entry)

- “I just entered to win a Free Gold Pass to Affiliate Summit East from @steven_sanders .  RT to enter to win. http://tinyurl.com/mlfnxl”

2. Write a blog post telling others about Affiliate Summit East and about this giveaway. (3 entries)

3. Join my Izea Insider group, Izea Mafia, and claim your blog on Social Spark. (5 entries)

* Giveaway ends July 20, 2009 at 11:59 pm

Make sure you visit tomorrow to find out who won the Free Passes to IzeaFest 2009!

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If you read my blog on a somewhat consistant basis, you know that I’m one of the 10 coveted Izea Insider Crew Leaders, and as such I’ve been given some free tickets to give away for IzeaFest 2009. So two of you lucky readers will get to be graced with my presence at IzeaFest this year as you make your way into the Ports of Call conference building, your wallet fat with all the cash you’ve saved, to enjoy one whale of a good time.

IzeaFest Happenings

This years IzeaFest will start off with an awesome party on October 1st to be followed by many drunk bloggers laughing uncontrollably as they make their way to the Orlando Renaissance Hotel, right across the road.

Then on Friday morning, October 2nd, bright and early, we’ll all make our way, groaning with hangovers, to the Ports of Call conference building to begin the process of registration.

The keynote speaker will be none other than Ted Murphy himself speaking on what he knows best: Building Your Personal Brand.

The keynote was originally scheduled to be Robert Scoble, but he (meaning his wife) will be having a new baby during that time and won’t be able to make it.

The day will then be littered with other great speakers like Darren Rowse, Sara Evans, and fellow Izea Insider, Julie Vazquez.  Then following closely behind, yet another party where we will proceed to witness bloggers in several states of drunkeness.

Wake up again on Saturday for another keynote by Aaron Brazell followed by sessions featuring famous bloggers like Chris Brogan, Brett Bumeter (fellow Insider), and maybe even you for your 6 minutes of fame.

We’ve got another party again on Saturday evening, and we wake up early Sunday morning for a blogger takeover of Sea World!

All IzeaFest attendees will get a Free IzeaFest t-shirt and Free one-day pass to Sea World.  Who wants to ride the new Manta Mania ride with me?

How To Win Your Free Ticket

Entering to win one the 2 IzeaFest tickets I’m giving away is easy, and the more ways you enter, the better your chances of being chosen.

Here are the following ways to enter:

1. Leave A Comment

By leaving a comment on this post showing your excitement about IzeaFest 2009, you’ll get 1 entry.

2. Twitter Loving

Simply copy and past the following message on Twitter and you get another entry in this awesome giveaway.

I just entered to win a FREE ticket to #IzeaFest 09! Click this link for you chance to win too http://tinyurl.com/d9arsw

3. Join Izea Mafia

If you join Izea Mafia (my Izea Insider Crew), not only do you automatically get entered to win other great prizes given away throughout your entire life, but you also get 5 entries in this IzeaFest ticket giveaway!

Click here to join IzeaMafia

4. Spread The Word Blog Style

Write a blog post telling the world about IzeaFest and my giveaway for 2 Free IzeaFest tickets and you get another 3 entries.

But Wait… There’s More

With so many ways to enter, you can get up to 10 entries to win your Free ticket to IzeaFest 2009.

This giveaway ends May 31st at 11:59 pm, so make sure you get your entries in before that time.  Both winners will be announced on June 1st.

If you aren’t one of the lucky winners of either of these 2 Free tickets, make sure you follow me on Twitter for your chance at winning a 3rd Free ticket to IzeaFest 2009!

That’s right!  I’ve got 3 tickets to give away and the only way you’ll know when the chance to win the 3rd ticket arises, is if you follow me on Twitter.  The only hint I’ll give is that there will be a contest to win it and it might involve some kind of online scavenger hunt.

Giveaway Has Officially Ended

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Hope Unlimited is an amazing organization that lends itself to helping expecting mothers in desparate need.  Whether that mother is thinking of abortion, adoption, or having the baby but has financial situations that cause complications with having and raising a child.

Hope Unlimited does nothing but constantly give of themselves to the community day after day, but because they are a non-profit organization, they rely on the charitable donations of others to help support them.  And when you think of it in this way, you start to realize that those women that are getting that help, are being helped by you.  The person who donated money, items, or your time to help them.  Hope Unlimited is simply here to make that job a little easier on all of us.  And they do an awesome job at it!

If you want to learn more about Hope Unlimited or the fundraising event, you can visit my recent post here.

How You Helped

The fundraiser was an ongoing event that spanned from April 6 to April 27, 2009.  It’s main purpose was to help raise much needed money for Hope Unlimited and all of the expecting mothers in need that reach out to them every day.

I thank each and every person that made an effort to help in the best way they could.  You’re contributions to Hope Unlimited help in so many ways.

• I had 325 visitors to the Hope Unlimited blog post, resulting in only 32 unique comments and 5 donations being made in the total amount of $85.00.
• I contacted 605 of my Facebook friends to join the Hope Unlimited Facebook Group to help show their support for Hope Unlimited, resulting in only 36 members, and 390 people turning their back on showing their support by saying “No”.

I don’t understand why so many refuse to help in any way, but will turn right around and ask for help from others.

I understand that because of the economy and many people’s financial situations, making a monetary donation wasn’t an option.  But leaving a comment to show your support, or by saying yes, I’ll join this group to help support expecting mothers in need, is FREE, and it only takes 2 minutes of time.

I am happy we raised $85.00, and I hope through this fundraising event, that Hope Unlimited became better known.  I hope that this will lead to more donations and support from others outside the community.

Children are our future, and we should do everything we can to protect them and see that they are given the tools and chances in life they need to be safe and happy.

The $100 Giveaway Winner

Since only 5 people donated money, the odds of winning this $100 giveaway were very good.

I took the names of each winner, loaded it into the website random.org, and a name was chosen.

The winner of the $100 Give the Gift of Hope winner is:

Debra Sneddon

Congratulations Debra!  I will be getting in touch with you.  Thank you for your generosity in giving to Hope Unlimited.  Your willingness to give has rewarded you many times over.

How You Can Still Help

While this fundraising event and the $100 giveaway contest is over, you can still contribute to Hope Unlimited.

Leaving a comment to show your support is extremely encouraged.  Please leave a comment!

They are always in need of pregnancy and baby supplies as well as money to continue their efforts.

You can send any donations to:

Hope Unlimited Family Care Center and Medical Clinic
1101 Jefferson Street
Paducah, KY 42001

Thank you Hope Unlimited for the opportunity to help give back to expecting mothers in need, and thank you Izea for giving me this opportunity and challenge to help support a local cause in my community.

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We’ve covered everything from SMART goal making to Participating in Forums, to The 5 Habits of Highly Successful Bloggers, and in the past couple of days, Branding Your Blog For Success Part 1 & Part 2.

We are 2/3 of the way through and to celebrate our special milestone, I want to reveal to you 7 ways to make money online.  Two of which are guaranteed to make you money as long as your blog is at least 90 days old.

1. Pay Per Post

Pay Per Post is a project of Izea, the guys behind IzeaFest (the greatest blog conference in the world).  It’s sort of like the craigslist for blog post opportunities.

Much like websites such as ReviewMe and Sponsored Reviews, Pay Per Post makes it possible for bloggers to get paid for writing review posts for advertisers.

Unlike ReviewMe and Sponsored Reviews, Pay Per Post lets the blogger browse through different blog post opportunities.  When the blogger finds one that fits their niche or interest, they sign up, write the post, and get paid for it.

As long as you can find an opportunity that you’re willing to write about, and follow the posting rules as outlined, you are guaranteed to make money.

You can sign up for Pay Per Post here to get started.  It’s absolutely free.

A new re-work of Pay Per Post is also being developed and is currently in alpha testing right now.  But I actually have 10 alpha keys to give away that will allow you early access to test pilot the new site.

To enter all you have to do is re-tweet the following on Twitter:

“I just entered to win a chance at being one of the first users of the new PayPerPost. You can enter to win too  http://twurl.nl/c23628”

10 winners will be randomly chosen on May 18th, 2009.

2. Social Spark

Social Spark is also a brain child of Izea, and is actually a much better version of Pay Per Post.  Not only are you given opportunities to make money writing sponsored reviews, but there are also Cost Per Click opportunities, Affiliate opportunities, Sponsorships, and Trade Opportunities available for bloggers to choose from.

With such a diverse way to make money with your blog and social media profiles, Social Spark is revolutionizing making money online.

And as long as your blog is at least 90 days old, there is no way you can’t make money with this program.

If you’re interested in trying Social Spark for yourself, I’ve got some really great news.

I’m an official Izea Insider Crew Leader.  What does that mean?  You can sign up as one of my crew-members, and along with the opporunities to make money that Social Spark offers, you will be automatically entered to win all contests listed on my Izea Insider Mafia website for life.

Click here to start the process of becoming an Izea Insider Crew member for Izea Mafia.  All crew members also get special recognition by me and other Izea members at blog and social media conferences.  As well as opportunities to win great prizes not offered to anyone else.

Hint – There might be something special for Crew members at IzeaFest 09, so don’t hesitate to be a part of it.

3. Text Link Ads

When a first began blogging, text link ads (TLA) was the very first platform that made me money.  And it still does today.  In fact, it’s the most consistant money maker for this blog.

The first part of every single month, a direct deposit of my earnings is put into my PayPal account.  And I don’t even have to do anything but blog.

TLA places your blog in front of other advertisers that are interested in getting links to their website on other’s blogs.  They will list your blog, and even handle the approval process of selling your text-link ads.

TLA also provides a widget to place into your blog’s sidebar so every link that gets sold is automatically placed onto your blog for you.

With so much being demanded of you as a blogger, it’s nice to know that there are programs like TLA that handle everything for you.

You can sign up for TLA here to start making money with your blog.

4. Market Leverage

Probably one of the highest paying affiliate networks on the internet today, Market Leverage connects advertisers with bloggers interested in earning affiliate money online.

Their offers are mostly CPA offers, but with such a high payout, your profit percentages per sale, signup, or lead are among the best right now.

As an added bonus, Market Leverage also has an affiliate program of their own.  For every person you refer that signs up as an affiliate and is approved, you make 5% of their affiliate commissions for life.

There aren’t many affiliate programs that offer commission for life, so to not sign up for Market Leverage would be a missed opportunity to be a truly successful blogger and making money online.

You can sign up for Market Leverage here to get started.

If their high payouts and referral commissions for life aren’t enough to spark your interest, I am hosting a Market Leverage contest right now, and everyone who signs up through me has a chance at winning a Macbook Pro, 24 inch monitor, iPod Touch, or $200 Visa gift card.

You can find out more about the contest here.

5. Amazon Associates

Amazon also offers a way to make money online.  You can create an affiliate url for every single product that they offer, and with so many to choose from, there is no reason you can’t find something that fits within your niche.

For example, every book I review on this blog is accompanied by my amazon affiliate link.  So all sales  made through my link give me a 4% commission.

The more sales you refer to Amazon, the higher your affiliate payout percentage will be.

My wife uses Amazon affiliate links on her blog as well.  She reviews maternity and baby products, and every sale made through the provided affiliate link generates a hefty commission for her as well.

Even if you’re not a blogger, you can make money from Amazon Affiliate by having your family and friends by Christmas and birthday gifts using your affiliate links as well.

With Amazon Associates, the possibilites to make money online are endless.

Click here to get started with Amazon Associates.

6. PepperJam Network

PepperJam is a lot like most other affiliate networks.  The offer Cost Per Click, Cost Per Action, and Cost Per Impression opportunities for bloggers and affiliate marketers.

There really isn’t a lot that’s extremely special about PepperJam except for one thing.

They have an affiliate program as well.  But unlike Market Leverage, they don’t offer a percentage of other’s sales.  They offer a flat rate for every person that successfully signs up for PepperJam network through your referral link.

Since signing up is absolutely free, it’s easy to get others to signup underneath you.

You can signup for PepperJam here.

7. 7 Dollar Secrets

Unlike every other way to make money online that I’ve mentioned, 7 Dollar Secrets isn’t some special affiliate network, and it doesn’t offer opportunities to write reviews or generate Cost Per Click payments.

7 Dollar Secrets is simply an ebook.  An ebook that does nothing but tell you how to make money online.

It’s not free though, like most ebooks.  You have to pay $7 for it.  Why $7?  Because anyone can afford $7.

While the book has some pretty good information in it, I’m not recommending this method of making money online because of the content within the book.

I’m recommending 7 Dollar Secrets because of what you can do with the book.

I’ve written about 7 Dollar Secrets before and how it is my most successful way to make money online.

You can read the post here.

And when you’re done reading.  Go ahead and click here to get your copy and start making money with it today.

How do you make money online?  Do you have any special ways of guaranteeing a profit?  Please share them with us by commenting.

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