I have to qualify first that I personally did not attend this course held recently in Kuala Lumpur by facilitator Alvin Phang, on the topic of how to make money online or by blogging. The title of the workshop escaped me but it’s something to do with teaching people how to make money on their blogs.

I believe Alvin Phang comes from Singapore and claims to have made many thousands of dollars through his blogging, mainly from affiliate programs. Someone I know went for the course and after completing the 2-day course which was held at Wisma MCA during a recent weekend, I asked how it went, what he learned and gained. He kindly shared with me and to my horror, I found that people should be made aware of some hidden agenda. Read below on how I think Alvin cheats on his earnings from affiliate programs and Adsense.

Firstly, I would like to qualify also that I believe Alvin Phang has made his course specially for people who do not know anything about blogging and setting up blogs. He helps them to register a domain of their choice and subsequently helps to install Wordpress on it and proceed to set it up including installing a theme for all participants. They all use a theme designed by him.

They are told that for the RM2,500 course held in Malaysia, it not only includes the workshop fee but they also get the domain name and 1-year hosting of their site. I expected the participants to then get full access to their web host and also domain name manager so that they are fully empowered to manage their own blogs.

As it turns out, they do not have any control over the web host nor the domain name. I figured that Alvin probably earned his affiliate income signing up everyone for a domain name and a 1-year web host service. And since they do not have any control over this and thus will not learn how to manage any of these services going forward, they seem to be locked in for as long as they don’t transfer out the domain and continue using the web host provider they signed up with. Wow, that’s year after year of affiliate income for Alvin, isn’t it?

That’s not all, Alvin also removed the permission to edit any of the theme settings in Wordpress administration. This means that they cannot change the template, cannot tweak the theme in anyway. Not even to install any plugins! All they get to do is post entries, add some widgets in the sidebar, put up some affiliate banners and that’s about it.

Why shouldn’t the owners of the blogs be allowed to manage all these fundamental things in their very own blogs? I’ll tell you why. Or at least I think I figured the reason why Alvin locked it.

Alvin made it known to the participants that he DOES NOT believe in making money from Google Adsense. If you visit his various sites, you will not find a single unit of Adsense being used. Fair enough. But do you know what he has done with all the participants’ blogs? He inserted Adsense into them and those Adsense units are not from the participants’ Google Adsense accounts! Whose are they? Must be Alvin’s, right?

He inserted those Adsense into the sidebar of the blogs but he did so sneakily. He did not insert them using the widgets because blog owners can change and even remove them. He included the Adsense codes into the sidebar.php file which is kept locked and inaccessible to these blog owners. So how are they going to remove these Adsense? They simply can’t.

So if Alvin does not believe in Adsense, why did he so sneakily incorporate them into other people’s blogs and lock it so that it cannot be removed? Answer is simple. Alvin does believe in Adsense. He just doesn’t put them into his own blogs but make his Adsense income via other people’s blogs. God knows how many similar courses he’s conducted and how many participants’ blogs he has set up with his Adsense code incorporated.

Now if you think about it, Alvin is a smart businessman who not only makes money from the seminar fees collected, he is also making affiliate income from all the domain names and web host sign ups, including any clicks of those Adsense on other people’s blogs. No wonder he can claim to have made hundreds of thousands through affiliate programs. So now you understand the secret of his making so much money from affiliate programs. Clever business idea, isn’t it?

I won’t comment on the content of his seminar. I’m sure for beginners they would have learned a lot since they start out with no knowledge whatsoever. I’m only warning you of what he does behind your back, telling half-truths and lying about his sentiments on Adsense when he’s riding on it through you!

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Be careful of Alvin Phang’s course on making money through blogs!

In this time of economic slowdown amidst the global financial crisis, financial guru Warren Buffet shares some views and wisdom which he uses to stay financially healthy. Let’s learn a thing or two from this world reknowned investor and grow healthier and wiser financially from here on too.

Warren Buffet

We begin this New Year with dampened enthusiasm and dented optimism.  Our happiness is diluted and our peace is threatened by the financial illness that has infected our families, organizations and nations.   Everyone is desperate to find a remedy that will cure their financial illness and help them recover their financial health.  Every new year, I adopt a couple of old maxims as my beacons to guide my future.   This self-prescribed therapy has ensured that with each passing year, I grow wiser and not older.   This year, I invite you to tap into the financial wisdom of our elders along with me, and become financially wiser.

Hard work: All hard work brings profit; but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Laziness: Sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.
Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income.
Spending: If you buy things you don’t need, you’ll soon sell things you need.
Savings: Don’t save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving.
Accounting: It’s no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.
Auditing: Beware of little expenses; a small leak can sink a large ship.
Risk-taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet.
Investment: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

I’m certain that those who have already been practicing these principles remain financially healthy.
I’m equally confident that those who resolve to start practicing these principles will quickly regain their financial health.  Let us become wiser and lead a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful life.
Warren Buffet

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Words of wisdom from financial guru Warren Buffet

If you are looking for ways to start an online business and don’t know how, here’s a nice freebie to gain some knowledge and tips. There will be a free e-commerce training workshop by P1 and eBay, organised by Wireless KL. This is a good opportunity to get some advise on how to get started, how to reach a larger market, and lots more. The schedule of this free e-commerce workshop is as follows:

Let’s hope this free workshop will be worth your time and effort attending. Do share with the rest of us how it went if you’re going for it.

To find out more about this e-commerce workshop, visit Wireless KL’s website.

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Free e-commerce (via eBay) workshop

The habit of saving money is always looked upon as something so simple yet never easy to do for most people. It takes a lot of discipline to save up regularly. It takes even more discipline to save for the future or a rainy day, as compared to saving up for a purchase of something of desire. Saving is actually not too difficult anymore in this day and age where technology has given us much convenience to do so. Here are some saving tips to share. It is all about making up your mind to do so, spend some time and effort to set things up once and for all, and you will be on your way to making regular monthly savings.

Assuming you are under employment and have a bank account where your monthly salary is automatically debited with your pay cheque, it is suggested that you set up another account for your savings to go into. A savings account is recommended for this purpose for 2 good reasons. Firstly, most savings accounts do not impose as high charges as current or checking accounts do. Secondly, savings accounts tend to give better savings interest rates compared to current accounts. You can opt whether or not you want this newly set up account to come with an ATM card. The pro of not having an ATM card is that it makes it inconvenient for you to withdraw the funds, and you are more likely to leave your savings intact for the long term. Even if you have an ATM card to your savings account, avoid withdrawing funds from it anyway.

From the bank account where you normally receive your regular salaries, instruct an auto-debit on a monthly basis to be transferred to the savings account that you have set up. This is a one-time set up on your side provided you select the recurring option and it is suggested that you set it on a monthly basis. As for the amount to be auto-debited to your savings account, it is entirely your choice. Set a certain percentage of your net income to be your savings, say 10% to start with. A note to add on this point is that you should set the date of the auto-debit to be just after you have received your salary. Salaries are normally paid on a certain date in the month, and you should take the savings portion out before you start making payments for your other loan commitments or any other expenses. The idea is that you should pay yourself first once you have received your pay cheque, and not the banks.

Once you have done this, saving money becomes automatic, hence the auto-pilot mode. It is as easy as A,B,C! You just need to put your mind to doing this, and be disciplined enough not to cancel that monthly auto-debit.

If you would rather prefer to put your cash savings into an investment vehicle instead, you can do this via regular or monthly purchase into unit trust funds or even units in shares. Again, these purchases can be done via auto-debits. You should speak with your unit trust agent or remisier about your options and how to go about investing regularly. For both these vehicles, you do not need to purchase units by the thousands if it is a recurring purchase. You can opt to buy units in the hundreds. That way, these investments become very affordable and over time, you will find yourself having significant holding of certain unit trust funds and stocks.

Save reguarly, and save wisely. It is a worthwhile exercise over the long term. Putting off a certain portion of your monthly salary will not make you much poorer month on month. But you will be surprised how much it can grow over the years, especially if you take into account the magic of compounded interests earned, or the growth of good funds and stocks.

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How to save money regularly and do it on auto-pilot mode

Most of us need our daytime job as it provides us with a regular monthly pay cheque. Most of us would also think that we are never paid enough. For those who wish to make some side income without jeopardizing their work, this post will show you several fun ways to do it as well as where to find these opportunities.

Have fun reading and making money!

1) Be a mystery shopper

A mystery shopper is someone engaged by a firm to do “spot checks” if you will, on some given company or retail outlets. These firms are in turn engaged by corporations who wish to find out just how their many outlets are doing in various ways, be it their customer service, the stock level of products, the knowledge of the sales assistants, etc.

The pay for each assignment as a mystery shopper varies from one task to another. You can be paid either in cash or cash vouchers or even in kind (a complimentary meal, for example). You are free to choose and accept whatever tasks that come your way.

After you have performed the actual task of mystery shopping at the specified stores and locations, you are required to write reports in formats pre-determined by the engaging firm. You need to ensure that during your mystery shopping, you complete all that’s necessary for you to be able to provide answers to the required reports.

If you wish to sign up as a mystery shopper, you can check out some sites like GapBuster and Customer Eyes.

One thing you should beware of is being scammed. To register yourself for service as a mystery shopper does not require any payment from you as deposit or joining fee. It should be free.

2) Offer your services on a freelance basis

You can also offer your talents and expertise on a freelance basis. There are many requirements out there and you can apply for them and take on the assignments on your own free time. You will be surprised that there are many opportunities out there and one such website that you can check out is Asia Partime.

3) Participate in surveys

You can sign up to be contacted by market surveyors whenever there are any market research projects to be conducted. How this works is that some companies engage a market research company to conduct surveys on their behalf. Most times, these surveys will need input from layman on the streets. The market research companies will source for and pay people who agree to answer the survey questionnaires. The payouts for participating in such surveys vary, depending on the time you need to put in and the products surveyed. Some surveys may not pay out cash, and substitute cash payment with shopping vouchers. So before you agree to take part in any survey, ask and check what the payout is like.

Some of these surveys could be as easy as answering just a few questions whilst some may require you to spend an hour or two in a focus group. Of course the amount of time spent on these surveys will commensurate with the payout rate.

You need to take note that not everyone will qualify for all kinds of surveys as market researches will scan and contact only the related target group for their surveys. So do not expect to be contacted for each and every survey available. Alternatively, you can also do online surveys and get paid. There are many paid survey sites online, for example Global Test Market, My Survey and Youth Says.

4) Write and share product or service reviews

If you are interested in writing and sharing your thoughts in the form of reviews, this will be just perfect for you. You get to do what you like and be paid for it. There are many sites that welcome all sorts of products and services reviews and offer you some form of payment. Some of the sites you can visit are Review Stream, Review Centre and Epinions. Each site has their own policy and payout rates, so read the sites for more information and choose the ones that you feel comfortable working with. When you write reviews, be as helpful and informative as you can.

Now go on, find the time and see how you can make some extra money through these fun and easy ways. I have tried a couple of them and it’s actually quite rewarding. Have fun and we hope you make good money on the side to afford youself some luxuries every now and then!

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How to make extra money while keeping your job