how the hell do i get the money to do this, anyway? part two

WordPress is pretty sneaky– and very wise– in preventing people from using form HTML to post buttons and little images on their blogs. Their main reason for doing this was to prevent security breaches, but as a bonus it also prevents cluttered-looking blogs filled with ads.

Because of this, I had to find some ways to get a few moneymaking links in here without being too pushy with the affiliate ads. And it’s worked beautifully, except for the part where some sites ask for you to mail or fax them W-9 forms before you can get your checks. But hey, I’m be willing to drop a few cents and a lot of my personal information to make a few bucks. (College students are desperate.)

The following plugs are also conveniently located on the sidebar underneath the pretty pictures. (For everything, please click on the links so I can get referral fees if you buy something, okay?)

Here they are so far, one by one:

– Make a PayPal donation to the “Help Bianca Stay Off Parisian Streets” Fund.

I’ve got PBS-like incentives for you to donate:

$3. If you donate three US dollars or more and include your e-mail address in the ‘Notes’ section of the payment form, you get an e-postcard made from a picture I’ll take somewhere in Europe.

$5. If you donate five dollars or more and include a mailing address, you get a postcard from somewhere in Europe.

$10. If you donate ten dollars or more and include a mailing address, you get a short letter and a used ticket stub of some sort, probably from the Paris Métro or a movie or museum. I supposed you can suggest what kind of stub you want, but I won’t make any guarantees that I can get it.

$25. If you donate twenty-five dollars or more and include your e-mail and instructions in the Notes section, I will send you a picture(s) of myself doing your bidding in an area of Paris of your choosing. Caveats: It can’t require money to do, it can’t be adult content, and it shouldn’t involve me having to risk my life and limb in any way.

$30. If you donate thirty dollars or more with your e-mail and instructions in the Notes section, I’ll do the $25 thing and send you a thirty-second video of me doing it.

– Buy something from Amazon.com by clicking on the link! Seriously, you can buy almost anything, as long as it’s in your shopping cart within 24 hours of clicking on the link (and before clicking on anyone else’s referral links). I get paid in Amazon gift certificates, but it’s better than getting a $15 deduction for sending a check to my house. I also happen to use Amazon a lot for buying my textbooks.

– Buy something from Skype, like a SkypeIn number to take calls online, SkypeOut to make calls online (just get Skype Credit), any number of Skype or Wifi phones, headsets, webcams and other accessories. Since it’s so dirt cheap to make calls through Skype, I’ll probably be using this tons when I’m in Europe.

– Shop at ThinkGeek, which has a great collection of such amazingly geeky stuff. An LED binary clock? Yeah, they’ve got it. I personally love their adorable plush microbes. The common cold I think is the cutest.

– Shop at YesAsia, the Amazon.com of Chinese, Japanese and Korean popular music and videos. The latest Oricon hits? They’ve got ’em, ready for delivery to those of you in the U.S. and Canada (and beyond!). They’ve also got DVD boxed collections of the latest shows, such as my favorite cheesy Korean drama Goong (a.k.a. Palace, a.k.a. Princess Hours– I don’t know why it has so many names).

– Buy a BustedTees shirt through the link. They’re funny shirts that are usually puns or college-type jokes. (My boyfriend got his “Jesus Hates the Yankees” shirt from here. I don’t hug him when he wears it. :) Threadless is also a good place for these kinds of shirts with maybe more cool wordless designs, but unfortunately they don’t have an affiliate program.

– Get something from CafePress. It’s a bunch of personalized merchandise, so you can even make your own. They have better-quality shirts than Zazzle and are more established than Printfection.

Once I mail out some W-9s, there’ll be more of these to come. I pretty much like all of the stuff that I’ll be an affiliate of, so don’t be afraid to click ‘n’ buy.