- How can I make money with my ad?
- What can I put in my ad?
- I want a website but don't know how to make
one. Where do I start?
- Do I need my own computer to have an ad?
- How do I attract sponsors?
- How do I know a student is for real?
- Do you get a
commission from PayPal?
- Why don't you use Amazon or
another donation option?
- Do you get a cut
of sponsor donations?
- Why isn't it free to
place an ad?
- Why
do you require a PayPal account for both students and sponsors?
- What are the rules
for placing an ad?
- I'm in
high school. Can I place an ad?
- You don't have a
category that I want. Can you add one for me?
- Why are you doing this? Do
you make money from this site?
- How did you make this web
site?
- I'm not a U.S. student.
Can I get sponsor money?
- I'm not a
student. Can I still place an ad?
- Why don't you charge
more for ads?
- Why do you
offer your ads to users outside the U.S.?
- Do
you sell my information? What is your privacy policy?
You'll find some tips on the Tips
for Making Money with Your Student Ad page. If you think of some more, please contact me.
Also, please share your success stories with me.
Although you are not allowed to sell anything on your student ad, you are
welcome to put a link to another website that is a commercial venture, as long
as it does not violate the user agreement.
Please read the user agreement for
details. Basically, you're welcome to write about yourself, add html, add
pictures of you or your work (art, engineering, whatever). You may not use
the ad as a commercial venture, but you can add a link to a commercial
website. You may not include or link to anything offensive (we want to
keep those sponsors coming back!). Please read the agreement for full
details.
You'll find some tips on the Tips
for Making Money with Your Student Ad page. There is an abundance of free information on the
internet, and you may even find some free web hosting out there.
No. You will need access to a computer, but you can create an ad on
someone else's computer. If you want to add photos or images, you will
need to somehow get them stored somewhere on the internet.
Check out the Tips for
Making Money with Your Student Ad page. Here are just a few ideas:
First of all, get an email address from the college you are attending.
I have advised sponsors to look for college email addresses to verify that you
are a student.
Read the Sponsor Tips page to see what I've
advised them to do.
Don't have a college email address? Neither do I! Some colleges
don't offer them, and some of you aren't in school at the moment. In that
case:
Make your ad compelling and creative. Be honest, but not a
whiner. Show off your talents. Explain your dreams. Try to
think of what a sponsor would want to learn about you. Sell yourself!
If you can link to a website that says even more about you, or has something a
sponsor might want to buy, then do that, too. Perhaps a sponsor won't want
to send you money, but they'll support your business venture.
If you come up with some tips that are not on this site, please contact me.
Please read the Sponsor Tips page. I've
included tips on how to verify that a person really is a student. Of
course, not all students can be verified by the methods I've mentioned.
Sometimes, you may have to just use your instinct. Student emails are the
best way to verify a student. Visit the page to see how.
If you have any tips which are not included, please contact me. Thank
you!
***Note: Before I would receive any referral money, you would have to
first receive $1,000 through your PayPal account.
I did not choose to use PayPal for any money-making opportunity, as none was
offered when I started this website. However as of 10/4/03, I learned that
PayPal now does pay a referral fee for new business accounts. I have
signed up, and you should, too, if you have a website. Click
here to learn more about it. Before I would receive any referral
money, you would have to first receive $1,000 through your PayPal account.
I have high hopes for us all, but I'm not expecting a referral fee any time
soon!
I require PayPal accounts for any money transactions because it is the only
way I could think of to be sure those who used the ads were of age, and that any
money transferred was within the law. PayPal is a huge corporation (owned
by Ebay), and I let them handle all security issues. It keeps you safe,
and keeps me safe from any lawsuits or problems with the government.
For any donations given to me or this site, however, PayPal charges me a
percentage. I receive roughly 50 cents of each dollar spent to place a
student ad.
Mainly because PayPal offers more, and many people already have PayPal
accounts, so it's easier for everyone.
And I don't have the energy to figure out lots of options.
As for my problem with Amazon:
I love Amazon.com and I buy and sell used books on Amazon. My Mexico
Mama video is for sale on Amazon. Amazon has incredible customer service
and I have no complaints about Amazon at all...except:
I really hate that Amazon's donation graphic uses cookies on people's
computers, which shows their name. The first time it happened to me, I
actually got a horrible sinking feeling in my stomach. All of a sudden, my
anonymous internet browsing felt invaded. Here's what happened:
I was perusing a woman's site who had an Amazon donation button on it.
Can't even remember the site right now. There in big letters was
"Hello Karen Kelly." Freaked me out (if I can revert to 70's
slang for a moment)!
It was very effective--for Amazon, but not for the woman-- because I clicked
on it and ended up on Amazon's site to find out why my name was on that woman's
site. It didn't make me donate to her, though. I felt mad at
her for invading my privacy!
Turns out nobody else can see my name. The Amazon button uses cookies
on an individual's browser and displays the name. Still, it was
creepy. I don't want any visitors to this site running away forever
because they fear I'm stealing their identity or something.
Amazon also has a donation limit of $50, and other limits that PayPal does
not have.
You are more than welcome to put a link to a website that contains any
donation options you want. I just don't want any on this site.
Nope. Nada. Zip.
This site is a way to get the two of you together. I'm happy to accept
any donations you are inspired to give, if you have found the site useful.
I actually wanted the ads to be completely free. But, have you ever
visited a free classifieds site? They're full of really annoying
advertisements. They get spammed like mad.
I also needed a way to make sure that those who placed ads were 18 years
old. I don't want to have to worry about the safety of minors placing ads
for the wacky world at large to see.
The best solution I could come up with, was to use PayPal for a minimum $1
donation. Anyone who can get a PayPal account, will have passed PayPal's
test for adulthood. Plus, users' identity would be accessible to law
officials should anything illegal happen. (Law officials would go through
PayPal, not me).
If you place an ad that stays on the site for 4 years, for instance, and you
gave me $1, the ad will have cost you about 2 cents per month. ($1 divided
by 48 months.) That's pretty darn close to free!
At the end of the first year of having Starving Student Scholarships on the
internet, it will have cost me about $500, after charging software, buying
domain name, hosting, etc. As I only actually clear about 50 cents on each
dollar donated (after PayPal fees and taxes), that would take 1,000 people
donating $1 each, just for me to break even. And that's not including
adding the 29% interest the credit card company is charging me.
And right now I'm unemployed and receiving about $280/week
unemployment. I'm looking for a legal secretary job. My rent is
$625. My law school tuition & books run me about $300/month.
Then there's electricity, phone, internet service...oh yeah, and food.
And, I have not cleared a profit on Starving Student Websites, yet (just got it
going in August--charged it, too!).
So, yes, I wish the ads could be free. I think the solution I've come
up with is the closest to free that I can offer, and still offer some security
and a (hopefully) spam-free site.
I want to be sure everyone is 18 years old, and that if anything illegal
happens, the identity of the individuals can be traced by PayPal and law
officials. I want the site to be safe for everyone.
PayPal offers the most money transfer options right now and excellent
security. Plus, many people already have PayPal accounts.
Please read the user agreement for full
details.
In a nutshell, you must be at least 18 (you may be the parent of
a high school student), you must get a PayPal account if you don't already have
one, you must be a college student or are intending to become one shortly, or be
a graduate who needs help paying off education-related debt.
You must follow all rules of the user agreement.
You must be 18 to place an ad. An adult can place an ad on your behalf,
and the adult will be completely responsible for that ad. Please read the user
agreement for complete details.
The types of categories that are allowed are geographical and by school
name. International categories must be in a country that is supported by
PayPal. See PayPal's
frequently asked questions page regarding non-US accounts, to find out if
your country is on the list and if there are any restrictions on sending or
receiving funds.
So, if you would like me to add your school, city, state, province, country,
etc., I'd be more than happy to do so. Please use the contact
form. Please submit your request in English. I'll get it done
just as soon as possible. Keep checking back. If I haven't added
your category in 7 days, please remind me. Perhaps I did not receive your
email.
I'm doing this because I think it's desperately needed. Please read my
intro on the home page.
Please read the answer to "Why
isn't it free to place an ad," to learn about my finances.
In a nutshell, right now I'm in the hole and charging everything on my credit
card. I'm hoping to receive donations through my student ad, and to
make a little money from advertising on the site.
I used Microsoft FrontPage. The classified ads are from Geodesic
Solutions.
You must be able to get a PayPal account. Please check the PayPal site
for details and a list of countries and restrictions which may apply to your
particular country.
Here is a link to PayPal's
frequently asked questions page regarding non-US accounts.
As long as you are able to open a PayPal account and receive funds, you are
welcome to create an ad.
You must either be a student, intend to become a student in the very near
future, or be a student who has graduated and needs help paying off your
education-related debts.
I use the honor system here, and I believe sponsors will be able to see
through any scams.
You must agree to the terms of the users
agreement.
I don't want anybody excluded.
I'm hoping that those who can afford to donate more, will do so, which will
allow the site to continue to offer an equal opportunity to those who cannot
afford to give more.
My goal is to become an immigration lawyer. And I live in California,
where immigration issues are very much a part of daily life. So, I'm aware
of the fact that there are many people in the world with relatives in the U.S.
and vice-versa.
Perhaps someone now lives in the U.S. who would like
to help students from their home town, which happens to be in another
country. Or, perhaps a student is studying in the U.S. and is a long
way from home, and that student has a community back home who would like to help
them out. And maybe neither student nor sponsor are in the U.S., and yet
need this type of service.
I'm all about equal opportunity.
As far as any concerns about money-laundering and countries designated to be
risks, and such--I leave that to the big corporation of PayPal to deal
with. I defer to PayPal on such issues, and leave it to PayPal to comply
with any government regulations. This is another reason why I require
PayPal accounts for all transactions.
I do not sell any information regarding anyone on this site, nor
do I share it. I will send occasional email newsletters to people who are
registered.
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