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So, what are these student ads all about? Well, I suppose it's
a form of "sophisticated cyber-begging." Students need
sponsors, and sponsors are out there. The student ads provide a
no-pressure way for the twain to meet.
The student ads are in a classified ads software. It was the
best software that I could find to do what I had in mind. And what
is that?
To place an ad, students (or parents of students)*:
-
don't need to spend more than $1 for an ad (for the lifetime of
the ad)
-
can keep your ads until you graduate or pay off your
education-related debt
-
do not need to have your own website
-
can link to a website if you would like to
-
can include html, including a PayPal
donation button
-
can upload photos
-
can write a long description
-
can hide email addresses**
-
can hide phone numbers and addresses
-
can be from any country which is supported by PayPal
for
receiving money
-
can edit an ad any time you like
-
can place a different ad in a different category
-
can use a separate message system on our site, instead of your
email address
Students can be as creative as they like, within the rules. In
fact, I'll be conducting some creativity contests after we get a decent
number of ads.
Some extra features of the ads include:
-
e-mail a friend button, which will give recipients a link to your
ad
-
powerful search feature, so your sponsors can find you
-
sponsors may set up search filters, which will notify them by
e-mail of any new ad which meets their criteria
-
sponsors may click a button which will show them all of your ads
-
sponsors may create a "favorites" list, so they can
find you easily again
The full rules are in the user agreement, but basically, to place an
ad or to donate to a student you:
-
must be at least 18 years old
-
must open a PayPal
account (PayPal has a sophisticated system of
verifying their members' identity and ability to pay)
-
must donate $1 via your PayPal account, which will verify that
you have met the PayPal
criteria, and that you are 18 years
old.
Please note: PayPal
charges me 2.9% plus .30 for a $1
donation, leaving about .67, of which I will have to pay taxes on
because you will be receiving a service for your donation. That
leaves me about 50 cents to provide you your ad until you
graduate. I'm hoping you will donate as much as you
think is fair, and that you can afford. Thank you!
At the most, all you have to lose is $1. At the least, you will
probably learn some more about html and marketing yourself.
What's in it for me? The satisfaction of knowing I'm helping
other students, and hopefully, making the media aware of the dastardly
state our financial aid system is in.
I also hope to receive some donations myself, to help me pay for law
school.
I hope to make a little money from advertising on this site.
But I will NEVER allow flashing ads or pop-ups or scrolling
anythings. Nothing makes me leave a site faster! If you EVER
experience any annoying ads on this site, please contact me and I will
get rid of it immediately!
You are welcome to turn your website into a commercial venture and
link to it from your student ad, as long as it doesn't violate any of
the rules of the user agreement. Of course, we will all benefit
from more sponsors, so please include a link on your site to Starving
Student Scholarships.
In order for this site to be successful, we need to generate lots of
traffic. The best way to do that, is to get as many websites out
there with links to this site as possible. If you have a website,
please add a link to the Starving Student Scholarships site. If
you don't have a website, please try to find other sites to put a link
onto.
I will be continually adding ideas for making money with your website
on the Tips for
Making Money with Your Student Ad page, and for getting
sponsors to your site. One of my first projects is to include sample press
releases for your local newspapers, which you can insert your own name
into. One of the very best ways to increase sponsor traffic to
this site, though, is by getting lots of links out there pointing here,
so please add links whenever you get the chance.
Best of luck to us all!
Karen
*Please see user agreement for complete user agreement rules.
**Email addresses are visible when someone is sent to PayPal
when
they click on your PayPal
button. However, most email problems,
such as spamming and surfing children, can be alleviated by hiding your
email address. You will still have a form which users can fill out
and send to your (hidden) email address.
You can sign up for PayPal by clicking here: 
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