I am a freelance artist who has just started using the web to introduce people to my science fiction art. Along the way in my internet explorations I found some other ways to make a little extra cash I'd like to share with you.

There are several companies out there that will pay you to surf the web, the catch is that you have to have one of their ad banners displayed on your monitor while you're surfing because that's what they're paying you for: to look at their ads. If you have a chat room habit, like to look at art on the web, or spend a lot of time surfing the web and you have space on your monitor, then these companies can get you a few extra bucks every month. However, some of them can also get you more than that if you aggressively promote them. This is because they will also pay you for bringing more clients to them and if you do a good job of promotion (without resorting to spamming which will get you canceled) then you can make quite a bit. Below is a list of the companies I've found that will pay you to have an ad banner running while you chat and surf.

AllAdvantage.com

The AllAdvantage ad banner is completely under your control, at least in my Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) browser, and you can turn it into a tiny icon that sits on your minimizer bar when you need space. Click here and you'll go to their site where you can register to get paid for having ads run while you surf:

http://www.alladvantage.com/go.asp?refid=MLI-642
Please use my ID (MLI-642) when asked if someone referred you. Thanks!

Spedia.net

This one works a little differently than AllAdvantage's. It's a good add on to other ad banners like AllAdvantage's because you don't have to keep the Spedia ads on screen, they pay you by how many times you use their banner to surf the web (it has a primitive URL finding engine on board). As such, you only have to bring up the Spedia browser when you need it. Its only good for those URLs you find in publications or on flyers and don't want cluttering up your IE's URL list. You can't even cut and paste your list of frequently used URLs into Spedia's browser/banner because clicking on the Edit menu makes the banner disappear. You have to type everything. It's definitely not as convenient as IE's "Favorites" file, but you're getting paid. I have it, but rarely use it. At least their ad banner disappears without a click waiting for you to use only when you want it.

epipo

This appears to be another company whose banner works like AllAdvantage's. I'm not sure because while I've registered with the company I haven't bothered to download their software. I may opt to do that latter and compare. Right now I don't want to many banners crowding my screen. Registering means I can pick up referrals for people who might prefer this advertising bar to others. They have some nice banner ads to out up on your web site if you have one.

The list above is far from complete, and instead of relying on my finds here you can look up "get paid to surf" and other terms on a search engine and find your own companies that pay. As I find more and better companies that do this I'll add them to the above list and review their methods. I'll tell you what's working and not working for me here. So come back every once in awhile and see what's new here.

Putting ad banners on your free website

The first thing you need to do this is a free web page. This website has a list of companies that offer free web pages:

http://members.spree.com/fezgirl/freepages.htm

I have a free web page at Geocities and Geocities has their own "pages that pay" program. My experience after several months of having my scifi art site up is that people who click on these ads are rare and those that buy from them even rarer. Web surfers are already over exposed to this advertising and they see these ads on other sites so it's all old news. I've had over 300 visitors to my geocities page since I put it up, but I haven't generated a dime's worth of income from my pages that pay ads. I've given Barnes and Nobel quite extensive coverage on my site, they have one of my favorite book stores out where I live.

My choice of ads reflects my interests, movies, books, etc., and I hope that those who view my art have the same interests. That's the theory anyway. I must admit I've been ignoring good advice on the subject of creating web pages that attract attention and that sell things because it's just not me. I'm not that kind of salesman. If you are,

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