Pimp Your Finances

Tip’d is one of the latest additions to the world of social media.  It’s timing could not have been any better.  It launched in October, right around when the economy really starting hitting the fan, and people realized it wouldn’t be making a recovery any time soon.

It describes itself as “a community for financial news, ideas, and tips”, but my favorite way to describe it is one their slogans:

Tip’d: 700 billion reasons to join

It’s a great slogan, even if it needs to be updated to 787 billion after the recent stimulus package.

So what is Tip’d?  It’s a community-based website, where people submit news stories related to anything finance.  They have 12 different categories for submissions, ranging from personal finance to private equity and venture capitalism.

Once a story is submitted, it goes to the “Upcoming” section.  Other users read the articles, and can “Tip” it if they like it, or “Topple it” if it’s Spam.

If a story gets enough Tips in a certain amount of time, they’ll move to the “Published” section of the site.  This is what appears when you go to its home page. 

They don’t publish their magical formula, but it appears that submitted stories have around 24 hours to move from the “Upcoming” section to “Published”.  If they do not hit a threshold of Tips in that time, they are no longer eligible to be published, but they do not disappear from the site altogether.  It seems as if the required number of Tips depends on the amount of traffic on the site.  At 4AM, it may only take 5 or 6 Tips to make it to the front page, but at busy times, getting 10+ may not be enough.

Tip’d has quickly become my favorite web site.  This is not an exaggeration – I’m #29 on their top users list.  Why do I spend so much time there?  Because in only four months, it’s become the best source for financial news online.  Hands down, no questions asked.  As a casual reader, I find it informative and interesting. As a blogger, it’s one of the best tools I have.

Here are some of the ways I use Tip’d to build my audience:

1. Publicizing my site

It’s hard to promote a new blog, especially if you don’t have a strong online presence to leverage. Using social media sites like Digg was out of the question. Plus other sites don’t have the audience for finance, and they’re not nearly as friendly to bloggers or new users either.

Tip’d actually welcomes bloggers. According to their blog:

I prefer to encourage, rather than discourage, people from submitting their own content–synergy happens when interests align! (You get submissions, they get traffic.)

I was able to use Tip’d to get my name out there in financial blogosphere. If I had a good story, I could get it published, regardless of how small my site was. I think it’s also helped get other people to link to my site.

2. Increasing my financial knowledge

 I’m always trying to learn more, and Tip’d has the best financial news feed I’ve seen. After all, they have a community of people who take pride in finding the best finance stories online.

The quality and selection of articles is much better here than you could find anywhere else.

3. Networking with other bloggers

There is a large presence of bloggers on Tip’d. I’ve been able to introduce myself to others, and establish some legitimacy with my presence on Tip’d.

I also get to learn more about other bloggers, and interact with them on another level. It’s almost like an extension of leaving comments on a blog. I can build networks and help support quality blogs by submitting their posts, tipping their articles, and leaving comments on their stuff.

4. Power tools for bloggers

They like bloggers so much that they have an entire section for blogger tools.  They make it easy to add a Tip’d button to every article on your blog, simply by inserting a one-line script into your permalink template.

They also write a blog where they regularly share tips and tricks with users.

5. Finding new sources of inspiration

We’re all short on time. Yeah, I look around my usual stable of financial sites, but it’s impossible to get to everything. Tip’d features the best of the best news, so it’s a great place to find inspiration for things to write about.  It’s been a time saver, and cure for writer’s block.

6. Learning from the successes of others

I use Tip’d to see what other bloggers are doing right.  I can see what kind of stories tend to do well, and how they’re active in the community.

7. Finding new links for my site

Like many people, I host a weekly roundup where I link only to other blogs.  I like to feature links from some of the smaller blogs (because fewer people have seen the articles or the blog).  I never have a problem finding new links on Tip’d.

8. Getting instant feedback on my writing

It’s hard getting feedback when you’re just starting out.  You can’t rely on the number of comments or hits as an indicator of how well you’re doing.

Tip’d has been great in that it provides me with nearly instant feedback.  Within a day of submitting an article, I can tell how well it’s being received by both casual readers and other blogs.

As an example, there was one time I had two posts ready to publish on my site.  I thought one would be solid gold, while I thought the other was just filler.  No one noticed my “gold” story, while the “filler” ended up one of my most viewed posts to date .

9. Making a long term investment in the Tip’d community

I’m convinced that the success of Tip’d will only grow in the future.  In a little less than four months, they have 3200 comments, 4700+ registered users, nearly 9300 submitted stories, and more than 58,000 Tips.  The sky is the limit here.

What do you hear when you turn on the news? Money money money.  It’s going to be that way for a long time to come, especially if the economy continues to worsen for the next few years. Tip’d came along at the perfect time.

I’m proud to be part of the Tip’d community, and am grateful for the help and support they have given me.  I try to give back too.

And while it’s not my motivation for being active on the site, I can’t help but feel that getting in on the ground floor of a new social media site will have some benefits down the road.

Those are some of the many ways I use Tip’d to build an audience, but they could just as easily be ways I build my net worth.  The insight I get from Tip’d is priceless, and it’s been my best promotion tool.  Regardless of if you’re a reader or blogger, I recommend giving Tip’d a shot.