How to Set Up a PayPal Tip Jar for Your Blog
PayPal offers the ability to create customized payment buttons that can be installed in any website or blog that accepts hypertext markup language (HTML) coding. Before installing a tip jar on your blog, you may need to check with your blog hosting service to find out if such items are allowed, as some blog hosts are strictly noncommercial and do not allow money exchanges through their formats. You also need to consider your own financial skill level, as tips are taxable income in the United States.
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Instructions
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Log in to your PayPal account. If you do not have one, visit PayPal.com and follow the onscreen prompts to set one up.
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Click on "Merchant Services" and scroll down to the "Create buttons" menu. Click on the "Donate" option.
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Make sure the button field on the next screen says "Donations," then under "Organization Name/Service," enter the name of your tip jar. This might be "Tip Jar," "Tips for John," or whatever you choose to identify the button.
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Click on "Customize button text or appearance." Select from the options offered. If you have created your own tip jar image, you can enter the url (Internet address) of the image as it is hosted on your site. There are also free and low-cost tip jar icons available online at various stock image websites; you can link to one of these if you desire.
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Select your country's currency and the box that allows users to select their own donation amount.
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Scroll down past Steps 2 and 3 (these are for business accounts only) and click "Create Button." PayPal will generate your button code.
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Click "Select code," then press "Ctrl" (PC computers) or "Command" (Mac computers) and the "C" key simultaneously to copy the code. Keep this page open in case you need to re-copy the code. Without a business account, PayPal will not save the code for you.
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Sign into your blog account and access the page you use to alter the look of your blog by adding code, "gadgets," "widgets" or other items.
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Select the option that allows you to add a section of HTML coding.
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Click inside the box for HTML coding and press "Ctrl" (PC computers) or "Command" (Mac computers) and the "V" key simultaneously to paste the code. If your blog software allows you to title the section, type "Tip Jar" or another title into the title line.
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Save your changes and view your blog. Test the process by donating a small amount, such as 50 cents, to yourself. If it does not work, try copying and pasting the code again, making sure you have the entire code copied.
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Let your readers know that the donation jar is available and how it works.
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Resources
- Photo Credit tipping the jar image by easaab from Fotolia.com
