I've got $500 to spend

[incka]

My strategy would be spend half on a domain, half on development.

Look on the forum for a few weeks for good deals. I got briefcases.info for $250 recently here - the exact amount I'd recommend you spend of your budget on a domain. Search google for 'google external keyword tool' and use the 'Exact' match to find number of searches. You want a domain that is exactly the search term (so if the term is funny jokes you want something like funnyjokes.net or funny-jokes.info)

Get some cheap Hosting if you haven't got some already. Install wordpress. Install a theme that doesn't look like a blog. Use the other $250 to get articles written for the site. $2 per 100 words is a standard rate for good quality articles. Then start getting backlinks to the site (post comments on relevant blogs, get wikipedia links, put it in forum signitures, dmoz and directory links, link exchanges with relevant sites, etc).

The site should then be flipable for much more, or you can put more work into it and get it to make a nice revenue in time.

[wussadotcom]

If you want to develop and increase @ double your modal, get and lear want you want and interested to do. If you like blogging for example make your own blog and post things you like to do. Get a niche a build your own personal brand.
Try to browse relevant sites that you think which can be profitable.
Like for me instance and get into many general niches. Example webmaster niche - fastserp.com , checkpagerank.ws , pr-checker.net , gi.la
a few of my sites that I dev as I focus on my niche. However try to be more general and spread out a bit. Have some more options and choices incase if your main one fails you.
Learning to earn rev on the internet has many ways but doing it correctly you can gain success. Doing it with haste and just via instinct you'll find your $500 slipping away pretty easily.

[Compassion]

maybe diversify:

get an lll.info

a quad llll.com

and three or four l-l-l.coms

[Spex]

Wow, just found this thread again. Thanks for all the great info guys

[Jeffreyw]

You can buy some LLL.net or LLL.org at less than 500$, but you to really scour DNF or NP everyday. But buy only from veterans if you pay through Paypal, otherwise you use Escrow so you would avoid being scammed.