Most accessible/less technical methods for a newbie to profit from Bitcoin

[JohnnyPierce]

What the title says, I would like to make some extra money by entering in the bitcoin universe.

What would you say to be the most accessible ways for a newbie to profit from the crypto currency universe?

I'm currently trading on btc-e and also have 1 GH/s bought at CEX.io

In a short time I will have some extra $500 from my day job, what would you say it would be the best investnment of this money?

[Rawted]

Buy and hold. Coins bought now will be worth in excess of $5000 by the end of 2014.

[JohnnyPierce]

Buy and hold. Coins bought now will be worth in excess of $5000 by the end of 2014.

I can buy and hold some amount, but I was also looking for something else more short term.

[greenlion]

Unless you're very skilled and knowledgeable about technicals, anything involving trading will likely get you eaten alive. Outside of buy and hold, your best bet is to figure out what kind of products or services you could offer as a small business that accepts Bitcoin.

[JohnnyPierce]

Unless you're very skilled and knowledgeable about technicals, anything involving trading will likely get you eaten alive. Outside of buy and hold, your best bet is to figure out what kind of products or services you could offer as a small business that accepts Bitcoin.

I see, but isn't there any alternative to direct trading?

What I mean is this, aren't there any trader bots that are able to rank a positive net profit that I could either purchase or rent?

Also, I'm somewhat curious about cloud mining, I've been using cex.io to mine bitcoin, and I've been making a small profit, however, I'm aware that other currencies have a much lower difficulty, aren't there any services such as CEX.io specialized in mining currencies such as DOGE or Quark?

[Hanzie]

There are sites that say they offer what you are looking for but you are more likely to fall victim to a scam than find a profitable trader willing to sell shares.

I'd recommend buying and holding. The trick is to find somewhere you can buy $500 worth without paying too much. Before you buy have a look at https://bitcoinaverage.com/#USD. Make sure the price you're paying isn't much higher than this. 

[jonanon]

In all honesty you shouldn't be asking people how to make money - if you can't figure it out yourself then there is really not much hope......