Tag: How to blog
Aug
29
Take Your Blog To a New Level
Darren Rowse just published a video offering you some practical ideas on how you can transition your blog into a business. There are 3 case studies and down-to-earth advice on how you can do the same. What a great project for the new school year!
See more of Darren Rowse at his blog, http://www.problogger.net/
Jun
01
The Beginner’s Guide To The Blogger’s Universe
I know, there is so much online about how to blog and grow your blog that it will make your head spin. That’s exactly why I just updated a 3-part series on how to make money blogging. One thing I decided when I started out online several years ago was if I ever figured it all out, I would help others do the same.
Why you can find endless information on tweaking and improving your blog but very little on the bottom-line basics of starting a profitable blog I’m not sure. The reason I know this is recently I had two semi-computer-savvy people in the same day ask me how to start a blog. They said they started to research it, but found themselves more confused than ever. If you are new to blogging and type in a search on how to start a blog, the results are more than overwhelming!
So, here are the basics of starting a blog.
One more thing-did you know that a blog is ideal as your first website? It’s easy to learn, no programming and the templates available look very professional. Blogs also will rise to the top of the search engines much faster than an optimized website due to all the marketing tools available just for blogs. Oh, you knew that. Then pass it on.
How To Make Money Blogging – Choose Your Niche (Part 1)
How To Make Money Blogging – Choose Your Platform (Part 2)
How To Make Money Blogging – Choose Your Niche (Part 3)
Anyone have any sage advice you’d like to share with those just getting started? What do you wish you knew when you started out?
May
31
Top 10 Ways To Make Money Online
So many lists, so little time. The most asked question is “What can I do to make money online?” So many homeschoolers live in rural areas and find traditional home businesses difficult to start. The internet has really changed the game, but the rules are constantly changing. I found that ‘Answering Surveys’ as one of the most common listings in previous ‘Top 10 Ways to Make Money Online’ lists, but that is no longer the case. If you make a few cents with surveys, you’re doing good these days.
However, with a little training in the ways of online marketing, anyone willing to put in the time can make money online. However, we do recommend several tutorials because there is quite a bit to know to actually make money online. Those that say you can’t make money online have tried to do it by themselves…and, well, it’s like trying to pass your driving test with out looking at the book. Driving may be easy, but there’s just some facts you need to know or you run into trouble. Trouble that can cost you money.
Here’s our 2010 list:
1. Affiliate Marketing
I think a full 50% of the internet consists of affiliate marketers and people telling you how to do it. It’s super simple to do, super hard to make decent money at it. One of the best ways to make BIG money online, affiliate marketing is definitely a subject to take time to learn.Yes, take the time to learn. Affiliate marketing has become a skill that takes a great deal knowledge to do well. It’s no longer just throwing a few links up.
Now, the trick is finding legitimate material that gives you what you really need to know and we all know there is no lack of people wanting to teach you all about it. Read http://homeschoolent.com/2009/10/learn-affiliate-marketing-the-easy-way-before-christmas/ for some basic info that I don’t want to repeat here. There is a good ebook you can download for free from Site Build It-just know they have a motive. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good, although somewhat outdated, information, but they are intent on selling you their full service web building suite. It’s great for a newbie, but at over $300/year, it’s a little more than you’ll need after year one.
The ebook I used and have recommended for years to learn affiliate marketing from scratch is Rosiland Gardner’s “How I Made $436,737 In One Year – Super Affiliate Handbook”. Rosiland Gardner is one of the pioneers of affiliate marketing and is not offering you a quick buck online. This is “Affiliate Marketing 101″ that will get you started with everything you need to know to begin to make real money online.
If you are more advanced and want to take affiliate marketing to the next (highest) level is Jeremy Palmer’s Blueprint For Profitability. This course includes his flagship ebook, Quit Your Day Job and all the information he offered in his online 8 week course, The Black Ink Project. Jeremy is a pro and makes over one million a year with affiliate marketing and has put together a wealth of information for anyone that wants to learn advanced methods in affiliate marketing. One of the most honest and genuine online teachers, he doesn’t need the money, but just wants to pass on what he’s learned. The course is $197, but is well worth every penny and is comparable to courses priced $1,000.00 and more. It’s the college course of affiliate marketing.
2. Adsense
Google Adsense is one of the most talked about revenues online. While many of the stories may sound inflated, believe it when you hear that many websites pull in insane amounts of income from simply placing those little ads on any website. One of the most common strategies is to create multiple mini sites that are search engine optimized that make a modest amount from Adsense each. More websites, more money. This is something that isn’t quite as easy as it sounds, because Google strives to protect their search integrity by ‘punishing’ sites that are phony money makers. Offering valuable information on niche subjects, like “Poison Ivy Remedies” is what will do well. There is a multitude of little tricks and tips to make this work, and there are several ebooks willing to bare all. One of the better ones to learn Adsense from a standpoint that Google accepts… is called Fat Cat Blueprint. It offers alot of information that you may or may not use all of, but it could make a great family learning project! Use it with Edu-blogs, or educational websites you build with unit studies, or other ideas you may come up with. Integrating learning with profitable publishing will stay with them through out life!
We are also checking out another one that looks very promising, especially for homeschool families called Rapid Income. The benefits are you don’t need to know how to build a website, or many of the other ‘tech challenges’ that prevent families from starting out online. I’ll let you know what we think after we have a chance to review the course. If you know about it, please post a comment below or email us your opinion. It helps everyone! Thanks.
3. Ebay
You’ve heard so much about the money that can be made on Ebay, but if you’ve ever sold anything on Ebay, you know it’s not the easiest way to make a living. The competition is fierce, and newbies can get eaten alive. It costs money to list items, so if they don’t sell, you have lost that money. Do yourself a favor and take a little time to learn from other successful Ebay sellers. A few years ago I did extensive research on the best book available on making money on Ebay and found that eBay PowerSeller Secrets: Insider Tips from eBay’s Most Successful Sellers (2nd Edition) (v. 2)
4. Write and sell an Ebook
It’s not hard to write and publish an ebook, but throwing another ebook into the informational product ocean could be a waste of time. No question it takes a bit of time and mind power to create your product, so you want to be sure that it’s something that will give you a return on your time. Do your research on what sells, and provide a genuine solution to a common problem and you’ll be on your way. Marketing your book will take as much, if not more, time and mind power if you do it right.
Basically, once you have written your (researched topic) ebook, convert it into a PDF. There are several free ones available online. PrimoPDF is the one I use and it’s completely free-not just a free trial like most of them. Then, signing up to be a Clickbank seller is your next step. It may cost $50, but there’s no where else you’ll get so much bang for your buck. Chances are if you offer a decent commission, you’ll get calls/emails the day it appears on Clickbank’s Marketplace from prospective re-sellers. You will also gain a new respect for Clickbank’s integrity in what they require from every ebook they agree to list.
The most popular and respected resource for those that would like a step by step tutorial on how to create and market an ebook quickly is How To Write and Publish Your Ebook in 7 Days. It’s only $29 and if you don’t find it useful, you can easily ask for your money back (within 60 days). You’ll make that back in one sale. (#1 tip: don’t underprice your ebook, remember, it’s perceived value!) There are many more tutorials for sale on writing ebooks, but this the best selling one, and for good reason. Reliable.
5. Online services
There are many things you could offer to others that work online. Do you know how to write a website, install a WordPress blog, or use Photoshop? Copywriting, social marketing, virtual assistant services are just a few services you could offer. Use 99 designs, Elance, etc to advertise what you can do, and join a few Yahoo groups that might want your services. It can be slow to get started, but be persistent, once your name is out there, you’ll have all the work you can do. There’s a big demand for online help.
6. Sell something
Sell your crafts on Etsy if you make something from scratch. If you manufacture a product or want to resell a product, of course Ebay is good, or you can put up a website and offer it with a ecommerce site. An ecommerce site basically enables you to take money online. A free version can be found on OS Commerce. If you only have a few items, Paypal for business will work beautifully. They take a commission, but it’s very reasonable. Do not use a free website service for this. Blue Host is a good choice because their customer support is outstanding. You’re going to need it.
7. Blogging
The perfect choice if you aren’t in a hurry to make money and want to start for free. Ideally, starting out with a self hosted WordPress blog so you don’t have to switch over when you start making money is best, but if money is super-tight, then start on WordPress.com. Blogger is another choice you can start for free, but WP is reported to be easier to learn. Just click on the links and set up your blog. The key is to offer information people need on a regular basis. There is much more to learn to make this a money making venture, but getting started NOW is most important. It takes time to get your name out, so be patient but diligent. Read our 5 part series on How to Get Started Blogging and our Huge List of Blogging Resources to get started.
If you are looking for a great online blogging course, we recommend the ever popular Blog Mastermind by Yaro Starak. This is highly regarded in the blogging community as the premium learning source for those that want to get serious about making money with their blog. It’s an excellent resource, read more about it here.
9. Writing
Even if you aren’t a professional writer, or very good at grammer, you can make money writing. The key is choosing hot topics and integrating keywords as you write. Hubpages is one of the hotspots for this, but get on it, because it’s getting overloaded as we speak (write?). Take a look at Hubpages, and you’ll see that the articles are short and to the point. They are search engine superstars, so traffic is no issue if you write on a topic that is searched on often. The way you make money is offering your Adsense account, and Hubpages splits the profit with you. One article won’t make you but a few dollars, so the ones that make decent money have many articles posted. Commit to writing 2-3 per day and see what happens! Other writing options can be found at Squidoo, Elance, Suite 101 and Demand Studios. Find good information on this topic at http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/
10. Sell Your Digital Photos Online
Deciding on what would make the cut on the top 10 list here, it was a toss up between selling your photos or starting an online forum. Now I know we could file these under selling something or Adsense, but we’ll let you figure out how to start an online forum and we’ll cue you in on selling your photos online. If you don’t think you are a good enough photographer to sell your photos, think again. Granted, you need to have some decent photos to offer, but the key making money here is in the gruntwork. Submitting many photos of subjects that people need for their websites, blogs or print ads and posting them diligently in all the right places is what it really takes. An excellent resource to learn the tricks of the trade is Sell Your Digital Photos Online. It’s 202 pages of the best information on making a career with your digital camera.
If you want to learn more about how to improve your photography skills, the absolute best place is Digital Photography School, a blog that has close to half of a million subscribers and is free for the reading. My daughter in law wants to be a professional photographer and has started a notebook printing out all the information she would like to study more.
Let us know if you have had experience with other ways to make money online. We’d love to hear!
Apr
05
How To Energize Your Blog FAST
Here’s yet another great post I know will be very helpful to all of you that are trying to get your blog off the ground. How to get started in blogging is probably the #1 question I get, while the answer is one of the toughest. It’s difficult to put your finger on one aspect of blogging that will bring success. As in most of life’s great achievements, it’s usually a mix of several carefully executed ingredients.
Annabel Candy started a blog in March 2009 with the goal of 1000 subscribers in one year. She achieved her goal, despite making the top four mistakes new bloggers make, but she also shares the factors that helped her make her goal.
It’s a must read if you are trying to succeed in the blogosphere…and advice that is going on my “To Do” list!
(how many things are on YOUR ‘I know I should do’, but haven’t done yet??)
The original post from ProBlogger that you must read is at:
Annabel’s blog post on how she gained the support of 8 top bloggers:
I also noticed she is still with Mail Chimp…which many top bloggers DO NOT recommend… AWeber is who 99% of the bloggers that make the big bucks recommend. Be sure to start out right-it’s a real pain to switch later, trust me!
Aug
15
Blogging Help From a Mom That’s Done It!
Wendy Piersall is not a homeschool mom as far as I know, but she is a WAHM that has helped many moms (& dads!) start and develop a successful home business.
Only 2 years ago, Wendy was working on starting a different online business, and decided to blog about all the research she was doing to help others do the same. She discovered that her new blog was more profitable than her other business, so she quit that business and put all her efforts into her blog. The rest is blogging history.
You can watch a video interview here…
And get her FREE “Better Blogging” Course here.
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