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Blogging for Money and Loving It!

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Start of new year, blogging for money results, and random thoughts

Sep 7

Posted by Valentina in Making Money | No Comments

Happy Labor Day everyone! Last days of summer barbeques and the wearing of white. Hmmm…I will continue to wear white.

Here in Vancouver the weather has decidedly cooled from just a few weeks ago when we were melting from the heat … yes, they were scraping us off the sidewalks then! I love working from my home office which looks out on a grove of oak trees. The leaves haven’t even got a hint of rust anywhere, they are green as green can be. It won’t be long though before the squirrels start coming to gather the acorns of which there will be plenty.

I always look at Labor day which usually is a bit earlier in September (I guess September 7th is as late as it can be)as the beginning of a new year. To me this is more of a new year than January. I guess it goes back to school. We always started a new grade or “year” in September and finished in June, with the summer off for fun. I still do that now with my business. I have noticed that this is also a time when people start new things – not make resolutions like they do on New Year’s Day, but things like signing up for a course on something they’ve always wanted to learn, or sign up for a new activity like fencing or aerobics.  Corporations typically ramp up their efforts in sales and marketing to finish the year strong … statistically October and November are the most productive months of the year, both in business and personal lives.

Ok… enough of the musing already.

Found a site today that publishes blog incomes of bloggers who, well, publish their incomes publicly. I wrote last week that I was going to try and compile such a list well Jeremia Froyland has done it. I noticed that the big earners were absent, Jeremia and I had a little bit of online conversation about that and agreed that when you start pulling in the really big bucks, a la John Chow, Darren Rowse, Yaro Starak to name just a few (easily in the half mil a year league)then you stop publishing. Privacy and other things come into play. So the big guns are missing but it will be interesting to see the incomes of the current list members rise over time. Hmmmm….. gee, I’d like to be on that list soon … and then earn to the point where I will stop publishing.

Happy Blogging!

Valentina
Blogger for Money

I guess acorns are like cheese for the squirrels

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Jeremia Froyland

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F.U.Money

Aug 17

Posted by Valentina in Internet Marketing, Making Money, turnkey website systems | No Comments

No 30 Day Challenge this weekend – I’m falling a tad behind so this will be short.

This weekend I attended the Cashflow Marketing seminar in Abbotsford. Think Cashflow, think real estate and Robert Kiyosaki and Darren Weeks, right? Think again.

This seminar was attended by entrepreneurs, mostly brick and mortar business owners. They came to learn how to market in these tough economic times, how to strategize, deploy tactical maneuvers and come out big time winners. The seminar spanned two days and by its end everyone had a workable system they took home with them. I am certain that their businesses will take a significant uptick on the sales chart.

One of the speakers was Dan Lok – I’ve written about Dan before. He’s a self made multi-millionaire in internet marketing. When I met him the first time several years ago, we chatted a bit about my interest in internet marketing. His advice: “Blog, blog, blog.”

With Dan Lok

Dan is nothing if not to the point- blunt, some might even say. Dan has written several books and there is a new one in the offing … we got copies of it. Did I say that Dan pulls no punches? Aptly, its title is F.U. Money. its listed on Amazon but not available for sale yet!

The book dovetails very nicely with a program that he launched a few months back as a beta and in which I have been participating. It’s a system that puts much of your internet marketing on auto pilot … so easy even grandma could do it.

Maybe I’m letting the cat out of the bag as Dan has been awfully quiet about it … but here is the thing, I mentioned several times here that I will be moving this blog from Blogger to a WordPress based platform. I am still thinking as to where exactly I want to move it. I am thinking that putting it on the beta program system would be good, as I already have hard data and stats, and then it will be easy to compare historical data with new results once it has been moved. From my experience with the system so far, I think blogging for money will take on a completely different trajectory … UP! Stay tuned – new look coming up in a few weeks.

Happy Blogging!

Valentina
Blogger for Money

PS… wouldn’t you know it, one of the attendees owns a gourmet cheese shop!

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Yes Virginia – there is money in blogging

Aug 9

Posted by Valentina in Blogging for Money, Making Money | 2 Comments

I just read a post by a blogger colleague and I am super disappointed … in essence this blogger is saying that you should first and foremost blog because you have a passion for blogging and to forget about blogging for the purpose of money. That most bloggers blog from the crack of dawn and deep into the night. This person obviously subscribes to that group that believes in living your passion and the money will follow!!! Or another way they put it “do what you love and the money will come.”

Bull Dung!

I am getting tired of hearing this refrain. It gets me angry. It does a disservice to those who are serious about making money online. Blogging for money is a business and should be treated as such. If you are going to spend your waking hours blogging then why not make money? I have yet to meet anyone who was able to walk into a bank and deposit a whole bunch passion. Try paying your rent or buying groceries with love. Lets get serious.

First, if you want to make money at blogging you have to treat it like a business. That is why I wrote my ABC’s of Blogging for Money so that people can follow a system to lay down a foundation for success.

Yes, you also have to work at it. Nothing for nothing. But from crack of dawn into the dead of night??? I know several bloggers that are making money that CEOs of companies would eye with envy. You do need to put in consistent effort but I can guarantee you that these successful bloggers are not not up at the crack of dawn and working into the dead of night blogging.

You also need to be an ongoing student. Even my ABC’s of Blogging for Money is just the start. You need to be continuously learning about how to be a better internet marketer – that’s how you become a successful blogger. That’s how you start making a bit of money which with effort becomes some money and then one day you wake up to lots of money.

It helps if you blog about something that you are knowledgeable on, and if it happens to be a passion, great! If you want to make money blogging about it, you need to make sure that there is a market out there that actually wants to know more about your subject (covered in my ABC’s of Blogging for Money). No market, no money honey.

As I mentioned earlier, blogging for money is a business. Apply business principles and through diligent effort the money will indeed come. There is an excellent online course right now, the 30 Day Challenge that I encourage everyone to register for and apply. It is free. You learn how to select a profitable niche, install a blog with WordPress Direct and most importantly you learn how to market. If you have not signed up for it yet it is not too late. What is great about this is that you can work on it at your own pace.

Happy Blogging

Valentina
Blogger for Money

PS… oooh! It gets me angry when someone tries to tell me there is no cheese!

Quick Links:
Fee PDF Download of ABC’s of Blogging for Money
Register for 30 Day Challenge

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Blog Hosting – To Pay or Not To Pay

Feb 12

Posted by Valentina in Making Money | No Comments

You can start up a blog without spending a dime and that is fine if your intention is to simply publish it as a journal on a topic of your choosing. But if you are serious about this blog being a business then you need to put up a professional presence. Professional presence does not mean a fancy header and all sorts of bells and whistles that only a webmaster would be able to put up – no, professional presence means that it doesn’t look like a hobby or a dalliance, you know, something you do when the spirit moves you or when a spare half hour or so grabs you. If you are going to be giving information or doing reviews on products then you need to do that with authority. Consider it as your virtual image.

How do you do that?

One you hang out a professional shingle. In the world of internet marketing that means a proper domain name. This was covered in my previous posting of January 25, Domain Name Selection

As an example, what looks better to you?
http://www.ripalongwithme.blogspot.com/ .
the “blogspot” in the domain points to a free domain & hosting

or

http://www.blogalongwithme.com/

As mentioned in a previous post, I had originally started this blog with a different intention than that into which it morphed. The Blogalong title is more appropriate to this blog’s new role and I bought the domain name Blog Along With Me. I thought it would be easy to replace the original “Ripalong” domain name with the new one but found that while I could use the new domain name in marketing and have it redirected to the original one, the display at the top of the blog page will always be the Ripalong URL. I toyed with the idea of starting a fresh blog, but decided to keep it as is as an example of what not to do.

Hosting is another one of those “professional presence” items. Actually if this is your first blog don’t worry so much about how you look, you may just continue with the free option whether you choose to use Blogger or WordPress. In the free options there is minimal back end administration. I like that you do not have to be a whiz bang kid with HTML, c-panel, FTP (see, I told you)….

If on the other hand you’ve got a blog or two going and are comfortable with the basics, this is a good time to step up and have your blog hosted elsewhere. You just get so many more options that will be important for you as you progress, things such as instant guest book, forums, instant portals, Fantastico, and more … too much to list here.

As with blog platforms there are several hosting options. I like both Blue Host, and Hostgator. Their basic program starts at $6.95 and $4.95 respectively. Both by the way, offer affiliate programs so once you decide which one to go with, you can also make some money promoting that host. Me? I haven’t decided yet.

See Ya Soon!

Quick links:
Domain Name Selection
Hostgater
Blue Host

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Good Grief Google!

Feb 8

Posted by Valentina in Making Money | No Comments

In my last posting I set out a few goals for February one of which was to fix the Google “adsense” space on the sidebar of this blog. It appears very nicely at the end of each post, but for some reason the sidebar has given me nothing but grief. I fixed it for a nano second, or so it seems as it appeared for a while, then I went into my Adsense management section in blogger to add another one and voila! It has disappeared again! Slavishly I have followed the instructions on how to activate it- but still no joy!!! aaaaarrrggghhhh!!!

Having said that I still think that Blogger is the easier platform upon which to build your blog. It is very forgiving and does not require you to learn anything about other types of software. So, if this is going to be your first blog or if you are new to blogging, it is Blogger hands down. .

On the other hand if you are a techie type or if in real life you find yourself gravitating towards Operations rather than Sales or Customer Service, then WordPress is your platform – it is also the platform that most professional bloggers choose. For my next blog I have decided that I will use WordPress, not because I am blessed with a left brain nor that I am a professional blogger - I am learning on the job in public view – but because I feel I need to stretch my muscles. Remember, if it doesn’t scare you, its not much of a goal, just business as usual. If you don’t exercise your muscles, atrophy sets in. Frequent visits to the gym builds healthy muscles.

I am being asked if I have selected my next niche topic and was I successful in finding a good domain name. Yes, and Yes. I am torn between revealing it now or waiting to make a full announcement as the new blog goes live. I think I’ll defer this decision for a few more days.

Meanwhile if you are struggling between Blogger or WordPress this may help: Blogger is free and money friendly, that is you can monetize it with Adsense and Affiliates; WordPress has a free and paid version. The free version has limitations.

Till next time ………..

PS… sprinkled within this post are hints of the my next blog topic. See if you can find it and post in comments below:

REPLY WITH COMMENTS BELOW

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Blog Posts …. get ‘em ready, post ‘em often

Jan 31

Posted by Valentina in Making Money, Plan Development, Starting a Blog | 1 Comment

Before you start rolling the presses with your new blog — whether you go with blogger or wordpress, do a little bit of planning. By now you have chosen the topic for your blog, now plan at least 10 posts. If you are doing a review style blog and say your topic is dog toys , you should at least have 10 topics on dog toys, written and ready to go. Here is what I mean

post 1 – How to choose good dog toys. What you look for when you are selecting toys for your dog.

post 2 – Review a new Kong dog toy.

post 3 – Soft Toys or Hard Toys?.

… well you get the idea. The reviews don’t always have to be about a toy. What about reviewing a dog toy site you found on the website, what do you like about it. What in your opinion could improve it. Your overall impression.

This is an important step. Too often people launch a blog, all eager and ready to go. They post two, maybe three posts, and then have to come up with an idea for a fourth post and cannot find appropriate content. A degree of discomfort sets in and an ever so slight coolness begins to seep in. Soon, the posts are far and few in between. There is no traffic. The promise of making money on the blog is a distant memory. The blog languishes.

DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU…. this is a business – treat it like a business. Every business requires a plan. Plan a topic within a topic and expand. For example if you are writing about chocolates, then about mid to end January you should start writing articles on Valentines Day, where to buy the best chocolates online (your affiliates). Review some of your favorites.   Post a picture of yourself munching on those decadent morsels. Ditto for March … St Patricks Day, then there is Easter.  If you plan basics for the whole year, you will never run out of content.

But Ten Articles? Come on Valentina?

Yes … its a good way to get started. First it is a good discipline to develop. Then when you open your blog, post them 2 or  3 per week (nicely spaced), all the while writing additional articles. The spiders will love this. Here is a new active blog and the more relevant and fresh the postings, the better these cyber critters like to dine out on it and bring back good reports to the search engines.

More on posting articles on your site further down the road, for now write those articles and get ready to launch your site.

Coming soon …. ok, next week. Announcement of my next blog, its topic and related information.

Quick Links
Dog Toys World

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Blogging – step one

Dec 26

Posted by Valentina in Starting a Blog | No Comments

Even though I have several blogs, most were thrown up in a higgledy piggledy way — the purposes varied; as support to an existing website that I have, others are a commentary and still others are on personal development. I want to do this one differently. This one has to be an example on how to blog for money. With this as the prime reason for starting a new blog, I have to give more thought about the way I go about it.

Immediately questions need to be answered:-
- what is the topic going to be?
- who is my target audience?
- should I use blogger or wordpress?
- should this be a stand alone blog or should it promote one of my online businesses?
- how do I best monetize it?

The first question that I am going to tackle is topic. There is no shortage of topics to write about. If I want to make money on this blog then I have to be able to rank high in the search engines, choose my keywords carefully, even the domain name makes a difference.

If the topic is too broad then I have a lot of competition out there. An example would be both my Buy Me a Mercedes Benz site and the corresponding Mercedes Benz blog. I threw both of these sites because I like the car and just wanted to write about it. Even though I am making some money on the site (the blog is not monetized for a reason)I don’t expect that it will be up on page one of any of the search engines any time soon. This will be a labor of love and who knows, years hence it just might show up on page one!

The way to success is to “niche” your topic. The saying in the internet world is “inch wide and mile deep”. An example of that, still staying on the topic of Mercedes, might have been on the McLaren.

Between now and the next time I post here, I will do some research on my topic and will post here on how I arrived at it. Till then …. happy blogging to you!

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