Income Goal Success in 2008

What does it take to reach income goal success?

Based on the daily income goal poll that varies for each of us. Considering the vast majority of people answered in the $500 a day and above category, it looks like most people want the highest income they can get.

Do you know why successful people are successful at achieving their income goals?

It is because they eliminate bad risk from the situation. That does not mean they don't take on risk, just that they eliminate the bad portion of the risk.

If you want to make $500 a day, do you think that you will need to invest some money first?

What do you think it takes to make $500 a day?

The topic of the month for January is on making $500 a day. Since I don't have experience in making money at this level I am going to provide research and let you take it from there.

I will also have some success stories to report on and as always I will have special information for those on my email list (form in the upper right).

My goal for 2008 is $200 a day, but I won't complain if I hit $500 a day. :-)

Michael

Selling on Ebay in 2008

I am a casual Ebay seller. If you remember earlier this year I was buying stuff at auction and selling it on Ebay.

While that was fun and I did make some money, I prefer to sell digital products. Like ebooks and videos.

Looking at a $200 a day goal for 2008 I would need to sell $1400 worth of stuff on Ebay each week. Based on my past auction experience I know that in order to do this I would have to work over 40 hours each week.

But I could sell digital products like videos on Ebay and work fewer hours. And this is something I might do later in the year.

For now I am going to focus on working local and using Send Out Cards.

Will you be using Ebay to reach your income goals in 2008?

Michael

Time Is Running Out

This is a dual topic post.

First, time is running out for the Ebay 10 cent listing day. I have some stuff to list, but what happens when they lower the price like this is that Ebay gets overloaded with tons of junk.

I was considering listing this blog for sale with a real high bid price. To get some advertising real cheap. But with my luck someone would bid and win, I would get billed the final value fee but the winner wouldn't pay then I would have to wait a month to get my money back. Not worth it.

A second thought was to somehow promote Send Out Cards. I know I could do classified ad style, but I have to check the handbook to see if I can promote auction style. I'm probably going to end up not listing anything this time around.

Second, time is running out on my What is your daily income goal poll. I didn't think so many people would be in the $500 a day range for a goal. I'm going to have to make the next poll a where are you at now poll.

At any rate, I have a ton of thing planned for 2008 and can't wait.

Michael

The Importance of SEO for Bloggers

I was reading on a forum today about the importance of SEO. I strongly believe that writing compelling copy (stories) and knowing how to optimize your site/blog are the 2 most important skills to have.

You could argue that SEO would be skill #1 and copywriting would be skill #2. But I think you can't have one without the other.

For example, if you write good copy, but have very few visitors then you won't get conversions. On the other hand if you get plenty of traffic, but don't write good copy your visitors won't take the action you desire.

I continually make changes to my sites and blogs to test how those changes affect my rankings. Not all changes work the same depending on the keyword phrase, but most of the well known principals apply.

I have many plans for 2008 and a goal that I hope to achieve. Thanks for visiting and don't forget to join my email list so you can get the special report that I put out every Saturday.

Michael

The Future of Blogging in 2008

I started podcasting back in 2006. By the end of 2006 I thought that podcasting was going to take off and become more popular as more people purchased MP3 players.

Not that I thought podcasting was going to replace blogging, but I did think that more bloggers would be producing podcasts.

Here is my look into the future of blogging for 2008. This time I am not going to hold back on a thought because of current limitations.

Prediction #1

Social Networks like FaceBook & MyBlogLog will gain in popularity and use. MyBlogLog will probably add some new enhancements and build on the value they currently offer. I believe that MyBlogLog is the best social network for bloggers. FaceBook is going to hit a rough patch in early 2008, but should recover in the second half. From what I see "Marketers" are starting to find the loopholes. The value of FaceBook as a site to visit daily will drop slightly until late 2008.

Prediction #2

At some point in 2008 Affiliate Marketers without a list will have a harder time marketing. Product authors will drop prices on the front-end product and work on converting the back-end. This in addition to the bonuses authors can offer will reduce the profit margin for affiliate marketers.

The increase in competition will also eat away at the profit margin for those not promoting their own product.

Marketers who use tools like those offered at Wealthy Affiliate will have an advantage over those who are just trying to do it on their own. That leads me to the next prediction.

Prediction #3

Marketers using tools and systems will crush even experienced marketers. Because of networking and sharing of information within a small group the tools will improve beyond what a person can do without being a part of the group.

Prediction #4

Having a list of email addresses will no longer be enough. Email delivery is at a very low point, even using a high delivery service. Because of this I feel that the information you collect in your list will be more important then just having an email list. More on this later in 2008 when I have some test results.

Prediction #5

I saved the best for last. But to get this prediction you have to be on my list. Just subscribe with the form in the upper right.

Prediction #5 will be emailed next Saturday. Subscribe now so you don't miss it. I saved the best on for my list.

What are your predictions for blogging in 2008?

Michael

p.s. If you post a comment you are allowed 1 link back to your blog. Comments promoting affiliate products or containing more then 1 link will not be approved.

One Penny Project Update

For my valued email subscribers there will be no project update tomorrow. I was going to try and have something completed by this evening, but at this point I don't have enough time.

What I might do instead is just give out some products that I have re-sell rights for that are allowed to be given away in a membership. Or I have another idea.

Over the weekend I will work on a post that I have been planning all week. It should be out on Monday.

My blog traffic is holding steady on most of my blogs. Some for terms that I never would have imagined worth optimizing for.

There is much to be done, and little time to do it.

Take Care,

Michael

BasketBall vs Blogging

I was going to do a blog post on "modified truth" today.

But that will have to wait for another day.

Today my daughter made her first basket during a basketball game. She has made plenty of shots during practice, but this was the first during a game.

She is only 6 and the teams are all co-ed 1st and 2nd graders. So she did awesome considering she is only a first grader and second being a girl is a disadvantage because of the aggressive boys.

With all this excitement tonight I can't concentrate on blogging.

Take Care,

Michael

The Tools and Sites I Use

Here are the sites and resources I am using on my journey to make $200 a day.

Forums (Paid Member):

The Internet Marketing Inner Circle - This forum is filled with internet marketing masterminds. Great place to learn and network with the big names in internet marketing.

Membership Forums (Free Member):

Warrior Forum - This forum gets a good bit of traffic. Read through the posts and follow some threads before posting your own.

DigitalPoint - This is more for webmasters and people who buy and sell websites. Worth checking out.

SitePoint - The forum doesn't get as much traffic as the marketplace and that is why I go here often. The marketplace is a good source for ideas.

Tools (Paid):

Wealthy Affiliate - I like the tools Wealthy Affiliate provides and their forum is my second favorite after the Inner Circle mentioned above. Wealthy Affiliate also includes website hosting for up to 3 sites with the membership fee.

Aweber - This is the only autoresponder that I use and trust. I have tried others, but Aweber is the best. You need a list and there is no better way to build and manager your list then with Aweber.

Online Video Player - I often create videos to teach or use as a bonus. This tool allows me to put my video in a cool looking player on any website.

Real Greeting Cards - This is how I contact prospects and networking partners. I am also using Send Out Cards for an offline project.

My Online Community:

One Penny Project on MyBlogLog - Here you can find my FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube and other network contact info. While you are there, don't forget to join my community.

Ebooks I Regularly Use:

20 Ways to Make $100 a Day - Without a doubt, the best info I have read in 2007.

Sell Books And Videos - This is an awesome ebook about making videos to sell on your website or ebay.

Affiliate Networks I belong to:

Hydra Media - Most of the offers here are for email send only. Use this service in your autoresponder or broadcast email messages.

ShareASale - A huge selection of offers to promote. Most are for websites and blogs. They also offer datafeeds that you can use to feed a whole site.

Take Care,

Michael

Building Your Community of Bloggers

Earlier this month I announced that I hit the 500 members mark on MyBlogLog.

Since then I picked up a few more new members.

I am thankful for those that join my community or subscribe to my RSS feed. While it is nice to sell stuff and make some money, looking at the bug scheme of things I would rather have people tell me that they like what I say and want to hear more.

Over the past few days I did some social network research. Not that I am new to Social Networking, just that I wanted to get a feel for where this will be going.

If there is anything you would like me to write about, just let me know.

Take Care,

Michael

A Lifetime of Learning

I enjoy learning and testing. Each month I read at least 2 books.

I view learning as a lifetime event. Sometimes I learn from testing something, other times by reading a book and yet most often by trying something and making a mistake.

Just the other day I mentioned testing two traffic sources that were sending me expired domain traffic. The page I was using wasn't even getting enough clicks to call it a test.

5,000 visitors for $12 and only 12 action clicks with 0 conversions into paying customers. My second source did a little better, but still not worth what I paid for the traffic.

I tested this for myself and made a small post here the other day. That post generated a few comments.

Had I posted my plans before paying for the traffic I could have saved myself almost $50.

Michael

Send Out Cards to Get Noticed

I joined Send Out Cards earlier this month. I sent 17 cards so far and love it.

As mentioned before I will be using this as part of my $200 a day project. It will be tied into the website I started working on earlier this week.

But Send Out Cards is not just for my new business I have been using it to get noticed by other bloggers and website owners.

What I do is, when I find a blog or website I like, then I check the whois info for that site and send them a card. Instead of an email or comment on their site this is one way to stand out.

A card costs me $1.03 including the stamp. This is pocket change compared to the benefit of networking with a popular site or blog. And it took me under 5 minutes.

The other day I posted a question on a forum and I sent a Thank You card to the person who gave a very detailed answer that lead me to the discovery of the solution I was looking for.

Imagine their surprise when they open the card and see it was from someone they helped on a forum. I stood out from everyone else on the forum.

There are 100's of uses for Send Out Cards. Try a free card on me, I'll cover the $1.03 cost.

Take Care,

Michael

Traffic Is The Lifeblood of Income

It goes without saying. If you don't have traffic to your site you can't make any money. That doesn't mean that having thousands of visitors every day is a guarantee of income.

Last night I was working on my new website. I worked up until the point I barely had the energy to get myself to bed.

Today I goofed off a little and should have jumped on working on my new site instead. Now it is time for Survivor, then back to my new site.

There are many ways to get traffic to a site, but knowing how to get targeted traffic is key. My plan is to focus on the targeted traffic and not worry about the generic traffic.

Time for Survivor, then I have to get back to working on my new site.

Michael

How To Get Un-Stuck When You Get Stuck

This is the thing that stops many people in their tracks, including me.

I am working on a project and get stuck. I can see in my head where I want to be, but the current part of the project is just taking longer then I want.

So that leave 3 options. Change projects, keep plugging ahead or my favorite use leverage. And that is what I did the other day. I was working on some software to do a task for me and I got stuck. After a couple hours I decided to stop working on the problem and pay someone else to fix it.

If I had the time it would have been smart to keep going myself as I will need to make changes in the future. But with my limited time I figured it would be wise to pay someone to fix the part of my code that was causing problems and finish the job.

So when you get stuck, what do you do?

Michael

Make Money Without Scams

There was a comment on one of my posts that asked "How much money can I make without getting scammed".

The answer is simple. None

I say that because it is a loaded question. Lets break it down.

"How Much Money Can I Make" When asked this question I often say "Get a job". When you work for someone else you make money. When you work for yourself there is a chance you could loose money.

So I have no idea how much money you can make.

And the second part "Without Getting Scammed". 99% of the ebooks I own came with a money back guarantee. So if you are buying an ebook that doesn't have a money back guarantee, then you need to be more careful.

Kepp in mind, just owning the ebook will not make you money. In many cases you need to invest more money for advertising and stuff like that.

Take for example the SendOutCards thing I am working on. I know someone who makes $100 a day. But that does not mean I will also make $100 a day.

While I could make more, my initial plan is to make $1000 a month. Does that mean that you will make $1000 a month, no.

Michael

Thinking Local For 2008

As I announced to my email list last week in 2008 I will begin to focus on Local Businesses as an income source.

SendOutCards is one of the ideas I will be using and there are many others. Here is the Download Link for more info about SendOutCards. If you want to send a free greeting card on me, just go to http://www.sendoutcards.com/heindel and I will cover the cost of 1 card and postage (USA Only).

The SendOutCards business model is not the one I will be following. So I suggest you subscribe to my email list (form in upper right corner) to get the inside scoop on my business model and plenty of internet marketing tips that aren't posted on my blog.

I spent a couple hours yesterday writing a program to gather contact info for local businesses. It was much easier then I anticipated.

My next step will be to integrate the business owner name with this business name and address info.

From there I will upload one file to SendOutCards and start my plan.

Michael

Not All Traffic Is The Same

Last month I purchased 5,000 unique visitors from an expired domain traffic manager and another 10,000 of the same from another source.

Both sets of traffic were monitored and sent to pages that I have current conversion stats for.

Sadly to say none of the 15,000 unique visitors converted into anything.

Since I have no idea the source of the expired domain traffic I can't say what quality the URL's were. But based on my results I will not be purchasing bulk traffic like that again.

Michael

Over 500 BLOG Posts

Yesterday I did the 500th BLOG post for the One Penny Project BLOG. I didn't notice until I signed in today that I had done this.

So I hit 500 MyBlogLog members and 500 BLOG posts all within about 7 days. Now if I could only get 500 email subscribers and RSS readers. :-)

That reminds me. I have the email and PDF ready for my email list on Saturday. This is the only way you can get the details of my current project.

Time to focus on my business.

Take Care,

Michael

Email Newsletter Announcement

Please check your SPAM or BULK mail folders. Depending on your email provider, the alignment of the sun and how hard the wind is blowing you may or may not get your email.

Just a little joke there. Email is very un-reliable but even more convenient.

Your best bet is to add a filter and direct the email you get from me (ie subject Penny Project) to your inbox or a special folder.

Don't forget big announcement this Saturday. So if you are not an email subscriber, do so now.

My Startup Kit arrived today and I will have some great info for you.

Take Care,

Michael

Do Not Rely On CPC Income

I have said this before and I am going to say it again.

Do not rely on CPC or AdSense income. It is just to wild a ride.

That is why I picked my next project as a real business. No longer do I worry about driving traffic to my site or blogs in hopes that visitors leave by clicking on a link.

Yes I will promote affiliate products. But my main focus now is on building a business, a real business.

This business that I am working on is part online and part offline. It is based on one of the ideas from 20 ways to make $100 a day.

To find out more subscribe to my email list in the upper right. On Saturday I will give more info about what I am working on to my email list.

Michael

Project Updates and $100 A Day

The project update email is in the email system. You should get it by 9:45 if you are a subscriber. If not then please consider joining my email list.

I am very excited about the next project. It is from the 20 ways to make $100 a day ebook.

This is a part online and part offline business. I love the idea and can't wait to start marketing it.

Thanks for the comment on making $500 a day. Yes at some point I will have a goal of $500 a day. But as you mentioned setting a goal of $500 a day often translates into actual results of $200 a day. This is because an arbitrary goal amount without a solid backing is destined to fail. My target of $200 a day for 2008 is a goal that I will reach because I have a solid plan in place. In 2009 I hope to move up to $500 a day.

I will probably update the project balance, but have not decided yet. I don't know if it is worth my time to keep tracking the "Project Balance" if readers don't care. I feel that my time would be better spent working on projects that bring in money.

Or I might just do the project balance to the email list, don't know yet.

Michael