Plan Ahead or Just Wing it

When writing for your BLOG, do you plan ahead or just wing it?

For me I do both. It depends on what blog I am working on at the moment.

Depending on the topic some content can't be written on the fly and requires a bit of research and testing first.

My favorite blogs are the ones where I can just type stuff as it comes into my head. Everything related to the topic I am writing about, but not planned. Just targeted based on my current thoughts.

Some bloggers do research on keywords and stuff like that. I don't see any reason to take the time to research keywords that pay the most. I would rather just write and accept whatever money I happen to make from that post.

Michael

You Never Know Until You Live It

I read the book 30 Days to Live not long ago. Many of the chapters I read quickly because I felt my life was in order.

I picked up a few tips and even made a few adjustments.

But then my world turned upside down.

30 Days to Live became a reality. My world had completely done a backflip and I was delivered a truckload of lemons.

Fortunately I had the recipe for lemonade and my friends came to the rescue. My life is changed and I plan to make the change a positive one even with the truckload of lemons.

So when you sit back and think if something happened this is what I would do. It probably isn't. Because until you have lived it you have no idea how you will react.

If you noticed that I don't blog here as much as I used to you are right. Posting on this blog will be 3 times per week when things clear up. I will post once a week until then.

The schedule on my other blogs will stay the same as I was only updating them a couple times a month anyway.

As for my sites. I got rid of my virtual server to save money. It doesn't make sense to manage 20+ websites for the amount of money they were making.

From now on I will stick to free blogs and use my free hosting from Wealthy Affiliate. More on WA in my next post, but that is one expense that I am not going to give up!

Michael

The 4 Hour Work Week

I am going to have to cut my work week back to 4 hours a week. This is something I wanted to do before. But I always figured I had to wait until I made it big to cut back my hours.

At this time I need to focus on my family and spend less time on the computer. I am in deep sorrow that I did not recognize the need to do this much sooner.

That said I will continue to run tests and update all of my blogs. But I will be cutting back on things that cost money like site memberships, Aweber and probably my server.

If I cut out most spending I should be able to go for days without worrying about an advertising spend explosion.

This does mean that it will take longer for comments to get approved if I take a few days off in a row.

I am going to try 30 minutes a day and see how that works. If I have to I will start cutting back on some of my test blogs and just work on the ones that interest me most. (like this one)

Michael

How to spend Entrecard Credits

As mentioned last week. I love Entrecard. More so now that I figured out the best way to use Entrecard.

Spend your credits by advertising on other blogs.

Very simple and very effective.

I always drop my card on the blogs I like to read. I also mark them as a favorite and often advertise on them as well.

Some days I drop more cards then others. My drops inbox always shows me new blogs to check out.

I'm more picky about placement then I am anything else. If it is an above the fold placement like I have here on my blog then I am willing to pay more to advertise on that blog.

Once a week I spend most of the credits in my account. I get advertising all week long.

Michael

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all. Even if you don't have kids you may have given motherly advice to a child in the past. So to all I wish a Happy Mothers Day.

Yesterday was jam packed with outside work. Hopefully today I will have time to work on the project I mentioned yesterday.

I also have to practice for my big poker tournament later this month.

Take Care,

Michael

Tax Rebate & Why I Love EntreCard

First an update on the Tax Rebate for those of us in the USA that qualify. Always be thankful, it isn't much but it is better then nothing. In the end all we have are memories anyway.

Now on to Entrecard. I am starting to like EntreCard more. At first I thought the work to results ratio was not worth my effort.

But then I made a slight change and now I don't have to work as hard. I was dropping over 100 cards a day. But now I drop about 20 and because I like to see who the new blog are that visit me and I drop another 10-20 on blogs that I like to read. So I am down to about 40 from over 100 (close to 150).

Want to know what the big change was that I am so happy about ... keep reading.

When I first started I was dropping and visiting blogs. But I wasn't spending my credits.

The true power of Entrecard didn't kick in until I started spending my credits.

Now I earn more EntreCard credits per day when I did over 100 drops with much less effort.

More bloggers see my ad on other blogs, visit my blog and purchase an ad worth their EntreCard credits. It is a win-win for all involved.

There you have it. To take full advantage of EntreCard you have to regularly spend your credits.

Michael

How To Schedule BLOG Posts

The blogging platform I use now has a feature to schedule posts.

So now I can write up posts for when I am away and they will show up daily as if I were able to write and post them that day. This is a great feature for vacations and travel. Other then that I prefer to write and post at the same time.

To do a future post in Blogger all you have to do is click on the Post Options link. Then under post date and post time just set it be when you want it to post.

Simple as pie.

Many things going on right now, so I better get back to it.

Michael

Thanks to AffSpy

I got my $200 prize today from AffSpy. If you remember a couple days back I mentioned how I won $200 from AffSpy in a contest on WinningTheWeb.com from March.

The AffSpy tool is awesome and for those like me that promote multiple merchant networks a real time saver. With my research at Wealthy Affiliate I can quickly go to AffSpy and search offers to promote.

I am off to Soccer practice. My daughter plays on a local U8 team. While I am there I will have to ponder how to spend my $200.

Many thanks to AffSpy for offering this prize on WinningTheWeb last month.

Stop back to see how I spend the $200. I would like to try and at least double it by the end of April.

Michael

The Week Before Denver

Next week at this time I will be heading to Denver for a conference. Collaborate 08 to be exact.

I am heading there as part of my job for a big project later this year.

The Internet Marketing portion of this is about advertising.

There will be about 15,000 people there all with interest in the same thing. So I took a peek at how much it would cost to advertise there.

A 10x10 booth in the expo costs $10,000. Floor Decals cost $3,500. Bottled Water cost $15,000 for 2 days.

At first I thought some of these vendors are paying $2 or more per "impression". But then I realized that these people are selling $20,000+ products. So 1 or 2 sales would be a profit for them.

Something to keep in mind when we advertise online.

This time next week I will be on my way to the airport. The conference starts early Sunday, so I will be heading out Saturday.

Michael

Hang With Me Online

Are you my friend?

The best way to find me is on MyBlogLog, just click the My BLOG Community link above and join my community. You will need a Yahoo id, free if you don't already have one.

Another option is FaceBook, again just click on the My BLOG Community and then on my FaceBook icon. You can also see my YouTube and Twitter links there as well.

I tend to hang out online for a couple hours a day, so there is a good chance we will meet sooner or later.

I am getting close to having over 10,000 contacts on MyBlogLog. That is my current goal for MyBlogLog.

Michael

What Does It Take To Make Money Online

A popular question with new bloggers is can I make money with my blog.

The simple answer is yes and no.

Yes, you can make money with your blog, but it takes a good deal of work. An no there is no guarantee that you will make money blogging.

That said, learning from others is a great way to get started. I just joined 2 new affiliate networks the other day and will be reporting on them soon.

Google AdSense is a popular form of income for bloggers because it is easy to install and Google is well trusted. I do run AdSense but if you read my past posts you will see that most of my money comes from other sources.

Traffic is the lifeblood of your blog. Do you know where your traffic comes from? Do you know how to get more people to see your blog?

More on that in a future post.

Michael

Where To Get Massive BLOG Traffic?

Where To Get Massive BLOG Traffic? Note, this is not a statement, but a question.

I often test advertising. Google AdWords, Yahoo, MSN, advertising on blogs, bumper sticker on my car, the list goes on a mile long.

ROI or return on investment, being time or money, is important when advertising.

Yesterday I spent $24 to advertise on a blog that is doing heavy promotion right now. This blog isn't getting a ton of traffic, but with the volume of promotion I know it is going to spike soon.

That is why I got in quick. When the traffic spikes, so will his advertising rates.

So far my ROI is very poor. Only 4 visitors came from that site.

I'm not worried because I still have 30 more days.

Google AdWords is the easiest form of advertising, but you can loose a ton of money quickly if not done right. I use the tools at Wealthy Affiliate to help me find good keywords as well as products to promote.

Take Care,

Michael

The Perks of Being a Blogger

Every job has its perks and blogging is no exception.

Today in the mail I got a hardback copy of "Crucibles of Leadership - How to Learn from Experience to Become a Great Leader" by Robert J. Thomas. This book is hot off the press.

Most of the books I read are about Business: Marketing, Growth, How To, Fortune 500 or Religious: Mission, Outreach, Prayer.

"Crucibles of Leadership" looks like a great How To business book based on extensive research and experience.

Currently I am reading "A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23" by W. Phillip Keller. The chapters are filled with interesting stories and this book makes for a great daily devotion.

I will do a full review of "Crucibles of Leadership" in about 2 weeks. How is that for smart marketing. The price of a book and shipping will get this author a free review that would have cost $60.

Michael

P.S. Thank You to everyone who sent me books. If anyone wants to send me a book they wrote or a product they sell I will gladly do a free review. Contact Me and I will give you my address.

Blog Posting On The Weekends

I hear many bloggers say that traffic on the weekends is lighter then through the week. In the past I would do a re-carp of the week on the weekends because of this.

Looking at my stats I can see that some weekends are lighter while others have the highest traffic for the week.

I was posting 7 days a week and at times 2 or more posts a day. Over the past month I cut back to about 5 days a week. I found this works out best for me in terms of content and time.

Keep in mind this is just for the blog you are reading. I have MANY more. Some get updated more then others, but for the most part they are on a pattern.

I found the key is to write about a targeted niche and stay on target. The search engines then give you more weight in the search results for that niche.

I love the comments, keep them coming.

Michael

Short Posts or Long Posts

Do you prefer short blog posts or longer blog posts?

I read a ton of blogs every day in addition to about 3 books a month. The problem I have is finding a place to stop.

I prefer short blog posts and short chapters in books. It makes it easy for me to find a stopping point and mark where to continue the next day.

Pictures are a nice feature as well. I will have to start adding more photos to my blog posts.

What are your thoughts on blog post size?

Michael

How Much Time Spent Blogging

How much time do you spend blogging?

I have a bunch of websites and BLOGs. In addition to my BLOGs I write articles, free reports and info products and that doesn't even count all the reading and writing I do offline.

Much of my time is spend reading, thinking and writing. Something I love to do.

I can't nail down how many hours a week I spend reading and writing, but I know it is close to 30 hours if not more.

I'm off to prepare for a speech on Sunday and then watch a little TV.

Michael

Don't Get Stuck In A TrafficJam

John Reese just released one of hs new websites to the public. I have yet to join BlogRush for various reasons. Income may be done some day, still waiting for that one.

I see no reason to jump on the TrafficJam bandwagon. I know the ins and outs of Technorati, so why bother with another blog tracking site.

John is a great marketer and no doubt there is some value with TrafficJam. But for me I will stick with Technorati.

I have a new product that I will be promoting when I get back. I didn't get a chance to review the product or sales letter yet. The membership I belong to gives me master resell on a product they create every month. Works gret for me as it would cost 5 times as much to have the product written.

Things are going well in New Orleans. Today it is rainy, but all of our work will be inside. This might slow down the drying time of the drywall compound though. Hopefully we can get all the walls ready for paint if not completly painted by Friday evening.

So much to do, so little time.

Michael

Do What You Can - Don't Sweat The Details

Hello All,

Our group arrived safely in New Orleans yesterday after a bumpy, but uneventful flight. We took a tour of one of the houses we will be rebuilding and should be set to start work on Monday.

Today is Church then we may spend some time in the French Quarter. Love the music and atmosphere of the French Quarter. But as always many places are better enjoyed every once in a while rather then every day.

Many of the people who read this blog are bloggers. One thing I often struggle with is the details.

There are 2 types of posts for me. Results and Information.

For "Results" posts I write about things I have tried and how they worked for me. Take for example my thoghs on the tools I use at Wealthy Affiliate. I also try verious advertising methods and ways to make money online.

What I do and what I learn from it are written as "Resluts" posts. Many of my readers prefer those posts over the information posts.

I do information posts because not everyone is at the same level. So I try to write about some things that may be known to many, but not to someone who is new at blogging. These posts take much more time to write then the Results posts.

What I am starting to learn is that I don't need to write all the details, just a high level post with links to others that have more detail.

This will benefit my regualr readers who already know the topics I am writing about as well as the visitor who is new.

Take Care,

Michael

Update on Blogging Projects

I am heading to New Orleans to help with the rebuilding efforts for a week. There will be little or no blog posts until I return. Depends if I have time to write in the evenings.

If you are new here there are plenty of archives to read. Probably enough to fill a book or two. My suggestion would be to go back to the beginning and read all of them to here.

When I return the private advertising sales will begin. Post a comment here with your email address if you are interested in purchasing a spot.

I started testing a few new things and should have a report ready next month. With going away for a week I want to re-test some stuff before I put the stats together.

The traffic to some of my blogs has picked up. Most of them only get one post a week, so when traffic picks up I tend to get a little excited. It looks like natural search results, so if this keeps up for 2 weeks I will have to increase posting frequency on those blogs.

There were no entries for the Valentines Day contest. So no winner there. But I will have another contest sometime in the future. Next time the prize will be much bigger.

If you are interested in checking out the tools I use for research and making money just click --> here.

If you blog for money or you blog for fun, always enjoy what you do. It makes life easier.

Best of luck to everyone, see you in a little over a week.

Michael

MyBlogLog Checkmark and an Update

Today I finally got my checkmark on MyBlogLog for my One Penny Project BLOG. You can see it here. While you are there, please consider joining my community.

The process to get the checkmark was the same that Technorati uses to verify that you own a blog. It only took me about 2 minutes.

Now my blog will stand out for a little while until others catch on and start getting their own checkmark.

Michael