What Do YOU Think of Chat to Text?

Boy, there’s nothing like sitting down to a Monday morning to find you have to play catch-up!  Over the weekend, two guys from Florida introduced a new Facebook application that “makes you money”; it’s called Chat to Text. The concept sounds like a wonderfully practical idea, connecting your phone and computer via texting.  ‘nother “pro” appears to be the money-making aspect.  For a mere $6 you can purchase the app (which then generates a code that you pass on for others to purchase the app), through which you earn $2 on the first guy and $.25 on each following level, up to 8 of ‘em!!!  (Some might call this MLM. others perhaps a Pyramid scheme.) All I know is, mama always told me…”if it sounds too good…”

Another flag to me is that the program flagrantly conflicts with Facebook’s user guidelines*, and is it really a concidence that it was introduced over the weekend (i.e. not during business hours?).  This way, even if Facebook shuts it down, there’s no telling how many $6 hits they’ve already collected.  I don’t know, my take is: yeah, it sound like it could be “the next thing”…but I’m a little too skittish to jump on the bandwagon just yet.  Take a look at the video (please note – I’m NOT saying to sign up!!), also take a peek at some pros and cons.  And let’s continue the discussion here: what say YOU?

*I’m referring to this section under User Conduct: “… you agree not to use the Service or the Site to: upload, post, transmit, share or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, solicitations, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation;”

January ’09

What I Learned on My (Winter) Vacation!

Happy New Year! I have a good feeling about ’09 – I truly hope it’s your best year ever as well!

I was fortunate to be able to spend some time visiting out-of-town friends over the holidays. We had a great time sitting around and eating, playing games, eating, watching videos…and did I mention eating? You get the picture! Enjoyed myself immensely, and learned something in the process. (More in a sec…) This past Monday, however, was indeed painful. Starting with waking up at 5:30, getting dressed to go walking, starting the kids on breakfast, checking my email(!), picking up on our homeschool…all the things that have been part of my routine before Christmas “vacation” were almost painful that day. Here’s what I learned: inactivity breeds inactivity! Might be a no-brainer to you – but it was really sealed for me. I found a deeper understanding of how difficult it can be to get up and start something new – and why some of you reading this still haven’t! Whether you are feeling information overload, or “just” really inadequate, you might be interested in a FREE webinar next Monday nite (1/12) (if you can’t make it, it’ll be recorded to listen to at a later date). The topic is “Overcoming Adversities to Succeed”, and it’s hosted by TheWorksTeam. This is a group (one of the founders is a homeschooler!) that develops and hosts free training for small- and home-business owners and network marketers. They are a wonderful resource, and I am constantly impressed with the amount of work they put into these seminars. Registration is from a secure site, so if you’d like to “attend”, please drop me a line and I’ll send you the password. If this doesn’t apply to you – but you know of someone else who could use the encouragement – please do them a favor and pass this on to them. They will thank you!

Work Smarter – Not Harder

Moms (especially) I know how we all have relied on our ability to multi-task to get through the day. I also know that research has shown it really isn’t an effective way to operate! (Sorry…) But as a home business-owner, it is imperative that we work efficiently and effectively. So please take some time to look at this article by Glen Hopkins in Simple-ology It’s worth the read, and if you’re able to utilize his principles, they can help you “work-smarter-not-harder” this year!

Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions?

While we’re on the “New Year” note, I recently wrote an article on Home Business Resolutions you Need to Make. It was published in ezineArticles.com, but I also posted it on my blog. Honestly, I felt great writing the piece, but it felt much better putting some of them into practice…so pick one or two for yourself, get started, and get moving!!

Just tying up some loose ends

As a follow-up to one of last month’s articles, a colleague of mine, Jim Hickey, did a wonderful post on his blog about putting a lead capture page together. He’s speaking specifically to network marketers, but anyone with a home business wanting to advertise on the internet can apply any and all of his information. I met Jim through Renegade University, the program I used to get started on the internet, and continue to use to educate myself about marketing, advertising and building a web-based home business. I can’t imagine you’d have any questions after reading this piece – but if you do, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me!

Welcome to the Fair!

OK, well maybe not a fair…but it is a Carnival!  Ever heard of a blog carnival?  It’s a great way to make friends and contacts in your niche, publicize your best content, and build links…all for FREE!  Here’s the Wikipedia definition: “A blog carnival is a type of blog event. It is similar to a magazine, in that it is dedicated to a particular topic, and is published on a regular schedule, often weekly or monthly. Each edition of a blog carnival is in the form of a blog article that contains permalinks to other blog articles on the particular topic.” Check out the current homeschool carnival that I’m participating in.  And while you’re at it, read up on some interesting blog posts from other homeschoolers.  Of course, if you have another niche besides homeschooling – network marketing?  home business? crafts? – take a peek at blogcarnival.com.  Sign up (it’s free as well!) and search their listings ’till you find something relevant.  Then…submit your best post and get the ball rolling!

Google’s Adsense Program

Welcome to the first of a series 3 “A+” Ways to Monetize your Blog or Website! First on our stop is Google’s Adsense program.

Adsense is probably the most basic and most-utilized way of monetizing your website or blog (which means providing a way to bring in money). Here’s how it works. Google has an advertising program which allows online merchants to post ads. These ads are free until someone clicks on them, at which time the merchants are billed a certain amount of money. Adsense ads have become so common that most of us don’t even notice them online – until we see something that interests us! They are displayed at the top and far-right side of your screen when you do a search…and also found in content-related sites. Which is where we come in ! By displaying them on your blog or website, Google pays you a percentage of the amount those advertisers pay for the “click”. (Although there is no set formula or percentage, from what I’m reading these days the average is about $.15-$.20 per click.)  Get it?

The best “candidate” for Adsense ads is the person with a website or blog that contains generic information or provides general content. If you are focusing on building a business as a “super affiliate”, like the example I described in our introduction (and which we’ll get more into in another post) you would probably NOT want to use much Adsense, because the ads may be for your competition, and would take away from the product or service you’re trying to sell. You might also want to re-consider using Adsense if you have your own hard-good product for sale; remember, you promote other people’s products when you place these ads on your site… The ultimate “test” for if and where to use Adsense is a page-by-page question you need to ask: what is the point of this page? In one website, you might be providing general content on a specific topic on one page (great place!), then link to an affiliate who provides a terrific solution to a problem or issue you’ve presented (take a pass there), and then link to a page that lists a bunch of other resources (another good place…). Remember it this way – purpose determines placement.

Google’s Adsense site is very user-friendly. To start, go to www.adsense.com and folow the directions. After you apply, it will take a day or two for them to get back to you with an approval. From there on, they have a very user-friendly series of help pages and videos to take you through the ropes. Hey, even I could follow the directions – so I know you can! If you’re up to speed on building a website or blog, this is an interesting thread on the effective use of Adsense.

Probably the “king” of Adsense is Joel Comm. He’s been working on the internet for over 20 years, so if you’re applying the “sustainability test” to his stuff, he certainly passes. He has a FREE 234-page book called Adsense Secrets that you can download. I already have a copy, and I have to warn you that it is VERY overwhelming to try to tackle it at one sitting! But if you keep it around and take it in bits and pieces, apply 1 or 2 strategies as you understand them and are able, before you know it, you’ll have the confidence to be going at it on your own!

There you have it – Adsense 101. That should be enough to whet your appetite. Now if you haven’t already opened up a window and gotten started, pour yourself a cuppa and get going! Apply to Adsense, and while you’re waiting to hear back from them, download Joel’s book and start reading it. If you print it out, use your highlighter like you used to do in school; if you read it online, open up a word document or text editor and start creating a “to-do” list for yourself. You also might want to take a look at some of the websites you are already familiar with and start keeping an eye open for their Adsense ads. You’ll start noticing placement patterns and might get some neat ideas for your own site! You know, all the info in the world is worth absolutely nothing if you don’t put it into action! Let me know how it works for you!

3 “A+” Ways to Monetize your Blog or Website

Welcome to the series “Triple-A Income” – Deb Maubach of homeschool-entrepreneur.com and I have partnered to provide you with this 3-part series of articles introducing you to some easy ways to bring in some money…at home…using the internet. These are tools that can be adapted to a business you already have, or developed into a brand-new business at home. These are NOT get-rich-quick schemes, however, and a good way to consider them on their own would be as various “income streams.”

Over the next few issues, we’ll be giving you the skinny on: Adsense, Affiliate Marketing and Article Writing.

You can use any of them independently – some people have become what’s known as a “Super Affiliate”, for example, and focus on that approach – but taken together, they can become a firm foundation for passive, on-going income thru the internet. With each approach, we’ll also be showing you resources for further information, and introduce you to folks that have developed themselves into professionals in those fields. (One last caveat: however you go about it, working from home is just that: work! If you are not in the season of life where you can put time and energy into a home business, or you are looking for something to “set-up-get-out-and-get-rich”…please close this window right now!! Working from home, at home, does give you the flexibility that a 9-5-er does not, and it allows you to more or less control how much “work” you do – but success in anything requires effort, and without it, there’s no point in wasting your time or money at the get-go.)

If you’re still with us, then, let’s get started! First stop: Google’s Adsense

Creating a Vision for Your Homeschool…and Home Business

This is a re-print of an article I published in ezinearticles awhile back. I’ve been thinking alot lately that even though when I wrote it I was thinking of a homeschool vision, it has alot to do with your home business as well. Hope you are able to use it in both areas of your life!

Read more here…

Creating a Vision for your Homeschool…and Home Business

This is a re-print of an article I published in ezinearticles awhile back. I’ve been thinking alot lately that even though I was thinking of a homeschool vision when I wrote it, it has alot to do with your home business as well. Hope you are able to use it in both areas of your life!

I’ve been homeschooling for many years, and when I ask most of my peers what the vision for their school is, I get slightly uncomfortable giggles or blank stares. Truth-be-told, my own family has gone many years without a written vision for our children’s education and future. No matter what your reasons for homeschooling are, a vision forms the foundation of where you begin and guides you on your journey. If you’ve missed this step in your homeschool preparation, read on to learn 1) why you should consider forming a vision, and 2) how to accomplish the process.

What’s So Important About a Vision?

1) A vision is the foundation of a plan – and “those who fail to plan…” well, you know the rest! Talk to any successful business owner, they’ll tell you they have a written plan – heck, they’ll probably show it to you! Life coaches and consultants all emphasize the importance of knowing where you’re going. Don’t you check a map when you’re going on a trip to a new destination? Think of each new school year as a trip, and the successful completion of it as your destination. Create a map so you get there!

2) A vision keeps you from getting distracted – Getting back to the map analogy, without one, it’s really easy to get distracted or disoriented if you’re on a new road. Tourist attractions and neat places to visit sometimes look interesting to “check out” but may add unnecessary or excessive travel time. It’s also easy to get lost if you’re in a city, for example, or in the middle of an unfamiliar rural area. A vision helps you to decide where to get off ~ if it’s helpful to your travels ~ and encourages you to keep on the road you’ve mapped out when that’s the better option.

3) A vision keeps you and your spouse on the same page – If you’re driving in Iowa, you certainly don’t want to be looking at the California map! The driver and the navigator should both be headed in the right direction…

Designing Your Family’s Vision

First, of all, remember that a vision is a “living document”. It changes as your children and you grow and change. So don’t sweat the small stuff! Start out with a Master List of areas you want you child to develop. It’s probably easier to start with academics or subject areas. Your vision can be as general or specific as you’d like; but be aware that when you get to minutiae, you’re probably getting into goal-setting (but that’s great, too!). From academics, you can branch out into other areas like social skills or life skills.

Decide which things are best handled short-term or long-term. Personal hygiene or home-making skills you’d like your child to master are good examples of items that are on the short-term list, and are best considered goals, rather than part of a vision.

Add things you’d like to accomplish as a family, as well. This can be fun when you get input from the kids. It becomes a way of learning where their hearts and dreams are headed too!

Finally, review your vision periodically to see what you’ve accomplished and where you’re headed.

Now What?

When you’re done, it’s always a good idea to get it down on paper and put it somewhere where you can see it periodically. Create a Word document, select a great font, put a sheet of pretty or bright-colored paper in the printer and…voila! If you’re really “o-c” like I tend to be, put it in a plastic sleeve and tack it to the bulletin board in your schoolroom or kitchen. Refer to it when you’re being bombarded with activities that seem “good” to get involved in – but may take you off course or make your life just plain crazy! A vision can keep your life – and your homeschool – sane. In fact, I think I’m gonna go back and work on ours right now…

What’s Your Why?

When I began with my first MLM. I remember my upline casually asking me the question “So, why do you want to get started with a home business?” I came up with a few (I thought) relevant responses, and we moved on. I don’t remember many, or any, more of that type of conversation. I even stopped thinking about it after a while.

But things didn’t go too well, and after getting involved with a marketing training program, I started hearing that question a bit more often. I also started coming across and working with a few business coaches over time, and heard the question again and again…

For a while I thought the question was bogus; that it was something a coach asked when he or she didn’t know exactly what to ask, or a question they used to get to know me better. But the more I found myself thinking about it, the more the question made sense.

I think I was starting to “get it”…

So…what is your “why”?

Mine started out as two-fold: to bring in an income from home (we’re homeschoolers, and maintaining that is important to us); and to better my family’s health (the MLM I joined was in the health and wellness field). I was fortunate enough to work with a coach who finally explained the importance of the answer, and it made all the difference in the world. It also changed my “why” dramatically!

And why is it important?

In a nutshell: your “why” is what keeps you going. When you can’t seem to get your blog set up; when a technical aspect on yuor website has you pulling out your hair; when you’ve poured hours into a lead capture tutorial and don’t seem to get any leads from it; when the phone isn’t ringing even though you’re giving away your services; when the directories are refusing to list your website; when your pages are getting the “click” but not the “ka-ching”; when your friends and family think you’re crazy for doing what you’re doing; when you’re tired and want to quit. Those are the times (and there are many others…) when your “why” is all that’s keeping you in the game.

Here’s my current list…

Realizing the importance of the answer has changed my “why” dramatically. Today, I have at least 4:

* to develop the gifts and experiences God has blessed me with (as a Christian, the concept is called “good stewardship”);

* to encourage others by using that development both in homeschooling and home business support, by taking what I learn and “pay it forward”;

* to set an example for my kids of overcoming obstacles (yup, as a veteran at-home mom with little internet experience, and business experience dating back to the ’80′s, you could say I had a few of them!); and

* to fulfill a personal need to create something lasting that will benefit others.

I’m hoping that’ll be enough to keep me going for quite a while at least.  Spend some time durnig this holiday season giving some thought to what will keep you going in ’09… 

P.S. Please feel free to share them here – we could all use inspiration and motivation from each other!

New Article Marketing class!

I love to learn! And as a homeschooler, I love to help others learn, too. So…I just finished putting together a terrific – if I may say so myself – ecourse on Article Marketing. (Actually, the folks at Article Marketer and I put it together.) It’s 7 lessons long, so it’s not un-doable, even for busy homeschoolers. The neat thing about it is that it’s in the same vein as Mike Klingler’s Renegade University – step-by-step. By the end of the course, you’ve created at least 1 article (depends on how motivated you are) from start to finish, and submitted it!

Here’s what it covers:

* Keyword research or What do I write about?
* Creating an irresistable title
* Introductions, beginnings, conclusions
* The ever-important resource box
* Now what do I do with it? or Submitting your article
* And more…

This series is really flexible and solid education: it’s designed to help you ramp-up your existing home business or help you focus on getting started with one. Sound like something you might be interested in? Don’t be intimidated by writing – for years the most creative things I wrote were lesson plans and shopping lists. And now I’m publishing all over the ‘net!

Writing is a craft, however, and after learning some of the basics for writing on the internet, it can become a new skill that you’ve begun to develop in ’09! This is your year – this is the time – this is the course! Sign up now!!

Learning and Earning at Home

December 2008

Squidoo…and your economy

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the economy lately. The state I live in has a 7% unemployment rate; the city I live in has lost some significant industry lately, and is on the verge of losing more. I have good friends and family who are or may be facing unemployment. It goes on and on… I’ve long wanted to have “the answer pill” ~ but a sad realization hit me recently. Even if I did have it, not everyone would take it! Truth is, many people would rather complain or worry than work. For those of you who are motivated enough to move…here’s a way to get started, using your own computer! It’s called Squidoo. I wrote an article recently about it at MomsTalkNetwork. It’s a really fun way to get started establishing a presence on the internet. You see, making money at home using the internet is possible, but first and foremost you have to get comfortable with communicating online: it really is a bit more than just sending emails! Squidoo allows you to write about what you’re passionate about…with the option of making money with it. And you don’t need to come up with anything serious or deep. Take a minute and take a look around. Log onto www.Squidoo.com and read some of the “lens” (articles). Go ahead…I’ll wait! See? You can write about your interests, make a little money and even have fun in the process! If you’re a little more serious-minded, you can write about the economy, politics, religion, nutrition, homeschooling, your home business…. I’ve posted a few articles on this site already, so if you have any problems, please feel free to contact me and we can schedule a “walk thru” together!

 

FREE Traffic Ayone?

For those of you who already have a business, how would you like a source of free traffic? Traffic is the foundation of making money online. After all, even if you have the best product in the world, how can you sell it if nobody knows about it, right?! Trafficswarm is a totally free and automated traffic-generation system. You get to choose who sees your ads, and they even have tracking systems in place so you can see which ones work and which you should drop. There are lots of other freebie reports and tips, and you can get free subscriptions to 2 magazines giving you practical, usable advice to implement in your website or affiliate business. Honestly, I don’t know how they make all this stuff available for no charge – but I AM thankful! So try it – I mean, what have you got to lose? And do let me know what you think!

 

How to “capture” a list…

When you do any type of advertising online, whether it’s via website or blog, and have any type of product or service to sell, it’s important to have people to sell to, right? (OK, pretty basic…) But how do you get them? A landing page, or lead capture page, is what a person searching for something on the internet clicks on as a result of their search. Ultimately, this page will provide enough information or valuable content that they will want to hear more from you, or buy what you have for sale. The lead capture page is what they will fill out with the information necessary to complete that transaction. It usually provides you (the seller) with information such as the customer’s name, physical or email address, phone number, etc., and in return you sell them a product, good or service. They also become one of your “leads”, whom you can then send further emails, perhaps a newsletter, or related product or sales information. A reputable seller will always provide a way for you to unsubscribe as a lead, or discontinue receiving information from them. Spammers use this technique to send you unsolicited offers, and if they don’t offer you an opportunity to unsubscribe, you should ALWAYS attempt to get off their lsts by adjusting your own email filters Done correctly, landing pages can provide useful content to your customers and clients, and bring valuable growth to your own home business. In future issues, I’ll be offering more help and free or low-cost tools for developing your own landing page.

A little Christmas present from me to you

Still looking for presents that you can afford?? Mary Hunt’s recent post about consumable Christmas gifts is a “must read” for those on a tight budget. Check out her recipes for some tasty treats and read her latest edition of Everyday Cheapskate while you’re at it!