WFMW: Take a Break from Blogging

July 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I’ve been devoting my WFMW posts to blogging tips that work for me. If you missed the rest, just click here and scroll down to see them.

I’m sure you’re having a busy a summer as we are, filled with lazy mornings and easy dinners, less-bathed kids and more-chlorined hair. Last week when I returned from a half-work, half-play trip to the West Coast, I found it very hard to get back onto the computer. I had been out of routine, happily, for a week, and it was hard to get the momentum back. This leads me to

Tip #7: Take a Break from Blogging.

While away, I didn’t miss trying to keep up with my Google Reader, looking for shopping deals or any of my usual computer-related tasks. I tried to catch up on sleep, read books and magazines, spent lots of time talking with a good friend and I missed my kids. Then, when it was time to come back online, I had renewed energy and about a zillion new things to blog about (funny how that happens!).

If you read a bunch of blogs, you’ll see lots of people posting that they’re on break during the beginning of August. The reason is two-fold: most families are traveling or enjoying each others company for the summer, and readership tends to go down during this time of the year. Make a point to meet demand–I see this happen during the holidays, too–if fewer readers are online, don’t stress yourself out trying to post daily. Take it easy. Scale back a bit until everyone gets back into the fall/school starting routine, which usually involves reading blogs and checking email subscriptions. Traffic will pick up then.

Hope you’re having a great summer, both on- and off-line! For more Works for Me Wednesday posts, head over to We Are That Family.

    Filed Under: Blogging, Works for Me

    WFMW: Monetize Your Blog with an Affiliate Network

    July 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

    I’ve been devoting my WFMW posts to blogging tips that work for me. If you missed the rest, just click here and scroll down to see them.

    At the beginning of June, I asked you to consider monetizing your blog. It’s not for everyone! For one thing, it gives you more to do besides writing/posting, and when you’re home with small children, sticking to a schedule is very challenging. Depending on the way you monetize, you may also be promising others a post by a deadline or have other duties to fulfill. That can be difficult as well. One good way to get started without obligations is Tip #6: Join an Affiliate Network.

    An affiliate network does the work for you–they find the advertisers, create the banners/graphics, and set the rates. Your job is to decide where and how to place the ads on your blog; the amount of time you devote to promoting the ads affects your earnings. I use three main networks: Escalate Media, Logical Media and MySavings Media*. They all have a similar interface that’s easy to use; you log in to your account and see what Offers are available, then choose the size banner/ad/text you’d like to use. Just cut & paste it into your blog’s sidebar or add it to a post. Here are some tips I’ve learned over the past few years:

    • Affiliate networks have LOTS of offers, but they’re not all a good match for your blog. I avoid anything that looks “spammy” and I focus on big brands I’ve heard of (Betty Crocker, JCPenney, Pampers, etc.). If it looks interesting to me, I check it out before sharing it with my readers.
    • Sticking a banner or ad in the sidebar doesn’t pay very well, no matter how much traffic you have. Writing a post around it (like this Vistaprint label deal) is a better way to “convert” (make a sale), and I try to add extra value by sharing how I’ve used it personally or with Vistaprint, give suggestions on what to order.
    • Sending more traffic to those posts from Facebook and Twitter can increase your conversion rate, and therefore your earnings. When I take more time promoting an Offer, the more I earn (funny how that works!). With an affiliate network, you don’t have to promote if you don’t have time; there’s no negative effect other than low earnings.

    I’ve found affiliate networks to be an easy way to monetize my blog. Give it a try!

    What questions do you have about affiliate networks?

    For more Works for Me Wednesday posts, head over to We Are That Family.

    *Disclosure: These are affiliate links, meaning that I’ll earn a small percentage when you sign up with one of these networks. If you do sign up, feel free to email me with any questions you have–I’d love to help you earn income with your blog!

      Filed Under: Blogging, Making Money, Works for Me

      WFMW: Stick to a Blog Schedule

      July 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

      I’ve been devoting my WFMW posts to blogging tips that work for me. If you missed the rest, just click here and scroll down to see them.

      It’s difficult to keep up a series of Blogging Tips when you’re hardly on the computer anymore. Summer schedule has been challenging, and most nights I’m too tired to stay up and write. So it’s appropriate and amusing that I share with you…

      Tip #5:  Create and stick to a blogging schedule.

      Back in May, I was getting into a groove. I found a great set of organizers that I used to jot down all my blog post ideas and organize them within a calendar month. I wasn’t being control freaky about it, but I came up with loose schedule that looked something like this:

      Monday–meal plan, personal update
      Tuesday–something crafty, Home Depot/Lowes projects
      Wednesday–WFMW (blog tips), photo/other deals
      Thursday–random/personal finance
      Friday–recipe/food-related, more deals

      Choosing a general topic for multiple posts (such as recipes) makes it easier to work ahead. When I do find time, I can sit and write the posts 2-3 weeks ahead, then go back later for photos and links. I used the Blog Post Planner and Calendar, two free planning sheets from Productive Flourishing to get all the post ideas brainstormed and written down so they’re not on a bunch of random post-its or lists. I had thought that getting myself organized on paper would help keep me on track, but it’s still on paper because I can’t get to the computer daily. Sigh.

      How do you organize your blogging posts/topics?

      For more Works for Me Wednesday posts, head over to We Are That Family.

        Filed Under: Blogging, Works for Me

        WFMW: Enter a Blog Carnival

        June 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

        I’ve been devoting my WFMW posts to blogging tips that work for me. If you missed the rest, just click here and scroll down to see them.

        Tip #4 is….Gain new blog readers through blog carnivals.

        While the most important thing you can do on your blog is write–post good content and post regularly–there are some steps you can take to gain new readers. One is to get your posts in front of new readers from other blogs. You can do this through guest posting (more on that in a later WFMW post), or submit your best/favorite posts to blog carnivals.

        I’ve mentioned before how you can use memes to increase your traffic, but there is also a site called Blog Carnival that you may find helpful. Search for a carnival on a topic you like (parenting, finance, etc.) and be sure to check the date to see when the next carnival will be published. Just this week, I was part of the Festival of Frugality hosted by NerdWallet. Thanks, Tim!

        One of my favorite places to submit posts is TipJunkie. She compiles all kinds of how-to’s from all over the blogosphere and shares them in themed posts. Whether you have an organizing, craft, or food idea to share, it’s a great place to be seen by her MANY readers. Today I’m featured in Tip Junkie’s Birthday Bash for my Lego Birthday Party post. Thanks, Laurie!

        Some carnival sites ask that you only submit posts from the past two weeks; others allow posts from anytime. Think about some of your most-commented or best traffic posts (for example, I get a lot of Google search traffic for that Lego post). The hope is that readers will click over and find your blog, see what you’re all about, and stay to read more.

        For more Works for Me Wednesday posts, see one of my favorite blog carnivals at We Are That Family.

        Filed Under: Blogging, Works for Me

        WFMW: Monetize Your Blog with Amazon Associates

        June 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

        I’ve been devoting my WFMW posts to blogging tips that work for me. If you missed the first three, just click here and scroll down to see them.

        Tip #4 is….Use Amazon Associates to monetize your blog.

        This is only, of course, once you’ve decided to monetize. When you’re looking for money-earning opportunities with your blog, there are many. So I wanted to start you with an easy one. Why start with Amazon?

        1. It’s easy to join. Sign up here. *Unfortunately, Colorado, North Carolina and Rhode Island residents are ineligible.
        2. Amazon is a well-known, trusted retailer. Sending readers to Amazon through your affiliate links provides a safe, familiar shopping experience.
        3. You’re probably quite familiar with Amazon, both in navigating and in purchasing. There’s not too much to learn to make this work. They have a Get Started Tour if you need it.

        Once you’ve signed up, you’re able to add widgets or banners to your site or you can stick with affiliate links within your posts (be sure to include FTC disclosure when you do). They have a handy banner that runs across your window to help you link to products in seconds. At the beginning of each month, you earn 4% commission on each purchase made through your link, and it applies to all items purchased, not just the item you linked. If you link to a favorite children’s book, for example, and your reader clicks through and decides not to buy the book, but instead order that new digital camera she’s been eye-ing, you get the commission on the camera. Your earning percentage goes up with the number of items you sell each month, and reverts back to 4% on the 1st next month.

        Think about ways you can incorporate Amazon links into your posts, such as my Father’s Day gift suggestions. If you’re a food blogger, what about a list of your favorite cookbooks or absolute-necessity kitchen gadgets? If you’re a mom blogger who writes about a lot of topics, think about an area of your expertise:  children’s books, favorite bath toys, birthday gift suggestions. These are just a few ideas to get you started; you’ll want to give Amazon Associates a try for a 3-6 months to learn what works for you and your blog.

        For some more tips on monetizing with Amazon, see my post Maximize Your Earnings as an Amazon Associate over at TopMomBlogger.

        Disclosure: I get nothing for referring you to Amazon Associates, I just think it’s an easy way to get started with blog monetizing.

          Filed Under: Amazon, Blogging, Making Money, Works for Me