I have always been open about anything I have received, or trips I have taken. Those are from companies and you may remember seeing a disclosure at the bottom of each post. I also do posts as a partnership with my Ad Network a lot too. I have always disclosed that information as well.

With these new rules, I will be changing up posts a bit and here’s how it will affect what you see. I just want to lay this out now so you aren’t like “What, Huh, Why are you telling us this?” I want to over-communicate then leaving you with questions.

So, going forward, if there is a post in which I have an affiliate link, meaning I may benefit from your clicking, purchasing or looking (just kidding, not really if you look) at that link, you will see the following message at the bottom of the post:

Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.

Whew, that was a LOT of work! While the regulations do not state this is necessary for products or deals that I am simply advertising, I am just gonna play it safe and include it in any post where an affiliate link is included. Which means all of my store posts since I am an affiliate for many coupon printing sites.

You can also always review my Disclaimer Policy here (which also resides in the footer on my home page). As a matter of fact, I will be including a link to this very post in my Disclaimer Policy just so I’m square :)

If you are interested in a great recap, my friend Jessica wrote an interesting post here on the new law and how it pertains to the blogging community.

I do think the FTC would be better off putting their energy in, say, celebrities who endorse the latest diet fats and earn millions rather than bloggers who are providing a FREE service and earning a small income (I do realize there are some shady bloggers too though). However, I understand the true goal with these regulations is about being transparent. And, my ultimate goal is to follow regulations, not end up in jail (I doubt that would happen, but I really don’t want to go to jail) and to remain transparent to anyone that reads.

I feel I should also clarify that nothing on the site, content-wise or other will change. I hope you have seen that nothing has changed since you have read (and since I have become an affiliate for some companies). My mission stays the same: to help you save on what you need so you can spend on what you want. That’s it – period!

With all of that, do you have any questions or concerns? If not, then back to helping you SAVE!

Over the past few months, I have worked with some supa-cool ladies to organize an event. The purpose for this event is to truly help other bloggers be successful. Many want to make their blog a profitable business. There are hundreds who are willing to share how they have been successful in doing this very thing.

Savvy Blogging was born.

The Savvy Blogging team is passionate about helping others. We want to inspire people to make the impossible a reality. Our community of blogging is influenced by everyone who is a part of it – the good and the bad. We want to encourage as many as possible to be successful. Frankly, it’s a community I want to be a part of. It’s one I want to see more of.

Because of our teamwork, in a matter of weeks we pulled together a dinner (for February) that sold out in an hour. We crafted a web site and made it official with a Facebook Fan page :). The most surprising part was how twitter was overtaken with tips from people using the hash tag #savvyblogging. There was an impromptu party that lasted nearly four hours, on a Saturday nonetheless (and that timeframe is just when I participated). That was and is an affirmation that people are hungry for sharing and learning.

SavvyBlogging.net is alive and indexed and we are ready to share with guest posts and tips to go along with our mission. Many bloggers will be generously sharing their wisdom to inform and inspire. The first item on our agenda will be discussing blogging goals. On January 4, we will have a linky for you to share your 2010 Blogging Goals. I will share mine yet this week.

You can follow Savvy Blogging on Twitter, our Facebook Fan Page and at SavvyBlogging.net.

Be sure to follow #SavvyBlogging and the Savvy Blogging team on Twitter too. @happyhousewife, @5dollardinners, @thethriftymama, @mommysnacks, @crystalpaine! Warning: we tweet a lot :)

I know I haven’t finished the Begin to Blog series. So many things have gotten my attention. But, I have had so many people ask about creating Facebook Fan Pages. They are really simple to create, but there are several steps involved in the process. Unfortunately, I haven’t found one post that explains each step to create a Facebook Fan Page…until now!

Sign into your Facebook Account and follow the steps below to Create a Facebook Fan Page!

Create Networked Blog

In order to have an automatic feed make updates to your Facebook Fan Page wall from your blog posts, you will need to create a Networked Blog. If you want to manually update your Fan Page yourself, you can skip this step. Although, I would highly encourage you do this because it leaves you less work to do your own updates.

• Add the Networked Blog Application to your Facebook account.
• Click on Add New Blog.

You will be required to verify you are the networked blog owner. I believe you must have 10 people verify before your feed will pull to the networked blog you just created.

Once you are verified, you will see the big red box above on your Networked Blog Page. Follow the prompts to update as follows:

• Clicking on “Click Here to grant the required permissions” (in the Red Box).
• Click “Allow Publishing” to allow posts to be updated without prompting you.
• Say “Yes or Agree” when it asks if it can access your data when not using the application.

Now you’re ready to create a Fan Page!

Create Fan Page

• Go to the Create Fan Page site of Facebook.
• Complete the information and submit/save.

Once your page has been created, you can now set up the auto-feed from your networked blog.

Setting up Auto-Feed to Fan Page

Your networked blog feed will post to your Facebook Fan Page Wall and Personal Profile Wall Updates automatically with these steps:

• Go to your Fan Page
• Edit Page (left hand side)
• Scroll down to the Networked Blog Logo
• Click Edit
• Check the “Publish to Wall and Show on Tab” for your Blog
• Click Test Publishing

Finally, make sure the update you just made took effect with the Application Settings by going back to:

• Go to your Fan Page
• Edit Page (left hand side)
• Scroll down to the Networked Blog Logo
• Click Application Settings
• Additional Permissions
• Make sure the box “Publish to streams” is checked

Your networked blog feed should now publish automatically to your walls.

Removing Auto-Feed from Personal Page

I don’t have my networked blog updates show on my Personal Facebook page. I like to keep them separate. If you want to keep your updates on your Fan Page only, follow these steps:

• Settings (at top of page next to your name)
• Application Settings
• Networked Blogs
• Edit Settings
• Additional Permissions
• Uncheck the box that says “Publish recent activity (one line stories) to my wall”

By doing this your auto-updates will now only show on your Fan Page.

Now Start Getting Fans!

Vanity URL

When you have 25 Fans and you can get a Vanity URL, which is essentially a URL that you can name whatever you want. For example, my vanity url is: http://savingslifestyle.com/Facebook. To create your own go to:

• http://www.facebook.com/username
• Complete the information and press save
• Do this for your personal profile too if you haven’t already

Manual Fan Page Wall Updates

You can still create manual fan page updates. Just take the link to whatever post or site you want to share and manually update your Fan Page (in your “What’s On Your Mind” section). It’s a great way to share something quickly and not doing an official post. It’s also another way to cross promote other blogs and continue to build our community!

Manually Pulling Networked Blog Feeds

Sometimes it takes a while for the updates to show up on your Networked Blog and Fan Page. You can manually pull the feed to have posts show sooner on your Networked Blog Page.

• Go to Your Profile Page
• Select the Blog Tab
• Click on your Networked Blog
• On your Networked Blog Page, scroll down until you see your most recent posts
• Click on “Pull Feed” and your feed should update immediately

There have been times I have received error messages stating the manual pull wasn’t successful, so I just try again. It always works. This may be beneficial to do when you have a timely offer that you want your readers to see.

Note Updates versus Feed Updates

I see several people have a Notes update in Facebook rather than a Networked Blog Feed Update. This is fine if you’re not concerned about getting a click over/traffic to your site. As a blogger, I would encourage you to try to get traffic to your site and not a micro-site (like the Notes application).

If you have a Networked Blog, I would highly suggest you update as shared above to get your auto-updates on your Wall. If you want to remove the Notes feature from your Personal Wall, simply:

• Settings (at top of page next to your name)
• Application Settings
• Notes
• Edit Settings
• Additional Permissions
• Remove the check to “Publish to Streams”

If you already have a Fan page and you have Notes publishing to it, you will need to follow these steps to remove them:

• Go to your Fan Page
• Edit Page (left hand side)
• Scroll down to Notes
• Application Settings
• Additional Permissions
• Remove the check to “Publish to Streams”

Your Notes should be removed now, and hopefully you set up the Networked Blog feed to have auto-updates take effect and get traffic to your site!

UPDATE: A great post about the difference between a Facebook Group Page and a Fan Page written by PR Professional, @JennaSnacks.

Leave comments/questions if you have them!

If you have questions on other Blogging Tips, check out the Begin to Blog posts to see if something has already been answered :)

If you are interested in a few more companies that I am using, I have updated my Monetize Your Blog page. It’s all a part of my Ways to Earn in this little piece of web!

And, I haven’t forgotten about the Begin to Blog series I started. There really is a lot more I want to share on that, but I need more time! One of those aspects will cover monetizing your blog, so at least sharing these new programs will give you a head start!

Establishing goals are great for everything! And, don’t forget your personal blog could use a few too. These can be as simple as creating memories for your family. Or, it can be as big as having your blog earnings pay your mortgage! Whatever that goal is, think about them in a SMART format.

I’ve created several goals for my blog.

As I mentioned while discussing Blogging Platforms, I said I would not invest anything into my site (other than my time) until I had been blogging for a year. That year passed and you see the changes evident here today.

At the beginning of 2009, I established a goal for Mommy Snacks.net: increase my subscribers by 1,000. I achieved that goal in a month. Little things I did like offering an entry in a giveaway to subscribers helped tremendously! I see value in having subscribers (and being a subscriber) so this goal made sense.

Again, it is your blog to do with what you want. Someone once asked me “What if I just want to do XYZ? Do I really need goals?” Honestly, no. But, if you want to execute XYZ in a realistic way knowing you can achieve it by a specific date, goals aren’t too bad to have! I consider it much like a schedule. Just one that focuses on the future of my blog.

Your goals will be specific for your site. Think about what you want your passion to achieve and map it out!

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The writing and formatting of your site can really make or break getting that return visitor.

Have you ever visited a site that is written in all caps or an unappealing font? Did you want to go back? Me either. Here are some general tips for formatting your posts/site:

Use images

It can immediately help the reader know what the topic is about without reading. It also just makes words appear more interesting. If you are using images through flickr, photobucket or other online sites (more on those in a bit), be sure to ALWAYS give credit to the source. Copyright laws are applicable with pictures just like anything else.

Caps

Don’t write in all caps UNLESS of course you are trying to make a bold statement. I see many blogs written in all caps and that isn’t proper type. It just hurts my eyes!

Spell Check

Now, I’m not the grammar police (truth be told, I spelled grammar incorrectly in this draft :-). Your writing is an expression of YOU! Unless you are trying to make a point by purposely misspelling something, grammatical errors aren’t cool.

Paragraphs

Several sentences form a paragraph. That paragraph express one general thought. Start a new paragraph so you don’t jumble thoughts all together. You will lose someone trying to skim to find the point. To make it even easier for some to find that point, create words or sentences that are bold.

Try to break up the paragraphs and make sure there is proper spacing between paragraphs. Sometimes HTML gets funny and while it looks like you have the spacing right in the draft, when you publish it, it messes up. When that has happened to me, going into the HTML Draft view, editing and adding those hard enters usually works. Sometimes you have to edit formatting several times to get it to look right.

Everyone has that one hot button they are annoyed by when they read or visit a site. For some, it’s music. Others can’t stand entering the verify text when trying to leave a comment. You never want one minor format issue to prevent someone from returning.

You want your work to represent who you are. The written word and formatting is forever!…well, until you edit it that is :)

Also check out Blogging Basics 101 who shared other great tips for new bloggers.

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Content is KING! Seriously, whatever niche you are in, quality content is a MUST!

After you understand what you will be writing, see if there is an opportunity to schedule posts throughout the week. Having this schedule will give your readers some predictability for your site. It also allows you to create impromptu posts or engaging discussions throughout the week.

If you are working in a time-sensitive posting environment (i.e., deals, politics, entertainment news, etc), you could work out a schedule each day you commit to publishing. This will help you set your personal limits and YOU controlling your blog, not the other way around.

For me, having a general schedule of events for the week helps me have balance (which is still a struggle). It also helps me to interact more in comments, with other blogs, and social media sites! If I’m scurrying to share something, post a store deal or other topic, I can’t always respond to comments, emails, facebook, twitter (you name it). Not that I can always respond, but it helps having a schedule to keep me focused so I can try! I also try to fit some time in each day to share really good deals.

Each blog will be different regarding how much time they spend. In just content, I probably spend about 15-20 hours a week. I feel like the weeks I plan better and schedule posts, I have a more efficient week. Now, with the social network sites, I spend more time too. That time is more about building my brand and creating relationships (plus, I get to talk to lots of my friends :).

Oh, and there’s the thing about having a family too (I’m not taking that lightly either). I am a work at home mom. That means, I work for my family and I work on my business (my blog). Because both of these require a lot of my time, having a schedule I can be focused on and committed to during my *business time* helps me be accountable to self-imposed deadlines.

Working from home is challenging. Try to find a balance that works for you. I used to work part-time from home for a large corporation. I have also been running Mommy Snacks.net for the past year and a half. It is easy to get working and home-life blurred.

Working from home takes so much self-discipline and motivation. Those behaviors make people give 150% to everything! It can be easy to give too much if you aren’t careful. This paragraph comes from love and experience :)

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With any platform above, you can make your blog design be a great representation of who you are. There are so many themes, colors and customizations you can do so think a lot about what you want it to look like. Chances are you will not want to change this for a while.

For any platform, you can find FREE themes if you just search on google. My previous Blogger theme was FREE. My previous WordPress theme was FREE (for just a few colors). I am currently using Thesis because there are so many ways you can switch up your design. You can also purchase themes and hire designers to make you a custom theme.

If you do hire someone to help you, get feedback from previous clients. Chances are, the good designers and great coders are booked up. Think a lot about what you want your site to look like so when your turn in que comes up, you are organized and ready to spit out your ideas! Some things to consider:

What type of look are you going for?

Magazine Style: The home page has revolving images. Post titles act as teasers for readers to click for more details.

Columnar Style: I’ll call this the *standard.* The content space will have sidebars/columns to add other information.

With any format, you can choose to have teaser posts, or *click here for more* link added. If you are interested in doing this in blogger (as I used to do), here are the instructions. Since I’m talking Blogger, you can also number your comments (many people have asked me about that one too).

How many columns/sidebars do you want?

What do you want on your sidebars? If you want advertisements, know that the most popular ad sizes are: 160×600, 728×90 and 300×250. And, of course the 125 x 125 buttons are more popular too. Keep this in mind so you have your options open for potential ad space.

What size do you want your content area and columns/sidebars to be?

Again, depending on what you decide to display will depend on what your size may be. Bloggers who do not have the option of a 300 x 250 (the ad size for my RGN ad in the top right) lose out on opportunities for advertisements. I have also seen sites who use this size for YouTube videos or pictures. It’s all up to you but having your options open isn’t too bad, right?

What color scheme?

I used the HTML color codes from my blogger scheme so my colors matched. You can easily find out what your colors are with a blogger site by going to Layout :: Fonts and Colors.

What images do you want included?

Do you want a big ginormous picture of a bear? Try to find any examples on sites to have the url’s or images ready to share. This will provide some inspiration or help the designer know where to go to find a similar image.

All of these suggestions makes it easier for the designer to get to work. You will have your ideas in your head ready to go and it can be a matter of having them paint the beautiful picture! Not to mention, having your thoughts at the ready may make it less expensive since that cuts down on the hours they will need to edit and manipulate the design.

Also, if you are interested in making changes to your overall blog design, there are some awesome affordable designers out there. Ask your friends or if you see a site design you like, send an email to get a name. A site owner LOVES to share the name of a design and designer they LOVE!

If you really want to learn to do this yourself, there are so many great sites to help you. From standard widget design to editing your CSS (all that crazy coding that makes your blog look awesome). Google (or Swag Bucks :) is your friend when it comes to this!

Now that you have the basics down, focus on getting your writing on!

Since we talked about the Blogging Platforms yesterday, I thought I’d take a minute to share about transferring Blogging Platforms.

I didn’t want to transfer platforms and start to pay for a service until I hit my one-year anniversary. I told myself from Day 1 that I would only invest my time since these hosting companies cost money. Since most blogs stop publishing within 6 months, I wanted to make sure it was something I really enjoyed. Obviously, I am still very passionate about it since I’m here!

If you do make a switch from one platform to another, consider hiring someone to help you with the transfer. I tried to do this on my own. I did quite a bit, but was overwhelmed with the new CSS (cascading style sheet) language and many features that WordPress offers.

I’m not a coder. I’m not a designer. I have aspirations to have a better than average understanding of the CSS language one day. But, trying to learn the language and implement at the same time is NOT ideal, especially if you want to maintain a bit of normalcy in your day to day routine. I should have remembered that from my Corporate days of implementation!

Create and maintain a project plan for your move. It doesn’t have to be anything major or advanced. Use excel in google docs, even, to track each action item. But, DO have a project plan! Yes, it does seem formal, but it’s not as simple as going from point A to point B. You have to consider your old posts, images, comments, feed and on…on…on! If you care about your site, the formality is necessary to ensure your transition is seamless to your customer – your readers!

Also, remember your readers in any transition. I have found with anything, advanced communication helps your readers be aware of what is going on for the smallest to even the largest site changes!

Do you remember my domain switch when my blogspot went *private* for a few days? Even though I shared the move on the site, it wasn’t done far enough in advance for my *casual* direct readers (by direct, I mean those entering my url versus subscribing for site updates).

I lost 2/3 of my readers that weekend – they couldn’t find me! Bloggers kept telling me they were getting emails with *Where did Mommy Snacks go?* Hey, my subscriptions still worked though :) That’s another great benefit of having a feed/subscription for your readers (more on that later).

I opened my blogspot site back up so people could find me. I only have one post viewable on the page. All links on the blogspot direct people over here. I will eventually shut the it down completely.

So, take it from someone who has been there with a transfer: experience HELPS!

Once you determine your name, you will need to choose the blogging platform to use. There are several to choose from which are (not all inclusive either):

• Blogger (FREE)
• WordPress.com (FREE)
• WordPress.org (monthly fee via hosting site)
• Typepad (monthly fee via hosting site)

Once you have your blog name in the platform you will be using, I also suggest securing the name in the other FREE blog sites too. For example, when I was using Blogger, I also had the same name in WordPress.com. It goes back to not wanting someone else promoting themselves as me.

You notice I mentioned hosting. If you use WordPress.org or Typepad.com, you can utilize their software for FREE but must have a server to host your website on. This is very easy to do and you can get hosting generally from the same companies that you purchase your domain! If you are looking for other host companies, your best resource to find about services and reliability are other bloggers, of course.

I just recently made the switch to WordPress. Blogger worked fine for me, actually. WordPress has so many other functions and Plugins that make it more efficient for me to work. That is truly what it came down to for me to make the switch.

What are the differences in each platform? For the two I have personally used, Blogger and WordPress.org, it comes down to additional functionality. The overall ease of use is pretty much the same (meaning, my mom would be equally confused on using both to create posts). Here are just a few features and a comparison of the two platforms:

Site Changes

Blogger seems more intuitive in my opinion. The pages are Word document-like pages to scroll through and click on what you want. You can see what you want to change and apply those changes.

With WordPress, you change code or add a Plugin to make the change to the look of your site. You approve the change then see if it’s what you wanted it to look like. It doesn’t always give you the desired end result so I have gone into change my edits MANY times!

Static Pages

This is where the page does NOT have a date. It is one of WordPress’ most popular features since it sends people to the site with information that may be considered your most *popular* topic (you can see mine above).

You can create static pages in Blogger too. You can also create a Horizontal Navigation Bar in Blogger to highlight the pages!

Widgets/Buttons

I felt like the sidebar widgets and buttons were easier to edit in Blogger. You just went to your Layout :: Page Elements :: Add a Gadget. The only restriction was the image couldn’t be wider than the size of your sidebar space.

With WordPress, you can add these as widgets. For HTML widgets, you will want to add them as a Text Widget :: Save :: Edit Widget. If you try to edit the widget before you save, it WILL disappear.

My particular theme has a theme option for me to load four 125 x 125 widgets with a few steps. But, I add most of my sidebar *stuff* in the Sidebar.php. I can easily position the ads/images exactly where I want them to be. For the sake of staying on task, I won’t explain all the .php meanings.

Feed Updates

In Blogger, whenever I wanted to reminder feed readers something, I simply went to Settings :: Site Feed :: Post Feed Reader. This text space allowed me to post text (including links or HTML images) for my readers. You can do this in WordPress too, it’s just an Add to Feed plugin.

Post Templates

Blogger doesn’t have it folks and this is my FAVORITE feature of WordPress!! With the Post Template plugin, you can create just that: post templates.

While working in Blogger, I would create these templates for the month of posting by just doing a copy and paste of each *shell* and future dating them for the date I would edit/publish. That took me some time to do each month. With this plugin in WordPress, they are already done and all I do is go create a new post from the template! LOVE IT!!!

Comments

The comments feature is different in WordPress, and easier to use. With Blogger, you would have to go to each page the comment is on and log in to reply to the reader comment.

With WordPress, you have a page with all of your Comments listed. You simply click on the Comments button and can reply. The comment shows up immediately in that post comments section. You also have the reader’s email address visible so you can reply to them on a more personal level if it’s appropriate.

Design Changes

With Blogger, you could easily edit your site’s look within the Layout feature. You could upload various themes too. In WordPress, there is more work to it.

You must use an FTP software (which you can get FREE). For example, if you want images (specific to your site, i.e., header) and site themes, these MUST be loaded onto your host site (i.e., godaddy.com) before they can be updated on your WordPress site.

It sounds pretty confusing but it really is a step you only use for images and themes, which you won’t be changing everyday. And, if you are changing them everyday, you are an expert and it will become like second nature :)

There are so many other WordPress Plugins too! I have several I haven’t mentioned but they are of great help for me. One word of caution with these Plugins, they may slow your site down or cause it to crash! And, if this happens, you simply go back into your site using the FTP and DELETE the specific Plugin that caused the crash. This is what I have done anyway :)

As you can see, there are definite advantages to each Platform. The main thing I chose WordPress was because I needed to have a blogging Platform help me be more efficient. I feel like my efficiency has increased with WordPress just from the Post Template Plugin!

1. Sharing Your Passion
2. Find a Niche
3. Originality and Copyright
4. Secure a Smart Name
5. Buy a Domain

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Once you have determined the name for your blog, buy a domain! You can purchase a domain through many places: godaddy.com, fatcow.com, bluehost.com are just a few popular sites. I know several have been pleased with bluehost.com.

I would also encourage purchasing the .com, .net, and whatever other dots you think are applicable. Do a search and see if any come up. Search in google – never search on one of the domain sites because chances are if you do that domain will be GONE soon after! I think they have robots buying up searched domains or something (not sure if that’s true but did you notice I’m not a .com? I have since acquired the .com but just grab it in the beginning to avoid what I went through :)

Also, purchase any other name spelling variations. A blogger I know has an “S” on the end of her domain. Another person purchased the domain without the “S.” Whatever reason this happened is irrelevant. The other person surely received hits from people inadvertently leaving off the “S” in direct traffic or google searches for that domain name.

When you buy the domain, it’s easy to get it set up with transferring to your blogging platform. Your domain service will be able to walk you through the steps.

The series will resume on Monday with discussion of platforms, SEO and more!

Choosing a name is something you really should think about from a few aspects. Whatever your niche is in, it is wise to have your blog’s name fall in line with an intuitive thought on that topic. This suggestion is purely if you are interested at all in SEO. Your blog name is one of the EASIEST ways to be *found* in search results (more on SEO later).

Think about this: when you are searching for something, you probably search for the key words for that topic. That’s what I do too. Without doing long and drawn out research, I’m guessing that’s what most people do. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Think how they would think and try to be intuitive with your thought process and selecting your name.

As you are also considering your blog name, think about these other things:

Is it hard to spell?
Are there any other ways to spell the blog name?
Are you abbreviating a word in the name?
Does the blog name have a dash, number or other unusual key?

If you answered yes to any of those question, people may not intuitively find you while they are searching for a blog by topic. Your blog name is just one way search engines will find you, but it can’t hurt to have something smart in your name if your goal is to be found! The more work it takes someone to find you, the less likely they will actually search for you (unless you’re really, really good :).

Many people go directly to sites by entering the url in the toolbar. If your blog name is harder to spell, that may be challenging for them to find you. And, it can lead to frustration for someone really wanting to find your site. When you make it as easy as possible for someone to reach your blog, it’s better overall! Of course, encouraging RSS or email subscriptions help to avoid spelling errors (more on that later too).

And, while I offer those suggestions, I just want to share about my blog name since my google searches come up for snacks a lot! When I started blogging, I wasn’t thinking SEO. I was thinking it would be a better place to share information. Blogging is now a business for me, and while the name I chose isn’t intuitive for deals, there are other techniques I have learned to help those searching for information I share to find me (those two topics will be later :).

Of course, it is perfectly fine, and I encourage you, to name your blog whatever you want! Having your blog name fall in line with your passion will help others find you. If you are passionate enough to blog about it, securing a smart name will help those searches to come to YOUR blog to hear what you have to share…and connect? Who doesn’t want that?!?!

As I share that, if you have been blogging for a while, it’s never too late to change your name, your brand, your tagline. If you have an audience already, this may be more challenging to do, but it can still be done.

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The internet is a huge place! So MASSIVE indeed, that you may be sharing the same exact idea or deal (in my case) and YOUR VOICE makes it sound different! You want someone to read and know it’s YOU and not a copy and paste of someone else’s information!

I am very strict on this but here goes it with my thoughts on content and originality. Please don’t copy stuff. Don’t even copy someone’s thought or image without attribution. If you’re unsure of what to do, offer up a link back to the original source. Blogging is about spreading link lurve and it only feels good to do this!

If I see another blogger writing on a similar topic (not a store deal), I ALWAYS offer an attribution somewhere. In the frugal/deals niche, if we see a store deal and someone copied even one piece of information, an attribution is REQUIRED – no bones about it!!

I have heard bloggers may not provide link backs because they are concerned over losing a reader to the blog they linked to. This couldn’t be more false! Your readers may link over to the other site, but don’t you want that? I mean, it’s all about helping one another build a community. Not linking is just not cool. If you have quality content (more on that later), they will continue to be a loyal reader.

Bottom line, your voice is different. When you copy something without proper credit, it will be noticed by someone, trust me. There are CIA-like spies in the blogging world and they’ll uncover it :) Plus, being yourself is so much cooler anyway (kinda like how .net is the new .com :)

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Of course, in sharing tips on originality, I need to also touch on plagiarism. Your blog content is protected under a Creative Commons license. You can even get fancy little buttons, plugins and add feed notifications to show what kind of attribution is required. Most all bloggers I have seen require a link attribute, it goes back to building up our community with link lurve.

Anyone who decides to plagiarize your work can be prosecuted since it’s…oh yeah…it’s ILLEGAL! Here is a great article (written in layman’s terms) on blog copyright. There are steps you can take if you feel your content is being plagiarized.

Photo Credit: H.E.D.I.

Everything I have read says you need to identify with a niche or topic and write with that focus. I totally agree, but I’m breaking the rule (more about why I’m a rule breaker in a second).

People typically read blogs by topic: parenting, cooking, frugality, faith, photography, professional blogging, etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on! Your passion will likely identify you with one common niche. What topic would you mostly identify your voice best fits? That could be your target niche. Identifying within a niche will help your blog be *found* by those looking for information on that topic.

I am a mostly frugal blogger by niche I associate myself with when I fill out affiliate applications and respond to PR. I talk about many other topics with fitness/weight-loss being another big topic. I don’t have a separate blog for this topic because I don’t want to :) Honestly, I don’t have a passion to write strictly in the weight-loss/fitness niche. I just want to share about it. What better place to do that than your blog.

Again, your blog is YOUR space to share YOUR thoughts. Sharing parts of who you are, regardless of your niche, helps people identify with you!

It is simply helpful to stay on topic within the blogging, list-making, PR community by staying in your niche. If you share various topics, like me, just outline those in your “About Me” page. That way visitors can see what topics you share and know where to jump in with questions, comments or pitches!

Visitors will likely stay to read your content based on the quality in the post and connectivity they feel, not necessarily your niche. It’s the old switch and bait, only the good kind where they actually like what else you are sharing! You are technically still providing information within that niche…just not in every single post :)

If you are writing to share you voice, go ahead and color outside the lines. I bet your readers will like it…or they will simply skip ahead to the next post you have to offer :

This will be the first in the series, Begin to Blog. As I mentioned last month in preparation for writing this series, I get so many emails from people about how to get started blogging. My goal is to have this series is to share what I have learned since creating Mommy Snacks.net last year. Many things are topics that I have researched myself. I want to be able to have one resource for those topics if you are interested in stepping out to create a blog as well!

As we go through this series, I just want to be very clear that these are my personal thoughts and experience with the vast topic of blogging. There isn’t a rule book on blogging (many people sell their advice on the topic, though). I believe your blog is YOUR space on the internet! You can and should do whatever you want with it!

A good starting point for you to Begin to Blog is Sharing Your Passion! But, first, you need to figure out what it is…

What is the one hot issue you always have on your mind? The stuff you just have to share with your friends, family or random people at the market? Are you the *go-to* person for advice on something? Whatever that is, it can be the voice for a passion to beginning to blog!

It is possible for a personality to pour through a screen. I have felt it when I read or visit many sites. Knowing that people are sharing their love of whatever the content is makes it easier as a blogger to keep writing, keep it fun and interesting and keep your audience wanting more. What would that be for you?

If you try to force something that isn’t there, the writing will become like work. Granted, some of what I do now has become work and I am making an income. But, regardless of whether money or sponsorships were coming in, my passion would remain the same: helping myself and others save and have hope in this hopeless economy! That was my passion long before I started this site and will continue regardless of monetization (more on that later).

Ultimately, your blog will be whatever you want it to be. But, that drive – your passion – will help you write with a purpose. Blogging can be thankless at times. Sure, you can earn money, but are you creating value? If you write with purpose, I bet you’ll find some amazing people through networking and sharing your voice. You will probably even get comments and affirmation if you do! Do you want to take the time to share your passion with others?

Photo Credit: hyeah

I joined Syndigo Networks last month (after seeing it on Kelly’s site, dailystab.com) and wanted to share the information with you!

Syndigo Networks is an ad network to earn money. There are several channels in the network for you to choose to promote. When you apply, you can choose the network you want to join. You can appy here. I am currently running The Today Show, as you can see with the box in my right side bar.I applied and was accepted immediately.

Here is some general information about Syndigo Network:

CPM Rate

The current rate is $.55/CPM. That means, for every 1,000 pageviews, you receive $.55.

Ad Location Requirement

You must place your ad within the top 600 pixels of your site.

Ad Sizes

There are two ad sizes with the video boxes: 160 x 865 and 300 x 500.

CPC Ads

There are Sponsored Link boxes/widgets you can also embed onto your site as well. I am not running any of the widgets currently. Syndigo refers to these ads as RPC (Average Revenue Per Click) boxes. Essentially, you only get paidif someone clicks on them (kind of like google ads).

Traffic Requirements

No minimum pageviews traffic requirements. Yeap, I said it :) They only require that your site be family friendly. So, this means maybe those with a smaller following can be in too! That is so nice because even if you earn a little, it’s still something!

Payment Terms

They are on a net 45-day payment schedule (or 45 days after the last day of each month). You must have a minimum of $50 in your account to receive a payment. Payments are held until that balance is met. Payments are mailed by check. I haven’t received my first payment yet since it hasn’t been 45 days. Also, you will be required to complete a W-9. That is a standard requirement since earnings are considered income.

So, my general thoughts. Well, obviously I like them well enough since you see them! But, the CPM is not great especially with the required ad placement (top 600 pixels is prime ad space). Most ad networks that type of ad location pay anywhere from $2 – $5/CPM. So, yeah there’s quite a bit of difference.

Is Syndigonetworks for you? I haven’t seen any inappropriate ads in The Today Show Network. Since I’m a viewer of the show (like.as in. everyday), Ifeelit’s a match for me too. But, it may not be for your site and you would ultimately have to make that decision.

Do you have any questions? Please drop them in the comments!!

You can see a full list of FAQ’s for The Today Show at the site here.

Check out my Ways to Earn page to see the many ways anyone can earn money too (having a blog isn’t required on many of them)!

I know many people have emailed me over the past year asking for advice on creating a blog: what is a blog, how to set up a personal blog, what blog platform to use (blogger or wordpress) and many other questions. I have many topics written already, but my goal is to put all of those great questions into a series, it would help any new people getting their feet wet in this blogging world!! So, are there any topics on getting started blogging you want me to include as I write this series?

I look forward to your thoughts to make this a thorough series!!

I think affiliate marketing and other ways to earn with your blog/website is great! I’m not an expert at all, but I’ve learned so much in the past year of my blogging efforts. As I mentioned during the discussion, the main thing I try to stay true with is my voice! Ultimately, I wouldn’t place an ad or link on here if it wasn’t part of what my site is about. That goal or rule is different for everyone, but I felt it was something worth the mention :-)

Here are the affiliate marketing companies I have had success with:

Amazon Affiliate: I wrote about the Amazon.com affiliate program here.

Coupons.com: I wrote about the Coupons.com affiliate program here.

CPA Storm: I wrote about the CPA Storm affiliate program here.

Logical Media: I wrote about the LogicalMedia affiliate program here.

Commission Junction: I wrote about the Commission Junction affiliate program here.

And, while I haven’t shared personally about any of these affiliates below, I have been a member for quite some time! I can personally vouch that they are great affiliates as well!! They are similar to the ones listed above.

Linkshare

MySavings

Shareasale.com

Google Adsense

Chitiqa (similar to Adsense)

Panthera Network: This is a brand new affiliate to me. I joined upon the recommendation of my friend, Carrie of Money Saving Methods.

And, I also mentioned the referral sites I have had success with. These work for me because I personally use each of them as well. Those referral sites are:

Ebates: I share an overview of Ebates here.

BigCrumbs: I share an overview of BigCrumbs here.

Swagbucks: I share an overview of Swagbucks here.

So, I know it may have sounded like Blissdom was just a bunch of women getting together and talking, laughing, eating, being silly and all that jazz. And, if you read the tweets throughout the conference, well, you probably thought something a LOT different too! But, we actually did learn something.

There were 12 sessions of information to help you make your blog your bliss. These sessions were split so there were 6 sessions for each: Apprentice (beginner) and Maven (not a beginner, I guess) making 12 sessions total. I attended the Maven track and can share my notes from that.

Making your blog your bliss is so different for every person. I think regardless of our niche or writing style, the overwhelming desire was to have our voice be heard.

Friday – Session 1: Content/Readership

Write to help others with their real life so that they can get on with their real life.

Translate: be clear and to the point with the information you are trying to convey.

Make your content timeless so it’s easy to re-syndicate.

Translate: It’s like a black dress – it’s always in style and it’s possible to make your content the same way. Syndication is a good thing!

Show readers, don’t tell them.

Translate: Images are a good source of information that can inform in a way. Each person reads/interprets what you share differently.

Use your niche and your voice inter-changeably.

Translate: Your voice is who you are and your niche is a huge part of that and your success. I think it’s a good point, and I read that a lot. But, while I don’t stay in my niche (frugal) I do inter-change my voice with the niche I’m “in” at the time.

Have your readers leave your blog with an emotion.

Translate: Memories and feelings will keep them coming back.

Find a rhythm to your blog that suits your style.

Translate: Predictability is a good thing and it helps to find your voice and style. But, I’ll admit, too much rigidity can cause some sterility and burn-out.

Set boundaries so you have inspiration.

Translate: If you get burnt out, your passion will fizzle too. Take time off to get inspiration for new content and your readers will thank you.

Use intuitive post headers and/or re-name the photo jpegs to help increase page ranking.

Translate: The easier the webbiness of the internet can find you, the better.

Build a network and friendships.

Translate: The broader your network the larger your success. And, the best part is seeing them be successful (and get new *stalkers*)!

Saturday – Session 1: Affiliate Marketing

I have shared about my success using affiliates. The panel discussed all of the affiliates I use. I would recommend reading the information to better understand affiliate marketing too. There were a few more affiliates discuseed that I use but just haven’t shared for lack of time.

And, if you ever want to see my earnings, I list them in my PayDay snacks. Many seemed very interested in that aspect. I haven’t published a PayDay since November but I have earned a decent amount since then! I will share earnings later this month!

Know which affiliate has the best price.

Translate: Before you publish a post, check each affiliate site to see where there is duplication of companies. Ensure you are using the link that will give you the highest dollar when it makes sense.

Personally, if there is only a ten cent difference and I earn a lot more faster with another affiliate, I’ll forego the ten cents (depending on the popularity of that specific offer too). You can also request the affiliate match the pricing, which they have done for me before.

Experiment with ad placement to see what works.

Translate: If you have an ad placed in a side bar that has never received a click, it may be time to move it around somewhere. Take a few weeks to analyze your earnings and see if the placement is working.

Have text links all open in new window.

Translate: I do this with all my external links, actually. But, having a new window open up will ensure they can easily go shop and come right back to read some more!

Monetize your feeds.

Translate: Set up Google Adsense to display in your feedburner for subscribers. You may make only two cents a day, but it will add up in a few years :-)

Consider doing gift guides.

Translate: Readers look to these guides for ideas and will more than likely click on your site to place an order. If I personally see an item at someone’s site first, I always go back to the site I found it (if I can remember) as a courtesy. You can create gift guides for each holidays: Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Birthdays, etc.

Create a Media Kit.

Translate: The more you are organized and can quickly send out media/PR pitches, the easier life will be. You can find a media kit template at Mom Bloggers Club.

Ultimately, what are you goals as a blogger? To make money or find a voice. I think those two can work together but the bottom line is you cannot compromise your integrity for a buck. Your voice is worth more than that!

I personally never started blogging to earn any money. I started and continue to write to help people Save, Earn, Live and Learn – all areas I need to work on myself. The fact that I was/am able to earn doing this is just a bonus for me.

Please don’t start blogging seeing $$. It will become like a job and there is soooo much more to it than that. I have some amazing friendships now thanks to blogging that when/if the money ever does go away, my friendships – the PEOPLE – will still be around. ** Off soapbox :-) **

Saturday – Session 2: Maximizing PR/Marketing Relationships

This is the session I was most excited about for a few reasons. I knew so many of you had questions on finding PR contacts for giveaways. I also wanted to understand from a PR perspective how to best work together in order to ensure the exchange was value added for both parties.

It’s all about network.

Translate: Even if your traffic isn’t large, your readers obviously value what you have to say since they read and subscribe. Work to expand your network if that’s your goal.

Pitch PR the ideas.

Translate: I think just about every blogger has received some sort of cryptic PR pitch, almost like an infomercial or something. We learned that the most junior associates in the company are the ones searching for the blogs to pitch to, so the pitch may not be as polished as you are expecting.

The bottom line is if we want to establish relationships, we need to do the pitching to PR and not get offended if we get a canned letter. Be proactive and seek the contacts to share your ideas. That shows you are interested and excited about their product. I’ve done this several times and it’s paid off!

Join an Ad Network.

Translate: Know what I said about traffic, well with ad networks, they want to see your traffic. There are two ad networks that were discussed at the conference: RGM, BlogHer and Lijit. Most of these only accept applications at certain times. You can see I currently have a BlogHer Ad on my site. Without going into a lengthy explanation, these ads earn me money.

Be honest.

Translate: Don’t try to throw in a few extra hundred unique visitors or page views for the sake of hoping to get PR attention. Be honest (in all things you do as a blogger). If your traffic isn’t where you want it to be, explain to PR what your network potential is.

What is your social media footprint.

Translate: This was the most interesting point, I thought. It’s not necessarily about your blog,. It’s about the entire package of YOU as a blogger.

Where do you share pieces of yourself: Blog, FaceBook, Twitter, Flickr, You Tube, etc. Those are part of showing how large your reach/network as a blogger truly are.

Working with you…works.

Translate: When you have a giveaway published, send PR a link to it. When the giveaway is over, give them an overview of the giveaway results, stats, trends in comments, etc. Ultimately, PR works for their clients to show them that the money they spent to offer you products to test/give away worked.

I’ll be honest, people may think that giveaways are simple and quick – and to some they may be. But, for me, I take a lot of thought into what I am going to say. Finding related links or topics from the company engages others in the brand. I need to ensure I cover topics as requested by PR but in a style that my voice showing my transparency. And, obviously if you aren’t comfortable sharing certain requested information, pass on the pitch.

Build Relationships.

Translate: If you had a positive experience working with PR, continue to develop that relationship! I have done a few giveaways with the same PR because we worked well together (and I’m hoping they liked my excitement, of course). I have also pitched ideas for upcoming topics to see if they have clients they want to promote. That’s worked.

These opportunities wouldn’t have happened if those relationships didn’t exist. It’s just like life, you have to nurture relationships that are valuable to you. Sharing first-hand product information or receiving nice giveaways or for your readers – your shareholders – are VALUABLE to you!

Are you open to PR?

Translate: When PR is looking for interested blogs, they may not pitch to you if they don’t know that you want to hear a pitch. So, the suggestion was to put a Green PR-OK button on your site.

I am actually working on a media page, which I’m assuming will work as good. Bottom line, they need to know you’re interested – but not in an “GIVE ME FREE STUFF” kind of way. Got it?

Reviews/Giveaways must relate.

Translate: The reviews or giveaways you are doing should relate to the content/niche of your site. I have received pitches on some interesting stuff because companies read my casual tweets. I didn’t accept them because they were completely off of what I discuss. I did, however, go back to them and share a bit about my site and ask that they keep me in mind if client needs related to my content came up.

Another suggestion on an un-related pitch is to pass it to someone in your network. PR needs a network of sites they can utilize. So, you can help a fellow blogger by passing along a name and a new contact, and also help PR by giving them a reputable source to help their client’s need too.

And, while PR doesn’t expect a response on a pitch (as shared in the conference), I personally think it’s just a courtesy to respond. And, by responding that opens up the door for them to keep you in mind for future opportunities.

Those were the few notes I took. I hope you gleaned a big of information from it. If you are interested in hearing the entire session, you can purchase the transcripts here.

If you have any questions, please leave them here and I will respond so everyone can see! There may have been something else related that was covered that I didn’t necessarily write down, so can provide some sort of response!

• $3 via paypal for a 10-minute survey with Pinecone – easy money!!
• $4.42 via paypal BigCrumbs for cash-back earnings for the month.
• $110 via paypal for CPA Storm, Commission Junction, LogicalMedia affiliate earnings.
• $7 via paypal for personal Ebay sale.
• $66 via direct deposit for Coupons.com monthly affiliate earnings.
• $20 via RME for new member registration bonus with Revolution Money Exchange!.
• $25 Target Gift Card for participation in an Evenflo product review. Kudos to Emily @ Violet’s College Fund for sharing this group with me!!!
• $10 Amazon Gift Card for a random survey.

And, all of those survey checks that I shared here have been rolling in!!! $181.75, to be exact, will be coming! Definitely check out my favorite list of paying surveys here.

Oh, and to give another reminder on my PayDay of $500 in Gas Cards from doing the Online Offer that I shared here! I gotta thank Carrie @ Money Saving Methods for sharing all of her knowledge on this one (she ROCKS – check out her Online Offers page here!!).

I’ve talked about several ways to earn if you are a blogger and I want to touch on one more site that is a great way, especially for us couponers!

As you can see on my blog (and many other blogs), I have a Coupons.com widget for your convenience. While it is a nice convenience, there is also a way I am earning by having this on my site. Whenever anyone prints off coupons directly from my widget, I earn a few cents. This is one of those affiliates where you will not earn a lot but all of those pennies add up and it makes a difference!

Some specific details about the program:

• You must have $100 in your account to be eligible for payment.
• You can request a direct deposit payment, which is nice since you get your money in your checking account and avoid those paypal fees. I use my Chase Checking account for all of my affiliate/bloggy business so there isn’t much money in there at any given time so I feel safe having direct deposits with these sites.
• There is no maintenance required – just stick the Coupons.com widget out there and let others know they can print coupons on your site. It’s easy and convenient for everyone!

If you are interested in getting your own Coupons.com widget, click here to apply with Brandcaster. If you have questions about this program, please let me know too!

On the survey front, things have been very quiet for payments from my list of paying surveys. As you may know, I am holding all my balances until the end of the month to cash out. As of this post, it was $171 but I’ve done several more so that total will be higher. I’ll definitely report the exact amounts when I do request all my payments!!

You know my motto is that everything adds up! Whether it is a $.50 coupon or a $2 survey. Each little bit is a little more in your pocket to help you achieve your financial goals too!

A few things to share this week. It was quite profitable for me:

• $3 via paypal for a 10-minute survey with Pinecone – easy money!!
• $.87 via paypal (yeap that’s eighty seven cents) earnings from BigCrumbs for the month.
• $320 via paypal for CPA Storm monthly affiliate earnings.
• $110 via live check for LogicalMedia monthly affiliate earnings.

Grand total is…$433.87! Be sure to read about each of the ways I’ve earned money by doing surveys here and using affiliates here! These earnings will go towards helping us achieve our 2008 Financial Goals!

And, be sure to look out for a great big PayDay I’ll share on Tuesday. I am so excited, this one deserves it’s own YUMMY snack!

OK, I’m sure you’ve heard of the Amazon Affiliate program too. I want to share my experience with you from being an Amazon Affiliate.

I became an Amazon Affiliate in April. Amazon is a slow earner, but I’m not expecting to become a millionaire from being an affiliate for anyone :-) As I’m sure you have seen, there is an Amazon Affiliate widget on my sidebar. When you join, you can choose a widget to display daily items for sale that are appropriate for your blog content. Or, you can choose just one item to display at all times. You can also highlight certain items on Amazon Affiliate in the event someone else may want to purchase that item. There are truly endless options for how you want to run your affiliate program. I have shared about my Chi (which Amazon has dropped the price again – it’s now $70, this is truly the best price you will find on this!!) and my Over the Door Shower Caddy (which we do love by the way) and used an Amazon link (which is pretty obvious since the graphic says “Amazon” ).

I tend to shop Amazon a lot since I do many surveys that pay in Amazon gift cards. So, if something is a little more expensive there (not a whole lot though :-), but I have a gift card balance, I’ll purchase the item at Amazon using someone’s link around the blogosphere. Since you don’t get credit for shopping through your own links, I always find an Amazon widget when I make my purchases because, hey, someone should get the credit for my purchase, I say :-)

By the way, if you do want to shop at Amazon, you can click on anyone’s widget and be taken to that advertised item, but you can leave that item’s page and shop around for what you really want and they will get the credit if you make a purchase. This has happened in my account because there were purchases made that I didn’t share (so thanks whoever you are :-).

On to payment information! I have around $3 in my account waiting to get paid out. You get paid around 60 days after the end of the earning month. Your balances are also held until the minimum requirement is met to be paid out for whichever payment method you designate. You can choose either:

• An Amazon gift card – your minimum payment has to be at least $10 for this payment method,
• A live check – your minimum payment balance has to be at least $100 for this payment method, or
• Direct deposit – your minimum payment balance has to be at least $10 for this payment method too.

And, since I’m on the topic of Amazon, some people don’t realize that Amazon does do price adjustments. During Christmas last year, I bought some moon sand (for super cheap) and it went down even cheaper in price so I just emailed the Customer Service department and they credited my account – how cool is that! I believe the adjustment can only be done within 30 days, but it is very unusual for online companies to offer this. I have heard they also do price matching, but haven’t tried that one myself so you could try and see what you come up with!

That’s all the info I have to share with you on the Amazon Affiliate program. You can click here to start the application process. If you have any questions, let me know! And, if you’re interested in learning about the other affiliate programs I am a member of, just click here to read up!

I have shared with you how to get paid to blog using CPA Storm and LogicalMedia, I wanted to share another affiliate I just got paid by, Commission Junction (CJ).

I joined CJ in April and just now got my first payout with the company. They are very much like CPA Storm and LogicalMedia, but the difference is that you have to apply for each company you are interested in using.

For example, I am an affiliate for Skinstore.com (I shared about the 20% off discount here, which has since expired). While I am a member of CJ, I still had to apply to be an affiliate for Skinstore.com – not every company will approve your application since I have been denied too. I applied for Old Navy and was denied. They don’t give you a reason, other than “thanks but no thanks.” My guess is that my demographic isn’t what they are seeking, not sure.

CJ doesn’t offer any referral benefits either like CPA Storm and LogicalMedia. But, the good thing about all these affiliates is that the more you are members of, the different offers each affiliate has and the more you have to pull from if you are discussing a certain topic.

Regarding payments, you must have a minimum balance of at least $50 to get paid (the minimum balance for a paper check is $100). I just reached that amount so I finally got my first payment from them. And, with CJ, you can have a direct deposit into your checking out. So, the Chase Checking account I opened has all my funds from my ebay, paypal deposits, and now CJ too!

With all the affiliate companies I share about, these will NOT make you rich, but they are nice little snowflakes to accumulate for me – and can be that for you too! Please let me know if you have questions about CJ, or any other affiliates I’ve shared with you!

Check out the many ways you can Get Paid to Blog!

• First, I participated in a P&G Consumer Village research study/product test and was paid $60. It was very easy to do. I just had to drive to their testing facility to pick up the product and return it two weeks later. I also had to complete a short survey and off I went! I will be very interested to see what happens with the product because I think it’s definitely a neat concept.
• Second, I received a payment from CPA Storm for $350 for my affiliate earnings for the month of June! Most of my earnings with CPA Storm came from all the great surveys I do and have shared with you! Definitely check out my snack on CPA Storm and the other affiliate I’m a proud member of too, LogicalMedia. Check in next week as I’ll be sharing a few other great affiliate programs too!
• Third, I sold a few things on Ebay and earned around $16.
• Fourth, I completed a survey with Nickelodeon Panel Polls and earned $10. This one was actually a parent survey instead of the typical children surveys I receive from them. It only took me about 10 minutes too! That amount was added directly to my current balance since I’m waiting on cashing out on my survey sites until September! Definitely check out some of the survey sites I enjoy doing if you want to earn a little extra yourself!

So, that totals $436 – minimal effort on my part and a nice little PayDay too! I share all these with you because what I’m doing is so possible for you too! Just click on the various links to learn more about what the programs are and how you can get your own PayDay with those companies too!

One thing I love about the blogging community is you have so many resources who want to help you achieve your goals! I just recently found LogicalMedia, which is another affiliate program that I wanted to share with all of you too! I previously talked about the other affiliate I am a member of (CPA Storm) here if you’re interested in reading that snack as well!

LogicalMedia is much like CPA Storm in that it pays you to use links on your site – for stuff you probably are already talking about on your site! After I got my acceptance and began to peruse the site for validity (my normal process) I got all excited to share with all of you! I’m comfortable in sharing now since I’ve put it through my validity process! I want you to be confident in knowing that the discussions here are legitimate and tested!

Right now, LogicalMedia is offering a $25 sign-up bonus for new members! I also confirmed this through my Affiliate Manager. This $25 sign-up bonus is good for every new affiliate who applies and is accepted. So you’ll get $25 right off the bat – Sweet!! Now, some important details on their affiliate program…

LogicalMedia looks almost identical to CPA Storm with how the links are formatted and each banner setup. They actually have a higher threshold to meet a payout, which is $100. You can receive your money via check or paypal. Just an FYI, paypal does take out their annoying fees for these payments unfortunately since they are paid with a credit card (see why I love Revolution Money Exchange – FREE money and NO FEES).

I was very happily surprised to find LogicalMedia offering a referral link to Send Earnings, which is one of my survey faves! The link through LogicalMedia pays $1.50 for each person who signs up using the link I list. When you use the Send Earnings site link as a member, you get 10% of the members’ qualified earnings which excludes several of the ways the member actually earns money on the site. So, for me, I’d rather use the link through LogicalMedia over Send Earnings.

LogicalMedia also has a super affiliate program, meaning, when people sign up through your referral link, you can earn 5% of anything they make, which is also like CPA Storm. These are the only two affiliates I am familiar with (or at least comfortable with sharing) that offer this. What a great benefit!

As I shared before, I will NOT list a link from LogicalMedia (or anywhere else) that I do not use myself! So, please know that I hold myself and my site to a high standard of ethics! I won’t list things that aren’t value added for me or more importantly YOU!!

Again, my point in sharing this information with you is that as a blogger (or have your own personal site) you can make money! This hobby of yours and your personal desire to share money-saving and earning ways with everyone may just earn you a little along the way too!

As always, if you have any questions please either email me at ardeckard at yahoo or leave a comment. I’m glad to help!!

I also had a garage sale with my BFF’s and I earned $300. I couldn’t believe it. Everything we sold was stuff that was just laying in our basement collecting dust. I was glad to get rid of it! My BFF’s did awesome too – each earned over $500! I think the location had something to do with it since it was at my BFF Gin’s house during the community yard sale :-)

So, today, I guess you could say I got paid $360 for doing minimal amounts of work. The parenting study took about 20 minutes of my time for all three studies. The garage sale just took me gathering all of our stuff and working today on selling and stuff (my BFF’s ran the ship all day yesterday).

I’m all about sharing what’s helped me earn and save money. Right now, I’m loving these snacks that have been PayDay snacks for me, and can be for you too:

• Surveys: Check out my snack on earning extra money doing surveys. I have lots of money and points just waiting to be cashed out that I snacked on here. I also share a list of my fave survey sites here if you’re interested. A few of the surveys offer sign-up bonuses which are always nice!
• CPA Storm: If you’re a blogger (or have your own website) and want to look into making money blogging and using links for stuff on your site (you pick what you want to use too), check out my post on CPA Storm here. My first month was awesome for me!
• Revolution Money Exchange: If you’re new to Mommy Snacks and want an easy way to make $25 right off the bat, read about Revolution Money Exchange here and sign up to get your own $25! This offer ends on May 15 so you’ll have to move in the next week to get in on it! The best part about this is that when you sign up you can refer your friends and receive $10 for each referral!
• Ebates: I prefer shopping online and Ebates pays you to do it! If you’re interested in making cash back on online purchases, check out my snack on Ebates here. If you sign up by May 31 and make an online purchase, you’ll get a $10 sign-up bonus! They also have a special promotion going on if you refer friends. Again, you can read all about Ebates here.
• Upromise: Earn money for shopping online and at in-store retailers. You can read all about my Upromise snack here that includes a code to receive $5 just for signing up. This is a great program and I get cash everytime I shop at CVS and Kroger…so basically every week I get money in my account :-)

So, if you signed up for each of those snacks above offering a bonus or FREE money, you’ll earn at least $50 just for signing up for stuff that pays YOU! No spam, no gimmicks. You won’t get rich, but it’s always nice coffee money (wait – I’m scaling back..I forgot!).

I was informed on CPA Storm almost as soon as I began blogging. I met Carrie and she told me about CPA Storm and becoming an affiliate with them. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what the heak it was about, but when she told me I could make money by just using links from their site – for several things I was already talking about – my ears perked up a bit. But, it still took me two months to finally commit to it – I’m slow to commit.

CPA Storm is an affiliate program that pays you to use their links on your blog. As you see from my survey snack here (expired), there are several survey companies I love and I was surprised that CPA Storm has relationships with many of these companies already. So, when you sign up through many (not all) of the links listed in that snack, I am paid by CPA Storm for each new sign-up. Most survey companies offer some sort of referral link anyway, but CPA Storm is nice because I can have most of my survey referral links and earnings in one spot. So in essence, CPA Storm is a lot like Ebates where you get paid for referrals, but CPA Storm isn’t shopping but it’s posting links for lots of different sites and stuff. I mainly use the CPA Storm links for referrals on surveys.

Now, you CAN earn money or points through referrals from the survey sites themselves, but I’ve found that CPA Storm offers a more generous bonus for each referral and has no restrictions on completing surveys to get the bonus because some survey companies do have participation restrictions in order to even receive the referral credit. And, you know, that is still better than nothing, but since CPA Storm offers something better, with lots of the survey companies I already use, it was more attractive for me to sign up. Actually, when I contacted Lightspeed requesting an affiliate link, they never responded. But, with CPA Storm I am paid $1.50 for each person who signs up – and I love Lightspeed (I got enough survey points in my account to cash out too)!

I also promote Upromise using the CPA Storm link. If people sign up through my link, I receive $4 – that’s $4 for something I want to share with my readers anyway. And, if you’ve been reading for a while, you know one of our personal financial goals is to start 529 plans for our children so Upromise is a link I’ve been using for years and can fully support.

CPA Storm also has a super affiliate program, meaning, when people sign up through your referral link, you can earn 5% of anything they make. That’s an added benefit which most affiliate programs don’t offer.

My point in sharing this is in the even there are bloggers or readers with their own sites, you can earn money too if you’re interested. If you’ve signed up for some of the surveys I’ve snacked about, you could apply with CPA Storm and use their links for yourself and your readers to earn money. I had no problems with my application – I believe they are interested in your daily visits mainly to see how many people you have reading and possibly using your links.

Let me just say, while I am using many links from CPA Storm, I WILL NOT list a company just because I’ll earn a buck. As a matter of fact, there are several other links that are applicable to the content of my blog. I don’t use most of them because I don’t consider them “snackworthy.” If I don’t personally use it, then there’s no reason for me to bring it up if it’s not something I can fully support and want to talk about. And, as of today, I’ve earned $80 from CPA Storm. I hope you can tell that my content is just the same as when I first starting snacking.

So, with everything I snack on, I hope this is helpful to you whether you’re a blogger, a site owner, or someone who’s interested in starting blogging. There are little ways to make money that can ultimately help achieve your own financial goals – every little bit helps!

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Check out just one of my many CPA Storm PayDay snacks here (expired)!