Tools To Help You Keep Track of Favorite Websites and Blogs

With the internet growing by the minute, I’m finding it a bit of a challenge to keep up with all my favorite websites and blogs. I’ve always believed that it’s a good idea to keep an eye on what the competition is doing and to simply know what’s going on with online businesses these days - especially when it comes to software and technology. To keep up with my daily blog readings, I use Bloglines. However, there are many other RSS readers out there and I’ve read that Bloglines seems to be having problems lately. By the way, Lifehacker has a good comparison between Bloglines and Google Reader. I’ve recently reviewed a website, UpdatePatrol.com, that offers software so that you can watch web pages for updates. This can certainly save some time when you have many websites that you like to keep track of. Pretty similar to a blog reader, except you can check for changes on websites as well. **Sponsored Post

Yes, You Can Start a Business With Only $100!

As I browsed the blogosphere looking for blogs on Internet Business, I came across Chris Sandberg’s blog. In one his posts he asks the question, “Can a Successful Business Be Started With Only $100?” In this day and age with the internet, it is very easy to start a business with only $100. I did it. In fact, I started with less than $100. It took a great deal of creativity and resourcefulness, but I did it! Chris’s post was inspired by the adventures of The Hundred Dollar Business, a diary of an entrepreneur who has started a business with only $100 with hopes to make a profit of $100 in 30 days. How much did you have when you started your business?

eBay Selling Tips from Power Sellers

For those of you who sell on eBay, you may want to check out the Power Seller King blog which has a wealth of tips and resources to help you become successful at selling on eBay. Ty Tribble is the author of the blog and fellow blogger over at Know More Media. Ty gives his 10 great reasons to visit PowerSellerKing: 1. You want to make money on eBay. 2. Gain the secrets of Power Sellers. 3. Fresh eBay news. 4. Learn about selling on Google, Yahoo and Amazon. 5. Read about the tools that Power Sellers use. 6. Find out what's hot on eBay. 7. Discover useful links and web sites about online selling. 8. Hear about online selling trends before they are over. 9. See profiles of online selling companies. 10. Share your ideas about eBay and online selling with others. Here’s another great resource: Terry Gibbs’ eBay selling tips… Start selling online today! Open a storefront on eBay!

A Resource For Free Web Fonts

I’m in the process of doing a makeover of some of my blogs and one of the first things on my list to do is to create new logos for them. One website that I’ve come across for free fonts is UrbanFonts.com. The site has over 8,000 free fonts and dingbats for PC and MAC. They also have a blog where you can find out how to change the font on your iPod among other tips and articles on web design. Here’s a tip from one of their articles: “When choosing the right fonts for a new or existing web based business, it is vital to think about things from the perspective of the average web site visitor. This customer centered focus is what sets the best businesses apart from all the rest, and it is important to look at how easy the web site is for average users to navigate and use.” Download free fronts now! ***Sponsored Post

Lessons From Warren Buffett

Last night I was watching a program on Warren Buffett, the Billionaire tycoon. When asked for advice on becoming successful in business, he said to do what you love and do what you know. I, too, have always believed that you definitely should do what you love not only to be successful, but to have a happy and fulfilling life. Wouldn’t it be great to make billions through your internet business(es)? Like I always say, “Anything is possible if you just believe!” Although many of us are in it just for the money, I would like to say that I also would like to help people too! Perhaps that’s why I keep plugging away at it. There are so many online businesses that are started up and simply abandoned not too long after because the person realized that it actually takes some work to build a successful online business. Just because you have a website doesn’t mean that the money will instantly start rolling in! A couple of questions you have to ask yourself before you start an online business is, “Do I love what I’m doing?” and “Do I know anything about the business I’m about to get into?” Watching the show on Warren Buffett definitely go my juices flowing!! What an inspirational man he is ;) Recommended Resource: The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America

Needing Help With Search Engine Optimization and Marketing

I can’t believe I’m up to ten+ blogs! I know I was a blogging addict when I decided to go ahead and launch yet another blog, No Song Unsung, the other day. What can I say, I really am a professional blogger ;) Up until now I’ve done all of the marketing for my blogs myself. Part of the reason I've done it myself up is that I wanted to do research for a book I'm working on. However, it’s getting a bit overwhelming trying to post to all of the blogs and do the marketing for all of them as well. On top of that, I’m trying to expand my jewelry business offline. Whew! So, lately I’ve been on the hunt for someone to help me out with my Search Engine Marketing and advertising campaigns. I heard about a company called Apogee Search, so I’ve browsed their website to see what they’re all about. Recently the company has endorsed and supported the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), an organization that believes in establishing standards of conduct when it comes to SEO and the Pay-Per-Click industries. There are alot of people out there who are abusing these industries and the SEMPO wants to help eliminate click fraud and everything that goes along with that. Anyways, you may also want to check out Apogee’s Blog for resources and information about Google rankings and optimization. Have you used Apogee's services? **Sponsored Post

More Work at Home Resources and Links

Joe Hauckes over at Working at Home on the Internet hosts the Working at Home Blog Carnival which has links to a wealth of articles and resources from others in the blogosphere. Via the Carnival, I came across the article, SEO Copyrighting; The Key to Keyword Articles, which is published over at Make Money Online; Search Engine Marketing. You’ll learn all about keyword density as well as why search engines are important in your marketing strategy for your website. And if you need a little motivation, you may want to read Azmi M.’s story on making $1,623 for November through Google Adsense. Reading it certainly got my juices going!

My PayPerPost Story and Thoughts

When I first started blogging I did it for fun. It was a hobby and a way for me to express myself and share my views on life. It started with my first blog, The Good Life, and has now grown into a full-fledge blogging career! Call me a “Problogger”, if you will. Fast forward two years later and now I’m being paid to do something I love. Who knew? I wrote a new article that is now published at Associated Content called How To Make Money With Blogging. In this article I give you four ways that I have made money through my own blogging career (I still kindof think it’s funny to call me a “blogger”!). One of the ways to make money is to have companies “sponsor” some of your posts. One service that helps you find those companies that will pay you to create buzz for them is PayPerPost. I signed up for PayPerPost a couple months ago and now I am making extra money simply reviewing websites! I can’t remember how I found out about PayPerPost - but I do know that I’m grateful for the opportunity ;) What I like most about PayPerPost is that you get to pick and choose which companies to review. I’m pretty selective about what companies I want to talk about. If it is related to the blog theme, then I’ll blog about them. Anyways, so far I’ve made about $40 and in the next month I will be expecting about $100 or so - depending on how many more opportunities I take for the rest of this month. So basically it’s up to you how much money you want to make! Now, there’s this huge debate about whether this type of advertising is “ethical“. Paul Short does a good job of expressing my thoughts on it. I completely agree with all that he has to say on the subject... What are your thoughts? **Sponsored Post

Get Paid to Blog!

Affiliate Summit in Vegas!

One of the things I came across in reading Revenue Magazine was the Affiliate Summit which is in Las Vegas, NV on January 21-23. It will be at the Bally’s hotel! There are ton of speakers lined up for the event...This is definitely a must-attend event for those of you who want to become Super Affiliates! (I just had an image of a person wearing a t-shirt with a big “S” on it...) Get more information here...

Website Traffic For Free Revisited

One of the things I used to do to get traffic to my websites was to write articles and have them published at different sites across the internet. Well, I stopped doing that until last week when I decided that I needed to back into the swing of things! I had spent so much time on my jewelry business and some of my blogging gigs that I’ve pretty much forgot about taking advantage of all the free ways to market your online business. I recently started writing articles again and my latest one is published at Associated Content. You can view the article here: Four Tips to Better Online Business Relationships Related Posts: Sticky Websites, Copy, and Content Here’s My Best FREE Traffic Builder

Direct Marketing Resource

I have this thing I call the 20/80 rule when it comes to running an internet business. 20% of your efforts is dedicated to marketing and 80% of the work is customer service. There are so many ways to market your online business, however, today I’m going to focus on direct marketing. Direct marketing? Who does that anymore? Well, given that I still get regular mail from many local businesses, I can say that direct marketing is still alive and well. But doesn’t it cost much more than online marketing? The Red Clay Media blog says: “...direct mail campaigns to very specific markets can reduce your direct mail costs by reducing the numbers of pieces you mail or generate higher response by delivering tailored messages to different market segments. Either way, your direct mail efforts will be more profitable.” One direct marketing company that I’ve reviewed is Red Clay Media which provides everything from mortgage, business, and insurance leads. And for those of you who are looking for a new affiliate program to join, Red Clay Media has one where you can earn $7 per lead.... Do you use direct marketing for your online business? Is it working for you? **Sponsored Post

Blogging Gigs!

I’ve been meaning to let y’all know about The Problogger Job Board that launched not too long ago. If you love to blog and want to make money for blogging, you may want to check it out! Also, the blogging network I write for, Know More Media, is looking for business bloggers as well. Email me if you are interested: maria [at] salondemaria.info By the way, if you have any questions about blogging, let me know and I may post your question and answer here!