Me again, still on blogging
Why do some people create blogs and why do others read them? This is actually a ten points question since its answer covers the very working principle behind the entire phenomenon. First of all, we are not far from the truth when saying that bloggers are very much like journalists or columnists, and that the material we find on blogs is very often much more interesting than that in the media thanks to the personal touch writers include in their articles. Furthermore we cannot ignore the interactive dimension of blogs, which is probably the greatest advantage in itself: comment boxes for instant responses, links to documented materials, videos and pictures turn the blog into a magic puzzle.
Blogging is trendy: no comment to that! Not only is it popular with people of all ages but it also makes one feel like blending in. You get an idea of what people appreciate in your writing, you get to comment and actually live some events of public interest, and you have the chance to speak up your mind. Everything you post on the blog, every piece of original material is achieved and easily accessible when you need it; many would-be writers actually take blogging very seriously since they are offered the opportunity of getting things into print without the intermediary of another publication.
Many blogs offer the advantage of a debate area where you’ll find all sorts of opinions: don’t get angry if the feed-back is not always the one you’ve hoped for, points of view are personal and they should not hurt feelings. It’s within your power to take things like that. Then, we should also mention the popularity and promotion advantages that are specific to a blog; just like niches, small business blogs create the proper environment for the easy reach of targeted Internet users.
Many business owners have discovered that blogs are the perfect way to regularly keep in touch with customers and even employees, since these web pages function as online journals that are very frequently updated. The advantage that blogs clearly have above other sites is that they express something peculiar in the most active or dynamic of ways whereas the other “classic” web sites are definitely static. Without any shade of a doubt the voice of the writer is the element that makes a blog unique and interesting at the same time!
Till next time, stay well
Tags: blog, blog advantages, bloggers, columnists, journalists, writing
For the next couple of weeks I’m going to talk more about blogging and the advantages
So stay with me,
The Internet plays a huge role in the lives of people on the entire planet; it is the fastest means to communicate with friends on the other side of the world and the richest source of information when you have to research for something. The latest trend and probably the most successful way of expressing oneself via the Internet is the blog. What does blogging actually mean? The whole concept revolves around the personal need to express feelings or thoughts, share opinions, spread news or simply have fun. A blog is actually a small individual web page more like a diary that you keep online; it receives regular updates and allows the use of links, photos, videos and extended documents.
Many people were attracted by the “blogging” phenomenon thanks to the great opportunity of making themselves heard by a specific targeted audience. Blogs are not complex web pages, it entirely depends on what the creator wants to share with the world. When you’ve got great pieces of news, funny links or a hobby to talk about, a blog may be just the right way to open up to an international “community”. Most often, blogs attract more attention than large and well-designed web pages? How is it possible for blogging to have reached such a status?
First of all, blogs generally tackle with one issue of interest for the user; there is fresh and rich informational content, and extended friendly links to other sites or blogs in the domain. It has become common knowledge by now that blogs often receive more traffic than other web pages. Why? The answer lies within the very essence of a search engine structure: what a search engine likes most is fresh and high quality content. This is the main preeminence blogs and the blogging phenomenon has managed to achieve ahead of normal web pages.
If blogging started as the perfect diary online, it has now come to acquire different dimensions, of which the commercial one is the most well-developed. I’ll give you an illustrative example here: let’s say you like gardening, and you’ve also started your own home business of growing plants. A blog on flowers, plants and their peculiarities would meet the requirements of other people who share your hobby, but it would also function as a great promotion tool for the development of your business. Therefore, web marketing and the need to communicate happily meet within the very concept of “blogging”.
Till next time, stay well
Tags: blog advantages, blogging, Blogs
Now that I had some time with this book, I thought it good to write my own review on Rob Benwell’s latest edition.
As a new blogger on the block, I found the book from Rob Benwell, Blogging to the Bank v3.0 interesting though not totally blowing away new.
My question to Rob will be: Is there still room for us new bloggers to also make this kind of money as you claim or is this for the folks out there that already understand the tricks of the trade and link to each other to form a huge network of people? Hey I’m just asking
Well I’m still struggling with the technical issues from time to time and this type of book helps me a lot setting up the detail. OK you will probably already say that this type of info is freely available and you don’t need to pay anyone to compile this in a handy book where you can just click on the link and go to the downloads. I will say, yes OK. I had a few bugs spare and I’m lazy, I like things getting compiled for me.
I would also like you to buy Blogging to the bank v 3.0 through my link as I can make commission on selling, but if you are strapped for cash, join forums and discussion groups, you can get all this info probably free of charge, you just need to compile it yourself and you don’t have the option of just click and play, you have time to sit in front of the PC, you are not on a volume based internet link that you get cutoff or chocked to death once exceeding your volume… OK so don’t buy it.
So what do I like about this book:
· The “how to” on detailed market research
· How to figure out your Niche market
· How to build your own Blog and register your own domain
· How to optimize your Blog to stand out of the crowd
· How to set-up your auto responder.
“I must say I recommend iContact, you get a 15 day free account to help you starting up. If you are clever enough, you can make your first money before you start to pay them”
· Search engine Optimization
· My ultimate favourite: Monetizing your site. I like talking, but I like money more
· Where to post your articles
· OK there is much more to mention, remember I’m a lazy blogger and would rather like you to buy the book
Things I did not like:
· I would prefer a cheat sheet at the back with all the links.
· I must admit I cannot really put my finger on anything I did not like. I’m a bit new to this stuff and info like this is not boring yet.
OK as I said, you can find this stuff for free, almost all of it. Rob have a few secrets up his sleeve that I cannot reveal, so if you have the bugs, just buy it.
PS. I forgot to tell you about the fr.e.estuff you get. It alone is worth the deal.
PPS. If you are a master of Blogs, nothing new to report, just pass on or buy through my link… Hey I have to try my luck.
Cheers for now,
Till next time, stay well
To see this wonderful edition, click here
Tags: blog, blogging to the bank, blogging to the bank 3.0, how to, market research, monetizing, review on blogging to the bank, Rob Benwell, secrets
I want to start today covering some aspects other than property for making passive income. As in a previous blog discussed, the easiest way today available is the internet.
Most of you have probably tried or are using Blog’s as part of your business building. You can create blogs as part of a package from your provider, but I will suggest you register your own domain name and get a company to host your domain.
Well if you use your blog to do more than chat, there is a great income to be made as well for free. I’ve found a guy’s site that immediately triggered me. Not because of all his nice cars, and yes I’m a car fan, but because of the freedom he have to explore anything he wants.
Rob Benwell is only a mere 24 years old and has already made several million dollars. Early in 2006 he shared his secrets with the world in his highly successful Blogging To The Bank e-book and has made making money online a whole lot easier for everyone.
Just over two years after the success of his first e-book and over 20,000 copies sold of it, the update he is now releasing is his third version of Blogging to the Bank. He is helping to wet our appetites and keep the fat bucks rolling in.
I got this book as soon as I could and it covers quite a lot of new information and techniques to adapt your blog to the new demands of the major search engines. Many of the techniques in the old book are now dated and don’t work so well. This is why Blogging To The Bank 3.0 is a godsend.
To see this wonderful edition, click here
Also this guy doesn’t consider himself to be a “guru”, he’s just a normal guy who wants to help the little guys out. I find this a nice change as he doesn’t talk “down” to you like most of the other guys do. He explains everything in a nice simple manor so everyone can understand.
Saying that when he “goes off on one” it may take a few reads until you get it but when you do it’s just shear genius. Some of the topics in my opinion could have been covered a little more, then with others, he went into great detail. You also get his 5 Blogging Commandments For 2009 that you must follow to give you blogs the greatest success in 2009 and keep them future proofed. This should be printed out and put on the wall of every online marketer without a doubt! His book starts off with market research (so that you are making the most of your time) to building your blogging empire. Everything is covered in this new outing that helps bloggers with today’s online issues regarding making the all mighty search engines happy.
Final Verdict: if you are out there in the blogging world and want to make money the easy way then I highly recommend Blogging To The Bank 3.0.
Why work harder than you need to. The new techniques are there ready for you to simply implement.
To see this wonderful edition, click here
Tags: blog, blogging to the bank 3.0, how to, money, Rob Benwell
At my last post I’ve mentioned that waiting for retirement money to enjoy or do what you want is not the best option as anything can go wrong.
What must you do? What suggestions or actions are available for you? You don’t want to do nothing and add to the already over extended wealth fare and you also don’t want to sit in a old age home without any capital to enjoy.
I will explain what I’m doing, maybe it rings a bell or you like my strategy. I must warn though that it might not work for you as everyone’s circumstances are different and I cannot promise that even for myself, my option will work. Things might change totally in the world as we know it and I will have to adapt my strategy.
I’ve created a Investment Trust and will do all my long term investments in this trust. I’ve also created a Family Trust where all our debt free items will be held. Although a Trust get taxed in my country by 40% from day one, I can use the trust in a good enough way to not pay too much tax. The main aim for me is to have a vehicle that will go on the day I want to retire or worse, I died. My family can just go on, the Trust didn’t died, I did and they can go on with the business without estate duty taxes that can pull the investments to a halt.
So what type of businesses do I build. I’m using vehicles that can give me passive income. I like property, but am also busy to build a web base business. This two vehicles should carry me forward. While lots of people’s retirement funds were wiped out by the crash we just experienced on the stock market, rental income get paid every month, even if you have to lower your rent to help your tenant, you will still have a income. It is better to help a known person and take a bit less than to sit with a unknown person in your house that might default on payments. To give is so much more rewarding than to receive. Same with your website, give as much as possible, the receiving part will follow at some point.
Now is the time where people look around and see how to create a extra income or even a new way of income as they might have lost everything. I’m feeling very sorry for people that lost things because the were badly advised and not because they over extend themselves because of greed. This is the type of people I would like to help.
Well hope this bit of insight helped and see you soon
Till next time, stay well
Tags: investments, retirement
While talking to people working up to 17 hours a day, I always get the following answer:
“I will do this and that when I retire, now I’m working to make sure I have enough money set aside”
Is this really quality of life? Does anyone actually care how much you have one day? Is it not better to take care of the people around you and off course yourself, in the NOW moment, rather than the future? Do you know what the future hold?
I’ve just got off the phone talking to a friend of mine in Australia. He told me of a person I’ve met in East Africa that have a terminal illness, he worked for his retirement, but can’t enjoy it now. What a shock it was for me. My friend and I both decided about the same time, we need to start living for the moment and not for the future. It does not mean that you must live as if there is no tomorrow; it means that you need to live a quality lifestyle. Take care of yourself and your love ones.
This brings me to the point of work for money or let your money work for you. Build a surplus and start investing this in the right vehicles that can turn into passive income. Better even if it can give immediate income and not in the future. If you do your calculations, get rid of all the clutter in your life, you might even have a nice surplus without you even knowing it.
Why don’t you do a audit of what you have. Do you really need everything, especially those things that’s not paid for yet. Why not driving an older car, live in a different neighbourhood to live in a cheaper house and stop all the junk food. This will keep you healthy, and give you that needed surplus for your investment.
Well I’m off, almost time to get my kid at school, they have a mid-term break. I enjoy the freedom I have, not working as a slave for a company, not able to enjoy my family and my kids school life.
That’s my thought for today, till next time, stay well
Tags: enough money, retirement, surplus funds
It’s with amazement that I sometimes see how people gather as much as they can hold, and even more. The other day I saw a lady at the green grocer with stacks of strawberries, it was on a special, and it made me think that when will people realize that nothing is really on a special. It might sound cheap, it might even be at a cheaper prize than normal, but it is still at a prize where the seller makes more than he paid for the product. In this case, it might be that he got the strawberries cheaper from the supplier.
We as humans get tricked very quickly because we are trained to listen to the marketing campaigns, it is aimed on our inner fear that we will not have enough. Is that not why so many people get into financial trouble? How will you determine when you have enough?
I thought the following few steps might be of some help:
1. Food:
a. Do you have at least 2 meals a day
b. Do you have fresh vegetables or fruit
c. Can you prepare a meal when you are hungry without having to go to the shop?
2. Transport:
a. Do you have access to public transport
b. Do you have a reliable car
3. Housing:
a. Do you own your house and is it almost paid for
b. Do you rent at a affordable price
If you can say yes to most of the questions, then maybe you have enough and do not need to buy a new, bigger house or car. You might not need to eat all the luxuries that get advertized on a daily base. Be happy with what you have. Only if you have surplus funds, upgrade you lifestyle if you really feel it is necessary.
Don’t you think instead of spending a fortune on a big house, you can rather stay in a smaller house and use the surplus to buy another smaller house to rent it out, then build a passive income instead of you spending this money on something that sounds good to have?
Well that’s my thought for today, till next time, stay well and have fun
Tags: enough money, passive income
While watching my wife busy with “spring cleaning” as we call it, I was thinking of the thousands of people loosing not only their jobs, but also their life’s possessions. Everything they worked for.
As my wife was washing the curtains, move all the furniture around, wash the windows, one room at a time, it makes me think if this also needs to be done in your own life. Personally I think its necessary, get rid of all the clutter that fills your life. Take a audit of your life, are you happy at the result?
Look at the job you are doing, is this what you really wants to do, or just a comfortable way to earn a living? Is this where you want to be when you reach retirement? So many people now will be forced to make a change. Do you want to wait for a moment like this, or do it at your own time and speed?
I will suggest to take a life audit every 2 to 3 years. Are you still on track ? I mentioned at a earlier blog about John Strelecky. (www.whycafe.com) and his book, “ why are you here café” Hope you had a look at his site. Did you decide what will be the 5 things you still wants to do before you move on?
One of my “big5 for life” is to backpack on a bike (Harley) through South Africa. Just enjoy the nature, sleep where I want, when I want. I cannot do this while stuck in a work environment where I work like a slave. My time is not mine, I need to work to pay the bills.
Sorry if I sound skeptical, but times like this where I know of people that got the bad side of a reshuffle in companies, people that gave their all, but because of a economic meltdown needs to look for employment again, then its time to start teaching people that working for money is maybe not the way. Get into a position where your money works for you. Get a immediate income, not a possibility in the future. Your retirement plan might not be worth much the day you need it.
Well that’s it for now, till next time, stay well
After all the financial turmoil, does any of the advise still makes sense? Why do you think all this happened? A quick answer will probably be “ greed” but this will not be a nice answer, because people don’t want to hear the truth in a straight forward answer, they like it to sound good, not harsh. If you over extend yourself, then the learning process is hard, it might even lead to loosing possessions that you’ve paid way to much for in the first place. Only because others had it, you also “needed” it. But it is on the end not all your mistake. The media and marketing campaigns are all against you. They make sure you want to buy, and buy a lot. The banks wants you to buy on credit, then they can get hold of you and keep you, as paying off your debt is not part of the game. They will extend your debt till they have you woven yourself in your own prison. You then become a slave of yourself, you have to work just to pay off the debt.
Well, now is the time to concentrate on your 5 year plan. How can the extra income from your website help your overall strategy.
I can only talk for myself, but this is what I’m doing.
· I need a certain amount per month for expenses, the rest is surplus. (income – expenses = surplus)
· Surplus is fed into a long term account. If you remember my 3 bucket methods,
o Invest in fast growing portfolio (growth)
o Invest in long term, safe portfolio (security and debt free)
o Your living expenses. (your life)
· From this account I feed my 3 buckets. Although at this stage I’m still building surplus funds and keep all this in my safe account. This helps with financial turmoil’s like we currently experience.
· My overall plan is to feed my living expenses and fast growing investments also from my income that should be fed from passive income. I do not want to work for money, but have money work for me.
Well I hope you as my reader, did not over extend yourself and can sit back and see how the investment possibilities are stacking up. Now is the time to do your calculations and not just buy because of greed and the possibility of a big capital gain. If you are not in control of your investment, be careful.
Remember the saying, Cash is King. Big companies are going down because of a lack of cash flow.
That’s it for now, till next time, stay well
Tags: cash, crisis, financial crash
To receive money on the internet is actually very easy, even if you do not have a merchant account. You can join sites like Paypal, or many others, although Paypal is probably the easiest and straight forward.
If you want, just click on the link below and start accepting credit card payments instantly. Paypal is the fastest way to open your doors to millions of members worldwide. Just think of the convenience!
It sometimes blows your mind away if you think of the size of your market. Its just enormous. If you think of the normal shop around the corner, they only have the people around them, but to have a shop on the net, well you can have customers from all over the world.
How do I pay?
I use Paypal for almost all my payments. Its very secure, once you’ve confirmed your banking details. They send you a statement with a confirmation number build into the heading, if I remember correctly, then you just take that number and confirm it while you are logged in. As easy as that.
For some sites, its easier to pay with my credit card, like website hosting payments, its like 123 and its done. I know godaddy also except Paypal, and I’ve actually used my Paypal account registering my domain name.
Well its as easy as this, no excuse not to start. I was a bit worried that I will have a problem accepting money in South Africa from abroad, but my bank confirmed that I can pay my dollar checks into my South African Rand account, at a fee, but I will get my money.
Great, that’s it for now, enjoy the ride
Till next time, stay well
