May and the month of June have been hell for MCB. With malware hitting my site in May up to 3 times and then in June, was just too much. I was so tired of emailing back and forth to Hostgator and then begging GoogleWebmasterTools to please reconsider my site and get it back up and running. After checking with my hosting company, they indicated that… “the last time Google found any malicious content was 03/13/2010.” Yet I’ve had several attacks since March, and here I was in June of 2010. It’s hard to make money with one’s blog when it’s going off-line a couple of times a month. After all that is the purpose of having this blog, to make extra money.

I took a chance and reached out to a fellow blogger that I was hoping would say yes to helping me. The internet can be very tricky, people can pretend they’re something that they’re not, some will inflate their income tell you they have many more blogs than just one. But they’d rather not tell anyone the name of the other blogs/websites. I never understood the reasoning behind that one, well maybe I do. But for some reason I believe that when you are a blogger your dealing with a different caliber of personalities. I found that out when I first started my blog, you can connect with some of the nicest people you will ever meet. I’m still friends with many bloggers, with emails and phone calls back ‘n’ forth.Oh I’ve encountered one or two blogger (bullies ?) that didn’t like the idea of me buying “this” blog. No matter what I did back then those bloggers would never come around and finally gave up writing rude and snide things about me. But that was back a few years, before I even really knew about blogging, hell I’m still learning everyday.lol With that said I reached out to a blogger that I knew was smart with codes, ftp’s, and all of those other things I needed help with. That blogger was Enkay, I had started visiting his blog back a few years ago, and knew from reading his post and comments that this was a very educated & honest guy with a good head on his shoulders. I also felt that I could trust him and I knew he had what I needed…. HELP.

After contacting Enkay via email, I received a reply that he would try to help with whatever he could. I’ve been dealing with some medical problems that are a result from my last stay in the hospital about a year and half ago. It’s something that won’t be remedied anytime soon. So I’ve been in a place where I was almost ready to sell MCB or just quit the whole blogging thing. Even though I’m not a quitter at least never have been. But having so many attacks on my blog & now these personal problems, I found myself loosing interest in blogging. BTW I wonder how many people out there who have been blogging for a long time are getting the bloggers block? All of this was getting in the way of my posting and my visiting other blogs,which I’ve always enjoyed. My social life on the blogging scene has been dead lately, but I’m going to try to change that when I’m able to.

Now I have someone who is helping me with the technical stuff and giving me some knowledgeable, and innovative concepts for MCB. It’s given me a new outlook personally about blogging. While we’re speaking of new outlooks, MCB may be getting a new outlook too!? About time you say? This new outlook has made me realize I can only do what I can handle and the rest will work itself out. My sales have been down but I’m sure the economy has also hit some other bloggers. I do know some of my favorite blogs from back a couple of years ago are no longer posting. Although one great thing about a blog is you can let it be and still make a little income for you.

To top off some of my complications, all of my or rather MCB YouTube videos have been taken down. I’ve contacted the prior owner as the videos were part of the package when I purchased MCB!! Unfortunately her computer crashed so she has lost all of her passwords that she use to have when she owned MCB. After finding the address (snail mail), & email, and some legal advice I’m going to get in touch with YouTube legal department. I’m on a quest to get those back up and running. There was and is no reason for those videos to be taken off-line, and I will find out why!

So that’s what I did, I reached out to Enkay some of you may know him by being regular visitors to his several blogs. He has one in the make money niche and has started a new one that is really a fun and different type of blog … both very good. Visit Enkay when you all get the chance, you won’t be disappointed. Many thanks to Enkay, and everyone who has been so patient with me and MCB. I will do whatever I can handle and hope the rest will fall in place.

BTW for those of you interested, Hostgator suggested that I install MalwareBytes, which is free. Just follow this link if interested. I wish everyone a wonderful and safe 4th of July!!

Since I get a lot of key word hits on buying and selling used books online I  thought I’d revisit the topic.  An acquaintance of mine was featured briefly on Oprah for buying and selling 18,000 books online in one year. He (runs his book trading business from the Island of Frenchboro, Maine (pop. 50) and I know of many island and coastal dwellers who buy and sell used and rare books for a living. One of the reasons book selling is so popular on the Maine coast (and other coastlines) is because many famous artists, writers, actors and actresses come to live or vacation in the summer months to get away from it all and “hide out” from the rest of the world.  These people are usually well-educated, well-traveled and have a well stocked library with some very interesting and rare books… but depending on who they are,  even an average book with their signature of ownership on the inside cover can bring in a pretty penny.  These summer estates are usually second, third, or fourth homes for the rich and famous, so when they die or sell the estate, the content usually ends up being sold to local auctions or book buyers for a very good price. Sometimes they send someone to retrieve the valuables but the books are often overlooked.  Who wants to pack up a bunch of old books and send them half way around the world?

Starting any home business online whether selling used books or any other type of business you choose is an excellent   opportunity to make some extra money without the usual  headaches.  There are none of the conventional rules that are needed when looking for a “brick and mortar” business, like trying to obtain a bank loan or any of that other legal stuff that is needed to start a business.  As far as looking for a store front no need for that,  just some space in your house or garage where you can store some of your books is all you’ll have to find.  You’ll need some packing materials, boxes, shipping labels,  maybe boxes to ship the books,  and work space. That’s it!

Of course you can always find books at yard, lawn, and estate sales, library sales and  even at your own home where you  always have books laying around. You may decide that you want  to handle all and any types of books to sell or you may want to stay with a certain niche and sell just cook books, mystery,  field guides, books by certain authors or specialize in rare and first edition books.  Make sure that you let your family and friends know that you are now in the business and have them networking for you,  when they see a yard sale or book  sale somewhere have them call you.  Search the newspapers for sale locations, use Craig’s List to find any sales or to announce your new business, and watch the internet for any sales on books. Have some business cardsmade up at Vista Print and give them out whenever you get the chance to spread the word that you are now in the book business. If you have an existing blog/website not generating much money  you can always sell your used & new books on the side. Books will go with any blog or website no matter what the subject.

There are many great online used & new book store sites that are willing to pay you for books of all kinds and some of them even offer an affiliate program.  Look for ones that have free shipping. Here is a list of   sites that I’m using for my book selling business.

• ckybooks –  This is a family owned business in a college town that only accept books that have ISBN’s.  They specialize in college text books so if you’re on your way back to college here’s a good place to buy or sell those text books.

• alibris –  (pronounced “uh-Lee-briss”)  This site accepts new and used books,  movies & music to sell or buy. Alibris has been in business since 1998 and offer over 100 million used, new and out-of-print books. This site offers an affiliate program through LinkShare.com where you can earn 5% commission on sales made within 30 days of click through. Note:  if you haven’t signed up with LinkShare yet you can click on my banner here on MCB, they have added a lot of new advertisers to their already impressive list.

• abebooks.com This website is an easy to navigate site with very competitive prices. It’s a very informative site with great info on the collecting of books. In fact this website made me want to start looking for those “rare books” that one just might come across.  In this rare books section they tell about a book by J.D.Salinger author of The Catcher in the Rye a 1951 very new condition, 1st edition,  First Printing, new dust jacket selling for $11,000.  AbeBooks also has a commission/affiliate program that pays 5% standard flat fee, a premium partner commission is available for high performance affiliates.  You can also make extra commissions by referring buyers to new used and rare books from all around the world.

• amazon.com We all have heard  of Amazon and know of their reputation for selling & buying books, now they don’t pay with PayPal but they do wire your money directly into your account.

• ebay.com You can sell your new or used books with eBay and they now have a database for newer books with ISBN’s that you can enter the numbers and will receive all the info. that you need. For rare or older books it’s suggested that you  take a picture of the book[s] and enter them on your auction site with a full/detailed description of the condition of the book[s].

These are only a few of the many different sites that you will find when searching for places that you can sell and buy old & new books on the internet for your new business.  You may want to sign up with just one or two of these sites at first or pick a few more in case one site offers something that you may not find in the other.   Remember to be on the look out for that “rare book” you never know what is considered rare you could just hit the big one!

Do you have any rare or old books, collectable albums and if you do would you think about selling them  or would you hang on to them?  What would you do?

Here’s a guest post from a fellow blogger who is truly inquisitive about the economy, stock market, and all things financial. Investment terms can be overwhelming and hard to understand, but if you study up on just a few terms a week, you can become a savvy investor in no time — or at least you can talk like one!

Learn New Wall Street Terms

by InquisitiveAboutFinance

This latest downtrend or recession has taught a common man many new financial terms. These terms are not new to the financial sector, they were just buried under the good economy for some time. Now, they are becoming part of our everyday conversations.

1. Ponzi Scheme: A Ponzi scheme is also known as a pyramid scheme. It’s a fraudulent investment plan promising very high returns to investors from their own money or money paid by earlier investors rather than from any actual profits earned. One common way for the Ponzi scheme to attract investors is with the promise of high short term returns. This scheme was named after Charles Ponzi who made this scheme popular in the 20s. Thanks to Bernie Madoff this scheme was brought again into the limelight!

The US Federal Trade Commission says that because of the pyramid’s very nature, at least 70 percent of those who invest in a Ponzie Scheme will NOT see any returns and will lose their investment. It is mathematically impossible to recruit enough investors to pay out to all levels of the pyramid.

2. Uptick Rule: According to Wikipedia, “The Uptick Rule is a securities trading used to regulate short selling in the markets”.  Uptick is the selling of stock or securities at a higher price than its last sale price. The Uptick Rule is a US regulation that a security cannot be sold short unless the trade before the short sale is at a lower price from when the short sale took place.

In 2007 this rule was eliminated in order to study its effectiveness. The Uptick rule is something Jim Cramer had been proposing to bring back for quite some time in his famous Mad Money. Due to the recent sell off in the markets, the SEC and Rep. Barney Frank announced plans to restore the Uptick Rule. We will see what long term effect this will have. Short term results have been good as the DOW, S&P and NASDAQ surged soon thereafter.

3. Deflation. Although practically everyone knows what deflation is, no one has heard this term so widely spoken until recently. Deflation in simple words is reduction in prices of goods and services. With recent decline in home, oil, and energy prices the economy is moving towards a less inflationary or into a deflationary mode. The FED is injecting a lot of amounts of money to increase inflation and at the same time kept the inter bank short term ratios very low. Typically the economy is in higher inflationary mode before entering a recession.

4. Hedge Fund: A type of fund that can use more aggressive strategies than other investments or mutual funds are allowed. Hedge funds are mostly used by the wealthy (and by institutions) since the minimum investment required is from $250,000 to over $1 million and no more than 100 investors are allowed into each fund.  They are exempt from many of the regulations that most mutual funds have to abide by. One of the common ways hedge funds offset their losses is by short selling the market. Short selling refers to selling an investment in the hope of buying it at a lesser price.

Do you have any new terms to add to this list?

People who know how to make money have several things in common, and one of those things is that they give to others who need help. Most wealthy people give a lot of money to charity or their community. You might think it’s because they are rich that they give, but could it be that they are rich BECAUSE they give? Giving is a very important aspect of the Laws of Attraction and making money… if you give more freely you will receive more freely. What goes around, comes around, as they say, and it’s as true for money and kindness as for anything else. Money and kindness are meant to flow. In most major religions, it’s known as the “law of reciprocity”. When you give to others, it will be reciprocated — meaning whatever you give will come back to you, and MORE, from one source or another.
John D. Rockefeller was known to say whenever he gave money away, even more came right back to him! He started working when he was very young and gave his earnings to the church because his mother told him to. Later he still gave freely not just because it was the right thing to do but also because he saw that giving to others just made good business sense. He was known to be a “mental mathematician” which helped him greatly in business matters. Rockefeller carefully planned every venture he got into and it was always mathematically calculated to bring him money with little to no risk. I think it’s fascinating that a man who didn’t take risks gave so much money to charity. It shows he truly believed in the laws of attraction, or the law of reciprocity. He expected it would come back to him 10 fold and it did! He had the bank records to prove it. Whenever he gave money, he would earn even more money from another source.

You don’t need to be a Rockefeller to be a giving person and benefit from this law of nature. It’s about the Universe rewarding us for keeping it moving in a positive direction. Ze, known as Mominator.com and her husband have been working on a project that is now ready for the public. It is a new video site appropriately named Kind.TV where anyone is welcome to load video clips showing acts of kindness being done in their community. It’s going to be a great place to see what others are doing to make the world a better place, and get us all inspired to do the same. I think this is a wonderfully innovative idea and I wish Ze and her husband much success with Kind.TV.  I’ll be checking it often and maybe I will throw in a few acts of kindness myself. It’s a great idea!

When I first took over this blog, I knew the basics of PageRank and the Alexa Traffic Ranking… but I wish I had known how important it is for a blogger to be using the Alexa Toolbar! So now I want to make sure that other newbies to the blogging world know why you should install this handy little SEO plug-in even if you don’t have a blog yet.

Alexa collects website traffic statistics for every website on the Internet and displays these stats on Alexa for all to see. At Alexa.com you can look up the stats of your own blog or type in the URL of any other blog/website online to see the Alexa traffic stats for that site. Keep in mind it’s not a true reading of website traffic because most of Alexa’s statistics are generated from Alexa Toolbar users. Basically, it’s a percentage reading of traffic based mostly of those who have installed the Alexa Toolbar plug-in on their browsers.

When you start a blog it will take some time for your website to appear on the Alexa Traffic radar. To help speed things up you need to install the Alexa Toolbar. By installing the Toolbar onto your web browser you’ll be helping your own Alexa Ranking and the ranking of the sites you visit. The more visitors you have using the Toolbar the better ranking you will get with Alexa.

Like Google, Alexa gives each website on the Internet a rank but since Alexa’s numbers are based on traffic percentages the numbers are larger and it ranks from high to low, with low meaning more traffic. The top traffic ranking is a #1 and Yahoo holds that spot right now. In the beginning, your number will be in the millions because there are millions of websites on the Internet that you are competing with. The more visitors your site gets from the Alexa Community (users with the Alexa Toolbar installed on their browsers) the lower your number will get. Having your number go down to 100,000 or even 200,000 is good, and less than that is even better.  Here’s one way to look at it: If your blog has a number of 165,000 then you know there are 164,999 sites out there with a better rank than you.

Techies and/or bloggers will be more inclined to install the Alexa Toolbar or other SEO plug-ins that include the Alexa Toolbar, so some say that you’re only getting a reading of the percentage of techies or bloggers that visit your site. It stands to reason that if you have a technical blog and most of the users have the toolbar, you’ll have a good Alexa Ranking, but the system does allow for a small percentage of traffic outside of the Alexa Community. The average web user doesn’t install the Alexa Toolbar so if your blog is about a non-technical topic such as gardening or beauty products you might not have a good Alexa Ranking because most gardeners or women into beauty products would not care or even know about Alexa. It doesn’t mean you don’t have good traffic coming in, it could mean you don’t have many other bloggers or “techies” visiting your site. Even though a good Alexa Ranking will give you bragging rights, you don’t need good ranking to have a successful blog.

MomsCashBlog’s Alexa ranking went so far up (which is not good!) this summer that it was off the chart and was no longer displayed on Alexa! However, at the very same time my other stats told me that MCB had the most REAL traffic in it’s history and I made the most money during the same time period that I lost my Alexa ranking! Obviously, I lost some “techie” visitors over the summer, but I gained some non-techie visitors and I made some good sales. I don’t worry too much about my Alexa ranking because my goal is to make money… and ranking well on Alexa doesn’t necessarily mean you make more money. Still, a good Alexa number gives your blog more credibility so if you have a good rank, be glad! If you don’t have good Alexa, don’t sweat it… just keep blogging, strive for good content, install the toolbar, and the rest will fall into place. (My ranking finally came back up to 210,805.)

You can install the Alexa Toolbar and become a member of the Alexa Community from either the Internet Explorer browser or Foxfire and you don’t need to have a blog to do this.  If you want to install it onto your Foxfire browser you have to go to the download page from your Foxfire browser. (The download is on the same page for Foxfire but it’s called “Sparky”.) Upon installing it you’ll have a small bar chart down in the lower right-hand corner of your browser which will change with each site you visit. Some SEO plug-ins have the Alexa Toolbar built in and displays each site’s Alexa ranking along with PageRank and other stats helpful to bloggers. Once you use the Toolbar and encourage your readers to install it, you will definitely see better ranking, so do it now!

Selling our used  books is a great way to recycle and help the environment as well as declutter our homes… but selling used books usually doesn’t bring enough money to make it worth the effort. Traditional used bookstores only offer around 50 cents or less per book and with eBay, you have to sign up and create an account and then enter the auction and all that jazz. It’s a waiting game and it doesn’t usually pay off, because no one wants to pay those shipping fees. Well, I found a wonderful website, CKYbooks.com, that pays a good price for used and new books. It’s easy to use, you get an instant quote (offer), shipping is FREE,  you get paid within 24-48 hours… and if you get a better offer, they will “match” it!

When I bought MomsCashBlog in early May I knew very, very little about how blogs worked and my technical skills were ah.. pretty low! lol. One thing I did know is that to make money sometimes you have to take a risk, and the best way to learn something fast is to just jump right in feet first!  That way you have no choice but to learn the ropes. (it’s sink or swim… and most people swim! lol) So I bought a blog that was already in progress… already monetized by a pro, had good PageRank, and had a great tutorial to market and attract new visitors.

Back then I planned to tell my blog earnings after the first 3 months, no matter what it was. August 4 will be the official end of the 3rd month, but this is close enough to give you an idea as I’m rounding off the amounts anyways. I have never divulged any of my incomes before, much less put it on the internet! lol But I want to do my blogging earnings just this once. I feel obligated to tell this because I think it’s encouraging to others who are starting a blog and for those who want to get into blogging. It’s just good to know  what some blogs make. This should give some of you encouragement because it’s coming from a beginner who knew nothing about blogs, but bought a “used” and well monetized blog! (used is a good thing in this case! lol)  I have nothing to compare it to as I never found out my predecessor’s earnings. Some will say I should be making more considering I bought the blog… but, so be it…..  it is what it is! It’s my 3 months earnings on MomsCashBlog.

May earnings –  $ 475. Only a few of the existing ad accounts were transferred so I was doing some free advertising and getting no referrals! (lol)  I got caught up in some negative thinking…. but by the end of the month, I knew I could handle it (even though it was scary at times!) by using my past experience in marketing.

June earnings –  $ 685.  As you can see things got better which gave me confidence. I got more ad accounts transferred into my name.  I did a lot of experimenting and keeping track of my stats in WordPress and tweaking my posts, etc, to try different audiences.

July earnings –   $ 940.  Still learning… still marketing, still experimenting… some of the tech stuff is starting to really sink in and make sense to me.  But I think I may have Ping trouble as the incoming links have stopped.

Before I bought MCB my big question was “Do blogs REALLY make money.. or is this all hype?” For me, it’s hard to believe anyone when they tell you their income because there’s no real proof they’re telling the truth. (income statements mean nothing as they can be doctored easily.) And as we know, some bloggers will exaggerate the amounts because it brings them a good following. If a blogger can convince other bloggers that they make loads of money, they can get a lot of followers… they’ll also buy whatever he’s selling in hopes of making a lot of money themselves, so I never take those BIG stories seriously. (I’m sure there are some who make it very BIG.. but as it is with incomes,  it’s very few.) 

 Offline when someone tells you their income, even if they’re in the same trade as you, you don’t hang on their every word and you don’t really care what they make. (You usually know they’re BSing anyways! lol) But it’s different when it comes to blogs. I think we’d all like to have an honest, general idea of what the average income is or could be.  Monetizing a blog as an “occupation” is a new thing… so there’s no official occupational guideline to go by as there are with other jobs. We may never get an “average” income amount because we just get “hearsay” and we’re on the internet. Anyone can say whatever they want on the internet… there is no accountability. Since most occupational income guidelines come from governments, we may never get one for a monetized blogger’s income where no one government has any control over the internet… which is a good thing! If they did we’d be taxed and probably need a license for blogging! (The US government has tried, many times, to figure out a way to license users and make money from it… but they are not able to legally do so!) For these reasons, we may always have to rely on each other’s “word” about how much the average blogger earns. Blogging (or online advertising) has so much potential that the amounts will vary radically anyways.

Since we’re all in this together I wanted to share my income with other bloggers just this one time, and maybe I’ll do it again in the future. I hope this helps some of you to see what happens when a beginner with no experience, jumps into an existing blog. I’m glad I took the risk and bought MomsCashBlog.  I know some bloggers say that buying a blog (or selling a blog) is bad business, but I don’t understand that. I would think they would see it as a good opportunity for selling their own blogs some day if they decide to move on and do something else.  I’m sure there are many others, like me, who would see buying a well monetized blog as a good investment opportunity. 

I’ve gotten good feedback about the ad writing series… with good stats, comments, and some e-mails, so I’m going to show an example of an ad I found on the internet that I feel is quite effective because it tells a story and speaks to the emotions of the readers. I know I talk a lot about emotions with advertising, but if you really understand that every action we take… every decision we make in our lives is based on our emotions, then you can see why it is so important to use emotions in selling. Using a blog or a website to sell a product gives you a perfect opportunity to appeal to your customer’s emotions by telling a story (and it’s cheap!). The reason a story works so well for online advertising is because people use the internet to get information so they are in the “information gathering mode”. The customer is already searching for information so you are not forcing them to read. But you do have to compel them to want to read your ad, and you do have to get traffic and advertise… and you do have to try to grab their attention as soon as they look at your ad. Since I have experience in ad writing and I’ve posted about writing ads, I thought I’d show you an example of an ad that uses emotional motivators by telling a story.

For this example, I chose an ad that I didn’t think would intrude on any of my reader’s territory and that I happened to find as a consumer, I wasn’t looking for an ad (but I didn’t buy the product.) And, just so you know, I don’t have anything to do with  this ad whatsoever… I don’t know the person selling it and I’m not promoting the product. I just felt it would make a good example of using emotions in a story to sell your product. Also, as you will see I went through the same process a customer would use to purchase your product. If you’re thinking of selling a product or service you need to think like an advertiser… which means thinking like a customer!

 It’s important from an advertisers point of view to always be aware of who’s going to buy your product. Some ads work better on women’s emotions than they do on men’s or the other way around. I think this one would tend to be mostly for women and maybe the author intended it that way. If you find your ad is selling to only one group of people, you should try check out which emotions you are selling to and fix it.

I was looking up “Lyme Disease” on the internet because I removed a tick and later had symptoms and was diagnosed with Lyme Disease a few weeks ago. In the summer, I live in the woods of Maine where there’s a  problem with deerticks and Lyme Disease. I’ve had ticks on me before so I know not all ticks carry Lyme Disease. I also have a doctor in the family and she’s told me before not to bother going to the doctor just for a tickbite because he/she cannot do anything. (except charge you. lol)  You need to have symptoms for them to check for Lyme Disease, so I kept my eye on the area for about a week and since I felt good and had no rash I figured it was alright. Two weeks later I got horrible headaches and became very sick with flu-like symptoms and fever and the area started itching and hurt at the same time. When I saw the famous bulls eye rash, I went to the doctors and was diagnosed with Lyme and I’m now being treated with antibiotics. Since I caught it in time, it should be cured within a few more days and I won’t have any more problems from it.

Still, I wanted to know more about Lyme Disease so I began searching and while on a medical site, I came upon some ads for products and checked them out. I looked at a few text link ads on the sidebar and decided to show you this one as an example of how and why a story can get more attention than just telling what your product does.

Here’s the ad for an E-book that caught my attention more than the other ads I found that day: http://lymediseasecured.com/.  Upon first glance, you will see why I chose this for it’s emotional value and story telling to sell a product.  Put yourself in the place of a potential customer.. someone who has Lyme Disease and is looking for more information and possibly buy a product (info). This ad should show you how helpful it is to appeal to your customer’s emotions and to tell your story to get your ad noticed and sell a product.

Headline is compelling, hits an emotion, and encourages the reader to continue
The first thing you should notice are the headlines. As I said in Part II headlines and and should be long and they should be compelling… and this one certainly is more compelling than the other ads I saw about Lyme Disease! (lol)  It’s compelling because she managed to get SEX into her story  and mentions ”a sex crazed 60 year old woman” in the headline… Sex is one of the most powerful emotional motivators there is so used in the headline, it WILL get noticed!

It may seem a little weird and out of place, but you’ve got to admit that it does compel you to read on and find out what this is all about. Even if you aren’t interested in Lyme Disease, you might want to know more of the story. By using any word that hits our emotions you can make people read more. This headline definitely made me want to read more to find out what a sex crazed 60 year old had to do with Lyme Disease! lol (so it was a good move on the author’s part to get noticed, but not appropriate for all ads, of course.)

The Story starts with the problem: telling a story with “the problem and the solution” is the most effective way to appeal to the emotions of your customers. In this ad, first she gives some personal information which helps you to identify with her and she also gives a little glimpse into what her product can do. But after that she starts her story with the problem. The problem is her struggle with Lyme Disease and symptoms SHE had which some who suffer from LD might identify with. But there’s some symptoms I’ve never heard of with Lyme Disease.. and some that were left out. The ad told of HER symptoms… (possibly the ones her product can cure.)

The story has emotional value:  This ad appeals to one’s basic emotions of health and quality of life, fun, feeling good and happiness which is the state of emotional health EVERYONE wants to be in.  It also appeals to the emotions of sex and relationships in an indirect way by telling about the “sex crazed” woman who told her these secrets! (I think someone’s been brushing up on emotional mortivators! lol) The author had Lyme Disease and her story is about her struggle with it so others with the same problems should relate to it on an emotional level.  A story should have emotional value to be effective and keep the reader interested. Just telling the story of your product won’t work unless you give the reader an emotional reason for wanting it. 

The Story gives the solution to the problem: She then uses her story to tell  the solution last. The solution is the product.. Also, the solution should be the emotions your customers will feel after they use your product or information. In this ad, the solution is a remedy for the symptoms of Lyme Disease and he meds used for it… but even if you don’t have Lyme Disease the remedy sounds emotionally appealing for a better, happier life. Telling a story is the best way to speak to the emotions of your customers. When you tell a story, your solution is ALWAYS your product and you have a chance to let them know WHY they need your product.

There are many different ads I could have chosen, but where I had just come across this one, I decided I’d use it as an example of appealing to emotions in your ads by way of a story. I also sent the url to a friend out of state who has Lyme Disease that wasn’t caught in time and she said she was very interested!  I’m not endorsing the ad, and I’m not saying it’s the most well written ad out there, but it does tell a story and it appeals to the emotions of potential customers. Telling a story with the problem first and the solution (your product) after is much more effective than just telling your customers what the product can do for them. Whatever you’re selling has to appeal to your customer’s emotions to make them sit up and take notice.

Have you ever bought something online and at the checkout they ask for a “Discount Code”, but you don’t have it? Yeah, me too. Usually those Discount Codes are on catalogs sent in the mail (or via an e-mail) to regular customers on their mailing list. If you don’t get the catalog or e-mail you don’t get the discount.

There’s a way to get those Promo Codes, Discount Codes, and Coupon Codes even if you didn’t get it in the mail.  www.Currentcodes.com  has 8 sites to search thru retail stores to find secret deals going on at any given time. Some of these sites for codes don’t have a search within the site, so it’s not as fast as it could be. You end  up doing a lot of scrolling in sections of the alphabet (like S-Z) which is probably what they want you to do since it gives other retail stores some exposure on their site. But I think it’s worth a little scrolling to save money.

And there really are some good deals! Discount Codes don’t just save you pennys or a few dollars, if  that’s what you’re thinking. Today, while searching for seed catalogs, I noticed Sony laptop discounts of $500-$600 OFF some Vios models! No, I didn’t buy a laptop…but, yes, I did find several discount codes for seeds and garden supplies at UltimateCoupons. I got $15 off my order of $50. or more (with free Express Shipping, thank you very much!) from the ParkSeed Co.

You can also find several “Coupon Sites” with printable coupons to bring to stores in your area. www.Retailmenot.com even allows you to share coupons with users on the site, and I’m sure there are others who do the same. Coupons are a big thing these days….they are being used more than ever before. Why pay full price if you don’t have to!!

As some of you know, I tried to do surveys online before and never made anything! On top of that, I think I even paid them to give me surveys to fill out and tell me how to do it. A couple of weeks ago I signed up for Survey Savvy to see what it’s all about and I MADE some MONEY with it! I also referred a friend (you get $$ for doing that also!) and she made money too!

All you do is Join ( it’s free…you pay nothing ), give the info they ask for, and after that they send surveys via e-mail for you to fill out. I filled out 3 surveys…one paid $3.00, another paid $5.00, and the other was $4.00 and $1.00 for referring a friend…a total of $13.00. If I added all the time it took for all three, I would say it was just a little over two hours. Not bad for working from home… in fact I think it’s great ! (but they don’t come in all at once..you have to wait for the e-mails.)

I also just got a survey e-mail from Vindale Research. I did what they said, and I will be getting a check from them.  $5 for using the Accellerated Training Tutorial and $2.00 for filling out the Profile. So there’s $7 before you even start the surveys with them. It says I have $7.00 in my account and that I can have them send me a check now or save it up as I do surveys. I will keep you posted if I don’t get the money from that one.

I hope this works out for everyone else who tries it! Happy Surveying!!

NOTE:  You can join Survey Savvy right here on Momscashblog by scrolling down in the ad section to the right of this post.

In my earlier years I had a few jobs in data entry type work just to get thru school. After that, I didn’t have to worry about technical stuff because I wasn’t in that field. As the years went on, I became spoiled with “Tech Help” wherever I was employed, and even at our own business, the accountant and other employees used the computers… the only tech skills I needed was using e-mail and cruising the net to order merchandise from wholesalers and keeping up with trends. I didn’t even have to think about how things worked, I just expected them to work.

Since I bought MomsCashBlog, I’m learning new tech things every day… and it’s fun, but frustrating at times. One of my good friends is a neurologist and she says it’s great for the brain too, so that’s an added bonus. The more “new” things you learn, the more cells light up in your brain. But there’s a down side to being too technical…… studies have shown that people who use only the technical parts of their brains can be lacking in creative thinking and social skills (and we all know  if you don’t have social skills, you’re screwed!!) lol

So, if you’ve always relied on your secretary, or the college interns at your work to come running the minute you need them, maybe it’s time to try it yourself. I know how easy it is to just step aside and let them load that software, fix that spreadsheet, or even change the ink jets in the printer, but if you continue down that path, you become a tech-dummy. I can tell you from experience, there will come a time when you’ll wish you had paid attention and tried to become more proactive in the tech process at the office.

Challenge yourself every day! Try something new with your computer, or online. Instead of reaching for the phone to have someone help you……take a deep breath and try it yourself. You will feel good knowing  that you’re using both sides of your brain.

On the other hand, if you’ve been immersing yourself too deeply into the world of all things technical you should try something artistic for a change. It is that side of the brain that provides us with great ideas or enables us to solve problems without even trying. Einstein called them “Eureka” moments….and he had plenty of them because he used both sides of his brain at the same time.

P.S. I meant to send a shout out to Geo at www.tipsformommies.com and www.mommieshome.net. Happy Mother’s Day !!

 It’s Mothers Day so it’s a good time to talk about Moms getting wired to the internet. Maybe we can get some stay at home mom’s to start a blog! Mommy bloggers use blogs to make money from home, connect with extended family and friends, sell their products or services, or share mothering experiences with others. For a great mom site that’s very popular and known for it’s honest yet witty charm, check out www.dooce.com . She’s a mom who gets millions of hits a week ( and lots of money too!! ) by blogging out stories of her day to day life. Only thing is, she became so popular online that now her day to day life consists of interviews on network television! Bet she never saw that coming when she started her site…so you never know!!

 Another big  movement started and driven by moms is…..blogging with a cause. One mom, who I’m sure you will soon see online is using Moms Cash Blog’s Free Blog Tutorial to put her ” cause site” up as a forum to help siblings of autistics. (btw, she gave me permission to mention her upcoming site in this post because she feels strongly about this cause and wants to get the word out!! You go girl!) Like me, she has never been accused of being a “computer geek” so she was very relieved to find MCB’s easy tutorial for blogs.

 Go to www.mothersdaycentral.com to check out the 100 top Mom Blogs. All you need is a voice and some space on the web to use it. Then come to Mom’s Cash Blog and use our Free Blog Tutorial and before you know it, you’re connected to the world!

 Happy Mother’s Day to all of you out there….keep up the good work.

 It’s hard to believe I’ve only had this blog for a week…it sure feels like a month has gone by! Since this is a Learning Blog, I am going to reveal some mistakes and problems I have encountered, just to give you an idea of how it’s been going for me…I am hoping it will be helpful for those of you who are THINKING of starting a blog, but feel intimidated by the whole process, just as I did before I started.

 The mistakes I have made, mostly pertain to the posts, so you all got to see them! Lucky me! Like the first post that was all in bold ( I did that on purpose by the way! Not, and I obviously didn’t proof it very well.)When I woke up the next day I opened my laptop to look at my site and said “who wrote that?” (and I swear I wasn’t drinking!) When I saw the “read more” line at the end, I clutched my heart and said….”Oh no! There’s more?”( I still couldn’t believe it was ME!) but I took a deep breath and bravely read on. It was pretty painful to see all of those glaring misspellings, typos, redundant words, bad grammar, and rambling on and on. I remember one of my sisters telling me on the phone to write my post in a document draft, print it out and read it, make corrections and read it again and repeat. She worked in publishing for 21 years, but I didn’t listen to her cuz I know how to write and proofing is easy! Right? Why I can do that with my eyes shut..( and it sure does look like my eyes were shut.)

 Ok,this time I took my sister’s advice and made a Word Document and proofed it several times ( but don’t expect all of my post to be perfect..they won’t be!) I DID NOT type directly into WordPress as I did with the first post. But when I cut and pasted it into WordPress I must have knocked out a command so it came out very small (I’m told that was because you have to type directly into WordPress or it will come out with a 8pt). So I went in to edit, then it came out big and green…”the Big Green Monster”…each time I edited and fixed one thing…I made a new problem, so I didn’t dare touch it anymore. At the next meeting with Krysti, she said she was impressed that I could make it green since “green” was not programmed into the format! Upon investigation she found it was green because it was a LINK! So that whole green article was one big link! And I got some compliments who would have thought?

 All in all it has been pretty easy ! When I look back at my progress, I realize most of my mistakes were with proofing or the lack there of. I was soooo worried about the technical stuff that I took for granted the other parts. Remember folks, when I say I am not a techie it’s an understatement! I have never been in any other programs before WordPress. My experience on personal computers is about 5years of surfing on the web, buying on the web, and using my Outlook Express Email system so just the thought of using a program called WordPress was intimidating to say the least. In only 1 week, I feel pretty comfortable with WordPress…(but how this post comes out we will soon see.)

 WordPress is a publishing platform that is used on MCB. My predecessor says she would never use anything else and others I’ve talked to who use it , seem to share that opinion. And from my experience, I find it easier to navigate and understand  as time goes by. Just don’t hit any buttons that you don’t know about at first ( a word to the wise or not so wise). If you use MCB’s Free Blog Tutorial, WordPress is part of the Tutorial package to set you up with a new blog. The tutorial is VERY well set up and easy to understand… and as you can tell, I get intimidated by ANYTHING technical. One of my sisters will be starting her own blog soon using MCB’s Tutorial, so we’ll see what she has to say about it.

 For those of you who have established blogs, I hope you will be around to rescue me and others who are learning, or just curious about the process when we need help with technical stuff ( and I WILL need it believe me….(LOL) It takes a village, and I am lucky to have” inherited” such experienced readers along with Moms Cash Blog. You’re all a great bunch of people, and it’s good to know I have a back-up team of seasoned bloggers who will lend me, and other beginners, a hand when we need it. So I encourage any beginners to feel free to ask questions in the comment area and I know someone will help you!

 One week down!!!! Many more to go!!!!

For those of you who are good at giving instructions, e-How is having a contest. e-How is a free social community site where “the people”, both professionals and non-professions, provide the content with “How-to” articles on everything you can imagine and always shows up in one of the top spots on a Google search. If you join the e-how Writer Compensation Program, it pays on a per article basis and on the amount of times the article gets viewed and rated. (But it’s a slow process.. so realize that without this contest, for most people, money will not be rolling in with e-How!) There is no limit to how many articles each author can submit to e-How and remember, with “How-to’s” the sky’s the limit on subject matter! If you can think it, chances are someone else needs to know how to do it… so get thinking!
The Contest–Started April 30, 2008 and continues until June 30, 2008. Write an article (or several if you got it in you, cuz “the more the merrier” and the better your chances!) During this period, each time e-How selects an article that you have written, you will receive $10, so it’s not going to break the bank, but it can be a fun way to get published online and the more articles you write the more money you can make. You can also spice it up by adding photos or video to your article which, of course, always makes a “How-to” easier to understand and follow if there are step-by-step instructions with photos.
This contest has potential to bring in a little extra cash, but more importantly, I think it’s a great way for anyone to get their feet wet with web publishing and may even inspire some to really find their niche. After all, the quickest path to success is to know what you are good at and then share that information and knowledge with others, so this can be good practice. Good luck, and have fun if you try this! Please drop a comment if you are aware of any other on-line contests or promotions that MCB should know about. Thanks!  JJ

JJ

I am so sorry to keep everyone waiting. I have read some of the comments and thanks for all them, I will try to answer some of them. Thanks neeshy.com for your comment “jj is a new blogger and things are probably a little hecitc for her.” New, hectic Hell I’m shaking in my boots. I only hope I can get through these next few days. Kyrsti has been training me and I do mean training I need everything she has inside that pretty little head of hers. She is one smart and savvy woman, but she had faith that I could do this so I have made my mind up that I will do it and hopefully do it well. I know I will have a few stumbles along the way but can only hope that you will all stick with me and help me out. I do want this MOMSCASHBLOG to be an interactive vehicle where we will help each other in our quest to make money blogging online. Earlier today I had a post all written and looked it over several times and thought it was good and ready to go out into the WorldWideWeb (that’s a scary thought) I hit the button Publish and it is not anywhere to be found. So much for the WWW, tonight when I get my tutoring from Krysti I hope she doesn’t give me a bad grade. I take notes but somewhere along the line I messed up, when I find out what I did wrong I will share with all of you. Hopefully you will also share your “first times” on blogging, publishing, or any of your other first. I had plans for my first post to tell you how I first began back in
December looking for a way to make money online. I had put in several searches and came up with many different ways to make money at home online by filling out surveys. I started to sign up for the surveys and would sit at the computer minutes upon minutes checking off the apporiate boxes. Then it would turn into hours and when one page had been checked off you hit next and then another page, there seemed to be no end. It was like a black hole-next-next well when I finally finished a couple of those surveys, I will tell you I have never received any money from any of the survey companies. I am sure a lot of you have gone down that survey road with little or no results. Let us all know about your experiences with surveys or any other money making scams on-line. You will see to the right that MCB has an ad for SURVEY SAVVY now this is one that I will be filling out and working on. I feel anything that Krysti has endorsed is worth all of us signing up for it. Even if it is only $20. here and there that will help all of us out one way or another. With the economy the way it is, gas prices and the rise in certain food product then we can all use any money that we can make. I just have issues with making $2.00 or .50 cents on filing out surveys for hours at a time. But let me explain that I never made any money from any of the surveys that I did fill out. As Krysti explained in her webcam I am new to the blogging world and I have so far made a grand total of 11cents. That’s it, honestly why would one kid about something so important as their income. lol I promise to tell you all the very interesting stories of how I made that 11cents on-line. I want to make mcb an interactive vehicle where we can all share our flips

or flops from online experiences. I just filled out the SURVEY SAVVY form tonight and it was very easy. I also saw that Krysti had made about $300.00 from filling out surveys and that was for a month! So I guess we had all better get right onto that and fill out the form for SURVEY SAVVY. As I had said I trust anything that Krysti endorses and this is definitly one of those endorsements. I also wanted to bring to your or anyones attention that if you click on the free tutorial above you will find an informative and an easy to follow guide on how to set up your own blog online. Blogging is a new way to make money online, I guess it’s not all that new but to some of us especially myself it is something I came upon in the last few months. If you click on the above tutorial on how to set up a blog then click onto Mr. Lincoln the shiny new penny and use your credit card or your debit card to pay your one cent you will get a host for only a penny after you enter the info.,codes ect. You are now on your way to starting your own blog and hopefully make money online. So please feel free to drop by and leave your comments or any suggestions that you would like to see on the new mcb. I am hoping that we will make this a community of bloggers who will help each other with the money, technical, content, and artistic ways of putting a great blog out to the world. Don’t forget to tune in again to hear about my very interesting story of how I made “now hang on don’t get too excited” a whopping big 11cents!!!!!! Yes you heard me right…don’t hate me for making money.

See ya,

JJ

Everyday, I get asked if a blog can really make someone enough money to work from home and earn a full or part time living online. The answer is yes, however it may not come as easy as one might think. There is a lot that goes into blogging, such as motivation, good blog content and a willingness to post new information and content a few times a week. With a blog you are mainly aiming to please. Your blog readers become your income. If you want them to come visit your blog, click on your ads, take your advice and come back fore more…than you had better feed them well.
Meaning, you better have a good blog all in all. I never go back to a blog that doesn’t strike my fancy. I am very particular on which blogs I visit often. They obviously have to be a bout a topic I am interested in…They must have good quality posts with information that is NEW and exciting to read…and last but not least, their blog can’t be a “plain Jane” – meaning it must have some character to it! I hate when I go to a blog that is all one color, no graphics or images of any kind and tons of text, text, text! Now heres the deal, a blog is a representation most likely of the face behind it. That is how I see it. A blogger almost expresses who they are with their theme, designs, colors, content and more…So my blog says a lot about me, obviously ; ) I am outgoing, energetic and fun – and I hope that is what my blog design as a whole gives off to my readers. I want them to know this is a blog full of interaction, randomness and uniqueness. Yet, it is a useful blog with quality money making content that is worthwhile.

Anyways, my point is that a blog can become a part of who you are and when you take the time to make it just that – you will most likely succeed as a true blogger. You have what it takes if your blog lasts longer than 3 months…I like to call those first few months “blogging boot camp” because it can be stressful, and it really isn’t that easy getting readers to come to your blog or find you organically. So, if you make it 90 days… you have a good chance of turning your blog into a full or part time job eventually. I have seen people make their blogs become their jobs within a few months (short period of time) and I have also seen many others wait 1-3 years to get to that point. It is a per-person situation, so who really knows just how long it will take to become a work at home blogger that makes their living online?! If you watch my video blog post above you will hear first hand my blogging experience and how it fell into my lap…and I have also included a motivational video from one of the highest paying bloggers online, known as John Chow. I came across a video on John’s YouTube page that I just had to share because it goes hand in hand with this blog post (thanks John) – and I hope you find it as motivating as I did. He is being interviewed by a local news station, and answers all of the questions that people ask me. “Can you make money online with a blog…If so how much…How long have you been blogging …How can one get started in blogging…and so on…”

I hope you enjoy it and don’t forget to visit JohnChow.Com for great money making info as well : )

If this post has motivated you and now you want to start a blog and earn money from it – use my free money making blog tutorial which you can find by clicking this link here or locating it on the blog homepage. It gives you valuable information and step by step instructions. It’s like having me right there with you! There is also a $1.99 domain name link and and a 1¢ hosting coupon for your pleasure – FREE!

Join these to make money online with your blogs in one way or another…

- Google Adsense

- Pay Per Post

- Bidvertiser

- LinkShare

- Never Blue Ads

- Paypal Tip Jar

- Review Me

- Text Link Ads

NOTE: Video of John Chow Interview is brought to you by YouTube and John’s Page – Direct Link

I plan on devoting a few hours a day to this money making blog, because I want to share all of the ways that I have found to make money online and from home. I will post interviews, reviews and tell you about affiliate programs, ways to make money off of your own blog (there are tons of them) and I will always keep up on anything new that comes out. I will only post information on companies/businesses that have actully sent me a check or who have proved that making money online, really can be free, easy and well ~ fun! I hope to have a full blog in just a few days with links, how-tos and money making companies : ) Don’t miss it!

Launching Moms Cash Blog…

Thank you for coming to see us at “Moms Cash Blog.” My name is Krysti and I am a stay at home mom. I have worked from home for about 4 years now and I have been through it all. Direct selling, sales, data entry, gimmicks, blogs, surveys…etc just to name a few. I will review many of my at  home experiences on this blog and help you find your niche that can help you to quit your job and stay at home. There is A LOT of money to be made, and yes I am proof that you really can make money right in your living room at 2 a.m. Stay tuned, visit us daily and let us know your progress. My goal is to help moms all over to be sucessful at home!

          ~Krysti~

www.MomsCashBlog.com