Maintenance entails all the stuff that keeps your business humming along as is…customer support, answering emails, paying affiliates, etc. It probably only takes me 5 hours a week to keep things running on maintenance, if that. But in production mode I am BUSY…sometimes like 30-40 hours a week busy. Production mode is what allows me to grow my business. Some of my production mode activities include writing and posting content for blogs (I have over a dozen), static web sites, article directories, info products, special reports, autoresponders (I have over a dozen),  and for sale. I also scour my web sites and blogs for new ways to monetize the content. I spend a lot of time testing and tracking to see what works and what doesn’t and I tweak. I also look for ways to automate processes so my maintenance time is low. I brainstorm new ideas and flesh them out to gauge profitability.

I spend time engaging in various PR or publicity activities but admittedly I am very picky about my opportunities. I have turned down prime time TVs shows, on air broadcast news interviews, and photo shoots because I prefer not to do that. I didn’t start an online biz to be some sort of rock star, I started an online business to make enough money so that eventually my whole family could have financial freedom. My ultimate goal is to make enough money passively to support us spending 6 months a year out of the country…like a beachside rental in Costa Rica.

So for right now that means I spend some hefty hours in production mode. But it is worth it. Last week I bought my husband a motorcycle with cash. He gave up his motorcycle when we moved out of state and has missed it ever since. Tomorrow he goes to pick up his new one. It feels good to be able to do that.

Most days I am in production mode because I do want to see my business continue to grow for some time. I think it will be worth it in the long run even if it is hard right now.

It is actually very easy to do. Just login to your Amazon affiliate control panel, choose the appropriate tracking ID, and then start creating product links. Copy a text only version of the link and where Squidoo directs you to “Enter your poll response options” you enter your Amazon link instead of plain text.

Here is a picture of the process:

And here is a picture of the poll after the page is published and you get some voters. The best part about this trick is that the full affiliate commission goes to me. I don’t share it 50/50 with Squidoo as I would with many other modules.

 In case you were wondering these two images are from different Squidoo Lenses. Hope this helps you boost your Squidoo profit!

Technorati Tags: Squidoo, affiliate links, Amazon, modules, poll

Several moms shared their experiences and most felt that the profits from blogging were pretty dismal….myself included. At that point…let’s say January 2007, I was making about $50.00 a month from my green living blog. I was making about $10.00 a month from Google Adsense ads and the rest from affiliate sales. Despite the lack of money it was drawing I decided to really bust my behind blogging on that particular domain. I concentrated on adding 4-5 pieces of new content every week, monetized with affiliate links. For the most part I did green product reviews and book reviews mixed in with personal stories and newsworthy items. In addition, many of the products I reviewed were sent to me gratis by the companies who sell them. I got yoga mats, organic teas, board games, sippy cups, books, jewelry, DVDs, lotions, soaps, clothing, bedding, towels…you name it! My nearly two year old’s bedroom is decked out with organic everything.

But back to blogging….halfway through the year I added Text Link Ads and sponsored posts from ReviewMe and Sponsored Reviews.  Toward the last part of the year I added more Adsense ads, and I started displaying BlogHer ads. I got smarter about ad placement too. Simply displaying an affiliate banner in my RSS feed brought an immediate profit. I  was having a lot of fun writing for the blog but I was starting to make money too. 

I am being conservative when I say that I made $500.00 for last month (Dec. 07) and that is just the cash part. The holidays brought many free products too, as businesses were hoping for a review or a mention before Christmas. That portion could easily be another couple hundred dollars. So all in all…not bad. From $50 to more than $500 per month in a year from one blog on a sub-domain of one of my larger sites. I no longer think blog profits are dismal. On a related side note my RSS feed subscribers jumped from 46 to 365 during that same time.

I also look forward to seeing how things look next year as my readership and my profits increase. I don’t think I will ever be making the kind of money John Chow’s blog is (think $180,000 annually) but hey I am not complaining.

Technorati Tags: blog, blogging, john chow, darren rowse, money, income, Adsense

I just closed out my books for 2007 and I was dancing on clouds as I did. December 2007 was my best month ever…6 times what I made in December 2006. I was excited to get new affiliate commissions checks in the mail (GreenFeet & BlogHer) and one I don’t get very often (Clickbank). I like getting actual checks in the mail since most of my money comes to me via direct deposit or PayPal….there is just something exciting about it.

2008 looks like it will be an awesome year for business. I don’t really have a whole lot of resolutions for my business other than to keep doing what I am doing! I hope to increase profits from my own products this year, work on my Squidoo lenses a little more, do more article marketing, and get a few new blog channels going on my NatureMoms site. Oh and stop negelecting some of my other blogs…including this one.

Here is an overview of where my earnings came from last month:

Amazon: 25.5% – Woot! Amazon unseated Google!

Google: 24.2%

Advertisements purchased directly on my sites: 18.5%

Misc Affiliate Commissions: 12.5% (lumped into this category are monthly earners like Text Link Ads, AuctionAds, Mom Masterminds, Aweber, the Natural Moms Business Guide, Moms Talk Network, etc. 

My own products: 11.7%

Shareasale – 7.6% (I earn commissions primarily from about 4 different companies that use Sharesale to manage their affiliate program).

Here is to an awesome NEW YEAR!!!!

I used to own a cloth diaper store and manufacturing company. One year I decided to supplement my store income by selling some Halloween theme diapers on eBay. I bought some special fabric with jack-o-lanterns, candy corn, spiders, ghosts, etc. and I got busy sewing diapers. It was really just a test on my part but it was a resounding success in the end.

I started selling the Halloween diapers on eBay in early September. When they started selling immediately I decided to sew up some suedecloth capes to match some of the diapers and some trick or treat bags too. When I sold the diaper, cape, and bag trio it made a complete costume. I sold diapers and extras right up until late October and when I sat down to figure out my profit (minus ebay fees) I had made over $2500 dollars! Halloween was a HOT time of year for eBay!

So how can YOU cash in on Halloween this year? Well, if my tactic is not plausible maybe you could sell costumes. I have the perfect guide book to show you how!

Sherah Taylor is an eBay expert and she just wrote an e-book about selling Halloween costumes for high profits. The book is jammed packed with insider secrets from someone who really knows their stuff.
You see Sherah recently sold a used costume she picked up at a consignment store for $129.45. How much did she pay for it? Only 10! That is over 100 dollars in pure profit!

Take a look at the auction for yourself…

In this book Sherah shares with you over 240 costumes that consistently sell like hotcakes on eBay and all of the best the best ways to give YOUR auction and edge, with awesome photographs, popular keywords, great titles, and memorable descriptions. She has done all the research and testing and now you just get to read her insider tips and make some money. It doesn’t get any easier then that!

Buy Hot Halloween Costumes for High Profits and get started!

Technorati Tags: halloween, costumes, eBay, sales, money, profit