Of course, until I find a way to definitively achieve financial independence or acquire a method to ensure a guaranteed passive income stream, I will inevitably have to end my extended vacation and return to my full time job sometime in the next few weeks. Thus I’ll be getting back to my regular full time day job as a self employed attorney and part time gig as a blogger very shortly. Blogging has been an interesting part time job for me for the last two years (bringing in a very steady and rather lucrative income stream), however at some point, the inevitable pangs of writer’s block and declined motivation inevitably creep. Thus it was nice to finally get away and get a multiple month breather after all this time. However, now that I’ve taken my sabbatical, spent time with the family, and pursued other extracurricular activities, I’m almost ready to get back on the horse again and retake the reins.

My Current Net Worth and Financial Status Update Compared To Last Month

Reliable Passive Online Income Through Blogging

Despite my multiple month absence from my normal blogging duties, I continue to rake in a steady monthly income via my small network on profitable blogs and affiliate websites. While I used to earn a significant portion of my monthly take via my small legal practice as an attorney, I have been undergoing a winding down process in recent months to slowly transition my way out of the whole trading hours for dollars routine that working as an attorney entailed. While the legal work and training has certainly been interesting at times, my heart has never been all that much into it. Pursing the viability of online businesses and trying to harness all that the Internet can provide has always drawn much more appeal for me. The lure of being able to make money online by blogging from the comforts of one’s home is what got me started in this industry years ago.

As my primary online blogs (most notably, the financial blog you are reading now) have grown to the point where their traffic levels are now inherently stable and the sizable income profits they now earn are now very reliably self sustaining, I am at the process of trying to decide where to go from here – call it a fork in the road if you will. Do I sell off a few major sites for instant income now and turn my entrepreneurial attention elsewhere, or do I put in the additional effort now and continue to grow these sites into something inevitably bigger?

While the nature of blogs and Internet businesses can be fickle at times, I truly believe that the future of media and information lies with the adaptive power of Internet. The web is continuously transforming how old and new information is consumed. While it would certainly be great to possibly sell off my most prized websites in terms of traffic levels and income, I am somewhat cautious about cashing out too soon when I think there is still tremendous upside to be had in the coming years. Of course, anything is possible and these things are just a handful of the issues that I’ll be pondering a lot about in the coming months as I slowly get back to my old blogging routine again.

Continue Investing In A Down Stock Market

Not much further needs to be pointed out about the stock markets beyond the truism that big wealth can be made during the worst of times. Markets have certainly been choppy and volatile recently, but given a sufficiently long period of time, they will almost always recover in spades. Despite having rather significant chunks of money invested into various index funds and individual stocks, I barely glanced at my holdings throughout the month. Perhaps it was because I’ve been traveling overseas, but more likely than not it was because I see my investments as appropriately geared for the long haul and I don’t want to be overly bothered by the emotional highs and lows of short term price swings. “Set it and forget it” is how I’ve been investing these past few months.

If you haven’t already opened up an investment account with a discount broker or opened up a retirement account with a Roth IRA broker, now is as good of a time as any.

My New Home Construction Is Nearly Complete

As long time readers may already know, my new house has been under construction since summer 2009. After months of construction activity and suffering through periodic pauses due to severe winter snow, the home is now nearly complete. With construction now projected to conclude by the end of March 2010 and with my home mortgage application paperwork eagerly waiting on the sidelines, I am preparing to close on the house by the end of March. It’s been an interesting ride in terms of my journey to become a first time homeowner. I went through spats of doubt, indecision, and even exuberance during my home purchasing process, so one can’t say that I didn’t fully think my decision through. I had and still have occasional doubts of the timing of my purchase, particularly in light of the reality that the real estate market is still lingering in the doldrums. However, I have faith that in due time, the home prices and sales numbers will recover, as early indicators do seem to be bearing that out. Particularly in the Washington D.C. suburbs of Maryland and Northern Virginia where I live, the housing market has been remarkably resilient. Living close to the epicenter of the federal government, which powers and maintains such a reliable supply of jobs definitely has its positive secondary benefits in terms of ensuring the need of a continuously growing housing supply.

Source URL: February 2010: Net Worth Report and Making Money By Blogging

Copyright Protected © 2010 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Previously, I shared a little background overview of how I got started as an aspiring full time blogger and pursued my dream of working from home and making money with a blog. For many years, I worked a traditional day job as an attorney, whether it was with the federal government or whether it was in the private sector. A few years ago and rather unexpectedly out of the blue, I stumbled upon the idea of starting up a blog to make some money on the side. The idea was not to replace my seemingly stable and indispensable full time day job as a lawyer, but to supplement my salary with an alternative income stream. Little did I know and much to my subsequent surprise years later, my small network of profitable online weblogs would one day start reaping monthly incomes that greatly exceeded what I could earn as an ambulance chasing attorney. While I continue to balance my part time legal practice profession with my mixture of online businesses and other side ventures to this day, my blogging operations have finally grown to the point where they are now capable of providing me a stable and nearly free source of revenue – offering me a boost in a quality of life I never dreamed possible before.

If it’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that persistent adaptation, continuous self education, a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and the uncanny ability to function with little sleep – are traits that can truly be turned into financial success. Becoming a semi-full time blogger and giving up the tedious commute and traditional desk job – to work from home and earn a stable living is a reachable goal for many. The process is not easy and most of those who attempt to walk down this deceptively daunting and challenging path will undoubtedly fail miserably, but the fiercely determined and highly self motivated few will succeed – I’m living proof of that.

As entire books and trilogies can be easily written on the subject, the following is more of a quick summary for beginners who are interested in getting started with running their own profitable blogs than a comprehensive guide. Here are some of the key pointers that I’ve learned over time as a blogger who now earns in excess of six figures a year. I’m by no means an expert – just a guy who’s witnessed and endured first hand both his personal share of lucky successes and misguided failures when it comes to the subject of blogging online to earn a living.

If You Want To Make Money As A Blogger, Blog About A Subject Other Than Merely How To Make Money Online

This is not a blog about blogging, nor is it a blog about how to make money online per se. While I do occasionally dwell into ways how ordinary consumers can take advantage of arbitrage opportunities such as advantageous 0% balance transfer offers, reward credit card bonuses, and paid online survey offers that compensate participants looking to make some extra cash on the side – the primary focus of this blog has always been first and foremost focused on personal finance and long term financial planning and investing. The emphasis has always been on the nitty gritty elements of saving money, debt reduction, and planning for one’s financial future. One of the most recent endeavors of mine was to start sharing my personal net worth reports and income progressions over time. On this blog, I track and provide my own net worth tables for all to see, not to boast or demonstrate some ego-boosting bravado, but to show readers that I am just a regular guy, trying to work hard and turn my life’s fruits and efforts into a future retirement nest egg. I have had a tremendous number of failures in my life, whether they be personal, relational, or professional – but I have continued to strive for my dreams. That’s one of the essences of blogging – the sharing of personal viewpoints and the trials and tribulations of personal experience.

Those of you who want to quit your full time day jobs and end the seemingly endless cycle of trading hours for dollars, and start blogging online will do well for yourselves by picking a real world topic instead of dwelling in the saturated “make money online” tar pit. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with writing about your passion for blogging and generating income via your efforts on the web if that is your interest and true calling, but the fact of the matter is – it’s not a topical niche that deserves the type of massive attention and copycat imitation that it receives. Like the overrated careers that populate the professional landscape, the “make money online” niche is vastly over saturated, with supply outstripping the demand, and conversion rates (the ability to convert blog traffic into income producing sales) from its natural audience of extraordinarily tech savvy readers – too aggravatingly low. It’s not impossible, but I think you are better off choosing a less tapped into subject matter that’s not so exceedingly rife with scams and get rich quick junk products. Frankly, the same negative sentiment can be said for the technology niche as well, although fortunately for that area of tech based information, the content matter is more broad, more varied, and perhaps sufficiently diverse to accommodate new blogging entrants.

When choosing a subject to blog about – make sure you pursue a subject that is sufficiently broad and dynamic enough where you would be able to sit down and write out 100+ new blog titles on the spot if you had to. The world is currently filled to the brim with a tremendous number of subject matters and questions that still await to be responded to with updated information. Do you enjoy clothing and fashion trends? What about cooking, parenting advice, personal fitness, or outdoor activities like camping or fishing? How about coupons, shopping deals, lifestyle do-it-yourself tips, interior decorating, real estate news, home improvement, or celebrity gossip? Those are all interesting subject matters worth blogging about with plenty of advertisers to tap into for the passionate blogger.

How To Find Advertisers For Your Blog As A Beginner Blogger

Whenever I’m at a family gathering, with friends I haven’t seen for some time, or at some church function, one of the most common questions I get whenever I talk to someone about my online business (once I’ve overcome the blank stares after I tell them my self employment job title), is how I find relevant advertisers for my blog and how I actually get paid for my blogging efforts. Frankly, advertisers are everywhere and you just have to know where to find them. When your blog ultimately hits the big time and starts generating massive traffic, prospective advertisers and curious companies (and even advertising spammers) will naturally start tracking your contact information down. But until then, your best bet is to seek out and partner with the middle man companies out there – the affiliate marketing networks that consolidate and aggregate the various affiliate and lead generation offers out there on the Internet.

Through these affiliate marketing networks, you will be able to locate advertisers from a very wide variety of categories – all willing and able to pay you whenever you refer targeted sales or business to them through your blog or website. Many will allow you to access their affiliate product inventories and compensate you for a variety of sales referrals including – pay per click ads (PPC) which pay a tiny sum of money per text or banner ad click, pay per sign up or action type ads (CPA ads) which pay you a much larger referral cut in the way of commission percentages whenever you refer a prospective customer to them, and pay per impression ads (CPM) which pay a sum for a set number of website viewing impressions. For example, if I wanted to promote Monavie or any number of acai berry juice brands/scams for example (I don’t – but just giving this product as an example), there are plenty of companies out there willing to pay me a set referral commission (hypothetically, say 5-10% or $10.00 per lead) for every new customer I refer. Picking the right mixture of advertisers depends on your blog’s subject matter and your target audience.

Check out the following below recommended and popular affiliate marketing networks and companies for advertisers. Bear in mind, there are also quite a great number of specific advertisers and companies out there who also run affiliate programs, but are only obtainable if you contact them directly, and many frequently won’t deal with you until your blog reaches a certain traffic minimum (on average at least 5,000 unique visitors per month).

List Of The Best Affiliate Marketing Network Companies (Pay Per Click and Pay Per Referral):

Remember to negotiate for the best commission rates and learn to leverage your ever steadily increasing blog traffic to your advantage. Your negotiation clout will slowly increase as your blog traffic increases with time – be patient. Compare affiliate payout rates and offers and go with the best rate provider. All of the following affiliate networks below provide similar banners, ads, and website scripts you’ll need to get started, but each differs in the exclusive offers each carries in its inventory cache of advertisers. Many of the individual offers overlap between multiple affiliate network providers, but each of the following networks offers uniques. Be forewarned, it will likely take many, many, many months of very hard (but frequently fun and interesting) trial and error work before you’ll figure out how to maximize your ad revenue, but if you are persistent and are constantly learning, you’ll figure it out in time. Trying signing up and tinkering with each affiliate provider to get started:

1. Google Adsense: The most well known and best pay per click advertising network is run by Big-G. Google’s highly targeted contextual advertising program is a must have if you are a beginner to blogging. Just run the Adsense script on your blog and ads relevant to your content will automatically be displayed. Pay per click income is great for beginners but its usefulness tapers off in income potential after your site gets bigger.
2. Amazon Associates: With this popular and versatile program, simply link to Amazon.com related products for affiliate income earning potential. Very useful and scalable for even mature sites.
3. Ebay Partner Network: With the eBay affiliate publisher program, you can link to any specific eBay auction or link to an eBay ad based on keywords to get a commission cut of the sales generated.
4. Linkshare: Lots of very nice ad exclusives but less customer support and attention then I’d like. But in general, the exclusive affiliate offers are worth signing up for as you can’t get them anywhere else.
5. Commission Junction: The 800 pound gorilla of pay per action ads. Like them or not, they are the biggest of the advertising networks.
6. Flex Offers: Run by the same guys who run CardOffers.com. A personal favorite of mine as my longtime rep has consistently offered me the best affiliate payout rates. Lots of great exclusive affiliate offers for a diverse selection of categories.
7. CardOffers: A very popular choice for credit card sales and affiliate referrals if you are into the financial niche. The best credit card payout offers have all but dried up recently however. The economy is to blame.
8. NCS Reporting: Owned by Bankrate.com, it’s one of the biggest credit card referrals company. However, payout doesn’t seem as consistently high as CardOffers and account security was a problem for a while (major breach of my account by cunning online thieves).
9. Acclaim Network: Allowed me to run Citibank credit card links as a new start up blog when the other card affiliate companies wouldn’t permit it. Payouts are pretty low though.
10. Commission Soup: Invitation only affiliate company that offers great service and good payouts on most of their affiliate offers.
11. Market Leverage: Great referral program and an up and coming affiliate network company. Market Leverage is big among big name bloggers.
12. PepperJam Network: Another up and coming ad company that’s popular among established bloggers and affiliate promoters.
13. ShareASale: Provides a variety of affiliate companies to pick from.
14. Chitika: Touts quite a number of search targeted ads similar to Google Adsense
15. Google Affiliate Network: Seems like a blatant conflict of interest to me, but Google does offer a few exclusive deals. Not a well developed affiliate network as of yet however.
16. Text Link Ads: Used heavily during its heyday, but has grown somewhat taboo these days as a means to build up page rank based search engine authority, but some sites still use them. I personally don’t, but that’s because my site’s been around for a while now and I don’t need to use such services, which are better suited for beginners perhaps.
17. Azoogle Ads: Affiliate network that allows publishers to buy and sell text links and various ad space.
18. Clickbank: Offers primarily text links, random ads, and e-books of all sorts (big chunk of those offers are targeted at the make money online MMO niche).

How To Start Blogging For Money and Generating Blog Traffic

As there is simply no way I can write down every single advanced blogging technique and trade secret strategy I have about how to make money online and generate money with a blog (there is just too many), I’ll share just the basics as this is a post primarily to serve as a call to action for beginners. Here is how you can get going if you want to start getting serious about blogging as a way to replace your existing full time job and for you to start working for yourself. As entire blogs and books can be devoted to the subject, the following is just a basic primer to help newbies get started on the road to blogging for income. Please don’t fall for those stupid and utterly useless Shortcut To Internet Millions and related eBay type scams that promise lots of money with no effort and no computer know-how. Don’t be misled – you will need to work very hard, for months or years, but making money online with a blog is possible.  The following are the entry level steps I took to get started blogging:

1) Register A Domain Name and Purchase A Monthly Web Hosting Service: I recommend starting out with a free Blogspot.com or Wordpress.com account as a way to get your feet wet into the wonderful world of blogging. However, for long term brand name and website setup purposes, if you plan on making this whole blogging deal into a serious venture, I very strongly recommend registering for a formal domain name and choosing a paid web hosting service sooner than later. After all, doesn’t MoneyBlueBook.com seem much more professional than say – moneybluebook.blogspot.com?

• Get A Domain Name: Go with GoDaddy.com for your domain registration needs if you want to go with the service that most people are using at the moment. GoDaddy is a very popular registrar choice for bloggers just starting out. I personally use Dreamhost.com for my domain name registrations – but that’s only because they’re the company I started out with and I want to stay consistent. Good luck finding a short domain name however – it seems like all of the juicy domain names are all taken, especially the coveted “dot com” ones.
• Get A Reliable Web Hosting Provider: MoneyBlueBook.com is currently hosted on a dedicated LiquidWeb.com server. I pay about $150 a month for excellent and very reliable hosting, but that’s because this blog generates pretty decent traffic. Liquidweb is more expensive than other companies, but I’ve found their service to be extremely reliable with an excellent uptime track record. Most start up blogs can probably run sufficiently on a cheap shared server at least for some time with a hosting company like BlueHost, GoDaddy, or DreamHost for about $10-20 a month. But ultimately though, you get what you pay for. Cheap hosting equals unreliable up time. It’s not a big deal when you’re just starting out, but it’ll kill your business when your sites start generating serious traffic.

2) Install and Learn To Use Wordpress: Wordpress is the best and most reliable blogging platform to date. Some popular blogs out there are still operating off of other blogging programs like Blogger, but most are steadily migrating to Wordpress. Most professional web host providers can help you install this very powerful and versatile free blogging tool for you. It will take time for you to truly master the ins and outs of Wordpress blogging and learn how to fully utilize all of the Wordpress plugins and widgets available, but once you get the hang of the versatile blogging tools at your disposal, you’ll find the free Wordpress software to be quite indispensable.

3) Start Blogging On A Daily Basis and Pace Yourself As A Writer: The key to surviving as a blogger and building a sustainable future as a blogger capable of making a living online through blogging – is to stay consistent and not get overly burned out too soon. At the start, there is a natural euphoria of excitement as you start witnessing the blogging traffic fruits of your efforts, but don’t let the initial excitement force you to over exert yourself. Similarly, during your blogging journey, at some time or another, you are likely going to get stricken with an affliction of what’s popularly known as blogger’s block (aka, writer’s block). But fear not – even seasoned bloggers experience this feeling of laziness and lack of motivation on frequent occasion. Cut back on your blogging activities if you have to but don’t give up.

When you first start out, your readership will be pitifully few, but that’s absolutely normal. Don’t stop writing quality content as that is the only way you will generate readership in the very long run. This feeling of blogging loneliness and frustration caused by lack of traffic may persist for many months, but if you are to succeed, you must give it time. It takes a lot of time to get accepted into the good graces of the search engines and for strangers to organically discover your blog through the series of tubes of cyberspace. From the time I personally started blogging with the intention of ultimately making money online, it took 12 months or so before I finally started to generate a substantial income from my blogging activities. Blogging is easy to get started but difficult to truly master.

4) Learn To Monetize Your Blog Readership and Increase Your Blog Traffic: Blogging should always be a work in progress. You should always be adapting and finding ways to do existing things better. Even after you’ve started to generate traffic and establish a cadre of readers, you should be constantly trying to figure out ways to increase that traffic and tweak the effectiveness of your advertising pitches. Strategic Google Adsense placement, targeted blog titles, and improved search engine optimization updates are ways to boost your income and traffic.

Getting listed in search engine submissions, blog directory listings, exchanging blog rolls, swapping reciprocal text links, participating in blog carnivals via blogcarnival.com, guest posting on other blogs, writing comments in popular online forums, participating in popular and related blogs, article marketing, as well as engaging in social media sites like StumbleUpon, Digg, Facebook, mySpace, and Twitter – are all valid ways to get traffic but you’ll need to experiment with each one to find out what truly works in terms of improved monetization and what methods are just ways to generate exciting blog traffic numbers, but that don’t actually convert into tangible sales. Tip: Social media marketing is vastly overrated for monetization purposes as social media readers are not looking to buy or have their specific questions answered – thus targeted, organic search engine traffic is key. If you want to make money blogging, you had better be praying to the great temple of Google and figuring out what the Google gods want in the way of blog content and optimization.

5) Never Stop Learning, Experimenting, and Examining Your Competitors: You should never be trying to re-invent the wheel. One of the best ways to improve your own blog and blogging approach is to learn from the techniques of others. Take a peek at your competitor’s blog or visit your favorite blogs to see how they monetize and how they structure their blog content for clues as to their success. Don’t worry about feeling like a spy – after all, more likely than not, they are peeking right back at your website as well. That’s what smart businesses do – they examine their surroundings, learn from the best, and constantly improve. After all, if you owned a struggling ice cream shop, wouldn’t you secretly visit competing ice cream stores that are more successful than yours to figure out why and how those shops are able to generate more ice cream sales than yours?

Source URL: How To Make Money Blogging

Copyright Protected © 2009 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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I am a part time (almost full time now) blogger who spends a great number of hours working on the Internet from home every night. For more than a year now, I’ve been quietly earning a sizable and consistent amount of money through blogging and my internet marketing efforts. As a multi-year veteran now to the world of making money online with a blog, I’ve joined a rather unique and eclectic group of young and emerging internet entrepreneurs – individuals who have not only successfully harnessed the power of the Internet to generate real money, but who have managed to turn seemingly unassuming websites into rather lucrative income producing automatons. While the phenomenon of blogging for money on a part time basis is certainly not new, the idea that one can actually become a full time professional blogger (a problogger of sorts) and generate not only a stable, but a sustainable income at a high velocity through mere blogging alone is quite a surprise to many (particularly among my friends and family).

I’m sure many of you are already well aware of a number of fairly successful bloggers and established Internet entrepreneurs like John Chow, ShoeMoney, and Darren Rowse of Problogger fame – online personalities that dominate the so-called “make money online” niche. Most of these semi famous Internet tycoons have been in the news for some time and have had many years to perfect the art of both online and mainstream personality-based sales pitches. Much of their mystique, self perpetuating hype, and authoritative attention stems from the sheer amounts of money they have raked in through their blogging and online entrepreneurial activities, and the continuous reminders of their financial success to their readers in the way of monthly income reports and screen shots of high dollar amount affiliate income checks. However, the ones you usually don’t hear about are those of us like myself who also run pretty successful operations of our own, but who have generally chosen to remain contently semi-anonymous and out of the lime light. While I’ve enjoyed a pretty lucrative career thus far in terms of the income streams that I’ve been able to pull through my collection of websites and online businesses, I made the conscientious decision early on to remain in the online shadows and out of the way in terms of real world publicity and attention. Not vying for the social media spotlight for ego-stroking purposes has allowed me to quietly generate a pretty prolific online business without the complicated hassles of unnecessary attention or even the critical scrutiny that the well known online bloggers at center stage face. Have you heard of the term “Millionaire Next Door” ? Well I’d like to think of myself as the “Blogger Next Door” – one of a growing number of unassuming and self made entrepreneurs who enjoy their relative anonymity and are content to blend in with everyone else in cyberspace while they quietly build their online fortunes.

Working From Home As A Full Time Blogger Is A Difficult, But Emotionally and Financially Rewarding Profession

My goal today is to simply break out of my usual personal finance subject matter for a moment and perhaps share some tidbits to encourage and inspire fledgling writers and aspiring entrepreneurs who have been quietly sitting on the sidelines – individuals who want to believe, but are afraid to take the first baby steps towards the world of self employment and Internet-based incomes. Admittedly, the journey from entry level writer and semi techie egghead, to nearly full time super affiliate power blogger is a very difficult and time consuming process, particularly in the early stages. Despite its rather ephemeral and unestablished nature, the seemingly unrealistic fantasy of being able to work from home and generate a full time income from just blogging alone is very real. While I have yet to make the final leap to full time blogger (I’m still a part time attorney), I am living proof that working from home and working for yourself is entirely and ultimately possible.

I stumbled upon blogging and the whole online business model a few years ago in 2006 quite by accident. One day I was tinkering with my free personal Xanga blogging account (this was back in the old days when Xanga.com was still popular) and I suddenly noticed the banner ads and affiliate links in the website margins for the first time. Examining the html source code, I finally realized and discovered that there was a whole marketing and income producing mechanism underneath it all that was quietly profiting from all of the user generated content that Xanga consumers were creating. From then on I decided to investigate further and figure out how the blog content and advertisement scripts were integrated into a workable business model – and the rest is history. A blog, or a weblog as it is officially called, is nothing more than an online diary of sorts sorted in reverse chronological order according to article post dates. Blogs are uniquely advantageous for monetization purposes because of the regularly updated and archived nature of their content. Simply put, Google, Bing, Yahoo, and all of the other search engines love blogs for both the fresh and timelessly relevant content they churn out, and generally prefer to rank them very highly for organic search engine traffic – which when translated into practical terms, equals dollars and cents for savvy entrepreneurs.

Now that I’ve worked for myself and have finally tasted financial success and professional freedom, no longer will I ever go back to working for someone else. No longer will I ever want to go back to the emotional and professional constraints of working the traditional full time desk job and devoting my efforts towards benefiting someone else’s company or firm.

I attended law school and graduated to eventually work as an attorney (law school is overrated in my opinion). But anyway, in one of the lawyer jobs I held before I pursued my dream of becoming self employed, I used to work for an overbearing and very unprofessional alpha-female attorney. Despite my best professional efforts at the job, I felt absolutely miserable working as an associate attorney at her small solo practitioner law firm – and never felt so unfairly scrutinized, treated so condescendingly, and persistently set up to fail. But because it was her law firm and because she was my boss, and also because I wanted to keep my precious full time job, I humored her belligerency and endured her belittlement and unreasonable demands for weeks and months. Despite my seething frustration, the fact remained that it was her personal law firm and I was merely a replaceable cog in a bigger machine – and thus I swallowed my pride and did as I was told. But eventually I had enough of the disrespect and quit the firm, literally storming out at the end of one working day without looking back – going from having a full time job that paid the bills to immediate unemployment.

Now that I am a semi full time blogger who runs a variety of part time real life business ventures and operates his own part time legal practice on the side, I use tragic memories of my working past to motivate myself. Whether you no longer want to work for anyone else or whether you were forced out of your previous or current job due to the economic recession or as a consequence of layoffs, it’s time to consider chasing the dream of becoming self employed and finally throwing off the shackles and emotional constraints of the traditional “trading hours for dollars” working life. It may be a scary first step to take, but the potential rewards and financial upside are worth it.

How Much Money Do Bloggers Make From Their Blogs? Answer: Depends On Blog Niche, Your Tech Savviness, and Effort That You Put Forth

When I talk about bloggers, I’m not referring to full time freelance bloggers and online newspaper writers who crank out articles for others. Those types of freelance writers who produce text based content for blogs that are owned by other people only generate a few dollars or perhaps just a measly $1.00 to $5.00 per blog post that they write. In this article, when I’m talking about bloggers and webmasters who are able to generate a very good part time income supplement or even a full time living from their blogs, I’m talking about those who own their own blogs and websites – entrepreneurs who serve as both website owner and chief content producer.

So how much income exactly do average bloggers earn from their blogs assuming a reasonable measure of built up success? That’s not an easy question to answer. Because the amount of money that bloggers make from their blogs varies so greatly depending on the type of advertisers that a website can attract, that statistic is highly dependent on the subject matter of the blog. As a general rule of thumb, the most lucrative and financially rewarding websites and blogs tend to be those in the financial niche where credit card issuers, online banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, and mortgage lenders are better equipped in terms of financial capacity to pay a lucratively high price to affiliate publishers for customer and new sales referrals. While not as financially lucrative, other blog content niches such as entertainment, gossip, fashion, clothing apparel, legal services, health care, weight loss, shopping, computers, electronics, and dating are certainly financially worthwhile in their own rights and can be immensely profitable as well. However, successful online entrepreneurs who are able to multi task and pour in significant amounts of time and effort on a consistent basis may be able to target different content niches with a diverse portfolio of actively updated websites. Obviously the greater the content diversity from a variety of different websites with appropriate targeted traffic to match, the greater the pool of prospective advertisers to generate income from. The key is to also truly enjoy what you write about. The blog traffic, blog comments, and relevant advertisers will naturally flow thereafter.

Making a decent full time income online by working as a blogger is very much possible but it does require an enormous amount of time investment and educational self training, especially upfront during the initial stages when the financial rewards are still miniscule or non-existent. Whatever you do, absolutely do not quit your full time day job until your part time blogging efforts start paying off. I started blogging part time while I still had a full time day job – spending my off hours teaching myself the intricacies of blogging, website design, and Wordpress blog optimization tricks. It also took a great deal of time to learn the fundamentals of Adobe Photoshop graphic manipulation and the intricacies of basic Wordpress PHP programming for blog theme tweaking purposes. While the barriers to entry are extremely low for blogging as a profession and almost anyone and his/her grandma can get started at any time without paying a dime, there is no guarantee that the process will be easy (and I can almost assure you that the journey will be difficult and sleep depriving). A five figure income per month is possible if you pick the right niche and work extremely and exceedingly hard, but it’s not the norm. Most of you (more than 95%) will probably fail due to blogger’s block, frustration, and lost of interest – but the ones who can persist will succeed in time. Nothing in life is guaranteed but if you put your mind towards blogging and don’t burn yourself out – $100 a month, $1,000 a month, and perhaps even $10,000 a month of passive income is reasonable with the correct mix of content, the right blog niche, and a lot of search engine traffic generation luck.

Much of the information needed to get you started as a professional blogger can be obtained online for free and there is no real need for you to purchase or spend money on E-books or on the make money online books being sold at bookstores. But if you really want a good primer to get you started, I’d recommend something like Darren Rowse’s book – ProBlogger: Six Figure Income Blogging. Anyone who is a wannabe blogger knows about the original pro blogger himself – and ranked by experience rather than age, he’s the granddaddy of us all. Alternatively you can always just visit your local public library and borrow the books for free. But my advice is to just follow your favorite bloggers online and read through their past blogging post archives to get the information you need. You’ll get more real world practical advice on blog writing techniques, search engine optimization tricks, and website business maintenance pointers from these updated daily blogs than you’ll ever glean from mere stale books alone. The world of blogging for income and the fickle nature of search engine traffic generation techniques are constantly evolving so it’s best to stay updated on the latest news by reading from actively updated blogs and websites than from constantly reviewing some ancient textbook on the subject.

If you want to know exactly how much money I currently generate from my online businesses and from this personal finance blog in particular, unfortunately, I won’t be able to share that information in great detail at this time. If you must know a little bit, I will put this forth – this personal finance blog generates in excess of $100,000 in organic net profits per year, most of it without substantial effort on my part. I do not pay any money for advertising, I absolutely do not sell text links, I don’t do paid reviews, and I don’t engage in any pay per click Google Adword advertising – it’s all organic search engine based. Regarding the specifics of my income breakdown, I wish to stay silent on that for now. Perhaps in the near future I will share more about my online income sources and real life business ventures in greater detail with readers. For the time being, I don’t plan to share any pictures of fancy checks or reveal the specifics of my income sources from my blogging operations – you’ll just have to take my word for it. But it’s perfectly okay if you don’t believe me. Like I mentioned early on, I’m not interested in capturing attention or attracting a loyal zombie following – just hoping to inspire a few people and motivate some of you to a call to action.

Never Stop Learning And Chasing Your Entrepreneurial Dreams

To get the blogging and website business know-how you’ll need to run a successful blog, you’ll need to strive towards constantly educating yourself on all aspects of blogging. The facets are broad as blogging encompasses everything from the fundamentals of writing to grammar, basic web programming, graphic design, salesmanship, multi tasking, negotiation skills, and efficient time management. It will take months, even years before you will become a fully self trained expert on the blogging business. I started the early research and tinkering process in 2006, but didn’t start running my first few successful online blogs and start seriously generating a stable income sufficiently large enough to replace my day job wages until 2008. From the time I truly started writing and promoting this particular financial blog you are reading, I didn’t generate a sustainable full time income until 12 months thereafter. There will be times when you first start out that you will feel like no one is reading your work and that you are writing for yourself, but that’s okay. We’ve all been there before and that’s perfectly normal in the beginning. It’s a lonely process at the start but with time, your efforts will pay off. Meanwhile, to this very day, I still spend hours and hours every day reading blogs about blogging and scouring the web for any new morsels I can uncover about website optimization, how to generate more search engine traffic, and how to capture blogger traffic. As far as I’m concerned I will forever be a work in progress. There is so much to learn and my self driven educational enrichment will never cease so long as I continue to blog for a living and make money online (view my beginner’s primer on how to get started).

Source URL: How I Started Blogging To Make Money Online

Copyright Protected © 2009 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Since I gave my only existing laptop computer away to my younger brother so he could use it for his new graduate school studies, I decided I needed to go out and buy a new one for myself. As I’m actually in the midst of working my way through one of those supposedly free online laptop gift reward offers at the moment, I debated whether to wait around until I received it before heading off on my trip. At the end, I decided I could always sell the free laptop reward on eBay or Craigslist for extra money some other time in the future. So I decided to go ahead and buy a new laptop computer for work travel portability. The following are some of the considerations I went through when choosing a new laptop computer.

What Features Should I Look For In The Perfect Laptop Notebook Computer?

I’m not a tech blogger, nor am I even close to being an expert on how to buy a notebook computer. While I love computers, I really don’t update myself on all the latest news and advancements in technology related products. What I am is just an ordinary consumer who has purchased laptops and computers before as a student and as a working professional, for myself, family, and friends. I know what I like and I know what’s practical for most personal and business applications. I also enjoy visiting retail stores like Best Buy and Circuit City that offer in store display products for consumers to tinker on, tap away furiously, and basically abuse to their heart’s content. It’s one of the many reasons why I like retail brick and mortar electronic stores as opposed to online shopping sometimes. At retail stores, when it comes to products like laptop computers, you have the ability to pick the product up to physically gauge the weight and feel, the ability to feel the sensation of the laptop keyboard spring response as you type, and the first hand ability to visually assess the quality of the merchandise.

As a financial blogger with a legal background, I’m definitely not a savvy expert on computer CPU processor terminology or a know-it-all when it comes to deciding whether one memory component is better than another memory component. But I do know what works for me and what is practical for most laptop consumers in the real world. For my purposes, so long as a laptop computer is form appropriate in terms of weight, size, and aesthetics, and performs with proficient speed, and able to handle appropriate writing and browsing tasks at an affordable cost, I’ll definitely give the laptop model a serious consideration.

Here are some of the most important features to look for in a laptop notebook computer. The items in this little list don’t cover everything, but they are the primary features and components that most ordinary laptop users will want to consider when choosing a new notebook computer. I’m sure some of the so-called laptop hardware experts will be surprised at the features I find important and amused by the ones I deem less worthy of my concern.

1) Glossy Screen or Matte/Anti-Reflective Screen – Other than the keyboard, the screen is probably one, if not the most important feature of a great laptop computer. Personally, I highly prefer the glossy screens over the duller matted ones, despite the fact the great majority of computer users (probably 80% or more) seem to prefer matted displays. While the glossy screens tend to be more reflective of light and has been reported to cause eye strain in some users, I’ve never had any viewing problems or reflective difficulties associated with the glossier displays. I love the glossy screens because the colors are displayed much more brightly and with more richness. Color palettes are not only displayed with greater vibrancy, but the resultant effect is a laptop screen back light that seems stronger than that of the matte.

Matted displays on the other hand, while not reflective of light and supposedly less imposing of a strain on the eyes, display colors and shades that are much more subdued. My old IBM Thinkpad laptop was a matte screen and I always had problems with the display being too dark. Ever since I bought a glossy Sony Xbrite LCD monitor for my desktop computer, I fell in love with the glossies and never plan on going back. Due to my great experience with Sony glossy screens, I almost always recommend their displays over other brands. I’ve owned Dell’s and other brands as well and have found their screen colors to be comparatively duller.

2) Keyboard Size and Responsiveness – As I will primarily be using this new laptop for word processing and blogging related functions, having a stellar keyboard with accurate spring back response will be extremely important. The keyboard is definitely a major make or break issue for me. After visiting all the local Best Buy and Circuit City stores, and having matched the opinions expressed on online review sites like CNET to my actual experience at the retail stores, I’ve narrowed down what I believe to be the top 3 laptop brands that offer the best keyboards – Lenovo (formerly IBM Thinkpad), Dell, and Sony’s Vaio SZ business series. All of the other laptop brands out there like HP, Sony non-SZ series, and even Apple offer sub par keyboard typing experiences in comparison. Of course this is just my personal take and opinion, but I highly prefer laptop keyboards that click crisply as you type with very responsive and clearly defined bounce backs as keys are pressed.

The legendary IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads are above and beyond the very best when it comes to keyboard design and technology. Very few other brands even come close. The only ones that can even compare are the Dell and Sony VAIO SZ series keyboards (the non-SZ series laptops offer keyboard buttons that seem a tad too soft). While some might not like the noticeably louder clicking sounds that emanate from the Sony SZ keys, I actually find the sharper key taps to be very reassuring and responsive as I type.

3) Laptop Machine Weight and Screen Size - Unless you are buying a laptop computer as a desktop replacement computer that will spend the bulk of its time sitting stationary at your home office desk, the laptop’s weight and size will be fairly important factors to consider. In my ideal business oriented laptop, I prefer a light weight machine that doesn’t exceed 5 lbs (4 lbs is highly preferred). Anything higher than 5 lbs is treading into the heavy brick category in my opinion. I’ve lugged around laptops before and have found that after including the additional weight of the electrical power strip, the mouse pad, the mouse, and other external hard drive extras, any laptop that exceeds 5 pounds can quickly weigh down the laptop bag fairly significantly.

Interestingly, the laptop screen size itself is not something I pay too much attention to when it comes to choosing a notebook computer. If you ask me, unless you are buying a desktop replacement, you needn’t pay too much attention to the screen size. Even smaller screen computers generally perform just as well as the larger ones. Usually, it comes down to a trade off between screen size and weight. Having a larger screen size affords more computer desktop space and is certainly nice, but it also means the computer is likely to be substantially heavier. I’ve found that the compact 13 inch screen is perfectly ideal for most ordinary users, including bloggers and writers who don’t really need the extra desktop space for their work. For my purposes, anything larger than a 13 inch screen would probably result in a portable computer that’s significantly heavier than I’d like.

4) Processor and Memory Hardware - I rarely pay attention to the processing speed or memory hardware when choosing a laptop. I’m sure some computer techies would probably be shocked, but I personally view such laptop parts as inherently interchangeable. I’ve rarely had any problems with slow processing speed or issues involving not having enough memory. These days, with the rapid rate at which new developments in computer hardware get released into the marketplace, there isn’t much point in trying to stay on top of the latest technology. Most of the desktop computers and laptops sold out there usually offer the top of the line hardware anyway, or at least close to the top. There’s no real point fussing over one chip over another and it’s unlikely any of us regular consumers would be able to tell a difference based on performance alone anyway. You’re better off hinging your laptop buying decision on components like the keyboard or type of screen offered.

5) Built In Camera and Microphone – While neither are essential components, having a built in camera and internal microphone are handy features to have. Having them already installed into your laptop screen cuts down on the added weight from having to carry around extra accessories. With the growing use of video instant messaging and the use of Voice Over IP services like Skype for audio conferencing purposes, it’s good to have a built in webcam in your notebook computer. It shouldn’t be a make or break issue though, so don’t let it hinder your ultimate buying decision.

6) Extra Features and Gizmos Like Special Video and Sound Cards, and Extra USB Ports – Having extra USB ports is nice because it allows you to hook up multiple components like your mouse, printer, scanner, digital camera, and external hard drives at the same time. While the ideal laptop should have at least 4 USB ports, 2 is often enough for most entry level users.

As for having fancy 3D video cards or premium sound cards, unless you plan to be a heavy gamer or work as a 3D graphics designer, these are luxuries that are nice to have but not really essential in a new laptop computer. My suggestion is to not pay these components too much attention. Focus on the screen type and keyboard instead.

7) Customer Support and Product Reliability – One thing that I’ve learned over the years is that internally, computers are all basically from the same stock. Other than a few proprietary and unique components like computer screens and keyboard design, the internal processor and hardware components are all the same among the different computer brands. Almost all of the manufacturing and assembling processes are outsourced to other companies. For example, would it surprise you to know that Dell and many of the major computer brands out there don’t actually build their own computers? It’s true. What the brands actually offer is customer and technical support for computer repairs and troubleshooting. Manufacturing responsibilities are outsourced to other companies and all their laptop and desktop computer parts are built and assembled by third party manufacturers like Seagate, Panasonic, and Intel. Thus, oftentimes, one of the few distinguishing factors among different computer brands are the differences in customer support warranty packages. Most of my laptop buying and technical support experiences have centered around IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads, Dell laptops, and Sony notebook computers – the vast majority having been generally positive and favorable.

Most computers in the market offer the industry standard warranty of 12 months. When it comes to buying extra laptop warranty coverage, I advise against it – use credit card warranty programs instead. You’re much better off buying the laptop computer with a credit card and extending your original manufacturer’s warranty by a year or more with the special warranty extension perks that many credit card issuers provide for consumers. By extending your laptop warranty to a combined total of 2 years with credit card warranty programs, you’ll get pretty good mileage out of your portable computer. As laptop lifespans are generally 2-3 years and computer prices drop fairly fast, you may be better off buying a new laptop after the end of the 2 year warranty period should it break down after that time. Don’t waste your money on purchasing additional extended warranty add-ons. Many retail store agents push this type of extra service, not because it’s such an invaluable service, but because it’s one of the few things the reps can earn lofty commissions on.

My Decision To Ultimately Buy A Sony VAIO SZ Series Business Laptop

After weeks of tests and comparisons at local area electronic retail stores, I finally settled on buying a brand new black Sony VAIO SZ750 business laptop. The price, while more expensive than that of standard consumer laptops, offered a laptop that was a perfect fit for an aspiring full time blogger on the go like myself. The keyboard typing experience is quite exceptional on the Sony VAIO SZ series and the laptop is very light at 4-5 pounds. The glossy screen display also offers crisp colors and an excellent viewing experience, a trademark of most Sony VAIO computers. I love the black exterior color design, reminiscent of my old IBM Thinkpad during law school. The only thing that would have made the Sony VAIO SZ even better would have been a red pointer device. While most people seem to dislike those handy red pointing devices in favor of the classic laptop touch pad, I actually like the pointing sticks a lot more, probably due to my days as a Thinkpad user. I had considered buying a Lenovo Thinkpad, but the lack of glossy screens in the Lenovo notebook line eventually led me to go with a Sony VAIO. As usual, I paid very little attention to the processor, memory, or even hard drive specifics – making my decision primarily based on keyboard and laptop screen quality comparisons.

Getting Rid Of The Infamous Sony VAIO Computer Bloatware Programs

My only gripe with the Sony VAIO laptop I purchased is the extremely high and ridiculous amount of bloatware that came pre-installed. Bloatware is basically the lingo used to refer to free, but useless software that comes pre-installed on many new computers. Oftentimes third party software developers like AOL, Microsoft, and Norton Anti-Virus pay computer manufacturers like Sony and Dell large sums of money to install their promotional software programs into all new computers sold. Most of the time, the software installed are not even fully functional versions, but rather demo test trial programs designed to compel the user to pay more money to buy the full software at the end of the trial period. The pre-installations essentially bloat your new computer, causing it to unnecessarily devote processing power to handle the excess software load. For those like me who desire a clean desktop and streamlined hard drive installation, getting rid of all the preinstalled software can be a major pain in the you know what. Oftentimes it’s also hard to differentiate the unnecessary bloatware from the essential programs.

Sony is probably the king of bloatware. While they build pretty decent computers, for whatever reason, the company don’t hesitate to sell out their computer consumers to the bloatware developers as they readily stuff their new computers with all sorts of pointless software programs that consumers are unlikely to ever use. The following list are all the pre-installed programs and applications that came with my new Sony VAIO SZ laptop. While the specifics will likely differ among Sony computers, the majority are likely going to be the same. I’ve bolded the ones I’ve kept. The non-bolded ones are the pre-installed software programs I’ve deemed to be bloatware and useless. Please let me know if you disagree with any of my bloatware assessments. I removed the bloatware programs by accessing the uninstall program feature through my desktop’s control panel and individually removing each one. The whole removal process wasted about 1-2 hours of my time. Thanks Sony.

List Of Pre-Installed Software On My Sony VAIO Laptop (The Programs That Are Somewhat Useful and Perhaps Necessary Are Bolded)

• Activation Assistance For the 2007 Microsoft Office Suite
• Adobe Acrobat Professional 8.0
• Adobe Flash Player
• Adobe Reader
• Alps Point-device for Vaio
• AOL Toolbar 4.0
• ArcSoft Magic-i Visual Effects
• Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2007
• Click to Disc
• Click to Disc Editor
• Compatibility Pack for the 2007 Office System
• Corel PaintShop Pro Photo X2
• Crackle Screen Saver 1.0
• DSD Direct
• DSD Direct Player
• DSD Playback Plug In
• HDAudio SoftV92 Data Fax Modem with SmartCP
• Java SE Runtime Environement 6
• LiveUpdate 2.3 (Symantec Coproration)
• Location Free Player
• Microsoft Office Component Files (all)
• Microsoft SQL Server Component Files (all)
• Microsoft Visual C++
• Microsoft Works
• MSXML 4.0 SP2 Files
• MobiTV Icon
• Napster
• Norton 360 (Symantec Corporation)
• NVIDIA Drivers
• OpenMG Limited Patch 4.7
• Protector Suite QL 5.6
• QuickBooks Simple Start 2008
• Roxio Easy Media Creator Home
• Setting Utility Series
• SigmaTel Audio
• SmartWi Connection Utility
  
• SonicStage
• SonicStage Mastering Studio and Filters
• Sony Snymsico for Vista
• Sony Video Shared Library
• Spy Sweeper
• SupportSoft Assisted Service
• VAIO Camera Capture Utility
  
• VAIO Center Access Bar
• VAIO Content Folder Bar
• VAIO Content Folder Setting
• VAIO Content Metadata (all)
• VAIO Control Center
• VAIO DVD Menu Data Basic
  
• VAIO Entertainment Center
  
• VAIO Entertainment Platform
• VAIO Event Service
• VAIO Help and Support
• VAIO Media (all files)
• VAIO Movie Story
• VAIO Movie Story Template Data
• VAIO Music Box
• VAIO Music Box Sample Music
• VAIO OOBE and Welcome Center
• VAIO Original Function Setting
• VAIO PC Wireless LAN Wizard
• VAIO Power Management
• VAIO Productivity Center
• VAIO Security Center
• VAIO Service Utility
• VAIO Startup Assistant
• VAIO Status Monitor
  
• VAIO Survey
• VAIO Update 3
• VAIO Wallpaper Contents (not needed but nice to have some different wallpaper options)
• WIDCOMM Bluetooth Software
• Windows Driver Package Intent Corporation
• WinDVD for VAIO

Source URL: Buying A New Laptop Computer And Getting Rid Of Sony VAIO Bloatware

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Fortunately, a blog can still stay alive and remain healthy even without fresh updates for very long periods of time (weeks to months). One very unique aspect about blogs not found in most other industries is the ability to harness residual Internet traffic for long term growth despite lack of immediate content production. Oftentimes, it’s past blog posts that rank highly in Google keyword searches, which do the most to help sustain a blog’s successful traffic levels, and not posting frequency per se. Posting frequency is actually quite overrated, especially for mature sites that have at least a solid year’s worth of quality posts. Of course, in a perfect blogging world, the more posts that a site can accrue and index, the better, but offering a new post everyday is not necessarily a deal breaker. So long as the motivation to keep a blog alive is still there, a blog can still thrive, grow, become widely read, and become financially successful with proper monetization.

Even Formerly Consistent Bloggers Ultimately Get Bitten By Writer’s Block At Some Point Or Another

It’s been a year since I first started blogging for fun and transitioning my little hobby into a decent part time side job. I’ve had numerous ups and downs in terms of motivation and focus over the past few months – most of which I assumed I had permanently overcome. Much of the initial frustrations with running a fledgling personal finance blog happened early on when search traffic was non existent and lack of advertising success led me to question whether I could turn my hobby into a sustainable source of quasi-passive income. However, after 9 months in, the worries and gripes associated with the initial lack of blogging success faded away when my blogging efforts finally started to pay off and my efforts to convert organic search traffic into tangible pay per click and affiliate advertising income started to bear fruit en masse. Monetary success and upward trends in terms of website traffic have a way of greatly lifting one’s blogging spirits and sparking confidence to become more self motivated.

However, despite the steady traffic growth and monetization successes of my original personal finance blog and the newer health and fitness blog, persistent blogger’s block finally bit me again. For the last few weeks, I’ve struggled to motivate myself to update my blog posting and to adopt more sustainable entrepreneurial work habits. At first I tried cutting down my daily posting schedule to just a few personal finance and frugality articles a week, but ultimately even that proved difficult to sustain. I think after nearly a year of working continuously on my part time blogging business and putting time in at my full time job, I’ve finally burned out, at least for the moment. Thankfully, it’s happening during the annual summer slump, when most blogs and online websites see a noticeable decrease in search and referral traffic due to the cyclical and seasonal nature of Internet use. While certain niches such as college preparation and travel sites tend to enjoy an appreciable surge in traffic during the summer months, the vast majority of sites see a noticeable decline during the months of June, July, and August as prospective readers and viewers choose to spend their free time outdoors at amusement parks and take advantage of summer vacation traveling opportunities, putting off any significant financial moves or planning decisions until the fall.

As luck would have it, my sudden pangs of writer’s block couldn’t have come at a more fortunate time. The summer slump allows me to lesson the strain on my posting routine and take some time off to unwind and get away from the pressures of posting regularly. The urgency of needing to write regularly was starting to become a bit overwhelming. For those who wonder why I even bother stressing about the need to write regularly, or putting self imposed worries on myself, the answer is simple. I treat my network of blogs like a part time project that must be sustained consistently until the day they can completely overtake my full time job and allow me to become independently self employed and fully sustained financially. My dream and goal for myself has always been to become fully self employed, to become independent from the shackles of working for someone else (the Man if you will), and to find true financial freedom from the daily work grind. The fruits of success will be even sweeter when I can permanently escape the hassles and limitations of painfully long daily rush hour commutes and having to deal with high gas prices.

To reach this lofty but reachable goal of making money online through the monetization of my financial and health related blogs, I know I’ll need to get my blogging mojo back, so to speak. Unable to get out of this rut on my own, I’ve decided to take a little blogging break and go on vacation to momentarily escape my full time job and part time work responsibilities. I’m currently traveling overseas and will do so for the next few weeks. I plan to visit my parents and get my mind off the rigors of running a network of monetized blogs. It’s amazing how a little simple change of scenery and work space can refresh one’s motivation and perspective. I think it’s also the same reason why weeks ago I was trying to find public places outside of my home that provided complimentary free WiFi Internet access. It was probably in an attempt to escape the monotony and ho-hum sameness of working from home. Sometimes, a little healthy distraction is all we need to get our business minds back on track.

Source URL: Battling Blogger Burn Out and Lack Of Blog Posting Frequency

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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As a personal finance blogger and a dot com mogul-super affiliate tycoon wannabe (I’m joking), I regularly spend sums of money on domain name registrations, web hosting services, and home office computer supplies. However, the bulk of my tax deductible business expenses consist of expenditures for online advertising through top search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN. While compared to the big boys (and girls) my advertising budget is comparatively puny, I still seek to maximize my money however I can, whether that means utilizing free promotional coupons for extra savings and free online advertising, or taking advantage of credit card offers to earn cashback rebates on Google Adword purchases.

Online Advertising Through Pay Per Click Works, But It Can Get Expensive Depending On Subject Niche

Those who are familiar with online advertising know that there are a variety of ways and methods to get your website brand or blog name into the search engines and thus into the public eye for maximum traffic. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that all of the methods are created equal. Currently the most popular search engine with the most capability to leverage the most search traffic by far is run by Google. But while the Google Adword program’s certainly the most dominant player in the online marketing world, there are also other lesser options worth mentioning – most notably Yahoo Search Marketing and Microsoft’s MSN AdCenter. Neither Yahoo Search nor MSN AdCenter are likely to topple the 800 pound gorilla of Google Adwords anytime soon, but the smaller search sites still own a small, albeit dwindling piece of the search engine pie.

For those who spend money on internet advertising through Google, Yahoo, or MSN, probably the bulk is spent on paid text link advertising or pay per click (PPC) promotional campaigns. Both paid text links and PPC advertising are used by many bloggers and website promoters to generate traffic needed to convert organic search traffic into profitable affiliate sales. Personally, I highly advise against engaging in buying or selling paid text links, and refuse to engage in paid text link buying or selling myself. The frowned upon practice is a form of marketing suicide in my opinion, and is the number one way to incur the wrath of Google, which sees the buying and selling of paid backlinks as a form of guerrilla attack on the integrity of the Google search engine algorithm.

In contrast, pay per click advertising and the purchasing of approved advertisement links through Google, Yahoo, or MSN’s network of publisher banners and ads are proven and permitted ways to drive website traffic. However, as anyone who engages in pay per click advertising or other affiliate marketing means through Google Adsense or Yahoo Ads knows, the cost to promote a successful PPC ad campaign isn’t cheap. While newbies to internet advertising are unlikely to spend much money initially (a few hundred dollars a month at most), larger scale promoters frequently spend upwards of hundreds to thousands, or even hundred thousands, of dollars on monthly pay per click advertising alone.

Use Credit Card Rewards To Save Money On Online Business and Advertising Expenses (Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, MSN AdCenter)

Smart business types should always try to find ways to minimize business expenses and utilize as many discounts and promotional offers as possible to net the greatest overall profit. One of the best ways for bloggers and affiliate marketers to save money in this area is to maximize and strategize their use of credit cards rewards. Presuming you are savvy and responsible with your usage of credit, and maintain a respectable FICO credit score to boot, reward credit cards are essential ways for online entrepreneurs and advertisers to maximize their small business spending. Surprised that there are credit card reward programs dedicated and suited for web based businesses and online marketers? Don’t be! While Yahoo and Google credit card advertising rewards are not as well known as say, credit card discount programs for groceries and gas, the area is a steadily growing (albeit not fully tapped) segment of the credit card rewards market. Currently, most of the best cash back credit card rewards for bloggers, webmasters, and internet marketers are not widely advertised, and to get the details requires some digging, which I’ve done below.

For the tax minded business folks who wonder if there is an income tax on credit card rewards or aren’t sure whether one is obligated to report all cash back rewards and point rebates earned through the use of credit cards, rest assured – there is no such tax. Credit card rewards earned by consumers and businesses are viewed as purchase incentives by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the nature of discounts and coupons, not subject to personal income tax liability. So don’t miss out on the cash back savings and discount potential of specialized credit card incentive programs designed to help you finance and pay for your online advertising and promotional efforts.

1) Google Adword and Adsense Pay Per Click Advertising – Get Up To 5% Cash Back With Reward Credit Cards

Until the day Google announces the release of its long awaited Google credit card and starts up its own Google credit card rewards program, the following card offers are your best bet when it comes to earning cashback for money spent on Google advertising. Personally, I can’t wait for Google to come out with its own Google credit card and would be the first to camp out in line for something like that – I’m quite the Google fan. Just the thought of earning Google rebate rewards on a percentage of all Adwords expenditures and the ability to redeem points for either cash or Google branded products like T shirts, mouse pads, and even portable Google fridges would be quite lovely. I used to carry around a Yahoo credit card back when Yahoo offered its own card program. When they eventually discontinued the Yahoo credit card rewards program, I was sad to see it go. It was pretty neat being able to redeem points for cool Yahoo T-shirts and other merchandise – techie stuff you couldn’t get anywhere else.

In the meantime, for those of you who spend a lot of money or even just a little bit on Google Adwords and Google Adsense advertising, here are the best credit cards cards to help you save money and get cash back rewards on your PPC advertising efforts. The rewards you earn can be used for whatever you wish, including plowing them back into more PPC marketing. While Google does not currently have any special deals with any particular credit card issuer to offer Google discounts, there are a few specially suited cards for such purposes.

1. Advanta Platinum BusinessCard For Online Marketers – Also known as the Advanta Platinum Business Card With Customized Cash Back Options, this card offers cardholders the ability to earn as high as 5% cash back on all online marketing expenditures. It’s probably the best overall reward credit card for new bloggers and affiliate marketers who are just getting into the PPC advertising scene. The expenditures that are covered include Google Adwords, Yahoo, MSN Search, and eBay fees. The Advanta rewards program also covers office expenses as well. The high 5% rebate rate is only provided for the first $1,500 of qualified expenditures, and after that it’s a tiered 1% cashback on everything spent.
2. Advanta Kiva Business Card – With the Kiva business credit card offer, online marketers get to earn up to 5% cashback on money spent on online advertising services like Google Adwords or Yahoo Search. There are no restrictions as to which affiliate or ad network must be used. The card also earns up to 5% cashback for business office related expenses like gas, computers, utilities, and even charitable contributions. There is also a nice 0% balance transfer offer for 15 months.
3. American Express Plum Card – With the highly advertised Plum Card from American Express Open (the Plum card yogurt commercial is everywhere on TV these days), you get an astounding 2% cashback rewards on everything purchased with the card if you pay within 10 days of your billing cycle. The catch is you’ll need to spend above $5,000 a month with your Plum credit card. Anything less and you’ll only earn 1% cashback. Of course, the card was designed for big time spenders and small businesses with high expenses. If you spend a lot of money on Google Adwords or other forms of advertising, you may want to think about the Amex Plum card. There is a hefty $185 annual fee that’s waived for the first year, but it’s easily worth it if your business spends a lot of money on online advertising or other business expenses.
4. Fidelity Rewards Signature Card – While the card requires a Fidelity Investment broker account to maximize rewards earning potential, if you’ve got one or are willing to sign up for one, you can earn 1.5% cash back on all your online advertising efforts. Actually, coupled with a Fidelity account, the card allows you to earn an effective 1.5% cashback on all products and services you purchase with the card, with no category or store limitation. Most comparable card programs only offer 1% back for general purchases so if you are a major spender, this is an ideal and recommended card to get. The Fidelity Signature is one of the reward cards I use on a regular basis.
5. Chase Business Cash Rewards Card – With the Chase Business Cash Rewards offer, online entrepreneurs and small business owners can earn up to a tiered 5% cashback on all purchases with no merchant or category restrictions. Your rewards earning potential is unlimited and there is no restriction as to how much you can earn. Your cash back percentage rate rises and falls depending on how much you spend per month. For online marketers who expect to spend more than $2,000 a month on Google Adwords (that’s when the high 5% kicks in), this is a nice card to have.

2) Yahoo Search Marketing – Get 5% or More CashBack Savings Using American Express Business Credit Cards

Currently, savvy online entrepreneurs have the ability to take advantage of American Express’ Open Network Business credit cards to net themselves more than 5% cash back rewards when they spend money on Yahoo Search Marketing services. Through a special partnership between Amex and Yahoo announced not too long ago, American Express business credit card users will now get to enjoy a 5% discount on all their Yahoo based advertising and web promotional expenditures simply by using their Amex business cards. This not only includes pay per click advertising using Yahoo’s Search Marketing, but also includes Yahoo publisher services ranging from web site hosting, e-commerce, to domain name registration.

While Yahoo is not the most popular or even a serious contender in second place, its PPC advertising fees are substantially lower than that charged by more popular services like Google Adwords where greater bidding competition among advertisers drives up promotion costs – making Yahoo a cheaper, but still viable alternative. Besides, it’s good to diversify one’s advertisement methods. One can even take credit card rewards one step further. Currently, there are certain select Amex business cards that offer even more lucrative rebate rewards on top of the existing 5% discount for Yahoo services. All of the following American Express Open business credit card offers below offer additional cumulative rewards on top of the 5% discount on Yahoo Search Marketing:

1. Blue Cash For Business Amex Card – With this high earning business credit card offer, you have the potential to earn up to a tiered 5% cash back rebate on eligible special category purchases. For everything else, including PPC advertising expenses, you get a tiered 2.5% cash back rewards rate. The special purchase categories include gas stations, drug stores, and supermarkets. In addition, Amex business cardholders also get to enjoy the usual Amex Open network savings on free hotel stays, car rentals, and airline travel.
2. American Express Business Gold Rewards – This popular premium small business card with no preset spending limit can help you save up to 25% off your business expenses. There is an unlimited rewards earning potential on purchases and your Membership Rewards never expire.
3. American Express Platinum Business Card – This business card from Amex is a popular choice to earn purchase rebates redeemable for retail, entertainment, and dining rewards. There is no annual fee and there is no limit to the number of points you can earn.
4. American Express Simply Cash For Business – You can use the card to earn 5% cashback on wireless services and home office supplies (like laptops and office gadgets). You also get 3% cashback on gas and 1% for everything else. There is no annual fee and no rewards limit.

3) MSN AdCenter – Get 3% Cash Back Rewards By Using Mastercard Business Credit Cards

Currently, Microsoft’s MSN AdCenter has a partnership with Mastercard’s network of business credit cards to offer MSN AdCenter advertisers 3% cash back rewards on money spent. While American Express is the card of choice for most business owners, the MasterCard partnership with MSN AdCenter makes Mastercard sort of a must have for heavy or even mild users of MSN’s advertising network.

To be eligible for the 3% cash back savings, Mastercard business credit card holders need to register and enroll their cards into the Master Card Easy Savings Network. While fairly straightforward, you can review the MasterCard Easy Savings FAQ if you need more info about the program. Keep in mind, along with the 3% rewards you can earn on all MSN AdCenter expenditures, you still get to earn the usual credit card rewards (if offered) on top of that. This has the potential to effectively boost your total reward earning percentage way past 3%. Here’s a list of the best Mastercard business credit cards for MSN Ad Center affiliate marketers and pay per click advertisers:

1. Advanta Platinum Business Customized Rewards Mastercard – This business credit card option by Mastercard is your best bet when it comes to maximizing your MSN AdCenter savings and online advertising spending in general. Along with the ability to earn 3% reward savings on all MSN AdCenter expenditures, you also get to earn an extra 5% cash back rate (with purchase limits) on top of the 3% for money spent on fees with online advertisers and merchant sites like Google Adwords, Yahoo, and even eBay. You also get cashback rewards for money spent on utilities and telecommunications, not to mention additional business savings for computer electronics and related office supplies as well.
2. Chase Business Rebate Mastercard – Earn up to 3% cash back on office supplies, restaurant dining, gas, hardware, and home improvement expenditures. Currently there is also a long 15 month 0% APR balance transfer promotional period as well.

Source URL: The Best Credit Card Rewards For Google Ads and Search Advertising

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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For the last few days I’ve been a pretty sad fellow. Not only did I feel isolated and cut off from the real world without convenient home access to the Internet, I haven’t been able to properly update my personal finance blog, nor have I been able to check my email messages, or tend to the operations of any of my online passive income businesses. On a normal weekday I usually receive close to 50 emails a day from a variety of personal and business related sources. By the time my Internet service was finally restored, I was greatly backlogged and had major catching up to do.

I Never Realized How Much I Relied and Depended On Having Home Based Internet Access, Until It Was Suddenly Taken Away From Me

I used to feel this way about TV, but I now have a new love – my computer (and the Internet service it provides me). When my precious Internet is gone, I feel crippled. This is not the first time I’ve experienced an Internet outage due to loss of power, but it’s the first time I realized how much I depended on my broadband Internet service at home. In the past, whenever my cable Internet service was knocked out, I’d simply access my backup laptop’s wireless signal manager and search for one of my random neighbor’s unsecured wireless signal to piggy back off of. Oftentimes I would get lucky and find one subscribed to a different broadband Internet provider that still had active service. While the majority of the stray wireless signals were properly password protected, a few were left publicly accessible. However, as the importance of securing one’s wireless router from unwanted intrusion has picked up steam, I find that most signals today are properly secured and inaccessible to strangers like myself. Particularly in a condo complex such as mine that’s populated by mostly tech savvy young adults and families, finding an unsecured wireless signal to temporarily piggy back off of is proving more difficult nowadays.

Since I’ve been working from home for the last few months, I’m not able to access the web through an alternate location such as an office workspace. So for the last few days during the outage, I visited my local library to get my Internet fix and to keep tabs on my email messages the best I could. Due to usage limits of an hour per day on the computers at my public county library, I wasn’t able to fully respond to all messages during each sitting and frequently had to do the bare minimum when it came to managing my online finances and keeping track of all my wheelings and dealings. Since I’ve adopted the practice of going all electronic and paperless and have converted all my paper bills into e-billing and automatic debit payments, not having immediate home based access to the Internet puts me in an incredibly inconvenient position. It’s a hopeless and powerless feeling when you’re unable to properly manage and access important aspects of one’s personal and financial life in real time. Especially since I am currently managing a major balance transfer credit card arbitrage, not having online account access makes it difficult for me to keep tabs on monthly due dates and stay on top of my minimum payments. If I’m not careful with online due dates, I could easily unintentionally commit a tragic balance transfer mistake and ultimately face terrible repercussions. It’s been so long since I’ve performed paper or phone banking that I’m not even sure how it’s done anymore exactly or where to locate my backup paperwork. I’m simply so used to doing everything online these days.

We’ve Become An Extremely Technology and Internet Dependent Generation

The no-Internet experience left me amazed and somewhat alarmed at how much my life has grown so reliant on the availability of the Internet. While it’s only a single form of technology, it’s a mode of communication and source of information that I’ve become extremely dependent upon. It’s interesting how only about a decade ago, no one had even heard of Google, Yahoo, Mapquest, or CNN.com. Back in the Internet-less caveman days of the early 90’s, we relied on non electronic forms of communication and information gathering. Before the Internet, people relied on daily newspaper deliveries for their written news, people purchased hard compact discs for their music, paper maps were used to plot directions, and people actually obtained background information on a variety of common topics by turning to hardcover encyclopedias.

Today, people rely on CNN.com, NYTimes.com, Yahoo news, and even online blogs to get their daily news. People order songs individually from online vendors like iTunes. People use online websites like Mapquest or Google maps, or utilize handheld GPS devices to easily and automatically get directions to where they want to go. Nowadays, the old volumes of encyclopedias have become extinct as all forms of text and multimedia data have been compiled and stored onto easy to carry around storage disks, or have been uploaded onto online information repositories like Wikipedia. As a testament to its breadth, the Internet is even changing the way we order pizzas now. Today, the trend of ordering freshly made pizzas online in real time through vendors such as Papa John’s is growing rapidly. The Internet has essentially phased out the clutter generated by paper documents, menus, and voluminous booklets.

The Internet Is Replacing The Cell Phone and Cable TV As The Technology We Can Least Afford To Do Without

But with this great reliance comes the dangers as evidenced by how out of place I became as soon as this important technology was taken away from me. Today, with the Internet having enveloped and dominated our day to day lives, and high speed cable and DSL broadband having greatly expanded the media content we can now receive, we can barely function now without this important service. I know I can’t.

Without full Internet access for the last week or so, I became handicapped and only partially functional. In fact, I dare to say that not having access to the Internet was astronomically worse than not having my mobile phone or even not having a fully functional cable TV service. Both cellular phone and television service can be easily replaced and compensated by the power of the web. There are easy ways to make local, national, and even international phone calls for free using a computer and the Internet, and I can easily communicate with my friends and family through instant messaging or via social networks such as Facebook or Myspace. There are also plenty of free online shared videos on YouTube and daily updated news videos on the major news network websites that can replace the lack of TV service. But there is simply no duplicate or substitute for a non working Internet.

The Internet is so pervasive, it’s hard to know what life would be like if it ever disappeared. It’s a wonderful and powerful tool that has changed the way we interact, communicate, and live our lives, but at the same time it makes us very technologically dependent and vulnerable. We are more susceptible to critical financial and societal collapses from computer viral outbreaks or electrical infrastructure disruptions than ever before. Some say it has made us as a society more distant and anonymous to each other, but I disagree. I think it’s greatly improved our lives and has allowed us to reach out and touch others in a way not possible before. We can only hope that technology can continue to defy the elements of mother nature (thunderstorms) and adequately keep up with this never ending appetite for electronic convenience and digital information. Such electrical and service outages as I experienced this week mustn’t happen again. I just can’t bear to be without Internet access for too long. Things just don’t seem to run right or smoothly when I am offline for extended periods of time.

Source URL: Internet Service Is More Important To Me Than Phone or Cable TV

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Spammers and Scammers Are Relentless And They Can Afford To Be – Sending E-Mail Lures With Scam Bait Doesn’t Cost A Thing

Starting very recently, I’ve been receiving nearly 20-30 spam related messages everyday. I have no idea how they are effectively evading my spam filters, but they are. These spam messages are driving me absolutely crazy and are irritating to say the least. But one can’t help but find some amusement from the content of these desperate messages. These spam letters that flood the web are mostly from the poor African country of Nigeria – sent by notorious computer users who run well documented Nigerian 419 scam operations. You know when you receive one of these classic Nigerian 419 spam letters as they are pretty recognizable. Usually the Nigerians use very flowery, British style English comprised of exaggerated legalese-type terminology to make the content appear more legitimate. However, oftentimes their lame use of the English language borders on comical and their complete lack of understanding regarding American and western male and female names makes me chuckle. For some reason they have a habit of using the funniest and oddest fake first and last names – using common first names as last names, and improperly matching up male and female names – like Peter John, Mark Donna, or Smith Karen for example – frequently it’s pretty obvious they’re fake names as the names simply sound unnatural. But then again, these Nigerians and African spammers are not incredibly bright. They may be criminally and diabolically clever, but they are not exactly all that well educated or worldly. They resort more to the law of probability and the long held truism that “a sucker’s born every minute”. By casting a very wide net, even their ill conceived attempts may net at least one or two potential biting fish in the long haul.

It’s not just the crazy Nigerians either, spammers and scammers live in other countries as well – all beyond the reasonable reach of established arms of law and justice. Most of them approach the spam and scam business utilizing the same typical shot gun approach. Since the Internet affords the ability to send out many messages at relatively little to no cost, they are able to send out massive amounts of spam emails to potential victims with one click of the mouse or a single tap of the keyboard. Perhaps 75% of their spam messages will be screened out by domain or email spam filters, and perhaps another 90% of those that don’t get filtered out are ultimately deleted by the recipients immediately. However, a small percentage will still get through and a small percentage will be read, and an even smaller percentage will ultimately fall for the scam bait. While the chances of an unwitting recipient acting acting upon the message and replying back to the Nigerian scammer are slim, some people still do.

Frankly, these scammers from Nigeria, Eastern Europe, and South East Asia have nothing to lose – the scams are usually quite profitable for them. Take the Nigerians for example – they live in a wasteland of a country – with a corrupt government, lax law enforcement, high unemployment, with little semblance of an economy. Any amount of money they can siphon from American citizens or that of other western countries is worth the effort and time. To them, there is simply very little risk involved since their government and police enforcement officials either turn a blind eye to their antics, don’t care, or are simply too financially overwhelmed to take on the challenge of cracking down on computer crimes.

Although I may have some sympathy for the poor economic lives the scammers must live in their native countries, their criminal attempts at trickery often leave me coldly and sarcastically insensitive. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t amuse myself with their lame shenanigans. That’s why I sometimes enjoy reading spam emails – they’re funny. They really amuse me – like something from the funny pages. Today I received an email from poor “Madam Ruth Moses” who addressed me as “dearly beloved in Christ”, stating that she was “suffering from a cancerous ailment” and that she was “married to Engineer Gilbert Moses an Englishman who is dead”. Apparently they lived a life of charity of helping the “down trodden and the less-privileged individuals”. Evidently she now has $4.4 million US dollars in some African bank due to a large financial payout stemming from her husband’s untimely death in a car accident that she is unable to retrieve, and is willing to give me a 25% cut if I assist by providing her a “small process charge” to help facilitate the release. Oh how generous and noble of Mrs. Moses – especially since she enjoys citing biblical passages in her message to me, for as she puts it “The Almighty will fight my case and I shall hold my peace.” Comical, yet pretty pathetic. If I ever had the chance to meet any of these spammers, I’d laugh at their face for 15 minute straight.

I Am Now Very Distrustful and Extremely Paranoid About Doing Business Or Any Online Communication With Residents From Proven Scam and Spam Prevalent Countries

Unfortunately, what scammers with their spam emails have done is made me very distrustful of anyone from traditional scam haven countries. The list of countries mainly stem from poor, and legally and socially undeveloped countries like Nigeria, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Indonesia, but it also covers countries like Russia as well. Many of these third world countries either have corrupt governments or are constantly experiencing tribal warfare and upheaval that prevent stable law and judicial enforcement to flourish. But as of now, I would never do any online business with people who live in those countries at the present time. I’ve already been tricked once and after my one time experience of getting scammed during my post college years, I’ve learned my lesson. It may not be politically correct, but I think it’s a smart business move to refrain from doing any online or Internet transactions with anyone from these countries – the financial risks are simply too high. My purpose for rejecting individuals from these countries is not to stir up racial, ethnic, or even social controversy, but simply to protect my own financial interests, so please don’t take offense. I would gladly do business with them and so would millions of American merchants on eBay, Craigslist, and other online stores if only fraud wasn’t such a huge and rampant problem in those parts of the world.

I run a few small online eBay and weblog businesses (take a look at my ebay business guide), and these days the quickest way to turn me off and cause me to reject your business proposition right off the bat is to say you’re from Africa – it frankly doesn’t matter which country in Africa. I have yet to meet a single African country (aside from South Africa, although that’s debatable as well) that I trust to do business with. The rampant scams and spams that originate from that continent have turned me into a hyper-vigilant person. Most African countries simply have undeveloped legal systems that prevent merchants or publishers like myself from being able to bring legal action to effectuate contractual disputes. That is why the U.S. is such a great country. Despite our over-lawyered and lawsuit-happy society, we have a perfected legal system that ensures legal disputes have a forum to be heard and resolved. Scammers and spammers have a much more difficult time operating their illegal craft here in this country. A few foreign rotten apples have really ruined the whole international tree and apple pile, but online entrepreneurs like myself have to do to what it takes to protect ourselves and our interests. It may seem racist and prejudicial to rule out a whole segment of the world’s population, but it’s not – it’s just smart business.

Despite eBay’s attempts to provide it’s buyers and sellers with more purchase and selling protection, many if not most major eBay Power Sellers now refuse to ship to certain dangerous countries, such as Nigeria or Indonesia. A sizable number of merchants have even ruled out shipping to any foreign destination due to the prevalence of scammers living overseas where they are shielded from prosecution. It’s terrible what these online and Internet scammers have done to the whole industry. These days as I browse through business propositions and offers I receive over email on a regular basis, even African sounding surnames, African cities (like Lagos, scam capital of Nigeria), African banks, and anything to do with Africa trigger glaring red flags when I evaluate Internet commerce deals. So if your online business is based in Africa, I’m sorry, but I don’t want to do business with you at this time. Perhaps someday when your government stabilizes and sets up a legal system that will protect and ensure my legal and contractual interests I will consider it. But until then, too bad so sad. If you are a legitimate African, East European, or South East Asian business, don’t be offended if established western and far east Asian businesses demand strenuous proof of identity and extra evidence of trustworthiness before doing business with you.

All About The Nigerian 419 Advance Fee Fraud – Also Known As The Check Cashing Scam (For Those Not Familiar With What They Are)

The classic Nigerian 419 scam has been around for a long time but scam success didn’t fully take off until the advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web. The country of Nigeria has all the essential ingredients that has enabled it to become the worldwide hub of Internet and computer crimes. The country is not only dirt poor, but unemployment is incredibly high, and the government is hopelessly corrupt and incompetent. The country also happens to be an English speaking nation – making it all the more easier for select scammers to communicate with their primarily English speaking victims all over the world. The 419 numeric designation refers to the Nigerian Criminal Code that covers the crime of fraudulently obtaining property through false pretenses. Unfortunately the 419 criminal code is a mockery of the Nigerian legal and criminal enforcement system as the laws in that country are frequently ignored and flaunted, thereby allowing scammers and spammers to run rampant with little fear of accountability. The Nigerian 419 scams have recently developed into a world wide epidemic of Internet fraud crimes that have branched and spun off into other criminal areas such as: charity scams, romance scams, lottery scams, and even threats of violence and extortion scams.

In its most common form, the Nigerian 419 fraud is also known as the Nigerian advance fee scam. The process works by its ability to successfully build trust and emotional confidence with the alleged victim over time, and ultimately persuade him or her to provide confidential financial information or to send sums of money for the possibility of a much larger gain in return. The scam appeals to human greed and the fallible desire to inherently trust others. Through easy and unregulated access to Internet cafe computers and connections, Nigerian scammers have been able to harvest e-mail addresses and contact information to use in their elaborate scams. With potential victim contact information in hand, they usually submit massive amounts of electronic letters to recipients though deceptive means such as spoofed email letters, and cleverly disguised and graphically adorned emails that hide their malicious intent and true source. Oftentimes they’ll write and pretend to be a wealthy heiress or someone who is terminally ill and dying from a disease like cancer, and plead with the recipient for an amount of money in exchange for the promise that they will pay back the amount plus more. Oftentimes they will cleverly claim that they have access to or are in control of a vast financial fortune to which they would be willing to offer the recipient a huge portion as a reward if he or she would provide some upfront money first.

These scam letters are frequently very, very elaborate, as they often disguise the email meta headers to make them seem like they came from legitimate sources such as governmental agencies (like the classic IRS email scam letter for example). Sometimes the headers aren’t even disguised all that well, but the messages still contain content indicative of a mass spam campaign to artificially inflate the stock price of a particular financial investment (penny stock scam spam). Oftentimes they’ll make references to real life current events such as tragic disasters or make reference to official business developments such as laying claim to being connected with some wealthy foreign business developer in the news. Oftentimes they utilize fake phone numbers that can’t be tracked down. One common ploy of the advance fee scam is to send the recipient a fraudulent Western Union or fake personal check for a very large amount of money, and write to the recipient to apologize for the excess amount that was sent and ask for a portion back in supposed good faith. The recipient, thinking he or she will get to keep a large portion for their services, deposits the fake check and cuts out a legitimate sum of money that he or she then sends to the scammers. In time, the check will undoubtedly bounce, forcing the recipient to swallow his or her losses with the bank – an unfortunate result that still happens despite attempts to thoroughly educate the public on the prevalence of Internet scams and how they work.

Source URL: Nigerian 419 Scams and Spam Emails Are Funny But They Make Me Paranoid

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Over the last few years, I’ve learned to incorporate blogging and online websites such as my personal finance and frugality blog and a few other attorney based blogs (I prefer not to reveal them here) into my tentative business goal of one day truly working for myself and ending the cycle of exchanging hours for money. While my online sites are certainly growing rapidly and exceeding my own expectations, since none of my non-traditional income streams have yet to fully develop and mature, I still have to rely on traditional employment means to support myself. Thus as much as I’d like to, I still cannot abandon my day job entirely. However, that doesn’t mean I must walk the age-old career oriented path that most people resort to following. With my college and law school degree already in hand, rather than working the law firm path, I’ve chosen to tap into my entrepreneurial spirit and work temporary positions to fund the growth of my home based businesses.

Unless Your Day Time Job Is Working As A Full Time Computer Guy Or Computer Gal, Finding Extra Time To Work On Your Online Side Ventures Is Difficult

While some personal finance and online commentators seem able to juggle their personal full time jobs with their blogging business duties, I’ve found that certain jobs are particularly difficult to juggle, particularly if you are walking the career oriented path. In my case, working as a full time practicing attorney would leave little time left for business blogging projects on the side. The hourly and work pressures (of office hours and take home assignments) would simply be too demanding. It’s certainly not a coincidence that the vast majority of online bloggers, and particularly personal finance bloggers tend to be predominantly computer network administrators, software engineers, or computer programmers – individuals with continuous access to computers and ample blogging time throughout the day while on the job. Unfortunately, most employees of other professions don’t have this same flexibility and luxury of ready-access to the computer that the computer techies have. That’s why for those individuals working in the legal, education, or even health care field, working full time jobs on a contractual, short term basis may be the only manageable way to generate livable income, but still have the vacant time to develop a side business that stands a chance to grow into a viable income replacement project one day.

Working A Temp Job Makes Devoting Time To Developing Home Based Businesses Possible

Since working as a full time temp worker in the contract attorney field, I’ve noticed that the working lifestyle, the flexible hours, and the non-stressful schedule of the temping profession absolutely compliments and suits individuals like me who want the ample time after work to devote to side projects. The fact of the matter is that blogging and working as a contract employee on a temporary, non permanent basis actually go quite well together. Trying to build several online and real life businesses takes substantial amounts of extra curricular time – the type of extra time outside of one’s job that those not in the computer field are usually unable to set aside. At the same time, it is not that I want to end up temping for the rest of my life, but I see it as a currently necessary and convenient way to support myself temporarily while building up the core of my side businesses while I am still relatively young in the grand scheme of things.

For those looking to build passive income streams through creating an online website business or running a self employment operation, you may want to give short term and long term temping some serious consideration. I know many would argue that that there is no future in performing temporary work, but personally, I see the same bleakness in permanent jobs that purport to offer job stability, and professional growth prospects. I have seen too many of my friends and acquaintances get badly burned in their professional careers and family life due to complete and over-reliance on their employer’s good graces and whims.

Plus, with self employment and having your own home business, there are a wealth of self employment tax deductions and tax deferred investment options at your disposal – not available to full time employees working for someone else. A few of them include the option to deduct the home office part of your home rental used in the regular course of your trade or business, as well as the ability to capitalize and reduce your taxable income of the portion pertaining to business assets, such as the cost of a business laptop notebook computer. I will discuss the wide variety of self employment tax deductions and financial benefits in a future post.

Source URL: Blogging And Working As A Temporary Contract Employee Go Well Together

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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So how did I end up doing this type of work instead of using my law degree to pursue a so-called real legal career? Sometimes I ponder about what my dream job might have been had I not gone to law school, since it wasn’t my passion in life to begin with. My decision to attend graduate school was more due to process of elimination. I started out college on the pre-med track to become a doctor, did well in my studies, got bored with chemistry and biology, and eventually shifted gears into computer science. I loved taking programming theory and practice courses and did very well, but after a few semesters, I decided that I couldn’t see myself stuck as a computer programming nerd – so I moved on (how ironic, now that I’ve come full circle again). So then I decided to go the business route and major in finance. After a few more semesters during which I did pretty well, I pondered what else was out there. However, by then I had enough college credits to graduate and my parents were beginning to wave the tuition baton, “encouraging” me to move onto bigger and better things. After looking around, I decided I wasn’t ready to financially support myself just yet. So I took the LSAT exam and sent in my application to a few top tier law schools. Before I knew it, I was attending the state law school and working my way through civil procedure, contracts, and criminal law classes.

Going The Law School Route – But Still Not Sure Where I Wanted To Go Professionally

One thing that I noticed during law school was how incredibly math-adverse law students are. I suppose that’s why they all chose to attend law school to begin with – to avoid having to deal with mathematics or anything related to numbers. However, it just so happened most of my law school friends were of the opposite persuasion – they were mostly into tax law, a legal field riddled with numbers and statistics. I wasn’t particularly fond of all the math involved, but I went with the herd and ended up taking most of the tax law courses available – everything from individual tax planning and corporate tax, to the most difficult law school course I ever took – partnership tax.

After law school I worked for a trial judge and later when on to work for the federal government as an associate attorney for a year or two. After another very short stint working for a crazy female cougar attorney (I’ll share that story one day, as it was a very eye opening experience, but for all the wrong reasons), I ended up choosing to work for myself. After starting up a few profitable blogs such as the personal finance blog you are reading right now and another law related one, I now work as a contract attorney on the side when I’m not working from home. I receive most of my contract attorney assignments from staffing agencies that place me on legal projects that last anywhere from a few weeks to several months. The job description usually entails very simple duties such as legal document review and mindless legal tag coding. Many dread performing contract lawyer work, but the work provides very lucrative pay without the heavy responsibilities (I often refer to it as my “stripper pay”). It’s perfect for my lifestyle at the moment since I don’t want my full time job to hinder the time and effort I devote to my personal small business operations.

The great thing about contract attorney work is that it is extremely stress-free and unlike a traditional lawyer job, my responsibilities and duties end at the end of the day. I never have to run into the office after work or cut a weekend short to file a legal brief or prepare a memo. However there are long term drawbacks to this line of short term work. The biggest downside is that the work is only temporary and isn’t career track oriented. With temping, while meals and transportation are frequently reimbursed, you usually don’t receive any health benefits or job security. But then again, in this day and age as well as economy, do any of us truly have solid job security anymore, or even guaranteed health benefits? The other downside with legal temping is the lack of professional development. However, I simply cannot see myself pursuing the traditional attorney path anyway. Lawyers notoriously burn out fast and work tremendous hours that ultimately take a terrible toll on their health, family wellbeing, and lifespan. Plus, legal employment prospects for attorneys isn’t what it used to be as the market has become extremely saturated. Almost anyone with half a functioning brain can go to law school these days as there are no significant barriers to entry or pre-requisites that need to be overcome to apply. Especially in a major city like Washington DC, you can’t walk in any direction without bumping into a lawyer. It’s utter and complete saturation.

Looking To the Future – Sacrificing Some Income Now To Build Up My Online Blog Businesses and Incubate My Other Real World Ventures

Thus, I’ve come to realize that the key to building wealth and reaching financial prosperity is to build up multiple streams of alternative and passive income, apart from your primary full time employment. Otherwise, you simply run the risk of living your entire life trading hours for dollars. Passive income generation through methods such as blog income or stock market investing help to get around the finite time problem by allowing you to generate income even when you are not actively sitting and working at your office desk.

However, I don’t regret going to law school at all. I was prudent to have attended a state school with relatively lower in-state tuition, and I was very fortunate to have been able to consolidate my student loans at a very low fixed interest rate. My college loans are all paid up and my graduate school loan payments are thankfully quite manageable. Other than tuition issues, law school prepared me for the future by teaching me how to more aggressively and confidently combat conflicts in the legal and business world. Overall my finance, tax, and legal background has helped me to better improve my personal finance blogging tasks, as well as enhance my non traditional legal pursuits. I knew after law school that I didn’t want to pursue the traditional law firm job path since I had a passion for entrepreneurship and running my own business. When I discovered how to make money blogging and developed the ability to tap into the limitless potential of online business income, I knew I had found my calling. It’s a key component part of my solution to end the 9-5 workweek cycle, and the reason why I’m currently sitting at home right now tinkering on the computer instead of collecting a steady paycheck at a stressful full time lawyer position or even at a contract attorney gig.

For now, I plan to only take a short time off to work on my ventures full time as I currently am not yet able to live off of my online income alone. Perhaps that day will someday come, but for now, I plan to return to my legal contracting job after a month or two off. Obviously I don’t see contract attorney work as the future for me since the profession is inherently unstable, unpredictable, and projects do tend to dry up during recessions and slow economic periods. I merely see it as a necessary means to an end for now. Meanwhile, I also realize that by taking a few months off I am forfeiting a substantial amount of contract attorney pay to spend time building my passive income businesses, but I think in the long run and even in a few years from now, the short term financial sacrifice will pay off. The amount of money I am losing by not working full time is quite substantial however. Contract attorneys in my area get top wage rates of $35 an hour with time and a half of $52.50 per overtime hour worked past 40 hours. My contract projects usually require that I bill around 50 or so hours, which comes to a weekly income of $1925.00. I’ve worked at least one extremely time demanding project before in the recent past, during which I worked and billed 96 hours a week for a span of one month. The work was a simple breeze, but the hours were brutal. Of course during that time, I earned $4,340.00 per week before tax. I guess it speaks highly of how much potential I see in online and passive income businesses that I would forsake that wage income now.

Source URL: Working At Home To Build Passive Blog Income And Giving Up Full Time Job Pay

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Blogging Is Hard Work But Rewarding

When I first started out this blogging adventure, I was inspired by those who wanted to make money by blogging. I planned to treat it like a true part time job, and dedicate sufficient time to keep it running smoothly by posting new entries everyday. Some online writers post every few days, but I was determined to make it a daily goal.

Blogging has truly been a labor of love since I’ve come to discover that writing on a regular basis can be quite time consuming with little immediate financial rewards. It’s true what those in the industry say – to run a successful blog site, you have to be truly passionate about the subject matter you write about. If you are not truly inspired or have a genuine desire to explore the subject matter to its full potential, it will be very difficult to sustain your efforts long term. Thankfully, lack of passion or interest has not been my problem. But life likes to throw little monkey wrenches at my plans sometimes. I’ve tried my best to write diligently and keep my personal life events separate from the continuation of my pet projects, but occasionally they will bump into each other. When that happens, it’s inevitable that I might need to take a momentary breather, to step away from blogging for a day or two before returning to start anew.

It’s All Too Easy To Develop Procrastinating Blogging Habits

Unlike working at a regular full time job, blogging on the side requires a good sense of self motivation. Since all of the content writing and operations are performed online, there is not the same strict requirement to make a daily appearance as would be required at a regular full time job. Since I write on my blogs part time, it is very easy to get sidetracked by home and work events. Unlike a regular brick and mortar business where there is an actual physical store front, I have no customers or visitors that walk up to my store daily to demand service – so I have to depend on self motivation.

Although the online world is not physical and it’s easy to brush it aside as not real, it is still largely a social network based on maintaining good long term relationships. Like any budding business, if you don’t attend to it properly, it will sputter out of gas and fail in the long term.

Blogging can be extra difficult, particularly if you blog about a subject or topic that requires extensive research first. I have two types of posts. One type is substantive and the other is primarily opinion based. The substantive post requires significantly more time since I have to research and organize statistics to support my claim. For example if I’m talking about credit cards or a particular investment, I have to research the terms carefully to make sure my numbers are correct. But on the flip side, opinion based posts are relatively easy and quick to crank out since they are based entirely on my own opinions and views. I am essentially writing from memory and typing extemporaneously. To strike a good balance between content and efficiency, I usually incorporate both substantive and opinion type writing into my everyday posts. This helps to make the time consumption less draining.

Although I was strapped for time and wasn’t able to sit down at my PC for the last few days, things have calmed down again. Trying to blog daily and do it part time can be like working a burdensome second job, but overall it’s been quite an enjoyable hobby. I really like the social interaction and information exchange I get out of it. So it’s back to writing I go!

Source URL: Personal Finance Blogging Is A Time Consuming But Rewarding Part Time Job

Copyright Protected © 2007 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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I Like Having Access to My Numbers At All Times

Seriously, it doesn’t matter where I am – I could be sitting at my desk at work or relaxing in front of the television set at home, but at some point, I’m going to want to take a look at my numbers. I use the term numbers loosely, but it’s an all encompassing term to include everything related to statistics – from my blog’s Sitemeter traffic counter to my investment brokerage account’s numerical fluctuations. I don’t want to say I’m addicted to statistical trends, but I get a lot of personal satisfaction out of it. It’s hard to point my finger on exactly what is it that I find so fascinating about statistics, but I’ve found that many personal finance bloggers also seem to share the same type of mathematical obsession.

Statistic Bloggers Like To Have Things Numerically Organized

Having talked to other fellow bloggers and read their articles over the years, I’ve come to realize that many of us are quite similar. We all seem to enjoy watching the numbers go up and down as it gives us a sense of where we stand in the financial world. We like things to be organized in numerical fashion. Many, if not most of us have set personal finance goals that are frequently met when a certain number or percentage is met.

I personally enjoy working with numbers because it’s a form of self assessment and comparison that is not only objective, but can be applied towards different individuals in different life situations. Numbers like salary, wage rate, interest rate, expense ratio, and rate of return are universally applicable and translatable to everyone.

Frugality Bloggers Are a Bit Different

Unlike the number freaks who are usually equally obsessed as I am about hard quantifiable data, some personal finance bloggers write mostly about frugal living and bargain hunting. These writers on a whole tend to stay away from numbers and statistical scrutiny. Frugality bloggers tend to be less interested in statistics and focus more attention on the accomplishment and satisfaction they get from discovering bargains and finding ways to spend their money more wisely and efficiently.

Maybe it’s just me but I’ve noticed that there seems to be more male bloggers who fall into the hard statistics category. There tends to be more more female bloggers who write content that fall into the frugality one. I can’t recall having read an article recently written by a female blogger discussing financial investments that went into a numerical analysis. Anyone else notice this? Perhaps I’m just generalizing too much.

Source URL: Personal Finance Bloggers Are Very Obsessed About Stats and Numbers

Copyright Protected © 2007 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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I have a decent full time job in finance/law and I also write for a few blogs on the side for fun. Although I see blogging as more of a hobby, I think I should start treating it more like mini-business. I could choose to set up the blog business in a variety of ways depending on my choice of business entity. The primary ones are corporations, limited liability companies (LLC), limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages in regards to liability protection and taxation benefits. There are even fancier and longer named options such as limited liability limited partnerships. But since it’s just me for now and I don’t plan on taking on business debt or expanding the business for some time, my current chosen business entity will be that of a sole proprietorship. Besides, right now I don’t feel like having to deal with filing LLC Articles of Organization papers or having to pay pricey incorporation fees.

Sole Proprietorships Are Easy To Create

Legally, any one can start up a sole proprietorship. You could set up a cardboard table and start selling lemonade and that would be considered a sole proprietorship business. There are no fancy or extra paperwork to create the business entity other than compliance with any relevant state and local licensing and taxation requirements. Sole proprietorships are considered flow through entities, which means that all profit and losses will go straight to the owner and all income generated by your sole proprietor business will be considered your own ordinary income. You can still generally deduct business related expenses for tax purposes, but it has the least amount of tax benefits compared to the other entities. But it’s the easiest to create with the least amount of government regulation. Since I’m lazy, I’ll put off considering more complicated business entity choices for now.

Filing a Trade Name, aka Doing-Business-As Certificate

Although I’m sticking with the easy choice for now, someday, the business might grow to the point where I will need to change business entity to take better advantage of tax breaks. So that’s why instead of running this side blog business in my own name I want to operate it under my chosen business name. It’ll be easier to differentiate and separate my personal operations from that of the business in the future.

Filing an application for a trade name in my state of Maryland is easy and is done through the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation. Filing cost is only $25.

Thinking for the future, I could also consider filing for a federal trademark now to protect the mini-company’s brand name, but it’s not really necessary at this time. Filing for a federally registered trademark is expensive and can cost upwards of $300. For now, I’ll just rely on common law protections until the day I decide that I need constructive nationwide notice of my trademark.

Source URL: Blogging As a Business and Registering a Trade Name

Copyright Protected © 2007 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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I apologize for the sluggishness in page load time and the occasional appearance of site error messages for the last few days. I just migrated my web hosting to Dreamhost. I thought this would solve the uptime and speed issues I had with Hostmonster, but it looks like I’m having the same problems with Dreamhost as well. It has been a pretty frustrating week to say the least.

Dreamhost doesn’t offer live chat or telephone troubleshooting so sometimes I have to wait a few hours to a day before they respond to my e-mail support requests. The tech guys at Dreamhost continue to be very professional and courteous, and that’s why I’ve been giving them the benefit of the doubt. But at some point, they have to be able to deliver and fix the problem permanently. I really hope they repair the malfunction soon. The company is very likable, but I can only tolerate so much.

Separating Truth From Fiction

Are there any affordable web hosting services out there with truly reliable service? They all seem to guarantee 99% uptime, but always fail to deliver. It’s so hard to get a genuine, unbiased opinion about which company offers the best service. I suspect many webhosting companies pay people to visit websites and forums anonymously to say favorable things about their company, while badmouthing the competition. It’s hard to filter out the junk to get to the truth sometimes.

Source URL: My Website is Slower Than a Speeding Turtle

Copyright Protected © 2007 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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DreamHost is currently running a great promotion. I don’t get any referral for this, but I must share it because it’s such a great limited time deal. If you sign up with them today and prepay for a year or more of service using the promo code 10ten10diez10dix10dieci10shi (yes, that entire crazy long thing), they will give you a discount of $110.10 off your bill! Only the first 1010 customers can qualify so you might want to get on board while you can.

Source URL: I Hate My Website Host Provider and I’m Switching Soon

Copyright Protected © 2007 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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