Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

Easy PLR Publisher – I LOVE This Plugin

Monday, September 28th, 2009

You know I’m a big fan of All Private Label Content, a PLR membership site owned by Alice Seba and Mila Sidman.

I’ve been a member for a couple of years now, but this month I’ve got new reason to love my membership: Speedy APLC Publisher.

What is it?

Speedy Publisher is a whiz-bang plug-in for your WordPress blog that allows you to instantly publish your PLR content with just a few clicks of a mouse. It is offered completely free to all monthly members of All Private Label Content.

With the plug-in, you can quickly and easily:

1. Mass upload your PLR content – .txt format – All the ALL PLR articles are in .txt format, but you can also use the plug-in for other PLR content (including Natural Mom PLR, for example!), provided it is in .txt format as well

2. Schedule imported content for publication e.g. Every other day, every 2/3/etc days.

3. Choose categories. Publish all articles in one category of your choice or individually select a category.

4. Even choose the authors. Assign all articles to one author or individually assign articles to author(s) of your choice.

This plug in is already putting some PLR to use that (confession!) would have sat, useless and NOT earning me money, on my desktop for likely several more weeks.

(Note: No sneaky stuff, the plug-in license remains active for as long as you keep your monthly membership active.)

Watch this video to get a sneak peek of of how the Speedy Publisher works, then mosey on over to All Private Label Content to sign up!

<a href="http://www.linkedtube.com/--b1wEX7-Kwd274311d8700bcfa7c17fbd59b0503cf.htm">LinkedTube</a>

Simple Free Beginning Affiliate Marketing Guide

Friday, August 21st, 2009

My friend Nicole Dean (who I recently met in person after several years of online acquaintance) has put together a fabulous and FREE quick guide to getting started with affiliate marketing.

When people ask what I do, and I answer “affiliate marketing”, I either get a glazed look in response, or questions.

What’s that?

Typically people seem curious about the possibility of earning money without having to develop a product of their own.

But how do you get started?

Instead of conducting your own search and getting bogged down in way too much info, start here.

Download Nicole’s simple free guide to beginning affiliate marketing.

Quick Start Affiliate Marketing Guide

(This is a .pdf file. You can click it to open, or right-click to save it to your computer.)

Enjoy!

(And you have my permission to pass this info along to anyone you think may benefit from it.)

Internet Marketing Lifestyle

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

Yesterday I was at Starbucks getting some work done without interruption for a couple of hours while the kids played at my mom’s house.  Of course, I did a little Tweeting from my phone too.

I’ve also been tweeting a bit while watching the lifeguards my kids enjoy their swimming lessons. After what seems like a solid month of rain here in Atlanta (we’re no longer in a drought!), I’m enjoying the summer with my kids and trying to work a little less and enjoy this time.

This morning I got a DM from a Twitter follower, Victor Hernandez. He asked:

victor@vhernandez But also…what is it exactly that u do? Ur & other WAHMs tweets have me intrigued – always home, w/the kids, successful

Unlike most of the people I network with online, Victor is someone that I knew offline. We met around 15 years ago, through mutual friends. I’ve actually gotten to know him a little better now via Facebook and Twitter. It’s quite obvious to me that family and being a great dad are huge priorities to him. He’s just that kind of guy. It makes perfect sense that he would ask me this question.

I thought about responding, but attempting to answer in 140 characters or less seemed a little daunting so I asked him if I could post the answer here.

The Internet Marketing Lifestyle

If you read my blog for any length of time, you know how grateful I am for the lifestyle I have. I don’t make a ton of money, but I have what I consider to be truly important: time freedom. I’m able to raise my kids myself and be the breadwinner for my family – as well as a full time mom.

I started my internet business 6 years ago. I stumbled around, made a lot of mistakes learned a lot of important lessons, then settled into my niche about 3 years ago when I launched my podcast. I listened closely to businesswomen like Alice Seba, Kelly McCausey and Lynn Terry, who had what I wanted: a full time income from their business.

My path was different from that of many “mom bloggers”. In fact it was only recently that I embraced that designation. I consider myself to be more of an “internet marketer” than anything else, although I have in the last year put more focus on my parenting focused blog.

That’s because I came to the internet with the goal of earning money. I didn’t launch a blog over 6 years ago just so I could write.

This is how many mom bloggers get started. They enjoy writing, they need the outlet, the creative expression, the social aspect. I was on the front end of blogging and in fact there weren’t that many of us blogging at all. It was far less social and most of the bloggers were business people who did it for the increased exposure. So, my perspective reflects that.

Not long after I started my first website, I joined Mom Masterminds. I was serious about earning money online and knew that I had better get smart so as not to spin my wheels. I didn’t have time to mess around.

The thing about being a mom who works from home?

You get really good at making your work time count.

Here’s an example.

Last weekend when my kids were with their father, I sat down and in a couple of hours, wrote two weeks worth of blog posts, so I now have three weeks of content scheduled to publish on my other blog even if I don’t touch a keyboard.

When I started my business, I understood the concept of passive income. I’ve made an effort to focus on activities that produce passive income for me. I know the phrase is overused – but you know what I mean. I focus my time on activities that require up front investment of time but that require less maintenance to keep the ball rolling.

This lesson was really underscored for me when I became pregnant with my fourth child and became very ill. Looking at the computer was intolerable so I did little or nothing to build my business for almost three months. (According to my midwife, a pregnant woman’s eyes are more sensitive to the flickering lights of the screen, so it made sense.)

And yet during that time period, my income remained constant. Many people don’t have the luxury of building their business slowly, they need “right now” money. When I started, my family needed my income but I wasn’t the sole provider.

Now as a divorced woman, I’m exceedingly blessed to not have to get a full time job outside the home to support my kids! I am deeply grateful for that.

Now to answer the question of “What do I do?”. I usually tell people “I’m a writer”, because saying I’m an affiliate marketer, information product creator, podcaster, and blogger is too confusing. ;)

What I Do:

  • – Create information products (digital products like ebooks, instruction videos, etc) for sale
  • – Partner with other people in joint ventures (increased exposure for a share of profits)
  • – Smart networking with like-minded people in my niche
  • – Build my email lists so I can market to people again and again
  • – Create affiliate websites (which promote affiliate programs that earn commissions) that rank well in search engines

These are the things that make up the bulk of my income. (I do a little bit of coaching and ghostwriting when I can.)

What I love about what I do is that one: I can do it anywhere (I just published my first blog post from my phone the other day!) and two: I can do it anyTIME. There have been plenty of early mornings working before the kids get up and late nights working after they’re asleep, don’t get me wrong – but most days I can squeeze in my work while they’re busy doing other things.

Of course, this lifestyle has its challenges too.

There are times I crave (for a few minutes anyway!) to get a job where I have a steady paycheck instead of an income that is variable, where I show up at a certain time and leave, where I’m told what to do, etc… some days that seems easier.

But mostly that’s due to poor planning on my part, or it’s caused by stress that comes from something else in my personal life. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else than what I’m doing.

I’ve written more on this topic in these posts:

Why I’m Glad To Be a Work at Home Mom

Wahms Aren’t Making the Feminine Mistake

How to Earn Full Time Money Online

That’s my story.

If you want to share yours, please link to it in your comments below.

She Broke The Mold

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Just finished reading it and I’m telling you…

She broke the mold with this one guys.

complete internet marketing moms guide

HireMyMom.com Review

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

I recently decided to look around at the freelance work from home websites for a very part time gig to supplement my income. I have some additional expenses in the next few weeks due to some life changes, and want to put some extra money in the bank.

Doing some Virtual Assistant work seemed like an ideal solution. I don’t necessarily want to commit to a job outside the home that would only pay me a fraction of what I’m worth and would take me away from my youngest child more than I’d like.


HireMyMom.com

Enter HireMyMom

HireMyMom is a baby of Lesley Spencer Pyle, whom many know from sites like HMBW and the Work at Home Kit. She’s quite well known in the work at home/internet marketing world and I trust her reputation. I knew it would be a quality experience.

I signed up to access the database. Yes, there is a fee – it’s under $40 for a quarter and you can cancel before your card is billed again if you wish. I opted to go ahead and pay for the service instead of hunting down all of the free job sites. In addition, the projects/job ops are prescreened so there are no MLM or Direct Sales ops posing as jobs. Less clutter, more professionalism.

Once I got my username and password, I logged in and immediately began searching the projects and jobs available. There was a wide variety listed.

Such as:

- Data Entry
- Customer Service
- Blogging/Writing
- SEO
- Blog and Website Content Management
- Sales
- Appointment Setting
- Internet Marketing Assistance
- Graphic Design
- Web Design
- Personal Assistant

And more. Literally something for every mom.

Right away I saw two projects that were aligned with what I’m qualified to do. I sent emails to the two individuals who posted them. I heard back from both almost immediately. The first one didn’t meet my standards (read: didn’t pay enough!) but the second one is working out nicely and I’m looking forward to a long term relationship with this person. I’m impressed that basically within 24 hours of logging in the first time, I’ve already been hired.

I’m actually excited about the opportunity to offer my skills and knowledge to this business to help them – and get paid by the hour to do so. The business owner, also a single mom, and I are getting to know one another and I think we’ll work great together.

If you’re looking for work at home that’s legit and matched to your individual needs, I recommend searching HireMyMom.

The projects are updated daily. You get an email from them each day but you can also login at any time to see what’s been added.

Happy job hunting!

Is An Easy Site Builder for You?

Saturday, March 7th, 2009

I got an email from a customer the other day that I thought would be helpful to some of you. If you’re looking to build a website and haven’t decided on which tool to use it might give you some direction.

I just started a new site on Internet Based Family, but I’m finding that I can’t do the things I want with it–like HTML version newsletters and placing ads and/or banners along the margins or even in sections of the page. I think this is due to the limitation of the site builder program.

Now, I’m looking into Mom Webs. It looks like it would give me more features that I want.

I do well learning new programs on the computer even though I don’t know HTML.

Do you think Mom Webs would be a better choice for me?

The Easy Site Builder can be somewhat limiting. Of course, it’s a great fit for certain people. More on that later.

First, it’s important to explain that MomWebs is a webhost – meaning they just host your files on the internet, they provide web space for your website.

You still have to figure out how you’re actually going to build and manage your site.

Wordpress is my website building tool of choice. I’m using it for all my sites now. It’s easy to use and adding content is a breeze.

However, if you’re not comfortable with the technical aspects of installing Wordpress and fiddling with the code that runs Wordpress, you might want someone else to build it. I use FreshNets for my Wordpress work and highly recommend their services.

Does That Mean Site Builders Are Bad?

Not at all.

Different tools are right for different jobs.Bucket Buddy

I still recommend the Internet Based Family site builder to certain people.

For instance, someone who has an offline business who just wants a good looking website to display their contact info, services, directions, about page, maybe a few articles.

It’s perfect for this type of business owner because they don’t have to wait on someone else to add a page to their site.

I run into this all the time – people pay thousands of dollars to have a beautiful site built, and then have to wait a month for someone to update their site when their business hours change or they need to make some quick, simple update to their site. Why wait and pay for someone else to do this?

It’s also risky not to OWN your domain and site, which may be the case if you hire it out to a web developer.

For online business owners though, it’s limiting, which is why I recommend WordPress exclusively for people who want to build an online business.

Different tools for different needs.

Creative Commons License photo credit: tornatore

Making Money as a Ghostwriter

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

One of the easiest ways a mom can break into her own internet business is by writing for others.

Ghostwriters are absolutely essential to an online business owner and their services are always in demand.

While I do not use the services of a Virtual Assistant every month, I DO employ ghostwriters each and every month – sometimes several ghostwriters.

What Do Ghostwriters Write?

All kinds of things! They may write articles, blog posts, email newsletters, sales copy, product descriptions, ad copy, press releases, etc.

I mostly hire ghostwriters to write blog posts and articles for me on a monthly basis, but I’ve also hired out press release writing, copywriting, and copy for opt in newsletters.

It’s words that sell with an internet business, and words that drive traffic to websites.

How do you go about making money as a ghostwriter?

Nicole Dean has put together another one of her fantastic guides called Making Money as a Ghostwriter.

I had the opportunity to read this guide yesterday and thought it was wonderful. It covers the following:

  • How to find clients for your ghostwriting business right away so you’re in business and making money fast
  • How to maximize your income with ghostwriting so you’re not just working by the hour but building up more passive income
  • How to marketing your services effectively so you’re not spinning your wheels online
  • How to write articles quickly so you can make more money in less time

All of Nicole’s Just Add Sweat guides are excellent. Each one includes audio interviews with women who are doing that business successfully online. This one is no exception.

If you’re a great writer and would like to make money doing what you love, consider Making Money as a Ghostwriter.

Food PLR – your peeps love it

Monday, January 5th, 2009

food plrI’ve been meaning to tell you more in depth about Yummy PLR for a little while now and am just now getting around to it. (Sorry!) Got a quick question for you:

When was the last time you searched online for a recipe?

I did twice just in the last week, and my son searched for a recipe last week too (he loves to cook and is our resident baker and dessert guy).

I’m betting you have searched for recipes too. Your target market probably loves recipes and foodie articles. I mean, who doesn’t eat? :-)

I love using Private label rights (PLR) and recipes and food articles are no exception. I have one recipe/food related site in my niche, but I use the content for more than just publishing to the site.

Yummy PLR is a food PLR membership site which means you subscribe to get awesome recipes and food related content each month, at a great price. They also sell individual PLR article and recipe packs if you just want to test them out or only want one pack for a particular purpose.

Even if you think your market wouldn’t enjoy recipes and foodie articles, they might. Think about it for a minute.

(Just a few ideas off the top of my head!)

  • @ Reps for kitcheny direct sales companies could print out recipes or create free downloadable cookbooks for their hostesses and customers. (MAN is that ever a good idea! If you’re a Pampered Chef or Taste of Home or Tupperware Lady or Spice Girl and don’t jump on that idea, well… I don’t know what to say!) You could incorporate

  • @ Market to work at home moms or working moms generally? How about using the Crock Pot recipes to create a free giveaway? Busy moms love using their slow cookers (I know I do!).

  • @ If your niche is homeschoolers, ditto. Homeschool moms probably also include kids in meal prep since their kids are around all the time too (quite true of my family, as noted above). I love kid friendly, healthy recipes.

  • @ Frugal niche? Cooking at home saves money – and requires recipes.

  • @ Mommy blogger or parenting website? Do parents cook? You bet! Bundle up some awesome kid friendly or healthy recipes and create a cookbook to sell or giveaway as a bribe for your newsletter.

  • @ Health or wellness marketer? If you sell supplements, I bet your customers would love healthy recipe or meal planning ideas. Again – you could create a free healthy recipe ebook to give to new customers or to use as an upsell product to get your feet wet in information marketing.

I’m sure you could come up with more ideas relevant to your business. Just think about it for a minute and do a little brainstorming.

Do your customers/website visitors/etc EAT?

If so, they’ll probably enjoy recipes from you. The cool thing about PLR is that you can edit it. So if your crowd is vegetarian, tweak the recipes to make them veg friendly. If your crowd is weight conscious, edit them appropriately. If your audience is more interested in saving money, ditto. You can change the recipes around as much as you like to make them work for your business.

The articles and recipes are well written and very low priced. At this time a membership is only $12.95 per month and members receive 10 new articles and 30 new recipes each month. Individual packs sell for $10 each and include either 10 articles or 40 recipes.

Take a look at the packs Yummy PLR has to offer and consider their membership program too.

I’ve been a member for a long time and my website visitors just gobble the content up.

(Couldn’t help myself!)

My New Toy

Monday, January 5th, 2009

acer mini laptop pink

Barbie is jealous.

My Acer mini pink laptop is cuter than hers.

And smaller.

(That’s my 5 year old daughter’s laptop.)

I think it might even be pink-er than Barbie’s.

In any case, it gets attention everywhere it goes. It’s super easy to carry around. It fits in my purse – which is small!

acer mini laptop pink

See how small it is in comparison to the coffee cup? From where I’m sitting right now, the screen is actually shorter than the cup. It’s so lightweight and easy to carry, unlike my other laptop which is heavy and big and I have to schlep it in a big bag with a shoulder strap. It’s hard to hide in the car and I’m always worried about it getting stolen when it’s in there.

When I first spotted someone working on one of these, I couldn’t believe it was a real laptop. I figured it was a PDA or something. But it has 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive. And I have no idea what any of that means, but it sure sounds impressive. (See? You don’t have to be a tech geek to be an internet marketer, something I’m always saying.)

My other laptop is on its last legs, and when it poops out I’ll have it repaired and keep it for part time use.

But I’m loving this mini laptop. (My last two laptops have been Acer and I’ve been quite pleased with their product. I bought an Acer on the recommendation of the woman who repairs my computers. She says it’s one of the best and they very rarely ever see Acer laptops in her office.)

My Mom got the Acer Mini Laptop in Pink on Amazon as a gift for me.

Thanks Mom!

Caffeinate Your Blog

Friday, December 19th, 2008


Energize Your BlogDoes your blog need a double shot?

When I heard that Lynette Chandler had launched a new membership site packed with benefits for bloggers, I jumped right in.

So far the site has been a fantastic resource for me. Since joining only a couple of weeks ago, a few things have happened:

  • - I found 3 guest bloggers who posted *article length* guest blog posts on one of my niche blogs, adding valuable, search engine-juicy content at no charge to me. Snap!
  • - Joined a new affiliate program to promote in a niche topic that until now, I’ve not been able to monetize well. I’m her first affiliate and seem to be getting lots of personal attention as a result. :-)
  • - Got ideas for blog topics when I was feeling a little dry. Logging into the site can spark ideas because Lynette posts new “hot” topics each month, things that are going on in the news and that are on people’s minds.
  • - Offered myself as a guest blogger in my topics of expertise. I just did this a couple of days ago so no bites yet, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until I get some bloggers raising their hand asking for my content, increasing my exposure and giving me valuable incoming links.

Since Blog Energizer is a community forum of sorts, some of the power is in the network.

In order to be successful, bloggers can’t hold one way conversations.

Blogging especially requires getting into the conversation and joining other bloggers in discussions. Blog Energizer provides an excellent platform for connecting with other bloggers and working together to help improve everyone’s results.

In addition, Lynette has posted a challenge to herself and you can help her get there. She writes:

“One of my personal goals is to get 2000 members by end of the
year. When I reach it, I promised to reward myself by donating
8000 bowls of food to America’s food banks.”

Go here to get a free trial membership at Blog Energizer!