Getting Rid of Ads, Just Ads Webpage

I tried starting a Blog long ago that was nothing but Ads. I figured that it may be a way to generate some income, by being an info-mercial of sorts.

Blogger shut it down as a Spam blog.

Then I started a Webpage with the same intent. I got quite a few advertisers from Commission Junction and proceeded to build a page that was nothing but ads. After all, I have seen Websites and Blogs that contained more Ads than content and they seemed to be doing well.

Even though the page really doesn't look that bad, I just can't seem to get around to completing what I started. I think it must be something within me that just really Hates Commercials.

This is the first venture that I have contemplated quitting. I can't seem to get it into my head that it is as good an idea as I first thought.

I will continue writing this Blog and updating the Working at Home Web Page, but I am going to get rid of the Ads, Just Ads webpage.

I guess not every idea is a good one.

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MagMoney Shutting Down

I received an E-mail this morning from Sean Gum. Effective 2/1/2006 the Magnificient Money Affiliate Program is shutting down.

This probably doesn't mean much to most of you, but it does to me for a couple of reasons.

1. Sean introduced me to Blogging.

When I first started looking for something to do in the field of Working at Home, Internet or otherwise, I came across the Magnificient Money Affiliate Program. It was not the first, but Sean took an active interest and had good contact information.

He sent me E-mails with suggestions on how to make money online. He suggested starting a blog on Blogspot.com. Of course, he wanted me to include my affiliate links for all the programs, which I did. Another introduction was to PayPal, which in turn, gave me a way to get paid.

2. Sean gave me a list of places to submit the Blog for exposure.

I listed the ones I submitted to some time ago (here). He explained the importance of having my site listed with RSS feeds (also in that post). He always followed up with an E-mail to keep abreast of my progress and always had words of encouragement.

All of this was FREE.

He did suggest an automated program ($250) to have posts submitted everyday. Even though I declined that offer, telling him I would rather write my own posts, he continued to be supportive.

All of this sounds like the perfect business relationship for an MLM. And it is, if the product is something that will sell. The problem is, I got plenty of clicks, but no one signed up for the program (at least not from my links).

So, even though I had already made the decision to discontinue the relationship (not profitable), I Do Appreciate the fact that Sean Gum took an active interest. He gave me direction and a means to Working at Home on the Internet.

I hope others can find the same inspiration by reading what I write, that I found working with Sean.

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Scam or Legit

This is a List of Internet Companies and My thoughts on their Legitimacy
(These are my opinions only, you should make your own decisions)

I took this list directly from page 3 of my Web Page, I do update that as often as possible. So this list will change in the future. Refer to Working at Home on the Internet Web Page for updates.

I provided links for the Companies I feel are Legitimate. I Did Not include links for the others because I don't want it said I condone the practices of those sites.

Legitimate:

1. AdSense... This is one of the Premier advertising sites I have found to date. They are a slow start for a new company that advertises with them, but they do pay.

2. Chitika... They are a very good company, they are reliable and respond to inquiries quickly. They pay a little more than AdSense, but take longer to report.

3. ClickBank... They seem to have a good program, but their advertiser list is somewhat limited.

4. Commission Junction... Their advertiser list is extensive, but so far I have no results to confirm how well they pay.

5. 12 Daily Pro... (not an affiliate link) One of the autosurf programs that apparently does pay through PayPal and other such services.

Questionable:

1. Automatic Money Vault... One of the Pay Us $47.00 (regular price$97.00) guaranteed to make SOMEONE money . The pitch is you don't have to know anything about the internet or marketing, just make money.(?) Caution...

2. PAS Easy Money... This is one that makes Big promises for Big returns on your investment. They real you in with a video presentation. Caution is advised.

Scams:

1. Star 2000... This company looks fine in the beginning and tells you that they will give you an extensive downline (anyone who signs up after you). Their catch is that you have to BUY their product every month whether or not anyone else does.

2. SellYourEmail.com... This is just a variation of a Pyramid Scheme.

3. Leap Cash... It is a Leap in you think you'll actually get paid.

4. HomeTypers... So far I haven't heard anything except from people wanting their money back (with No results). Wouldn't go there.

5. Five Day Funds... Everything I have heard is bad, I tried to visit their website and the only thing that comes up is a promise to pay. Stay away.

I think it is safe to say... Do Not send money first, investigate fully. If there is No Contact Info, Who will Pay You?

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As a Guest Writer...

Yesterday I was reading one of the regular Blogs I normally peruse, Technosailor. Every Friday Aaron has an Open Mic so that his readers can voice their opinion on just about any topic.

So, as usual I left a comment, this time regarding yesterday's post here. I then got an E-mail inviting me to write a post for Technosailor. I wrote a small post on the subject, and submitted it to Aaron.

He published it on his site last night. I saw it this moring (of course I looked), and thought it was OK. I did find out that Open Mic Friday is for anyone to write a post for submission. (And here I thought I was something special).

Please visit Technosailor and let Aaron know what you think. (It is different from my post here).

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How Did You Find This Blog?

I have decided to add a weekly poll to the site, located in the sidebar.

This one is pretty simple. How did you find the Working at Home on the Internet Blog?

Please participate, as this is one way of knowing where to concentrate my efforts.

Thanks,
Joe

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New 90 Day Policy for AdSense

Today I found out that Google's AdSense referral program has changed. It was, when I started using them, a good deal. Refer someome to AdSense and you get $100 after the referee made their first $100.

Now it seems, without notice, they changed it to $100 if your referee makes $100 within 90 days.

I know from experience that a new AdSense account takes time to build, much longer than 3 months. I don't know how they expect anyone or any company to continue referring people if they know that the likelyhood of getting payment is nill.

Originally, I put the AdSense referral chicklet in the sidebar to help my readers find a legitimate way to make money with their Blog or Web page. I still feel that it could help someone financially by signing up for the AdSense program.

Although I have not made any money from the referrals, I have determined that it should remain on my Blog. Hopefully, this will still give people the opportunity to make money online.

So, Click away, and hope that you make $100 in the first 3 months for both our sakes.

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Working at Home More Popular than Ever

Working at or from Home seems to be more popular than ever. Although people have always been able to Work Out of their House, ie. plummers, electricians, carpenters etc., it seems that more and more people opt to do their "regular" job at Home.

Five years ago, 38 million people world wide worked at home. By 2005 the number had reached 82 million. According to Gartner, Inc. a Stamford, CT based techonology research firm, that number could increase to 100 million people by 2008.

Workers from consultants to home health care professionals are better able to run a business from home with the improvements in technology. Since most companies have a Web portal to conduct business, and more people have access to the internet, it is easier to conduct business from remote locations.

The opportunites are open to just about anyone with Internet Access. The Work at Home Mom, the Professional Writer, the Computer Consultant can all find ways to conduct business from home. Now, more than ever before, the means to start a Home Based Business are available to those who have always wanted to become independent.

If you are one that has dreamed of becoming self-employed, you may want to start Before the Other 100 Million get into the act.

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My Business Resolution Results

In looking over my New Year's Resolutions, I found that I have succeeded in following through on most of them. Although almost every one is an ongoing process, I have made some progress in keeping each of them.

Here are the Resolutions and the Results of each:

1. Build Readership... I have actually increased readership by quite a bit. I could give you percentages, but that could be misleading and I don't feel giving actual numbers is appropriate. Suffice it to say that readership has increased significantly but still needs improvement.

2. Increase Networking... This too has been successful to an extent. I have traded links with a couple of sites so far, and will continue to do so as long as they are relevant to the content of the Blog. I have also joined a few more Forums and try to participate as much as possible. When I visit any of the other Blogs I read, I will leave comments, as long as they are relevant to that post.

3. Improve Tracking... I have definitely made some inroads here. I changed the page view counter I had to StatCounter (this will give you an idea of #1). Since the change I can follow which site and page gets the most views, geographic stats, length of visit, and leaving page. I also added Channels to the Ads I use, this gives me an idea of which ad and location gets the most activity.

4. Number of Posts... Although I am still posting only once a day on this Blog, I have increased the Updates on the Webpage to no less than every other day. At this point I think that a further increase would detract from the content I am trying to provide. I would rather people read what I write and not just glance and leave.

5. Tweak Ads... With the new approach of using channels for the ad providers, I am in the process of making a decision on each ad and it's placement. This will done continually.

6. Involve Readers... This has been the most daunting of all. I have yet to find a way to get people to respond to my posts, even when I ask directly for comments and provide links within the post. I think if I give more pertinent information, I may be able to evoke some response.

7. Update Business Plan... This is an ongoing process. I have changed my reviews to weekly for the time being as the situation changes more often since I enacted numbers 1 thru 6.

Let me know how you faired in keeping some of your Business Resolutions so far.

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Taking a Poll

I had an idea while reading some of the previous posts I have written.

There are a lot of different poll services around the internet. I found one I think may be Ok on this site, but when I look at the page it looks busy enough.

At this point, I think just asking for comments on whether or not you think the Blog is too busy in appearance should suffice. Since there are some options and features I have in the sidebar that don't seem to get a response of any sort:

Do you think I should get rid of something in particular?

Should I add any options not already here?

Change layout of sidebar? comments?

Leave well enough alone?

Do you think an actual poll would make it easier to respond?

I don't want to change the overall appearence, just the usefulness of the options I offer to you, the reader.

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Turn a Negative into a Positive

When I first sat down to write a post for today, I had every intention of writing something inspiring.

Then, as sometimes happens when Working at Home, I ran into some problems with shipping, vendors and service representatives. I spent most of the time on the phone (of course) and basically got nowhere for two (2) hours.

One of the many things you must remember is to take it in stride. As I started the post, I was upset with the whole situation. I was going to rant about the whole thing. Then I realized that the only one it really affected was ME.

Once I calmed down a bit, I thought better of it and decided to write about not writing when you are angry. If you do, then all you are going to do is turn everyone Off. That is not the intention when you try to be advise people about the advantages of Working at Home.

Rather, you want to try to tell people about turning a negative into a positive. This you cannot do in anger. Things Do work out, you just have to persist with a good attitude and stick with to your original plan.

Hopefully, I have turned this setback into a positive.

(As I was writing this post, I got a phone call, it's still not resolved)

The main thing is to expect whatever comes your way while Working at Home, no matter, you can always work around a problem. This is true of Any Business, Work at Home or otherwise.

Keep a positive attitude, if not, it can overwhelm you.

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Stat Counter Comparison

After yesterday's post, I decided to take a look at the way my page view and statistics counter faired compared with other products.

The results varied by product and need.

Freestats... It is the first counter I encountered and started using just to get statistics on page views. It is Ok for beginners, they give daily and weekly stats. Unique and combined. They also give Raw data for one day, to see where your views originated. You need to sign up for different accounts for any additional pages. This makes viewing stats for individual accounts cumbersome. If you need more information, upgrades available for a fee.

StatCounter... This is the counter I just started using. It gives you more statistics for each inquiry. You can view time, date, url, viewer stats eg. city, country, IP address, browser. There are stats for unique, new and repeat viewers. You can have multiple pages on one account, this makes viewing and comparing stats for individual sites and pages very easy. The current statistics only cover the most recent 100 page views, not visitors. Although I have just started with this service, I am quite satisfied so far. Upgrades are available for a fee.

SiteMeter... Although I have not tried this one personally, I have heard good things about the service. They offer all the regular stats, but do not limit you to 100 page views, rather they report on the last 100 unique visitors. They also report page ranking. This is good for someone who has multiple pages on one site. It shows which page someone entered the site, this could help in determining Ad placement for better CTR's. Upgrades are available for a fee.

Google Analytics... This is a premier counter and analytics service. It will integrate with your AdWords account, if you have one. Unfortunately, it is by invitation only at this time. You can sign up now, and when they open for business again, you may be picked from the list.

All of these services are FREE to start. Links are provided for you to investigate and determine which service is best for you.

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Page View Statistics

Some interesting stastics have come to my attention as of late. I have been concentrating on the Blog for so long and getting it indexed on Google, I almost ignored the other search engines.

What came to light, with the help of my page view counter is that Most of the Views come from Internet Explorer, (MSN Search) and Mozilla. I have gotten No page views at all from Google so far.

Another thing that I found was that my Working at Home Web Page has recently gotten More page views and clicks on AdSense than my either of my Blogs.

Although I have submitted the URL's for all of my sites to the Major Search Engines, the Web Page (html, not RSS) has gotten the best page ranking of all.

I got on the First Page with MSN Search and Second Page with Yahoo Search. I'm not sure if Google has indexed as of yet, although I just started with Google Sitemaps, I can not find any of my sites within 15 pages .

So, even though the Web Page is Static (see previous post), it seems to be doing better than the more Dynamic Blogs. I do update ALL of the pages regularly, This Blog daily, the Web Page and Archive page at least 3-4 times a week.

The main reason for keeping statistics is to see what works best for you and your Site(s). I am continually looking for better ways to improve my stats, so if you have any ideas, let me know.

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US Government Wants Googles Search Records

When I read the headline "Google rejects a White House query" in the Philadelphia Inquirer this morning, it peaked my interest. After I read the whole article, I began to get worried.

The US Government wants a list of All the Search Requests entered into Google Search's engine for an as yet unspecified week. It also wants One Million randomly selected Web Addresses from various Google databases.

The pretext for this is to track Pornography and prove that Internet filters do not adequately prevent children from accessing objectional material. (I personally think it is the Parents Responsibility to Monitor what their children are doing Online).

Obtaining the information from Google would help the government "to understand the behavior of current Web Users, and to estimate how often Web Users encounter harmful-to-minor material in the course of their searches," wrote the Justice Department in a brief filed Wednesday.

Although other unidentified Search Engines have complied with the Bush Administrations Subpoenas, Google Has Not. I applaud Google.

I am not (ashamedly) sure what Number Amendment covers the Right to Privacy, but I know that this is crossing the boundary of it's intent. I wrote an article on my WAH Archive Blog that covered the Bush Administrations leap into the great abyss by ignoring the First Amendment.

If you Work at Home on the Internet, or use the Internet for your own enjoyment, this Will affect you. I hope you will write your congressman(woman) if you agree that we are all slowly losing our rights.

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In The News

I don't know if you have ever heard of Alex Tew. He is the young (21 yrs old) Brit that started the Million Dollar Homepage. What he did was sell pixels by the dollar (1 block for $100).

Now you may say this is Not News... but after he succeeded in selling all 1,000,000 pixels on the homepage, he was attacked by hackers.

A group calling itself "The Dark Group" sent an E-mail to Tew demanding $50,000 within 72 hours or face having his Million Dollar Homepage 'taken down'.

He ignored the threat and shortly thereafter, his site was hit with a distributed denial of service. This effectively made his site crash, by sending junk to his site and overwhelming the server.

He said the site now works normally.

Tew, from Wiltshire, England, said he informed the American FBI because his site is hosted in the United States.

Extortion cases targeting Web sites are occurring with greater frequency world wide.

As far as I know Tew still has the $1,000,000 in tact and plans to pay for his education with the money he earned.

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Network Marketing/MLM's

I don't pretend to know very much about Network Marketing/MLM's but I have run across a Very Good Conversation over at the Work at Home Forum.

Basically, the concept is having a Product that will Sell, the Advertising Behind the product, and a Company that backs up the product with Support and Customer Service.

The Product could be anything, Weight Loss, Software, Cell Phones, New Inventions, the list goes on and on. If you have the right product, you will be able to find a Downline (people who follow you into the venture).

If you have thought about joining or starting an MLM, I would suggest you at least evesdrop on this conversation. You can even join in since it is in a Forum setting.

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Selling A Blog

It has been reported on just about every Blog I read today that The Blog Herald, one of the premier Blogs on the net, is being sold for $72,000+.

Although Duncan Riley is from Australia, the sale is apparently to an American company. Although the sale is not (as yet) final, the sale marks another transition into the Corporate World of yet another Blog.

I always felt that even though you can make money from Blogging, they were somehow exempt from the corruption associated with Big Corporations. I won't say that Duncan sold out, as he is continuing to work at B5media Blogs, but when you sell a blog you sell a part of yourself.

You can read an Interview by Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger to hear Duncan's reasoning for the sale. You can also read a post from Duncan on The Blog Herald explaining to his readers.

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An Old Post

This is a post of mine from back in October. I thought it was worth repeating since I see the question of easy money on the Internet coming up all the time in all the forums.

Anyone that tells you Working at Home is easy and only takes a couple of hours a week, only told you half the truth.

It is easy, no commute, no waiting for the bus in the rain, no traffic, etc. BUT... If you want to succeed, especially in the beginning, you will have to put in A LOT more than a COUPLE HOURS.

It's no different than starting ANY BUSINESS. It takes HARD WORK. It takes a PLAN. It takes DEDICATION. It takes YOU.

Forget all the Ads that promote "Make $1000 your first week" or "Would you like to make SIX FIGURES your first year?". You have a better chance at winning the Lottery. Working at Home may even set you back a few dollars in the beginning.

I'm not trying to push you away from Self Employment in any way, but you need to evaluate all aspects of Working at Home including the time and effort it will require.

If you have the DESIRE and DEDICATION, you can SUCCEED.

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Patience

Something I have learned over time (Blogging in particular) is that "all good things come to those who wait".

If anyone has ever looked at some of my first posts, they will see that I had NO Idea how long it would take to achive even the basics of Blogging. My First post was introducing myself and my intentions. My Second post I was wondering WHY No one had Commented on my First Post.

Silly, when I look back, but that is the way a lot of people look at Working at Home. They expect things to happen overnight. They Don't... there is No such thing as Overnight Success.

You have to Work Hard, Invest Time (and money) and expect to fail as much as succeed, even if you have a Good Game Plan. When you start Any Business, Work at (from) Home or otherwise, you have to persist in your efforts. You must Not Give Up just because your first attempt may not be what you expect.

Review the steps you have taken. Fix the Mistakes and Learn from them and you can Succeed. Given time, along with enough directed effort, you can make your business viable in whatever venue you choose.

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Milestone

Yesterday, Friday the 13th, Full Moon and all, marked the 100th post to be published on Working at Home on the Internet!!!

It is a Milestone for Me as I thought I would never make it past a month.

So, Happy 100th to Working at Home on the Internet.

(Next Milestone will be 365 I Hope)

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It's Finally Over

Finally, I found the answer myself... (see previous post)

No help from the Help Desk at Verizon, Nothing from Google, Nothing from Microsoft.
I didn't have to re-install Windows XP SP2 either.

I backed up files, favorites and everything I might lose in a re-install. Then I thought, why not restart Windows and when the New Hardware Wizard comes up, Insert the Original Install Disk for the Westell (non-wireless) Modem.

Lo and Behold... That disk had the Driver for the Actiontec GT704WG Wireless Modem Router. As it turns out, that is the install disk that is supposed to be included in ALL the Installation Packages. No one at the Verizon Help Desk ever even asked about it, even though I told them all that the disk I got with the new modem only had the Instructions, No Drivers.

Needless to say, I am a happy camper at this point. Both Computers are up and running Online, with the DSL.

When the Help Desk is No Help, you have to depend on your own guile, and experience to resolve whatever problems you are having. So, the Moral of the Story is KISS (Keep it simple stupid). Even when the problem seems overwhelming, try the Basics, they sometimes hold the answer to the most perplexing questions.

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My Dilemma

The Vendetta is not over, it has just changed.

(Beware: Rant ahead)

I finally got the "right" equipment from Verizon. I have been using the Westell 6100 (not wireless) for the past two weeks. It seems to work really well. However, I need a wireless router modem to connect both computers we use.

I did finally get the new Actiontec GT704WG Wireless router and have been on the phone with Tech Support with Verizon for two (2) straight days and nights (last night I got off the phone at 11:30pm).

After that amount of time, I actually got to talk to someone who knew a little about the real problem. I have USB. The router modem is supposed to be compatible with USB, however, Windows XP can't find the driver for the new equipment.

Everyone up to this point has told me that I need Ethernet... I don't have Ethernet, which is why I Ordered the USB Compliant Device. The guy last night tells me that I need to Enable the Local Area Connection, but can't tell me how because Microsoft Windows License forbids it.

He did tell me that I could look it up on the Google, but again can't tell me how, since I can't get a connection. The only way I even see a Local Area Connection is when the original modem is attatched. When I connect the new modem router, it is Not There.

I know I'm the one that is supposed to have the answers, but I Need Your Help in solving this problem. This is not a ploy or a joke, at this point I can only re-install XP and hope that resolves the issue. (I'm not too sure how well that will work).

If you or anyone you know can help, either leave a comment or E-mail me.

Thanks... J.

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How To...

In my search for something to write about yesterday, I found an article by Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger. It lists 9 Ways to Screw up Your Professional Blog.

I will only list them here because I want you to visit Darren's Blog and read the whole article. For best effect, read the comments from other readers.

1. Ignore Ad Network Rules...

2. Make Big Claims (you) Won't Follow Through on...

3. Start and Give up on Blog Projects as Quickly as Possible...

4. Game Google...

5. Become Obsessed with One Element of Blogging and Ignore the Rest...

6. Hide Agendas and Conflicts of Interest from your Readership...

7. Quit Your Job and Go Pro Now!...

8. Plagiarize, Steal and Give as Little Credit to Others as Possible...

9. Blend In with the Crowd...

He also gives Bonus Tips on how to screw things up.

So, if you are considering Professional Blogging, READ DARREN'S POST FIRST!!!

Darren, if you read this, please understand that this is meant show respect and thanks for all I have learned from you. J.

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A New Direction? What Do You Want...

I would like to know what You Want out of the Working at Home on the Internet Blog.

Given a choice, what direction should I pursue going into 2006?

1. More Information...

2. More News...

3.Technical Information...

4. Step by Step Instruction...

5. Lists of Good and Bad Companies...

6. How To's...

7. More Computer Advice...

8. Opinion on Work at Home Subjects...

9. All/None of the above...

10. Other...

I think that the Content of the Blog has grown over time from just my experiences to something at least a little informative.

In an ongoing effort to improve Working at Home on the Internet, I value your opinion and feel it is imperative to have a dialogue with you, the readers.

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The Vast Void

When you are surfing the Internet for some particular information, there is an Over Abundance of Information. While it is sometimes a good thing to have access to so much info, it can be overwhelming.

For example, look up Work at Home:

Google... 1.9 Billion entries
MSN... 153.9 Million entries
Yahoo...1.19 Billion entries

If you look up something on just about any of the search engines, you will find more often than not a reference to some big corporation rather than what you are actually looking for.

I am beginning to think that no matter how much effort you put into SEO, you are fighting an uphill battle. If you are not on the first or second page (which is a good rating), people will just give up the search.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the alternatives (Forums, Link Exchanges, etc) may just be the way to go. For someone such as myself, I think just trying to reach as many people within my Little World is enough of a challenge for now.

So, as they say if you "Can't see the forrest for the trees", stand back and take a look at the overall picture. Put in the right perspective, you may like what you see.

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Page Ranking

Something I have fretted over long and hard the past few months is Page Ranking.

Some people swear by it and say that you can't get enough exposure if you don't have a Good SEO strategy. This could well be true, if all you want is for people to see your name.

Even some people who have had First Page Ranking, and have since fallen off, want that all evasive and allusive Placement at the Top of Page One.

I have searched for This Site on Google (good luck) and unless you look on the Blog Search, you will never find it. Apparently, no matter what type RSS setup you have, if it is a Blog, you will Only be found in Blog Search.

It seems to me that unless you are paying for Page Rank, you will not get noticed. Yes, Google does have a Pay for Rank system, even though they deny it.

I have also listed with MSN and Yahoo. For a time the listings seemed to be picked up by both with various results, depending on how you searched. Now, it seems Yahoo continually times-out when crawling my site (something else to fret about?). MSN seems to be fine crawling and finding me (so far).

The most dependable way I have found to get new readers is to be Active in Forums, Comment on Related Blogs and to Exchange Links with reputable sites that are Work at Home oriented.

Although having a Good SEO and Page Rank may be important, it is Not the Only way to build Readership add Page Views.

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The Vendeta is Over

Last night I finally called and cancelled AO Hell (previous post). They did (repeatedly) try to talk me out of cancelling, offering me Free Service for a Month, telling me their security was the "best", giving me almost as much of a Sell as a New Customer.

So as not to digress too much, I Did Finally get Verizon DSL (previous post). I'm still waiting for the Wireless Router to connect the wife's computer, but I am online now with DSL. It IS much faster than any dial-up connection (even 56k), which I already knew. The best part is that it doesn't kick me off-line every 5 minutes.

I know I really should have done this Long ago, but at the time I didn't have too many options. At this point there is some income from the business, not enough to consider it full time, but enough to justify upgrading.

Now my biggest problem with AOL is moving all the e-mail and files the wife needs to the new server. I would much rather this "problem" than the alternative.

As a side note: AOL (now) offers a Free E-mail service. I think they are trying to play catch-up. Too Little Too Late...

Let me know about your experiences with any IP good or bad.

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Drop in Statistics

Something you Must be Aware of when you decide to change something regarding the Name of your Blog.

You Will experience a Drop in Statistics. I have been listed with FeedBurner since I first found out about them back in October. I explained why I changed the Name in a previous post. I thought I covered all the bases in the following post the next day.

Well, when I look at the Feed and Readers list on FeedBurner I see a Big difference in the number of feeds that are picking up my Blog. Even though I have contacted and pinged all of the feeds I use with the name change, they still are NOT picking it up. I know that it takes time for everything to pick up the change, but this has been since December 20th.

The bright spot is that when I look at the Statistics on SiteTracker, the page views have actually increased. I don't know if that is because of the manual pings on the various feeds, or possibly the fact that I have posted on different forums and web pages and people have linked from them.

The moral of the story is: Make sure you take all ramifications of a Major Change into consideration Before you make it.

Secondary moral: Good Design (including Naming) of your site in the Beginning is Paramount.

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Redeployment of Info

Something I continually try to take into consideration, After Content, is the aesthetics of the Blog. If it doesn't look good, or things are too hard to find, people will go elsewhere for the information that I try to provide.

If you have visited a few times (and I hope you have), then you may notice some of the small changes that have taken place over time.

When I first started I had a big problem on placement of just about everything. This includes Ads, Contact info, References, Referrals, Links and so on. As I have noticed on other Blogs and Websites I have visited, I am more likely to try something new when it is related to either the content or the overall theme of the site.

Placement of specific items is important, not only to the person reading the information, but to the writer as it helps to define how different items are received. If you want someone to "click" on something it should be prominent, but not overpowering. If something is contained in the Body of the Post, people will have a tendency to at least try the link.

This is something I do periodically, but Only if the link is of some importance to the context of the article itself. I have seen some Posts on different Sites that put unimportant links within the content just to try to get come affiliate points.

I have place Most of the Ads (sponsored links, income streams) in the sidebar. Others were placed in the template so they would be out of the way of the Posts themselves. I removed the affiliate links that were Below the Posts. I never really did like them there, but placed them there upon suggestion (from the affiliate).

I also added to and moved the Resources portion in the Sidebar as to be more effective and helpful. None of the changes are too noticable, but hopefully are displayed in a more pleasing manner.

If you found this article informative, hated it, or if you noticed any of the changes I mentioned, Click Here to Comment.

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Paying for Opportunity

A subject that keeps coming up in all the Work at Home Forums, is the question... "Is this company real or a scam?"

Most times you can tell by how they present themselves.

1. Should I send money first?

If they want you to pay money upfront, it probably is not a good idea. There are Companies out there that offer a business opportunity, which could be construed as an Investment in Ones Future. They are few and far between, but they are out there. Make sure to investigate them in depth. Is there a contact person, a physical address, a phone number? If you can't reach them Before you Invest, what are your chances of reaching them for Payment?

2. What about Taking Surveys?

There are at least as many Paid Surveys out there as people wanting to take surveys. The main problem I found with them is you get paid for "Completed Surveys". Sounds innocuous, huh? You take the survey they supply, not too bad yet, they then redirect you to page after page of Ads for co-sponsors, where you must complete (buy) at least One of Their Offers. Then you Wait until your check clears before you get credit. Some people can actually make more money than they spend on these offers. Unfortunately, I wasn't one.

3. How about MLM's?

There are quite a few good companies out there where you can make money. You will have to Investigate as suggested previously, but Many are Companies you already know. Make sure you are dealing with a company that has a good reputation. Ask people who have dealt with them before. You may have to Invest some money, but it could be worth your while if you find the right sponsor. Just watch out for the ones that want you to buy their product as a prerequisite, whether you sell anything or not.

4. Can I make money surfing for a company?

I have not tried this type approach. I have heard of some companies that will pay you to surf the web. I have also heard mixed reviews. Some will pay you to surf, but you have to recruit other people to do the same. I personally Don't like this approach, I don't want to use my friends and family to make a living. I have heard some good things about this type of company, some do pay, but I don't think I will be doing it anytime soon.

5. What about Freelancing?

This is something I have considered for myself. There are many good companies to be found on the Internet. Most you have to Bid for a position, this is not to say Pay, rather, suggest a price you are willing to accept for your service. This may be something for you to consider if you have a marketable service (writing, editing, web design).

I did not include company names as I feel it would be inappropriate if I did not deal with them directly.

As always, please leave a comment regarding this article.

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Questions for You

Some questions I have for YOU, the reader.

How did you find this page?

Did someone refer you?

Did you see my page in a Search?

Were you researching Working at Home?

Were you in a Forum I subscribe to?

Did you see my comments on another page?

Were you Surfing Blogs and happened across this page?

Did you come across Working at Home on the Internet some Other way?

I would really like to know how to reach More Readers, so if you care to leave a comment, it could help me Expand My Reader Base.

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My Typical Work at Home Day

I won't bother about waking up, getting coffee, etc. That goes without saying.

I try to start the day by no later than 8:00 am, that's when I go into the office, turn on the computer, and download E-mail. Finish up the personal start up. Then down to business.

It usually takes between an hour to an hour and a half to wade through all the E-M's. I sort the Ad correspondence, responses to Blog mail, personal mail, not to mention all the Bulk mail (some of the Ad correspondence end up there).

Next comes research for the day, keeping up with everything happening on the Net. I go to all the different Blog sites, and Forums I have in my personal list. Here I may or may not find something to write about in My Blog.

That is always the Main Focus, updating the Blog. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes longer to find something to write about than you may think. The important thing is that I find something pertinent regarding Working at Home. Once that is done I have to make sure to "ping" all the Feeds I am linked to, not all have links directly in the template of the Blog.

After that I try to Update the other Pages I have started, each of which takes a varied amount of time to complete. They also have to be "pinged".

Frankly, by this time it is usually well after noon. That's when I try to determine what seems to be working for my sites, I check all of the statistics, clicks, page views, revenue etc, for all of the pages. I will make periodic adjustments accordingly.

By now, if the wife hasn't called me for dinner, I will try to find New ways of trying to increase circulation. This does take a little investigation and More Research.

After dinner, if I have found anything of interest, I will attend to it, download, read, or otherwise respond.

What is your typical Work at Home day like? Let me know in comments please.

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The Basics

There are some basic steps you must attend to before posting a Blog or WebPage.
(An oldie but goodie, with links to other posts this time)

1. Design... (what best fits the style you want to portray)

2. Layout... (presenting your ideas, products, services)

3. Information... (give pertinent information, don't stray)

4. Referrals... (your readers will appreciate it)

5. Advertisements... (for additional income)

6. Tracking... (there are many services available at little or no cost)

7. Distribution... (anything from word of mouth to RSS feeds)

These are but a few of the steps needed to begin a Work at Home Business on the Internet.We will explore other options together in the days to come.

If you have any questions or ideas, please leave a comment or E-mail me .

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Happy New Year

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

I hope all your Aspirations and Desires are Fulfilled.

Joe

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