Social Networking and Blogging

Over the last 6 months or so I have been using social networking as a marketing tool for my blogs and sites. Actually just recently I decided to try and earn the title of Queen of Social Networking. It's a internet branding project that I hope will be successful.

Social networks can be very helpful in bringing traffic to your site. Though I do think there are some definite right an wrong ways to do it. The key I believe to using social networks to advertise is to always contribute valuable content whenever possible. People are drawn to people with good ideas and valuable input.

Saying Hello Again to a Good Friend - Mona's Blog

So I have been a blogger for over a year now and find myself at a turning point. I am now getting a lot more advertising requests on iwebis and Time To Budget. I am also just about to launch a community site for my other blog Horse Approved. So I am feeling really good about things right now.

I haven't been blogging on this blog in a while but I haven't completely forgotten about it either. I have to tell you that this blog is not my proudest but I keep it barely alive for money making purposes. That may sound awful but it is the truth. I have to invest most of my time into the blogs that I feel will take me to higher places.

I love blogging and will always try and offer you useful information ;).

My Blogging Addiction

This blog is where my addiction got started. I am now up to 4 blogs and have plans to create at least 2 more. Do I need help? Maybe I do ;). I am most proud of how iwebis is doing. I have posted on that blog almost everyday for 3 months now. I have made a few affiliate sales so it is generating income.
I don't know if I will be back to post on this blog much. I am attached to it because it is my first blog but SuperMom Life is now my personal blog and I don't think I need two. I don't have any plans to get ride of this blog though. I think I will just post on it from time to time like I am now ;)

My New Blog - iwebis.com

I know I have mentioned my new blog here before but I just wanted to say how happy I am with it. iwebis is only 2 months old and I have gotten really good response from it. I am hoping it will continue to gain popularity.
As you may know I have many blogs. I have created blogs to fit certain outlet needs in my life. I have a horse blog as an outlet for my passion for horses, I have mom blog for all my mommy joys and struggles, I created iwebis to let the geek out, and I have a personal finance blog where I talk about my debt freedom journey.
I like blogging my interests. I makes it much easier to do and more enjoyable.

PayPerPost Has Launched it's PPP Direct

PayPerPost now offers bloggers the option of including a direct pay button on their blog where advertisers and request sponsored posts directly. ReviewMe offers a similar button but they charge charge 50-100% markup and keep up to half your money. So how is PayPerPost's Direct different? PayPerPost only charges a 10% fee.
PayPerPost Direct offers advertiser and bloggers a escrow-like service that can be much safer and securer then dealing directly. I don't know what PPP's normal transaction fee is but SponsoredReviews, similar to PPP and ReviewMe and only takes 35%.
I have had mixed feeling about services such as PPP Direct and ReviewMe. Though I am pleased with PPP offering to take a much smaller fee then ReviewMe, I am still wondering if the need for a middleman is necessary.
I read one of John Chows articles a while back that said that he was happy with ReviewMe even though they take such a huge cut. He said that ReviewMe offered a marketplace for advertisers to find blogger and that he was willing to give ReviewMe their cut. Now I don't know if John Chow gets a better deal then everyone else but I would imagine he has worked a deal out with them since he is practically their poster child.
As I have said before, I think paid posting/sponsored reviews is an excellent way to make money online. I believe there are good and bad ways to go about it. I also believe that the bloggers should be getting paid more than the middleman.

So I am back!

I decided to start posting on this blog again. The main reason is because this blog makes a good paid blogging blog. What I have found is that many advertisers don't really care about the blog itself as long as they are getting their links.
My other blogs are doing very well but I don't take that many paid blogging/sponsored reviews. So as much as I don't particularly like "paid posting focussed" blogging, I still need the money.
Right now I am trying to save up for some vacation money so I really need to take offers again. I will of course alway try to make my in between posts interesting for those readers I may get from time to time. Actually I plan to make all my posts interesting if I can.
Check out my other blogs if you want > Horse Approved, SuperMom Life, iwebis and Time To Budget.

Mommy Life

Now that I have been devoting most of my "work time" to blogging I have found I really don't have that much time in a day to blog. I mentioned in my SuperMom Life blog that I now consider 9-5 my "day job". I had to do this because my life was become consumed by the Internet. I was trying so hard to work as much as I could but my family was suffering for it.
So even though I know my mommy life ob doesn't really end at 5pm, it has helped me to stay focused.

Time To Budget

I am really excited about my Time To Budget blog. Right now I have a PR4 and my Alexa rank is improving. I am hoping that this blog will keep improving in popularity. I have been recieving a lot of encouraging words from other bloggers. My other blogs are doing good too. I think I have narrowed it down to three blogs that I will be devoting most of my energy toward.

Moms Opportunity Network Forum Temperarily Disabled

I am very sorry to say that I couldn't figure out how to upgrade the forum software for the Moms Opportunity Network forum and I had to disable it because of all the spam we have been getting. I didn't want to have to do it but I think for right now it's the best thing. I am hoping that I will be able to figure out the upgrading process but to be honest I wasn't really a very good admin. I have only a limited amount of time and most of my online work is now spent on blogging. I really enjoyed chatting with all the regulars to the boards and will miss that.
I hope you all understand the decision I had to make.

Car Repairs

It was bound to happen. It was only a matter of time that our commuter car would need repair. Just the other day it finally died on my husband as he was driving to work. So after $700 we will be getting our car back.
Since we are trying to stick to our no borrowing money convictions we have to pay with cash. This means that we may not have money to pay for our mortgage. I believe God will provide for us so I am trying not to worry about it. Maybe I should be fully trusting Him instead of saying "trying not to worry about it" but I am human and I worry sometimes.
Maybe if I practice saying it I will actually believe it :). I trust that God will provide for our needs :)

My Vacationing Dreams

My hope this summer is to visit my sister in Georgia. Not sure it's going to happen because we don't exactly have the money to do it. But my dream is still there. I haven't seen my sister in years and she has never seen my youngest daughter which was named after her.
I don't know how things will be this summer but I am hoping. Our family doesn't vacation very often. It's usually the same old story of not enough money. Not sure that story will change any time soon. I am trying very hard to be patient and not get all stress about it. I think this post may sound a little stressed :).
There are so many places I would like to visit. I would love to be able to take my kids to places other than the few states we have traveled around us.
There are many beautiful resorts that would just be a blast to visit.

This post was sponsored review of Vacations.net. If you are looking to find a great Family Vacation Resort, then visit Vacations.net.

My Time To Budget Blog has a PR4!

I just discovered that I was checking my page rank all wrong on my Time To Budget blog. I thought I had a PR of 0 but turns out it is a 4. I am so excited. I can't tell you how happy this makes me. My mistake was checking the PR like this > http://www.timetobudget.com when I was supposed to be checking it like this > http://timetobudget.com. Not sure why but I am just trilled with the news.
I do feel kind of silly though. I have been complaining to everyone who would listen that I was sick of having a PR 0. So all is good now. I also found out that may Horse Approved blog has a PR3. Yippy!!!!

Working At Home Has Been Nearly Impossible

About a month ago I decided I was going to set hours for myself. I decided that the things I do in the day with my kids and house chores would be my "day job". I scheduled my day job hours to end at 5:00pm.
Ok I realize this may sound crazy because every mom knows their responsibilities don't end at 5:00pm. What this really did for me was to keep me from getting online and doing work until after 5:00 pm. I wrote about this more on my SuperMom Life blog.
My family life has been much better now that I don't get on the computer until evening but the problem is that I don't really have much time to work. Some days I have to skip it completely. Since the type of work I do is very flexible I don't have pressures except for the ones I place upon myself.
This has reflected on how much money I have been making though. Before I started this schedule I was making from $400 - $600 a month. Now I am not making nearly that much. But money isn't everything. I had to think about my family and how all the time on the computer was affecting them.
I am now trying to get back into the swing of things and balance work and home life. We will see how I manage.

I'm Back

I have been working a lot on my other blogs so I have sadly been neglecting this one. I still want to keep this blog up but I am finding that I am very busy with the others. I am really excited about my Horse Approved blog/site. Last month I started a Horse Lover's Blog Carnival and it has taken off nicely. I have found a lot of really good blogs through this carnival.

I have also been involved in a couple of other carnivals with my Time To Budget blog. I will have to do that again. I submitted to a PayPerPost Postie carnival and a Debt Free carnival.
Anyway, I will try and be more active on this blog.