Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Wizzley Review

Some of you might have gathered that I use Wizzley to generate passive income online. It is just one of many different approaches available for an aspiring online marketeer or author. The site itself is the relative new kind on the block when it comes to Web 2.0 revenue sharing content sites. For the longest time, Squidoo and Hubpages dominated the niche, with an honorable mention going to Infobarrel at times. These sites all have some redeeming qualities, but here is why I absolutely love to publish and market on Wizzley!

The best part about Wizzley is its shear versatility. In many ways it is a combination of the best aspects of Squidoo with the best aspects of Hubpages. There are the familiar money making content modules available such as Amazon and Ebay, but additional revenue sharing modules are offered for Zazzle and AllPosters for those who are interested. And, lest we forget, there is a Adsense revenue sharing and the recent addition of Chitika. With Squidoo recently removing Chitika and Hubpages re-adjusting there compensation program, this offers the content creator flexibility in how they choose to earn money from their pages.

Creating content on Wizzley streamlined similar to Hubpages with all the functionality of Squidoo. You can include your own code or embedded links, or use the modules made available by Wizzley. The relatively minimalist interface helps keep the focus on creating quality content in a timely manner. Like Hubpages, there is some flexibility in how the modules are placed. They can be horizontally stacked or stretched vertically side by side (or alternated) as the author sees fit.

Fortunately, Wizzley was created post-panda which means all those nasty Google algorithmic changes were taken into account before the platform went live. There is a definite focus on quality content and the community there helps support the right ethical atmosphere. Google has rewarded Wizzley with growing page rank status, an all important indicator of how well an article will tend to rank on Google. You can also gain do-follow backlinks (maximum of one per article) from Wizzley.

If you are looking for an easy and effective platform to create content, test out market niches, or make a steady income from, Wizzley is the up and comer in this department. Squidoo is still great. Hubpages is slipping. Wizzley has the most momentum going forward.

If you like what you have heard so far, go ahead and sign up or simply look around at Wizzley today!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Finding Dropship Sources

My latest article on Finding Dropship Sources which is my cumulative knowledge gained from developing my internet retail business. It contains some "do's" and "don'ts" as well as a review of some of the best paid dropship directories to use in order to grow your business.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Goals for November 2011

October 2011 Review

October didn't go as planned. Work, family, and life intervened and prevented me from making solid progress on most of the goals I set last month. I'm not going to go through each goal because I ended up having far less time to accomplish the goals than I originally thought. Sometimes this happens. The lesson here is not to get discouraged. As long as you are making some progress, you are on the right path towards financial independence. Even just thinking about projects, brainstorming, and daydreaming should be considered "work" when it comes to making a venture successful.

What Worked in October

Despite not being able to fully accomplish most of the tasks, I did make some progress on almost every front. The only thing that really didn't work out was finding ghostwriters for my planned ebooks. As my ebook is a longer term goal, I think I will hold off on posting on Odesk or Elance until I really have the time to devote to it. In the meantime, I will try and do some of the work on my own, without spending a time.

I am extremely proud that my online retail business is beginning to bear fruit. For the month of October I earned $34.95 in profit with over $86.00 in total sales. That may not seem like alot, but this is my first full month in operation. In total my online retail business is averaging almost 32% ROI!

Another positive development is that I have been steadily gathering more wholesale suppliers. Just this month I set up an account with a video game wholesaler and was able to list 15 competitively priced and profitable video games for my media section.

My niche websites have seen a noticeable increase in traffic, but conversions were down this month. I spent most of my energy building quality backlinks in an attempt to boost page rank on Google. In time, hopefully these efforts will pay off.

For this next month, my priorities have shifted a bit since my online retail business has taken off. However, I still want to devote plenty of time to my niche websites as they can be an excellent source of passive income.

My Goals for November
1) Have at least 200 products listed on my etail storefront by end of month (again)
2) Continue backlinking to niche site #1 and #2 (at least two quality backlinks each)
3) Finish and post Ezine article for niche site #1
4) Finish two (2) Squidoo pages
5) Write a product review (on Wizzley or Here)
6) Post at least 2 updates on my value investing blog
7) Evaluate effectiveness of updgrading Amzon seller account to professional grade for $39.99 per month
8) Finish The Challenge
9) Finish Static Content for niche site #2
10) Post at least once on niche site #2
11) Finish all design for niche site #3
12) Create at least one (1) more static page for niche site #4
13) Begin designing niche site #5
14) Do initial set up for niche site #6
15) Buy domains for at least one (1) more niche site
16) Research at least three more profitable niche areas
17) Have fun and try something new!

While it may seem like a longer list, the tasks are much more straightforward and many contain the key modifer "at least" to give me some leeway. Posting on forums takes up alot of time, so it will not be a priority this month unless I am doing it for fun/a break from the main goals. The hardest task will probably be completing The Challenge and getting my product list to 200 items.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Importance of Setting Goals

As many of you know, I am a fan of setting monthly goals for myself to meet for my online businesses. There are a number of obvious and subtle reasons why I set these monthly goals. The reasons range from the cliched to the novel. These goals have helped me stay focused as a niche site developer and internet retailer.

Staying Focused Without Burning Out

Goals are good. But too many goals in an inflexible time frame can cause severe burnout, leading to fewer sales, less revenue, and a generall discouragement with your entreprise. The perfect goal list strikes the perfect balance between what is doable and what will maximize your resources. Setting goals that are far too ambitious may sound good in theory - when you are thinking off them - but it is equally important to take into account for the unexpected. I don't know about you, but I am far from a well oiled machine. Family, friends, and personal free time are important as well.

Monthly vs. Weekly Goals

The difference between weekly and monthly goals is the elasticity of the time frame. The smaller your time horizon the more pressure you have to immediately accomplish tasks. I personally prefer an overall monthly plan with a few weekly goals sprinkled in. Because I have a longer time horizon, I can set larger goals that truly "move the needle" once they are accomplished. A beneficial side affect of the monthly goal setting strategy is that I can take a break from one project and work on another as long as I want to.

This way, the creative juices stay fresh and waking up every morning to turn on the computer is a joy, not a chore. One of the reasons I love doing what I do with online entreprises is precisely that I enjoy what I do. My day job is a chore, not because I don't like it, but because when I need to take a break and work on another task, I can't. Don't let your online business turn into another weight around your neck.

The Art of Setting the Perfect Goal

Many people write down goals as an aspirational exercise. More often than not, a goal becomes just that. Something intangible and theoretically. In other words, wishful thinking. The art of the perfect goal setting has to come with experience. The most valuable thing to aid in this process is to know thyself. Know your limitations. Know that after 2.5 hours of article writing, you will invariably need to stretch your legs, watch a funny youtube video, or change the pace by working on a different process.

For me it comes down to embracing your full potential by balancing "what needs to get done" with what is most gratifying in the more immediate term. I touched on this earlier, but one of the things I like to do  is work on multiple websites in different phases of development. When niche blog #1 is in need of backlinking (the "backlinking phase") I take a break after working for a while on this and head over to niche blog #5 which is in pre-development phase in need of a Wordpress basic install. At other times I will switch over to niche blog #3 which is in the design phase. In this way I can utilized different creative intelligences without "burning out" on one large project.

Go Forth and Set Goals!

Hopefully this has helped you rethink how you set goals, or even think about setting some goals for the first time. Start off basic with some easier tasks. Get a handle on what you are capable off. Stop comparing yourself to the Joneses'. After all, this is supposed to be something creative, exciting and fun. Embrace it for what it is worth. A steady long term, big picture, pace is better than a frenetic one that burns out like a match flame.

Happy earning, my friends.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Goals for October

After applying some lessons learned from last month, my goals for this month have been set. Some key new goals include the exciting adventure of drafting an ebook to self-publish as well as doing this years Challenge (formally known as the 30 Day Challenge). I am going to continue my article marketing strategy, as well as expanding my blogging network.

Goals for October

1) Write two (2) articles on Ezine for niche site #1 and #2 respectively
2) Write two (2) articles for residual income on any one of the freelance sites
3) Create static pages for niche site #3
4) Install Socrates theme on niche site #4 (initial set-up)
5) Start blogging (at least twice this month) on new Blogger blog: Diversified Income Source
6) Re-vamp Blogger niche blog #1
7) Post at least 5x a week on blogs (at least 3 of which are investing related)
8) Post at least 2x a week on Digital Point Forums
9) Post 2x a week on Value Digger Investor blog
10) Have at least 200 saleable products listed on Amazon seller account.
11) Fax/fill out reseller paperwork for two (2) additional suppliers
12) Post at least once every two weeks on Goldrush blog
13) Discover two (2) more marketable niche's for new projects
14) Complete 30 Day Challenge!
15) Post advertisement for writers on Odesk or Elance for writers/editors to add to ebook
16) Publish previously spun articles (4) on article directories
17) Write another section for ebook
18) Watch flippa.com for sites to buy
19) Look for new money-making opportunities!
20) New this month: take time to relax and have fun.


There you have it, my goals for October. I am earnestly looking forward to moving ahead on so many different fronts. It looks a little intimidating, but if I chip away a little every day, it is certainly doable.



September Goals Result

Before listing my goals for the next month (October) let's take a look back at how I did this month in terms of meeting the goals I set.

Last month, I said I wanted to do the following tasks:

- Comment on 2-3 blogs per day (at least 1 being investing related).
Commenting was one of the hardest things for me to do this past month. On average, I probably did 4-5 posts per week. I failed to meet this goal.
- Join another marketing online forum for backlinks.
I did manage to join another forum, although I have not been able to start actively posting yet due to time constrains.
- Post at least 3 times a week on Digital Point forums.
I'd say my average here was once a week, not three. I failed here, but commenting and posting are generally the last things on my list in terms of importance.
- Write 3 articles for content revenue sharing sites.
This WAS accomplished! I posted a review of Ghostbloggers.net on Wizzley that has been doing pretty well in terms of daily views, as well as publishing a Squidoo lens, and a Hubpage.
- Write a test blog article for the new Ghost Writer site.
This was accomplished, and I started another article as well.
- Write a product review for my niche site #2.
This was completed and I started seeing some traffic trickle in as a result.
- Finish designing my niche site #3.
This was done and I am ready to start creating and posting content to drive traffic.
- Do another round of article marketing for niche site #2.
I completed this towards the end of the month. I know have four articles to submit to various directories and referral sites.
- Find 3 more quality wholesale goods suppliers.
While slow at first, towards the end of the month I made some major breakthroughs entering into relationships with wholesalers. This will be instrumental in growing my business.
- Go to one used book sale.
Didn't get around to doing this, unfortunately. I really should be making time for these things.
- Buy a quality site on Flippa.com.
Failed here, but not for lack of trying. I was a competitive bidder on a number of sites, but ultimately didn't win out the auctions. I am not disappointed here because making this kind of investment shouldn't be pressured.
- Write 2 blog posts a week for Value Digger Investor.
I've been averaging about 1.5 posts per week. Not exactly what I wanted, but close enough.
- Invest in one more stock for my Value Digger Investor portfolio.
I did make some investments this month!
- Research and discover new money making opportunities!
I uncovered some great new ideas, one of which was self-publishing ebooks. I hope to start putting this idea into action next month.

Overall, I am pleased with my progress this past month. I didn't accomplish exactly everything I set out to do, but a main reason for this was that I got sidetracked with different projects. While having goals is important, being flexible also vital. The key is to keep on track with your goals AND leave some room for flex.

I will post my goals for the next month shortly, but I expect to take some lessons learned to heart. 1) Commenting in forums and on blogs looks far easier than it is. 2) Having different projects going on at the same time can be distracting at times, but also prevents "burn-out". 3) ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS keep looking for new opportunities. Do not get overly attached to one entrepreneurial endeavor.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Ghostblogger.net Review

Every so often I will continue the tradition here are Goldrush by posting a review of a particular money making site or activity on the internet. Usually, they will be sites or sources which I have personally tried and/or am planning to use in the future.

Today's review is of a relatively new start-up called Ghostbloggers.net. Similar to sites such as Constant Content, Ghostbloggers is geared specifically towards the blog segment of the market. While still technically in "Beta" stage, the site is fully functional and has steady core of repeat buyers. The site has been featured by KillerStartups, Trends, and other sites the track promising new online ventures.

The first thing to do after registering at the site is to check out the list of requested topics to write on. It is publically displayed for all to read. Frequently, repeat buyers will use the same writer over and over again. Although the site attempts to limit "poaching" (buyers dealing independently with the writer after discovering them on the site), it is not impossible to turn a gig at Ghostbloggers into a permanent relationship outside of the confines of the site (usernames tend to be the same across the web, after all). The descriptions of article requests are specific enough to give the writer some direction without being overly constraining. If your article is not immediately chosen by the intended buyer, you can always leave it on the market for others to purchase.

The revenue sharing part of the site is perhaps the alluring aspect for aspiring writers. At $3.50 per every 100 words, Ghostbloggers represents a far more "decent" payout ratio for writers than other sites such as Textbroker. Because of the better compensation, the articles tend to be of much better quality than most other sites.

My Experience

I am aware of a number of professional bloggers who are very successful and use Ghostbloggers for a good portion of their freelance. Personally, I have uploaded two articles as of today, both of which are still under review (having uploaded them within the last 24hrs). I will certainly keep readers updated when/if they are purchases. The best part about Ghostbloggers is that it is a site I would personally use both to sell blog posts and to buy blog posts. That is the type of site which inspires confidence! Yes, the articles tend to be a bit more pricey, but if you are running a professional blog (or want to be treated seriously), poor content - if cheaper - will not build long term viewership.

Overall I give Ghostbloggers an A- rating. My one complaint is that they could put more effort into driving buyers to the site, as well as overall users.

Check out the site: Ghostbloggers.net.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Goals for September 2011

A number of other bloggers I follow create a monthly set of goals to follow. When I first started trying to earn money online I used goals to pace myself, but ended up getting frustrated because I piled on far too many tasks and made my goals far too specific. The key - I think - to a great goal list is actually making a realistic one that can be achieved while still allowing the creative juices to flow and be able to take advantage of new opportunities. Hopefully, goal setting will become a monthly post for me and it will help me accomplish my tasks.

Goals for September 2011

- Comment on 2-3 blogs per day (at least 1 being investing related).
- Join another marketing online forum for backlinks.
- Post at least 3 times a week on Digital Point forums.
- Write 3 articles for content revenue sharing sites.
- Write a test blog article for the new Ghost Writer site.
- Write a product review for my niche site #2.
- Finish designing my niche site #3.
- Do another round of article marketing for niche site #2.
- Find 3 more quality wholesale goods suppliers.
- Go to one used book sale.
- Buy a quality site on Flippa.com.
- Write 2 blog posts a week for Value Digger Investor.
- Invest in one more stock for my Value Digger Investor portfolio.
- Research and discover new money making opportunities!

This shouldn't be terribly difficult. The trick will be staying consistent with the daily and weekly tasks. Hopefully I will begin to see some returns on my investments by the end of this month.

P.S. Almost forgot. I also will post at least once a week right here on Goldrush.




Sunday, September 4, 2011

Multipe Streams of Online Income

My apologies to any readers who were dilligently following this blog. I have been a bit side-tracked (in a good way!) over the summer. It is simply amazing how time becomes such a premium when trying to make money online. I have an entrepreneurial mindset which often means I end up starting more projects then I can adequately handle. The trick is to put enough concentrated effort into enough of my projects to start seeing some results. That has been the battle this summer, between summer vacations and errands that need to get done. I am sure many of us struggle with this. It is clear to me that time management and focusing my energy is fast becoming a top priority going into this Fall. In any case, that is my round about way of saying "sorry" for not keeping up to date posting here on Goldrush.

Content Writing Online

Initially, I was attracted to the concept of earning money online by way of content writing for sites such as Infobarrel.com, bukisa.com, and wizzley.com, but so far these efforts have taken somewhat of a back seat. My initial project of tracking earnings on a monthly basis is temporarily on hiatus while I struggle to get my monthly income from any one of these sites above the $5 dollar range. From now on, I will only be tracking monthly income that is over that limit, although I will continue to update readers on where I am focusing most of my efforts. I will continue to write for Hubpages.com and Squidoo.com as a means to build backlinks for my other projects and/or if I find a dominating niche to write on.

Niche Website Building

After becoming more engaged in the online money making experience, I was drawn to the concept of niche website building through a handy tool called Market Samurai which helps take the guess-work out of keyword research. I currently have one site up and running on autopilot that is averaging over $1 a month in Adsense earnings. Not great, I know, but that is with minimal link-building and marketing of the site. Another site is up and running, but not yet fully loaded with content. Still another is set up on Wordpress and hostgator, but without any content what so ever. It is difficult to handle building more than one site at a time, but hopefully now that my first project is up and running, I can turn my attention to building up the other sites. I like to do this in phases by batches of three. One site fully set up in traffic generation phase, one site set up in content generation phase, and one in the early process of appearance optimizing and layout editing. I try to keep a few "ideas", i.e. domain names and keywords, in the "pipeline" ready to go as soon as I get the first site up and running to a point I am comfortable leaving it on auto-pilot.

Old Fashioned Blogging

And, of course, we can't forget about blogging. I have many creative ideas for blogs. Oftentimes these ideas are even a forerunner to a niche site or a larger project of some kind. What is great about using Blogger is that I can test out ideas and start blogs with no financial investment! Later, when I have the time, resources, and have done the market research, I can simply import the Blogger content to a paid Wordpress blog. Alternatively, I can use my Blogger blogs to link to niche websites I am working on or other relevant blogs. The challenge - as always - is to find time in the week to keep the cylinders rolling on all of my blogs and projects.

Ecommerce

I have always used sites like ebay.com and amazon.com to sell old items around the house or great finds at local tagsales. During my college years, I also was able to pull in $100 a month from a small used online bookselling business. My inventory was mainly sourced from selling my friends textbooks online and the occassional church booksale, but beyond that I never really grew the business. Time permitting, I would absolutely love to expand this business and increase my inventory, but it is important to keep in mind that physical books are on their way out and digital media is the way of the future. More importantly, I have been researching various wholesale business opportunities that I can use to supply my amazon.com and ebay.com seller accounts. I have even gone so far as to register with the IRS for my business Tax I.D. So far I am struggling with the costs and benefits of dropshipping versus buying wholesale in bulk and storing at a physical location. This is something I would like to report on this site as I progress. Hopefully, I can help other aspiring e-entrepreneurs realize their potential by seeing my trials, errors, and successes.

Miscellaneous Money Making

One thing to always keep in mind - and something I try and remember daily - is that while the internet is a wonderful means to creating a great income, it should be incorporated into other ways of earning money. With that in mind, I have stepped up my game recently doing stock market investing for passive income and long term wealth creation. I recently transferred a blog from Blogger to Wordpress that deals with my stock market analysis, stock picks, and portfolio building. It is call The Value Digger Investor and is exactly the kind of idea that can bridge the gap between the online world and real world economics. Thus, I think I will be tracking any important updates on these types of developments here on this blog, even if it might seem beyond the scope.

Anyway, that's it for now. Stay tuned for further updates!