Working at Home on the Internet

Just another of the endless tests

2008-04-02T22:26:00.000-04:00

Testing forward from Blogger

Referral to the New and Improved Home Page

2006-06-28T14:53:00.000-04:00

I will not be posting on this Blog too much in the future.
I have moved to Working at Home on the Internet on my Own Domain using WordPress as a Blogging Platform.

Please visit me there, it is my New Home... and I update every day to try to provide the quality information and perspective I have in the past.

If you were on the new Home Page and got transferred here through a link in an article,
Please Click Here to Return to Working at Home on the Internet (the New and Improved Version).

Preliminary Review of Blogger vs WordPress

2006-06-26T13:01:00.000-04:00

Sorry, the review is actually on my New Working at Home on the Internet Blog at http://workingathomeinternet.com/WP

For the time being I will post a headline here with a link to the New Blog. It is not being deceitful, it is just that I haven't completed the move yet, and I don't want to get penalized for duplicate content.

By The Way...

If you stop by here and have me in your BlogRoll or any of the Feed or Blog Directory Services, PLEASE Change The Link to http://workingathomeinternet.com/WP

Thanks,

Joe

This Weeks Helpful Reads...Week 11

2006-06-25T08:20:00.000-04:00

This is an ongoing series of interesting and helpful reads that I have come across on the Internet.

I try to include the most helpful articles and links each week to provide the widest range of information for the home business entrepreneur.

When is the Best Time and Day to Post on Your Blog? by Lorelle VanFossen... A good presentation on what day and time of day to post, and ways to find out.

Wordpress and SEO by The Undersigned... A comprehensive list of tips using Wordpress for Search Engine Optimization (I'm going to re-read this).

Why I Love (and Hate) Being a Work-at-Home Mom by Lisa Druxman... Lisa lists some of the Bad (and Good) things about being a work at home Mom.

7 Steps to Being Recognized as an Expert by Liz Strauss... Liz gives 7 +1 ways to be known as an expert in your field.

How to Increase a Blog's PageViews by Darren Rowse...14 ways to increase views and revenue (and a homework assignment at the end).

I hope you find some of these articles informational and helpful. I think they will be enjoyable reading nonetheless.

~~~ All the above can be considered infected with the Link-Leak Virus ~~~

Access Links to Previous Helpful Reads

Don't forget I'm Moving... Check out (and save) my New Address http://workingathomeinternet.com also Titled "Working at Home on the Internet"

Mostly Moved

2006-06-24T20:49:00.000-04:00

Ok, if you haven't guessed yet... I'm moving...

My NEW ADDRESS is http://workingathomeinternet.com

Come on over for a visit and PLEASE Offer Suggestions...

I'm new to WordPress and need all the help I can get.

For now I am going to keep this Blog Live... I haven't figured out how to put a forward address in yet. ;-)

Oh, and I still will have the This Weeks Helpful Reads post here tomorrow, and I'll probably run it on the NEW Blog as well.

The WP Ordeal

2006-06-24T10:02:00.000-04:00

Ok, this is harder than I thought. I got a new Domain http://workingathomeinternet.com That's fine. I got WordPress installed. That's fine.

They only give you 2 templates to use. So, I downloaded one that may be a good choice. Now I can't get it to upload so I can use it!?!

I will be working on this for probably the whole weekend , if not FOREVER...

I will be talking to the help desk for BlueHost more than one time over the weekend, if they happen to be working, I don't know yet, I haven't called today yet.

Tomorrow, I will still have the This Weeks Helpful Reads post, and there are some good links, so enjoy. I will also be updating on my progress throughout this ordeal. So stay tuned.

HELP!!! Changing to WP and Won't Work

2006-06-23T19:45:00.000-04:00

I have broken... I have given up on Blogger...

I bought a Domain http://workingathomeinternet.com

It is Hosted on BlueHost...

I Downloaded Wordpress...

I unzipped the file...

Now, I'm Stuck !@#$%^&*()**(*&^

It was supposed to be one of the easier installations for WP using a host they recommend. Easy installation (or so they say) and in a few steps you will have your own Blog on your own Domain.

Don't believe it...

Chris Cree!!! You just went through this, Please Help. Or anyone else that has had to deal with this transfer of a Blog from one server to another.

I can't afford to pay anything else (this is already costing $166.80 for a 2 year stint) but I would appreciate any help anyone could give.

Thanks,
Joe

Response to a Good Idea

2006-06-23T13:33:00.000-04:00

In response to my request the other day to the Help Build the Community* post, Jesse Skinner wrote:

I'd be interested in learning about different tools available to people working
at home.. like software that helps you keep track of your time and billing,
different ways to communicate with people (video chat, skype, etc.), that kind
of stuff. Not just software but different techniques, even if it's as simple as
pen & paper.

Ok, here is a start. Normally I would include this in my Weekly Helpful Reads, but since it was requested specifically, I want to share something I found through ProBlogger**.

Brian Benzinger over at Solution Watch*** has compiled quite a list of online services and programs to help in keeping organized with an online business.

~~ To Do Lists... 5 online To Do Lists + 20 other To Do Lists

~~ Online Planners... Only 2, but there are links.

~~ Start Pages... Including Google Module To Do List for your Google Start Page

~~ Calendars... A few calendars that have To Do Lists included.

There are quite a few different ways in which to keep track of things you want to accomplish in your business planning that Brian presents in this well thought out list. Visit his page to get a synopsis of each service.

I am going to try some of these out in the next little while and do some reviews to let you know what I thought. If you write a review of any of these services, please share them with us.

Referenced Links:
* Help Build the Community
** ProBlogger
*** Solution Watch

What Time Is It?

2006-06-22T13:32:00.000-04:00

Determining what time of day to publish a post can be important. I have always tried to post as early as possible in the morning. Anywhere between 8:30 am to 11:30 am.

The problem is, what time is it when I publish. If I post at say 9:00am here (Eastern Daylight Time), what time is it where the reader is reading? I have people from all over the world visiting and hopefully reading what I write.

The rule of thumb is to write for your readers. But, I have not heard of any suggestions on when to publish for your readers. When to put your content out on the web for best exposure.

You need to look carefully at your Statistics to get any idea of when people actually come to your site. Now, this doesn't take things like RSS feeds and Blog Directories into consideration. But, knowing when people are more likely to visit is a good way to determine what time to post.

Each morning I go through E-mail and see comments from readers from (what to me is) the night before. To them it may be after work, before work, lunch time. To me it is early morning. So, is it really important to think of the time you publish or is the consistency more important.

In my humble opinion, I think it is much more important to post on a consistent basis. The time of day (your time) will always be the same, and so it will be to your readers. As long as they know when to expect something from you, they will know when to visit your site.

Do you think the time of day should be a major consideration? Do you think consistency is more important? When do you post, and why that time?

Help Build the Community

2006-06-21T13:14:00.000-04:00

I have been trying to build a little bit of a community within the World of Working at Home on the Internet. I think, at least to some degree, I have succeeded.

Comments have increased quite a bit in the past few months. I get E-mail from some readers regarding posts. I have even gotten requests for additional information on a particular subject after various posts.

Community is one of the major components of Blogging. Second ,I think, only to Content. Therefore, I will ask again for contributions from the community. No, I'm not going to ask for money, but I will ask you for IDEAS.

If you would like more information on any aspect of Working at Home on the Internet, Running a Home Business or anything else you consider important, please feel free to ask in the comments section.

As always the E-mail and other contact links are available if that is your preference.

I think building the community ever larger is important to keep the dynamic atmosphere thriving. It will take us all to grow and learn the things in which we are all interested.

Service (or non-service) vs Net Neutrality

2006-06-20T10:36:00.000-04:00

In the middle of research for posting yesterday, around 8:30 am, Verizon DSL went down. I tried rebooting the Modem, tried resetting it and still no connection. It wasn't the UBS connection or anything simple, it was the internet connection itself.

Went I tried to bring up Internet Explorer, the only thing that would come up was the Set-up page of Verizon, telling me to install the system.

I called Verizon and after going through line tests and resetting passwords, I still couldn't get a connection. Finally, the tech checked their system and found the had a problem at the routing station in my area and needed to change out a card.

I finally got the connection back at 7:30 pm, a full 11 hours later. Needless to say, I lost a full day of work on the internet. I did get some offline work done, but that is usually reserved for weekends, so there wasn't really much to catch up on.

The Big Question...

How are the Telco's going to handle a two tiered internet when they can't even keep the existing DSL service running?

The Cable Companies have the same problem, they are always having interruptions of service with their TV programming. Will they fair much better if they try to handle something so complicated as splitting the internet in two?

Can I charge back Verizon for my downtime or loss of revenue for the day? I don't think so. But if they start charging premium prices for preferred service, I think they may just have to reimburse companies for downtime.

If they start charging Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars to companies such as Google, EBay, MSN, Yahoo for these preferred services and there are outages such as this, you can bet that they will seek reimbursements, refunds, credits, compensation and damages as well as for lost revenue.

But, this is not so much about Net Neutrality as Service.

Service the Telco's and Cable companies already charge for, and have problems providing. What happened to the $600 Billion dollars in tax credits to improve the communications infrastructure? They say they need the additional fees for premium service to provide for a better infrastructure. If they took the tax credit then we should all have fiber optic cables to our homes and businesses already. Why would they need to charge us now?

If you charged your customers for a service, never performed said service, and came back later to install the service and and charged them again, what would happen to your business? You would be out of business, you would be facing legal fees and law suits that would bankrupt you. The Government would levy fines for double-dipping, and conspiracy to defraud. You could even go to jail.

Verizon and the rest are not only going to get away with this, they are being endorsed by the Congress of the United States.

So, instead of trying to stop them about Net Neutrality, we should hit them where it hurts. If we hold them responsible for the services they are supposed to provide, and start holding them accountable for their incompetence, they may figure it out.

Related Posts:
Parallel Super Highways for a Fee
Help Save Internet Neutrality

A Bad Day

2006-06-19T19:35:00.000-04:00

Today has been a bust. I have had problems with Verizon DSL for 11 hours and I'm not sure how long my connection will last today.

If everything works out for the best, I will be posting tomorrow morning about this escapade.

Joe

This Weeks Helpful Reads...Week 10

2006-06-18T08:01:00.000-04:00

This is an ongoing series of interesting and helpful reads that I have come across on the Internet.

I try to include the most helpful articles and links each week to provide the widest range of information for the home business entrepreneur.

Blog Snobbery 101 by Ara Pehlivanian... How anyone can be a Blog Snob, even with only one reader.

The Ferrari Anology for Organized Writing by ME "Liz" Strauss... Liz compares good writing to a good driving experience as a passenger.

Testing Your Blog on Multiple Browsers is Important by Ben Yoskovitz... Good reasons to test different browsers.

Google, Link Vault and What Not to Do by Aaron Brazell... Why Technosailor doesn't have Blogrolls and Link Exchanges.

I hope you find some of these articles informational and helpful. I think they will be enjoyable reading nonetheless.

~~~ All the above can be considered infected with the Link-Leak Virus ~~~

Access Links to Previous Helpful Reads

Link Spam

2006-06-17T13:44:00.000-04:00

Beware: Rant Ahead...

Recently I have noticed a very disturbing change in the Blogs that Link Here search through Technorati. I have long professed sharing links with other blogs that have some reasonable relationship with my Work at Home blog.

I have done the Good Reads links to share work at home information for any visitor or regular reader who is looking for interesting things related to home business on the internet.

I have used links in various forms to share blogs I read and always include the URL for any article I reference.

I have participated in Blogtipping.

I believe sharing links is a good thing for the parties involved.

Until now...

There have been quite a few links to my blog that have absolutely nothing to do with working at home, the internet, blogging or anything else I write about.

It seemed to start with a Headline service I found as a possible way to promote a site or product for the home business owner. Shortly after I posted about it, I started getting links from searches that involved keywords in various posts. None of them had anything to do with the article itself except a quote from the article by "Google search". They do include a link to the post, but that is the only thing in common with my blog.

Some of the examples are:

One is Change My Name. That was picked up from the post Change is Not Easy. Nothing to do with the original post.

Here's a good one. Body detoxification via an ionizing Foot Bath. That was linked to the Results of My Work at Home Business Is... Poll. Not sure how they thought that had anything to do with a foot bath.

This is the one that prompted me to write this post. Vomit Scat. This is a porn site that has an image link to my blog. I can't find the exact post or what picture they link to, but I am PISSED.

I am used to getting Spam in my E-mail. I have even had to deal with Comment Spam. I can deal with these intrusions with various blocks, monitoring and filters.

I cannot deal with people just linking to my Blog with no connection or affiliation, much less as a self promotion for Porn. I want to find these people and put an end to this type of Spam. I know it probably is more than I can handle, but something has to be done.

Have any of you run into the same type of Link Spam? How have you handled it?

Testing StatCounter vs Site Meter for Review

2006-06-16T07:33:00.000-04:00

Speaking of Stats, I am trying something new. I already have StatCounter for my Page View statistics. I just installed Site Meter for a test and review between the two. I will be using both and comparing the similarities and differences to see which serves my purposes better.

So far either the locator is off on one or the other or both. Right after installation I got 2 hits, both showed on each counter. The difference being, both showed one view from a Google search for "autosurfing legit jobs" and landing on the Scam and Legit page.

The other hit shows two different locations and search criteria. The one on Site Meter shows a search from "Blogger Preview" and an IP from Philadelphia. The stat on StatCounter shows the search from Greenbelt MD looking for the 1-800 number from my previous post (at the same time) with an IP from Prince Georges County Gov't.

Neither shows the opposite for the second search showing on the other counter although they were at the same time.

Needless to say, this experiment will take some careful monitoring.

I'm not really sure how long this test will last, but it should be no less than 2 weeks up to a full month.

For additional posts on statistics, browse the Statistics Category.

Stats as a Trend Spotter

2006-06-15T12:08:00.000-04:00

You can tell a lot by looking at your statistics. Not just how well your blog is doing by the numbers, which is important, but you can see a little of whats going on by the landing pages.

Most of the lookups from Google, MSN and Yahoo are for some variation of "Work at Home" and they land on the front page. There are some searches that tell you more of what people are looking for and who is promoting what.

Some examples:

For the last 2 weeks I have been getting numerous hits on my Blogger Problems post. This is when Blogger (Blogspot) was having major problems.

I keep getting hits on the post on the Importance of Statistics, which means to me that at least one of the statcounters has a major campaign going on.

Of course there are a growing number of hits on the SuperHighway post with the ongoing controversy of Net Neutrality.

It seems Verizon is running a large promotion for their DSL service on the West coast. I keep getting hits on the Finally Over post describing problems and fixes for their equipment.

There is another major E-Mail campaign by Corporate Solutions, I can tell because the 1-800 number in their promotion keeps coming up in Google searches and they end up here.

My thoughts:

I think these few example tell a lot. They tell me that I'm not alone in my problems with Blogger, they have to work on fixes or start losing quite a few members of their blogging service.

Statistics are becoming more important to other bloggers so they can monitor the health of their blogs.

Internet Neutrality is becoming more to the forefront. More people are becoming interested in the subject and want to know more about it.

Verizon is having g problems still with the equipment they provide to customers and they need to give better instructions or find a new hardware provider.

People are getting more leary of what they get in their E-main and tend to look up information on the internet before even making a free phone call.

These trends may not show anything of importance. Then again, they could be a barometer of what's happening on the internet and business.

Have you noticed any trends in your statistics? Do you think spotting a trend for your business is important?

Expect the Unexpected

2006-06-14T13:03:00.000-04:00

I have been asked by a lot of Bloggers I know, "How did I get the Interview with Darren Rowse?" and "How did it affect my statistics?"

The first question is easy to answer. I asked. Simple as that. I sent an E-mail to Darren requesting an interview for Working at Home on the Internet, provided a link so he could look it over and voila. I am glad he thought enough of my Blog to consent to doing it.

The process was nothing more than a confirmation of the type interview (written or audio) and sending a list of questions to him. Even though his plate is full both in business and personally, he was quite detailed (I thought) in his answers.

The second is something I thought would turn out a little differently. As you can see by the graph, there was quite a spike in page views on the day of the interview. The percentage of increase is... somewhere around 300%. Sounds impressive doesn't it? And it is.

I wouldn't have had that many visitors if I hadn't done the interview, so why complain right?
Well, I can't complain about an increase like that. I think if I would have promoted the interview a little better, more in advance of posting, I may have had even more hits.

Another unexpected result was how few comments there were on the post. There were only 10 comments and half of them were my responses (thanks to those who did participate). I thought more people would have been interested in asking questions of Darren (I know he monitored the post).

For those of you who are interested in how much I made on the post, .37 cents for the day. To the question of any offers... nothing yet.

So, I guess this goes in the category of plan ahead. Prepare for both the good and the not so good. If you promote a project properly, you should see some decent results. But, be prepared for the fact that not everything turns out the way you planned.

I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression with what I am saying. It was worth the effort and the increased pageviews helped. There have been more visitors on a daily basis since the interview. So, overall it was a good experience and I would do it again, although differently.

Related Post:
Interview... Darren Rowse of ProBlogger

Change is Not Easy

2006-06-13T12:12:00.000-04:00

If anyone asks you how many posts it takes to run out of things to write about... It's 300...

I'm just kidding. This just happens to be my 300th post on the Working at Home on the Internet Blog. It started life with at different name, "Self Improvement by Working at Home".

I never really liked that name, but I tried various titles for the blog even before that. Work at Home in any form was taken and I was trying to find a way to fit into the niche. I thought that Working at Home was an improvement over working for someone else in an office, so I grabbed the first name available.

I had registered the Blog with every service that I could under that name, from FeedBurner to Technorati. The problem was, I still didn't like the name. I found that changing the name on Blogger was quite easy, so I made the transition to Working at Home on the Internet.

That's when I found out the hard way that change is not easy. I had a small following... of loyal readers, some of whom I haven't seen since the change. I attribute this to the way I just changed and didn't really promote it correctly.

I made all the changes on every feed and subscriber service I belonged to, but I neglected to do a pre-change promotion. Even thought I didn't change the URL, people had subscribed to various services by the name of the Blog. This lead to a loss of readership for which I was not prepared.

I have more that recovered from that original loss and have actually built a decent following since. The reason I bring all of this up is, I am considering another change. Actually, it is Two Major Changes.

SEO has stagnated. I think the major reason for this is my URL mcbsconsulting.blogspot.com has nothing to do with Working at Home as far as searches are concerned. I do get some results with the Blog name since the Title contains the right Keywords and I have so many posts floating around the internet.

I have found a few possibilities for a Domain Name, workingathomeinternet(dot)com/net/biz that I feel could help in the area of SEO. It doesn't cost too much to buy the domain(s) but it is a Major Change.

The other consideration is that Blogger (Blogspot) has been having major problems with their server, uploading, saving drafts and publishing. This is not a small thing when you try to pre-write posts and publish at least once a day. That leads to another possible problem, will a new hosting service be any more reliable than Blogger?

These have to be addressed, sooner rather than later. I do worry that, since these are such major changes, I would have to start over from scratch. I have invested a lot of time trying to get established. I don't want it all to be for naught.

I also can't see waiting too much longer and just hoping for the best. That will just augment the problems and be worse in the long run.

A Blogger friend of mine, Chris Cree over at CREEations has just made the move from a Blogger Blog to his own domain. I hope he doesn't mind me watching how things go with his move before I make my decision.

Stay tuned for further developments.

The DO List of Blogging

2006-06-12T11:18:00.000-04:00

Quite often I see posts about blogging and the author tells you what NOT to do. I guess they think reverse psychology works better than just telling you what are the best things TO DO.

So, I have complied 10 things I think you should do in order to portray your blog in a favorable light. This is my DO LIST:

~~ Write Good Content... Content is the reason people come to your blog. They are seeking information that you are trying to provide, so give them what you want. In my post Content is King I go into greater detail on the subject.

~~ Post Frequently... Posting at frequently will help expose your blog, the more you post, the faster Search Engines will pick you up. It also helps your readers know when and how often you post.

~~ Use Titles for Links... When linking to other... Blogs, Articles or Previous Posts, use the Title of the Link. It better explains what a reader should expect if they click a link you referenced.

~~ Link to Previous Posts... This serves to give your readers additional information that you have previously written on the subject. It will also draw them further into your Blog and could encourage them to surf around there a little more.

~~ Author Picture... This is something I just recently did myself. Put a picture of yourself in the About Me section of your Blog. Even one as bad as mine seems to make a blog a more friendly place to visit.

~~ About... Use this to describe yourself, your ideas and what you are trying to provide with your Blog. If you use Blogger and have more than one blog, this could be a little tricky to word correctly because it shows on all of your blogs. I have to rework mine to be more descriptive, but remain generic enough to fit all of them.

~~ Domain Name... Your Domain Name should reflect your main objective, mine should be working at home(dot)com or something similar, however my company was named long before I started any of my Blogs. I have been looking for a domain name that fits my profile, but so far nothing fits and I can't see getting the wrong one.

~~ Categorize Posts... If you have been writing for some time on a subject in any niche, you will no doubt write posts that fit in certain categories. If you put posts in a category, people will be able to find whatever information you can provide. This will help navigation and again, draw visitors deeper into your blog.

~~ Link to Sources... If you are providing news or information from another source, Link to It. Be sure to provide your readers with good information and where you found it. This will create a more loyal readership.

~~ Link to Other Blogs... Your readers will probably enjoy knowing what blogs you read since most are probably related one way or another to your niche. This will also help with SEO and Blog Search Engines.

I know there are more than 10 things that can be done to enhance a Blog. What have I missed? Can you add to the list?

Previous Posts:
Content Is King
The Value of Links

This Weeks Helpful Reads...Week 9

2006-06-11T08:35:00.000-04:00

This is an ongoing series of interesting and helpful reads that I have come across on the Internet.

I try to include the most helpful articles and links each week to provide the widest range of information for the home business entrepreneur.

No-one links to the linkers by Andrew Garrett... Andrew explains his transition from link blogger to a content blogger.

GPL Licensing: Find Your Way Through This Mess by Aaron Brazell... He explains how some people can misuse GeneralPublic License.

Working from Home by Mary Schneider... A nice little story about explaining working at home.

Can't you See I'm Working? by C.J. Hayden... C.J.'s take on how to make working at home work for you.

I hope you find some of these articles informational and helpful. I think they will be enjoyable reading nonetheless.

~~~ All the above can be considered infected with the Link-Leak Virus ~~~

Access Links to Previous Helpful Reads

Handling Nothing

2006-06-10T12:26:00.000-04:00

When there is really nothing in your genre that is pressing to write about, there are a few things to try in order to get the creative juices flowing.

Probably the most obvious is go through your archives. There is probably something in there that could or should be updated. If you have been working on the internet for a while, you most likely have many things in there that haven't been touched in a while. Rework them and present them in a new light.

Another thing that might help get things going is to do something else involving the business. You can go over stats to see how the site is progressing. Do your accounting, see where you stand with your game plan and translate that into a post.

If you have Multiple blogs or websites, work on one or more of the others. Often times, I find that working on another project helps kick start my main objective, what's on the table for today.

Pre-write a post set for another day. Again, this could help in getting today's post started, or even turn into today's post.

Take a walk. Just get away from the office for a while, clear the mind and things will begin to flow.

Whatever you do, Don't just sit in front of the computer and stare at a blank screen. If there is nothing there, then there is nothing to inspire you.

How do you handle a slow day for your home business? Do you have any special tips for other readers?

Related Posts:
Writing to Fight Apathy
Battling Writers Block

Turning Down an Offer

2006-06-09T09:46:00.000-04:00

Recently, I was offered an opportunity to write for a Blog that is just starting out as the primary Blogger. Don't worry, I'm not going to do it, and I'll explain why.

My main concerns were twofold.

First. Although I would have only had to write a minimum of one post per day with options for more as the need arose, I thought about what that would entail. Either I would have to spend time investigating subject matter or it would be provided to me to present to the readers.

I spend quite a bit of time already researching and writing for the Blogs I own, so I couldn't really invest much more time doing research for another project. If the content was to be provided to me, then I would be more of an editor than writer. That is not my intention when I Blog.

Second. I would not have final say in what I wrote. The final decision on my posts would have been made by someone else. Not acceptable. An Editor can correct spelling, grammar or any number of things, but not what I write. Either publish the content as presented or not, but I have to have final say on my thoughts and how I present them through words.

I really would have liked to try my hand at writing for another Blog, but I feel I need to put 100% into a project or not do it at all. I need to be able to put the time into a project, and then present it as I see fit.

I'm a Pisces, so I do compromise and try to understand other points of view, but in this instance, I will not compromise my principles. If I can't give it my all, I will give it none.

Three Days in a Row

2006-06-08T13:04:00.000-04:00

Blogger is down again today, so if you see this consider that I was lucky enough to get through the problems long enough to post.

I lost the rant that I was writing on the last try.

Maybe later, I will be able to post something interesting...

So, Surf around the Blog, use the Navigation Links in the Sidebar to find something you might like.

Joe

Interview... Darren Rowse of ProBlogger

2006-06-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Darren Rowse is probably the main reason I didn't give up on Blogging. Long ago, I was searching for various ways to improve my work at home situation. In surfing through different websites, forums and blogs I was continually coming across ProBlogger and some guy from Australia named Darren Rowse. In visiting and reading some of the posts Darren had written, I became a regular reader.

That was back in October, and since then I have found enough information on his Blog to encourage me to continue with my efforts.

So, may I present my interview with Darren Rowse...

Me... Could you give us a short description of your workday?

Darren... I work at home so work generally starts a few minutes after waking up with a coffee in hand.

I’ve experimented with different workflows but am slowly moving towards a new weekly rhythm where I focus upon a different task each day of the week.

Mondays tend to be ‘writing day’ where I leave the house and camp out at my favorite café with my laptop and just write. My goal of Mondays is to write enough quality content for two of my main blogs that I don’t really need to write much else for them during the rest of the week.

Tuesday through to Thursday I tend to work on updating my news oriented blogs in the mornings and use afternoons to... respond to emails, network, work on b5media etc. In the evenings I also tend to do newsy type posts as they are less demanding and I can do them while watching TV with my wife.

Fridays are becoming a day that I try to spend more time with my wife in the mornings. We go for breakfast and sometimes a movie in the mornings and in the afternoons I usually get back to work.

Weekends I work intermittently throughout the weekend depending upon what else we’ve got on and what is happening on the blogs.

For a fuller description of the types of things that are in my workflow you can read my ‘Day in the Life of a ProBlogger' post. It is obviously a little different these days but the tasks that I try to achieve are all in there.

Me... How many projects do you work on in any given day?

Darren... I have 10 or so blogs that I personally write on at this point. I’m also a director of b5media which is an increasingly large focus for me and am involved in a number of other writing projects. Most days I would do some work on virtually all of these tasks (some of them would only take 5 or so minutes though).

Me... Do you have any special way to schedule so many projects?

Darren... Not really. I am a pretty spontaneous guy and go with the flow a fair bit. I do use the calendar feature on my email client (Entourage) to schedule meetings (mainly for b5 or my collaborative writing projects) but much of the rest of my work is scheduled largely upon what hits my news aggregator (Bloglines). As things come into that I tend to write posts that bounce of it.

Me... Have you had any projects that you gave up on for whatever reason? Not profitable, loss of interest?

Darren... Sure – there are a number of blogs I’ve stopped posting to in the past 6 or so months. This was mainly because the amount of time I was putting into them was not justified by the returns. It probably also reflected my own waning interest in them.

Me... With a baby coming soon (congrats by the way) have you thought about what type of adjustments you'll have to make?

Darren... This has been something that we’ve been pondering for the last few months. I guess as first time parents we don’t really know the pressures that having a baby at home in the same space as a home business will bring.

I’m really looking forward to it on one hand as I’ve always wanted to be quite involved in the lives of my kids growing up. On the other hand it’s a bit daunting as I look at how much I already pack into my life and wonder how I can possibly sustain the levels of work.

My wife’s been at home for a couple of weeks now and we’ve begun to work through how to make that work (it’s odd having someone here all day) but having a baby home as well will be more of a challenge I guess. For one I know I’ll be tempted to want to be pretty involved (a good thing) but also know that there will also be times of real distraction.

I suspect I’ll take my work on the road a little more to give us all some space but am not terribly worried because the nature of my workflow is that my day is very ‘bitsy’ and I’m moving quickly from one task to another all day – I think this could lend itself to having interruptions all day.... But then again I could be kidding myself!

Me... What do you do when you just need a break?

Darren... I’m an avid photographer so a lot of my relaxation happens around that. I also enjoy movies, reading, gardening and some mates and I occasionally have a poker night which is fun.

I should also mention that in my ‘spare time’ I run a small church which we started 3 years ago (it’s how I actually got into blogging). So time each week is devoted to that. I used to be a minister as a job but these days it’s just a voluntary thing.

Me... Any new projects in the offing?

Darren... I started Digital Photography School a few weeks back so that’s taking a lot of my creative energy at the moment. I’m also working on an e-resource and we’re working hard at taking b5media to the next level which will involve quite a few new things.

Me... Do you have any advice to share with people that work at home on the internet?

Darren... Probably the main thing I’d advise is to take a long term approach. While many claim that you can make quick and easy money online I’ve found that it’s anything but quick. I’ve been at it for over three years and have worked very long hours to get to the point that we’re at.

The early days didn’t pay much at all and I could easily have given up – but I’m very glad I stuck at it!

I really enjoyed this whole experience, from asking Darren to do the interview to being able to give you an insight into the work at home life of Darren Rowse, THE ProBlogger.

I hope you found this as rewarding as I have. Comments are always open, so let me know what you think.

Darren Blogs at:
ProBlogger
Digital Photography Blog
Digital Photography School Blog
b5media

A Different Type of Isolation

2006-06-05T10:32:00.001-04:00

"Hey, guys did you read the interview I did with Liz Strauss the other day?"

"Who's Liz, who?"

or

"I have this interview coming up with Darren Rowse on Wednesday."

"Darren who?"

Familiar scenario?

If you work at home, especially on the internet, you probably run into the same type of situation. You are so proud of your accomplishments you just want to share it with friends and family. You tell them all about it, and they just don't know who or what you're talking about.

Working in an office or onsight somewhere, you can tell your co-workers and they know exactly what you are talking about. They congratulate you for your success, you may even get an announcement on the intercom.

This is a very different kind of isolation than I wrote about in my Overcoming Isolation post. That was more of a I'm lonely, all by myself, easy to fix situation. This is more about the sharing my day isolation.

It is not easy to share something abstract like an internet business. You can try analogies, using terms other "real world" types understand. Try sharing their day and tell them about what you are doing in reference to what they say. Draw a comparison to their experiences with your own. Don't try to overwhelm them with details.

If you start from the beginning and bring them along a little at a time, they will start to understand. They will be able to share in your accomplishments. But, you have to make the effort. Let them understand what it is you do sitting there all day at the computer.

How do you handle it when no one seems to really understand what it is you do?

Related Posts:
Overcoming Isolation
Explaining Internet Business to Mom

Special Announcement...

2006-06-04T12:12:00.000-04:00

This coming Wednesday, I will have a written interview with Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.

I'm quite sure that anyone who has been around Blogging for even the shortest time has heard of and read Darren's Blog. Even if you are new to working at home on the internet, I think you will find his insight quite interesting.

So, be sure you stop by to get his take on Working at Home.

This Weeks Helpful Reads...Week 8

2006-06-04T08:30:00.000-04:00

This is an ongoing series of interesting and helpful reads that I have come across on the Internet.

I try to include the most helpful articles and links each week to provide the widest range of information for the home business entrepreneur.

How I Blog, Girlspoke Edition by the Girls of Girlspoke... A parody of the series recently presented by the Blog Herald.

Unobtrusive JaveScript by Jesse Skinner... Jesse gives reasons and ways to separate your JavaScript and HTML.

How to get Traffic to Your Blog by Seth Godin... Seth gives 56 ways to attract people to your blog, only some contradict each other.

What's a great design? How much should it cost? by Matt (Blog Herald)... Goes over the reasons for the cost of a good blog design.

Interview... ME "Liz" Strauss by Me... A blatant, self-promotional link, but a really good read if you missed it.

I hope you find some of these articles informational and helpful. I think they will be enjoyable reading nonetheless.

~~~ All the above can be considered infected with the Link-Leak Virus ~~~

Previous Links:
Week 7... 5/28/06
Week 6... 5/21/06
Week 5... 5/14/06
Week 4... 5/7/06
Week 3... 4/30/06
Week 2... 4/23/06
Week 1... 4/16/06
Today's Good Reads... 3/22/06

Pick a Pic

2006-06-03T08:23:00.000-04:00

Ok, it's time for another change. My plan is to put a picture in my profile. The biggest problem is that I don't really have a good recent picture of myself.

So what I want to do is ask your opinion as to which picture I should use.

1. Top Right is me on the left, rear view (my best side).
2. Top Left is me (on the right) being a smart ass after taking down a Big Oak Tree.
3. Middle Right after work relaxing and laying back.
4. Bottom Left, lowering the head from a Big White Pine, fixing storm damage.

The choice is yours, but my favorite is either #3 or #4. Shortly, there will be a poll on the choices. You can, however, vote in comments from the moment this post is published.

Thanks for your cooperation. Vote Now. Vote often.

Update: The Poll has been added to the sidebar. Please take the time to vote.

Results of My Work at Home Business is... Poll

2006-06-03T07:57:00.000-04:00

Although not very many people participated, I did get some idea of what type employment my readers have. Here are the results:

Self-employed (Internet)
29%
Self-employed (non-Internet)
14%
Telecommuter
14%
Part-time
43%

I was a little supprised that there are more people who read this Blog that are working Part-time. I did think that there would be more Telecommuters than was shown. The difference between the Internet and non-Internet categories is about what I expected, but I did think the S-E Internet would have been higher.

Are these results what you expected? Were you as supprised as I?

I'm going to have an important poll on Saturday, I would like you to pick which picture of me will appear in my profile.

Interview... ME "Liz" Strauss

2006-06-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

One of my Favorite Bloggers and Blogging Friend, ME "Liz" Strauss has consented to a written interview with me. I have been reading Liz's Blog, Successful Blog almost as long as I have been blogging. There is always a good conversation there and she has built a Community of Bloggers around her. This can be attested to by the many people who visit her blog on Tuesday nights for Open Mic Night.

So without further adieu... the interview...

Me... What is your typical work at home day like?

Liz... Oh, Joe, It's not like there's anything typical about me. This is my 7 day basic schedule. You could say my vocation is my avocation. That makes it sound less like I am a workaholic. :)

I get up when I wake up, usually before the sun does. The path goes to the coffee to the computer and to the shower to the coffee and to the computer. Unlike most folks, I write before I read. I go to bed the night before thinking about what my morning posts will be so that I can hit the ground writing. By 10a.m two or three are done. Then I get on to my 3-D world work.

When I get stuck on what I'm writing I stop to read a blog, make a comment, check my stats as treat. That usually frees my brain to go back to what I was working on. Emails and comments on Successful... Blog interrupt all day long. I love that part. Folks always apologize. I don't see the need for them to do that. I like the feeling of being connected those little people-interruptions give me.

I stay at my computer until about 3:30 or 4:30, then I take an hour or two to read fiction -- something for me. At 6 or so it's back on the computer to do more 3-D world work and monitor my blogs until around 11 or midnight.

We're talking typical day here.

About 2 or 3 days a week there are phone calls or meetings with clients that interrupt the basic scene. Phone calls last an hour or so. Two or three business trips a month could be normal.

Me... Do you have a separate office at home?

Liz... We have three separate work areas. One is a room of its own. My favorite is a desk in the living room that is it's own space, but still feels part of the scene. Everything that I need, including a few hundred CDs are within reach.

Me... How does it affect your home life, do you have to make concessions?

Liz... My husband and I both like our own space. We're like a couple of three-year-olds in a sandbox playing side-by-side with different things. It's called parallely play at that age. I guess you could call it parallel work at this one.

Me... I know you do a lot of consulting, do you usually go onsite or telecommute?

Liz... I talk on the telephone a lot. Do a lot of writing work. Occasionally I go onsite, but not often. Mostly I meet up with clients to discuss things when we make plans to attend the same trade show or other event.

Me... How many different projects do you work on in a given day?

Liz... Sometimes as many seven.

Me... Given that you write for 3 blogs, and consult among other things, how do you manage to balance everything?

Liz... I only think about one thing at a time. I breathe in between and give that one thing my total attention. Last night I wrote an email to a client just to say that he was still on my radar and I was still going to be doing his project this coming weekend.

Me... It seems every time I visit one of your Blogs, you are always there in the comments, how do you keep up with it?

Liz... See the answer to question one. I live inside your computer. :)

Me... Could you give an example of what you feel are the good and bad aspects of working at home?

Liz... I avoid words like good and bad--that's my textbook teacher/textbook editor coming out--too many ways that people filter those words. So if you don't mind I'll edit the question.

Could you give an example of what you feel are the advantages and disadvantages of working at home?

The advantages for a person like me are that I can channel my ability to be highly focused and intensely involved in what I'm doing without people misinterpreting my intensity. I can transition in ways that are natural to me and not be stressed by the structure of office life -- which doesn't suit my "non-corporate" personality. No one is here to be threatened by me or my ideas or my height, for that matter. :P

The disadvantages for a person like me are that I thrive on change and input from others. I really don't find my own ideas that interesting. The kinds of work you can do outside of a building is limited in some ways. I like to make things grow, especially companies. It takes time to get in a position in which a company will follow a leader who is not on the payroll.

Me... What do you do if you need a break and just refresh your mind?

Liz... I work with pictures and colors -- anything that doesn't involve words. I go for a walk and look at the trees and the sky. It's very hard to be stressed and to take yourself too seriously when you're looking at creation.

Me... Last question, do you have any special advice for people who work at home?

Liz... Know yourself. Know what you need. Know that you do have a job. Know what you'll say when folks act like you don't have a job.

Don't try to do it with one foot in the water. You'll make yourself crazy looking for work and trying to work at home at the same time. It's impossible to make a decision or a commitment when that's your situation.

Find other folks who work at home too and form a community.

And lastly, if you're not having fun, you're not doing it right. Change something.

I found the conversation insightful and appreciate Liz taking the time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions and sharing her work at home experience.

Don't forget to visit Liz at Successful Blog (especially on Tuesday Nights). There is always a great conversation there.

Tomorrow... Interview with ME "Liz" Strauss

2006-06-01T12:29:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow ME "Liz" Strauss of Successful-Blog fame appears in a written interview with Working at Home on the Internet (me). Liz will share some of her work at home experience and insight with us.

So, be sure to stop by for quite an interesting conversation with Liz.

It's Blog-Tipping Day

2006-06-01T08:56:00.000-04:00

Easton Ellsworth of Business BlogWire started a thing called Blog-Tipping last month. On the first of each month, we should pick three Bloggers we read and give them three compliments and a helpful tip. Since I think it is such a great idea, I thought I would try my hand at it.

Now for my first attempt at Blog-Tipping Day.

Successful-Blog... ME "Liz" Strauss

1. I think the thing that impresses me most about your Blog is the Community I feel when I visit. There is always a good conversation going on and you lead the way.

2. Your posts always have a theme to them, from your Beginning Bloggers posts to the Net Neutrality issue, people know where they are going and how to get there.

3. Since I first started reading your Blogs, I noticed that you were leaking links to other Bloggers you found and gave them your SOB Award (of which I am a proud recipient).

Tip. Proof-read. Spell Check will only correct a word that is spelled incorrectly, not mis-typed.

The Future of the Web... Jesse Skinner

1. Your posts are always full of information and are helpful to even a novice like me.

2. When I visit your blog, I know I will be able to make a comment or ask a question and always get an answer.

3. The layout and navigation of your site is great, that's why I asked for your opinion of my website.

Tip(s). 2 for the price of 1. Post more often, I know you have a full time job, but your information is important enough to post daily. Second, I know you like your site to be clean, but putting an AdSense ad or two won't hurt, and you could make a buck.

Why My Blog Stinks... Steve Remington

1. I like the way you use the reverse psychology approach. You tell people what not to do, then explain what to do.

2. I like the way you involve your readers, using a contest for a logo, among other things. Novel approach.

3. Your approach to writing is very involving. You try to speak to your readers rather than at them.

Tip(s). Another 2fer. #1. Maybe it's just me, but your type face seems very small, a little larger may be an advantage. #2. On your longer posts, you may want to use the (read more...) to save load time of your page.

I think this is a worthwhile project and hope you try your hand at Tipping a Blog(ger) next month. My plan is to continue this project monthly because I like the whole idea of being helpful to other Bloggers and sharing the Link Leak Virus in this way as well.

Have you Tipped a Blog lately? Who was it? How did it make you feel?

How to Get Depressed

2006-05-31T11:58:00.000-04:00

Do you want to become depressed? Or at the least, disillusioned?

Read other peoples statistics. That is probably one of the easiest ways. I check my stats daily (a few times, OK?) as I'm sure most of you do. I don't usually give any numbers if I'm writing about them, I normally use percentages to demonstrate trends or fluctuations.

I read 2 different posts by different Bloggers today, one has been blogging for a few years, the other less than a month. Both have numbers that I would die for.

The one who has been around for a while has feed subscribers in the thousands, and I'm quite sure they are loyal and the number of readers is in the thousands daily. I'm hoping that if I'm still around the same amount of time, I will have such good numbers.

The one that depresses me is the latter of the two. He's been around for less than a month, and he has (according to him) numbers that would put him on the "B" list at least. The numbers he is giving are astounding if true. He seems to get as many visits a day as I get in 4 or 5.

I've been around for a little over seven months. As far as I know, my content isn't all that bad, and I do all the pinging and SEO and linking to others as much as anyone. I just don't seem to be getting the results that others seem to be getting.

It is possible that my niche is that much more restricted than theirs? I'm sure there are more than just a couple of hundred people a week looking to work at home. Maybe, I lost my direction and drifted to far from topic. Possibly I'm just not knowledgeable enough on the subject.

What do you think I need to work on? How can I improve my standing? My statistics?

The Value of Links

2006-05-30T09:58:00.000-04:00

Why is it good to get a little leak from a major blog?

Do you really need an answer?

The other day I submitted a post for inclusion in Darren's (ProBlogger.net) writing project on Habit's of Highly Effective Bloggers*. He included a link to my post along with about 80 something others.

The link was shown on Saturday and my Unique Hits went up 50% and Page Views up 100% for the day. That shows not only the effect of having good solid links to other blogs, but that a good referral will allow more people to browse through your site.

The more exposure you get on other blogs increases the likelihood that you will get more visits and possibly more return visits if they like what they see. This is one reason I am such a big proponent of LLV, if you leak a link to someone else, they most likely will do the same for you.

What Comes Around, Goes Around... One Good Turn Deserves Another... What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander... Tit for Tat... (add your cliche here...)

Don't forget Blog-Tipping Day, June 1.

In Looking up the links, I found a referral on Darren's blog to The Retrospector** who compiled a list of the most popular habits. Some interesting results.

Related Articles:
* Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers (ProBlogger.net)
** The 50 Habits of Highly Effective Blogging (The Retrospector)
My Contribution to the Highly Effective Blogger Project

Memorial Day... Never Forget

2006-05-29T09:43:00.000-04:00

Remember...

This Weeks Helpful Reads...Week 7

2006-05-28T09:48:00.000-04:00

This is an ongoing series of interesting and helpful reads that I have come across on the Internet.

I try to include the most helpful articles and links each week to provide the widest range of information for the home business entrepreneur.

Telecommuting: The Ultimate in Home Work by Jessica Dyer... A look into a life of telecommuting.

10 Habits of Highly Effective ProBloggers by Darren Rowse... Darren's contribution to a write-in project he started.

Credibility In Blogging by Aaron Brazell... Aaron talks about knowing a tabloid from a news source.

Is "The New Your Times" Too Big? by Mark Kingdon... A single-person study on Media Consumption.

Screencasting by Rachel Cunliff... Very informative introduction to a new tool that can be used instead of Podcasts.

I hope you find some of these articles informational and helpful. I think they will be enjoyable reading nonetheless.

~~~ All the above can be considered infected with the Link-Leak Virus ~~~

Previous Links:
Week 6... 5/21/06
Week 5... 5/14/06
Week 4... 5/7/06
Week 3... 4/30/06
Week 2... 4/23/06
Week 1... 4/16/06
Today's Good Reads... 3/22/06

What Do You Think...?

2006-05-27T12:29:00.000-04:00

... about the new layout of the Blog. Most of the changes have been subtle. Some have not.

When I moved the sidebar around to make navigation easier, there were some major changes. I had to rearrange my profile, remove some non-profitable advertisements and move things around in general.

After that came the overabundance of AdSense occurrences. At first I tried moving the ads to the end of the page keeping a full week of posts on the first page. The AdSense revenue dropped dramatically.

Then I tried to just shorten the page to just a few days, keeping the ad layout the same. There was no improvement whatsoever. Which brings us to the present layout.

Since AdSense is my main source of revenue, I put the ads back the way they were originally, showing at the end of each post. So as to not be in breach of the Google Terms of Service, I shortened the page to just two days. That in turn left a whole lot of white space.

Hence, I removed the List of Resources from the sidebar and moved them to the white space below the posts. I still thought there was just too much missing. That is why I put the Last 10 Posts Links after the second post. I think this should make it easier to find the last couple of posts prior to what is shown .

Another major change was the (more...) addition. The reasons are twofold: First is that if there are any longish posts I can show a snippet and give access to the whole post. Second is this is the best way I found to expand comments, so they show as a conversation and possibly entice more people to comment on whatever subject is being discussed.

There were a lot of minor changes that were made over the past few months, most of which I have forgotten about, these were some of the major adjustments to the layout I have made.

What do you think, do you like the new layout? Do you think the page is too short? Too long?

Related Posts:
Check Your Source Code
(more...) in Blogger
How to put a Category List on Blogger Blogs

My Contribution to the Highly Effective Blogger Project

2006-05-26T11:22:00.000-04:00

Darren of ProBlogger.net has a project going on this week. It's called "Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers". As a group project he already has 48 contributors listed. I'm hoping to make it in time on the last day.

So, here are some things I think are necessary to be Effective in Blogging...

~~ Write Good Content... I have mentioned may times the importance of writing good relevant content. With good content you will undoubtedly keep your readers interested in your topic.

~~ Be Consistent... Stay on topic as much as possible, use related subject matter. Post on a regular basis, so that your readers know when to expect something new. It can be daily, weekly or multiple posts in a day, just remain consistent.

~~ Be Active on Your Blog... Invite your visitors to comment on each post you write, then be sure to join in the conversation with them. This is a good way to bring readers back for more.

~~ Be Active on Other Blogs... If you comment on other Blogs, you will expose yourself to other potential readers. Just be sure to leave relevant comments, no one likes purely self-promotional comments.

~~ Be Active in Forums... Find forums that are related to the subject you write about on your site. Join in the conversation there. Again, be sure to be relevant, not spam-like.

~~ Be Original... As the quote at the top of the page says "Don't be the one that copies others, be the one that others copy." Try to do something that no one else does in your niche. Just be yourself, you are unique.

~~ Don't be Afraid to Share Links... If you find something that may be of interest to your readers on another Blog, provide a link. Your readers will appreciate what you are doing for them, and likely return because you provide them with good information.

~~ Don't be Afraid to Change... Being consistent doesn't mean you have to stick to something that isn't working on your site. Whether it is Ads, Layout or anything else that doesn't work, change it to something that does.

These are far from the only ways to find success and be effective Blogging. They can really be applied to almost any work at home situation.

Can you think of any other ways to be an effective Blogger? Share some of your ideas in comments, you know I always answer.

Related Posts:
ProBlogger.net
Content Is King

LLV... Don't Lose the Momentum

2006-05-25T11:58:00.000-04:00

Why are things so fleeting on the Internet? Probably because things happen at the speed of light, or at least the tap of a key.

A couple of weeks ago the buzz was LLV (Link Leak Virus) and before that was Blog-Tipping. I haven't heard much about either since posting LLV... The Good Virus is Spreading*. That's when everything was still HOT.

Liz Strauss visited this Blog as did Easton Ellsworth and Martin Neumann (all link leaks) among others to comment on my article. They all were, and always are, welcome 'round here. I just hope that these two worthy projects haven't lost steam in the fast moving World Wide Web as so many others have.

I would like to keep the ball rolling, and I think I have with the Weekly Helpful Reads** that I present on Sundays.

I invite all of you to continue with spreading the Link Leak Virus and to join us in Blog-Tipping on June 1.

Don't let a good thing slip through our hands.

Related Posts:
* LLV... The Good Virus is Spreading
** Weekly Helpful Reads

For Sale... The Internet

2006-05-24T13:08:00.000-04:00

Beware: Rant Ahead

A few months ago I started using Google Alerts in trying to get information on Working at Home. I thought that the information would be fairly up-to-date, so I would be able to keep abreast of anything new.

The stories are sometimes good, and usually within a day or two of publication. Something I did notice was that they are almost always a "formal publication", in other words MSM, Newspapers, Magazines and Press Releases.

The problem I find with that is they are all commercial ventures. I don't mean an entrepreneur, trying to build his business, but Major Publications. Fully commercial in their all aspects.

If they happen to have anything on Working at Home, it always has something to do with Big Business and how they deal with employees telecommuting. There is almost nothing about the "little guy", the people who actually work at or from their homes trying to run a small business.

If you Google something about Working at Home, you may or may not find something that you are looking for. If you search in the Blog Search, you will find some personal blogs on the subject, but since these major publications all have "blogs" now, you are just as likely to find an article from the Wall Street Journal.

Now, we have Technorati teaming up with the Associated Press along with The Washington Post. If you think we have problems getting indexed now, just wait...

Combine all this with the fiasco of net neutrality and the Telco/Cable Co's, and there will not be any room for the Work at Home types, unless you work for some Big Corporation Telecommuting.

What are your feelings on this? Do you think the Small Business is getting pushed off the Internet?

Related Posts:
Help Save Internet Neutrality
Parallel Super Highways for a Fee
Technorati-Shopping is NOT Strategy (Liz Strauss)

Liz Strauss Will Interview Here Soon

2006-05-23T16:04:00.000-04:00

Every day I visit certain Blogs to see what is happening in the Big Bad Blogosphere. One of the blogs I read on a consistent basis is Successful Blog. It is always informative and entertaining as well. Most likely because Liz Strauss is very active in her comments after any post.

I have asked Liz if she would do an interview for me on her Work at Home experience. She accepted without hesitation, probably because she's the nice one.

I am not trying to turn this blog into any type of Blogging Celebrity page. I just think that some of the experiences that professional, "been there, done that" Bloggers who Work at Home on the Internet can help us all.

I'll let you know when both Liz's and Darren's interviews will be published so you will have the opportunity to share in their thoughts about Working at Home.

Joe

Play Catch-up or Plan Ahead?

2006-05-23T11:51:00.000-04:00

I spent most of the morning catching up on the navigation of the blog. It doesn't sound like much of a project. But, it is one of those things that doesn't seem important until you have to play catch-up.

The process isn't difficult. It is time consuming. I did write an article about Procrastination* a while ago, but this just hasn't been a priority. It's one of those things that has to be done in order to keep everything on the blog current.

Trying to write good content is my main priority at all times, followed by research, statistics, SEO et cetera. It is easy to get so involved in all these things (and rightly so) that some of the minor maintenance of the blog just get pushed to the side.

I've even written posts regarding this subject time and again. From how important it is to Back up Your Files** to the Importance of Working Offline*** Most were written as much to remind myself as to help readers.

I think it is time for me to update my game plan. Make sure I schedule some time to do the little things that are needed to keep everything running smoothly.

What are some of the "little things" that you keep putting aside? How do you handle playing catch-up?

Related Posts:
* Procrastination Doesn't Work at Home
** Prepare for Disaster
*** Working Off-line is Important Too

What Do You Do Working at Home?

2006-05-22T12:31:00.000-04:00

I have conducted polls on this blog in the past and found some interesting things about my readers. So, I am going to conduct a small survey regarding the type of Work at Home situation my visitors are in.

This will be a non-scientific, non-official, poll. I think it would be interesting to see what percent of my readers work for themselves or telecommute for a company.

I will put in the sidebar and it will run for a week. Please take the poll so I have an idea of where I may need to focus future posts. You can also answer by clicking on the above.

You can get free polls at dPolls.com

This Weeks Helpful Reads...Week 6

2006-05-21T08:14:00.000-04:00

This is an ongoing series of interesting and helpful reads that I have come across on the Internet.

I try to include the most helpful articles and links each week to provide the widest range of information for the home business entrepreneur.

Do you really need search on your website? by Gerry McGovern... An exploration into the need for searchs withing websites.

The Blog Herald: Then and Now by Aaron Brazell... His thoughts on the before and after the sale of the Blog Herad

Lessons from an Umbrella Salesman by Darren Rowse... Darren explains how there is lessons to be applied to Blogging everywhere.

Blogging and Bicycles by Liz Strauss... Liz writes a good analogy comparing bicycles to blogging on one of her other blogs Liz Strauss .com

I hope you find some of these articles informational and helpful. I think they will be enjoyable reading nonetheless.

~~~ All the above can be considered infected with the Link-Leak Virus ~~~

Previous Links:
Week 5... 5/14/06
Week 4... 5/7/06
Week 3... 4/30/06
Week 2... 4/23/06
Week 1... 4/16/06
Today's Good Reads... 3/22/06

(more...) in Blogger

2006-05-20T11:42:00.000-04:00

I have been looking for a way to expand comments in the Blogger format for quite some time. In the past I used the http and the url for the post then #comments.

This works fine if you want to spend the time to publish the post to get that particular post's url and add #comments to it manually then repost. This is very time consuming. I found the answer to my problem in the Blogger Help section. It took some time to find it, but the answer is in expanding posts. Click on (more...) below for step by step instructions.

Step 1... In order to add (more...) or (go to comments) or whatever you wish, first make sure you enable post pages in your settings/archive section. Save and republish blog.

Step 2... Once this is done, you will need to add a conditional tag to your template style sheet (found at the top of the template). I put in under the part that is for "posts". (between >style< >/style< (>).

All tags are reversed so they will show in the posts, make sure you use them in the opposite direction.

>MainOrArchivePage< (>)
span.fullpost }display:none;{
>/MainOrArchivePage< (>)
>ItemPage< (>)
span.fullpost }display:inline;{
>/ItemPage< (>)

Step 3... In the post body of the template look for the <$BlogItemBody$> and right after it, place this:

>MainOrArchivePage<>br /< (>)
>a href=">$BlogItemPermalinkURL$<">Read more!>/a< (>)
>/MainOrArchivePage< (>)

You can replace Read more! with anything you wish.

Step4... In order to show a "teaser" and the rest of the post as "more", add this into the post you are publishing.

Here is the beginning of my post. >span class="fullpost"< (>)And here is the rest of it.>/span< (>)

If you do not add this to the post, "more..." will still be at the end of your post and when clicked will show that whole post and show full comments.

Don't forget ALL Tags were reversed to show in the post. (>) is shown only because all tags need to be closed.

Related Posts:
How to put a Category List on Blogger Blogs
Blogger Help

Content Is King

2006-05-19T11:17:00.000-04:00

"Content is King" I am not sure who coined that phrase, but it all so true. I was going over some of my statistics on pageviews yesterday, and I found more reasons to ensure that your content is good, timely and topical.

There is a listing in the sidebar for Most Viewed Articles. I got the information from my statistics. One of my best viewed articles Help Save Internet Neutrality*, was the highest amount of pageviews/unique visitors I have had to date.

Granted it was a spike in the stats for the day, and went down slightly as time passed, but it shows me how important being topical is to getting new visitors. My PV's have leveled off since then, but are still higher than prior to that post.

I have seen this effect when I have an article that people are interested in, but usually it is something in the content that lead them to my page. An example is that people are always searching for "scam" with various company names. That usually leads them to the Scam or Legit** page, which contains various companies I have dealt with on the internet.

Some people will tell you to make sure your content is Keyword Rich, which is an important tip, but don't do it at the expense of your content. Make sure your posts are readable and make sense regarding the subject about which you are writing. If the keywords fit into the conversation, then use them.

There are many times that you will find new readers through searches using keywords and phrases you never thought of in regard to your posts. So, your whole post becomes a list of keywords and phrases by which people searching for your subject can find you. Remember... "Content Is King"

Related Posts:
* Help Save Internet Neutrality
** Scam or Legit

Got a Question for Darren Rowse?

2006-05-18T09:08:00.000-04:00

I have been in contact with Darren Rowse of ProBlogger fame by E-mail asking if he would be interested in an interview regarding his Work at Home experience. He has gratiously accepted.

I have a few questions in mind, but I am really interested in your questions.

So, if you have a question you would like to ask Darren about his ideas on Working at Home on the Internet, now is your chance. Please keep them brief and on subject.

All you have to do is leave a comment with your question. If I use your question, I will make sure you get credit and include a link to your Blog or Website in the final post.

Joe

Writing to Fight Apathy

2006-05-17T13:18:00.000-04:00

Sure, there are plenty of things to write about. I read an article about how gas prices are leading to more companies allowing more employees to telecommute.

Then there is the threat of the Bird Flu, whatever number it is, leading many companies to the same conclusion. Have people work from home.

In this whole senerio, there are great reasons for companies to want employees to be able to conduct some portions of the business at home with their own internet connections.

There are the want-to-be self-employed, and their aspirations to be the next Rockefeller or Carnagie or Gates.

All these take a person with a certain type of personality. They have to be able to work unsupervised. They have to be self-starters. They need to know the business, whatever it may be.

But, there are days, even I just don't feel like doing my job. I know there are plenty of others that go through the same thing. It's not writers block or anything so easily fixed. It is just apathy. I love my work, but not today.

I have looked at my statistics and although they have been increasing recently, as of late they have grown static. They just don't seem to move. So, I ask myself if it is worth continuing to beat my head against the wall?

Today is one of those days, I am APATHETIC. I hate being this way, but I can't even go sit outside in the Sun, there is no Sun. It's cold, damp and cloudy. I think it's going to rain again. I don't like to be a complainer, but today I will.

"There is no joy in Mudville tonight".

In order to fight the culprit, I decided to write about it. This is the one way I have found to fight the demon. Writing about something, getting it all out, so to speak, helps me get back on track. As I mentioned in more than one post, I usually go outside to rejuvenate, take in the sun, but even then I will write down my thoughts.

Today, the weather is not cooperating, so I thought a post about my apathy would help me, and hopefully, give you an insight into another aspect of working at home.

How do you handle days like this when your normal outlets are not available?

Related Posts can be found in:
The Category... Attitude

Be Professional

2006-05-16T10:47:00.000-04:00

When dealing with clients, customers or people in general, there is one thing you must remember. Be Professional. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". I am not the preachy type, but I feel in business the only way to treat each other is with Respect.

The recent debate regarding an "unnamed" Blog and Designer shows what Not to do. I'm sure most of you have an idea of the situation.

The Blog Owner contracted the Designer to revamp the look and feel of his Blog. He put his own 2 cents in until the Blog looked nothing like the New Design the Designer intended. That being the case, the Designer respected the Blog Owner enough to follow his wishes. (even though she wasn't happy with his decisions).

After the launch of the New Design, commentors on the Blog dissed the New Design. Enough so, that the Blog Owner made disparaging remarks about the New Design himself. He even went so far as to run a post on his personal Blog highlighting another Designer and suggesting that this design would be better for his Blog.

To me this shows nothing but Disrespect for the Original Designer.

This whole fiasco could have been avoided by taking a few things into consideration:

~~ Work together to get a satisfactory Design. The Designer apparently wasn't happy with her own work because of the restrictions placed on her. The Blog Owner doesn't seem to be very enthused with the New Design, as attested by his recent post.

~~ If you're not happy with the Design, Don't launch the New Design until you are satisfied that it is what you want.

~~ Discuss any wanted modifications in Private. Don't launch the New Design then decide that you don't like it because you get a few bad reviews by readers.

~~ If you are not happy with the New Design, part company with the Designer, pay her for the work she has invested, and go your separate ways.

~~ Always act in a Professional manner. There is No Reason to try to embarrass someone publicly whether you are unhappy with their work or not. As long as the other person acted professionally, then all your business, beginning to end, should be conducted that way.

~~ If you were so concerned with your readers response to the New Design, then you probably should have had a contest or a vote on various designs Before the actual launch.

The only way to have a successful business relationship is to always be Professional. If you act professionally, and treat your client/customer with respect, you can expect the same in return. This will be an advantage in any future dealings, and will build your reputation as a Professional.

I know you know the parties I am referring to, so, how would you have handled the situation?

Related Post:
Respect Your Customers

Explaining Internet Business to Mom

2006-05-15T10:50:00.000-04:00

Yesterday being Mothers Day, I naturally called Mom. We went through all the normal conversation, how is everybody, everything is fine, all's well in the Hauckes clan.

Then the conversation turned to what I am doing for work. I told Mom a while ago, when I was home because Pop was in the hospital, that I worked on computers and left it at that due to the situation with Pop. So this time I decided to go into a little more detail in explaining what I do for a living.

Mom is in her 80's, so trying to explain about Blogs, Websites and writing as a business venture is extremely difficult.

I tried the Magazine Article Analogy. "I write articles that are published on the internet." I explained. "How do you make money from that?" was her reply.

I told her that there are companies that pay to advertise if someone clicks on an ad I have on my pages. Further, I made the comparison to ads in newspapers and magazines, trying to explain how advertisers pay for space to promote their products.

She started to get more confused the more I explained. So, I changed the subject back to family matters. She still doesn't understand how I can make money on the internet.

I run into this quite a bit with friends who are not savvy to the ways of the internet as well. Usually, I end up just telling them that I write for a living and leave it at that. I found that trying to explain too much just confuses them.

How do you explain what you do on the internet to your friends and family?

This Weeks Helpful Reads...Week 5

2006-05-14T09:26:00.000-04:00

This is an ongoing series of interesting and helpful reads that I have come across on the Internet.

I try to include the most helpful articles and links each week to provide the widest range of information for the home business entrepreneur.

Sick of Spam? Want to Fight Back? by DavidC... David has found a new free download to actively fight e-mail spam.

How To: Boost Your Blog Traffic by Paul Stamatiou... Great insight into one of the biggest questions of business blogging.

8 Reasons Why New Media is Growing by Darren Rowse... Just as the title says, Darren goes into detail with his thoughts on the subject.

Getting Your Name Out There by Martin Neuman... The Number One tip on how to spread your own word.

Think and Get a Job by Lyman Reed... Lyman's take on the Think and Grow Rich theory.

Don't Ever Make Small Changes by Steve Remington... Steve uses a bit of reverse psychology in Blogging.

I hope you find some of these articles informational and helpful. I think they will be enjoyable reading nonetheless.

~~~ All the above can be considered infected with the Link-Leak Virus ~~~

Previous Links:
Week 4... 5/7/06
Week 3... 4/30/06
Week 2... 4/23/06
Week 1... 4/16/06
Today's Good Reads... 3/22/06

International Flavor

2006-05-13T21:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Liz over at Successful Blog* had a post referencing David Sifry's statistics** on languages being submitted to T-rati.

According to Dave's post the state of the Blogosphere is changing quite a bit. Where English was the primary language used in Blogging a few years ago, it has fallen into 2nd place. You should read Dave's post to find out some of the possible reasons for this and for full stats. At least one of which is the frequency Japanese Bloggers post and using their cellphones to post.

As it stands now:

Japanese 37%
English 31%
Chinese 15%
Spanish, Italian, Russian, French, Portuguese, Dutch and German between 1% and 3%
All Others 4%

What I would like to do is add a little different flavor. In communicating with Liz, she as agreed to share some of her statistics by country at one point in one day. These statistics change by the hour as people around the world are waking up, going to bed, going to work and getting home at different times (or the same time).

Liz's Stats by Country at 2pm Chicago time

48% Sweden
32% US
9% UK
7% Germany
2% Bulgaria
1% Italy

My Stats by Country at 3pm EDT (2pmChicago)

67.39% United States
5.43% Norway
5.43% United Kingdom
4.35% Philippines
4.35% Canada
4.35% Malaysia
3.26% Australia
2.17% Indonesia
2.17% India
1.09% South Africa

This may be comparing apples to oranges since both Liz and I are in the US and English is our primary language, but it is meant to show the International Flavor of Blogging. No matter what language you use, Blogging and reading Blogs has and is continuing to grow.

Referenced:
* Successful-Blog
** Dave Sifry's Post

Previous Post:
wwwtheworld.com

Page Views vs Unique Hits vs Return Visits

2006-05-12T12:25:00.000-04:00

Statistics are the way to measure how well a business is doing. This is true of any type of business whether it is online or offline and any combination of both.

When you Work at Home on the Internet as I do, some of the best ways to take the pulse of the business is through some type of Stat Counter. These services, usually some type of plug-in, measure Page Views, Unique Hits and Return Visits for the most part.

All three work hand in hand to give you an idea of what your visitors are doing once they find your page.

Page Views... These are important because they will give you an idea how people navigate your site. They let you know which pages are the most viewed, how long they stay on each page and when (in some cases where) they go. This can tell you the most popular pages and help in focusing your efforts.

Unique Hits... These are something that you need to watch as well because they will give you an indication of how many New Visitors you are getting. You need an influx of unique or new visitors in order to generate revenue. This is one reason people concentrate on SEO as this is a major way to get people who are looking for your product.

Return Visits... They are a good indication of the popularity of your site. If people have been there before and return, they probably left with a positive response to what you have presented in the past. Again, this can help in knowing where to concentrate your efforts used in conjunction with Page Views.

I have personally focused on the Navigation portion of my site in the recent past. This has raised my Page Views quite a bit. Although the Unique Hits have not gone up quite as dramatically, the amount of time people stay on the site has.

This shows me that I have succeeded in making the navigation easier for the newcomer as well as the return visitor.

Through the use of my stat counter package, I also know that I need to concentrate on improving my SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and improve the content of my posts to enhance the readers experience and hopefully turn them into Return Visitors.

Which statistic do you most need? How does it help you know where to focus?

Related Posts:
Statistics Posts
SEO Posts

Distractions While Working at Home

2006-05-11T12:31:00.000-04:00

Beware: Personal Rant Ahead...

No matter what you do in your work at home business, whether it is strictly writing, researching or any combination of tasks, the last thing you really need is distraction.

If you are in the middle of a project and you get one of those annoying phone calls, knock on the door or a jack-hammer banging away, you lose whatever train of thought you had going.

Today, a good semi-retired friend called. He seems to be having problems with his computer. Nothing major, just that he can't figure out how to get online with his new service. The first phone call wasn't a problem. I answered his question. Thanks and goodbye.

The second, I was in the middle of setting up a post on one of the other blogs. Stopping in the middle of that, I answered another stupid question. Thanks and goodbye.

By the third call, I was on yet another set-up on something else. Again, I had to stop what I was doing to answer the same stupid question for the third time. I started to get upset, raising my voice and asking if he could ever think for himself or is this just a recent problem. Goodbye.

It's not like he is paying me for the information, then I probably would be a little more receptive. This is all done as a favor, gratis... at least he says thank you.

I hate to get angry with a good friend, especially when he needs my help. The one thing he has to understand is that just because I am here all day, doesn't mean that I have nothing better to do than answer his questions.

Although I have done favors in the past, he has more than done his share for me. So, I try to let him know that when I am working, only call me if it is important. Not to call just because I know the answer and it's easier to call me than to call his service provider.

I am trying to think of a nice way to tell him, unless he wants to pay for my services like everyone else, don't call me while I'm working. As I said, I don't mind doing favors, but not when it costs me money, or time when I could be making money.

Update: The same friend called twice (caller ID) while writing this, I ignored the calls.

How do you handle good friends or family disturbing you when you are trying to work?

Related Posts:
Overwhelming Work Load
Unwanted Solicitation Calls
The Balancing Act... Work and Home

Buy Working at Home on the Internet, only $5M

2006-05-10T12:32:00.000-04:00

Of course this is a joke...

I got the idea from Darren over at ProBlogger*. Some of the people who saw it actually believed that he was selling his Blog for $5 Million Dollars. People requested interviews from the MSM in Australia as well as some well known Bloggers. I don't know if anyone actually made any counter offers, that would be too hard to refuse for a Blog.

To be honest, I really think this may have some Work at Home possibilities.

~~ If you have an E-mail campaign, this could be an attention getter. Announce new products or services. Promote sales or specials. You can show just about anything in a "News" format.

~~ The same type of promotions and product announcements could be shown on Websites and Blogs.

Since the "Newspaper" downloads as a .jpg file (pictures) it doesn't take much time to download or upload to your sites and is just as easy to use for E-mails.

Provided by foday.com, it is one of a variety of services in their portfolio. Here is the link for the Newspaper snippet generator.

Disclaimer:
I have no affiliation with and am not compensated in any way for promoting this product.

Update: If you want a real hoot check this out. http://home-generator.generatorblog.org/1443/ It was picked up as a real sale through Google. Let's see if I get any bids. :-)
J.

Reference:
* ProBlogger by Darren Rowse

Blogger Problems Are Getting Old

2006-05-09T12:18:00.000-04:00

I tried to start working today at 8:30 am and it is now 12:16 pm and I am just getting access to my Blogger Blogs.

Today is not the first time these problems have come up. I wrote about a major outage back in February, but couldn't post it here because of those same problems. I had to write and post it on my Webpage. I can't link to it for you as I had archived it on my backup WAH Archive page (also on Blogger) and I still can't access that page.

For the past few months these outages have been recurring at an annoying rate and are really interfering with my work.

Even when you try to look at the status on the Blogger Status page, you can't get any information because it seems they can't update their own page either. If the platform is not reliable enough for their own Blog, how can they expect anyone to have confidence in their service?

I do want to wait until I get my own domain to make any major changes for all the Blogs and Webpages, but Blogger is making it more and more difficult to wait. If people cannot view your pages and you cannot even access them yourself for updates, you will not make any money.

Pageviews=Clicks=Revenue

Without the first you can't get the second or third part of the equation.

Has anyone else run into these problems? How are you handling it?

Mahai's Work at Home Story

2006-05-08T11:54:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I invited readers to Share Their Work at Home Stories*. This one is from Mahai a Freelancer from Romania. He has started his own Work at Home Website Web2earn.com** and has a Blog of the Same Name*** I'll let him tell you his own story, but visit his site for a better insight into what he is trying to accomplish.

At 5:02 AM, Web2earn said...

Hi, nice blog and thx for the info.

Working from home used to be something utopic for me just 2 years ago, as it probably is even today for 95% of all people. However, I found out that while you won’t get rich overnight on the Internet, you can generate some nice income.

Now, I live in Romania, which is a rather poor Eastern European country, with an average wage of about $300 per month. You can imagine what a huge impact my discovery of online money making possibilities meant – especially since I am now earning constant 4-figure USD earnings each month, through various online activities (hosting ads on my websites, freelancing as a content writer and graphic designer).

I tried to put all my knowledge to good use and summarize it in a new website, which I invite you to check out if you have the time. I tried to cover the most profitable and reliable home based business opportunities and categorize them in 10 main groups.

I would, however, be very interested to obtain more perspectives on the topics I wrote about. So, if you would like to share your opinion on any of the things I analyzed on Web2earn or if you have a suggestion regarding the site, I would be more than happy to hear it.

Regards,
Michelle R.

I appreciate Mahai's story and wish him luck in his new endeavor.

My only suggestion to him would be to utilize his Blog more for promotion of his website. Write articles on upcoming ventures. Put content relevant to what he is trying to do with the website and use the various blog promotion tools to help get exposure for the Blog. That in turn should help drive traffic to his website through his blog.

Mahi's Sites:
** Web2earn Website
*** Web2earn Blog

Related Posts:
* Share Your Work at Home Story
Blog Submission Sites

Oh, and Mahai, consider yourself infected with the Link-Leak Virus... Pass it on.
J.

This Weeks Helpful Reads...Week 4

2006-05-07T08:32:00.000-04:00

This is an ongoing series of interesting and helpful reads that I have come across on the Internet.

I try to include the most helpful articles and links each week to provide the widest range of information for the home business entrepreneur.

The myth of "keeping up" by Kathy Sierra... Do we really need all the journals, magazines, and everything else we "plan" on reading?

Getting Customers to Stop by to See You by Liz Strauss... Liz gives some insight into the similarities of customers at trade shows and blog readers.

Making Money While Others Do the Work by Darren Rowse... Darren explains how good business relationships early on, pay off in the long run.

Benefits of Working From Home by Dominic Foster... A worthwhile article on the benefits of working at home.

How to Make Money From Your Blog by Steve Pavlina... Steve explains in detail how he went from $4/day to $200/day without all the paid marketing and promotion.

I hope you find some of these articles informational and helpful. I think they will be enjoyable reading nonetheless.

~~~ All the above can be considered infected with the Link-Leak Virus ~~~

Previous Links:
Week 3... 4/30/06
Week 2... 4/23/06
Week 1... 4/16/06
Today's Good Reads... 3/22/06

LLV... The Good Virus is Spreading

2006-05-06T12:29:00.000-04:00

Link Leak Virus, Link Leak Project, Link Love, Blog Tipping... Whatever you call it, giving is as good as getting.

I really don't know how it all started, but I know it is picking up speed. I'm not sure how it is really supposed to work other than giving links to other Blogs. I'm not sure if you are supposed to use the names of the Blogs or Authors, but I will.

Liz Strauss at Successful-Blog (link-leak) has an article about it. As does Martin Neumann at Small Office Herald (link-leak) who calls it the Link Leak Project. I think it started at Simplenomics (link-leak) by Mike Sigers back on April 26th (that's as far as anyone knows).

It could really go back to Easton Ellsworth from Business Blog Wire (link-leak) starting Blog Tipping on the 1st of each month.

It seems, no one really knows... but the idea is really simple. Most of us are not A-Listers. They all link to each other for their own purposes. We as B, C, and D Listers have to do what we can to give each other some exposure to new readers.

Apparently, I have been doing that unknowingly by trying to give you some additional information to help in your Work at Home endeavors. I had hoped that the links would just be helpful to you and that they would give you new sources of information.

What is it really called? I still have no idea what to call it other than a Good Idea.

If you use a Blog in your Business, make sure to share IT, whatever IT IS.

Update:
I don't think Keith Dsouza (link-leak), of the Blog by the same name, wants to be the only one not infected today, so I hope he likes Swans. I know it's supposed to be three, but since I was already at four, why not five?

If you feel left out, let me know and I will add your link. But remember, there is always tomorrow or the next day.
J.

Another Venture for Working at Home's Author

2006-05-05T11:19:00.000-04:00

I will be launching another Blog in the near future. Nothing at all to do with Working at Home, or the Internet, or Politics.

Every once in a while, depending on what's going on at the time, I contemplate alternate realities to different situations. I have always been a Science Fiction reader/watcher. From JRR Tolken to Gene Roddenberry, books to movies, I always look at how I would have had characters act and think of different endings.

The new Blog will be in the form of Short Stories. I have yet to decide on actual length and whether to use multiple posts for a single story. I guess that will depend on the individual tale.

I think the biggest consideration will be the way all blogs are laid out, most current entry first. How do you portray a story that has the ending as the newest post? That is why I may just use one post for an entire story, which is also one reason for them being Short Stories.

Also, since there have been a lot of problems with Blogger lately, I am going to try out Word Press as a platform. It seems they have a bit more flexibility in the templates and layout of Blogs. If it works out, I may transfer all my Blogs there. But, I will probably wait until I have my own domain for any major changes in that area.

Once I have written a couple of stories and have them posted, I will make an announcement here. I may even try some of the ezines and article submission sites.

(Looks like I am starting my own little network, this will make 7 sites I maintain).

Update:
I may end up using Blogger for the new venture after all, it seems that WP doesn't allow AdSense or any other type advertising. Since that is my only income stream at this point, I may have no other option but to stay with Blogger. Even though I really like the template I picked for the Short Stories Blog (nice and dark, but not too much so), I may not be able to use their service.
J.

Spring Clean-up

2006-05-04T14:38:00.000-04:00

As probably everyone else but me did on May Day (5/1), the rearrangement has finally been completed.

It's not meant to be a totally new look, but to be more functional as a source of information about Working at Home. I make changes periodically, but I think the overall usefulness may improve for different screen resolutions as well as being easier to navigate for everyone who visits.

Let me know what you think, should I keep the new setup or revert to the old look.

Customer Care

2006-05-04T08:34:00.000-04:00

We all have to deal with customers. No matter what type of business you run, they are the only way to success. Without them, you don't really have a business at all.

What brought this to mind was: I have a friend who knows very little about computers. He did something that I told him not to do, order something without asking me about the service. Unfortunately, the service will not work with his system. Since I already knew his system(I set it up), I could have saved him a lot of aggravation and money.

The next step was to repair the damage he had done by trying to install the new program (over the phone). If I didn't know the way he does things and how is system is set up, we never would have gotten through the process and still be friends.

It is the same in dealing with customers. You have to know their requirements and needs in order to best serve them. Here are 5 ways I have found to better care for your customers.

1. Get to know the customer. Engage in conversation. The more you know about them and they about you, the easier to transition into a business relationship.

2. Understand that customers don't really care about your business, they want to know how you can help Them. Don't sell what you can do, let them know how you can help improve their situation or business prospects.

3. Existing customers already know the advantages of using your company. Make sure you keep in contact and keep up with existing and future needs of the customer so you will be in a position to help them when required.

4. Treat everyone as a potential customer, you never know if and when that sales clerk will be the buyer. If you are fair to everyone in your transactions, it is more likely that they will be more receptive to you in future dealings.

5. Don't trap the customer. If they really don't want what you are selling at that point, leave them an option for getting out. If you leave them on good terms, you have a better opportunity the next time because they will remember how well you treated them.

These are only a few pointers that should help with customer relations. Did I miss anything? Is there anything you can add that would help in this area?

It's Nice to be Noticed

2006-05-03T08:37:00.000-04:00

As you may have guessed by now, one of the bigger aspects of my work at home business involves writing. I realize I am not the best writer, but nonetheless it is really nice to be noticed.

It has only happened a couple of times so far (hopefully, many more). The first was by Liz Strauss of Successful-Blog* fame. She awarded me a "SOB" which is the Successful and Outstanding Blogger award she gives out weekly to people who contribute to the Blogosphere.

The second was of a different sort. It was not an award per-se, but rather being quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer. (That is the major newspaper in my area).

On my political blog, I wrote a rebuttal to an article by Robert Litan of the Brookings Institution in the Washington Post** after reading a post on Blinq*** by Daniel Rubin of the Inquirer. It all evolves around the Net Neutrality controversy.

Daniel read my post and updated his original entry to include part of my post in rebuttal to the article by Mr. Litan of the Brookings Institute.

It was a good feeling to read my own words being quoted by a respected journalist. And it doesn't hurt that he linked to my article on the Blog either.

As I said: It's Nice to be Noticed.

Do you have an example of being recognized for your work that you would like to share?

Referenced:
*Successful-Blog
**Robert Litan's Article
*** Blinq by Daniel Rubin
Net Neutrality Threatens Grandparents/Vets (My Article)

Suggest a Series

2006-05-02T12:43:00.000-04:00

Since Blogger is having problems today and posting is a hit or miss proposition, I'm not going to try to post anything that could be lost (it has happened before).

Instead, I am going to ask you if there is any particular subject that you would like me to write a short series about?

Anything work related, especially as it is affected by or with the use of the Internet, I will try my best to comply.

So, leave a comment or E-mail me with any suggestions.

Joe

Check Your Source Code

2006-05-01T11:24:00.000-04:00

In my post Technorati, AdSense and Me* a few weeks back, I explained that I had too many occurrences of the AdSense code.

I think I have resolved that problem satisfactorily. I have had to make some minor changes in the lay-out of the Blog overall. Originally, I had the ads by google link placed within the post itself. I did like the way it showed in the first three posts and not subsequent entries.

What had occurred was that in the source code the link would loop into each post on the page, and since I had shown a full weeks worth of entries... add that to the new link bar in the header and I had eight occurrences.

Another "problem" I had run into is that the link bar in the header has become a better source of revenue than the ads by google link within the posts.

Of course, I didn't want to give up either of my best revenue sources, so I shortened the page to only showing three days and moved the ads by google link to the foot of Contents. I also moved the Google Search to the footer of the entire page.

I did receive a favorable response from the people at AdSense, and they checked all of my Blogs and Webpages for compliance. They all passed.

My suggestion to anyone who uses AdSense is to make sure that you are in compliance with the Terms of Service. Don't depend on your eyes, you can only see what is on the page. Make sure to check your source code, that is what Google checks.

On Internet Explorer, open View in the toolbar, click on Source. Once the new window opens, open Edit, then Find. Type in "pub" to find out how many times it actually occurs. Since "pub" is where your AdSense code embeds your publisher number, you will know where each occurrence is located.

If you have questions as to whether or not you are in compliance, contact Google within your AdSense account. They are very good at responding, and will try to work with you as well. They know that if you make money, so will they.

Related Post:
*Technorati, AdSense and Me

This Weeks Helpful Reads...Week 3

2006-04-30T09:27:00.000-04:00

This is an ongoing series of interesting and helpful reads that I have come across on the Internet.

I try to include the most helpful articles and links each week to provide the widest range of information for the home business entrepreneur.

The Cost of Comment Spam by Darren Rowse... He explains the actual cost of allowing comment spam on your blog.

Best Use of Your Time by Andrew Mclellan... Short commentary on use of time prospecting in MLM.

A web for all or just the elite? by DavidC... Not really work related, but an interesting read nonetheless.

What do Buyers think of Sellers? by Mike Sigers... Mike's thought on sales and the customer.

The Two Most Important Words in Blogging by Brian Clark... Read this and see if you agree with Brian.

I hope you find some of these articles informational and helpful. I think they will be enjoyable reading nonetheless.

Previous Links:
Week 2... 4/23/06
Week 1... 4/16/06
Today's Good Reads... 3/22/06

2 Part Series: Blog vs Website... Websites

2006-04-29T21:39:00.000-04:00

Websites are better suited to Commercial ventures than Blogs. If you have products and/or services for public consumption a website may be your better alternative.

Advantages:

~~ Static... No need to change everyday, only update as necessary.

~~ Products... You can advertise, sell and promote your own products and services.

~~ Navigation... Set up navigation by product types and various categories.

~~ Expandable... As you add additional products, add pages to cover descriptions and features.

~~ Links... By category to various products and related wares.

~~ Customers... Sales are only a few steps away, customers are looking for something to buy.

~~ Files... Easy Upload and Download of new files and backups.

Disadvantages:

~~ Static... Also a disadvantage because SEO likes updates.

~~ Visitors... Must continually get new visitors, rarely get returns.

~~ Community... Webpages are all onesided, no interaction with customers.

~~ SEO... People have to be able to find you, updating for SEO more difficult than Blogs.

As I said about Blogs, these are not the only possibilities, so feel free to add your thoughts.

Additional Information:
Domain Names and Hosting
Vishal P. Rao on SEO
(More information on this subject under Websites in the Category list in the sidebar)

Posts in the Series:
Blog vs Website (Overview)
Blogs

2 Part Series: Blog vs Website... Blogs

2006-04-28T09:38:00.000-04:00

Since I have both Blogs and Websites, I thought I would share what I have found to be some of the advantages and disadvantages of both. I will provide some links at the end for further reference.

Advantages:

~~ Dynamic... You can keep all your information up to date on a daily basis.

~~ Newest First... All new information is shown at the top of the page.

~~ Archives... All your previous pages are listed here for easy access.

~~ Links... Linking to other Blogs in the same genre helps drive traffic to your site.

~~ Blog Services... Using various types of feed services will give exposure to your Blog.

~~ Community... You can have conversations and feedback from your readers using comments.

~~ Sidebar... Add any link, service you provide or advertisements.

~~ RSS... It is easy for your readers to keep current with your headlines through RSS feeds.

~~ SEO... Search engines thrive on current information, the more often you publish the better.

Disadvantages:

~~ Selling Products... It is difficult to sell your own products without being labeled a Splog (spam blog).

~~ Outside Advertising... More often than not you need to depend on other advertisers for revenue.

~~ Old Posts... Readers rarely go past the first page or the newest post, they must be enticed to go further.

~~ New Visitors... You need a constant influx of new visitors to be profitable with any advertising you use.

~~ Familiarity... Some people only stop by once a week or longer once they know how you present your information.

~~ Templates... Although there are a lot of templates to choose from, changing after you are established may be difficult.

These are by no means the only possibilities, so feel free to add your thoughts.

Additional information:
Blogging Platforms
Blog Submission Sites
Posting Frequency
(More information on this subject under Blogging in the Category list in the sidebar)

Posts in the Series:
Blog vs Website (overview)
Websites

Share Your Work at Home Story

2006-04-27T17:08:00.000-04:00

I write each post to be as informative as possible. Unfortunately, they are pretty much one sided. You get only my point of view, from my personal experiences.

There are many other ways of Working at Home with which I have either limited or no experience.

Some examples:

I am a guy, so I have no idea what it is like to be a Work at Home Mom.

I have tried the survey circuit, and it just didn't fit my personality.

Neither did Auto-surfing, MSM, Pay to read E-mail or selling affiliate programs.

I settled on trying to find the best and most cost effective ways to Work at Home for myself, and share them with you.

So, if you would like to share your experiences Working at Home, good, bad, funny, just click on the "Share Your Work at Home Story" link in the sidebar to send an E-mail with your idea.

This could be a good way for you to bring exposure to your own site and to help someone else trying to start a Work at Home Business.

2 Part Series: Blog vs Website... Starting Friday

2006-04-27T13:51:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned back on April 5, I am going to start Writing in Series Form* at different points to better explain various subjects.

I had written a limited comparison of Blogs vs Websites** in December, and did get some response on the subject. Tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday I will present a more detailed comparison to give you a better idea of which may be better for your purposes.

I would appreciate your input/feedback on the subject in order to give the best information possible to those who need it.

Related Posts:
* Writing in Series Form
** Blog vs Website

Overwhelming Work Load

2006-04-26T13:28:00.000-04:00

Keeping up with what needs to be done can sometimes overwhelm us. When I started the new Category list for the sidebar, it seemed simple enough.

It was difficult in the beginning, but has gotten easier as I go along. Once the main list was compiled, it became a matter of remembering to update within each link. The most difficult is actually remembering to do it.

The same is true of starting new pages, such as my Webpage, PolBlog and Freeware Blog. It seemed easy. Start a new page, update it regularly and continue to find new things to write about.

It seems some days are easier than others. I didn't update the Webpage for over a week. The PolBlog had to wait until something important had to be said. The Freeware Finds Blog, has just been put aside until I can find new products that are free to the consumer.

I have been spending some time updating some of my sites, and will update the others when I can. Up until now, I would just update when I thought of something for each site. Sometimes forgetting to update or running out of time altogether.

This does not even include taking care of some of the other computers for which I am responsible. They have to take priority, so I need to adjust to emergencies as they arise.

At this point I think it is time for a new game plan. I need to reset priorities, list what has to be done, how often, and in what order. That has to become my priority, and everything should fall into place.

How do you handle your work load when you seem to get overwhelmed?

Related Posts:
The Best Laid Plans
Working Off-line is Important Too
Help Me Get Organized

Help Save Internet Neutrality

2006-04-25T13:18:00.000-04:00

I read more than one post today regarding Net Neutrality. I actually wrote a post my self on my PolBlog. This could be a Big Problem if you Work at Home on the Internet, or do anything else there at a reasonable price.

I know I said, that I would keep the Political Rantings on the other Blog, but this could be more important than any of us realize. I will include quotes and links to these other Blogs so that you can find out more on the subject.

My entry into the fray:

Back on March 28th I wrote an article for the PolBlog, SuperHighway or Toll Road*. In it I mentioned that the Broadband, Cable and DSL providers wanted to charge extra for additional speed and preferred access.

There is a fledgling movement underfoot. Some of the more important ( in my eyes ) Bloggers and internet users are starting to bring the problem to light.

ME "Liz" Strauss of Successful Blog** writes of Blogging and Country Stores:

So hear me whisper this. Some folks don't care about country stores and communities. They care about pipelines that carry bits and bytes and how much they can charge for that service. . .

Would you read what I read today by a man named Jeff Pulver? He's running a contest for ideas to help make people aware. Here are the rules.

I really like our country stores a lot. My life would be less without all of you. What if WE Go the Way of the Old Country Store?

Brian Clark of CopyBlogger*** writes of the Four Horsemen of the Internet Apocalypse:

The US Congress is pushing a law that would abandon Network Neutrality, the Internet's First Amendment. Network neutrality currently prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner from deciding which Web sites work best for you based on what site pays them the most. Without Network Neutrality, the scenarios outlined above are just the beginning. And it will affect people all over the world, not just in the States.

Jeff Pulver has started Viral Marketing to Save the Internet+ inviting anyone who can write or put a video together (in a professional manner), to enter his contest++ to Help Save the Internet.

If you care that you are probably going to be wedged off the internet by Big Business, with Congress' help, then try to do something that will keep the Internet Neutral and open to everyone.

I personally plan on writing more that one E-mail to various portions of the MSM (Main Stream Media) in order to get the word out to stop Congress and the Phone and Cable companies from infringing on the Neutrality of the Internet.

Update: There is a petition at MoveOn.org to send to Congress. If this is important to you, you may want to stop by and sign it... and be sure to send an E-mail to your friends.

Referrals:
* SuperHighway or Toll Road
** Successful-Blog
*** CopyBlogger
+ Jeff Pulver's Virial Marketing to Save the Internet
++ Rules of contest

This Weeks Helpful Reads...Week 2

2006-04-23T08:59:00.000-04:00

Second in an ongoing series of interesting and helpful reads that I have come across on the Internet.

I try to include the most helpful articles and links in this weekly series to provide the widest range of information for the home business entrepreneur.

Deleting temporary internet files from Internet Explorer by DavidC... A simple step by step explaination of an often overlooked process.

Working from Home, Creating your first website by Jill Hart... Explains how to go about creating your own website.

FeedBurner Ad Network by Darren Rowse... Darren's preliminary look at the new ad network being tested by FeedBurner.

Editing: Just Some of My Very Different Thoughts by Liz Strauss... Liz's take as an editor on the over use of words in writing.

I hope you find some of these articles informational and helpful. I think they will be enjoyable reading nonetheless.

Previous Links:
Week 1... 4/16/06
Today's Good Reads... 3/22/06

Jesse Skinner, Special Guest Writer

2006-04-22T09:52:00.000-04:00

Jesse Skinner is a Canadian web developer who moved to Berlin, Germany in April 2005. His strongest skills and interests lay in the gap between web design and server-side programming. He is experienced in working with XHTML, JavaScript, CSS and Flash in the browser, and Java, PHP, and ColdFusion on the server.

He has also done database programming and design with Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL and Oracle. He a Certified Java Programmer, Certified Flash MX Developer, and Advanced Certified ColdFusion MX Developer.

And now, here's Jesse...

Working at home on the Internet

In the 80s, you could certainly start your own business. You'd have to save up some money or get a loan from the bank. Then you'd need to pay for an office or store, fill it with furniture, get business cards and stationary, hire some staff, and of course you'd have to advertise your business. You'd just have to pay to make a TV, Radio, Magazine or Newspaper ad, and then pay to have it shown for a few seconds. And hopefully 1% of the people who saw it would call your phone number.

And then in walked the Internet

Now, everything has changed. To start a business, all you need is a computer, the Internet, and probably a web site (costs starting at $0). Now, you can advertise to a specific group of people spread out from across the world. You can also work to make your web site show up on certain search results without paying a cent. You certainly don't need an office. You don't even need to wear pants. And if you need help from other people, you can search the web for the right specialists (who are also probably working from home).

I realise that everybody reading this already knows all this. The whole world already knows all this. But for some insane reason, hardly anybody seems to be reacting! There are still millions of people working in offices. Companies are still paying big money to advertise in traditional media.

This is the time for us-in-the-know to take advantage of what we know and go kick some ass! While the big companies are wasting millions by paying their employees to surf the web, chat around the water cooler, have long boring meetings and fill out time sheets, we can come along and seriously compete.

We can build up our Microbrands, mastering niches we not only excel in but love to do. We can wake up every morning and decide what to do with our companies. Not just our companies, our lives. The possibilities are endless, and the risks are relatively low.

In the 80s, we had to hope our neighbours would be interested in our services. Now, we can service the whole world. And this doesn't just mean we have 6 billion potential customers. This means that we can run a business by focusing on just 1000 people spread across the world with a very specific need.

This isn't just about telecommuting or entrepreneurship. It's a major change in the opportunities available to everyone. It's a major change in the way we can choose to live our lives. And since we're the first ones to have this opportunity, we're going to have to make up a lot of it on our own. But that's not the hard part, that's the exciting part!

I agree with Jesse, that's the exciting part. I hope you enjoyed the article as much as I did, and make sure you visit Jesse, he always has something interesting to read on his site.

Jesse's Blog:
The Future of the Internet

Vishal P. Rao, Special Guest Writer

2006-04-21T09:39:00.000-04:00

Vishal P. Rao is the owner of the Work at Home Forum* and the Home Based Business Opportunities** Webpage He is an expert on SEO applications for the novice and seasoned user alike. Vishal has been kind enough to write an article that should help in our Optimization of Search Engines. I have substituted [ ] enclosures for <> functions for demostration purposes only.

So, without further adeau...

SEO for Dummies

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of designing your website in such a way that it is easily found and ranked well by search engines. In other words, make it search engine friendly.

Contrary to popular myth, you don't need a PHD to get create a search engine friendly website. Even a novice with little HTML knowledge can make their site search engine friendly. Here are some basic techniques to create a search engine friendly website.

Remember, you are not aiming to get a doctorate in search engine optimization. Leave that to the professionals. Your goal is only to follow some basic guideines when creating a website or adding new pages. That's it. Any more obsession with it and you are going to ruin your precious time which must be largely devoted to *creating content*. Don't forget the golden saying - Content is the king.

Now the details...

1) Title Text

This is the text that you see in your browser title bar and is embedded inside the [title]...[/title] tags of your HTML page. This is one of the most deciding factors search engines use to rank your web pages. Don't waste precious space of this tag to fill non-relevant words. Use keywords that reflect the theme of your webpage here. So if your particular webpage is about "vegetarian dog foods", you might want to use - "Vegetarian Dog Food Information" as title text.

2) Meta Tags

The two most important tags that search engines use to rank web pages are Description and Keywords Meta tags. Though keywords tags appear to have lost importance, you must not ignore them altogether.

Again, in the description tag, describe your page as briefly as possible, including keywords you used in your title tags. You don't want to run the text in decription more than 20-25 words. The idea is that if you use more non-relevant text, keyword density or concentration decreases. Just make the sentence look normal and not like it's written purely for search engines. Now for the above example, the text in you description tag might be something like - This article covers information and resources on vegetarian dog foods.

Coming to the keyword tag, do not fill them endlessly with keywords like you find in most web pages. Just laser target to 2 or 3 keywords related to the *page* itself and not your entire site. So using above example, your keyword tag might contain words - vegetarian dog food, dog foods

3) Alt (Alternate) Texts

Alt texts are the text used to describe images on your web page. They are displayed in place of the images if the images could not be loaded for some reasons or the visitor has turned off display of images. Search engines also use these texts to determine the theme of the web page.
As a result, it makes sense to include your targeted keywords here too.

Here's an example:

[img src="/images/vegetarian-dog-food.gif" alt="Vegetarian Dog Food"]

4) Sitemaps

Not only sitemaps provide easy accessibility to visitors of your website, they are also a great tool to help search engines find all the pages of your site efficiently. It's like giving a detailed road map of your site to search engines.

5) Link texts and Interlinking

This is another big factor search engines use to rank pages of your website. Link texts are texts that you use to link to pages of your website. Considering the above example, when linking to that page, don't use texts like "Click here" or "Read more". Instead use "Vegetarian Dog Food" to link to the page. This confirms the search engine's views that the web page is indeed about Vegetarian Dog Food.

6) Keyword density

Keyword density refers to the concentration of keywords on your web page. Generally they should be around 3-4 times spread evenly across your entire page. Once in beginning and the end and 2-3 times in between, assuming your page is of 800 words. If less, then reduce density correspondingly and vice versa. Don't overdo this.

Like I said earlier, you should follow this guidelines when creating a new page but do not make an obsession of it, tweaking your pages every now and then. Just do it and forget it!

I visit Vishal's forum daily, and have learned many things each time I stop by. Be sure to drop in for some interesting conversation and information. I'm sure you will appreciate being there as much as I have.

Vishal's Sites:
Home Based Business Opportunities
The Work at Home Forum

Special Guest Writers Friday and Saturday

2006-04-20T12:05:00.000-04:00

I will be going out of town for a few days starting tomorrow. Luckily, I have two very fine people who have written guest articles which will run Friday and Saturday. The new series of the Weeks Helpful Reads will run as usual on Sunday.

Friday... Vishal P. Rao, Administrator of the Work at Home Forum* and expert on SEO has written an article covering important aspects of SEO for beginners.

Saturday... Jesse Skinner, Owner of The Future Of The Web** and expert on HTML, CSS and Javascript has written a commentary on Working at Home on the Internet.

Sunday... My series of Helpful Links found on the Internet for your reading enjoyment.

I should be back home sometime on Monday, to get back in the swing of things. So, until then, I hope you enjoy the articles that Vishal and Jesse have written. And don't forget to visit their sites.

Guest's Sites:
* Work at Home Forum
** The Future Of The Web

Technorati, AdSense and Me

2006-04-19T11:22:00.000-04:00

For the last few weeks I hadn't been getting indexed by Technorati*. I talked to Liz from Successful-Blog** since she has a working relationship with Dave Sifry at T-rati.

She suggested I leave a comment on her Blog in the Technorati Put Your 2 Cents In post. This I did and Dave answered in a timely manner. He told me that my Blog was on hold for review due to the unusual advertising mechanisms and copious SEO.

That day, he made sure everything was indexed properly and I thought my problems were over. Everything is fine with T-rati now, but in subsequent comments HART brought another (related) problem to my attention.

Although I have used AdSense since the beginning, I found out that there could be a bigger problem brewing. I had set up the ads as I have seen on many blogs, and (I thought) according to the TOS of AdSense.

Upon looking at the Source Code for the Blog, it seems there are multiple occurrences of the AdSense code. You are allowed 3 instances of ads on a page. Since I had only 2 Ad codes, a Google search and an affiliate link everything would be OK.

I sent an E-mail to AdSense right away, and found out they counted all of the occurrences, which came to 8. How I got that many, when the most I should have had was 4, I don't know. It most likely is that they don't count a Post or Enrty as a Page as I did.

Needless to say, I am worried I could lose my AdSense account. I have rearranged and deleted some code and sent another E-mail to them to re-review my Blog.

At present, I am awaiting a response from them, and hopefully things will be resolved with an outcome that is in my favor.

Check out my source code, and if you have any suggestions on how to put an Ad at the end of ONLY the First or Second post, Please let me know.

Referenced:
* Technorati
** Successful Blog

Some Overlooked Home Business Considerations

2006-04-18T12:01:00.000-04:00

In 1998 there were around 4 million people who worked from home in the U.S. As of 2002 the number had risen to around 11 million. If the past is any indication the number is dramatically higher now.

Since the vast majority of Home Businesses are run by one or two people. There are some things you should know if you intend to run a Business from Home.

~~ Sole Proprietorship

If you run any business from home as a sole proprietorship, you and the business are one entity. If someone sues the business, they sue you and can put a lien on your personal property. You run the risk of losing your house and everything in it.

You are better off if you incorporate the business in some manner (the most common is an S corporation), or form a Limited Liability Company (LLC). Either way will put a "Corporate Shield" between you and your company. The business liabilities will be kept separate from the personal.

~~ Zoning

Something else you should consider is Zoning Codes. All municipalities, townships, and small towns have some type of ordinance covering residential and commercial properties.

Most will allow home businesses with certain restrictions. Some you may or may not be allowed to have a sign. Others may allow only a certain number of vehicles to a property, or it may be considered commercial.

Be sure to check with your local zoning authority to find out what is considered commercial in your area.

~~ Insurance

Does your homeowners insurance cover your business if something happens? Some do, some don't, be sure to check with your insurance agent. In most cases it is better to get a separate policy specifically for the business.

~~ Taxes

Since tax time has just ended, it is time to think of deductions for next year. You have to meet at least 3 criteria.

1. The area for your business must be exclusively for that purpose. You can't just set up on the dining room table.

2. You must use the area on a consistent basis, not just once in a while to send bills to customers.

3. You must be able to show that your "office" is your principal place of business, or you meet customers there, or you have a separate structure for business purposes.

You needn't prove all three, but be able to show proof if you are audited.

When you start a Home Business, be sure to consider this list. They are some of the easiest things to overlook when Working at Home.

Related Posts:
The Dreams and Realities of Working at Home
The Balancing Act...Work and Home
Work at Home Pitfalls

Attracting the Non-Techi to Your Site

2006-04-17T10:54:00.000-04:00

There was a post on ProBlogger the other day by guest writer Carolyn Goodwin* in which she asks how to attract non-techi types to her site.

Other than the standard ways of trying to attract customers to a Website or Blog, there are a few that may help attract the computer challenged client. Include your Web and Blog address on all of your hard copies.

~~ Put your Site Name along with the URL on your business cards.

~~ Include them in the Head and/or Foot of all stationary.

~~ Put them in a prominent place on proposals and presentations.

~~ Use them on any fliers and handouts .

~~ Advertisements in newspapers and magazines should have them.

Most people have at least access to a computer these days, so you should try to include the less than computer savvy customer. Invite them along for the ride, and they may just come along. But they will never know unless you tell them where to find you on the internet.

How do you attract the non-techi customer? What would you add to the list?

Reference:
*How to Attract Readers?

Related Posts:
Working Off-line is Important Too
Building Readership
Maintainence Day

This Weeks Helpful Reads...Week 1

2006-04-16T09:19:00.000-04:00

Although I have always provided links to articles I have referenced and tried to give credit where credit is due, sometimes there are just too many things for me to write about that are important to the work at home experience.

I will try to include the most helpful articles and links in this weekly series to provide the widest range of information for the home business entrepreneur.

Blogs: Frequently Asked Questions... Wayne Hurlbert guest writing for ProBlogger.

Malcom Gladwell, Mavens, Connectors and Digg... Graywolf's SEO Blog makes some comparisons.

Thinking Inside-Outside the SEO Sandbox... Liz Strauss shows a different way of thinking about SEO.

Referral Program for AdWords Live for All Publishers... News on the AdWords referral program from JenSense.

Bartender, I'll Have an Old-Fashioned or As a Blogger burns out, his fame fades. too... A conversation between Daniel Rubin, blogger and journalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Billmon of Whiskey Bar fame.

I hope you find some of these articles informational and helpful. I think they will be enjoyable reading nonetheless.

Previous Links:
Today's Good Reads 3/22/06

ME "Liz" Strauss, Special Guest Writer

2006-04-15T07:26:00.000-04:00

ME "Liz" Strauss has her own consulting company. Liz is a writer, career coach, and strategic planner with a focus on niche-brand marketing. Her business writing is known for its clarity, originality, and a voice that develops a warm relationship with readers.

I read her blog, Successful-Blog* daily and reference her posts quite often. I have just recently been introduced to her personal blog Letting me be...** which is her random wanderings and philosophy.

I asked Liz if she would consider guest writing for me, and this is the result.

"Write about anything," Joe said.

How could I say no? Joe is one decent human being with a sense of humor. He deserves the best. What would it take me to put a few words on paper? What would it mean to him? Heck, I could "do" anything. At least I hoped I could.

I'd tried last summer doing nothing. I wasn't so good at that. What I had tried was to consciously think about nothing. Thinking about thinking about nothing kept getting in the way of actually thinking about nothing.

Then I'd see a cloud or a flower and I'd really be off thinking about something--not clouds and flowers. Oh no! I'd be somewhere in Camelot fighting next to Lancelot saving the world from the Black Night of an unpronounceable French province who was determined to crack the world in two.

By the time he was vanquished I was too tired to master the thought of thinking of nothing for that afternoon. I finally gave up realizing that thinking of nothing was something that teenage boys on dates with teenage girls do.

But anything. . . .

Anything for me this afternoon is dropping everything when a friend asks a favor. Why not? I've been trying to slow down my life so that I could live it. Isn't this a great way to do just that? I move from living in the future--all those things that I must get done--into the now.

I say to the universe. "Excuse me, please. I'd like to breathe. I have friend who's asked a favor I'll be right back." The universe doesn't need me to make it keep going. I know that. So does the universe.

So I find myself here, inside notepad, because I don't want to send Joe any messy characters that might mess up his blog software. That would be very unfriendly of me. I package up my unabridged thoughts with a touch of that uniquely Liz humor. It's in here somewhere.

The words come from my heart down my arms through my fingers, totally bypassing that editor in my head. A friend deserves the real thoughts, not the ones with those grown-up words that they teach you in "show off" school.

But the message is hidden between the words in the white spaces, just like they are in the air when two people are together.
Words and people are a lot alike . . . put them together right and they make sense.

"Write about anything," Joe said.

He thinks that he's the one who got the benefit of this favor.
No good deed only has one beneficiary.

Liz

I hope you enjoyed Liz's article and take time to visit her. I think you will enjoy being part of her conversations.

And yes Liz, I did take the intro from your bio.

Liz's Blogs:
* Successful-Blog
** Letting me be...
LizStrauss.com

Mystery Writer Visits Tomorrow

2006-04-14T20:58:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I will have a very special guest writer visiting the Working at Home on the Internet Blog.

I use a lot of her posts for inspiration, so be sure to visit tomorrow to see who the mystery writer is...

Weekly Helpful Links Starts Sunday

2006-04-14T12:49:00.000-04:00

This Sunday I will start a Weekly series which will contain links to sites, blogs and articles I found helpful throughout the week.

This will continue every Sunday as long as I find something interesting and/or helpful on the Internet (I always do). These links should be unique, however, some may have been included in posts already, they will be for the benefit of anyone who may have missed them previously.

Each post will be linked to previous weeks entries for referral.

Don't forget, you can always contribute an article of interest for Your Story Sunday*.

Article:
*Your Story Sunday

HaloScan on Blogger: My Review

2006-04-13T10:44:00.000-04:00

I originally installed HaloScan on February 23, and tested the service since. The following are my findings.

Advantages:

~~ Automatic install for Blogger users. Installation is easy, only a few steps.

~~ User control of the looks, color, various templates.

~~ Monitoring of comments on the HaloScan Website.

~~ Can delete unwanted comments and block bad URL's.

~~ Auto Trackback or Manual Trackback from the HaloScan Website.

~~ Option for backing up your original template.

~~ E-Mail notification of new comments with upgrade to pay service.

Disadvantages:

~~ No Word Verification for comments to help spam moderation.

~~ Can't have comments come up in a conversational mode.

~~ Can't use #comments (for ease of reading previous comments).

~~ Auto Trackback doesn't work.

~~ Manual Trackback from their Website doesn't work.

~~ Only help available is through the forum (which is no help).

~~ No E-mail notification without paying. It's free with Blogger.

Commentary:

Although HaloScan is easy to install, none of the features work as promised. The Trackback feature doesn't seem to be able to find the URL you are trying to ping (Auto or Manual).

The comment feature is useless unless you want to monitor with the option to delete unwanted comments. The better option is to use the Word Verification provided by Blogger.

When you install HaloScan, you lose previous comments made on your posts. If you uninstall HaloScan, you will lose all comments since installation.

Be aware that if you have problems with the initial installation, don't re-backup. You will end up with the problem installation as the new backup of your template. (it happened to me).

The Help is No Help. If you go to the FAQ file, it sends you to the forum in most cases. Once there, if you ask questions you will get snide remarks from the monitors. You won't get an answer. If anything they May refer you to another thread.

Recommendation:

If you have a command of HTML, CSS and JavaScript, you may want to try this service. Just make sure to maintain your own back up of your original template, don't depend on theirs. If you are a novice, you may want to think twice before installing HaloScan, or at the very least have someone qualified do it for you.

Have you had similar problems? Did you find the service useful?

Related Post:
Trackbacks

Respect Your Customers (Readers)

2006-04-12T13:39:00.000-04:00

This is one of those posts that can go in different directions. I read a post over at The Future of the Web* where Jesse is questioning the direction of his Blog. Right after that I read a post on Successful Blog**, where Liz talks about treating customers as people.

They are related in at least two ways. Respect and Mutual Respect.

Respect:

Liz... Respect the customer, treat them as you would like to be treated, as a person, not a number or sale, etc. You will be supprised at the response.

Jesse... Write what you think is important, but respect your readers wishes and what they think is important.

Mutual Respect:

Liz... If you treat your customer with respect they will respect your brand, and you personally. They will refer you to others due to the fact that you dealt with them as a person, not a number.

Jesse... He respects his readers enough to re-think his content. At last look in his comments for that post, most of his readers respect what he is trying to present and are offering support for his efforts.

It doesn't matter whether you are dealing with customers directly, eye to eye, or with unknown people through your writing, you must remember that they are PEOPLE. If you treat them with respect, they will be more responsive to your ideas and continue to return.

Don't forget: What goes around, comes around... You get what you give... One good turn deserves another... and a lot of other proverbs.

What is your experience with giving or getting respect? How did it make YOU feel?

Referenced:
*The Future of the Web
**Successful Blog

To Share Space or Not to Share Space?

2006-04-11T11:45:00.000-04:00

I came across an interesting article at the Washington Post Website by Dan Rafter, Working at Home, and Not Alone* He does a case study of some couples who actually Work at Home in the Same House. (Not necessarily the same business).

Some work in the same room, some need to separate the work places. All in all it is a good look at how some couples handle this type of situation.

I Work at Home Alone, my wife is self employed, but has a Hair Salon in a nearby town. I think that if her business was run out of the house, as some in her profession do, I would never get any work done.

Since most of what I do entails researching, concentration and writing, I need a certain amount of privacy to accomplish my work objectives. Whereas her business is more social, women (and men) in a waiting room, getting their hair done, or coming and going. There is always some type of conversation going on.

Personally, I think the separation of our individual businesses works to our mutual advantage.

Since there are so many people that that work at home (4.2 million in the 2000 US Census, and growing), I'm quite sure there are more than a few who are in the same situation of spouses or life partners sharing work spaces in the house.

I am curious, how many of you are in similar situations? How do you handle it?

Reference:
*Working at Home, and Not Alone

Prepare for Disaster

2006-04-10T10:32:00.000-04:00

I have been out of town for the past few days to set up DSL for a friend of mine. Unfortunately, the equipment didn't show up as was planned, so I did some repair work and updates on his computer.

How is that a disaster, you may ask. It isn't. But, last night the whole apartment building was awakened by the screech of the smoke detectors. It seems that someone put a bottle of a flammable liquid in the hallway and lit it up.

Luckily, one of the tenants was astute enough to grab a fire extinguisher and put it out. Still, the Fire and Police Departments showed up and we had to evacuate the building until they did an initial investigation and determined that it was save to return to the apartments.

Needless to say, none of us got much sleep as we all discussed the situation. Something that I noticed was WHAT people deemed important enough to grab on the way out.

What this leads to is how prepared are you in case of a disaster to recover your business information?

As I have mentioned many times, make sure you have all of your files backed up. This is something many people do not do on a regular basis, and it should be a priority.

Store copies of your files, and hardcopies OFFSITE. When you back up, make sure you do not keep the important information right where you work.

A Big Portion of your Overall game plan, should be disaster recovery. Plan for the worst that can happen and be prepared for anything.

So, when I get home, the first thing I am going to do is (back-up again) and find a nice secure place to store my Business Files.

The Future of Blogging

2006-04-08T12:52:00.000-04:00

I received an E-Mail from Noor, an International Journalism Major, in which he asks about the future of Blogging. He alludes to the way information and news was and is broadcast during the War on Iraq through personal web logs.

In actuality, there were quite a few Blogs that have come out of that conflict. There was one in particular that was written on a daily basis through out a jounalists stint in Iraq, he is a former colonel in the US military. I can't remember his name or the name of his Blog. ( I am out of town, and don't have access to my home files).

This journalist wrote of his (and the platoon he was with) experiences every day, he also included pictures of the events as they occurred.

I am really supprised there are not more writers and journalists that take advantage of the Blogging Medium. But, with instant publishing, I am sure that there is more than a little opposition by the Main Stream Media. They have no control of what information gets out to the general public. The military probably isn't too happy with it either.

I think that as Blogging grows, and gains the respect of the MSM, you will see more and more Blogs under the heading of major news distributors. The local newspaper here has a print journalist that writes his own Blog, and they include excerpts of it in their hardcopy.

So, as long as we who use Blogging as a tool, and not just a play thing, the exposure of exceptional writers will emerge. I do not think that Blogging will replace the MSM, but it could be a valued addition once it gains the respect it deserves.

Phishing for Your PayPal Information

2006-04-07T12:33:00.000-04:00

I have gotten this exact E-Mail three (3) times in a week (so far). IT IS A FRAUD...
I have contacted PayPal at their fraud prevention site and was informed IT IS NOT A VALID PAYPAL URL.

Copy of the E-Mail:

You have added laptopseller@yahoo.com as a new email address for your PayPal account.

If you did not authorize this change or if you need assistance with your account, please contact PayPal customer service at:https://www.paypal.com/row/wf/f=ap_email

Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team
Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered.
For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choose the"Help" link in the header of any page.
----------------------------------------------------------------
PROTECT YOUR PASSWORD NEVER give your password to anyone and ONLY log in athttps://www. paypal. com/ Protect yourself against fraudulent websites by opening a new web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape) and typingin the PayPal URL every time you log in to your account.

If you get this or any similar E-Mail, please DO NOT CLICK THE LINK. Contact PayPal, they Will Respond, probably the same day (they did for me).

If you do get something like this, send a copy to spoof@paypal.com They will look into it right away. And remember, NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION unless you are absolutely sure of the source of the request.

PayPal to Accept Text Message Payments

2006-04-07T11:16:00.000-04:00

There are quite a few of us that use PayPal to get paid by our affiliate and advertising programs. Some use the service to process payments from customers.

Now, PayPal is accepting Text Message payments from cell phones for companies such as MTV, the NBA, and Fox's Home Entertainment.

"With the overwhelming popularity of mobile phones, the time has never been better for the merging of e-commerce and wireless devices" said PayPal President Jeff Jordan.

Users in the United States and Canada can instantly send money by sending text messages using the PayPal mobile service. Customers will have to log into a participating Website (Blog) to register their Cell Phone number and receive an ID # for individual orders.

When PayPal receives the order, the customer is called on the corresponding cell phone for confirmation. Once confirmed, the payment is processed to the seller.

I am not sure if this option is open to everyone yet, but when you sign into your PayPal account, the promotion is all over the place. So, if you are interested, log into your PayPal account to get additional information.

Source:
Associated Press

Introducing... Joe's Freeware Finds

2006-04-06T12:39:00.000-04:00

If you have been working on the internet for any length of time, you have probably looked in vain for certain types of programs to fit your needs.

I am starting another Blog, Joe's Freeware Finds* in order to share programs I have found that serve me well in the area of Running a Home Business. Each will be something I either use or know of people who have experience with.

A review will accompany each link to the home site of the product manufacturer. I will try to give the best information available.

There will also be some shareware programs, and programs that offer free trials of their products. Included will be various plug-ins for use online that may be of interest.

So, if you are looking for free software, visit my new site. (It's still under construction, so watch your step).

My New Blog:
Joe's Freeware Finds

Writing in Series Form

2006-04-05T13:53:00.000-04:00

Something I have been contemplating for a while is writing some posts as a series.

My thoughts... (if I write it down, I have to follow through).

Since I do get a few return visitors, this could keep their interest. It could also entice newer visitors to come back again for the additional installments.

Each series will probably run between 3 to 5 days. I think anything longer could cause some people to lose interest. Each post will be linked to the others in the series, so that if someone happens to come in the middle, they can always find the other entries.

The individual series will have a common theme (really???), so the pictures in each related post will have to serve as a logo of sorts for the series.

The series should be written as a whole. Either all in one day and broken down or individually on a daily basis so as to allow for comments and interaction. This depends on the content type.

I have only written one series until now. That was in response to a poll I had taken a while ago asking people what they wanted more information about. Unfortunately, I didn't include links to each installment and they weren't easily identifiable as a series.

So, instead of taking a poll on what you want, I will ask you to request whatever information is important to you through comments.

How to put a Category List on Blogger Blogs

2006-04-04T12:53:00.000-04:00

The other day I asked if anyone knew of an easy way to make a category list of old posts on Blogger. I got no response, so I took the time (12pm yesterday until 1:30am today) to create the list from scratch.

Here is what was involved.

First I listed the various categories. They are shown in a previous post* (I'll explain why later) with a request for suggestions for additions or deletions. This was the easy part.

I had to create 14 new posts which contained the various archived posts within each. The number of links in each new post varied by category. Some only had a few relevant posts and others had quite a few.

The only way I found to create links within links was to do each one individually. In other words, I draft a post named "Advertising". Within that post I list the name of each post with a short description that fits that category. Then, I had to save the "draft".

To get the URL of each post from the Edit Posts List, I would have to scroll through to find the appropriate post and open that page in the view screen. At that point I had to go to Edit for the individual category to Copy and Paste the URL in the name of the post to which it belonged.

That in turn had to be saved as "draft" because it is the only way to keep the information and get back to the Edit Posts List for the next URL. This had to be repeated for each entry within that category.

Once a category was completed, I posted it dating it for 10/4/05 (the first day of the Blog). This is the only way to create a URL for that category without orvercrowding newer entries. Then, once posted, I would have to copy and paste the URL into the original list (hence, the original post containing the URL's).

This was repeated again and again for each category.

After that whole process was complete, I still had to get the list in the sidebar. This entailed copying the HTML from the original post containing the information into the Template. Once the position was determined, I pasted the HTML into the appropriate area.

Once the aesthetics were complete, I did the final save and post.

I hope that the New Category List is useful to New and Current Visitors alike. Take a tour of this feature and give me some feedback. I would really like to know if it is as valuable an addition as I had hoped.

Related Link:
*Category List to Review

My Technorati Problems

2006-04-02T13:07:00.000-04:00

The other day Liz at Successful Blog* posted a really nice story about Technorati. It was set in the days of olde, and there was a happy ending and all...

The reason for bringing this up is My Blog hasn't been updated by Technorati** for (as of today) 11 days. Now, you all know I post every day. It stands to reason I ping all the services right after I post.

It gets worse. The WAH Archive page hasn't been updated for 53 days. And the PolBlog, which I only update every week, was last updated 4 days ago. I can't explain that.

Although, it is nice that Liz and all who were involved got it resolved, mine still remains lost in the mix. I haven't written E-mails complaining. Not that Liz complained (she's the nice one), but she did know who to write to.

I understand that Technorati tracks 33.1 Million Blogs, but I don't understand the inconsistencies.

I thought the reason they have a pinging service is so that subscribers could notify Technorati when a Blog was updated. This should take some of the burden off them, and a site should be updated at least that day.

Am I the only one still having problems with Technorati updates?

Referenced Sites:
* Successful Blog
** Technorati

Category List to Review

2006-04-01T14:00:00.000-05:00

This is the preliminary list of categories I intend to put in the sidebar. I think it will be a good addition to help navigation of older posts I feel are still important.

I know when I visit anywhere, I like to know how to get around. Especially, if I'm looking for something in particular.

Categories:
Advertising
Attitude
Basics
Blogging
Forums
Google
Guest Writer's Articles
Interviews
Keywords
Linking
Organization
Reviews
Scams and Legitimate
SEO
Stastics
Websites
Weekly Helpful Reads
Work at Home

As I said these are just preliminary, so if you think there should be some additions, please let me know. Use comments or E-mail, I'll respond to either one.

Now I have to put ALL the links in...

Help Me Get Organized...

2006-03-31T11:45:00.000-05:00

I started writing a post the other day about organization. Eventually, it will get finished. But, in writing it, I started thinking of the layout of this Blog.

I think putting the navigation at the top of the sidebar was a good idea. However, in doing that, I found out how disorganized my blog really is. I am closing in on 200 posts that I have written and of course many are related in one way or another.

Something I see all the time on the Blogs and Websites I visit is they all have categories for previous articles. Since I use Blogger, there is no way I have found to list posts in that manner. The closest is having Articles in Previous Posts or Archives.

Neither is really a good way to let visitors view anything in particular they may be looking for. As an example, if you wanted to see my posts on the Basics you would have to go all the way back to October. How would you know where to look?

I know that most of those other sites use different Blogging Platforms, But I still think at this point that I really need to improve navigation on this site.

The only way I can think of to improve navigation with various posts in particular categories is to create separate posts for links in the various categories. This will be the hardest and most time consuming way of doing things. (It's even hard to explain).

So, if any of you are familiar with the inner workings of Blogger and have a way of setting up a Category List, please let me know. If not, I will just have to do it the hard way.

Consider Ad Types

2006-03-29T14:58:00.000-05:00

Ad Placement may not be the most important thing to consider when you choose an Ad for your site. You must make sure they fit your page and style.

Recently, I took the Chitika E-MiniMall ad out of the prominent position of "Top of Page". I replaced it with an AdSense link ad. The results were immediate, and did not detract from the secondary ads at the end of the posts.

The reasons for making this decision are many, but the main consideration was there were so few clicks on the ads. The type ads displayed also was a major factor. Most all of the ads were related to computers and components, as the choices for Work at Home products are very limited. It was time for a change.

On this type of page, it seems the more information I can provide the better. If the ads are placed correctly and are relevant to the subject of Working at Home on the Internet, the CTR increases.

Your considerations should be similar. Depending on the type of site you have, Chitika may be a good choice, ie a Tech site could do well with Computer ads or a Health and Fitness site with Vitamin ads.

You may consider AdSense as your primary advertiser if your site is based more on information. Since AdSense will use keywords within posts to determine the type of ad shown, this may be your best option.

As I have said many times, in many posts, don't be afraid to experiment. Most importantly, don't be afraid to change if something doesn't work for you.

I have provided a list of the advertisers I have been affiliated with in the links below.

Related posts:
Ad Placement
Using Ads on Your Blog or Website
Advertisements

Feeling Guilty for Taking Time Off

2006-03-29T12:36:00.000-05:00

I thought about just taking the day off today. The first really nice day in a couple of weeks. It has been cold and miserable since I posted about a similar day a few weeks back.

Then, I started to get this guilty feeling, like I was abandoning my post. I really do need to take some time, and I know it, but still have all these things that need to be done.

I tried pre-writing posts as suggested by all the Professionals, but when I write them, I usually post them right away. I have been writing ideas down with a few sentences on which direction I should go in the post. But, what made sense yesterday, doesn't always translate well today.

So, I thought I would share this New Wall I have hit in the Grand Scheme of Working at Home.

It's not writers block, I have plenty of subjects to write about. It's not that I haven't worked hard for 6 months without a day off. It's not lack of projects that need to be done. There are more than enough things to keep me occupied.

It's Spring Fever... It hits around this time every year. Can't help it, Spring is my favorite season. So, after I finish this post, I will dig out the lawn furniture, rake the lawn and not feel guilty for doing it.

Related Posts:
Refresh Your Mind
Overcoming Isolation

Conform or Change?

2006-03-28T09:38:00.000-05:00

When you view a Webpage or Blog, you expect to be able to find what you want right away. You don't want to have to look all over the place to find the next page in an article or something else that is important to you.

When you look at a page, do you think of how you would like it set up for your own personal navigational needs?

Even though there is no real standard, there is a reason that there are such things as templates and other pre-set ways of doing things. 79% of visitors stay less than 5 seconds. That being the case you have to get their attention right away. If not, they will be gone before you know it.

How do you get people to stay longer? You will have to conform to some of the standards that have been found to work by others. Place things you think are important to the reader where they will see them. As I mentioned in the post on Ad Placement* you will probably want to place links and navigation in the same areas as well.

How you get around the fact that there is only so much room in the prime "real estate" of a page is something that only comes through experience and/or advice from more experienced people. Place things you want the visitor to see first in the primary spaces.

As Jesse said in his advice to me in Critique of My Website** you want to make navigation around your site as painless as possible. You may have to use up some of the space you wanted for something else, but it could be worth it in the long run. If people can find what they are looking for they will stay longer.

One of the reasons that some people are more successful than others is they conform to some of the proven ways of page setup. Surf the net to view other sites you know are successful, they don't have to be the same type business. If you use some of their set up practices, they may work for you as well.

Another is they experiment. Most of the more successful pages you see are always experimenting with new things, layouts, ads. So don't be afraid to experiment yourself, and if you find something that works for you, don't be afraid to change.

Referenced Posts:
*Ad Placement
**Critique of My Website