There are now 10 participants in the $100 challenge: Year 3 *! Yay. Our new participants include Shawn, Shailee and Katelyn. They’ve all been added to our $100 Challenge: Year 3 participants list. Welcome, everyone.

Now, here’s how my projects are doing (based on March ’09 events).

Project A Update: A long-time blog that needs to increase income after major shifts. Initial target is $100 a month, working towards $100 a week.

Although this project’s Adsense income went from nearly $70/mo. the month before to about $45/mo. this month, its other income increased. Primarily, through direct advertising. This is the first month that the banner ads went in to full gear for this site – and one sale alone made a lot of difference to the income.

Here’s the tally for this site so far: Month 1 was $66, Month 2 was $147.80. Month 3 was $154.06. So, there you go. Two months in a row that the site exceeded its $100/month target. And, it looks like the trend is going upwards. I’m hoping that it will continue in that direction. We’ll see!

Project B Update: Bringing a Brand new site to make its first $100

Again, this is proving to be my biggest challenge, largely because I am more involved in other projects than this one. In fact, I haven’t touched this project at all for at least a couple of months now. So, making money from it isn’t going to be as easy. I’m wondering if my other new projects will make money faster due to this. We’ll see. In any case, it still made 21 cents in Adsense even if I’m not doing anything on it. That’s passive income for you.

Project C Update: To see how long it will take for a relatively new online venture to make its first $100.

Month 3 for this project was definitely a lot more productive. I received $51+ for my efforts. This makes it a total of $71. Just a few more to go to meet this project’s goal!

Previous Updates:

• $100 Challenge: Year 3, Month 1 Update
• $100 Challenge: Year 3, Month 2 Update

*If you wish to join the challenge just let us know and we’ll add you in!

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$100 Challenge: Year 3, Month 3 Update

We now have 7 participants in the $100 challenge: Year 3 *, after adding Andrew in to our $100 Challenge: Year 3 participants list. Welcome, welcome!

Now let’s see how I did with my own projects… This update is based on February events, following the first month check-in.

Project A Update: A long-time blog that needs to increase income after major shifts.

This one’s already a success by month two, after receiving a few direct advertising opportunities, resulting to over $100 in direct ads, plus $60+ on Adsense. And, a few more dollars from various affiliate links.

At this rate, the target for this blog really is to maintain a minimum of $100/month income. Then hopefully, it will start averaging $100/week.

In any case, I’m happy with this project’s progress overall.

Project B Update: Bringing a Brand new site to make its first $100

This project is really going very slowly. I haven’t had much chance to devote to it by way of building it up, promoting, etc. So, I’m a little bit lost with this one. Especially because my time is being taken up by a few other things that I’m working on. But, we’ll see. It did make something like 10 cents on Adsense in Month 2 though. Heh.

Project C Update: To see how long it will take for a relatively new online venture to make its first $100.

Month 2 is about developing this avenue. In any case, it made $20 by month two. So, that’s kinda’ cool. The coming month’s looking better already as well. But, at this rate, it looks like it might take until Month 4 or 5 before it gets to its first $100. Hmmm… we’ll see!

What about the rest of the $100 challenge participants? Any updates on your part yet?

*If you wish to join the challenge just let us know and we’ll add you in!

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$100 Challenge: Year 3, Month 2 Update

Just added Brian and Lisa Newton to our directory list of $100 Challenge: Year 3 participants. This brings our total participants this year to 6 (including me). If you wish to join the challenge, it’s not too late yet. Visit the $100 Challenge page to find out more about it.

As I mentioned in this update on the challenge, I’ll be giving you some idea on where I am with my own $100 challenge. So, here you go:

Project A Update: A long-time blog that needs to increase income after major shifts.

Very, very pleased with the progress for this. On Month 1 (Jan ’09), this project came up to about $66 on Adsense income alone. And, there are a couple of pending affiliate income that may also come through.

And, although it’s just early days in Month 2, it’s already looking good both on Adsense and direct ads.

Project B Update: Bringing a Brand new site to make its first $100

For month 1, I did not get to start a new site. Things were way too hectic. But, I managed to do set up and start a new site in month 2. And, I’ve managed to put in one avenue for online income on it at this stage. It’s not launched yet officially, so unsure of how long it will take to make money. But, I’ll let you know!

Project C Update: To see how long it will take for a relatively new online venture to make its first $100

Other than setting up and running my own sites, I decided to get going with a new online venture: providing content for a site. Month 1 hasn’t come up with any income yet, as it was mostly spent on looking for avenues and preparing applications. I’ll let you know what happens to Month 2 in my next project update.

Of course, I have a handful of other projects that are generating some income. But, since I thought it’s best to focus on just a few at a time, I’ll keep my updates to these three projects for now.

What about you? How’re you doing with your own $100 challenges?

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$100 Challenge (Year 3): First Month Check-In

It has been over a week since I put this blog on sale. And so far, I’ve had 3 expressions of interest + 2 leads + 1 alternative proposal. And several well-wishes. Nothing too major at this stage. But, after only a week – and with not promoting the sale as much as I probably could – I’m not expecting a lot just yet.

One thing I realised is that while I’d love some quick cash, it’s more important for me to find the right buyer under the right circumstances. So, at this stage of the sale, I’m cool with taking my time. I’m not sure yet when I’d feel otherwise.

Anyway, as I’ve been sharing the steps I’ve been taking to sell this blog, I thought I’d share this next step with you -

Step 3: It’s all about the Data

While collecting the necessary data may only take 30 minutes to an hour for some people who are selling their sites, I’m actually finding myself stuck on this one for longer than I’d like to be. This is due to 2 main reasons: 1) I don’t have direct access to the raw data of ads that are running on this blog; and 2) The affiliate sales from this blog are all over the place.

But, I do have a checklist of things that I’d like to collect, so I can offer the data to prospective buyers -

• Traffic (page views, etc) – This is probably one of the most asked questions by prospective buyers: How much traffic does your blog have? Right now, I’ve got this data using AWStats only.
• Ratings/Metrics (Alexa, Google PR, etc) – This is the sort of data that adds value to a blog. Of course, the better the ratings, the higher the premium for the blog. I currently have my Alexa, Google PR, Technorati ranking, + lists that this blog is on right now.
• Sources of Revenue – People want to know how your blog is making money, just so folks can gauge how much to offer for your blog and/or to know if what you’re asking for your blog is reasonable. Normally, you share screenshots of all ad revenues from various places over the last year. This blog runs the following ads: Direct advertising, Google Adsense, Chitika, TLA, and text links from b5media textpod. And, if you make money from affiliate ads (and JMMO does), then showing the revenue from such affiliates will be useful too.
• Miscellaneous Data – Any other data that might be interesting for prospective buyers – such as top search terms and pages, awards received, etc.

So, what about you? If you sold a blog or website before, what type of data did you share? Did you have a fixed price for the sale of your blog – or did you accept offers based on valuation?

If you’re someone who would consider buying a blog or website, what types of data would you like to have?

To read more about this feature, see:

• This Blog is For Sale
• Selling JMMO Part 1: Learning How to Sell a Blog
• Selling JMMO Part 2: Let’s Talk About a Blog Sale

Image source: Aaron Murphy, sxc.hu

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It’s all about the Data: Selling JMMO Part 3

So, it’s Day 4 since I made the announcement. And, I thought I’d give you all an update on where this stands at this stage.

Step 2: Talk, Talk, Talk About It

Well, of course, I had to talk to some people within b5media about selling to start with. And, once that’s sorted out, I was able to talk about selling JMMO here on the blog. Based on my first and second posts on the sale, I have received some interesting feedback. Other than the emails, comments, Tweets, Plurks, and Facebook messages that I’ve received, there are also a couple of blog discussions from fellow Aussies aqualung and Lee Hopkins. Mr Problogger also helped spread the word by Tweeting about the sale, and Rob/Bloggeries also posted it in his forum. So, thanks a lot, everyone. I do appreciate your help in spreading the word, your insights and ideas, as well as your well wishes.

In terms of the actual selling process, this is what I have so far: 2 expressions of interest, 1 lead, and 1 alternative proposal that I’m currently taking in to account. Not bad, I guess, all things considered. Especially since I haven’t really promoted the sale that much yet, other than blogging about it and sharing on Twitter, etc. We’ll see how this continues.

So yes, after thinking of selling and making the decision, the next step is talking about it. I imagine the talking won’t stop until the sale is either finalised, stopped or put on hold. I guess that comes with the territory.

In any case, other than talking, more work needs to be done when selling a blog. To read more on this, do watch out for the next installment of selling JMMO.

To read more about this feature, see:

• This Blog is For Sale
• Selling JMMO Part 1: Learning How to Sell a Blog

Image source: Aaron Murphy, sxc.hu

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Let’s Talk About a Blog Sale: Selling JMMO Part 2

A few months ago, I received this email from Jennifer Hofmann of Inspired Home Office -

Hi Shai -

I just looked through a bunch of your posts about how to make money blogging. I learned a TON! [edit]… am still learning the basic strategies behind blogging.

I have a question about making money from blogging that didn’t seem to be covered in your lineup. It’s a bit protracted, but see what you think:

When I’m not blogging, I’m running my business (the Inspired Home Office). My marketing strategy for the business is developed from Robert Middleton’s approach by Mark Silver at the heartofbusiness.com.

The strategy works like this: Use my website to describe the problem potential clients are facing and then offer them a complimentary product that can help them. In the process, I gain their email address which then allows me to email them regularly with other helpful info and also market my products and services.

This isn’t new, of course, but this model has been very effective for me so far. However, what I’m wondering is how my blog fits into that system. If potential clients are getting all the info they need from my blog, is there an incentive to get them to visit my site? Have you seen models of how websites and blogs can work cohesively?

I’m all ears!

- Jennifer

This is a common question from online business people who are using a similar niche in their websites and blogs. How do you make websites and blogs work together?

In fact, I remember a colleague who once asked me the very same question. She was running a popular website on writing and was venturing in to the world of blogging at the time. Since she started a blog on the same topic (writing), she was wondering if she was actually taking away traffic from her website.

My answer to this: Create two totally separate products with your website and your blog. Even though there might be some overlap, there’s room for creating a healthy relationship between the two.

Most websites tend to be more like “brochures” or “online shops” – they don’t usually get updated on a regular basis. Blogs, on the other hand, tend to be updated regularly. Use your blogs to direct traffic to your website and vice versa. Write about unique, short items on your blog – and point to a more comprehensive resource on your website. When you create good, unique articles on your blog, remind people about the products and services you also offer for sale on your website. Or, you can run a website that incorporates a blog section, like Sandra Magsamen.

Anyway, some examples of individuals who managed to create a relationship between their websites and blogs successfully include:

• Anne Wayman of The Golden Pencil (freelance writing blog), who also run About Freelance Writing (website).
• Artist Claudine Hellmuth, who has a website called Collage Artist and runs a personal blog on BlogSpot.
• Susan Connor, a designer of paper goods, has a SusyJack website and a Hey Susy blog.

So, yes, it is possible to make it work – having a website and blog at the same time that can work together.

What about you? Do you run both a website and blog that deal with the same topic? Or do you do things exclusively on websites or blogs?

Image: sxc.hu; Edits, Shai Coggins

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Money Chat: Making Websites and Blogs Work Together

Whenever my boyfriend (nope that image on the left is not him, guess who that guy is) sees me taking a photo of myself and cropping it mugshot-style, he’d quickly ask me if it’s a slow season. He means that are there not enough projects that I’m looking for new clients.

He got this idea when he saw me the first time cropping one of my headshots and placing it on my blog. His eyebrows met while asking why the heck do I have to parade my picture online. You see he’s not the Internet marketing savvy type.

I appeased him by saying that putting a picture on my blog gives it a professional touch, thus helps in finding new clients. Even before I’ve read from so many blogs of professional bloggers, freelancers, and consultants that putting an image of yourself on your blog gives a warmer face to your blog, I’ve already been doing this and I don’t know whether it’s just a coincidence or not but new clients do find their way to my blog and email me enquiries whenever I change my headshot.

Although the title of this post suggests it, I’m not trying to finally inform you that I’m such a conceited being (though I can be oftentimes ), but it’s just that back then whenever I post a new image, I notice that new clients find me or that I get more inquiries when I have pic on my blog. Weird, don’t you think?

Now how about you? Do you have your picture on your blog? If you are a service provider, do you think an image on your blog might in some way influence the decision of a potential client to whether hire you or not?

This reminds me of the reason behind why images beside AdSense ads can help generate more clicks. Do you think it’s the same thing with us service providers with blogs?

The recent oDesk blog post entitled The Best Portraits on oDesk inspired me to write about this topic.

image from crunchgear.com

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Can Face Value Help You Make Money Online?

It’s been circulating around the blogosphere that the paid-to-surf program AGLOCO failed to maintain its operations. I signed up for AGLOCO but never tried to promote it or if my memory failed me, I never did any agressive advertising to get people to sign up under me. This is because aside from being a lazy affiliate marketer, I became disinterested because of one similar make money online program that’s turned out to be a scam.

AGLOCO sounds like a case of miscalculated risks – one business mistake that many entrepreneurs should always be prepared for.

According to the email that the AGLOCO team sent out to its members, they can no longer fund their business operations. How in the world were they not able to monetize those millions of members? Surely, lots of ad networks would be more than willing to help them. But still since I’m not a part of the AGLOCO team, I won’t be jumping into conclusions on what really went wrong. But any speculations?

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What was the Business Mistake of AGLOCO?

When I first wrote about Domain Cash Parking about a couple of months ago, I mentioned that I’ve never tried that form of making money online before. A few days ago, I realised that I own a couple of domain names that are not being used.

So, I decided that I’d give domain cash parking a go. After all, having a domain name that’s not being used is like having extra cash that’s just lying around.  That’s why I decided I’ll try to see if I can make  money from these domain names instead. But, instead of just using one service, I decided to try two services: Sedo and GoDaddy. Sedo is free and GoDaddy requires payment. I opted for the basic one on GoDaddy, to try it for a month.

I’ll let you know the results at the end of my one month trial.

Technorati Tags: cash parking, domain names, domain parking, godaddy, sedo

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Sedo vs GoDaddy Domain Cash Parking

Not too long ago, I reported Chrysalis Creativity’s earnings from February and March 2007. Now, here’s the latest update of the $100 Challenge case study.

Running Totals -

FEB TOTAL: $21.58
Feb Paid Total: $20.39

MAR TOTAL: $34.09
Mar Paid Total: $29.78

Update Payments:
AdSense for Feb and Mar: $5.38

Paid Totals: $55.55

April 2007:
Adsense – $25.87
PayPerPost: $0
Chitika: $0
TextLinkAds: $8.08 (paid)
ReviewMe: $0
Blogsvertise: $0
Amazon.com: $0
CafePress Affiliates:$0
AuctionAds: $0.15

APR TOTAL: $34.10
Apr Paid Total: $8.08

FULL TOTALS: $89.77
Full Paid Totals: $63.58

Since I decided to be a bit more selective with my sponsored posts, I ended up without a PPP income. But, that’s okay. I’d really rather not be dependent on sponsored posts to make money. And besides, look at the AdSense result for the month!

No, it’s nothing massive. But, I’m pleased to see this jump in AdSense earnings, as Chrysalis Creativity has never seen this kind of return from running AdSense in the past. In February, CC.com only made over a dollar in AdSense. In March, that dollar became four dollars. A good increase, but nothing drastic. So, April’s AdSense result was a welcome surprise. I’m not sure what helped with this increase. It may be one of the following:

1) Change of ad layout: Removed AdSense banner ad on top of the content (replaced it with TLA ads), changed the big square ad on sidebar from Chitika/AuctionAds to Google AdSense, removed one skyscraper ad (used to be two on top of each other). So, there are only two AdSense blocks on the main index page. However, I added a rectangle ad block within individual posts (between content and comment).

2) Removal of ‘make money’ text lines, resulting to more targeted ads.

3) Increased level of posting. Hence, more content.

4) Increased incoming links from other blogs/sites. Hence, more traffic.

One unfortunate thing that happened this month is that one TLA advertiser pulled out mid-month. So, that resulted to lesser earnings on TextLinkAds. Hopefully, there will be other advertisers to come.

Anyway, towards the end of the month, I decided to change the Chitika location from the bottom (footer) to the middle sidebar (right after an AdSense block). And, I’ve also added a Bidvertiser leaderboard ad code footer for the first time, to see how this will work.

Will let you know how it goes for the month of May…

For now, it’s looking good. In fact, if all goes well, I just might be able to reach the $100 target by next month.

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Chrysalis Creativity: Check-in Part III