The Write Spot, LLC

What ad network should I use to monetize my blog?

You’re interested in monetizing your blog with an blogger ad network. What kind of things should you consider when reading over their contract?

Payout: What do they pay out per thousand page views (CPM)? Is there an ad revenue share? Do they pay CPM only or CPC (cost per click) or CPA (cost per action), too?

(CPM counts the number of times the ad was viewed. CPC measures ad clicks. CPA measures activity, like signing up to purchase a product or membership.)

Remember, some networks don’t tell you what they pay initially, so you’ll have to give them a trial run to see if their numbers work for you. If that’s the case, make sure you can get out of your contract and stop using them at any time.

Ad Placement: Does their ad have to be at the top portion (“above the fold”) of your blog? Do their ad sizes fit on your blog? If not, will they create one for you? How many of their ads will you have to run – just one or two or more?

The latest July/August 2008: BlogHer 08, BlogTalkRadio interview, upcoming workshop, MOM CENTRAL CONSULTING, and The Big Tent at the DNC

BlogHer08

I was quoted on the CNET, Blogging and bringing home the bacon about BlogHer. They took a picture of the podium during my session, which was lived blogged very thoroughly at Free and Flawed by Jenn: Live Blogging from BlogHer ‘08 - DIY Content Syndication & Promotion and at happykatie: Blogher 2008 - DIY Content Syndication and Promotion. It was also followed up with a much better picture at our moderator, Krista’s blog, Kribaby: 5 Tips from BlogHer08 DIY Content Syndication. (That’s me seated in the middle, talking with my hands as usual.) Here's another picture of me from the Web Teacher.

I’ve been reading the other posts in the blogosphere about the session and either it was too advanced, too easy or full of good stuff. This leads me to believe that BlogHer needs better session descriptions. Since many people came up to me with compliments or questions, I believe I did a good job at least introducing people to the concept of social bookmarking.

I meant to write up a BlogHer post, but it’s been done by dozens of other bloggers who were there. All I can say was that seeing old friends was terrific, the sessions were fantastic, the networking was awesome, the keynote speakers amazing, and I am still learning so much at the sessions I attended. The only complaint? We need eggs and yogurt in the mornings at breakfast, not just pastry and fruit.

blogtalkradio: Motherhood Uncensored

I was recently on the Motherhood Uncensored BlogTalkRadio podcast, Back to Preschool: Getting Our Super Little Ones Prepared for Their Big Day. You can listen to the archived show here or click on the badge to the right. We talked about book you could read and activities you could do to prepare your child for that first day of school.

Workshops

I will also be teaching another blogging workshop, Beyond Blogging Basics, through the Northern Colorado Writers on Saturday August 23 at the Windsor Rec Center.

Mom Central Consulting

I’m now officially the Social Media Manager at Mom Central Consulting. I got to meet several of the women from Mom Central at BlogHer, which was fun because I’ve only worked with them on the phone. I hope to go out to their offices in Newton, MA soon.

The Big Tent

I will be representing the National Association of Mothers' Centers and MOTHERS at The Big Tent, the media tent for bloggers covering the Democratic National Convention. I’m the MOTHERS E-newsletter Author and Coordinator and blog at their book blog, MOTHERS Book Bag, and probably will be blogging there, having dispatches posted on the MOTHERS website, or both.

What’s up next month? For start, BlogWorldExpo 2008 in Las Vegas!

It's all About Me - Part II

An update on the latest with me.

Blogging Workshops

First, I'm partnering with the Northern Colorado Writers and teaching two blogging courses - Blogging Basics Saturday, June 21 and Beyond Blogging Basics Saturday, August 23. Both workshops will be at the Windsor (CO) Recreation Center. (Windsor is about 1 hour north of Denver.) If you live in Northern Colorado or Southern Wyoming and are interested in learning about how to blog or do more with your blog, sign up!

New Partnerships

(Drum roll please...) I've signed on with Mom Central Consulting as a social networking consultant. I am thrilled to be working with Stacy DeBroff and her awesome team of mom bloggers at Mom Central and Mother Talk.

Publicity

On July 30, I'll be a guest on the Motherhood Uncensored podcast. I'm a big fan of Kristen Chase and her Motherhood Uncensored blog. In fact, her podcast is one of the few I listen to regularly. (I also work with Kristen doing reviews for The Parent Bloggers Network.)  I'll be speaking as the My Readable Feast blogger on books to get kids ready for school as well as how to combine reading books with family activities like cooking and going to the zoo.

The May 2008 issue of Bloghology is out. You can download the PDF of the report at Search for Blogging. Not only does it feature an interview with yours truly, but a terrific article by my blogging mentor, Yaro Starak.

Finally, I will be appearing in my local paper, the Daily Times-Call - Carbon Valley edition's "Spotlight on Business" this week. (Here's the link: ‘Mommy blogger’ has found outlet for her writing.)

It's a busy summer so far!

Pictures that say a thousand words

At the DIY Content Syndication and Promotion session. Unfortunately, I'm talking when Me Ra Koh, the fabulous photographer we all fell in love with at the Sony Blogger Event, is. Oh well, at least I'm not missing someone I haven't seen before.

Also, My Readable Feast has just been redesigned by:

Heather at Girly Blog Designz has been very easy to work with, and didn't complain when I wanted to change the entire color scheme. The blog still needs a few baby tweaks, but I'm extremely happy with the design.

In fact, I'm recommending them to my clients as they're incredibly affordable even for newbie bloggers who want a cool, custom WordPress theme and hosting without investing a lot of money.

I hope to have some more good news to announce soon. Stay tuned.

Setting Goals When You Don't Know What the Future Holds

When writing the Setting the Stage for 2008 post, I realized that I forgot about the goal setting work I did at the Day-Long, Kick-Butt, Get-Your-Writing-Year-in-Order Lighthouse Writers Workshop. I didn't review my goals regularly even though they were in a file folder right on my desk. So this year, I'm going to blog them so it will be easier to check my progress.

Should I stay or should I go now?

At last year's goal setting workshop I set five, two and one year goals. While that was a good idea then, I don't think it's a good one now. Why? Because I'm going through a major life change.

No, I'm not getting divorced or moving to Europe. Instead, both of my kids will be in school full time at the end of August 2008. Yippee, let the champagne fly!

One year from now I will either be:

• Making a good full time living from my blogging and freelance writing, but still have the flexibility to work around my kids' schedules and spend time with them during school breaks and summer vacation.

OR

• Be working in a well paid corporate job that uses my writing skills and blogging, marketing, and social media expertise. My kids will be in after school, school break, and summer vacation programs.

What's a WAHM to do?

It's the work-at-home mother's dilemma. Do you go back to the corporate life now that all your kids are in school full time? Or do you remain a freelancer and devote more time and effort to it?

Freelancing is more flexible, you don't have a commute, and the pay can be pretty good if you work hard at marketing yourself and getting gigs. Still, corporate has its positives, including less worry about where the next paying gig is coming from, someone else footing the bill for everything from the phone to Internet access, and benefits like 401K matching and health insurance.

I'm fine living la vita freelance, but would I turn down a good corporate job if the opportunity came along? Not on your life. I'll start my job search in the summer with the strategy being that when the kids go back to school, I'll go back to the corporate world. Until then, I'll be working as hard as I can on my freelance business.

Setting the Stage for 2008

Each year I write a holiday family newsletter, and start by looking over the previous year's version. It's usually fun to reminisce, but this year it was depressing. I realized that many of the things I had thought were going to happen to me professionally in 2007 never materialized.

2007 Wasn't What I Expected

First, there was the client who promised a marketing director job in his start up food business. Then he went through some health issues and went back to cooking and event planning for his former clients. I couldn't blame him. Why go through the headache of starting a new company when you don't need the work or the money?

Then there were the website content overhauls that were brought in house or that never materialized even after numerous meetings. The gigs I did get were small or involved too much work for the pay. Then there were the assignments that radically changed from a lot of work to a little, or that were canceled altogether. Less work meant less pay.

I also spent a lot of time in 2007 looking for freelance writing assignments. I contacted old clients. I approached firms that were recommended to me by other writers. I applied to freelance jobs that I found online. Mostly, my inquiries went into the great resume black hole in the sky. No wonder I was suffering from burnout last spring.

2007 Was Pretty Good After All

Looking over 2007, it really wasn't as bad as I thought. I was this close to meeting my financial goal of $1000 per month from writing. (Keep in mind that I do this part-time.)

Update: a few late checks came in putting me just a little over my goal!

I fulfilled many of the minor goals I set out for myself such as getting a backup drive for my computer, entering writing contests, and going to two blogging conventions and two writer's conferences. I finally created a testimonial page, got my business affairs more organized, and planned out my blogging posts and writing assignments.

An Update on My Appearances in Print, in Person, in the Blogosphere and Online

In Print

Yours truly and my mommy blog, A Mama's Rant got a sizable mention in Beth Snyder Bulik's article at Advertising Age, Advertisers Promise You More Family Time. (If you want to see the post she referenced, click on The Dodge Caravan Dilemma.)

Stopping by Border's this weekend, I looked through a copy of The Rough Guide to Blogging, a book I've recommended to beginning bloggers just from the reviews at Amazon. In the back was a list of the author's favorite blogs including my food and diet blog, This Mama Cooks! Unfortunately, he spelled the blog's name wrong, but the URL will get them there just the same.

In Person

I recently gave a beginning blogging workshop, "Blogging at Breakfast" for members and friends of the Northern Colorado Writer's Association (NCWA). It was so successful that Kerrie Flanagan, the group's director, has asked me to do two blogging workshops at the NCWA's April conference.

I was already signed up to do one, but we both felt that there was enough interest for two - "Using Blogging and Social Media to Promote Your Book" and "Earn Money with Your Blog." If you're interested in signing up, go to the group's website.

The Long Tail, Niche Marketing, and Mommy Inc.

In The Long Tail, Chris Anderson writes that blockbuster sellers are no longer relevant and niche markets are the wave of the future. Well, Shannon Cherry of Mommy, Inc. is a terrific example of this. A former TV and newspaper journalist, she works with women-led businesses and entrepreneurs who are struggling to get more customers by making them the recognized expert in their field.

Women-led business is a great niche market since it's one of the fastest growing small business sectors in the U.S. But it's the "recognized expert" that really intrigues me, since Shannon practices what she preaches by blogging at Mommy, Inc.

She gives value-added customer service by offering advice on everything from Success Secrets to Make Ahead Meals - all tailored to fit the specific needs of women entrenpreneurs, especially those with families. Plus her blog is fun, entertaining, and provides a much needed mental health break from her clients' busy days of growing their businesses - and growing up their kids.

But if you're still wondering if blogging is worth the time investment, look at what happened to Shannon in her post, Blogging your way to fame:

I was wondering if having this blog, Mommy, Inc. was really a good investment of my time. I've been busy - extremely busy with client work, and from what I could surmise, none of my new clients came to me from this blog.

So I thought that maybe I should ramp Mommy, Inc. down by March. I'd have more time to focus on other tools with a bigger (or any, in this case) return on investment (ROI).

But then the phone rang. It was Entrepreneur Magazine. They saw my blog, loved it and many in the office were reading it. Could they do a story on me and how to network as a work-at-home mom?

Wow. All from a little blog called Mommy, Inc. 

And lesson learned. Sometimes your ROI is different than you think it is.

I've gotten some very lucrative contacts and contracts from my blogs. Isn't it time you started a blog for your business? Let me show you how!

Brand Loyalty

The Copywriting Maven's post, Brand Loyalty: I'll Show You Mine got me thinking about the subject. What brands am I loyal to?

• Diet Coke with Lime
• Levi's jeans
• Rockmount Ranch Wear shirts
• Celestial Seasonings teas
• Tommy Bahama shirts
• Kodak cameras
• Wilton cake decorating supplies
• Anything by Bruce Springsteen

And why is that? It's because I can expect the same level of quality every time I purchase and use these products. The experience never changes. It's always as I expect and I'm never disappointed.

So how can your business develop brand loyalty? Are you offering your customers the same experience every time they use your products or interface with your business?

Identifying your ideal client

With the beginning of the year comes goal settting for many people, both professionally and personally. I'm no exception, and have been reading books and listening to audio tapes to guide me through this process. Lately, I've begun to notice some common themes, like the concept of identifying and choosing your ideal client.

Michael Port, author of Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling is a firm believer in this concept. As he writes at Nightingale.com:

Learn to live by the red velvet rope policy of ideal clients. By eliminating the painful negative energy and time spent worrying about challenging client relationships, you will dramatically increase your productivity, happiness, and client referral rate.

After all, how much time do we spend trying to convince someone that they need our services? I waste so much effort on prospect who don't understand how writing a brochure, press release or web page will save them time so they can concentrate on running their business. I get potential clients who believe that copywriting should be free or extremely cheap...after all it's only writing. They seriously believe that a brochure or web page should only take an hour - meeting time, research and brainstorming don't count, aren't necessary, and certainly aren't billable activities.

My ideal clients know they need my services. They value my time and efforts by accepting my hourly rate and paying me quickly. They know they can't do my job. And they know I save them time and money by helping them market their company more efficiently and effectively than they can.   

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide writes in his free online sample white paper:

Clients that don’t respect the value you bring, don’t pay on time, and don’t do their part, will drag your marketing business down faster than any other business dynamic.

Jantsch helps you identify your ideal clients by looking at your past history. Of your former and continuing clients, which are the most awarding professionally and financially? He then has you identify them by physical and emotional characteristics.

This reminds me how I help clients identify the audience(s) for their marketing efforts by assigning them a psychographic label. This technique quickly gives people a picture of who they're marketing to, for example a yoga mom or a young at heart senior. Assigning your ideal client a psychographic label will help you quickly determine if a prospect is right for you or not.

So who's your ideal client?