A Brand new blog, Maybe?

H

ello, my name is Patricia.  I am a single person with 2 nieces, 3 nephews,  and love for Disney. I aspire to work with any company that I (1) believe has most of the values that I cherish, and (2) I have had a good rapport with now and in the past.  These qualities fit Disney for me.  I am a little bit Disney crazy.

So, when I tell you that I am going to start my second blog about going to Disney when you only have nieces and nephews, you might think that I am a little crazy to do that.  My first blog closed, not by the web host's hand or Disney’s but mine. 

The first blog was named cutely, but long-winded “Travelling to the Mouse’s House”.  Yes, Travelling was spelled with two “Ls” in it because I could not decide if I was misspelling the word or trying to be funny about this spelling. 

What was it all about?

Photo by Pixabay

It was at first about the misadventures of an Ohio woman and her family trying to get to Disney World. When I was a child, I lived 2 hours from Disneyland in California, and I loved it when the family came to visit, and we would make that track up to Anaheim, and visit Mickey, Minnie, The princesses, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, You know the rest, and had a ball.  Then we moved to the East coast and New Jersey.  If you want some non-Disney fun, this was the place to do it.  Finally, when I was 12, we moved to Ohio, and I have been here since that time, and I have been to Disney World a couple of times.  I was also part of Disney Vacation Club, which was a treat in itself, but I had to let it go due to financial reasons.

So that is what the blog was all about.

If I were to start another blog….

…. It would be something like that.  A woman and her family trying to get to Disney World, but it would not stop there.  I would talk about Disney, my views on Disney, and I would even take you along on my Disney trips.

Finding a name.

If I were to start another blog about Disney, the first thing I would have is a name without the name Disney or any of its trademarks in it.   Disney frowns on that sort of stuff.  In fact, unless you are approved by a company, rather is a big company like Disney or Amazon, or a small home business like mine, P. Lynne Designs, you would have to get permission to use the name.  So, since I have a business, I am not going to bother about the step I have to take in order to have something like “Tricia’s Wonderful Disney Blog”, or “Tricia’s Mickey Trip”.  I will revile the name at the end of this blog post.

Finding a purpose.

If I were to find a purpose about this blog, it would be all things, Disney, right?  Yes, but I have to present it like, professional and stuff.  I cannot be selfish about this blog either.   I cannot talk about my family all the time, nor they would want me to either.  Since almost everyone at one point or another want to at least visit Disney World once, I have to make it that way.  So here is a rundown of some of the things I want to talk about:

• The parks
• The resorts
• The food
• The special events in the park
• Other theme parks.  Disney is not the only one with the theme parks in the Central Florida area.
• The merchandise.
• Disney Plus
• What’s showing in the Theater
• Disney Cruise Line.  You know they have one
• Disney Vacation Club.  Not too many people know about this, but it is a good investment if you visit Disney World Resorts often
• Other Disney Parks.

OK, that is a few of some of the things worth mentioning.  Of course, I can talk about any and all of them, and I will at some point.

I do not want to be a repeater.

One of the problems with my last blog about Disney was I live up north, while Disney World is down south, and I felt that since I was not going to the parks much, I was only repeating what was in the news.  Yes, I want to report them, especially since I do not live in the Central Florida area, but at what point do I want to sound like I grabbed the news from the internet and run with it.  I am determined not to let that get in my way again.

When you feel like you are in a place in your blog that sounds like you are repeating old news and things of the past, remember that not everyone is seeing it for the 1000^th time, report it like it is your audience’s first time hearing about it. In other words, put your spin on the news.   To give an example, unless you are not a Disney fan, everyone is going to report on the rise of ticket prices in the Disney parks.  Report that, but put your own spins, such as your summary, good or bad, talk about your budget as you plan your next trip as a Disney fan, or a parent with 2.5 kids and a dog who needs boarding. I have grown as a writer since my days as the owner of Travelling to the Mouse’s House.

Finding an audience.

One of my other problems is when you live as “an introvert with extrovert tendencies”, as my pastor says, is marketing this blog, and this should not be a problem, but it is.  The point is not to make it a problem.  Disney has its fans, and fans for not take lightly when you belittle their happy place.  No one does, when someone talks bad about that thing they love.

For me, that is no problem.  I will report the good, bad, and ugly about Disney, but I will exercise more on the side of good things.  I do not like hearing about the Walt Disney Company’s greediness, being expensive, and trying to monopolize the world.  Do you think that we as fans don’t know about it?  The difference between a fan and a hater is we are willing to look past the company’s faults and failures, and little ticks, while finding the good in that little tick.  In Disney’s case, it is that little tick that might mean a new ride, a new resort, or even better service.

As you explore whatever you are willing to devote your new blog too, help your reader become a forever friend of your blog.  You may have to report some bad news, such as your new crafting tool having some first-time flaws issues, your favorite Harley Motorcycle has a recall, a new rule that demonetizes your blog and takes away some of your devoted readers, but at the same time, report that   Overall, you want your reader to be informed of a profitable solution that does not cost them a lot of money for the fix.  After all, you are here to help, inform, and to educate.

workaround instruction how to call customer service, or that minor little discover you have made yourself that hopefully does not violate EULA (End User License Agreement).

Monetization

This is by far the hardest part of owning a blog, and although I am not an expert in this, I would like to educate and do research on how I can fund my blog.  This is what I am working on with the other three blogs, and I can say that it is not easy.  I will post a longer post on the monetization of blog posting, but there are the ways I am doing so:

            Affiliate Marketing- this is promoting business and its products.  The biggest affiliate is Amazon, but there are others, such as Sale-a-share, CJ Affiliate, Clickbank, and many others if you do not want to get into Amazon.  You can also go to a company to see if they have an affiliate program.   One example is I am a marketer of the Amazon Affiliate program, which has many facets, including being a seller.  I have a seller’s account.  Whenever you see this notation on a blog post,

“Disclaimer: P. Lynne Designs is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. “

Photo by Pixabay

On my blog post, it means that there is a product that I am promoting on that blog post.  It also means that I get a commission from your purchase, but you do not have to buy the product.  I have to by Amazon and the FTC that governs all affiliate programs, including Amazon’s. 

            Freelancing:  I am a freelancer is both writing and graphic work.  My specialties are Blog post, ghostwriting and regular document writing, and resume writing in the writing industry. Logo, stationery, cards (Both Business and Greeting Cards), invitations, and copywriting for Graphic Design.  This does not mean that I do not like a challenge.

The key is to learn how to set your own prices.  Setting them too high means no customers, but setting the prices too low also means no customers.  Set your ground rules, but offer something unique makes a returning customer, and they will bring new customers to you.

            Sponsorships and advertising:  I find that this is the oldest way to monetize your blog, and it is done by marketing another person’s product or concept. 

            Create a course:  People love to know how you made a buck or two, why not sell in the form of a course. You have something that is very valuable to the general public and plus it is a tried and true concept.  For example, I am always intrigued on the notion of getting to a million-dollar business while in my underwear.  This was the first course I bought in the early 2000s.  The concept is sound, and it was the same marketing concept I paid thousands of dollars for at the university I graduated from in 2003 (thank you Dr. Otte and Franklin University- I will be back for my master’s degree).   Anyway, I paid for this course, and I did not see any value in it because I had already learned it some months earlier, but that does not mean that another person who did not know this marketing concept could not benefit from this man’s teachings.

Today, I do not know how many emails I have gotten of people selling their concept of making a few extra monies for the bank account.  I also have taken 3 courses from a woman, named Renae Christine, who have some of the same principles as my former university, but the difference is she throws in a different teaching technique than any of my instructors did at the school.  There is also Freelance University, that I am attended right now, and it too teaches you how to freelance. 

The point is how to market the course and what to charge,

Selling a book or a product:  This my last point on the subject.   You can publish an e-book or a regular book, which is very easy if you go through sites like Amazon.  It used to take months to write down a concept, edit, and send it to a publisher. You can now email it or send it through Amazon’s vast website.  I briefly touched on products earlier.

So, to put it together:

To recap:

1. The concept of your blog
2. The approach or plan for the blog
3. You know your audience
4. You have the name of your blog, and
5. You know what topics you are going to cover.

Your blog is only halfway there.  If you are going to make some money with the blog, then you need to find ways to do that, and it varies from person to person. 

Let me know what you think about this concept of starting a new blog.  Is it something you are interested in the comments section.

How to Generate More Money to Live

(c) 2016 P. Lynne Designs
consultants!

Ok, today, I am going to be serious with a twist.  I have a little concern.  It is about my financial status and it is about your financial status.  I cannot say that it has been on my heart lately (those of you who belong to a black church congregation will understand this phrase greatly).  So, I am going to say this in the most, lovingly, kiss it with kindness, powering it up and put on a pretty little bow way I can possibly can.

Baby (as my grandmother used to say), you need to generate more income.  We, as Americans need to generate more income.  When we have more income, we are telling the government thank you for the help (whatever help you are or not receiving), but, bye.  It is showing that you are independent, smart, and self-sufficient.

Now, there is nothing wrong with receiving help, but help needs to be temporary until I get on my feet type of help. It cannot be a multigenerational type of help, meaning my grandmother go help, my mom got help, I got help, and my child will get help.  Someone has to work.  I am talking about able-bodied people.  If you are disabled, physical, emotionally, or mentally unable to work, that is a different type of situation, and I understand perfectly.  You may not qualify for working, but I have seen disabled people working, and I commend them for at least trying.

In today post, I am not talking about finding work per se, I am talking about finding additional work.  I know what you are thinking, “Do I have to get a third job on top of what I am already doing?”   The answer to that is no unless you want to make a career out of it.  So people may not have the time, and that is ok with it too.  No set hours needed unless you want to.   

What I love about making extra income for yourself is this:  you can save the money, use it towards paying down a bill or two, or have the extra money for a house, car, or vacation, or to have it lying around in case of an emergency.  Use the money for anything you want or need.  Not only that, the skill that you decide to learn may come in handy for a promotion at your current job.

For instance, I am learning on my own to use the Adobe software suite.  I can call it a suite, because the programs piggyback off of each other, just like the Microsoft Office suite does for Word, PowerPoint, and other software.  My Bachelor’s degree is in marketing, but not the one that uses graphic design.  I also make scrapbook albums and cards, so, using programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and the rest allows me to expand into other areas, that required computer work.  If I want to, later on, I can apply to work at a 9-5.  There are also online companies like Fiverr, which allows you to create gigs or fulfill a customer’s order that I am utilizing my skills. 

Extra Money Looks Like this:

At some time, I will cover all of these topics in great length, but for now, I will mention briefly in this post:  One thing to note is some of these links will have affiliate links on them.  Affiliate links are one of the ways that I do generate extra income, and I will explain how in a moment.

Another thing to note as you are reading this: I am an entrepreneur, and I left my last job as of January 2010, but at one time I was working outside of the home and was making extra money on the side.  When I decided to leave my 9-5, I made two of my extra income gigs my main jobs, while still earning extra income on the side.  I cannot say that it has been easy, and I will point that out below.  In fact, I am in what they call lean times, but I am rising up from that.  It will be covered in another post.  I want to promote the positives of self-employment or entrepreneurship.

Directly Selling to You…

Direct Selling.  What do you immediately associate direct selling with?  If you said Avon or Tupperware, you are half right.  Direct selling is the art of selling exclusive products to a customer in hopes of developing a life-long relationship (buying of product).  This is my version of it.  According to Wikipedia, direct selling is the marketing and selling of products away from a fixed retail location.  This including peddling, which according to the same source, is the oldest form of direct selling.  Today, think of your party planning companies.  This is where you will find Avon (makeup and jewelry), Tupperware (kitchen products), and more recent Origami Owl (charm jewelry) and Younique (Makeup).  I am a rep for Longaberger (Baskets and Pottery) and have been since 2001.  The basics behind a Longaberger party (as well as other DS companies) is you can host a party.  You, as a host, will bring in as many of your friends to look at the products offered at your party.  You can have snack food, dinner, or a brunch.  As your consultant, I would come in to show the products available to purchase.  The more people you have at your buying party, the more money that can be made in one night.  For example, in order to have a $350 party, which is an average total, you need to invite 5 people, but I am going to encourage you to invite more.  With $350 in total sales, for example, you can have 2 half-price selections, $65 in free price, and buy a host bundle (which can be counted towards either one of the 2 half-price selections or host dollars.)

(c) 2014 P. Lynne Designs
A table full of potential sales

How does this help you earn extra money?  I tell potential recruits your business is your business.  You join a team of recruits (either through an invitation of a currently active consultant or the company will assign you a consultant in your area), and this team helps encourage you through your sales during the time you spend as a consultant.  You are earning a commission through each sale you make.  You can either work this business of direct selling as a hobby, part-time or full-time.  I never tell a potential recruit that you will make a six-figure salary from the beginning, and it should not be the reason for you to build up to that level.  Some achieve it quickly, others do it slower, and you may not get there at all.  If the company you join is a good to a great company, training is on-going to help you build that business, but you have to want it, especially on the leadership level.  I have seen people save for vacations and down payments on homes, and able to get by on that income.  I have also seen people use that money for bill paying money.  I will have a more in-depth post of what it takes to be a direct selling consultant at a later time.

Homemade Business industry:  If you have bought something on Etsy, you have bought a homemade item.  The homemade business industry is not your cute, little craft show anymore.  It had gone beyond that point.  If you knit, sew little cubbies, woodcraft, or make jams and jellies, you are a homemade artist.  You can turn that cute, craft into some major bucks.  As I said in the beginning, I create scrapbook albums and greeting cards.  I had several people, including some from members of my own family, tell me that I need to turn that into a business.  So, in 2009, I did that, and P. Lynne Designs was born.  It is my passion, my baby, and I love it.  Once I made something for family and friends, I created an Etsy account.  Now, in addition to that Etsy account, I am creating my website.  I will do a separate post on how I got started with this business at a later time as well.

Freelance Writing:  This is the basis of this blog, and I tell people all the time, that if you have a passion for writing, go for it.  I love all kinds of writing, but I cannot do all kinds of writing.  So the key to writing is learning what types of writing are out there, learn what type of writing, and go for it.  I compare writing to music, dance, painting, cooking, and crafting.  There are all kinds, pick one that works for you, and learn all you can about that area of your expertise.  Also, be aware of the other part of your craft.

How can you make money?  Would take out an ad, but before you do that, showcase your work.  Write what you know about.  You can do creative works about your family, humor about your job, poems about the food you ate last night or have a blog post about writing.  Create a journal.  Publish a book.  Do something that validates you as a writer.  Once you have achieved that point, advertise your service of writing skills.  Set a price.  There are several hundred websites, including magazines, card writing, writing contests, and content writing who are always looking for that new bright spot to keep their readers attention.  You can also start a blog like I did. 

Affiliate marketing.  This one is a little bit tricky to get into, but with a little research, you should be able to make a little bit of money from it.  This is what I like to call, “only make extra money with this.”  Why?  Because it is all about placement, and even then you cannot depend on everyone clicking on a link.  For this, you do need a blog or website.  You may have seen colored underline words in this post.  These are affiliate links, and they lead to a product on either Amazon or some other site.  I cannot say that all of the underlined words lead to a product because they also may lead to a post that I previously have written or something I want to draw your attention to.  This is why I have the disclosure:  This post may contain affiliate links. 

I do not have a high dependency on affiliate links.  Why?  As I said, not everyone may like to click on links.  Not only that, I myself tend to forget to link a word to a product.  I like to write, and I am not used to earning $0.02 per click (per my AdSense page a couple days ago.)

So why use it at all?  AdSense in a way is a build up to a bigger picture.  My click depends on my readers.  So does Amazon, and I have never turned down a penny that has earning potential.

Ebates:  I love Ebates.   Ebates is very simple.  When you go shopping online, you get cash back.  Here is the trick to Ebates.  The cash back is given out quarterly, so do not expect a check every month.  (They will send it through Paypal as well.) Ebates has does something new, and I cannot wait reap the benefits of this as well.  If you register your credit card on their site, every time you do in-store shopping as well, and you use that credit card, you will get cash back from that as well.   Ebates is perfectly safe.  You can also refer people to Ebates, and you get $60 for doing so.  Nice.

I also do not recommend you go shopping just for the heck of it.  Remember that you are spending money, and if you do not have the money to spend, you do not have the money to spend.  I rather see you save it, but if you must shop online, you might as well get some money back for your purchases.

Surveys and mystery shopping:  You may wonder why I have not mentioned these two up to this point for earning extra money.  It is very simple.  I do not like them for the most part.  I am on a few, and yes, they do come through my inbox.  I only do a survey for a name brand I trust, such as Disney, Provo Craft (Cricut Die Cutting Machine), and a few others.  I have even done them for people I trust.   I am not talking about those surveys.   I am talking about the ones that allow you to win a free gift card.  Here is where I do not trust them.  You have to click on offers to get to the prize (the gift card).  If you are not careful, you could be buying something that you have no interest in or agreeing to a subscription that has a monthly fee. I have done that a few times.   

So, this is sort of an introduction to making extra money to make a living.  This is my take on the industry, and there are other ways to make extra money.  One last thing I have to say about this introduction is there are indeed scammers out there who will pretend to help you.  I would have to say be careful when going into it.  Always do your research before signing up for anything, even the direct selling companies and people who say they know a shortcut to where you want to be.  This is not a rush job, and it takes time and patience to get something going.  Be persistent if you do create a blog or vlog, create a schedule.  In fact, schedule everything, so your followers know when to expect it.  I am trying to get better with mine.  Know why you are doing this in the first place and set a goal.  

Everything I suggested can be done with or without having a job, although it would be better to have an income when you first get started.  They can also be done on a part-time or as your main job.

Good luck and God bless.