2009 July | Money Making Ideas

Mother – Son Competition … This is Going to Be Fun!

Posted on 31 July 2009 by

If you’re reading this via RSS please come over to the blog for the posted video

So … I mentioned in an earlier post that my 13 year old son, Austin, and I came up with the idea to have a friendly competition … to test our abilities to build and promote a niche store of our choice.

Shortly after we came up with the idea of having a contest I happened onto a badass site (Niche Profit Classroom) that specializes in building and promoting niche sites … but not the eBay or Amazon type sites we initially had in mind … sites where we sell our own information products.

This is perfect! It levels the playing field a bit (for those of you who said it wouldn’t be fair to Austin LOL) and we’ll both learn a great deal from the exercise.

I’ve signed up for the monthly membership at Niche Profit Classroom and the video lessons are awesome! Adam is a great teacher – he’s very detailed and that works well with my personality.

What Austin and I have decided to do for this “contest” is to choose the two July niche stores that are provided through the membership site and we’ll:

Choose and purchase our domain names
Put up the ready-made sites
Edit the site and content to make it unique
Get the eBooks ready to sell
Start promoting the sites
Hope to sell something! LOL

We will be documenting most everything we do (probably via email back and forth) and we will both be sharing this on our blogs (go check out http://www.austinfranco.com and subscribe while you’re there). We will challenge each other as we go for certain things like … pages indexed, backlinks to the site, PR, etc. … and of course SALES!

If you’re interested in niche stores, internet marking, blogging, or any type of online marketing … you will want to follow along as we go through this process … I promise you’ll learn something along the way (guaranteed or your money back ha ha ha)! *SmiLes* Suzanne

P.S. What do you think of this friendly “competition”? Do you have any words of encouragement for me? Do you want to follow along and see what you can learn from us? Let us hear from you below …

P.S.S. Now … for those of you who think this is unfair to Austin … I will ask, “Do you have any idea how much my son is ‘gunning’ for me?”

Remember … I have businesses to run and a house full of kids (and a husband) to take care of … so for those who think this isn’t fair to Austin … THINK AGAIN! Austin has been following along with everything I’ve learned online and he’ll do just fine. Besides the idea isn’t for me to “beat” him … or him to beat me … but for us to challenge and motivate each other … with a dash of fun thrown in there – and it’s really important to both of us that we teach others as we go.

If you want to see what the Niche Profit Classroom is all about they’ve done a great job explaining it here …

Niche Profit Classroom

Check out our video message below!

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Glad you're here! I wrote my first eBook, "Blogging Idol Secrets Revealed," and it's my FREE gift for those who supported me in the Blogging Idol competition (and for my new online friends too LOL).

Go download it and learn how I drove new visitors and grew my RSS subscribers by over 800% ... in 30 days flat! Let me know what you think of the book ok?

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Great News! They’ve Posted the Webinar (48 hours only!)

Posted on 25 July 2009 by

I was in the process of typing out my notes from the awesome “Monetize Social Media” webinar (Perry Belcher) that I was on the other night and I just got notice that they’ve posted the webinar for you to see … but only for the next 48 hours!

Watch the Webinar

I am such a fan of doing social media the right way … and as Perry says, “Not being the ass%#@& at the party!” That’s right … he compares social media to going to a party and he will teach you how to act and behave while using the top 3 social media sites online today (Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube) … and more importantly … how to make a ton of money with these sites.

I learned a lot from the webinar and I’ll most likely be purchasing the training series this weekend. Let me know if you purchase it too and maybe we can be “pace partners” as we complete each course of the training and we can motivate each other each step of the way.

Here’s the official email so you can see some more detail about it:

Webinar Video Posted: “How To Finally Monetize Social Media”

Did you miss the biggest webinar in Internet Marketing
history?

With over 27,000 people registered there was just no way
everyone could get in to find out about…

“How To Finally Monetize Social Media”

hundreds maybe thousands of people were shut out…

However, there is TWO pieces of good news for YOU

1. Perry has decided to post the replay video for just 48 hours
to let those of you who were shut out have a chance to
watch on your schedule.

Go watch this video while you still can…

Watch the Webinar

2. Perry’s team has been removing duplicate and decline
orders and Fortunately for YOU they have a few spots
left in each program…

9 Copies at the MASTERMIND level… (these won’t last long)
18 Copies at the SUCCESS COACHING level
33 Copies at the MULTIMEDIA TRAINING level

Over 600 people have joined the waiting list since MIDNIGHT last
night so these spots will definitely NOT be around long.

The links on the sales page are still closed so if you want
to grab one of these spots you need to go check out the
webinar video page at:

Watch the Webinar

In my opinion this is one of the best webinar I have seen this
year maybe ever.

Even if you’re not interested in getting into Perry’s training program
YOU Don’t want to miss this Recording Setting Webinar…

Perry packed this thing full FREE Monetizable Content that
YOU can implement immediately…AWESOME stuff!!

Suzanne Franco Land

Go watch this video while you still can…

And Implement!!

Watch the Webinar

So … have you seen the webinar? What did you think? Do you believe there’s a right way and a wrong way to use social marketing for your business? Would you like to buy the training and work together with me on taking our businesses to the next level this year? Let me hear from you! *SmiLes* Suzanne

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Webinar for Tonight (MUST READ) & Some Tidbits for Today

Posted on 22 July 2009 by

Tonight I will be on an awesome webinar being put on by Perry Belcher and I honestly can’t wait for it. It’s at 9:00 EST and here’s the “official” email about it:

Special Announcement:

My friend Perry Belcher will be LIVE! on a FREE invitation only
webinar this Wednesday night at 9:00 PM EST.

This is a brand new training from Perry on making money from
Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs…This is gonna be great!

The best news is Perry has invited me and a few of my best
friends to be on too…FREE so that’s why I’m mailing you.

To RSVP for your free ticket click below now

Webinar Sign Up

In Perry’s words he will be sharing…

- His PROVEN following system for getting hoards of social media
followers in Twitter and Facebook. (How he’s built 100,000+ Followers in 9 Months.)

- 5 DEADLY mistakes that ordinary marketers make that keep them
from cashing in on social media

- How to RAPIDLY move users from social media sites to your own
email list. (This one tactic built his email list to 58,000+ in 9 months FLAT)

- His SNEAKIEST tricks, tactics and voodoo magic for monetizing
Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Blogs…

Don’t wait until it’s full RSVP right now!
Webinar Sign Up

See you on the webinar,

~Suzanne Franco Land~

P. S. If you have never heard or seen Perry live your in for a treat.
Not only does he know how to make you money he is a riot.
We are gonna have fun.

P. P. S. The webinar itself will be a great free marketing lesson.
Don’t miss out…

Grab your seat NOW! Click the link below

Webinar Sign Up

Mother/Son Competition?
I also wanted to let you know that my 13 year old son, Austin, is challenging me to a friendly competition and it’s going to be fun for you to follow along. We are both going to start a new niche store on the very same day (at the same time). It looks like we’ll be competing for various things like pages listed in the engines, ranking in Google, Page Rank, and most importantly … earnings. What do you think? We’ll also be documenting all of it as we go so others can learn from us and we’ll all see what works (and maybe what doesn’t).

You can check out his new blog here: Online Money Making Ideas (hey … a little “link juice” for him right? LOL … if you stop by his blog please let him know how he’s doing with it)

Q’s & A’s
I’ve had some great questions submitted for our Q’s & A’s and I’ll start answering those this week too. If you have a question for me that I can share on the blog please submit it using the Contact Us page.

That’s it for today … hope you’re on the webinar with me tonight (there’s a limited number of seats – so sign up now and then go set your alarm for it). He has great tips for using social media to grow your bank account!

Webinar Sign Up

Will you be on Perry’s webinar tonight? Do you think you could use some tips and ideas for how to monetize your business using social media (without being a dumb a%#)? What do you think about my son challenging me to a “niche store show down”? Do you have any questions I can answer for our Q’s and A’s? Let us hear from you … you’re here reading so take a second to let me know you’ve been here … (besides … the link is good for your site LOL) *SmiLes* Suzanne

P.S. If you’re not following me on Twitter please do so and I’ll follow you back Suzanne on Twitter

P.S.S. If we’re not friends yet on FaceBook … let’s do so Suzanne on FaceBook

P.S.S.S. <— is there such a thing? You also might want to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you’ll know when I post a new training video Suzanne on YouTube

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Is Your Business the Way You Want It … By Design?

Posted on 21 July 2009 by

Last night I asked my husband if he wanted to get up in the morning and go to Starbucks with me for their “free pastry” day. I mentioned how we could bring our laptops and get through our morning round of answering email while we were there. I mentioned I would also enjoy getting to work away from home for a change of pace. He said that sounded good.

This morning we got up to his business phone ringing (as usual) and he went straight into his “work” mode of scrambling from customer to customer … as I went on to “doll up” and get ready to leave the house. Hmmm … no mention of our trip to Starbucks. I went on to print out the free pastry coupon and he got dressed and closed his computer. “Yes, this is going to be fun” I thought to myself. Then he looked over and said, “Baby, why are you packing up your computer?” Uhhhhh … “I thought we were going to work while we were there?” Him, “I don’t have time for that now. I have to get right back and pack boxes … but we can go get you your free pastry.”

OK … we’ll pass on the marital “discussion” that went along with this scenario but I will say this. I am so happy that I have the type of business that I have. One that doesn’t require me to be at any one place at any given time … and it’s by DESIGN … not by accident BTW!

Yes, Ken does make more money than I do but he started his business many years ago and the money wasn’t always there for the hard work he put in. That hard work for little pay is an investment you will have to put in for most any business model. But the part I want to take a look at is the workload and flexibility once you are established.

Trading Time For Money
The busier and more successful Ken becomes financially … the more hours he puts in and the more of a burden it is to him (us I guess LOL). He has a seasonal business (water sports industry) so summers are complete madness for our family. In fact, he’s so busy that he rarely has time to enjoy his passion, wakeboarding, which was the very reason he started his business. I call this scenario “trading time for money” and I want NO part of it. LOL

I, by design, look for business models that once I’ve put in the initial “grunt work” in the beginning and the business takes off … the less I have to work and the more money I make. That means I want businesses where I never have to pack or ship anything (that requires me to be somewhere – no thanks!) and where I’m not “expected” to be available certain times on certain days.

So for me I look for businesses that have some or all of the following:

I can work from anywhere in the world
I can work at it any time of day … any day of the week
I don’t have to pack or ship anything (no tangible products)
I refer business/sales and someone else does the packing and shipping
It has a residual income stream (sell once and continue getting paid)

Blogging
Blogging meets most of these criteria as long as I keep the list in mind. I can make money through affiliate links, through pay per click, through click per action offers, through direct sales of ads (so long as I automate that – or else I have to be available to customers), and through site reviews (again … as long as I spell out when I’m available to do those). Through this blog I have had a lot of people offer to pay me to help them with their online businesses … and although that’s a tempting business model (to get paid for sharing the years and years of experience and knowledge I’ve worked hard to gain) … it’s still trading time for money right? I will do it on a case by case basis but it’s not a model I want to grow over the years.

Niche Stores/BANS
My niche stores meet the criteria … even more so than the blog format. Send over the affiliate/referral sales via the interent … can be done anytime … from anywhere … nothing to pack or ship … perfect!

Membership Sites
Membership sites work for this model too … as long as they don’t require a lot of time adding content … or at least as long as the content isn’t on a rigid schedule. For instance, if the membership includes new content/lessons every Monday … I would make sure they can be automatically uploaded … as opposed to a live webinar every Monday which would require me to be there at a certain time. See the difference?

Subscription Based Newsletter
One of my online businesses (Freelance Daily) does not completely fit my business model so eventually I will either have to find someone I trust to run the business for me or I will sell it. It is a daily job source newsletter for freelance writers. Writers pay me a monthly or yearly fee to receive the new job leads every day. This requires work 5 nights a week and DOES NOT fit with my ideal business model. I’ve hired someone to do this part of the work for me so I’m covered for now … but I handle all of the administrative duties and sometimes those are time sensitive. There are also some aspects of the business that are not automated correctly so I’m re-examining them now to see how I can streamline. Now … because I’ve built a customer base and a name for myself in that industry … I’d be smart to find other ways to monetize that business … but the new ideas must fit my “list.”

My WAHM Membership/Database Site
I also have my WAHM 2 WAHM business (a way for work at home moms – WAHMs – to look for and promote direct sales businesses) and it’s set up according to my model. It’s fully automated and all I have to do is to promote it. I do want to get an affiliate program set up so that others can go out and promote it for me too … sounds good right?

So … I’m at Starbucks alone *sigh* “working” while my husband is stressed out and packing boxes in the muggy heat (we’ve had over 30 days of triple digit heat this summer – so far) and then he’ll be off to the post office sweating his ass off there too. I TOTALLY appreciate how hard he works for us … I truly DO … but by design I’ll keep looking for ways to make money via my ideal business model (in fact, I’m even an affiliate for his company now LOL). *SmiLes* Suzanne

P.S. My hot chocolate and (free) lemon pound cake were awesome!

Do you have a business model for yourself? Do you agree with how I feel about trading time for money? Have you been able to stick to your own “list”? Do you have any helpful advice for me and for others? Let us hear from you …

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BANS Earnings May and June 2009

Posted on 19 July 2009 by Suzanne

BANS Earnings May and June 2009

*If you’re reading this via RSS email … come over to the blog for today’s audio

(Click buttons above to here today’s audio message)

It’s that time … time for me to update you on my BANS (Build a Niche Store) and EPN (eBay Partner Network – eBay’s affiliate program) profits. I last shared my earnings for February, March and April so let’s take a look at May and June of 2009.

(Click image to see larger image)

My May earnings were $480.64 and my June earnings were $530.64. During both of those months my ACRU (commissions for bringing in new eBay registered users) were only at $28/per … so that was disappointing … but I’m back up to $40/per this month so hopefully I’ll have a good month. I just want to restate that I have not done any work on my sites in several months (possibly a year) … so the beauty of these stores is that if you do the “work” in the beginning and build a solid foundation with choosing a good niche, good SEO, and content for the site they can provide you with a consistent income for years to come.

I also went back and checked my stats and my average income for this year has been right around $530 per month.

I know I could be making much more with my EPN earnings but I’ve been very distracted this year planning our destination wedding and I just wasn’t as money motivated as I could be. LOL. But I will say that I now have the “travel bug” and I’m much more money motivated and look forward to ramping up my niche store earnings. *SmiLes* Suzanne

Do you build niche stores? What kind? Are you making any money? What are your biggest challenges? Do you have any advice? Do you have any questions for me? Let us hear from you below in the comments.

P.S. I just purchased the new guide, “The Number 1 Way to Make Money Online,” and it’s got a lot of great information in it on how to build eBay niche stores from start to finish. I will be going back and revisiting all of my existing stores and making some changes and then I will be adding at least 5 new stores to my portfolio over the next couple of months.

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The Number 1 Way to Make Money Online – Is This Guide Worth the Money?

Posted on 17 July 2009 by Suzanne

Wow! I’m reading “The Number 1 Way to Make Money Online“ which was written by the guys who developed the BANS (Build a Niche Store) software and I must say I’m impressed.

I’m an avid reader and I usually refer to most of the stuff I find as “fluff” without any real guidance but this guide is truly a step-by-step guide on how to use eBay’s affiliate program (EPN) to make money. It focuses on using BANS and phpBay which are both products I use and highly recommend.

They are offering the guide at a discount of only $24.95 until Monday, July 20, 2009 at 5:00 EDT so if you’re considering it … get it now! The price will go up to $44.95 … which truthfully is still a great price for the amount of information given (I’m sure it’s more comprehensive than most of the $97 stuff out there to be honest).

UPDATE: They have decided to make the price $24.95 until further notice! That’s awesome … Check it out!

As I’ve mentioned here on the blog I make about $500-$600 per month with my BANS stores and I’ve been very lazy (OK … busy and totally distracted with my wedding LOL) this year and haven’t done any work on them at all. Armed with the new information I’m learning I will be revisiting and tweaking each of my stores and then I’ll also be adding at least 5 new stores to my portfolio (hopefully more). I’ll keep you posted over the next couple months on how it’s going but I hope to at least double my income from this revenue stream.

Go check out “The Number 1 Way to Make Money Online” now and let me know what you think … and let’s make a ton of money this year (I’ll need to just to support my new addiction to traveling LOL). *SmiLes* Suzanne (Franco) Land <—– new last name hee hee

Have you read this guide? What did you think of it? Are you considering this purchase? Do you have any questions I can answer? Do you currently make money through EPN? If not, what’s holding you back – what do you need help with? Let me hear from you …

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Hey … I Got Married … and I’m Back to Work!

Posted on 16 July 2009 by

Hey … I Got Married … and I’m Back to Work!

* If you’re reading via RSS subscription come on over to the blog and watch the video that’s included and see the picture slide show from the wedding and our trip.

Hey there … I’ve really missed all of you – and I have some great news … Ken and I got married (June 30^th) in Tulum, Mexico and it was awesome! We took our 5 children with us and some family members were able to meet us down there too. It really was a dream wedding and vacation for us and we couldn’t be happier.

We married and stayed at Dreams Tulum and it was incredible. It’s a 5 Star all-inclusive resort in the Riviera Maya (about 1 ½ hours from Cancun) and the resort, the staff, and the food were simply amazing (OK … yes … so were the margaritas! LOL). You can imagine how the kids felt getting to eat and drink whatever they wanted whenever they wanted … and there were constantly fun activities going on not to mention great pools and the gorgeous beach there.

Other than the wedding itself I’d say the highlight of our trip was hiring guides to take us all snorkeling in some of the local cenotes (spring fed caves) and going to the ruins in Tulum.

On more of a work related note I am so happy to see all of my hard work online pay off. I was able to cut back my “work hours” while planning our wedding (for the past few months) and be gone for the trip itself … all the while maintaining my current online income.

How? I’d say my keyword research skills combined with my SEO efforts are the biggest factors, as well as, the fact that I’ve really managed to diversify my income. That way if one site/revenue stream slipped it didn’t affect my income much at all. I also have a niche store that’s very seasonal and that site has done well over the past few months.

As I’ve always maintained there is no “get rich quick” idea here … just learn the basics and put in the hard work when you go to set up your sites (I believe the foundation is the most important aspect to success). And then follow through by doing what it takes to get your site/s established in the search engines by adding a ton of content and building backlinks.

I’m hoping to do some question and answer type posts over the next few weeks so please submit your questions through the Contact Us page and I’ll answer them in order here on the blog.

It’s great to be back … and I look forward to hearing from you. Let me know you were here, let me know what you want to see on the blog and submit your questions so I can answer them for you. *SmiLes* Suzanne (Franco) Land<———– new name LOL

Here are some pictures from our wedding and our trip … (hint: you can click the + plus sign and this slide show will speed up)