I've talked about my eBook that will outline how to make money with Amazon.com a couple times now and I posted on Twitter that I hoped to have it finished by the end of the week, but the writing has been taking a little longer than I expected. The good news is that I have a list of the primary topics I will cover and have finished a solid chunk of the eBook.

Release Date

The eBook will be released August 5th and will only be available to newsletter subscribers and Facebook fans.

Join my free newsletter here:

Become a Facebook Fan here

In Depth Training Course Announcement

I've also decided to put together a training course that includes more in depth tactics and strategies along with numerous video lessons.

Video Lessons: An example lesson I'll be including is a video walk through of some of my live income generating websites where I'll outline every aspect of the site and exactly how and why it makes money. I'll also include a video where I go through the process of actually building an income generating website start to finish and several other videos as well.

Free Optimized WordPress Theme: In addition to the video content, I'll also be giving away the custom WordPress theme I use on nearly all of my income generating websites for free with the course. I've spent well over $1,000 on the initial develop and subsequent modifications to the theme based on testing and tracking my results across my niche network of sites.

What I've listed above includes what I know will be in the course, but I will add a ton of material. I still haven't decided on a price yet, but needless to say I will make sure it's more than worth it. I care about my reputation and because there are so many crappy products and courses out there I want to release something that's so valuable everyone that buys the course will want to join the affiliate program. I know that will be tough to achieve, but I believe I can do it. I'll be releasing the course later in August and will be giving an early bird discount to newsletter subscribers as well.

What do you think?

Let me know what else you'd like to learn in the eBook / course.

I receive several emails every day from people with various backgrounds and technical skill levels asking a wide range of questions. One of the questions I hear fairly often comes from people that have little to no technical skills and they're often frozen by the steps required to create and set up a self hosted WordPress blog. So, I've decided to offer services to help beginners set up their first blogs and to kick it off I'm offering the service for just $1. (If you're not a beginner and don't need technical help, feel free to stop reading this post now. I'll have something else more up your alley later this week)

Introducing Blog Set Up Services

I've already worked with several people to steer them in the right direction on how to get started blogging, but I want to take it one step further and do everything for you. This service is aimed at people that don't have web hosting yet and simply want a self hosted WordPress blog completely set up for them. For a limited time I'll be offering this service for just $1.

Why $1 and Why Not Free?

I've decided to charge $1 because I want people to make the commitment to go through the steps of getting their first WordPress self hosted blog set up for them. If I offer this service for free then people are less inclined to go through with it.

What does this service include?

I will set up your WordPress blog, install critical WordPress plugins and install your choice of a free WordPress theme for just $1 (see full details and extra options here). All you need to do is sign up through one of my recommended hosting providers: BlueHost or HostGator (Use only coupon code chrisguthrie at HostGator) and then pre pay for 1 year of hosting service. I receive a commission for referring you to a hosting provider and this is how I can offer this set up service for just $1. Web hosting is something you need to buy if you want to take this business serious anyway and when you buy through my link you're helping me out and I can in turn help you out. Win Win.

What if I want a newsletter service set up or a premium WordPress theme?

I offer extra services that can be tied into the blog set up and they include a premium WordPress theme from Woo Themes along with setting up your newsletter service from start to finish and installing it on your blog. (see extra services here)

Why can't I just stick to my free blogging account?

If you don't own the platform you are building your business on you will always run the risk of losing everything you worked for (I've read stories about people having their blogs shut down for some obscure rule violation etc). It's nearly impossible to sell a freely hosted blog later on and it's also difficult to sell private advertising on a free blog as well. There are numerous reasons why a free blogging account isn't enough, but the bottom line is that if you want to be taken serious and truly make money with a blog you need to be hosting the blog yourself.

How do I order?

To see complete details and to place an order Click Here.

Still have questions? Well, if you're already checked out the blog services page and you still have questions please contact me and I'd be happy to help.

Note: If you sign up through one of my recommended hosting providers and send me an email receipt I'll set up your blog even if you don't pay the $1. I just want to make sure people commit to taking the next step in developing their first self hosted blog and don't flake out.

This is a continuation of my series on Ultimate Guides (see past topics here). The goal behind these is to present various internet marketing topics in an all in one comprehensive fashion. If you like what you see please share it with others.

Recently I discussed how I got to my first 1,000 RSS subscribers and one area I covered in that post was the marketing strategies I used to reach that mile stone. Blog commenting is one strategy that I have used in the past for a wide variety of reasons beyond just a small spike in traffic and today I will outline everything you should know about blog commenting in this second installment of ultimate guides.

Why I comment on related blogs

I comment on blogs as an opportunity to connect with the blog owner, drive traffic to my blog from the people reading the comments and as a way to build free easy links. I'll explain why each of these benefits are important later on in the guide, but first I want to cover where you can find various blogs to comment on in your niche.

How to Find Blogs to Comment On

Much like I said before in my ultimate guide on guest posting it's important to know your niche. I know at least 30 other bloggers both large and small that I connect with on a regular basis. If you don't know the other blogs in your niche one of the easiest ways to find them is with a simple search.

Google Search: Search Google for related blogs using the keywords you're targeting on your own blog and look at the blogs that come up in the search results. Visit these blogs and subscribe to their RSS feeds. The goal being that if you're the first to comment on an article, more people will see it and if your comment is good you'll reap the rewards.
Follow the People Who Comment: Once I find the blogs to comment on then I go through and click through the people that commented on the blog to find more blogs to comment on. This is something you can repeat multiple times and is how I've found brand new blogs to comment on that I never would have found by doing a Google search.

These are the two main ways I find new blogs to comment on, but finding the blog is only the first step. The most important component is what you should write about in your blog comment.

How to Comment Effectively

This section may be reminder for you, but I still see people that fail to comment effectively and this component is crucial. First, always comment using your name and not a keyword (unless they have Keyword Luv WordPress plugin installed). Now as you write comments the key to remember is that to get the best results you must truly add something extra to the conversation. Read the other comments on an article first and if you find something that you don't agree with start there with a response and tell them why they are wrong. Likewise, if someone shares a good comment or writes a powerful blog post try to reply with a comment that builds on the foundation they set out by adding in your own unique point of view or an additional useful piece of information. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself this question, "Does what I'm about to share actually contribute anything to the conversation or does it just add to the noise?" As I've said before many people do share great comments, but I still see numerous useless comments on blogs I read every day. In any case, now that we've got the fundamentals out of the way I want to dive into the deeper stuff with specific examples of why I comment on blogs and how I've done so effectively.

Connect with the Blogger

First and foremost I comment on blogs because I like to get my name in front of the blog owner. I know that if I contribute real value there is a chance they'll stop by and visit my blog as well. From that point they may start reading my blog regularly and maybe even link to an article I've written from time to time or retweet something I've posted. I also use this as the first stage of my future guest posting proposal. If I provide great value in the comments I share on another blog there is a better chance they'll publish my guest post as well. At the very least if you comment enough eventually they will learn your name which is incredibly important for future contact related to (guest post inquiries, interviews, joint venture opps and anything else that may benefit each person's business). This is why it's so important that you don't look like an idiot when you comment on someones blog.

Driving traffic back to your blog

Generally speaking you should not include a link (other than for your name) in your comment on another person's blog. You have to feel this out on a blog by blog basis as certain bloggers have different opinions. I believe that if the article you link to truly adds value and fits within the context of the conversation that it can work (see this example). If you look at the other comments in that article the author actually referred people to the article I included in my comment because she recognized my knowledge on the topic and the value it brought to her readers. I believe if you ever do include a link to one of your own articles in a comment you should never use keyword based anchor text for the article because that really shows you don't have the best intentions in mind when commenting on a blog and instead are just trying to rank some article (it's already a tough sell to include an extra link in your comment anyway).

Even if you don't link to another article on your blog within a comment there is an opportunity to drive traffic back to your blog as long as you provide value with your comment. Readers will see what you have to say and if it's intelligent they'll probably investigate for more information. Another strategy to drive traffic via blog comments is to be among the first few people to comment on a popular blog. This has been said before, but if you combine all of the elements I've listed above when posting your comments it can drive substantial traffic when you're among the first to comment. Subscribe to numerous blog RSS feeds and you'll have opportunities throughout the day to be the first commenter on many different articles (watch for patterns on when they publish their articles i.e. I publish most often at 6:00 AM PST).

Commenting for Links

If you're looking to build links from commenting than make sure the blog is using some type of do follow plugin (blogs that remove the rel="no follow" attribute from comment links). I've seen numerous blogs that display do follow badges but if you look at their code they aren't actually removing the no follow attribute from comment links (I use Firebug to determine this). From an SEO standpoint I don't think Google provides much weight to the links in comments anyway (especially if you're not among the first) so although I think that link building with comments can help a little I believe you should focus on more effective strategies for link building instead.

What not to do

You should not spam via comments unless you recently invented a miracle tooth whitening product. Because if you invented a new miracle tooth whitening product you should find a way to let everyone know about it. Beyond that, if you've been paying attention to any of the advice I shared above it's safe to assume that doing the opposite of what I suggest would be unwise. Here's an example on how to do everything wrong:

This is obviously a pre written comment as it doesn't address the topic of the article (the new Amazon Wireless affiliate program), it doesn't add anything new to the conversation and he tried linking to his blog with his target keyword anchor text within the comment itself. If he hadn't used an a keyword based anchor text to link back to his blog I probably would have just published it despite the fact that it added little to no value. The worst part is that the offending party is actually trying to run a legitimate blog (if it wasn't a legit blog I wouldn't have cared that much because I would have just assumed it was a bot). I didn't bother including any comments that were just straight spamming porn, San Diego divorce lawyers etc. because they are obviously bots.

Note: I was going to show the blogger in the comment but I am pretty sure he reads this blog and there is no need to embarrass him, so I removed the elements that would identify him.

Closing Thoughts

Taken by itself blog commenting isn't my preferred strategy for traffic growth. It does help if you're the first to comment on a blog, but if you had to break up the time you have available to grow your blog I'd focus less than 10% of that time on blog commenting (unless you're launching a brand new blog). I prefer to use blog commenting first and foremost as a means to get on the radar of a blogger by providing a good first impression and to showcase my knowledge on a particular topic. I then have a better shot at going to the blogger at a later date asking to get my guest post published or to get their involvement in a future joint venture deal.

What do you think of my outlook on blog commenting and the way I like to use it? I'm looking forward to seeing your comments below.

I've decided to go to the Blog World Expo this year from Oct 14th - Oct 16th. Last year I went to Elite Retreat and so far in 2010 I already went to SMX Advanced in Seattle although I didn't attend any sessions.

Why am I going to the Blog World Expo?

I like to go to at least one conference a year both to network and learn how to improve my business. I specifically decided to go to Blog World over all the other available conferences because most of my business centers around my various networks of blogs, so naturally it makes the most sense. SMX Advanced was more targeted towards search / paid search marketing which isn't really what I do and the Blog World Expo should be a much better fit for me. At SMX Advanced I just got a free pass and hung out in the halls (which was pretty fun actually) but this time I decided to buy a higher tier pass and I will attend a few of the sessions.

I went with the Weekend Pass because after looking at the comparison chart between the Full Access Pass and the Weekend Pass I decided that I could use the extra $300 for the various Texas Hold 'Em tournaments I plan to play in while I'm down in Vegas .

Buy now before the price goes up after July 15th

If you're already planning to attend but just haven't got around to buying your pass I suggest you buy the pass now before the price goes up:

Will I see you at the Blog World Expo?

I want to meet up with as many readers as possible so if you are planning to attend please let me know so that we can meet up while at the conference. My goal is to meet at least 10 readers while at the conference so hopefully you can make it. Email me if you're planning to go and I'll make sure we can meet up.

Bonus Savings: When you register click through this link and enter EBIRD to save 20%
(Note: The promo code should auto populate, but if it doesn't just copy/paste).

Register for Blog World Expo 2010 Here

I've been a self employed internet entrepreneur for almost a year now and in my time running solo I've learned a few things I wish I would have known before going after my internet business full time. The ideal scenario is that you get to choose when to leave, in my situation I didn't have a choice to quit my day job because I was fired.

How I got fired

Long story short I was an inside sales rep and worked with an outbound sales rep. My outbound sales rep wanted me to work more than 60 hours a week instead of the 40 - 50 I was doing, but I wanted to spend as little time on my day job so that I could get home and work on my internet business. I was working in a salaried position and although I was paid on partial commission the added money I could earn from the extra 20 hours a week of work would have been negligible (I am a firm believer in the Pareto Principle - 20% effort gets 80% of the results). Although the decision to quit was made for me I'm going to share some advice based on my experiences after making the switch from employee to self employed which I believe should help you prepare when you decide to make your own transition.

How to quit your day job

These are 3 important questions you should ask yourself before telling your boss to shove it and pursuing your business full time:

1. Are you turning a profit greater than or equal to your day job income?

First thing's first you need to be making a second income. I don't care how many blogs you comment on, blog posts you write, forums you created, websites you own etc. and you shouldn't either. All you should care about is at the end of the day - how much profit is your online business generating? I could go on for ages about how to make money on the internet, but you can look at my other blog posts to get ideas for that and if you're still strapped for ideas, sign up for my newsletter. I'm releasing a free eBook on how to make money with Amazon.com (my primary income source). At the time I was fired I was earning about the same as my day job and on occasion a little more depending on the month which helped make the transition much easier for me. If I was making less than my day job I would have had to both cut back on expenses and find a way to make even more money.

2. How much money have you saved?

If you're working a day job and running an online business you're essentially working two jobs. If you're turning a profit then ideally you should be reinvesting the money into your business and saving it in a separate business bank account. It's important for you to be thinking about this from a long term perspective. Now is not the time to be spending your extra income on a brand new car or some other frivolous expense. Ideally you should try to be doing both saving and reinvesting. In my situation, I was doing almost entirely reinvesting because I wasn't thinking that I would get fired. In my sales position I had already hit my target sales plan for the year almost 3 months early. So I spent several thousand dollars buying domain names, websites and I also spent over $6k to go to Shoemoney's Elite Retreat event. In fact, two weeks after I got back from Elite Retreat I got fired and unfortunately I had to use an entire month's worth of website income to attend that event. Now because I was reinvesting most of my earnings and not saving very much it put me in a very difficult position. I was making too much to qualify for unemployment from the state (which is a good thing of course) but I was making about as much as my old job so I decided to just pursue my business full time even though I only had about $7,000 in my business account (roughly 2 month's worth of bills). After I went full time as a solo web entrepreneur literally everything I did in my business had to work or it meant me going back to get a job because I had so little in savings. Yes, this helped me 'rise to the occasion,' but it also added an incredible amount of pressure. Before you quit your day job I'd recommend you're making at least as much as your day job and have at least 3 - 6 month's worth of savings on hand. This will give you some additional breathing room and provide you with money to invest in your business.

3. Do you really want to work full time for yourself?

This may sound like a silly question, but depending on your current employment situation the transition from employee to self employed can be quite jarring. I worked in an office with about 60 other people most of whom were my age. The people that I worked with were my friends and I had a lot of fun on my job during my breaks and at lunch. The work wasn't particularly bad except for my annoying outside sales rep. I probably could have stayed at the job until I had about $30k saved up from my business before I would have considered quitting. The reason why I wasn't in a rush to quit is because I am very outgoing and enjoy being around people which is partly why I like meeting up with other entrepreneurs in Seattle (i.e. Neil Patel, Matthew Inman, etc.). My point is that unless your current job is very isolated then it's hard to prepare for the isolation you'll feel after you decide to make the leap to full time internet entrepreneur. In fact, this is partly why I'm trying to do my best to keep earning more money each year starting with my goal of $150k this year. If I can accomplish that this year then I'll shoot for $250k next year and eventually I can start up an office, hire a local team and finally have people to talk to during the day!

Closing Thoughts

The day you decide to work for yourself is very exciting, but if you want to improve your chances for success I highly suggest you have at least 3 - 6 months worth of savings on hand and I recommend you're making at least as much as your day job or more. I would also suggest that you take the traditional approach and quit your job as opposed to getting fired from it because it's better to be in control of what happens next rather than having someone else determine the next move for you. As much as I've said how difficult it can be to work by yourself full time, it really can be a lot of fun and if you can find a way to make it happen I recommend you go for it.

Upcoming: I haven't been writing as much this month because I've been working on my free Amazon eBook; however, as always I have more exciting stories to share on the blog so please do stick around. If you want to hang out I'll be at 15th Ave Coffee in Seattle on July 21st at 7:00 PM. Details are posted in this thread on the Warrior Forum.

We've officially hit the halfway point of 2010 and although I've been doing income reports every month I thought it would be worthwhile to do an update on my goals for 2010 and how close I'm tracking to them ($150k goal being one of them).

My Professional Goals for 2010:

1. Earn over $150,000 across my network of websites

This is a goal I'm currently not on target to hit if I replicate the same numbers from the first half of 2010. After the first six months of 2010 I've earned $34,361.11 based on my monthly income reports. So if I replicated the first half of the year I'd end at $68,722.22. Fortunately, I know that the second half of the year will be better than the first because of the power of the holiday shopping season and several other things I've been working on with my business that should at least put me into the six figure range if not help me hit my goal.

The other thing to consider is that I'm not earning a paycheck here. Yes I'm paying myself for living expenses etc. but the $34k I've earned in 2010 so far has been from creating income generating assets. So if I ever decided to sell my entire network of websites yes I'd be technically "out of a job" but unlike the last time I got fired and received a measly 3 weeks of severance in this case I'd probably get about $200k+ for selling everything.

This is the difference between working for someone else and working for yourself. You're either building a business for yourself or building a business for someone else.

Note: When it comes to the accounting practices for my business I actually don't count the money I've made until it deposits into my bank account so I have actually earned more like $50k in 2010 (based on deposits from November / December earnings). For the income reports it's easier to display information based on what the last month has done though.

2. Spend at least $50,000 on quality domain names to be developed

I've spent about $8k on domain names so far this year with the bulk of that amount being in after market high quality domain names. I believe the right domain name can be the difference between moderate success and big success. I still need to earn significantly more this year to spend more on domain names but I am currently looking at buying several names right now in the five figure range for a new niche I'm working on.

3. Work at least 5 hours a day for a minimum of 25 hours per week

I shared this goal because at the time I wrote it I had struggled with playing way too much Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. I love FPS shooters (if you've read my full story than you'll know about how I was a professional Halo player for a while), but for some reason Call of Duty was unusually addicting for me. I have since stopped playing the game but not before racking up close to 10 days worth of playtime. To help solve the issue now I don't play any video game unless it's after 5:00 PM and I have been doing a much better job of avoiding addicting games as well. Every now and then I read this article which quite literally changed my life and outlook on whether I had a hobby or was building a business. If you're addicted to anything that sucks up your time (i.e. TV, video games, etc.) I highly suggest you read it - Do you really want to make money online?

On average I've been working well over 25 hours per week and will continue to do so for the remainder of the year.

4. Hire at least one full time writer

This is the first professional goal I can already call a success. I hired my first full time writer / assistant in mid June and she has worked for about 3 weeks for far. She's doing excellent work and the only regret I have is that I didn't hire someone sooner. It's difficult to build a six figure business without any help and in fact I will probably shoot for having 3 - 4 full time employees by the end of the year.

My Personal Goals for 2010:

1. Buy a house (No longer pursuing)

My wife and I haven't purchased a house yet and this is primarily due to several reasons:

a. I'm the only one working right now
b. I don't think the housing crash is over (see this)
c. There isn't enough history with my business to get a loan

We may buy next year but probably will wait until the Summer. I don't want to buy something just so that I can say I'm a home owner. I think that's stupid. Instead, I'd prefer to wait and buy a house I'd truly love to stay at for 10+ years. The ideal house for me is sized around 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a big basement so I can build out a private movie theater i.e. this guy and I know this ideal house would be a big first time home purchase so I want to make sure I buy when prices hit the bottom.

2. Donate at least $10,000 to charity

Sadly this goal is sort of tied to my goal for $150k this year. It will be difficult for me to pull off donating $10k unless I have $10k to give. (More on this later though)

3. Cook an entirely brand new healthy meal once per month

I've done this once so far; however, I made it 3 times (lol). I need to make some more meals to meet this goal so we'll see if I can still make it happen.

4. Work out at least 2 times per week

Haven't done this, but as all lazy people say - "I really should." I was actually thinking of trying out P90x. I know it sounds ridiculous but I've heard some good things from a couple friends. Anyone try P90x out? Share below.

5. Re-Learn Spanish well enough to carry on a conversation with a native speaker

Haven't started this. I need to set aside time to do this because so far I haven't made any progress at all.

6. Go to Disneyworld with my wife

We ended up going to Hawaii instead and it was awesome! Turns out surfing is pretty easy if you've been snowboarding for over 15 years.

7. Read the Bible at least 30 minutes a day (I love me some Jesus)

This is the most disappointing goal update of the list for me. I haven't been reading my bible as much as I'd like to, but my wife and I did finally find a church we like attending (Mars Hill Church in Ballard). I need to come up with a schedule to fit things into the day that I sometimes forget. So I have a feeling that this (along with working out) is something I should do in the morning before I start the day, so I'm going to try that this week.

Overall Summary

I still believe it is possible for me to meet all of my goals for 2010. I know that I should at least hit 100k for the year and I still can meet my goal of $150k (especially if I end up selling some of my websites as well). I believe it's very important to set specific and measurable goals and to keep track of them regularly so that you can ensure you meet them. If you haven't set any goals for the year I suggest you do so now and take steps towards achieving them.

Upcoming - As I say almost every month I have more exciting stories to share so be sure to stick around, but every time I really do mean it! I'll be releasing my free Amazon eBook later this month based on your feedback and it will only be available to newsletter subscribers and Facebook Fans. You should also follow me on Twitter though.

Now that June has come to a close it's time for another income report. You can click the "Continue reading..." link here or below to skip right to the goods, but for those that are new to my blog I like to include this disclaimer: These income reports aren't meant to brag at all as many people make considerably more money than me, instead I'm trying to use this as a means to help motivate myself to reach my goal of $150k in 2010 while at the same time keeping me publicly accountable. With that said, let's get onto the earnings:

Income Graph:

Income Analysis:

I decided to include every source of income from my online business like I did last month so that you can see even more detail. This takes a lot more time and was more of a pain on my end so I may not do it in the future and instead just stick to income earners over $100 in future income reports.

Amazon Associates:

My biggest earner of the month was again the Amazon Associates program with $4,734.50 which took up 79% of my total income. I'm down about $300 from last month's Amazon earnings; however, I believe this is primarily due to the slow down in overall traffic caused by Summer. Numerous people email me every day asking for more details on how I earn money with Amazon's Associates program and because of the requests I am releasing a free eBook that outlines a lot of the information you can use to make money with Amazon (subscribe to my blog so that you don't miss out).For those of you looking for info you can use right now please check out my article on the Top 7 tips I used to make $41,438.42 in 2009 with Amazon Associates. I also suggest that if you're struggling to earn money with Amazon Associates be sure to avoid these common pitfalls.

Google Adsense:

Google Adsense is about double where it was in the beginning of the year; however, it is still over $500 away from where I'd like it to be ($1,000+). I haven't stopped doing any optimization of the ads, but the gains from my optimization are starting to level out so it's more about gaining traffic now. If you're struggling to make much from Adsense remember that first you need to have traffic and second that you need to optimize the ad units to find the best performance. Testing is very important and I do it easily by cycling my ad units via the OIOpublisher plugin.

Private Advertisers:

I haven't had much luck with private advertising but I'm going to contact some companies directly and put my sales skills to the test. I haven't tried to actively pitch any of my websites to companies yet and instead have relied on third party ad networks to sell ad space which hasn't worked well at all. As I've said before, I believe my best chance at succeeding in my goal of earning over $150,000 in 2010 will require me to start making at least four figures a month from private advertisers. I'm sure I could open up ad space on this blog here and make some additional money, but I still like a clean look devoid of advertising. I would only want advertisers whose products and services I believe in which adds a lot of work for me if I have to screen each advertiser. I believe it's not worth selling advertising until I could earn over $1,000 a month from this blog (10,000 subscribers would probably be enough to do that). What do you think though? Do you care if I sell advertising on this blog or not?

Vibrant Media, Click Bank, eBay Partner Network and other Misc Earnings

I earned $187.15 from Vibrant Media and really should expand it across my other niche websites. So far I've pretty much determined that the in text advertising hasn't cannibalized my other income sources but I may try and do some more testing that runs every other day with the ad code to see if clicks are higher to my other networks than without. ClickBank is another source I'm looking to try out more in the future as I've slowly started to make decent money with them. eBay Partner Network only gave $73.77, but I only use them on a couple websites in a single skyscraper ad slot (sort of like an Adsense alternative). PriceGrabber hasn't been doing very well for me, but I don't provide them much visibility so if I did push them more I could probably make much more with them each month. I got several referrals for PHPzon and one for OIO Publisher which probably came from my trusted resources page. Lastly, I decided to try out a sponsored blog post here in June. I was paid $150 to write a short summary about a service I was already interested in checking out so it was a win win. That was done via Social Spark.

Plans for Next Month:

I'm going to contact some companies directly that I know might be interested in advertising on my various websites because the third party networks haven't worked well (BuySellAds, Technorati etc). I'm getting more requests from companies to advertise on my blog here, so I may be taking some of these on as well but only if it's enough money to move the needle otherwise it's not worth it to me. I've never understood why people even bother to sell ad space if it's only like $10 for the spot.

Diversification Strategies:

I'm having my very first iPhone application developed by a company I found through Odesk this month (I get the final estimate tomorrow) and I'm hoping to have that completed for under $1,000 but we will see how it goes. I'm also starting a new case study that will be run on this blog about affiliate marketing and I'll be working with ClickBooth to do it. I met some of the guys there back at Elite Retreat and I've talked with Eric Schechter from ClickBooth for a while now and they seem like a good company to work with. So starting this month I'll be trying my hand at more traditional style paid affiliate marketing as opposed to focusing on just Amazon like I have been doing. Lastly, as I said in May I have a few major website ideas that I'm going to pursue that if done correctly could be seven or eight figure sales a few years from now. So for those ideas I'm still in the process of finding programmers in Seattle that want to partner up (if you are one please contact me). As these are developed I'll cover them on this blog in more detail of course.

Stick Around:

In addition to the affiliate marketing case study I'll be running in July I also have a free eBook on making money with Amazon.com that you can only get by subscribing to my newsletter. The eBook is based on feedback I received in this article, so if you have any questions that haven't been asked please don't hesitate to share in that blog post. You can conveniently sign up for my newsletter below and in doing so you'll receive a free eBook on my top ways to make money online along with 3 free WordPress themes just for joining:

Here is what I read in the month of June that I believe you should read as well.

Why You're Crazy If You're Not Using Upsells In Your Business
I read this post from James Dyson and going into it I thought I would disagree with him in some way. But when he showed how every business model around is offering upsells from fast food to airliners I could see where he's coming from and completely agree.
Guide to Evaluating Startup Ideas
I read this post from Seattle entrepreneur Tony Wright and thought it was worth mentioning here. As many of you know I run a wide range of websites and in turn make a full time income online; however, my mind and eyes are always on the ideas and projects that could turn into a 7, 8, 9 figure company. So this was a nice list of ways to help avoid getting into something that isn't really a good idea.
18 Must Read SMX Advanced Highlights
My SMX Advanced wrap up was more about having fun with the people I met, on the other hand I stumbled upon an article from someone that paid attention during the keynote and attended some sessions. Check it out courtesy Dot Cult.
How many times should you Tweet your blog post?
This was an interesting one from the VC Mark Suster and the reason why I'm sharing it here is because he uses data to show his results. I personally only tweet my stories once, but perhaps I should do it more frequently? I am up to nearly 1,000 Twitter followers despite the fact that I only follow 30 people(ish) so there is enough of an audience to make it worth it to me to retweet my stories more than once perhaps.
Plenty of Fish vs Facebook Traffic
Justin highlights the advertising differences between Plenty of Fish and Facebook. Worth the read if you're new to affiliate marketing and still trying to get your bearings.
How We Got to 40,310 Facebook Fans In 4 days
This post highlights some very interesting tactics to use Facebook ads to get users to become fans of your Facebook page. It shows how driving them to the wall is the worst tactic, and instead you should use an incentivized page (i.e. a squeeze page) to get the best results. Overall well worth the read and something I'm going to try out with one of the websites in my portfolio soon.
Putting the Authority Website Building Game Plan in Motion
Interesting article on building authority websites above here and I'd share my input on the strategy she laid out, but I believe strategy for authority site building changes from niche to niche. One thing I do know though is at the end of the day if you don't have at least top 3 for your primary keyword then you'll have a lot of trouble increasing income (as long as your keyword has significant traffic that is: 10,000+ exact searches a month).

If you find something I should read please contact me and I may share it here next month.
Note: No one has sent me an interesting article to read / share in my monthly wrap up series yet. If you do send me an article that I use in my next monthly wrap up I'll link to your website as well - so take action!

Upcoming:

My income report will be up next where I outline the sources I made money from along with my overall take for the month. If this sounds good to you, subscribe to my blog so that you don't miss out. See past income reports here. Tomorrow I'm going to another event at the Has Offers offices; however, this time Shoemoney will be there as well. I first met Jeremy at the Elite Retreat (his event) and learned a ton from him and the rest of the attendees. It should be very fun to hang out with him again. I'll write a post about the event if I learn something worth sharing. The last event I wrote about got very few comments so I figure that perhaps people aren't interested in event wrap ups?