My Homely Office on the Web

Web Money? Where's that?

2012-05-02T06:06:00.000-07:00

I have been seriously considering working from home and getting a descent income for about 10 days now. I started blogging on Blogger and tried every single opportunity highlighted in other blogs tackling the same topic.

As promised, it is time for an update on how it is going.

As I signed up again for Clickbank, I thought I would find a way to make money. Writing articles is not a problem, more a tuning that I need to become skilled at. So far, I have sent off 30 articles, and got one rejection. At first, and as I had foreseen, I felt that there is no point in pursuing this path. I wrote to the publisher again and asked if I could submit again, regularly. He said "Sure, try again. We get 100 submissions and only accept 8 to 10 each month. Volume is the reason behind most rejections."
Well, that WAS encouraging. So, I will get cracking on this and keep writing and submitting. The energy wears off on a daily basis, because it requires a lot of dynamism to write, select markets, send off the queries, wait, and wait some more. Still, this is what I wanted to do in the first instance, so I'd better work on not losing sight on my goal.

The main problem with the affiliate programs is traffic. I have had 547 views on my Single Mum's Richening blog. None of the 547 viewers have left a trace on my blog. Several visitors wrote to me, but did not publicly want to leave a footprint. My guess is that most of these 547 visits were machines, automatic searches checking what potential is there.

I have not made a single cent with my affiliate programs. Well, truth be said, I made US$ 53, but I am pretty sure this was the commission resulting from something I bought online.

I remember my basic researches from when I was running a shop selling fashion jewelry. I needed 100 people walking past the door to have one actual visitor, someone willing to push the door and step inside. Today, that would be the visitor leaving a comment.
I needed more than 300 passerby to gain a customer.
I agree, traffic is the key.

Lately I watched numerous videos about how to make money on the web. All of them explain that whatever other people are selling is BS (their own words, getting redundant, but still effective!). They also claim that their program is 100% free. Right after the video, there is a "Pay Now" button with a price attached to it. This is where the free offer stops, then. It is free to hear that the others are robbers and know nothing. It is free to hear that this one particular program is the ONLY one that works. Thank you very much!

I was nearly tempted to click on the "Pay Now" button after watching some of the videos, hoping to discover a magical method to earn money. I have even watched videos that say you don't need any skills, you don't need to know how to type or even write. What? When you watch this type of comment, you are compelled to continue. A fool-proof, totally free, as easy as sneezing method for making hundreds of thousands of dollars per month.... Well, I watched, I listened, I researched and it so seems that all of it is BS: the BS to start with, the BS that tells you everyone else is BS... a web of BS!

So, what is the key?

Getting traffic, getting people reading what you write, liking your articles and coming back for more is probably one of the keys if you did not get a hen laying golden eggs. At least, I might not make millions, but I am hoping to touch a few people, make them feel like they have learned something while reading my articles.

And if someone out there has actually made hundreds of thousands of dollars, I would be happy to hear from you, and learn how to do the same. All the people so far, who claim they are making US$ 200,000 per months are still trying to con people into buying their products... Go figure! Well, if I was earning that much, I would be doing something else, right?

An educator, you will be, my young Padawan!

2012-04-24T12:38:00.001-07:00

Cards for ESL teachers

I was not born an educator, I made myself one. The old debate of nature versus nurture, makes me wonder how much of my educator skills could my ADN back up.

I was five years old and I had a nasty teacher, Madame Daphy. She once slapped me because I could not use scissors properly. I never told my Dad or there would have been a murder at school and we would have had to join Madame Lalanne's classroom for a while. Madame Lalanne taught older kids, and I would not need an extra challenge, what with my Dad going to prison and all.
So, I kept my ordeal to myself, but declared:

"I will be a teacher and I will be in charge!"

I sincerely do not believe this qualified as a true expression of a passion for teaching.

My "calling" came later, much later.

As a student, I needed a job to sponsor my studies. I was living abroad, in Taipei at the time, and was planning to come back to France and enroll in the prestigious Ecole Superieure d'interpretariat et Traduction.

Because most students who boarded in the same youth hostel as I did taught English, I naturally thought of teaching a language I knew well: French, my mother tongue.

Unfortunately, no one there wanted to learn French, so the people who hired me asked me to pretend I was a Canadian and teach English.

It took about six months before I built up a French teaching clientele.
I had no clue how to do that, and I had never been to Canada, but no one likes to starve in a foreign country. I was amazed at what my students would believe. I felt bad to lie and my employers were happy.

I had no books and no material, so I created my own French language starter course. I even tried to have it published, but no one was interested.
Nowadays, there are scores of good sites proposing material to study modern languages. If you are serious about learning a foreign language, you can speed up the first steps by buying a package. They are well worth it, and once you have a basic knowledge, a tutor can help you improve your skills.

Click Here for Rocket Premium French Program!
This program has it all, you can learn French
as you commute to work or school, TRY IT!

Somehow, as my degrees brought me more credibility, I ended up teaching in secondary school... and I taught English, believe it or not. The difference is that everyone knew I was French, I did not have to lie and everyone was happy with me.

Still, I did not feel like an "educator" with a big "E." My passion started to soar when I taught primary grades. These kids were happy no matter what I did. "Take your books," YEY! "Put your books down!" YEY, etc. The days went by and I had a permanent smile on my face looking at my students enjoying being at school.

That was it, I was hooked. I forgot about the prestigious ESIT and worked towards becoming an official teacher.

Single Mum, writer, translator, educator

2012-04-16T10:03:00.001-07:00

This is my opening line: I am a single Mum and I recently lost my job.
I have trained as a translator and I love writing. One month ago, I thought my brain would explode with all the worry I had crawling up in there.
Today, I am positive. This is the change I would never have dreamed of.

So, I open my little homely office, surrounded by two cats and a lovely boy, and I start my career as a writer and a translator.

This blog will give any other single Mum in my situation the wings they need to fly and enjoy life in this particular and sometimes unwished-for situation.
Come along and follow my journey. April Thursday is about to take off, and you are invited to watch!

Welcome to my newly opened homely office on the web!

Click on the pages on the right menu to "travel" across the areas of this blog:

- Parenting a child alone -- a different scenery than parenting in a pair, some my argue that it is easier, ahahah! It might be at times, because I do not need to convince another adult to have faith in me and my methods and decisions, but of course, the balance male/female is off and I need to be Mum and Dad to my kid.

- Education -- because even though children spend hours at school, parents are responsible for their education. So, there is "work" to do here also!

- Battling with money -- a two-parent family (often) means two incomes. A single parent has one income but many of the same expenses as a "full" parental couple. Issues keep coming. I will share my successes and failures in this area.

Keep coming, and leave a trace, let me know

what you liked or disagreed with.

Tell me what you need and I will research and write about it.

Enjoy your visit and thank you for stopping by, I am grateful.