Hi Paul!
Thanks for checking in on my progress.
So, I have not made any money off this…YET. I posted the link and then did absolutely nothing else, so I have only myself to blame. Although I had the best intent to do daily posts, I never followed through.
Earlier this week I thought about this and began a new and improved plan of action to kick things (and myself) into gear, as I know I’m not maximizing my exposure or abilities.
I have a website that I’ve had up and running for a few years, but have struggled to figure out how to tie my homesteady self into the theme without it feeling like I had a ‘hard sales’ page. I think I have that worked out mentally, where I will add some elements to my site that will slowly transition to the “I’m Glad You Think I’m Amazing, But Look At All The Cool Things My Friends Have To Offer’ page.
I also have a newsletter (via the tiny letter platform) that was intended to be a weekly send~~I think I can link to my webpage more confidently after making the changes mentioned above. I just confirmed with my web-hoster (godaddy) that I can link to other blogs and RSS feeds so they show up right on my website wherever I choose.
I slacked off twitter a few weeks ago, but had been posting something small and hopefully inspirational each day. I have renewed faith that I will be able to keep that going. I usually attach photos that I have taken (nature based, for the most part) with each post. I recently found your suggestion about using photos to also generate income by offering them for sale. I saved that info somewhere and will locate it. I never thought about the connection and potential for this until writing this post….my twitter
feed can also be a very soft daily advertisement for my photos. Perhaps I could link each post back to my website. I’ll work on that.
I was waiting to build up my following on twitter a bit before linking to my website, and again, I wanted to try to have a smooth connection or integration between my twitter and my website. My following is slowly but steadily growing. I could have just willy-nilly started following people to get return followers, but since it will ultimately be tied to my business and website, I didn’t want a bunch of jack-wagons with senseless drama, pics of boobs and harsh political or
judgmental content. I’d rather be a little bit picky, and end up with a quality feed that is a ‘nice’ place to be.
I reviewed my scubbly.com account this morning and did some more reading about linking and using the ‘instantlink’ feature that will let readers do a simple ‘one click’ to a check out with the item already in a ‘shopping cart’. According to scubbly, this will help on return dramatically. I suppose the idea is that some folks will say, ‘well, it’s already in my cart, so I guess I’ll just buy it!’ I also found out that there are other folks on scubbly that offer the affiliate program. As long as their products are in line with my values, I’ll be offering them as well. I didn’t understand that the first time around.
Next up is an idea to utilize Instagram and free child labor.
My daughter (15) is an Instagram whiz; I don’t have an account. Today she will be presented with a money making opportunity. I’m going to have her set up 2 new accounts that she will fully manage. I’ll tell her to post on her current Instagram account that she’s setting up new ones that will have cool stuff for sale. She understands affiliate programs, as some clothing and cosmetic lines offer payouts. My idea is that she will manufacture the content for ‘her’ new Instagram account, with her current followers attaching to that account as well. She has hundreds of followers from all over the globe, in all age ranges and with all kinds of mindsets. On that account, she can post all MY scubbly links and also any affiliate link options she might like to explore (I’ve not permitted her to do this before since the interweb is a scary place). The second account will be ‘mine’ but she will manage it. I’ll provide the content and it will be more focused on my interests and potential hooks for new clients for my business. Since she checks her accounts no less than 642 times a day, I’m hoping she will stay on top of this more efficiently that I would.
In order to educate myself more, I also have started to listen to your podcasts. Only two down, but really enjoyable, full of information and ideas. I mention this because within one of the podcasts I listened to, someone mentions that a LOT of permies.com readers ‘lurk’ in the background for a long time before becoming active. This really hit home with me, as I have’ lurked’ for about 5 or 6 years, beginning under another email/user and then transitioning to my current username. My first post was two months ago, and now I feel like I NEED to check in each morning.
I really appreciate this site and the forums. What an amazing way to find ‘like-minded’ folks! I’d encourage any ‘lurking readers’ to get active to take full advantage of everything there is here at permies.com.
Even though I didn’t make any money from the affiliate program yet, I DID make money by reading the forums and following some suggestions provided by Destiny in this
thread:
https://permies.com/t/57559/Working-home-telecommuting-homestead
I set up a freelance writing profile
online and almost immediately was approached to ghostwrite an eBook about Life Coaching for an investment company in Australia. $500, Ka-Ching!!! I was extremely pleased with that return on an hour’s investment to set up a profile. I now have people approach me via that platform for freelance jobs (which I also do locally). Thanks Destiny!!
Lastly, I will update my signature line here on permies.com, which is a super simple and amazing way to promote any of my (your/anyone reading this) ventures. I see that some people use that opportunity fully, but some don’t.
I think that the key to any of this is that you have to DO IT. You have to start, and you have to follow through. If you throw a seed in the wind, it MIGHT grow somewhere. Not totally terrible, but there will be an exponential increase in the percentage of return if you take the time to properly plant and nurture that same seed. I’m determined to find ways that will provide financial support as well as allow me to stay true to my lifestyle choices.
Thanks again for all you do, Paul (and team).
You are making a difference in the world.
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