Donec sit amet dui a tortor ultrices ullamcorper. Integer tellus ligula, euismod vitae, cursus in, iaculis ac, sapien. Cras magna risus, consectetuer in, suscipit id, consectetuer nec, sapien. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Suspendisse quam. Sed tellus mi, pellentesque id, rutrum a, cursus in, lorem. Sed in arcu in orci dignissim sodales. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Pellentesque posuere luctus ante. Sed rutrum mauris non erat.

Nam ligula. Proin sed nunc ut massa viverra commodo. Aliquam vehicula blandit sem. Mauris sit amet odio. Curabitur venenatis, justo eget dictum luctus, nisi libero aliquet pede, quis consequat leo lorem sed erat. Sed eget nulla vitae tortor consequat tincidunt. Fusce blandit nulla et massa. Pellentesque id libero vitae dui rhoncus semper. Vestibulum dolor urna, laoreet sit amet, pretium id, facilisis eu, pede. Quisque justo tortor, suscipit a, sollicitudin at, accumsan ac, lacus. Nullam porta nibh et ante. Vestibulum lobortis ante at dui. Nullam tincidunt lectus a velit. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Fusce quis sapien at ligula bibendum pellentesque. Morbi vitae mauris dictum nisi dignissim adipiscing. Quisque tincidunt tempor dui. Proin non tortor eleifend tellus aliquet tempor. Cras dignissim odio sed diam. Praesent ipsum erat, ornare volutpat, dapibus ac, pretium porttitor, sapien. Vivamus volutpat faucibus augue. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Pellentesque dignissim, mauris ut porta accumsan, dolor nisl luctus erat, id tincidunt risus massa in libero. Aliquam ultrices libero vel ipsum. Pellentesque laoreet tellus vitae augue. Quisque elementum cursus nulla.

Duis auctor nunc quis metus. Nam sit amet justo. Quisque suscipit, magna a fermentum viverra, elit ligula consectetuer eros, eget adipiscing est sem eget nisi. Vivamus ullamcorper cursus nulla. Proin sodales. Sed mollis nulla vitae massa. Etiam porta, lacus vel varius malesuada, metus orci congue urna, a mattis neque lectus at felis. Donec auctor, dolor sed elementum facilisis, metus nibh euismod nisl, id lobortis metus massa sit amet nunc. Maecenas ipsum est, sollicitudin eu, fermentum in, fringilla quis, tortor. Donec facilisis eleifend nibh. Vestibulum bibendum nisi sed tellus. Mauris diam tellus, fringilla vel, convallis nec, pellentesque sit amet, orci. Vivamus erat dolor, molestie sit amet, ullamcorper in, ornare vitae, libero. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Integer elit.

Donec sit amet dui a tortor ultrices ullamcorper. Integer tellus ligula, euismod vitae, cursus in, iaculis ac, sapien. Cras magna risus, consectetuer in, suscipit id, consectetuer nec, sapien. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Suspendisse quam. Sed tellus mi, pellentesque id, rutrum a, cursus in, lorem. Sed in arcu in orci dignissim sodales. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Pellentesque posuere luctus ante. Sed rutrum mauris non erat.

Nam ligula. Proin sed nunc ut massa viverra commodo. Aliquam vehicula blandit sem. Mauris sit amet odio. Curabitur venenatis, justo eget dictum luctus, nisi libero aliquet pede, quis consequat leo lorem sed erat. Sed eget nulla vitae tortor consequat tincidunt. Fusce blandit nulla et massa. Pellentesque id libero vitae dui rhoncus semper. Vestibulum dolor urna, laoreet sit amet, pretium id, facilisis eu, pede. Quisque justo tortor, suscipit a, sollicitudin at, accumsan ac, lacus. Nullam porta nibh et ante. Vestibulum lobortis ante at dui. Nullam tincidunt lectus a velit. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Fusce quis sapien at ligula bibendum pellentesque. Morbi vitae mauris dictum nisi dignissim adipiscing. Quisque tincidunt tempor dui. Proin non tortor eleifend tellus aliquet tempor. Cras dignissim odio sed diam. Praesent ipsum erat, ornare volutpat, dapibus ac, pretium porttitor, sapien. Vivamus volutpat faucibus augue. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Pellentesque dignissim, mauris ut porta accumsan, dolor nisl luctus erat, id tincidunt risus massa in libero. Aliquam ultrices libero vel ipsum. Pellentesque laoreet tellus vitae augue. Quisque elementum cursus nulla.

Duis auctor nunc quis metus. Nam sit amet justo. Quisque suscipit, magna a fermentum viverra, elit ligula consectetuer eros, eget adipiscing est sem eget nisi. Vivamus ullamcorper cursus nulla. Proin sodales. Sed mollis nulla vitae massa. Etiam porta, lacus vel varius malesuada, metus orci congue urna, a mattis neque lectus at felis. Donec auctor, dolor sed elementum facilisis, metus nibh euismod nisl, id lobortis metus massa sit amet nunc. Maecenas ipsum est, sollicitudin eu, fermentum in, fringilla quis, tortor. Donec facilisis eleifend nibh. Vestibulum bibendum nisi sed tellus. Mauris diam tellus, fringilla vel, convallis nec, pellentesque sit amet, orci. Vivamus erat dolor, molestie sit amet, ullamcorper in, ornare vitae, libero. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Integer elit.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed iaculis sem vel orci. Vivamus tincidunt feugiat ipsum. Phasellus mattis metus a leo. Sed at diam id neque eleifend ornare. Sed viverra urna. Aenean aliquam. Sed bibendum. Morbi sem elit, pulvinar hendrerit, varius eu, ullamcorper et, risus. Mauris ac nunc vitae sapien tincidunt feugiat. Nunc at lectus nec arcu imperdiet consequat. Proin aliquam risus. Nunc tincidunt justo. Proin mattis.

Aliquam eu sem. Vestibulum congue libero at justo iaculis ultricies. Aliquam convallis dolor. Suspendisse accumsan, ante ac mollis bibendum, leo erat commodo dui, ac vestibulum ante pede id nulla. Vestibulum ornare. Duis a enim quis tortor egestas egestas. Etiam hendrerit. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Vestibulum elit nisi, mollis ut, congue ac, consectetuer nec, ligula. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Vivamus pellentesque, metus pellentesque auctor semper, quam felis mollis orci, cursus accumsan ipsum ante cursus lacus. Nullam sed sem. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Pellentesque nunc. Morbi ac ante. Morbi ultrices est.

Morbi accumsan ante eget massa. Donec et nisi. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Aenean quis ante id est consequat tincidunt. Nulla facilisi. Proin a turpis. Phasellus pellentesque, arcu et placerat congue, nulla nulla rutrum tortor, vitae semper turpis tellus a libero. Cras quis nibh eu massa volutpat luctus. Quisque ac neque commodo ipsum convallis tempus. Mauris sed lectus.

Duis facilisis, lacus eget suscipit auctor, eros orci dignissim tortor, at semper diam purus ac leo. Nullam mollis. Praesent rhoncus tempus dolor. Maecenas elit. Pellentesque nec risus. Donec pellentesque augue. Pellentesque nunc tortor, posuere et, aliquam ut, gravida in, libero. Fusce lacinia varius tortor. Ut tempor euismod nisl. Nam quis tortor. Nulla facilisi. Suspendisse felis odio, tristique sed, ultricies eget, laoreet eget, lacus. Nulla vestibulum enim eget odio. Vestibulum vehicula ante sit amet mauris. Phasellus eget turpis. Curabitur a odio.

Donec posuere nisl eget risus. Sed sagittis. Mauris eu mi. Nulla condimentum mauris. Sed facilisis tortor at purus. In scelerisque justo vitae ante. Curabitur faucibus, quam sed fringilla pulvinar, odio libero vestibulum sem, pellentesque posuere lectus ante sed lacus. Fusce rhoncus consectetuer metus. Suspendisse non urna. Nullam eu tortor. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Donec tempus metus a urna. Curabitur lectus. Suspendisse lacinia. Nulla mauris leo, suscipit eget, posuere non, gravida at, pede. Duis rhoncus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Donec ultricies leo vitae erat. Morbi erat arcu, sollicitudin quis, ultricies mattis, vulputate sed, lacus. Integer venenatis.

Start with Ads

Everyone is looking to make money online and the way to do that is by having advertisers on your blog. Starting from the beginning means you can make money from the beginning. You won’t have to change your design later on and readers will come to recognize the layout of your blog.

When I started my first blog, I ran ads from the beginning. I probably made about $10 a month for the first few months before getting into the swing of things. While $10 a month seems like nothing, it was more than the expenses I was paying in order to run the blog. Essentially, I was able to blog on my own domain and host for free. It was encouraging to see the amount of clicks I received on my blog to gradually grow. The amount of money you earn is an easy way to measure your success.

Starting with ads has it’s disadvantages too. You could look desperate or just into blogging to make money. This will turn readers off if they see you as solely self-interested. Blogs are about community and if you don’t have a strong community, don’t expect to ever really make money online.

or

Start without Ads

Add ads to an existing design

Once you start drawing in the traffic and have a strong committed reader base, it would be a good idea to try and start capitalizing on your viewers. This has it’s drawbacks as it could look like you’re ’selling-out’ or you’re starting to care less about your readers and more about attracting and pleasing advertisers.

Design a new theme with advertisements included

If you want to add advertisements later on, this is the route I suggest you take. Launching a new theme that now incorporates ads will come as less of a shock than changing your old theme to fit ad space in. Plus, if you work with a professional designer, you can maintain creative control over the layout and have it tweaked to look exactly like you want it.

Honestly, it all comes down to the type of blog you’re running. If your blog can incorporate ads that will benefit or interest your readers, then by all means, put them in from the start! It just makes sense to do it that way. However, if you’re running a personal blog, you’ll probably want to avoid ads all together. Your readers are interested in what you have to say and that’s about it. It is unlikely they’ll ever bother with following an ad.

Let it die?
Time off from any line of work always makes it hard to return. To be honest, about two months ago I didn’t see myself ever updating this blog again. Transitioning from accepting a blog’s death to working on it’s revival is incredibly hard. Starting a new blog is exciting. You get to pick out a name, design the theme, work on introductory content. But, coming back to a blog that’s on it’s last leg is a challenge to say the least. The design looks bleak and depressing and all of your old forgotten content is still there waiting patiently for someone to read it.

Right now, that someone is just you. You’re all alone with half-dead blog and you don’t exactly know what to do with it. Sure, you can take it to the carnival in a last hurrah and end the trip coldly by putting the blog out of it’s misery. It only takes two clicks to select the home folder and click delete. It is the easy way out and I suggest you take it if you are no longer passionate about the subject matter. On the other hand, your blog is a shining ray of hope, fighting to make it big online and you’re it’s trainer poised to make every good decision for it along the way.

Set Your Feet
There are a few things you need to do in order to revive a blog.

• The obvious one is to start publishing content. Don’t just sit down and write a post though. Spend a day or two gathering content ideas for you to post on. When you have a solid list of topics to talk about, then you can start developing content. If you write just one post, it will be hard to continue to return. You may make a few more posts, but it’s likely you’ll just quit again.
• Be sure to get your blog up-to-date with the latest releases. This includes the latest Wordpress version and any updates to the theme or any plug-ins you’re using. Don’t let your blog get compromised by hackers because you were too lazy to spend the time updating. New releases are distributed for a reason.
• Land a few guest blogging posts on similar blogs. Take an idea or two from the list you’ve created and use them on other blogs. Most bloggers will allow their guest bloggers to post a little blurb about themselves at the bottom. Use this space to announce the revival of your blog.
• Finally, you need to convince yourself this is something you want to do. If you have any doubts about reviving a blog, don’t do it. It’s just a waste of time. You can spend that time more efficiently working on another project.

If you revived any blogs recently, use the contact form and submit it to me. I’d like to feature it on this blog. Free publicity!

Actually, you’re 100% correct.

Obviously, the biggest factor on whether or not a blog survives is it’s author. If the owner doesn’t care to maintain and update the blog, it’s going to suffer. Stop updating and expect the traffic to stop as well. Now, you should set some sort of structured posting schedule. (Alliteration!) This doesn’t mean you have to update everyday. In fact, if you don’t blog about a topic that will provide you with new content everyday, daily updates will only hinder your ability to update. You’ll burn out and then neglect your blog. Don’t do this!

New Year’s Resolutions..?

The last post on this blog contained my New Year’s resolutions. I’ll repost them to refresh your memory.

• Launch a month-by-month members-only program for the Daily Telecommuter.
• Completely redesign I’ve Tried That. The design is ugly and needs a new year’s makeover. Speaking of which, we do have a nice sized budget if any designers are reading this. Get in contact with me.
• Make eleventy billion dollars. Increase book sales and affiliate commissions.
• Spend more time on this blog. I don’t update it enough and have plenty of advice to give.
• Stop moving onto a new project when I have several that are incomplete as it is.
• Launch and distribute the next version of my book.

It’s been a highly productive year for me so far. I’ve managed to accomplish everything on the list except spend more time on this blog. Well, the year is almost half-over and now is as good as time as ever to start working on a resolution. And since I have to practice what I preach, start expecting updates again as I now have more time to dedicate to making this blog work.

We all make the same resolutions: quit smoking, get in shape, eat better, gamble less, what have you. Everything to better ourselves. But what about our blogs? This blog has been a victim of neglect lately and it had me thinking about blogging resolutions. What can I do to better my blogs? So, now I have a list of things I’d like to accomplish in 2008.

• Launch a month-by-month members-only program for the Daily Telecommuter.
• Completely redesign I’ve Tried That. The design is ugly and needs a new year’s makeover. Speaking of which, we do have a nice sized budget if any designers are reading this. Get in contact with me.
• Make eleventy billion dollars. Increase book sales and affiliate commissions.
• Spend more time on this blog. I don’t update it enough and have plenty of advice to give.
• Stop moving onto a new project when I have several that are incomplete as it is.
• Launch and distribute the next version of my book.

What are your blogging resolutions?

Round three of Start Blogging’s income report. I’ll be the first to admit that the lack of content on this site is apparent. It’s been one hell of a busy month for me and I’ve been neglectful to all of my blogs. It’s really bad blogging ethics considering all of my income relies directly on how well my blogs perform. With that said, let’s take a look at Start Blogging’s income report for December 2007.

Decemebr 2007
Commission Junction: $203.40
Adsense: $5.79

For a grand total of: $209.19!

If you look back to last month’s earning report, I pulled in $106.94. This month almost yielded a 100% increase over last months earnings. Not bad considering I only had time to write two or three posts for this month. I did set a goal of breaking the $200 mark with this blog for December, and I’m glad that I did. So, can we expect another 100% increase? I don’t know, but it would be damn good to see.

Blogging for money

Here are a few other bloggers posting their December income as well. I’ll update the list as more bloggers wake up:

John Chow: $25,040.36
Click for Nick: $1819.58
365 to Freedom: $1,498.71
Personal Finance: $115.33

Leave a comment below with a link to your blog’s earning post and I’ll add it to the list.

Here’s a new feature I plan on expanding greatly: tools for bloggers. This can be anything that I use to make blogging an easier, quicker, and overall less frustrating ordeal. These tools will be personal recommendations and tried and true methods that I use on a daily basis.

To kick things off, I’m going to inform you of a tool that will save you plenty of time, it’s completely free, and best of all, you most likely already have it but don’t know it or use it. The tool for today is that nifty little search box in the upper right hand window of your internet browser.

How exactly is this a tool?

It saves an incredible amount of time in two different ways. First, you no longer have to manually enter in the domain name then locate the search box and continue your search from there. Second, it completely eliminates the need to visit the front-page of a search engine, which in turn limits the number of distractions that could tempt you. The Internet has an incredible ability to distract it’s user from getting any work done. Seeing as blogging is done entirely on the Internet, it’s likely you will never sit down and write a post from start to finish without getting distracted. The search box will help you fight those distractions.

Adding multiple search engines to your search box is relatively simple. Visit a website, click on the search engine selector, and you should be given the ability to add the search engine from that website. Be sure to remove any search engines you don’t use as they will just end up in the way.

Here are a few quick examples I suggest using:

• Dictionary - Look up words on the fly. This especially comes in handy if you want to know if the word you’re using is in the correct context.
• Thesaurus - Similar to Dictionary.com, thesaurs will allow you to search for alternate words with similar meanings. This is useful and will help you expand your vocabulary without sounding repetitive.
• Technorati - This is the largest directory of blogs on the web. You can quickly and easily find out what everyone else is blogging about. It’s a great place to catch up on trends and absorb ideas for posts.
• Wikipedia - It’s the world’s biggest online encyclopedia. That alone should be enough convincing that you need this search engine. It’s a great place to check facts and start doing research.
• Google - Need I say more?