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Money Management

Nov 27
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5 Ways to Monetize Your Blog or Website

By Money Management One Comment

Having a website is lots of fun, especially when it provides value and can help people. But, let’s face it; most people, like me, have websites and blogs to make money. However, if you are just starting our your blog or business online, monetizing your website or blog may seem like a mystery. It took me some time to figure out how to monetize my websites and blog, but I finally figured it out.  So, here are five easy ways I monetize my blog and websites and you can too.

Google AdSense Ads

If you don’t have AdSense ads on your website or blog, you are missing out on easy money. AdSense is an advertising placement service by Google. Publishers earn commission by displaying targeted text, video or image advertisements on their website pages when site visitors view or click the ads.

Placement of the AdSense ads on your website is key to making more money. When I first started using Adsense, I was only making a few cents a day. However, when I moved the AdSense ads to prominent locations on my website and blog, my commission went from a few cents to a few dollars a day. The commission increases as my website traffic increases and more people click the ads.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing programs are good options to help generate revenue to manage your website. Signing up for an affiliate marketing program allows the advertiser to post an ad on your website or blog with a customized website banner ad or link to increase their sales. When someone clicks on the ad or signs up for the product or service using your link, you earn commission.

One of the affiliate marketing programs that I use is Commission Junction. Commission Junction is one of the post popular Affiliate programs to connect publishers, like you, to hundreds of advertisers.  Be careful of affiliate programs that charge high fees and do not give you control of what to display on your website or blog.

Get Paid To Blog (PTB)

If you are a blogger, why not get paid to blog? You can get paid to write articles for businesses, products or services. These programs can vary from free to paid opportunities, and restrictions vary. The information must usually be original content (not copied from another source).

An example for a great PTB platform that I use, is Skyword.com. Skyword connects freelance contributors with leading brands and publishers to produce quality content that informs, educates, and inspires. Simply create a free Skyword profile, which is like a freelance contributor resume.  Skyword has assignments from organizations across a wide range of industries. If there is an opportunity that aligns with your expertise and interests, they contact you directly with the offer.

For some ideas on other PTB programs to help you make money blogging, check out How to Make Money on Blogging Sites by Keyanna Rochelle.

Get Paid to Tweet

If you use Twitter to promote your business, product, service or blog, you might as well get paid to tweet for other businesses!  When you post campaign ads to your Twitter account and people click on those ads, you can get paid with Paid to Tweet programs. With Paid to Tweet programs, you can earn from 1 cent to $20 or more for posting ads on Twitter, or 1 cent to 50 cents per click when people click on your ads.

SponsoredTweets is a platform that I use that pays content creators to share campaign tweets or social media posts from the world’s biggest brands. Content Creators, like you, get paid to share the brand’s campaign advertisement via twitter and other social media platforms. You can select and bid on the campaign that you are willing to share. The bid is the amount of money you want to post the ad. If the business accepts your big, you create the post based on their recommendations and it will be posted using your twitter handle or social media page.

Get Paid to Advertise

Monetize your website or blog by selling space for advertisement pictures and links on the site. Create website ad space for blocks, like 125X125 or 250X250, or for top, bottom or side banner ads with links on your site for paid advertisements for businesses.

An easy way to promote advertising opportunities on your website or blog is to share and promote it on social media networks, promo ads on your website or offer it on Fiverr.com. Fiverr is a website that allows people to create online services to customers for $5 a job or “gig.” As a seller, you can create a $5 gig to promote ad space on your website or blog. Fiverr is also good as a buyer to buy services for $5 to help promote your website and blog via their social networks to increase traffic to your website. High website traffic is attractive to advertisers.

There are hundreds of ways and websites to help you make money online, but doing these five things will be magnificent start to monetize your website or blog.

Comment below to share other ways or websites you use to monetize your website or blog.

Nov 07
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Scholarships: The Power of Free Money for College

By Credit, Loans, Money Management No Comments
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November is National Scholarship Month, which means that it is time to start looking and applying for Free Money through Scholarships. Scholarships play a significant role in paying for college. Check out Sallie Mae‘s cool inforgraphic about scholarships and the power of free money. Also, go to SallieMae.com/Scholarships to search for scholarships for college.

 

Nov 03
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Easy Ways to Stop Overspending

By Credit, Debt Management, Money Management No Comments

One of the killers of a budget is overspending. Leslie E. Royal of Essence.com, shares easy ways to eliminating overspending. Check it out.

stop overspending pic2As the holidays quickly approach and the shopping season swings into full gear, companies will be creating advertisements designed to grab your attention and convince you to buy their products.  If you tend to overspend, this article will help address underlying issues that trigger this behavior and get you on the road to being “in the black” for 2015.

The first step to take to stop the bleeding and get out of the red in your financial life is to be honest with yourself.  Admit this is a problem for you, talk to someone about it and seek help from an accountability partner or maybe even a specialist.

“Some signs of overspending include buying things you don’t use, hiding purchases, feeling compelled to buy several of an item, going over your budget, giving gifts when others don’t reciprocate, finding yourself in a store or on a website with all of your free time and being deceptive about your finance to others,” says Dr. Sally Palaian, a licensed psychologist at the Positive Self Center and author of Spent: Break the Buying Obsession and Discover Your True Worth.

Once you acknowledge there is a problem, you can proceed to the process of elimination.  Create a budget and stick to it.  Discontinue the use of credit cards and opt in for cash for your shopping purchases.  Understand the difference between needs and wants.  Keep a record of everything you spend in a small notebook, on a 3×5 card or use a mobile app.  Terrence Shulman, author of Bought Out and Spent! Recovery from Compulsive Shopping and Spending, says practical strategies women should use are to avoid people who over shop and/or trigger you to want to shop, take along a person who is a disciplined shopper, install channel and website blockers, unsubscribe from sites, get a productive hobby or interest and seek assistance from Shopaholicnomore website.

“The urge to splurge is a craving.  Cravings start in the brain and are created when ’Super Stress’ occurs,” says Gloria Arenson, a licensed marriage and family therapist and author of Born to Spend: Overcoming Compulsive Spending.  “The ‘rush’ of a getting a good bargain or buying things to make yourself or others feel good is temporary feel good that keeps the spender from dealing with her real life problems.”

According to Arenson, when you have the urge to buy what you don’t need and overspend:

STOP – Think about what you are doing and make note in a journal

LOOK – For the out of control days and discover how they represent emotional tantrums

LISTEN – To what this is saying about your problems that make you feel powerless

TAKE ACTION – Plan to keep track of (continue reading How to Stop the Bleeding: Eliminating Overspending by Leslie E. Royal)

 

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Oct 19
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Why You’re Struggling to Achieve Financial Freedom

By Estate Planning, Investments, Money Management, Retirement No Comments

Do you want to achieve financial freedom? I DO!

However, what we say we want and what we do are usually extremely different. We know that we need to save money for emergencies, child’s college education and retirement, but are we doing what we need to do in order to achieve financial freedom we say we want? For most of us, the answer to that question is, “no.”

Many of us know what is necessary to achieve financial success but just don’t follow the financial principles necessary. The infographic below by Great Plains Lending provides some interesting, informative and surprising financial statistics on why many of us struggle financially, even though we may know better.

Oct 03
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[Video] Money-Saving Tips for Moms

By Credit, Debt Management, Money Management No Comments

In 2014, I participated in a Google Hangout with Samantha Gregory of RichSingleMomma.com, hosted by Michael Delgado of Experian. The hour hangout is packed with fun and easy Money-Saving Tips for Moms. I shared fun ways to include the kids in saving, the truth about couponing, and the benefits of having a side-hustle.

Click here or the pic below to hear how having my son changed how I managed my finances … or not.

Money Saving Tips for Moms

Click here or the link below to view the entire video

 

Share your Money-Saving Tips for Moms in the comments below.

Sep 25
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11 Surprisingly Common Student Money Misconceptions

By Credit, Money Management No Comments

Brian Page of HRBlockDollarsandSense.com shares some common misconceptions that young people have about money and great tips to dispel them.

Only 7% of high school students are financially literate. Fewer than 30% of adults report being offered financial education at school, college or the workplace. With limited places to turn for sound advice, many students have developed money misconceptions. Here are the 11 most common money misconceptions I’ve observed.

1. I will never be a millionaire. Most students do not believe it is very likely they will someday be millionaires. However, some quick math using a compound interest calculator reveals that a recent high school graduate who invests $7.50 a day in the market until age 65 would be a millionaire, assuming a return of the market average of 7%.

2. I can save what is left over at the end of the month. Research has found otherwise. Those who save first by making automatic savings deposits right from their paycheck save four times more than those who only deposit directly into one account.

3. College is unaffordable. Most teens are well aware of the surge in college costs. Many, however, don’t realize that by comparison shopping, seeking financial aid by completing the FAFSA and looking at alternative pathways to earning a degree, college costs can be made more manageable.

4. All debt is bad. Borrowing now to improve your future self can be a good idea. Affordable mortgages and student loans not exceeding your first year’s anticipated income make sense for most everyday Americans.

5. I should not file a tax return. Many students who file tax returns will be able to get a refund of some or all of the taxes that they paid on their income. H&R Block provides free filing support for certain tax filers.

6. The ongoing expense of an automobile isn’t much. Using the True Cost to Own calculator, students can explore cars they’re interested in and discover additional costs such as insurance, gas and depreciation.

7. My credit report is free at freecreditreport.com. The catchy freecreditreport.com commercials are often the only exposure students have had to credit reports. No, it’s not free there. However, once a year through each of the three credit reporting agencies they can access their credit reports for free at annualcreditreport.com.

Continue reading 11 Surprisingly Common Student Money Misconceptions by Brian Page | HRBlockDollarsandSense.com