Bloggertunities: Tips, Tools, Opportunities & More!

“In at least one way we are atypical bloggers. That’s because we just keep on posting. The typical blogger, like most people who go on diets and budgets, quits after a few months, weeks, or in many cases, days.” –  Stephen J. Dubner… This quote is so true. Blogging, in my experience, is one of those things that a lot of people pick up as a hobby, or as a way to get free stuff, or because it’s something that they think will be a get rich quick type of thing. But those of us who have been blogging for awhile now know – it is hard work, and you have to be passionate about what you do, to keep with it long enough to be successful.

“Take Risks: If you win, you will be happy. If you lose you will be wise.” – Unknown

I’m guessing that if you’re reading this post, you’re someone who’s serious about their blog. Someone who runs their blog like a business. Whether you’re blogging to earn some extra spending cash, or to support your family – the one tip that you should always remember is to keep taking risks. Try new things, get rid of pre-conceived notions of what you think you “can’t” do, read new books, follow new sites, and reach out to new people. You’ll never lose when you broaden your horizons with new experiences! And, I hope that this list of resources, opportunities, events, and monetization tips will help you find some new things to try this week too…

Have you seen this? To celebrate 10 years of blogging, Darren Rowse is offering EVERY ProBlogger ebook for just $10 bucks. Since his ebooks are normally priced at between $20 and $100, that’s a 50-90% discount!! This is only good for 10 days – don’t miss out!!

Tools, Tips, and Resources for Bloggers

• Free Templates: This site has some pretty pricey subscription options, but they’ve also got a big selection of free templates that might be really helpful for you – especially if you do any offline business. These are super helpful for me when I do local consulting with businesses. Check out Free Sample Templates and Graphics.
• Free eBook: This looks really interesting – How to Master Facebook Marketing in 10 Days, a free ebook from HubSpot. I always love their resources, so it’s definitely on my must-read list.
• Pingdom: This site rocks – You type in your URL, and it shows you how long your site takes to load, and what pieces of the site are slowing you down. I’ll admit – I do NOT understand all of it, but the parts I do are super helpful.
• Copyblogger: Check out this freebie – Free Webinar: How to Make Content Marketing
• Effective and Efficient. Check out an amazing program from them – See Scribe for WordPress In Action!. {So want this!} And then grab your free SEO report. LOVE Copyblogger’s resources.

Promoting Your Business

• Market Mommy:  Promote your business via Market Mommy and they’ll give you $300 worth of advertising for just $69! When you sign up, they’ll upgrade your online listing in the directory, including an image, for the entire year of 2013. All the details and sign up are here: http://www.marketmommy.com/current-specials/ – for a limited time, until full.
• Free Advertising: Sign up to win a free year of advertising on the fabulous Simply Stacie! – You can enter on Facebook here – http://bit.ly/S1rpNh. Her site is amazing, and this is a great prize for anyone looking for some great exposure!
• Promote Giveaways: Super cool new option to promote your giveaways – Advertise them with Prize Master, the newest project from Simply Sassy Media. They are rockstars with this stuff, so I guarantee you’ll love it!

Product Leads and Opportunities

• Story Leather: Learn more about their products, and if you’re interested and they’re a good fit for your site, fill out the ambassador form on their site – http://www.storyleather.com/ambassador-form/.
• UKnowKids: This is an awesome network that is looking for new ambassadors to join their team. It’s simple to sign up, and you get access to cool info to share. In appreciation for your partnership, you get entered for prizes, get invites to local events in your area, and more. I really enjoy working with them.
• Family Arches: Do you love McDonalds? If so – sign up to be a part of the Family Arches community. You’ll get to share opinions and ideas to help them develop new products, get coupons for free goodies, give feedback, and sometimes get cool opps. If you’re already a member – log in today to see if there are tickets available in a city near you, they’re doing free screenings of the new Rise of the Guardians movie before it hits theaters!
• US Family Guide: I get a lot of really fun opps with them – things like blog for free event tickets, or share simple social media posts for free gear for the kids. If you’re interested in signing up, fill out the form here.
• Social Chorus: This is a really cool agency that you can apply to be an influencer with. They’ll connect you to new brands, opportunities and more – that are a good fit for both you and the brand. Apply to be an influencer today. {I got an amazing opportunity just today through them – I can’t wait to officially announce it!}

Events to Join

• Blogathon: Have you signed up yet for the Winter Blogathon 2013? This is an amazing event – It’s a chance to set aside some time to REALLY focus on your blog, and all of those little tasks you’ve had on your to-do list way too long. There are amazing tips from other bloggers {you can see my post from last time – 5 Simple Ways to Monetize Your Blog} – and prizes for completing tasks and challenges. I hope you’ll RSVP today to join us!
• Extreme Cash: Join Becky at Oh My Gosh Beck! for her last Extreme Cash Giveaway of the year! Starts on December 18th and runs for a whole month. Options to add links start as low as $2 bucks – and there are comment entries and cohost options available too!
• MompactLNO: Join us for this month’s Ladies Night Out Twitter party – featuring awesome brands for holiday entertaining, loads of fun tips, and of course – amazing prizes to win too! RSVP for a chance to win!

Monetize Your Blog

• Linqia: I’ve signed up here twice, but so far, nothing. BUT – I’ve heard some pretty rockin’ stories from other people who are working with them {which is why I’ve tried twice, lol.} You get sponsored posts, and are paid more depending on how much action your post gets – click thru’s and such. Definitely recommend signing up!
• ShareaSale: OhmyHECK ladies, if you’re not working with them yet, definitely check them out. I’ve used a million affiliate programs before, and this is by far my new fave. It’s super easy to use, payouts come quickly – and best part? They have awesome bonus programs. I get weekly emails with cool codes to get freebies from some of my photo product affiliates, review opps, or referral bonuses. I often get offers of – Post to Facebook today for a quick $5 credit. Add a banner to your site for a $10 credit, etc. So simple, and adds up FAST. Join shareasale.com. I’ll share a few of my faves too…
• ModCloth: Here’s one of my faves that I earn with on Share a Sale: Earn $15 when you Refer a Friend to Modcloth. They have really cool, vintage, indie style fashions at great prices, so the conversions are great for sales.
• Craftsy: This is another awesome one through Share a Sale – Join Craftsy’s Affiliate Program Today. $10 for each blogger you refer their way, $1 every time someone signs up for their awesome newsletter, and you earn 30% commissions on any of the awesome crafty courses your readers or friends sign up for. {I’m a BIG fan of Craftys courses myself!}
• Bloggers: Blogger Outreach – this is for Business 2 Blogger, and gets a lot of action. I know that B2B can be hit or miss – sometimes it’s all a ton of book reviews, but other times there are some seriously cool opps. I got hooked up with a trip to Texas earlier this year for a conference, through them. Definitely worth joining – and make money from referring other bloggers or businesses.
• Shoe Dazzle: Earn $10 when you refer new affiliates, $20 for every sale through your affiliate link, and a $1 every time someone simply registers their info on the Shoe Dazzle site. Join the ShoeDazzle Affiliate Program on ShareASale. Easy peasy.
• Fun stuff: Here’s one more from Share a Sale that converts amazingly well for me – Create a custom Facebook Cover Collage to rock for your Facebook timeline. Visit www.Smilebox.com – People love this one. There are so many options on Share a Sale, there’s something that’s a great fit for everyone – don’t think you “can’t do” affiliate marketing. It’s no different than sharing a review product that you love – just write up a quick post about one of these great affiliates that you love, include the link, and watch the conversions and commissions add up!
• Donanza: This is a cool new site that I just came across this week – fill out a profile, and click all of the categories of freelance work you’re qualified for and interested in. Then the site aggregates all of the freelance work from across the web into one big list for you to check out. I found a couple of easy jobs, and think this is going to be an awesome tool for me in January when blogging slows down a bit.
• WP Engine: Ok, this is a HUGE commission on their services – I’ve never used them, but I researched, and have heard really good things, so I feel confident recommending. Sign up for the WP Engine affiliate program and receive a minimum of $150 per referral! Crazy, right?
• Examiner: This is a great way to expand your web presence, get more links back to your blog, and write on a topic you love – but that maybe doesn’t quite fit on your blog. And  – once you get started here, and are posting regularly, you can qualify for “credentials for local events,” which means you can use your column as a way to get access to cool local events, to write about and share. Love that. If you are an expert on your local area, choose a topic, and get started earning money for sharing that expertise today. The more subscribers you gain, the higher the page views on your articles, etc – the more you’ll earn.
• Paper Coterie: Are you a member of this new affiliate company yet? I have been since they started… They had a rough start – technical difficulties, and some glitches in their payment process and system. I had to take a break, until I was confident that they’d gotten things fixed. But I’ve now gotten consistent payments, and my links have tracked perfectly for the last two months. If you’ve been wanting to get going with them again – it’s time! And join if you haven’t already, they truly are amazing. And –  you’ll get bonus freebie codes to use to get yourself complimentary products to try out each month too. Very cool.
• Sponsored Tweets: Earn money for Tweeting. Um, how much easier can it get, right? Sign up for Sponsored Tweets here.

Good Reads

• Instagram: Learn tips on how to get “Insta-famous” from this quick reading article. It’s also got tips on how to check your Instagram analytic stats too, which I’d never done, but found really interesting. {Connect with me on Instagram too!}
• Analytics: This is a great article about parenting blog analytics – see how you compare to other bloggers when it comes to your stats, and let me know if you think it’s accurate.
• Photography: I totally agree with Sadie at Slap Dash Mom – quality photos are a massively important piece of boosting the quality of your blog. One super easy way to improve them, especially if you’re lacking in natural light, is a DIY Lightbox. Check out her super simple tutorial.
• Graphics: Love this super fun site – Graphics Fairy has over 3,000 carefully selected and restored vintage images for free. This is a great way to find cool new stuff to use in blog posts, buttons, or headers.
• Time Management: This is a fun tool that shows you exactly where your time is going every day. You fill in the blanks, and it creates a cool custom pie chart graph, showing you how you allot your time, with an analysis. Kinda cool.

BROWSE ALL OF THE GOOD STUFF IN PAST BLOGGERTUNITIES POSTS, AND CHECK OUT MY BIG BLOGGING & SOCIAL MEDIA BOARD ON PINTEREST FOR MORE TIPS TOO!

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