Blogging — Page 5

Weekly Bloggertunities – 4/24

Weekly Blogging Opportunities

I’m BAAAAACK!!! As most of you know by now – I was hacked. Not just a little issue – I was knocked down, repeatedly, for almost a week. If you want to know what happened, how to know if your WordPress site was hacked, and what do if you DO get hacked, you can read the whole story in my last post. Long story short – It sucked. But, I learned a lot – including what a great group of bloggy buddies I’ve built up over this past year. You guys all ROCK! So – this post was started almost 2 weeks ago, but wasn’t able to be posted due to the issues I had going on. If anything is outdated by now, I apologize. I tried to check ’em all – but I’m in a posting frenzy today, so I might have missed something! Just leave me a comment so if you find something that’s no longer valid. Thank you!

Learn to be a blogging ninja – @sunandsipcups shares her weekly tips and tricks sunshineandsippycups.com/2012/04/weekly… #mombloggers

— SunandSipCups (@SunandSipCups) April 24, 2012

Good Reading for Bloggers

As a blogger – or anyone at all who works primarily online – you MUST be constantly learning and staying updated. The web, social media, search – they are all constantly changing and evolving, so it’s important that you are too. Here are a few great reads this week –

Dealing with Disappointment: My friend Ellen wrote a great post about why you might not be chosen for a specific blogging opportunity – and why you shouldn’t let it get you down! She also offers some tips to help you improve, so that you can start getting more of the opps that you want.
Social Media: This book just got delivered today – 30 Days to Social Media Success: The 30 Day Results Guide to Making the Most of Twitter, Blogging, LinkedIN, and Facebook – and I am SUPER excited to get started reading it. I’m part of a group that will be going through the book together, and sharing our thoughts. Watch for a review of it coming soon – and buy it too if you’d like to follow along with my updates.
Rafflecopter: Read this great post with a tutorial on how to add giveaway images right to your Rafflcopter form. Love it.
Time Management: This is a round-up of posts from some of my favorite bloggers, sharing their time management tips and tricks. Good stuff.

Want more? I have a whole board on Pinterest devoted to Blogging & Social Media – tips, resources, cool tools, creative ideas, and more. Check it out and find some good stuff.

Earn an Income with Your Blog

As always – the biggest question I am asked by other bloggers is how to monetize their site. So, here are a few things you can use to start earning more money with your site – and watch for a more comprehensive series of posts on smart monetizing skills coming in a few weeks!

InfoStable: Super simple, and it’s very easy to earn. They have a limited amount of offers, and they’re mostly giveaways to promote. I signed up for a few to test it – no spam. Check it out and start earning today – InfoStable Sign Up.
Maggie’s Direct: This started out a little crazy – but they’ve simplified their Pro Blogger program, making it MUCH easier to participate! Set up a free account, then sign up for the Pro Blogger program! Learn more on their site – but it includes shopping credit for you, free products, and more. I haven’t used this much yet – and I’ve heard mixed reviews. But it’s working GREAT for some people, so it’s worth looking into.
Social Spark: Many bloggers start with posts in the $15-$25 range, which is where I started with them around 6 months ago. Now I average $65 per post, with some as high as $100-$200. Super easy, and pays via PayPal as soon as you reach $50. Sign up and learn more.
Bloggertise: This one is a little trickier. I earn quite a bit with them – BUT, not all of their offers are, um, quality. And I do NOT ever recommend posting something JUST because you can earn some bucks. So, only post if the required info can educate or entertain your readers. That said – I find loads of projects that I can make into interesting articles, and use it weekly. Learn more and sign up here.
Examiner: I just got promoted to be eligible to receive media credentials to local events – I’m so excited! I love writing here, love connecting with more local companies, and have a lot of fun having a forum to share on besides my blog. Interested? You’re already a writer, so this may be a great fit for you too – Examiner.com Application.

What are your favorite networks to connect you with sponsored posts or other opportunities to earn an income with your writing? Share them in the comments – maybe I’ll find a new favorite!

Networks to Join

I’m a member of so many great networks – I love meeting new people, sharing tips and resources, and having access to some really great opps and info. Here are a few that I’m a member of…

Mom Spark: This is the only network that I pay to be a part of – and it’s definitely worth it. I get connected to awesome opps through them, and having access to their tutorials and community is priceless.
Moms Do It Better: This is a really helpful new network that I’ve just joined – A lot of fun tips, and great opportunities to be found. Join here.
Mommy PR: She is an awesome chick, with equally awesome stuff to share with other bloggers. Sign up for her PR Friendly Bloggers mailing list to learn about new opps each week.

What are a few of your favorites? What do you like most about them – and what do you find most helpful?

Cool Opportunities

Hopefully these are still available – Most of these were opportunities that I came across last week – but some are brand new too.

Fashion Bloggers: Belt Buckle Boutique is looking for bloggers who write about 75% of their content focused on fashion to do an upcoming review and giveaway opportunity – Fill out the form if you are all about fashion!
Foodie Guest Posts: Trio of Tastebuds – my favorite foodie site! – is looking for people to contribute a favorite recipe to their “three views” posts. Get details and contact info here.
Paid Posts: Fill out this form to be considered for upcoming paid writing opps, or for paid guest posting on your own site. Sounds cool.
Mom Ambassador: I’ve been a member here for a couple of years – It’s called Moms Meet, and you get to do regular house parties to share all organic, green, healthy products with your group. The shipments are always very generous and actually worth sharing! Learn more and sign up here.
CBS: If you have a mostly US based readership and audience, fill out this form for a new partnership opportunity with CBS.
All You Magazine: What’s your most clever way to stay on top of all of the paperwork that comes home from school (and your mail too!)? Tell us at Reallife@allyou.com for a chance to be featured in our magazine.

I hope you get connected to some fun review and giveaway opps here – I LOVE hearing stories from people who got into a great campaign from hearing about it in my post :) Some of you have gotten into things I REALLY wanted too, but I didn’t get chosen, lol. But I love being able to share!

Events to Join

Again, some of these I added awhile back – so if something is no longer taking sign-ups, and I missed removing it – just leave me a comment so that I know to remove it from the list!

Birthday Bash: This will start May 11th – and prizes will be announced as more bloggers join! It’s only $2 a link, I joined with 2 links, and hope to see some of you join us too – Sign up here.
Free Event: You get one link for free, $1 for each additional link. Very cool, right? Sign up and learn more.
Baby Shower: This is another totally FREE event – you get one link free, and can get a second one if you share the sign up form. This is Facebook and Twitter only, and starts soon – so get in today!
Huge list of events: This is a really great list of tons of giveaway events that you can join – with loads more free options too! Check it out and sign up for some fun stuff.
Bloggy Bootcamp: If you can’t attend any of these great events this year due to the travel costs, why not check out the awesome online-only package option? Very cool! Online Bloggy Bootcamp.

Do you have a cool event coming up that you’d like to share – or need sign ups for an upcoming giveaway? Share your sign up link in the comments!

Love it? Share it with your own network of awesome bloggy buddies too!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 24, 2012 Filed Under: Weekly Opp's | 6 Comments

What I Learned By Getting Hacked

“The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.” – Eric Schmidt

Most of you know by now that my website was hacked last week. You probably saw big warning screens like the one above when you tried to visit my site. And most of you have been asking what happened. So… Here’s the story: I’m traveling like crazy this month, so I had to cram most of this months blogging work into one week and a half long period in between a conference in Texas, and my trip to the Nike Young Athletes Innovation Summit in a couple of days. I was pretty stressed at how much work I had to do, but ready for the challenge.

Then – I got hacked.

I mean, majorly hacked. I had been working on a sponsored posts for Clever Girls, and took a break for lunch. When I came back to my desk, my dashboard had been replaced by a huge malware warning screen. I freaked out a bit. I’m NOT tech savvy, and am not good at troubleshooting when things go wrong. So my first step was to check in to my Facebook groups to ask for help. None of the simple solutions worked. Ugh. What to do?

“There are three kinds of death in this world. There’s heart death, there’s brain death, and there’s being off the network.” – Guy Almes

I was already starting to get messages – emails, tweets, fb comments – asking what was going on. My next step was to call my hosting company for advice. Long story short – After 2 days of waiting, being assured that the scanning service I had purchased would find the problem, and the GoDaddy security team would help me fix it once found – I was informed that all 5 people I had spoken with had given me the wrong info. While the scanning system would assist me in finding the issue, there was no one at GoDaddy who would be helping me to fix it. Oh. My. Heck. 2 1/2 days of waiting to find out that I was still at square one?? I kind of lost my cool for awhile. Luckily for me, the uh-MAY-zing Beck Ryan from Stone Alley 4 WP came to my rescue!! {Connect with her on Facebook too – she is awesome.} Everyone has told me how super smart she is at fixing just about any WP problem imaginable – so I was so relieved to have her helping me out! She was able to login to my account, find the malware, and clean it up right away. But…. It kept coming back. Again, and again. Since Becky is pretty much a genius with this stuff, she was incredibly frustrated by this – and said she’d never seen anything quite like it. Finally, I felt bad for taking up so much of her time, and decided to look for some additional outside help.

“A blogger is constantly looking over his shoulder, for fear that he is not being followed.” – Robert Brault

At this point my Adsense account had been suspended, I had caused problems for a ton of other bloggers who were linked to me, Google had me blacklisted – and I’d missed an incredible amount of deadlines. And – I’d been online night and day, trying everything I could to get things fixed. Every time we thought things were clean, and starting to clear up – another attack would hit and knock me back down again!! But, finally, we figured out what we THINK was the trigger to it all –

The problem: ADV Plugin Scam for WP – Malware and More!

I’m always super careful about adding plugins. But, this was back at the holidays, the company had looked reputable, and I was so over-worked that I fell for this and didn’t do my research. It was supposed to be for adding ads to my site – but then I didn’t realize in the craziness of the holiday season, but I never heard from this company again, and just kind of forgot about that plugin. It was most likely the door that let the hackers into my site. From what GoDaddy told me, this malware originated in Russia – it caused my site to FILL with porn pop-up ads, and added malicious code that would attack the visitors computer. Since this was such a devastating ordeal, I have named it the Russian Porn Pop-Up Attack of 2012, to try and give it a bit of humorous side. You know, so I don’t cry when I think about it :)

The Silver Lining in the Malware Cloud

Does it seem crazy to say that while this was the MOST stressful thing that has ever happened since I’ve started this site, it also had some positives to it? Well, it did, and I want to share some lessons learned:

I now know SO incredibly much more about the inner workings of my site than I did before. I know what FTP is, where to login to it, and how to change my password. I know how to look at the coding in my site, and some red flags to watch for. And I know everything in my Webmaster Tools dashboard like the back of my hand!
I finally added some extra services to help me run my site. Things have gotten too big for me to handle it all on my own. And, since I rely on only this income to support me and my little girl – I cannot afford another crisis like this! I now have a great security company doing daily scans of my site, monitoring it for problems – as well as basic maintenance package to stay on top of updates.
I learned that I have an incredible group of friends and fans online! I cannot even tell you how helpful all of the tips and information you all sent me. The words of encouragement were so needed and appreciated. And to all of the other bloggers who offered assistance – You all rock. I had no idea how truly amazing the people I’ve met online really were until this crisis hit!

So – Thank you SO much to everyone for sending me the kind words, the offers of assistance, and great tips to try. Luckily, everything is FINALLY fixed, and determined by Google to be totally clean and safe again. Whew – What a week it’s been!

What to do if your site has been hacked:

Most cases of malware are pretty simple to clean up – might be a bad link in a spam comment, or an ad or button in your sidebar causing problems. But if you think you’ve been hacked, here are a few tools and resources to check out:

Check out your sites health in the free security scan on Sucuri.com – it’ll let you know what types of problems your facing.
If your WordPress site was hacked, this article will give you some tips on what to look for – if you’ve got some decent tech skills, you might be able to fix it up yourself.
Need more help? Then check out the great services offered at Stone Alley 4 WP – she is totally affordable, and super amazing!
Want to protect yourself from problems in the future? Check out this article on How to Protect Your Website from Hacker Attacks. Great tips that can help you avoid a huge catastrophe like I just went through.

Make sure to always keep your site updated with the latest versions of WordPress and each of your plugins. Be sure to use secure passwords. Be cautious in how many plugins you use, since they do add a bit of risk to your site. And if your site is more than a hobby, I recommend adding a maintenance package and security services to your site too, to make sure you have access to quick assistance if you need it.

Share your story

Have you ever had your site hacked? Any tips to share – what to avoid, how to fix it, services that rocked? Share your story in the comments – maybe it can help someone else avoid a mess too!

Thank you so much for your patience & support – I’m glad to be back!!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 24, 2012 Filed Under: Blogging Tools | 24 Comments

Weekly Bloggertunities – 4/4

“Opportunity is always knocking. The problem is that most people have the self-doubt station in their head turned up way too loud to hear it.” – Brian Vaszily

In the blogging world, there are SO many amazing opportunities out there to find. The more networks you join, the more people you connect with, the more posts you write… They all lead you on new paths – and many times to some amazing things. So, in everything that you do, every day – be the type of person that others want to work with. There are so many people that I’ve met over the past year that are awesome – always there to help me, answer questions, or just give me a cyber-high-five when I have cool news to share – there are also other people who seem to want to tear down every idea anyone comes up with, and make sure that everyone knows that they – and their ideas – are the best. But, while being pushy and domineering may get you ahead for awhile, in the long-run, being someone who is known as fun, positive, and helpful will bring you far more success and happiness. So my tip this week is to make sure, in every online interaction that you have, that you are the kind of person that others will want to work with again! :)

Freelance Writing and Guest Posting

Finding new places to share your writing can be a great way to reach new readers, drive new traffic to you site – or just a fun outlet to write about other topics that don’t fit your blog’s niche. {And there area a couple sweet writing contests to enter too!}

Bloggy Momazine: BloggyMoms.com is looking for new writers to add to their current line-up. There’s no info included on whether this is a paid writing opp, or if it’s just a great way to guest post and build traffic – But you can apply here if interested: Write for Bloggy Momazine.
Real Simple: The Simply Stated Blogger Contest – Write a post telling them the most difficult thing you’ve ever had to give up to balance your schedule, and be entered to win a chance to blog for them, and a cash prize. Very cool.
ProBlogger: Enter to win 1 of 10 spots as a Queensland Blogger Correspondent. This is an over-the-top amazing opportunity, and one that I would love so much. I’ve wanted to visit Australia since I was a little girl – it totally intrigues me.
Examiner: I love being able to connect with more local readers through this column, and share some of the really cool things that are going on in my city – that might not be that interesting to readers on my blog. If you’re an expert on a fun topic in YOUR city – sign up as a writer for Examiner.com today.
Blogger LinkUp: This is a cool way to find new opportunities for guest posting, and get quality back-links to your site. Really diverse stuff to choose from – Join Blogger LinkUp.
Squidoo: I’ve heard that this gets addicting really quickly – and I’m eager to get started writing here. The pages you make – called “lenses” – look really cool, and are fun to create. And you can earn bonus extra cash and Amazon sales too.

Have you found some great ways to earn extra income from writing, other than your own blog? Do you do free guest posting, in an attempt to connect with new readers? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments!

Monetize Your Site

While there are a million reasons why we blog – and so many amazing experiences that are out there, just waiting to be connected with new bloggers – we do still all have bills to pay, right?

Amazon: This isn’t available in some parts of the country, but if you live in a state that is still eligible, I definitely suggest that all bloggers sign up as an Amazon Affiliate, no matter what type of blog you have. If you have a recipe, you can link to some favorite kitchen gadgets or utensils that are helpful, if you’re writing a review you can link to the product on Amazon, etc.
Integrate: I really like the unique tools available here, and the wide variety of higher paying offers. Plus, for me, the conversions are MUCH better than on many other networks. Join Integrate.com today. {Already using Integrate, but not sure how to work it well? Read How to Get Started with Integrate.com.}
Escalate: My favorite thing about this network? That they pay out around the 10th or so of each month, for the previous month. I don’t know anyone else that pays that fast! Very cool. Join Escalate.com.
MySavings Media: If you post a lot of freebies and deals, this is a perfect network for you. And if you DON’T post those types of deals, you’ll still find some great things here to promote – cooking, baby stuff, crafts, and more. Join MySavings Media.
Logical Media: This was one of the first sites that I joined when I started blogging, and still use it today. Wide variety of offers, and very responsive management team. Join Logical Media.

If you have a favorite network that you use to earn with, feel free to leave a comment with some info on why you love it – with your affiliate link, so we can all join too.

Other Cool Stuff

Here are a few more randomly cool things that I thought you might find helpful, fun, or informative.

Mamavation: They’re looking for some super motivated mommas to join their weight loss bootcamp-from-home course. You’ll turn your life upside down, in a good way! – and they’ll get some awesome swag and support. Apply for Mamavation.
Moo.com: These are the BEST business cards I’ve ever used, and with a busy conference season coming up, it’s a perfect time to upgrade your own business cards to something really rad. There are so many unique ideas, the paper quality rocks, and I totally recommend these – Get awesome blogging business cards. {Check out the mini-cards too – so fun!}
Pinterest: I’ve got a whole board devoted to just Blogging & Social Media tips – there are a ton of really great articles, videos, tips, and tutorials on there. Check it out, and maybe you’ll find some of them helpful too!

Got any randomly cool tips or finds of your own this week? Feel free to share them in the comments! I love reading tips from you guys.

Have a great week!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 4, 2012 Filed Under: Blogging Resources, Weekly Opp's | 5 Comments

Join the StumbleUpon Party!

Stumble Tumble Tuesday

This fun weekly event is hosted by Acting Balanced, Sunshine and Sippy Cups and Wyoming Girl Turned Coastie Wife! The goal of this hop is to use Stumble Upon to help you promote your blog posts and get more traffic. It’s fun, it’s a big boost to your best posts, and you can find new great friends to follow too!

Even if you think you are stumbling correctly, please read this post on how to check and see if your stumble was successful. Some stumbles aren’t showing up, thanks!

It’s Simple to Join the Party

Add a link to a blog post that you would like people to stumble to the linky below. It *must* be a link to an actual post and NOT your main site. Please do not list giveaways, time-sensitive coupons or deals, or other content that is not appropriate for StumbleUpon.
Stumble as many other posts as you care to, check to make sure that your stumble went through by clicking on the “Info” icon. If you’d like to, you can leave a comment on their post saying something like, “I’m stopping by from Stumble Tumble Tuesday and just stumbled you – great post! My post is _____(add link)”. That makes it easier for them to return the love! The great thing about Stumble Upon is that it is fast and easy to do with the Stumble Upon toolbar.
PLEASE DO NOT ADD YOUR LINK IF YOU AREN’T GOING TO STUMBLE ANY POSTS – Let’s all have fun and play fair
Remember, link directly to the actual post, not your home page.
PLEASE – Don’t list any giveaways. StumbleUpon is for Evergreen posts.
PLEASE – Only one link per blog.

Feel free to post about Stumble Tumble Tuesday on your blog too, and help us spread the word – The more people are stumbling, the more traffic we’ll all get, and, hey – the more, the merrier, right? It’s easy to add it, you can grab the code right under the linky below! {Feel free to use my image and copy too, just be sure to link back to the hosts. If you join us let me know in a comment so I can promote YOUR post too!}

Let’s Get to Stumblin’ – and Have some Fun!

The first person to “like” a post on StumbleUpon assigns it a category. If your post has not been discovered yet, please leave the category you would like, in your link to help the discoverer assign it correctly. Example: Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (food).

If you have ANY questions on how this works – remember to read the post above, which covers some great basics. If that doesn’t answer it, leave me a comment here or on my Facebook wall – and I’ll get back to your right away. StumbleUpon can be an uh-MAY-zing new way to increase traffic to your site – and this is a fun way to use it!