Over the past few months I have got really bored with this blog.  It didn’t seem like it had any real purpose other than to update what I have been doing online, letting you know when products I’ve written are ready or just promoting other peoples stuff.  Just like millions of other internet marketing blogs out there.

Mine didn’t stand out.

So I’ve changed a few things.  Starting obviously with the look my blog.  No longer do I have that boring 3 column design that you see everywhere, now I’ve chosen something a bit more funky and cool (and least I think so). 

I’ve also taken off the ads and adsense.  To be honest with you – I make tons of money already online – a few extra cents isn’t going to make that much difference to me and it just clutters up the space.

Starting next year I’m going to make more useful posts.  Posts that you can actually use to make money online.  Posts that don’t just give you an overview but an actual step by step plan on making money online.

Why am I doing this?

Because over the past year or so I have come a long way.  My knowledge online has increased substantially and my time has decreased substantially.  But I also remember what it was like when I was starting out and I was desperately looking for someone to show me the way to go.  I tried hundreds of different methods but never really focused.  Now if I want I can make $100 here or there pretty easily.

Twice this month I’ve already had two $1,000 + days.  I’m not telling you this to boast – ok maybe I’m boasting a little bit.  But mainly I want to let you know to hang in there, keep learning, keep doing.  Because one day it all falls into place and the money starts rolling in.

That’s how I feel.

That’s why I changed my blog and my direction.

Like?

I’m a huge fan of giving away a free report in turn for someone signing up for one of my mailing lists.  Especially if the report looks interesting and valuable (and I really do try and give away good reports). 

For my covers I like to keep things very simple.  I create all my covers in Photoshop myself and then use a free template to make it look interesting.

The first thing I do is find a good image.  Sometimes I can find a free image, other times I’ll pay $1 for an image from istockphoto.com.  Then I’ll add the headline and any other text it needs to be.  Occassionally I’ll add symbols or other design elements, but mostly I like to keep things simple.

It’s really all about your image.  Let’s look at an example.

I created a little mini ebook for one of my niche sites (party plan blogging).  Here’s the cover:  It’s just a very simple design with an image that I thought suited the theme and the title and subtitle – very simple indeed.

First I found an image of a women on the computer with shopping bags around her.  I just did a quick search online for free royalty free images.  I actually think I purchased this one from istockphoto for arouund $1 from memory.  (If you do buy from somewhere like this only buy the tiny picture as that’s all you’ll need for a cover).

I then created a strip of color to add my title using one of the colors from the images so it co-ordinated.  Added my heading in a contrasting bold font and then added my sub heading.

I also added a strip of darker blue at the top and bottom for contrast and I was done!

Then I went and grabbed one of the ebook cover templates (get them free from here): http://www.ebooktemplatesource.com/free-ebook-covers.html

and follow their instructions on how to add your cover to the template: http://www.ebooktemplatesource.com/tutorial-ebook-cover.html

Finally you’ll end up with something like this (I also found a ring binder image online and added it to the template):

I hope that helps you when creating your report / ebook covers.

Want to make some quick Christmas cash?  This is a method I used last year and it was very successful (I made around $500 using this method) so if you are looking for a boost to your Christmas budget then this is for you.  Especially because it won’t cost you a cent to do, just your time.

Go to Amazon (or other online store that has Christmas items and an affiliate program) and choose 3 products.

They can be related or they can be different, but the key is that it has to have something to do with Christmas: gifts, decorations, music, tree’s etc.

Write 12 articles related to the products you chose (4 each for the 3 different products).  The articles can be direct reviews or they can be somewhat related (such as the history of Christmas tree’s if you have chosen to promote a Christmas tree).  Each article should be around 400-500 words each.

If you know how to do keyword research (and if you have any of my products you should know how to do this) this will help but it’s not totally necessary as long as you have the word Christmas in your titles.

The article writing is the hard part, after that it’s smooth sailing.

Start a blogger blog and place ONE of your articles there for Product No 1.  Also place a link to the related Amazon product through your affiliate link on the page at the start and end of the article.  For the remainder of the articles for that product submit them to EzineArticles.com with a link in the author bio box linking to your blog.

Next create a squidoo lens.  Place an article for Product No. 2 on it as well as links to the related Amazon product.  Again the remainder of the articles for that product should be submitted to EzineArticles.com with a link to your Squidoo Lens in the author bio box.

Third, Create a hubpage.  Place an article for Product No. 3 and links to the related Amazon product on the hub page.  The remainder of your articles for this product should be submitted to Ezinearticles.

Finally go and link the blogger blog to the Squidoo lens and the Hubpage.  Link the Squidoo Lens to the Hubpage and the Blog, and Link the Hubpage to the Squidoo lens and the Blog.  This creates a lovely circle of backlinks to help boost your pages in the SERPS.

Then just sit back and wait for the commissions to roll in.

(And yes you may repeat this as many times as you like)

Enjoy!
Tracey

I’m taking a break.

Not from internert marketing, but from my own products for the next few months.  I recently purchased the fabulous Info Product Killer and have been busy making lots of toy websites for Christmas.  It’s so much fun and I’m already seeing a lovely return.

Of course I’ll get back to my own products early next year, but for now I’m going where the money is, and that is on Christmas presents.

If you’d like to see how I’m going, watch my daily progress in a diary blog I’ve set up: http://traceys-infoproductkiller-results.blogspot.com/ and see what I make each day.

I put the finishing touches on the latest version a few days ago and have been busy notifiying everyone about the upgrade.  Wow – I’m so pleased with it – this is the best version ever, I’ll sure you’ll agree.

Auction Classified Cash is now the best selling guide to making money using eBay’s classified ads online right now (and it’s also the cheapest!).  But don’t let price fool you – as many of my happy customers will attest to – this guide is an absolute winner!

If you are serious about making money using eBay’s Classified Ads then get this guide!  http://www.auctionclassifiedcash.com/

Now I’m on to my next project – Making a free website using free resources to make money online.  Think I can do it?  Think you are up to the challenge?  Stay tuned …