I doubt that many of you visiting the blog noticed, but there is no longer a sign-up form on the left side of the page for you to sign up for my “once-in-awhile” Writing Tips Newsletter.
Alas, it got just too lonely out there, so I ended the newsletter before it got started.
I won’t go into the horrible details here — it involved sending out several “please confirm” emails to people whom I thought wanted the newsletter — but what matters is that I had only ONE person actually sign up for the newsletter. (Sorry. I deleted the database without noting your email address to send you a personal “thanks, but” notice.)
So for now, there will be no “Writing Tips Newsletter” or notification list. I remain hopeful that something similar will happen some day.
Oh, and I eliminated the “register” page for this blog also. I’ve said repeatedly that you are welcome and able to leave a comment on anything I post here without registration. SO — to all you “autobots” out there set to register and try to sp*m the comments function, sorry about that. (No, I’m not really sorry.)
This is just for you bloggers out there reading this: Are any of you making good money running Google’s AdSense ads on your blogs?
I ask because I’ve never been able to achieve more than a few — very few — dollars a week from AdSense, no matter what or how many blogs I use it on.
I’ve heard there was a time back in the “early days” of Adsense (1999? 2000?) where you could slap together a blog, throw up some posts about “malignant Mesothelioma” or maybe “repair bad credit,” or some other hot topic, and watch bucket loads of cash come rolling in from AdSense ads on your site.
At least, those are the stories I’ve heard. But based on my best efforts with AdSense, such stories would fall under “urban legend” in my thinking.
But maybe things are different for you other bloggers out there. Are you making anything resembling good money with the program? If so, leave a comment and share some tips with the rest of us. Please.
From time to time, I write stuff about affiliate marketing. For those of you who don’t understand what that means — take heart, from the degree of success I am NOT having with it, I appear to be a bit clueless myself.
Seriously, affiliate marketing is a way of partnering with an online merchant so that you get paid a commission and/or fee if you send traffic to the merchant’s website through your website — and that traffic buys a product, fills out a form, or does something for which the merchant has agreed to pay you.
Anyway, twice a year (I think twice?) leading affiliate marketers and merchants and all those connected with the business meet at an “Affiliate Summit” conference. From all I’ve seen and heard of them, the conferences are extremely valuable for learning, networking, and doing all the other things helpful to a business. The next conference is set for August in New York City. The one after that will be in the early spring (I think) in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Talk about your fun Vegas vacations, that sounds like it would definitely be one.)
So, New York City in a couple of weeks would definitely not work for me. But, if I can get a few hundred more people out there to shop regularly at some of my affiliate marketing sites, maybe Las Vegas. Hmmmm.
