Photo: Search Engine People Blog

Check out my new guide for starting a blog to learn how to go about properly creating your own blog.

Previously I mentioned that I was open to other bloggers contributing to my weekly blogging tips series. At the time this offer didn’t generate much interest. I guess as this is mostly a personal finance blog fellow bloggers were more comfortable writing about finance topics. Still, I’d love to hear people’s stance on particular blogging strategies. I know my approach is far from the only approach one can use to succeed.

This week’s blogging tip is a guest post from my friend Steve who blogs at Money Infant. I recommend you check out his blog. He has a very interesting story of how he works online full time overseas. Sounds like a pretty sweet lifestyle to me.

If you’re new to this series, check out some of the previous blogging tips posts:

How You Can Blog Your Way to Wealth

There has been so much said over the past few years about getting rich as a blogger that the title of this post has almost become a cliché. Even so, while the blog-o-verse has become more crowded (Pingdom reports 87.8 million Tumblr blogs and 59.4 million WordPress sites in 2012), and competition is fierce, you can still blog your way to independence if not wealth.

One good example of this is Modest Money, and another is my own blogs Thailand Musings and Money Infant, which have allowed me to pick up and move halfway around the world to Thailand, where I’ve been living with my family for the past two years. I certainly haven’t blogged my way to riches yet by any means, but in conjunction with some good freelance writing gigs I have been able to replace my prior income from an employer with an income from my own efforts.

So, in the face of increasing competition in most blogging niches how does one go about creating money from blogging? While many beginning bloggers may think success in blogging is tied to writing ability, the fact is that even a marginal writer can create a large following and income from blogging. The only real writing ability needed is the ability to present your ideas in a clear and coherent fashion. It also helps if you are able to get into the minds of your readers and give them what they want (note that this may be different from what they need).

Even more important than writing ability for bloggers though is the ability to market, especially in the early days of your blog. The build it and they will come days are long gone on the internet and without a solid marketing plan no one will ever discover your blog, let alone become a regular reader.
Marketing takes several different forms, and there are a wide number of ways to market your blog. Some are more effective than others, but typically the most effective are those methods that you feel most comfortable with or are good at doing. What are some of these blog marketing techniques?

• Commenting on related blogs. This is one of the quickest ways to generate traffic and get some followers for your own blog. Simply seek out related blogs and leave thoughtful and useful comments on those blog posts. The author of the blog is almost certain to check out your blog as will some of their readers…who may in turn become your readers as well. Plus it sets the stage for the next marketing technique.
• Guest posting. After commenting on the same blog several times you may have developed a conversation or rapport with the blog owner. Even if you haven’t, they will at least recognize your name and blog. This is the perfect time to approach them and see if they are willing to accept guest posts from you. Guest posting has become a bit overused in some cases, but if you’ve taken the time to develop at least a minimal relationship with a blog owner they will be much more inclined to accept a guest post from you. They get good free content and you get added exposure for your site.
• Sidebar links. These used to be effective as marketing tools, but these days I think they have diminished returns. Certainly never turn down a sidebar link, but these days it is of little use to actively seek them out. Some bloggers will add your blog to their blog roll anyway if they like your writing style. And you could always make a blog roll request after becoming a regular contributor to a blog.
• Paid advertising. Most of us have no budget for paid advertising when starting out, so this is somewhat of an advanced technique. Unless you are in a high paying niche or have a product of your own to sell, this is not something you want to consider until you become somewhat established anyway. Plus, you should be adept at using your analytical data to track visitors and determine your ROI from paid advertising.
• Social media. Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social media sites are great for getting your content shared, however they present something of a double edged sword. When you are just getting started you will have very few followers on your social media accounts, which means they provide very little impact. In fact, you may need to focus part of your marketing efforts on marketing your social media accounts before you see significant results from social media marketing. A bit of a Catch-22, but I never said this was going to be quick or easy.

In addition to the active marketing techniques there are a host of other things you can be doing to gain more exposure for your blog including targeting a specific type of reader, creating controversy around certain aspects of your niche, optimizing your blog for search engines, being honest and transparent, and optimizing your blog for your readers.

Whew! Seems like a lot of work huh? Well, it is and it will also require a lot of learning on your part. Technical learning about your blogging platform, marketing learning to get your blog brand in front of as many people as possible, writing learning to improve your posts and the impact they provide, and search engine optimization learning for more long term organic traffic.

Don’t let the amount of work discourage you from blogging though. When you consider that many people take four years to complete a college education only to graduate and start a career at dismal wages (if they can even find employment), blogging begins to look more attractive. While I can’t guarantee success, I would be willing to bet that a person who puts four years of consistent effort into developing and marketing a blog will be making considerably more after that time versus a new college graduate. It may not be wealth from blogging, but that level of effort can most certainly provide a living wage, and it’s fun besides!

Author Bio: This has been part of the blogging tips series and was contributed by Steve Walters from Money Infant.com. Steve has been blogging since 2006 and has been able to use his blogging success to create an independent lifestyle, moving with his family to live in Thailand for the past 2 years. You can connect with him on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.

I don’t share much infographics on my blog, but it’s pretty interesting to see how people are spending their money even if it’s not for the country I live in. I’d like to see an infographic like this for Canads or the US. I found one of the more interesting parts was how much they spend on transportation. Looks like most people are spending more on transportation than housing. You sure wouldn’t find many people with that kind of budget here in Canada, at least not in big cities. If transportation really is that expensive, I can see why people might be more likely to resort to short term loans. They might be able to find ways to save money on housing, but with transportation costs you might be somewhat limited in options.

What do you think of these stats? How does it compare to your own budgeting?

Photo: formatc1

The following is a guest post. If interested in submitting a guest post, please read my guest posting policy and then contact me.

Hey everyone, and thank you for joining me for my second edition of Monday Money with Josh! Last week we discussed little known facts about credit scores and, I loved the feedback you all gave me on the article. With that said, I hope to keep you just as engaged today!

The topic today is being modest with your money. Why? Well, as human beings, we have a natural desire to do anything but be modest with money! When we find something we like, we have a tendency to build a need for products or services that should be considered a want. When we are out with friends, we have this overwhelming urge to shout, “I’ll cover the tab!!!” when deep down inside, we know that it’s going to put us in a tough place. With that said, here are 3 simple tips that can help you to be modest with your money…

Tip #1: Think About The Risks And Rewards Of Each Purchase You Make

This is something that took me a long while to start doing. However, when I did start, I noticed that my financial situation continued to get better. Our society was designed around consumerism which, drives us to naturally develop a need for products and services that aren’t really necessary. With that said, the next time you pick up the phone to call the guy on the T.V. with the cool drill or beautiful ring, think about how that purchase will benefit you or risk your financial stability!

This should come even more into play when a promotion guided decision to make a purchase or open a loan is being made. These days, we see a lot of 0% interest until 2015 for auto loans, furniture stores and more. But, these 0% interest loans tend to come back to bite the consumer in the butt. For instance, on many of the furniture loans, if the loan is not payed off within the promotional period, you will not only be required to pay future interest but, past interest will also be calculated and added to your balance! Always read the fine print and think rationally about any promotion guided purchase.

Tip #2: Constantly Look For Ways To Save Money

I know, this tip seems a bit cliché. If you weren’t looking for ways to save money, chances are, you wouldn’t be reading this blog or any other blog surrounded by the personal finance topic. But, many of us only look online for deals. And, I can understand why. But, simple ways to save money in your hometown also go a long way. Simply buying a newspaper could save you $20 or $30 by providing you with coupons you will use for your grocery shopping. Also, many gas stations offer lower prices per gallon if you use their credit card. So, you could use it every time you fill up and pay off the balance immediately. If you do that, you save a few cents per gallon and, you won’t pay interest!

Tip #3: Set A Weekly Fun Spending Budget

The average person pays his or her bills on pay day and the rest is fun money. But, this does not give you the opportunity to save for the future and money is often spent in very poor ways. With that said, it’s best to try and come up with a weekly spending budget that will allow you to do the things you enjoy in moderation, without breaking the bank. To do so, subtract your monthly expenses from your monthly income. I mean all expenses with the exception of miscellaneous purchases and entertainment. Now, simply cut the total in half. One half goes to savings, the other half is divided into the weeks. For instance, if you have a total of $500, $250 will go to savings and you will have a weekly entertainment budget of $62.50. A total that is plenty for a movie and a meal or a night on the town!

Final Thoughts

When it comes to money, much of this comes down to slowing down and thinking about the decisions you are making. So, I challenge you to take a more holistic approach when it comes to money management and frugality! I hope these 3 tips will help you on your journey to become financially stable!

Author Bio: Hey everyone, I’m Joshua Rodriguez! I’m the proud owner and founder of CNA Finance and now, the proud journalist behind Monday Money with Josh on Modest Money! I’d love to hear some of the things you do to be modest with your money in the comments below or on Google+!

Photo: Tax Credits

The following is a guest post. If interested in submitting a guest post, please read my guest posting policy and then contact me.

I have read the same blogs you have by those thrifty people that can live on two hundred dollars of groceries a month for a family of four. I have sincerely read them and thought about what advice they offered but most of the advice I was unable to process and perform. I just have to face the fact that I and my family are either a) too spoiled, b) too lackadaisical, c) just do not want to put that much effort into it, or d) all of the above. I think we fall somewhere in between both extremes but I do know there are many ways we could and should cut back.

I read pretty much all the blogs that I come across on ways to save money. I even follow one blog and am fascinated by this individual’s thrifty nature and the lengths to which they go. They certainly are to be commended and they can never be accused of being idle! It makes me tired just reading about all the wonderful things they do to save money. I do however glean some ideas from these special people in the hopes of saving some money for my family.

A great way we have started saving money in our family due to the advice of some of these super-saving entrepreneurs is to sit down and decide what we are going to make for dinner each day of the week. Find out what ingredients you need to make this work. The next step is to check your pantries and see what you already have on hand. How many times have you bought duplicates because you did not know what was in your pantry? If you say never then congratulations but we are not as capable at my house.

After checking your pantry sit down and make out your list of necessities, then if you are anything like us you can add a few wish list items to indulge yourself. You need to stick to the list when you get there because it is just so easy to see something that looks yummy or interesting and just throw it in the basket. Tell yourself no and move along. And never, never, never go to the store hungry.

I have seen blogs that talk about going to different stores to save money. We generally shop at two stores only. One is just our local grocers, it is close and saves gas and we know where everything is. I find for myself when I go to one of those large discount grocers that I end up buying more because of the great buys and then I come out spending more. More selection means more temptation. I do buy my over the counter medications there, pet supplies, grooming products, and basically anything that is not food. That trip is usually once every couple of weeks or once a month. The grocery store trip is once a week.

I have tried only going to the store every two weeks but I frankly do not have the storage room in the fridge, freezer, and pantry to do this. Plus, I find that we are going back to the store once a week for things like bread, milk, eggs, etc, and then we end up picking up several other things we do not really need. I also find that making out a menu for two weeks is not always a great idea as sometimes I change my mind on what I really want to cook or eat before the end of the two weeks. For one week’s worth of menu plans I can sort of find out what everyone is hungry for and make it fit the bill but for two weeks it often ends up that no one is really wanting that particular meal that week and then what? That is my house, maybe your group is easier to work with that way. We are a foodie group and we love to eat, that could be the basic problem.

My daughter and I have been contemplating the idea of making our own laundry soap lately. We have read how well it works and how far it goes and I do hate spending all that money on laundry soaps and additives. We have yet to do it but it does sound like something that would help save money and keep the laundry looking good. We have a young adult male (my son) who goes through clothes like we go through toilet paper, which is a whole other issue. If there was only a way to make your own toilet paper, and yes I know for you great conversationalists that there are leaves and the Sears catalog (do they even have a catalog these days?).

We have even gone as far as raising chickens! Now, before you think we are one of those people, hear me out. My young adult male who goes through all the clothes brought home four baby chicks a few weeks ago because they were cheap. (I think I just made a pun.) Since we live in a large city I was questioning this decision but we let them stay. My boy has since built a chicken coop and it is quite nice. He says we will have our own eggs soon, I think he said something about fifteen weeks old or something and we have had them for about six weeks. Do you have any idea how fast they grow? They are adorable, a little poopie, but adorable. We will have to see about the eggs later but we have run into another little bitty snag. We believe we have one rooster in the group and it happens to be the boy’s favorite. We heard just the smallest little coca doodle doo a couple of mornings here lately and I really do not think that is going to go over well with the neighbors. The boy says he is going to build a sound proof rooster box but I do not think they limit their coca doodles to the mornings only, do they?

I think I got off topic just a little; we are back to saving money on food. Another easy way is to check the grocery store flyers when planning your menus for the week. See what is on sale and plan your weekly menu around the sale items if at all possible. And something that does not really need to be said but I will, use coupons if you have them! My grocery store sends me personalized coupons according to what I buy; I even get some of the more frequent stuff for free. The grocery store I shop at also has a shopping card which I am sure just brings the food down to a normal price but it does however have the extra benefit of giving us ten cents off each gallon of gasoline for every hundred dollars we spend. This, by the way, with the young adult male who lives in my home, adds a great deal of savings!

My daughter has suggested something as well that is beginning to save us quite a bit of money as of late. She read it on another blog but it has also come about because my mom who lives with us has coronary artery disease and we need to cut down on the meat consumption. It does help to make for a much healthier diet and it also saves a bit of money to cut out meat a couple times a week. You can substitute beans for your meat or just have a nice pasta dish and some fresh veggies a couple times a week. I know in our neck of the woods meat is quite expensive.

And lastly I will talk about eating out. I know how hard it is when you work to come home and cook. The temptation is to stop and pick something up which is neither cheap nor healthy, or going out to eat. This is going to happen but try to plan for these contingencies by mapping out the healthiest places to stop in advance and that offer coupons. All kinds of places have coupons these days. Look in your newspaper, the internet, local community flyers, or call and ask about specials. There are tons of places that offer free kids meals and depending on your age, senior discounts. Oh, and by the way, my grocery store offers a senior discount of ten percent off any of their store brand items. You just have to be fifty-five and/or have your mother living with you who is listed on my store card and she is seventy-seven. Everyone listed on the card in the family gets the senior discount. And it really helps.

These are some ways that we have been able to save money at our house. I know we could push it a little further at times than we do but we are making baby steps right now. We are doing things in other areas of our life as well but my topic was just on food so I will not delve off into any other areas right now. I hope these ideas are as practical for your middle of the road family as they are for mine.

Author Bio: Jason Miner plays a vital role for www.blogcarnival.com. He is an expert in writing topics of different categories. He is helping the carnival team to grow & working on making this an even better place for bloggers.

Photo: the UMF

The following is a guest post from Martin of Studenomics, a place where he tackles financial issues and simplifies them so that you don’t have to stress about your money. If interested in submitting a guest post, please read my guest posting policy and then contact me.

Are you sick of your job? Do you finally want to break free and do something that you enjoy? Are you ready for a lifestyle change?

All my friends tell me about how they want to get into freelancing. They all want to be self-employed and set their own schedules. They want to be in control. Yet nobody actually does anything. They just keep on reading marketing blogs and discussing various random strategies.

Today isn’t about waiting around and making excuses. I want you to start freelancing at the end of this article.

How can you start freelancing?

First you need to fill in the blanks and figure out what exactly you can do for money. What service can you provide? What can you teach others to do?

I will help [target market] with [problem you will solve or service you provide] for [price].

For example, when I got into freelance writing, my blanks were filled in as such.

I will help established bloggers with freshening up their content/adding new content for price specified by both parties.

The beauty of freelancing is that you can negotiate your rate. You can turn down gigs, find new gigs, and switch whenever you want. It might be a bit more difficult at your current job to just walk in and negotiate your rate. There’s usually a budget and salary structure set in stone.

You need to fill in those blanks before we go further. If not, we look at idea generation below.

How do you find an idea?

We all think that we have no skills or ideas at first. Then when we think about it, we realize that have more than enough ideas/skills. Even being able to speak basic English is a talent.

How can you look for ideas?

1. Think of your talents. What are you good at? Do you have strong time management skills? Are you fast? Are you a decent guitar player?
2. Think of what you do all of the time. How do you spend your free time? What do you do on a Saturday morning?
3. Think of something people are willing to pay for. Okay, so what would people pay for? If you can’t see yourself or any human being paying for it, then it’s likely not a good idea.

Hopefully you’ve found an idea from this brainstorming.

Some important tips on freelancing for rookies.

In this section I wanted to throw out my best tips on freelancing for rookies. These are tips that I wish I had picked up when I was first just getting started.

Please don’t spend your life savings on any one idea. It’s 2013. I don’t want to see you on Dragon’s Den crying to the investors about how you put your life savings into a pizza box.

Don’t worry about business cards. Please don’t rush into business cards. This isn’t about being flashy. It’s about making money.

Don’t wait for the perfect idea. It just doesn’t exist. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just keep it spinning!

Launch something right now. Please don’t wait. Get your service out there. Make it count. Give others something to talk about.

Now it’s time to find someone to pay you.

Where do you look for clients?

I’ve heard before that advertising is like sex and only losers pay for it. Don’t be a loser. Don’t start blowing your money on advertising.

Where can you find your first client?

• Referrals. Your current network is likely all you need for clients. You can ask around, let your friends know about your new service, and see where this takes you. Just please make sure you do a good job because someone is going to stick their neck out on the line for you.
• Facebook. Yes, Facebook is for more than stalking. I’ve seen many of my friends use Facebook to start freelancing/promoting services. I’ve seen it from tattoo services to guitar lessons. And guess what? It worked. Post up some samples of your work and let the word spread.
• Kijiji. I’ve used Kijiji for freelancing and real estate. I’ve found all of my tenants on here and it’s super easy to use. Just remember to be specific and try not to come across like a con artist.

Don’t ask me why, but after you get started, clients will just come to you and you won’t even remember how you found them.

What’s next?

Find a client.

Yes, that’s your first task. Don’t worry about anything else. See if your freelancing idea has any legs to stand on. If you can’t find a client right away, maybe you’re looking in the wrong place or offering the wrong service. Figure out which one it is and adjust accordingly.

Once you find a client, you can ask for a referral or use that same process to find clients all over again. The toughest part is always finding your first client.