Ask Me Why… Work From Home

It’s that time of year when I look forward to the next year. I take the time to analyze what worked this year ( and am therefore keeping), and what has not worked this year. Yes, I give things a few months to show signs of life before moving them off my site.

First, things that are going bye-bye…

Blogrush, I’ve given you the benefit of the doubt. I know, I never referred anyone, but how could I… you’ve yet to really get going. I’ve given you prime sidebar real estate that can be better used this next year. So, over the next few days, you’re being eliminated from all my blogs.

“Help me Blog for a Year” may have stimulated some return traffic… but the contest is ending on December 31, 2007. I got a late start and was reluctant to stomp around at Blog Catalog where the obvious leader had established her territory. I’ll be finishing in 30th place, and happy that I got that far along, having had a mere six months to do what others have done over the past 18 months.

BlogSkinny… maybe you’re good for someone… but I can’t figure you out. Every time I go there I have to request my password. I can’t find my stats… You are next to impossible to navigate… and that’s not something my readers like… so, you’re going bye-bye.

So, who stays?

BlogCatalog stays. They are awesome! I’ve gotten meaningful traffic, and have gained much knowledge over the past months. The site is well-run, the widget works as advertised, and it looks good on my blogs.

Entrecard is a recent addition. This one requires work on my part… but ya’ know what? I’m enjoying it! I’ve met many other bloggers I’d never had seen if it weren’t for the “drop cards” requirement. I’ll be writing more about this traffic tool in time.

What’s coming?

I’m restarting “Shari’s Golden Nuggets”. This is a newsletter I maintained for 5 years prior to my retirement. It’s on a “blogger” platform, but I think I’ll move it to a wordpress platform… not sure yet if it rates it’s own domain name. Plans are for me to write a monthly (just like I used to) newsletter that covers just two or three things in greater depth. It will also allow me to publish quick bulletins as necessary

Ezine Director is my newsletter provider and I am able to segment my list. That’s good for you as it lets me make sure you’re getting what you want… and no more.

I’ll be continuing my presence at MySpace, BizzyBlog, and working to figure out FaceBook. At this point, it’s too early for me to write anything really coherent about these experiences.

I’ll be writing about how to work highly targeted forums through posting and commenting. This is a very viable method as long as you are contributing in such a way as to establish yourself as an expert on something. That doesn’t mean you’re always leaving a “sales message”.

Will I be doing audio and video? Probably not. I know, it’s all the rage… but being from the “old school” I’ve learned that just because something is the rage doesn’t make it right for what I’m doing.

Don’t look for any auto-loading audio or video here. If I do that, it will be at MySpace, or maybe BizzyBlog.

You’ll see more posts here about network marketing as I move forward with my BookWise opportunity. I’ve been doing a lot of work in the background with my sponsor. We’ve updated our business opportunity sites. I’ve created a specific blog to augment the business site. The guys at corporate are working feverishly (involves leaning really hard on some vendors) to get to phase two and three… that’s when the good stuff shows up.

I’m not yet ready to talk about what comes in phase three, since they’re relying on third-party services. There’s just not enough control for me to be comfortable promoting something coming in the future… but, ya’ gotta know… I’m riding the BookWise business until it fades into the sunset… and that’s gonna be a long ride!