For now, I’m charting the demographics of the zip codes that make up the Escalante Desert Valley. It’s a big area with wide open spaces. I know we have more jack rabbits than people, and probably more cattle, sheep and horses than people, too.

Speaking of advertising, most recently I purchased software that lets me offer you most excellent advertising at eye-popping rates. If you belong to Entrecard, you can even pay me with Entrecredits.  You can now advertise on my blogs for a full month. Your cost? How about less than a fast food meal… as low as $5.00 for 30 days, above-the-fold images. Each of these blogs rank at least PR2 and have decent Alexa ratings, not in the top 100k, but heading there.

You can see the spots available on this blog by looking to the right. I have similar spots available at Shari’s Gone Country!, Let’s do Business with Real Online Companies, and Successful Food Service.

As the “internet” environment has matured over the years, I’ve shifted my own activities. After working very hard (and long hours) earning an affiliate income, I’ve now “semi-retired” from hawking every program I find. I choose to promote a handful of programs, from which I’ve earned steady monthly income for several years. You can get the full details at a blog I maintain related strictly to my favorite “online companies”.

My roommates and I rarely turn down opportunities to learn new skills. We include these as “working from home” since we’re not employees of any particular business. To date, we’ve learned to milk goats as we’ve tended to a neighbor’s farm (yes, we got paid, too). We exchange services and products with another neighbor as we tend to their animals when they go out of town for the weekend. You can follow a lot of those activities at “Shari’s Gone Country“, a blog about life on the farm.

Most recently, we’re putting our “brawn” as well as our brains to work as we dismantle an old barn. This structure was built in the late ’20’s. The main part is 12×16 with an attached loafing shed that is another 12×12. Underneath is a 12×16 root cellar, where the walls are lined with railroad ties.

The roof had at least 4 layers of shingles, and the barn floor consists of two layers of tongue and groove planking, the bottom one layed diagonnaly.

What do we get from that?  We get all the wood. Some of the wood is good enough to use again for our own small barn. We always have a use for railroad ties. Considering ties are generally $20 a piece, if we get 30 good ties, we’ll feel real good. Additionally, we got over $150 worth of OBS sheeting from a guy, who was throwing it away at the local dumpster.

As I’ve mentioned before, I also participate in the Farmers’ Market, where I sell our lambs, the fleece, eggs, and vegetables from our little farm.

A long-term plan includes obtaining the contract for providing meals at the local Senior Center. I’ll still consider that “working from home” as the management will be done from here. Considering that contract is guaranteed profitable, we’ll be able to fully utilize the awesome tax breaks provided for home business, including the home office deduction.  I blog about that process at “Successful Food Service“.

Here’s the deal on my “Advertiser Loyalty Program”.

Every time you purchase a 24-hr ad spot from me, I enter you into a pool of that month’s advertiser. That means, at least, you have a 1 in 31 chance of winning at least 60 EC from me. I have five blogs, so you are welcome to advertise across all five and compete for each of the pools.

I also keep track of how many times you advertise with me. See that “Most Loyal Advertisers” in my Blogroll? Each of those bloggers have advertised at least 10 times with me. They may have advertised two times on each blog, or 10 times in just one blog. Either way, they all earned a permanent link for their efforts.

I also have a “big pool” made up of all the advertisers. I set aside 25% of the credits I receive from advertising, and when that totals 500, I go to a random number generator and select a winner, awarding them all 500 EC.

Who’s been winning? That’s where the link love comes in… Be sure to check out these folks. They each received at least 60 EC from this blog.

May Winner: Easy Viral Traffic Blog

June Winner: Marketing Riffs… Rants and Big

July Winner: Posh Mama

August Winner: Home Made Online Income

If you’d like to get in on the action, join me at Entrecard. It’s where bloggers really have come together to create a program that works.

For the record, I don’t believe we should “bail out” the credit markets. That is called throwing good money after bad money. It is only staving off the inevitable failure of the free market.

So, with the free market about to go into a free fall, how is that going to affect those of us who may or may not have much involvement in these markets?

For us, where I live, we rely on a pension plan and two social security checks each month as well as a couple of part-time jobs. Our bills include a mortgage, a car payment, and then the ususal pot full of regular monthly obligations like the utility bills, and payment on some “unsecured debt” which is no longer accruing.

We long ago cut up our credit cards. If we can’t afford what we want, we wait until we can. Our income covers our needs, but not always all our “wants”. So, we exercise patience and restraint.

I personally believe we have to prepare for some very hard times in the not-to-distant future. Unless we have a total, unprecedent failure, I don’t see a Depression in the same frame as the Great Depression.

Here are my reasons as to why it will look much different.

First, there was no Social Security System during the Great Depression. Social Security is a result of that time. Pensions were something that no one had established. Who knows if they will still be honored, but I’d bet there will be a support for them.

This business of not being able to get credit, from bank-to-bank, or to business, or business-to-business is more about “faith in the system” than how much money is actually available. In the Great Depression, the market failed because of “excessive leverage”, when you could buy stocks on a margin of 90/10. Put up 10% and you owned the stock. This time, it’s the repackaging and reselling of mortgage-backed securities leveraged at 30 or 40 to one… just plain stupid!

What do you do to protect yourself? Here’s what I’m recommending to our little band of aging boomers.

We’re working to pay off all our debt, even the mortgage. By being prudent, and making multiple partial payments each month (as in either semi-monthly or bi-weekly), we will be able to pay off the remaining 27 years in just over 10 years. Our last vehicle payment comes in just 8 months and we’ll roll that money over to pay off the mortgage.

We’ve established a “pantry” so, if necessary, we can eat for at least 6 months, maybe even a year before shopping again. We’re raising our own meat, and some of our own vegetables, and we get more than enough eggs for our own use.

No one in our little group is above picking up odd jobs. We even learned how to milk goats this past week when a neighbor needed to be out of town for a week.

When we have to “go to town”, a drive of at least 34 miles round trip to the nearest little village with one grocery store, one hardware store, the bank, and the post office we make sure the trip is “worth it”. Is it for work? Is it because we forgot to get something when we were in town?

If we have to go to the bigger towns call neighbors to see if they need anything delivered or brought back for them, and they do the same for us. We do our shopping on the day we’re also selling things at the Farmers’ Market, so it becomes a two-way trip for us.

We long ago quit spending unnecessary money. Everything thing we spend points us towards as much self-sufficiency as possible. And I’d recommend you do the same.

Work for yourself first. Pay yourself first. Ensure your own survival along with that of your community and you’ll be better off for it.

I gotta’ tell you, the seasons here are so-o-o different from where I’m from. At home, in Oregon, our Farmers’ Market started in mid-June with plants and carried on through October and even into November unless we got rained out.

Here we start the Farmers’ Market at the end of August and run into mid-October, or when the snow flies, whichever comes first.

So, what have we managed to produce?

How about taking an inferior product and turning it into a superior product?

We raise a few head of sheep, and have been trying to penetrate the “hand spinner’s market” with our black fleeces. When we bought these sheep, they were represented as “Merino/Suffolk” crosses. Well, I’ve since discovered there’s a whole lot more Suffolk than Merino, and that severely limits our “wool market”.

You see, Suffolk wool is pretty “scratchy” when compared to the very soft, kinky Merino wool. Our stuff is good for socks, or outerwear, or blankets. That’s NOT a high-end market. Add to that the length of the wool (staple) is pretty short. That seems to be a result of our weather extremes.

So, thanks to the Internet, I found another use… GARDEN MULCH!

The “less than acceptable” fleeces can be very easily laid down whole for a permanent mulch, or you can stretch them out to a rather thin layer and use them to help conserve water, insulate the soil, and you also get the added benefit of the wool becoming a long-term fertilizer (nitrogen) source.

I simply made up a hand-out with our information and have been selling several bags each time we go to market. I’ve got only enough bags left for one more market trip. After that, I’ll be taking orders for next year.

We discovered this is a good area for growing shallots, garlic, and onions. With a few to share this year, we’ve found that we’re the only farm at this market growing shallots and onions. One very helpful fellow there is growing garlic and has sold us our starts for next year.

Selling lambs is also part of our plan. Now that we’ve produced our first lamb crop, we’re ready to declare ourselves “Your source for custom-raised lambs”. We’ll be marketing in the Las Vegas area as well as Cedar City and St. George. There are several ethnic groups who like their lamb raised differently that what is commonly available in the grocery stores.

This means we’re working with some custom processors, as the customer buys our lamb alive. We deliver the lamb to the butcher, and the customer then pays the butcher for slaughter, cut and wrap. What’s most important is that the customer gets a product exactly as they want it.

In time, we may offer “on-site processing” for Muslims, Jews, and Hindu,  who must slaughter according to religious ritual. Our rural location is both an advantage and yet, a disadvanatage.

Recently, we took what was left of our lamb crop (we sold half to private buyers) to the auction, where we received the highest bids over the past two months. Our lambs were purchased by the largest wholesale buyer, paying 25% more for our lambs than any other lamb this summer, and 50% more than any “intact ram lamb”.

Now, about those corn stalks. I’ll be surprised if we have edible corn, even for ourselves. But, research tells me the cornstalks are worth about a buck a piece at the market.

Even “Mom’s Hen House” is part of the package. Sure, she just wanted farm-fresh eggs, but hey… when the chickens produce more than we can eat, then we should make them available (at a fair price, of course).

Do we expect to become profitable? We’d like to, but farming is very thin margined, and if we can use the income to offset the expenses and supplement our own grocery bill, then that’s what is important. For the record, we do use standard business accounting practices, and fill the appropriate tax forms.

Many years ago (in the mid ’80’s) I got into a business where we were forced to do everything backwards. We violated all the rules of basic marketing through sheer desparation. You see, we had a product and no market for the product.

Rule #1 is “Find a need and fill it!”.

We had the need alright… and had to find customers FAST to sell our product.

That’s not the way things are done. You’re supposed to figure out what people want (but don’t know they need) and then create a product to fill that desire.

Long story short… We made up a big stack of business cards and began passing them out. When someone agreed to accept one business card, I’d give them two or three, and generally I’d write the first persons name on the back of the card.

About three years later, I got a phone call from someone who received one of those cards. It had gone through at least three different folks, before being given to someone who “needed” my product. Now, at the same time, we were doing a lot of “marketing” (that’s different from advertising). They had seen either our truck, or our product, and were giving us a call.

Most recently, I’ve been contacted by a gentleman I met five years ago.

He had been recommended to me by a business associate in Australia. He was looking for an “online business coach” and had contacted a program owner who knew me.

I worked with this guy for a couple of weeks, and then things took a different turn in his life and we ended the sessions. This was in 2003, and in the “online world” that’s like pre-historic times.

A couple months ago, I got a call from him. Mind you, I’ve moved twice since then, including an interstate move. I’ve changed phone numbers, but have always maintained my Internet presence, even though I now consider myself semi-retired from Internet Marketing.

Again, long story short… this guy found me. I’m now coaching him 1 hour a week and he’s making excellent progress, as circumstances in his life have made the time right for him.

I really believe these two success stories are the direct result of having a good reputation. In my first business, I could be checked out, with references provided in the industry. In the second case, I’ve maintained an online profile. While I live many miles from the nearest town, I can be found by someone intent upon finding me… and because of “search” can be cross-checked for consistency.

Having spent more time relieving the folks at the Senior Center, and getting a very clear understanding of their position, I’ve been encouraged to plan for their retirement, and for me to take over the account.

The main question of whether my body will stand up to the work load has been answered with an affirmative, especially when I know I have to very able assistants.

That means I’ll be resigning from the BookWise opportunity. I’m doing this as I feel I can’t really juggle the farm, a network marketing business, and writing “our story”, as well as working three days a week.

I am continuing to maintain an online presence, mostly through blogging.

With all the changes in EntreCard, rather than try to completely update with “old stats”, I’ll comment more on the updates and changes… all for the betterment of blogworld.

I’m slowly catching up, and will post my results with Project Wonderful, BookWise, and my “traffic generation” results with EntreCard in future posts.

See y’all soon!

Shari

Across my active blogs, I run a little Google AdSense, and most recently AdToll, and now Project Wonderful.

I gotta tell you… I was pretty overwhelmed this morning when I found 47 pending bids for two ad spots, each on different blogs. Yeah, I’m a newbie, and I started the price at zero (is that free?)… but geez, I thought that would be the right thing to do.

So, I’ve added two more boxes so y’all can grab a 125×125 icon. If you hurry… you might get a real bargain… can you spell free?

In all honesty, you may want to bid a little higher as free won’t last long this time.

Now, about AdToll…

I’m running a single banner on my Ask Shari About PGA Tour Fantasy Golf blog, and it’s getting a lot of traffic. The banner is just below the header and above all the content. You really need to grab it while it’s cheap, and before I figure out how to make it more expensive.

I’m liking what I’m seeing, and if I get paid according to their terms, I’ll expand the advertising a bit with both AdToll and Project Wonderful.

Here’s what you get.

When you place your first ad on one of my blogs, I’ll record the purchase price on a spreadsheet. Once your ad is completed, and I’ve been credited with my 25% share of the cost of that ad, I’ll place 25% of that amount into a pool. That means if you pay 80 credits, I get paid 20 and I’ll put 5 into the “Ad credit pool”.

When that pool reaches 200 EC, I’ll hold a drawing and award the lucky winner all 200 credits. Then, the pool will start again. All the names will remain in the pool. That means when you advertise more frequently, your chance of winning is increased.

Beginning with the second time you advertise on the same blog, I will refund 10% (rounded to the nearest credit) of your purchase price, once the ad has run. That means if you place a repeat ad on one of my blogs, and it cost you 75 credits, you’ll get 8 credits back from me.

Once you’ve advertised 10 times with me on ANY of my four blogs, you’ll earn a spot in the blogroll of your choice.

This program only works for you when you are a member of Entrecard. To enroll, go to Entrecard.com. There is no referral program, so no need to hunt around for a special link.

Here are my current stats.

“Success Notes“, a blog about my BookWise business, found in the category “Books”. Ad cost is 123, and as of right now, you can get immediate placement. Yes, it’s before the “Ad Loyalty Program” kicks off, however, I need to “beta testers”, and you can become one. All aspects of the program apply. This site is getting just under 100 visits per day at this time.

This blog will cost you 75 credits today, and yes… you can be a ‘beta tester” here, too. It’s located in Category “Internet Marketing”. This site is getting nearly 90 visits per day for the month of January.

“Ask Shari About PGA Tour Fantasy Golf” is located in the “Sports” category, and will cost you 49 credits today. I need “beta testers” here, too. At the start of the current season, this site is currently averaging 45 visits per day.

“Shari’s Gone Country” is in the category “Personal Diary” and will cost you a mere 33 credits. “Beta testers” are welcome here, too. This site averages about 77 visitors per day.

I look at it this way. When you advertise with me, you show confidence in my ability to improve traffic to my site. I am rewarding you for that effort.

As the traffic increases, you’ll get more bang for your EC. Should the cost of the ad go up, you’ll still get a 10% discount, as well as a more frequent opportunity to win and extra 200 EC, and also a spot on my BlogRoll.

Advertise with me. Tell your friends. After all, the more folks advertising, the faster the “Ad Credit Pool” grows.

With this new program, the “ad rejection” policy is changed as follows. I’ll only reject a site if it contains material not suited for a 7-year-old’s eyes. When you’re in the ad queue and I approve you, your price is locked in.