e-How

I don't care what anyone else says about e-How, I have to say that even though I've written almost nothing in the last two months, my checks have been consistent. In the last week, I started slowly writing again, and my numbers have already taken a sudden jump.
I've always believed that if you write consistently, and write articles with substance, people would keep finding them. I've written for only five months, and can already boast that over 21,000 people have read my articles. That's not too shabby! Just think about what could happen if I REALLY poured my heart into it!

I've Been Out of Commission

I've been out of commission for awhile. My youngest brother Aaron died suddenly of a heart attack. I was able to fly to California for his funeral, and we are planning a memorial in New York on August 9. I am still not okay, but have finally started writing again. For a bit, I wondered if I would ever write again, and a fellow writer urged me to pick my pen back up in a hurry, and share my pain that way, lest it consume me.
I'm not sure how relevant my articles will be for awhile, but I will continue to write!
My brother Aaron is pictured at the left with his wife, Silja. They were as happy as they look, and I'm not sure how she will survive, either. Life won't ever be the same, that's for sure, and things don't seem as wonderful as they did a month ago...the rose colored glasses are definitely gone.

I'm Back!

After having the flu, bronchitis, and two ear infections, I am back, and not much worse for the wear.
I didn't do ANYTHING on e-How in May, and my income there remained steady. Not enough to pay the mortgage, but it was still money coming in when I wasn't doing anything, and there's something to be said for that.
I have not yet found the answer for instant riches in regards to writing on the Internet, but still feel that if you make a dedicated effort to all the forums you are involved in; writing on your blog, writing for e-How, the Examiner, etc, they all can add together to make a fair income that can gradually build. I have finally started receiving some income from some of the affiliate programs I joined. $10 here and $10 there doesn't seem much by itself, but when you add those $10 bills together, they spend pretty nicely.

eHow auto response reply

eHow finally sent me a reply to my complaint. Again, it was another auto response, and they said that if I could always try editing my articles and resubmitting to see if they would delete them again. Yay!! No sarcasm there!
I've been sick for a little over a week, and am still impressed at what eHow did without me doing ANYTHING to it. I didn't check mail, answer mail, or add any new articles, and still made progress.

e-How

e-How yanked seven of my articles today, and gave very obscure reasons. I actually anticipated it, because a friend called me yesterday, and said that she had some of her articles pulled. I have more articles than she does, and so expected more to be pulled, and it happened today. e-how wrote and said they were pulling 5, but 7 had disappeared.
I don't mind being edited, it was the manner that is offensive. I've written for the Leader-Herald, our local newspaper, and you expect the editor to ummmm...edit. e-How didn't edit, they sliced and diced. They sent a notice to everyone that said they were sorting through articles and removing plagiarized material, cloned material, articles that promoted click fraud, and spam.
Again, I don't have any problem with any of those, and knew to a certainty that none of my articles fit into any of those categories, but they also included a vague possibility of removing other articles that didn't fit what they wanted for other reasons, which is where all the bloodshed occurred.
I wrote my letter of complaint that will most certainly be ignored, or answered again by the auto bot that spits out those automatic replies to remind me that I'm so insignificant to e-How that I don't rate a real response from a real person. I like what I said, though, and it was cathartic to write it.
I compared their behavior to that of a bad boss, teacher or parent, who punished without letting the child know what his or her infraction was. It would be like handing my children a written list of all of the house rules, and then explaining to them that they were being punished, and that THEY needed to read over the list of rules and figure out for themselves how they had violated the rules. If it is so simple and easy to understand for the e-How writers who are gathering to complain loudly, or quit e-How altogether, how come the powers that be seem so oblivious to the obvious?!

Boldness

I went to Legislative Day in Albany, NY today, and it was an incredible experience. I got updated on what was going on in the Legislature, met several senators and a few assemblymen. One of the speakers had us keep repeating that we needed to have boldness, and he was referring to having the courage to approach our representatives about how we feel about key issues that are coming up for a vote.
How does this impact my writing to make money on the Internet?? Quite a lot, actually. I decided to practice boldness on that speaker, and among the large crowd of people milling around, I was actually able to approach the speaker where he stood in the hallway, and using BOLDNESS, I approached him, and in less than 30 seconds, explained who I was, what I was doing, and got PERMISSION to scan information he had handed out, write an article on it, and post it on the Internet, linking to his site!
What that means to me is several articles, and maybe a separate blog about politics, which is right up my alley, and I was using HIS idea, in more ways than one!
The lesson I walk away with today is that there is an opportunity everywhere for an article, or articles, and if you practice boldness, you might get a more positive response than you imagined! The worst that could have happened is that he might have said no, and I wouldn't be any farther behind than I started!

About Associated Content

I've already made $2.75 on Associated Content. Now, I know that you're probably snickering just a little bit to hear that, but keep in mind that it was weeks before I made my first six cents on eHow, and the Examiner is a bit quicker, but I've been on Associated Content less than a week, and only have two articles there, so this IS cause for celebration! I'll keep you posted!

Associated Content

On the recommendation of a friend I have mentioned before, Dena Bolton, I have signed up to write for Associated Content, another Internet source of income. Writers can get paid for content published elsewhere (I can post my eHow articles and New York Examiner articles), and you can get paid even more for original content, which you give them exclusive rights to.
Check it out, and let the earning begin! Dena said that she was earning more money at the Examiner and Associated Content, inspiring me to follow after her. Thanks Dena!!

Free Mandated Reporter Training

NYS OCFS is offering free online mandated reporter training. I thought this was too good an opportunity to pass up, and have posted related articles on my daycare blog, on the New York Childcare Examiner, and on eHow as well. If you are considered a mandated reporter in any capacity, this two hour video clarifies NYS law regrading your responsibility to report, as well as helping you to brush up on your abuse, neglect and maltreatment info.

Maria O'Brien and Ehow Podcast

As I've shared with you before, I follow Maria O'Brien aka Writergig on ehow, and try in some fashion to emulate her, as she's making big bucks on eHow, and I would like to.
Someone on eHow emailed me a podcast of Maria, and today I discovered that TalkShoe offered a button to embed in my blog, so that I could share it with you!
At the right, in the dark blue box that says ebay selling coach, click on the down arrow by the drop box that says "past episodes", and select "episode 22:ehow and passive income". The podcast is a phone call between ebay selling coach and Maria O'Brien, where Maria shares some of her eHow tips.
Maria's e-book, "How to Earn Passive Income on eHow" is also listed for sale $25 at the right if you click on "buy now" it will take you directly to her check out.
Listen to the podcast...it's free, and has lots of great tips!

Another Source of Income

I recently stumbled over another source of income. My friend Tonya told me that Wal-Mart had an affiliate program with which to monetize your blog. I went to investigate, and to enroll in Wal-Mart's affiliate program, you first have to enroll in LinkShare, which is a meeting place for many, many affiliate programs, and they organize them for you! You even can become an affiliate for them; take note of the link on the right!
I have no idea of the income potential; some of the programs offer as much as a 20% payout (flower.com; link on this blog) from your referrals! I believe it will make me feel like I have much more control over my blog advertisement when I get to pick the programs, instead of google or adsense picking them. We'll see!

Dena Bolton & The New York Examiner

I have been following another eHow writer who is a garden specialist, Dena Bolton. To any of you who know me, this must seem really strange, considering that I can even kill silk plants, but Dena is a good writer, and was someone going ahead of me who was/is willing to share tips.
I checked out her website, and found that she was writing for the Nashville Gardening Examiner, and is making more money writing 3-4 articles per week than she is on eHow. She recommended this to me, and so I applied, submitted a new, unpublished article to prove I can write well, passed a background check, and was accepted as a New York Examiner who specializes in Daycare.
I look forward to the writing experience, as well as another source of income!
I don't know if they have an affiliate program, but I made sure that I gave credit to Dena for referring me in case they wanted to pay her a million dollars, or something! I will certainly keep y'all posted regarding the payout, and if you decide to apply, remember me, just in case they want to give me something besides indigestion!

"How to Earn Passive Income on eHow"

I have been following the eHow writer "WriterGig" for awhile now, because I want to emulate her. She is making $1000 per month writing articles for eHow. I followed her on eHow and then found her blog, and finally had some extra money to buy her e-book, "How to Earn Passive Income on eHow". I am carrying it around the house with me, literally, because I am so excited about the new tools I have found in it.
I am suspicious by nature. I have been scammed and conned in the past, and have gotten to the point that I am suspicious of anyone that wants money. I have been watching Writergig for almost a month, and I have seen screen shots of her payouts, and I believe with all of my heart that she is the real deal!

Online Earning Potential

I have been diligently seeking new ways to make money while writing on the Internet. I read everything I can, research it, look for the strings that are often attached, and try to be really careful about who and what I recommend.
I received a recommendation from another blogger to check out the Examiner. She writes for the Examiner in her area, and if I am accepted, I will write for the New York Examiner. I filled out an application, submitted a sample article, and now the waiting begins.....
I also stumbled across Xomba, another writing spot similar to Ehow, which is dear to my heart. I have met some of my favorite people on eHow, and the support there is amazing. I will have to keep you posted about Xomba. There are a lot more rules and regulations there, and it appears to have a smaller following.
You are always welcome to go and see what I am doing on eHow. If you can't jump right to my articles through the links in this page, you can always google AdirondackTrina. There can't be many more like me!Ü

Two New Daycare Articles

I've worked all day, and I wrote two new daycare articles. Check them out:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4738174_write-great-daycare-contract.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_4738781_have-best-daycare-town.html

Making Money

I certainly haven't made my first million yet, but I sure am trying! I even find myself dreaming of new ideas to write about (yes, really!). I have always been a vivid dreamer, and can even lay claim to coming up with a new crochet design in my sleep.
Every great recipe is a possibility, and I find myself analyzing everything that I do, like to do, know about, etc, considering if this, too, could turn into a how-to article that will earn money on the Internet.
In addition, if you are going to "win" at this game, you also need to educate yourself, because there are certainly a lot of tricks to succeeding. I see so many people around me who are not, and wonder what the difference between them is. I am willing to do my homework, and spend a lot of my time in bed reading about ways to succeed at writing on the Internet (maybe the reason I keep dreaming about it? hmmmm....

Writing Articles for eHow

I've been writing madly, and covering a whole array of subjects. I once heard a wise person say (or rather, I read on her blog) that women have a word limit they are trying to reach, and I think that perhaps I am getting close!
The best thing about friends and family is that when my ideas start running out, my friends pitch in with..."have you thought about...", and my family members add, "why don't you..."
I have resorted to carrying a notebook with me everywhere I go, and I will actually confess that I have started sleeping with a notebook by my side. I have chronic insomnia, and am likely to wake up at 3:30am with the most fabulous idea. You have to know, when I stagger out of bed at 6:46am, I do not have a clue what that idea was, and so I need to jot it down promptly!

Working At Home

I've been writing since I was in fifth grade. I've written fiction stories, poetry, real-life stories, and I've written for the local newspaper, The Leader Herald. My claim to fame was an article about the Chimney Swifts, which got me just a wee bit of national attention!
We live out in the frozen tundra, and working from home to get my paycheck is the ideal situation for all of us!
Check in often, read new articles I have written, and feel free to comment!