A couple weeks ago I laid out some steps I am taking with my on-line business.  The first one was to update the look and feel of this website.  I am happy to announce that the major work is done!  I used the DynaBlue Wordpress theme designed by WebDesignLessons.com.  I must say that I am really pleased with this theme.   Here are some of my favorite features:

• Google Adsense integration
• Ready for Twitter
• Nice graphics for RSS and Twitter
• Configurable ads in sidebar and header
• Contact form
• Featured post carousel
• Big text
• My daughter said it looks professional!

One upgrade I wanted to accomplish was to add polish to my email opt-in form.  I always felt that the standard forms from Aweber didn’t look too good.  I really liked Lynn Terry’s form, so I started poking around the SSWT forum looking for clues.  Well, she pointed me to where she got the graphic! (I didn’t intend on picking the same color that she did, but blue is what matched the new theme.)

I want to share with you where I got the custom email opt-in form.  It is part of a great offer containing 120 Squeeze Page Designs.  When you follow this link, you will have the opportunity to get 2 free squeeze page templates.  One is an email opt-in form and the other is an optimized squeeze page.  Here’s where it gets good.  For only $37 you can have the full 120 Squeeze Page Templates.  You could not even get the email opt-in form completed by a web designer for that price!  I think it is a great deal.  (Of course, I bought it!) It is so important to have a good, Web 2.0, look to your web pages in order to increase opt-in rates.  This package will definitely help you with that!

All in all, I am glad that this step toward building on-line income is complete.  It is time to move on to step 2 – launching my first affiliate marketing site.  I’ll keep you updated along the way.

About a month and a half ago, I posted about roadblocks keeping me from starting a project.  As with things of this nature, it took longer than I anticipated to get past the roadblocks.  Once I cleared the major roadblock, a couple of other detours ensued.  Now that I am past those, I am ready to get going.

One other thing that has changed is the project I wanted to start.  I am putting that on hold to focus on something that will generate some quicker cash flow.  I still want to do that project, but my online business has bills to pay, now!

As an exercise in accountability, I am posting here my plans for the upcoming weeks and months.

1. This website needs a facelift.  I am going to update the look and better integrate with social media.
2. I am launching my first affiliate marketing site.
3. Create more affiliate marketing sites.
4. More consistent posting on all of my blogs.
5. Profit!!

As this is a blog about my journey to work from home, I will keep updating you on my progress and what I learn along the way.

Joel Comm is offering two chapters from his book Twitter Power for free! Best of all, these are the chapters you need to get started on Twitter.  Here’s what’s included:

• Foreword
• Introduction
• Chapter 3: Getting Started the Right Way on Twitter
• Chapter 4: Building a Following on Twitter

Just click here to enjoy this great FREE offer.  Even better, you don’t need to provide any information to get this.

Also, once you are on Twitter (or if you are already there), follow me at http://twitter.com/mikesmind.

Twitter Power

Anthony Robbins (Foreword). Wiley 2009, Hardcover, 248 pages, $13.93

I have a project that I want to do, in fact I am quite anxious to start it.  There is a problem though.  Yes, you guessed it!  A roadblock.  I won’t say exactly what the roadblock is, but here are some general characteristics to describe it.

1. It has a looming, non-negotiable, deadline.
2. It is not a quick thing.
3. I tried to outsource it but that didn’t work out.
4. It’s not the most fun thing to do.

Everyone hits these kind of roadblocks from time to time.  Here is how I am planning to break through it.

1. Make it a priority.
2. Break it into smaller pieces.
3. Set a schedule to complete the pieces.
4. Block out big chunks of time to get it done.
5. Set an earlier deadline than the real deadline.

Will I get it done?  I think so. YES!  Once it is out of the way, I can do that project that I am really looking forward to.  I guess that is point #6.  Reward myself for getting through this roadblock!

One last thing.  If you think this roadblock will come up again, plan for it next time.

I am amazed at the amount of instant traffic you can get to your blog by tweeting your posts. Twitter is quite the phenomenon on the Internet today. If you’re not on Twitter, I suggest that you sign up and start tweeting.  Once you are on Twitter, you can follow me at twitter.com/mikesmind.

This morning, I wrote a post for one of my blogs.  This blog has about three to five views per day.  It is a Wordpress blog, so I added a plugin to automatically tweet a link when I publish a new post.  Within a couple hours, I had 30 views.  Now, that is pretty powerful and it doesn’t take much imagination to see how a plugin like this can really get you new readers for your blog.

Here are two plugins that I have tried that automatically tweet your blog posts when published.

1. Twitter Tools – This is what I am using on the blog mentioned above.  It is written by Alex King, who is well known in the Wordpress plugin world.  It is configurable and I have included a screen shot of the options page.  As you can see, it is pretty straight-forward to configure.

   

   I found this plugin easy to use and it works like it is supposed to.

2. Another plugin that I am using to automatically tweet my blog posts is a commercial offering called TweetMyBlog.  This is an affiliate-based plugin that gives you the opportunity to make some money.  I have it installed on this blog, but have not made anything from it, yet.  It is free for you to install, but it does have a commercial intent as well as look and feel.  I found the extra graphics too much for many of my blogs, but if your blog is about making money, then this plugin should help you do that.  As you can see below, it doesn’t have as many configuration options as Twitter Tools.

   

   This blog has a few hoops to jump through as you get set up to receive affiliate commissions.  If you are looking to add another income source and increase traffic by automatically tweeting your blog posts, TweetMyBlog is a good option.

Either option I listed above will help you build traffic to your Wordpress blog by harnessing the power of Twitter.