eader

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Opportunities for You
to Give Me a Hand Up...


Have I mentioned lately that I really, really, really, really like blogging?

My Blogging Mission

I started a blog as a way to keep family and friends up-to-date about my struggles with chronic illness. Quite unexpectedly, blogging lead to discovering a whole community of other patient bloggers, tweeps on Twitter and Facebookers who are trying to live their best lives with chronic illnesses just like me.

Now I am working even harder to make my content relevant and useful to any sick chick (or dude) surfing the Web looking for information, ideas, tips and tricks to live better despite health challenges.

Monetizing My Blog

Along the way, I also decided to monetize my blog. That's a fancy way of saying that I put ads from the affiliate programs I belong to on my blog.

So when you visit these places using links on my blog - Amazon.com, Mighty Leaf Tea, HeartMath's emWave, Relax the Back or Hay House Publications  - and make a purchase, a small percentage comes back to me as a "thank you" from the merchant for allocating space to them here on OMA&P! Hopefully, all those clicks will add up over time.

The OMA&P! Way

  • I display advertisements because I know they fit with something fibro-friendly you are already doing: purchasing goods online.
  • I feature products and services that I use personally.
  • I pick companies with which I have had good customer experiences.
  • I ask for your feedback to ensure your experiences with my advertisers are good ones too.
  • I choose ads that are relevant to my blog.
  • I make sure that the ads are nice to look at and blend into my blog design.

The Next Phase

In addition to the ads already on my blog, I am going to try two more monetization opportunities on my blog in the coming months.

I Sell Mary Kay

I've been keeping this a secret, but today I want you to know that I sell Mary Kay. I have been using Mary Kay skin care and cosmetics since 1999 and became a consultant back in 2003. I put my Mary Kay business on hold when I became chronically ill, but I recently decided to try and see if I can make the Mary Kay opportunity work with my current health situation.

As an introductory offer to jump-start my comeback, I am offering a 10% discount on all orders. That is in addition to free shipping on every order and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Mention the code OMA&P! when you contact me to receive this discount.

The Oh My Aches and Pains! CafePress Store

I am working with a graphic designer to translate some of the core concepts and phrases from my blog into designs you'll feel proud to be seen wearing on a t-shirt or be holding in your hand as a coffee mug. The goal of the Oh My Aches and Pains! CafePress store is to create products that help raise awareness and provide you with tangible reminders about strategies that can help you manage your symptoms. Look for the premiere of the store coming soon. You won't want to miss it as I'll be celebrating the grand opening with item giveaways from the new store. By the way... I'd like to collaborate with graphic designers and artists living with chronic illness to create additional logos and designs for my store. Please contact me if you are interested in working together.

YOU Open Doors of Possibility For Me

Monetizing will not make me a millionaire, but it does give me some spending money I can use to make a difference in my own life. It also helps pay for my blogging expenses, like domain name registration, blog design services and blogging courses. Ultimately, I'd love it if your support could send me to a blogging conference, like Blogher or Blog World Expo.

All I Ask...

I'm not asking for a handout, I'm asking for a hand up. Keep coming to enjoy the great articles here at Oh My Aches and Pains! and, if you can, repay the favor by making a purchase from one of the advertisers on my blog. Thank you for reading and supporting Oh My Aches and Pains!

(Fellow bloggers, learn more about affiliate marketing. You can join the LinkShare Referral Program for free!)


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3 comments

Anonymous said...

Hi Selena. Good for you! Are you interested in mandala designs? All mine are now copyrighted. You can see all 40 designs at my blog.

When I sell my greeting cards at the farmer's market, I was thinking about putting a banner up that says Spark awareness for CFIDS (spelled out, etc, and the cfids assoc. url)

When I shop at amazon, I go through the cfids.org website so they get a percentage.

Judy

Kathy said...

Clear and concise, I like it! Have you ever thought about writing an e-book?

Suzy said...

I am so glad I connected with you through OneSickChick.blogspot.com.
I am a novice blogger. I do feel a bit over my head but I would like to learn how to monitize my blog a bit better. I'd love to be able to ask you some questions as I'm a bit confused. Do you use blogspot as your base?