Thanks to Elizabeth for linking to this in her sidebar, otherwise I might not have seen it for a while. I have not heard Sugata Mitra before but might just have to see what else he’s been saying about educating children…especially those who are poor. As he contends, our current educational system is not broken….it’s outdated. Let me know if you disagree after you watch.
If you can’t see the video, click here.
Here’s a link to download the SOLE toolkit.
I’m fascinated by bloggers and internet entrepreneurs who have discovered these strategies and are super transparent about their methods, mistakes and earnings. I am planning a post about my favorite resources for this subject.
I read 2 blogs regularly, Elizabeth Foss‘ and Sarah’s over at Clover Lane. Two moms who I admire for their honest writing about family life. Both of whom have monetized their blogs to some extent. Sarah got in relatively early on the Blogher network after she started a blog on a whim. I emailed her about a year ago to ask about it and she said that at first she might earn pennies or dollars. As her readership has grown, she has sometimes made a lot more from banner ads through Blogher or affiliate links from companies whose products she’s reviewed. She doesn’t do a lot of reviews or sponsored posts and I’ve always gotten the feeling that her reviews are completely honest. By the way, Blogher doesn’t just accept any blog. I’m not sure what their criteria is but you have to be accepted.
Elizabeth has Amazon links which give her a small commission on sales through those links (according to her disclosure…I have not discussed this with her personally) and also runs direct sponsor ads on her sidebar for companies that make products that she has used or really believes in. These are in the form of different sized squares or rectangles on her sidebar. Like Sarah, Elizabeth’s affiliation does not influence the tone of her blog and you never get the feeling that she’s endorsing a product that she doesn’t believe in or writing an infomercial just to make a sale. When she gets a new sponsor, she does a post about them to introduce her readers to the people behind the product and sometimes has a giveaway to give readers a chance to try something out.
About a month ago, I decided to start using my affiliate code for amazon. I had signed up for an account more than a year ago but didn’t bother to learn how to install my affiliate link. I wasn’t that interested in earning money with the blog, wasn’t posting too often, don’t have much traffic, blah, blah, blah.
Since then I learned how to include my affiliate code with links and yesterday I discovered a sale which earned me………ready for it………$0.16! Yes, that’s an exclamation point! I am not kidding when I tell you how fun that was to notice.
The thing is, I love books. I read a lot and I love to talk about books, so it’s pretty natural for me to have links to books I love or books that we’ve read together as a family or listened to together or that have inspired me in some way. Whether you purchase through Amazon or pick it up from the library, I hope you read the books I talk about.
Federal law requires all bloggers to disclose affiliate relationships and I have been doing that since including affiliate links in posts. I always want to be up front. I think it would be fun to write about this topic (blog monetizing) to encourage others to try it if I have some success.
Honestly, I don’t anticipate raking it in. I haven’t quite found my voice here and even in my own brain haven’t clarified the point of this blog aside from sharing some information about projects, tricks, things that I’m learning or reading about and occasionally writing about funny things that happen in my home so I don’t forget. But that’s totally fine.
I’m working on some technical things behind the scenes which I plan to share as soon as things are ready. In the meantime, I’ll be posting but a little less often than I have been. For all 2 of my readers…Hi Kel!…I’m sure this will be devastating. Because I don’t have a huge following, now is the perfect time to attend to this stuff.
If you remember, I posted some ideas for selling used homeschool books back in March. Since then I posted a couple of follow-ups with details about my earnings to encourage you to try sell some things you no longer need.
Before I give you some tips, I had a chance to tally up my total earnings for April from selling books on Amazon and Cathswap. The total, ladies and gentlemen is……….$393.15! That’s what I cleared after accounting for the cost of postage. Remember, Amazon reimburses a small portion of your cost of shipping.
Here are some things I’m learning about posting on Cathswap along the way which I thought might help. Cathswap is a moderated yahoo group for buying and selling homeschool books. The materials don’t have to be Catholic but a lot of them are and there is a list restricting certain publishers, authors and titles which are notoriously anti-Catholic.
1. I found that bumping posts up occasionally has paid off.
2. Listing individual titles is more effective than listing a group or lot of books unless you’re selling them as a bundle-all or nothing. There is a limit of 3 posts per day. If you can be patient about selling and can take the few minutes to post each book individually, it’s worth it. You can always copy and paste your older posts to bump them up.
3. In my limited experience, weekends are slow. Wednesdays and Thursdays are pretty active days for buyers. I don’t post books on the board on Fridays because they allow miscellaneous items and small cottage industry promotions on those days. Homeschool books tend to get buried very quickly. Then again, the board is active on Fridays. You may have to test this for yourself. Friday would be a good day to try to sell something that you make.
4. Publishing date and editions affect the value of your materials. Even if you have a book in excellent, like new condition, if there’s a later edition, you might have to slash the price considerably.
5. Shipping any book, CD or DVD media mail is the cheapest option. You can still add tracking for $.90. I usually give the buyer the option of paying extra for that if I’m offering to pay postage via media mail. If the buyer is paying shipping, I give them the option of the which service they want. They usually prefer media mail.
6. I didn’t realize how valuable DVD’s must be. On my very first day of listing, I listed 5 Catholic children’s DVD’s, each about a different saint. These retail for about $15 and I listed them for $5 each. My inbox lit up with interest and I probably could have listed them for at least $8-$10 each. IT was a great lesson and I still consider it a win for me since we got a lot of use out of the videos and I still made a few bucks. My point is, DVD’s hold some value and if you have the time, listing a little higher initially is sometimes worth it. You can always lower your price if the item doesn’t get any hits.
For Amazon sales:
1. If you’re going away or if you just want a break from selling, there is a vacation setting. Don’t forget to reactivate it when you return or are ready to sell again.
2. There is an option to have Amazon fulfill your shipment. I have not explored this since my P.O. is relatively close and I can get out easily. There is a fee but if you have a large volume of books to sell, it may be worth it. These items qualify for Amazon’s free shipping for purchases over $25, an incentive to buyers. Also, they have the added security of Amazon shipping it.
3. One thing I really don’t like about Amazon’s payment policy is that they hold onto your funds and release it twice a month. That seems ok except they don’t release funds earned within 14 days of each settlement date. I understand the reason but it can get frustrating to earn from sales and it trickles into your account.
About Craigslist….
I still haven’t had any luck selling on Craigslist. This might be an option for a “lot” of items bundled together or some things that don’t have much value on Amazon. I’m thinking Craigslisters are looking for deep discounts.
Have you tried selling your used homeschool books yet? Have any tips that I missed? Please share in the comments!
I’m usually relatively observant but it turns out that my stand mixer has been playing injured for at least a couple of years. Not days or weeks……..YEARS! My red mixer should have been red-shirted a long time ago. But it’s the little mixer that could, I tell ya!
The head has been wobbling, like I said…and I’m not proud of it…for years. I really just figured it was because I mix a lot of dough in it and thought it was normal that the big ball of dough would make it wobble.
I did notice the hinge pin sticking out on the left side but forgot that it didn’t look like that when I first bought the mixer. I wondered at one point whether it was a handle or an anchor for an attachment. Turns out, it kind of walked itself out, similar to how a washing machine will walk across a room when it’s off-balance.
In spite of its sorry physical condition, the thing kept working. I feel like an abusive parent. I was mixing pizza dough this weekend when finally, it called “TIMEOUT”! Poor thing was still trying to work but it’s head was coming off.
At that point, I figured out that the hingepin was not a handle. I tried to jiggle it in but couldn’t get it even though it looked like I had lined up the head with the stand and could see straight through to the other side.
I googled “Kitchenaid troubleshoot” and found a video about how to fix a wobbly head. I figured it was too late for mine. Nothing addressed a decapitated head so I watched that video, did what it said and it worked!
Here’s what I did:
After I scrubbed in….
2. I loosened the smallish screw that apparently holds the hingepin in place. As I suspected, it was in just far enough to prevent me from replacing the hingepin while the thing was upright.
3. The pin slid right through to the other side. Head successfully reattached!
4. Gave the same screw a few turns until tight. Done!
(You have to admit, the photos are kind of gynecological…not to mention the language!)
Do you have a Kitchenaid mixer? I’ve had mine for probably 8-10 years and love it. I use it a lot to make pizza dough and the dough for the french bread. My neighbor has been using hers for 40 years and she’s a person who bakes all the cookies for everyone’s weddings, showers, birthdays, funerals, communions. Not just a couple of dozen but a couple of hundred dozen. I’m not kidding. If you’re considering finally getting a stand mixer, don’t even think about getting a different brand.
Chances are you would never have let a wobbly head go as long as I did. If you’re mixer’s head wobbles, tightening that little screw should do the trick.
There are affiliate links in this post but my opinion is my own and nobody from Kitchenaid knows me or has asked me to say nice things about their mixers….or perform surgery on one. I am not a licensed practitioner.
Linking up here:
“Tell Your Time” by Amy Lynn Andrews is a straightforward, easy-to-implement guide to time management. I first read this ebook last spring before I was committed to blogging consistently so I didn’t bother to write about it then. I thought now would be a good time to tell you about “Tell Your Time”.
First, I love clever titles. Well done, Amy! It kind of goes along with Dave Ramsey’s advice to tell your money what to do. The title of this ebook suggests that you control your time.
Amy’s approach to this topic is thorough without bogging you down in details. It’s basically a 4 step plan which results in a general block schedule that works for you. The ebook is a quick read which is easy to implement. The website dedicated to the book also has free worksheets to help you put your personalized plan into action.
Amy includes her personal entries on the worksheets to give a clear example of how to fill them out. I found this to be helpful. While I’ve always wanted to write down my overall goals and values, I’ve found the task to be overwhelming so many attempts have fizzled.
First she suggests that you identify your roles (spouse, parent, employee, volunteer, caregiver, etc) and your goals for each of those roles. Next you identify tasks or activities necessary to achieve the goals. Put those tasks on a grid (thoroughly explained in the ebook). Finally you schedule them.
Writing down your goals and activities related to those goals may not be new to you. Likewise, scheduling the tasks you do on a daily or weekly basis may not be new to you. The genius in Andrews’ method is that combining these steps, helps you identify your values, list the goals and activities which support those values and prioritizing the activities on your schedule . Her method is a great tool to stay mindful of what’s most important to you and your family. Hopefully, it will help you prune those things which aren’t in line with your values, roles and goals. For that reason, I wouldn’t skip the steps. You’ll be glad you took the time to jot a few things down for each of the categories she suggests.
Once I’ve used this system for a few weeks, I’ll post a follow up. I also intend to encourage Mark and the kids to try it. I admit, it’s ambitious to expect the kids to try (Role: Kid, Brother, Player…) but it might appeal to some of them. I can always force them to, right?
The weekend is a perfect time to read it and plan your schedule.
Have you read the ebook? Any success? I’d love to hear about your experience with it. Strangely, I enjoy talking about ways to manage time-but I stink at it.
*This post contains an affiliate link.
I first heard about Jon Acuff while listening to Dave Ramsey podcasts. Acuff is a clear speaker and extremely entertaining in his message and delivery. His previous book “Quitter” is a bestseller and I found it to be engaging and practical. It’s a breakdown of how to go about following your dream in a responsible manner. It’s motivating and practical.
That’s why I can’t wait to read his second book, “Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work That Matters” which is available STARTing today!
I had a chance to listen to a live webcast of a promotional event earlier in the year and pre-ordered the book on the spot.
What I love about Acuff is that his ideas apply to anything. If you’ve had a vision or dream in the back of your mind, be prepared to get motivated to act on it.
I’ve written before about how paralyzing fear can be and even chose “fearless” as my word of the year 2 years ago. I can’t wait to see what Acuff says about it. Reading what I wrote back then confirms that this book is just what I need right now. Here’s what I wrote back then:
I began to think about how much fear influences my decisions and often inaction. In spite of my accomplishments, competence and efficiency in some areas, I realized that sometimes fear keeps me from doing the most mundane things. It also keeps me from doing big things. Fear doesn’t come from God and I’m certain that it often interferes with God’s will for me.
Fear of what you wonder? It’s not the typical pangs of fear that you might anticipate from a mother of 4. I rarely obsess or worry about the health and safety of the kids. Generally, I suppose I do as much as the next person as a situation might warrant. I’m talking about a fear that’s more subtle, but very powerful. Fear of ridicule, fear of making costly or time-consuming mistakes, fear of being misunderstood, fear of looking like an idiot. The result of this type of fear is a nearly constant internal dialogue that prevents me from acting and gets me stuck
I likely will read the book cover to cover as soon as I get it and promise to give you a review. If I don’t like it, I’ll tell you that, too.
Have you ordered the book? Have you read Acuff’s other book “Quitter”? What did you think?
*Disclosure: If you order the book from Amazon by using the link in this post, I will receive a small commission from the sale of the book. It won’t cost you more, though. I am hoping to write a post or series about my experiment in monetizing this blog.
