Monetize Your Blog Easily With Chitika (search engine targeted advertising)

We can’t all be Dooce or The Pioneer Woman whom both seem to have advertisers knocking down their doors.  If you are a blogger, you know just how hard it is to make a little extra money.  I know right now, I make a teeny teeny amount from Affiliate ads.  Not even enough to cover a percentage of my shipping costs.

Well let me introduce you to Chitika.  It is a search engine targeted advertising program.  What this means, is that once you have Chitika installed, your readers will not see, but traffic that finds your blog via search engines will.  This is to cut down on annoying ad space that readers may not want to put up with.  I made $4.98 on Friday.  Friday is not normally a very busy on this blog AT.ALL.

Watch this short (and sorta old) video on Chitika.

Another great point? You can use it in conjunction with Adsense!

After you sign up, you will see that the have several helpful hints.  Like ad placement, how to install, and what size ad to use.

There is also an video on youtube showing how to install Chitika on WordPress.com.  All you need there is the Chitika Plug-in. But before you install that, make sure you sign up!

Sign up, forget about it, and just wait for money to roll in!  I also suggest using either one of their Mega Units. Those are a name for the size of the ad, the bigger, the better in the fact that more of your search engine traffic will see it, and hopefully click on it.

I would greatly appreciate any stumbles, diggs or tweets for this post!  thanks!  I hope you have much luck!

Karissa Gindling™ for Prissy Green™ ©

Blog Voices and Blogger to Blogger Courtesy

Let’s talk today about blogger to blogger courtesy and blogger’s voices.

I for one feel like I am on a team with most bloggers.  We are the blog media, and we have pretty powerful voices. Some are much louder then others, but I have seen some pretty powerful things happen because of blogger’s voices.  Why do you think these companies want us reviewing their products?  Because we are a loud voice!

Take a situation that happened with two friend bloggers. Miss Blondie and Kim of Accidental Mommies. See Blondie has purchased a premium WordPress template, and basically was not getting what she paid for. Because Kim has a louder voice online, and because she was trying to help Blondie fix the issues she was having, BLOGGED about it!  Here is GoodGollyMissBlondie’s Version too.

So the end result?  Blondie got exactly what she had been searching for, all she needed were some answers. It came included with the package that she PURCHASED, plus the owner felt bad for the hassle and even refunded her purchase and price and then some! ( I purposely didn’t mention the WP theme creator, because I don’t want this to seem negative to them, they corrected it, and lets move on!)

So simply blogging an account of the torture she was going through (yes coding can be torture) she received her answer!

Remember my hair disaster?  Of course you do! My Dad keeps calling me Morticia.  ha ha Dad.  =)  But 3 weeks after the whole incident happened. I got a call from the PR rep that I had been in contact with.  She wanted to set up a phone call for me and the owner of the Advanced Cosmetic Technologies.  I agreed.

I was worried he was going to try and pay me off and ask me to take my post down. When I talked to him, he said that he still believes he has a good product, but he wants me to get my hair “fixed” on his company’s dime, and that he wouldn’t dream of asking me to take the post down.

See we all have a voice.  You have to own it and use it!

So tying this all together, if you look at the comments on either one of those posts, you will see that other bloggers are the ones to help you get the word out.  They tweet it, even post about it as Kim did, and all in support each other.

Kim even wrote a post recently about befriending your fellow bloggers.  I made the mistake early on!  I wasn’t friends with any bloggers.  Didn’t comment back on their blogs, nothing.  It wasn’t because I didn’t want to be friends, but believe it or I am afraid of “friend rejection.”  So the next time you see a blogger post on your site, comment back!  Or reach out and ask to exchange buttons, anything to get the conversation flowing!

Now I have made several friends and I value that.  We are able to bounce ideas off of each other, share posts, like Kasey from All Things Mama and I do on Make It Mondays, God Bless Marianna over at Green Mama’s Pad, she always lists my contests for Green Giveaways Fridays, and I never ever remember to go over there and do it for myself.  She has been selflessly doing this for as long as I can remember.  Even before we became friends.

The other night I was exchanging emails with another blog buddy about how other bloggers “cherry pick” our giveaways and reviews. And how irritating it is!  Trisha at momdot.com once told me, that it is out of your hands.  If a company wants to work with that other blogger, that is on them.

And I do agree with that but only to a degree. What I have an issue with, is spending time, some time days, going out and finding companies I want to work with, simply by entering a few google search terms, and either emailing the company directly or looking for a PR contact.  I don’t think it is right, or ethical to come to other people’s blogs and contact EVERY company I have done a review with.  That equals cherry picking.

I really don’t mind if someone are starting out or if you are experienced and one or two products I review just really stand out of the crowd to you.  All I ask is to state that you either that you found the product from seeing it on Prissy Green or even more simple then that?  Only use a couple ideas. Not just clicking on my reviews and giveaways tabs, and going through them one by one.  I find that disrespectful.  And frankly, a little bit of a slap in the face.  I worked hard, and now someone else is reaping the benefits.

And I can truthfully say that I was 100% guilty of this starting out.  I was so starved at first my first three reviews and giveaways were on products I purchased!

When you are contacted by PR, ask them if they need other bloggers.  be ready to pass around names.  You scratch my back I scratch yours.

Or if you get a pitch and don’t want to do it, or can’t, pass it along! See it really isn’t a blog on blog battle.  We all have enough drama in our lives, and their is always going to be drama online, but if we can help each other and be supportive of each other I think we will all gain more then friendship, be gain additional readers, and opportunities, with out even working at it.

Or find another group of bloggers that are attempting something similar. SheBlogs is trying, but seems to not have a way of connecting bloggers to bloggers, just giving bloggers PR info. (in which the PR usually do not write back!) But I think SheBlogs will get better.

Added proof that bloggers can work together and be friendly, and not stab at each other? 

I even recently had one bad seed try to ruin the whole bunch.  Basically by lying to a PR rep about me.  BUT the kicker is now that PR rep won’t work with that blogger, and took the time to call me!  People do see good people for that they are.

One more quick example of good blogger to blogger interaction?

My Green Chic Weekly Update posts.  I was contacted out of the blue to join that group, they are all eco-friendly bloggers, that sometimes rap about the same product types, but that doesn’t mean we can’t befriend each other.  And a special shout out to Jen at My Beauty Bunny as she was the person that recommended me.

And thanks to Tracy of Ascending Butterfly, my fierce competitor at Divine Caroline for the Love This Site Award, for knowing we are both up for an award, yet she sends me a Blog Award. What a sweetheart!

Stay tuned.  My next post for bloggers is going to be about not selling yourself short!

Karissa Gindling™ for Prissy Green™ ©

This is How We Stay Motivated for Fitness, So How Do You?

How do you stay motivated?  Isn’t that one of the hardest parts of staying fit and keeping healthy?  If it isn’t I am so jealous!  Working late, not getting enough sleep, and plain ol “not feelin it” are usually my fit enemies!

So I asked people around the web what they do to keep motivated. I got some really great answers.

Cat at Mom Blog Talk with 3 Kids and Us, says,

“One of my motivators is to keep photos on hand of my trouble spots. The reminder gives me the umph I need to get up and get moving to work on them.” and even left me a link for an example!

Amanda from Confessions of a Household Six had to say,

“The Wii Fit honestly keeps me motivated. It’s a daily dose of reality. I don’t necessarily agree with some of the weights they think are healthy (It wants DH to be 150ish and he’d be a rail), but that fat little Mii up there is motivation.”

I love that!  the little chunky butt is hilarious!

Kate at The Shopping Mama says,

“I need much more short term goals to keep me motivated.  Like, Erin of the Mom Buzz being motivated to work so hard for something next year blows my mind.  I need to think “I want to fit in to those jeans by next month” or “I want to lose 5 pounds by my husband’s birthday” even if my over all goal is much larger. And then I totally reward myself with something when I meet those short-term goals with a pedicure or date night or something.”

Kadi from Womb at the Insane says,

“MUSIC. I cannot possibly sit still when music is on. It is an automatic movement inducing element.”

I am so with her on this one!  I love to dance, and I have an Ipod loaded with dancy tunes.  Funky Grateful Deads tunes (shakedown street), The Black Keys, Soulive, My Morning Jacket, Beck, The Roots and i could really go on and on!

Kara of  Through Hazel Eyes, agrees with Cat,

“Like Cat, I have a picture Rob took of me in my bikini sitting next to the computer. I can see all my trouble areas and it makes me think twice before grabbing that snack before I sit down to work on the computer.”

Louise at This is My Life Journey commented,

“I really like tropical flavored water and fresh vegetables so hubby cuts me fresh vegetables each day and after my time on the treadmill I eat my fresh veggies and drink my tropical flavored water. “

hmm, she is on to something.  I use a lot of frozen berries in my water, the water tastes so good, and when you get to the end, you have a little snack too!  blueberries are great for this!

Natalie at RedSox Mommy had this to say,

“Thinking of a future event helps me to be motivated.  Like thinking of an upcoming vacation or a family picture.  Right now I’m thinking about trying for another baby and want to lose a little weight first.  So I keep thinking about holding a cuddly little bundle of baby cuteness when I feel like giving up.  It keeps me going for a little bit more.”

How sweet is that?  Sometimes this works for me too!

Canine Hope ResQ at Twitter tweeted this to me,

“I stay motivated for fitness by reminding myself our dogs need to know there is a world outside of the home. -We walk new places.”

You can also visit Canine Hope Rescue to find out more.

Thank you all so much for participating!  I think these are all outstanding tips and tools!

One of my motivators is to find a REALISTIC photo of someone I admire and has a body I desire.  Keeping that in my billfold, on the fridge, in my car, whatever, it is there!  just though of this one, but you could even put it on your phone!

And when I say realistic and admire, I don’t mean Heidi Kluum.  I mean we all know she is an alien to be able to pop back like that after pregnancy.  I am getting more at people who have succeeded on Biggest Loser.

So we shared ours!  What do you do to stay motivated when you start to slack?  I would love your tips and tricks!