admin | Maven House Network

02
Oct

Are banners the way to monetize your blog?

Posted by: admin

There is a term in the online marketing industry known as “banner blindness”. This is in reference to the relative ineffectiveness of banners on websites.

People are mostly blind to them and seem to pass them buy. The most clicked on links are the text within the articles.

With the surge of blogs, banners have come back in popularity.

You see banners linking to favorite blogs. Most bloggers offer a 125×125 button for fans to take. It’s common place.

I still wonder about the effectiveness of banners compared to a list of text links.

If you’ve never tested this out on your blog, you may want too.

For one week, see how many people click on a text link then compare that to a banner in the same place.

You may be surprised at the results.

02
Sep

3 Reasons why you need a media kit

Posted by: admin

Media kits are important to have available when you are approached my PR companies. A media kit is like your brochure for yourself and your blog. A pitch of why a company should market through you.

Here are three reasons to motivate you to create one if you haven’t already:

1.) Put a professional foot forward: Yes, you might be sitting there in your pj’s blogging away, but a PR company doesn’t need to know that. A neatly done media allows you to present your blog in a professional manner and gives you credibility as a blogger.

2.) Quickly Respond: When I receive an email asking if I’d be willing to do a post, review or something similar, I am able to quickly respond. My media kit includes my rates, my blog stats and so on. I can easily attach my media kit and send back all the information the pr firm wanted or needs to know.

3.) Save yourself time: Once your blog gets well indexed and you’ve written some quality reviews, you may be in high demand. The media kit will save you from rewriting the same thing over and over again.

I’ll be going over what goes into a complete media kit!

05
Aug

Expect Success . . .and be prepared

Posted by: admin

I’m sure you’ve hear the adage, “People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan”.

This applies to internet marketing as well. When you are about to launch a project, a blog an affiliate program, you need to know what may or may not be coming your way.

Traffic is fantastic, a huge rush of traffic to your blog unprepared can catch you off guard. And while you want that traffic, if you are not prepared to keep them visitors coming back somehow – then it may all be wasted.

Not everything you do will cause a huge influx of visitors – but you want to be prepared as if everything you do will bring them in.

Have a newsletter signup, make your rss easy to find, have a twitter account. Be able to contact your visitors again, and importantly, for them to find their way back to you.

30
Jul

Maven House Launches the Review Maven Program

Posted by: admin

I am happy to announce the exciting addition to Maven House Network Services.

Review Maven Program

This program is designed to bring Mom Geared Products to Mom Reviewers.

Why are reviews important?

Now more than ever, consumers want to make sure thier money is going towards quality products.

Who better to see if they liked a product than your peers.

The internet has enabled us to find information on products we are thinking about purchasing.

I know when I’m looking, I read reviews of those who have tried the product out. Not the sayings of the company.

Please note, our review program requires full disclossure. We also ask for truthful feedback. So advertisers are also able to imporove upon thier product as well.

Thanks, we are excited for both companies and mom reviewers to be involved in the Review Maven Program.

27
Jul

You Are Beautiful

Posted by: admin

How this little message went viral with Post-it notes

I was reading this morning about Operation Beautiful and how a needed message went viral with a post it note on a bathroom mirror!

There are so many great things to say about this concept, I don’t know where to start.

One, it’s the message. We all need to hear it and I plan on posting a few of them out there myself. People write encouraging messages to other women. Such as “You are Beautiful”, “You are Special” and post them to bathroom mirrors, display boards and just anywhere with operationbeautiful.com written on the bottom of the post it note.

But what intrests me the most is how quickly it went viral. With no money, no big advertising budget – the message is being spread one post it note at a time.

“The Post-It note, stuck to a mirror in a public bathroom, had a simple message: “You are beautiful.” When Caitlin Boyle wrote that message on the little yellow sticky note a few weeks ago, she had only one goal: to encourage women in her tiny corner of the world to feel better about themselves.”

(quoted from the Denver Post)

Two things I really take from this fantastic project. One, is find a way to get your audience involved. Is this something they can be a part of? How can people be involved? Find the answer to these questions and you have an excellent viral campaign.

Two, what do poeple need to hear? Simple messages are usually the best. What do you have to say that you are passionate about? Caitllin wasn’t looking for something to go viral, she just had a message she wanted to sure. Success normally follows passion and comes when you least expect it.

One post it note, one strong message = a viral campaign being spread like wild fire!

21
Jul

Help, someone put the business magazines too high

Posted by: admin

Last night, I stopped by the grocery store to pick up some milk. While there I decided to see if there were some new small business magazines I might like to read.

After searching through the magazine aisle, I finally found them. . . In the top row of the men’s magazine area.

They were almost too high for me to reach.

All the magazines from finances, to making money to home business were all in the higher rows of the men’s section.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not going all femenist on you here. I consult men as well, helping them with their internet marketing goals. So guys – I’m not picking on you!

I was just surprised to see the placement of the magazines on the shelves.

Blog Bare Foot found some interesting stats from Center for Women’s Business Research:

Million Dollar Businesses

◦One in five firms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned.
◦3% of all women-owned firms have revenues of $1 million or more compared with 6% of men-owned firms.
◦10.1 million firms are owned by women (50% or more), employing more than 13 million people, and generating $1.9 trillion in sales as of 2008.

I’m just pointing out that there is a whole demographic out there who are movers and shakers in the business world. If I could market to a whole population instead of half – I would.

Tip of advice to the business and money magazines out there – ask for your publications to be placed where both men and women can see them. I bet you may just raise your sales.

I’m not complaining I can’t reach the magazines. I just have to work harder to get them. But hey, that’s business.

20
Jul

When Monetizing your blog – think outside the banner

Posted by: admin

I frequent many forums and the biggest question I see reoccuring amongst many bloggers is how do I monetize my blog.

There are many ways.

You have affiliate programs, either text links or banners.

CPM programs that pay per 1000 impressions.

Adsense, that may or may not buy you a cup of coffee after one month.

Or my favorite – your own product.

What service can you offer?

What can you create and sell?

What information to do you have that someone else would pay for?

Identify one or more of these and you are on your way to monetizing your blog!

16
Jul

Man Gets Overcharged 23 Quadrillion

Posted by: admin

This is why it pays to be observant!

Imagine going out for a pack of smokes. When you come back and check your bank statement you see this:

$23,148,855,308,184,500

Yep, that’s what he was charged thanks to Visa.

If you needed a reason to quit, this might be it!

“A New Hampshire man was shocked to learn that when he purchased pack of cigarettes he also got charged $23,148,855,308,184,500, or more than $23 quadrillion — a number that rivals that of the national debt.”

Read the full story here.

15
Jul

My Office has no Window

Posted by: admin

I’m going to complain to my boss . . .

To bad I work for myself!

It’s amazing the limits we put on ourselves. And it’s a journey to remove them. One you have to realize they are there.

In the movie The Truman Show with Jim Carry, he didn’t know that his whole world was created for him. Once he found those boundries, he was able to break through them.

We get used to so many things, that sometimes it’s hard for our mind to realize that have a limit we are more than able to break through.

Before I started working for myself, I worked for a large and prosperous company. I sat in a cubicle. Even though I had windows around me, I was staring at a half wall most of the day.

I set up my home office in my living room so I could watch my kids play at the same time I worked.

You know what I was staring at? A wall.

I set up in my own home what I was used too. Even though I could have been any where and had the freedom to do so, I set up the same limits I was comfortable with.

Right now, I’m working outside under our gazebo. Why? because I can. I realized I have the freedom to do this.

What limits are you placing on yourself? What is something you can break free of today?

Break a window in your wall!

14
Jul

Say it with me “I have something to say!”

Posted by: admin

I’ve talked to many people during the course of this marketing journey I’m on. And why I’ve choosen to focus on moms and women is 1.) I am one! 2.) We are one interesting group of people!

Women are so creative. I love the mom blogs I frequent. I read stories daily that are inspirational, moving, laugh out loud funny and endearing.

All moms have something to say. And there is someone out there willing to listen!

Of course another important factor is monetizing your voice.

Being a stay at home/ work at home mom myself, I know the value of my time. I am a blogger as well. So I get hit with pr companies looking for a free post.

My response is No. I have something to say, and it’s valuable and so is my time.

Do not under estimate yourself!

Sometimes as moms, we get down on ourselves. After picking up clothes and toys then turning around and seeing the room somehow blew up again, we can get run down. In this tired state that can sometimes seem like Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day, we start to loose site of all the value we have to offer and are offering.

Maybe you make excellent lunches for your kids – guess what, I want to know how you do that.

You could possibly know how to get your child to sleep on time. Many want to know that secret.

Perhaps you are an artist and you create amazing images that I want to hang on my wall.

Point is – You have SOMETHING to say, to add value too and enhance another person’s day.

The beauty of the internet and marketing is that you can monetize that voice!

Successful Together

Internet Marketing

Check out our Review Maven Program

Maven House Network can help you with:

Author Archive

Are banners the way to monetize your blog?

3 Reasons why you need a media kit

Expect Success . . .and be prepared

Maven House Launches the Review Maven Program

You Are Beautiful

How this little message went viral with Post-it notes

Help, someone put the business magazines too high

When Monetizing your blog – think outside the banner

Man Gets Overcharged 23 Quadrillion

My Office has no Window

Say it with me “I have something to say!”

Welcome to Maven House

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Successful Together

Internet Marketing

Check out our Review Maven Program

Maven House Network can help you with:

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How this little message went viral with Post-it notes

Welcome to Maven House

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