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We all want to make money, that’s the main reason that many of us are online. We read everything we can, take courses, watch others, but sometimes we just don’t see the success we want. What can be keeping us from making money?

Here’s 5 things that can keep you from making money:

1. Wrong business model: Having the wrong business model or not treating your work like a business can lead to frustration and low income. Find a better business model and start using it.

2. Trying to be perfect: No one can be perfect and no one expects you to be perfect. Perfectionists often wait to promote anything, or write a blog post, or get social with people. They think everything has to be in place before they can start.

It’s okay to not be perfect. In fact, people will like you more if they see you as human and make a mistake once in awhile. It doesn’t matter if everything is in place–get out there and promote your website. Let your readers watch it grow and they will grow with you.

3. Marketing first: If you’re marketing before you’re ready, people will see that and think you’re only after the sale. Gain their trust first, market when it’s time.

4. Trying to sell before you serve: If you’re not in business to serve others; with information, coaching, products, etc. then you will never see the sales you desire. People buy from people that they know and trust. Serve the people before you sell to them. Also, if you’ve been serving the people and have failed to sell them anything, that could be another reason you aren’t seeing income.

5. Not attracting clients: If you aren’t attracting a target audience, you will not see any sales. This could be from you not actively trying to attract clients or from trying to attract the wrong market. Define your target audience and then go after them–but serve them first before you start selling to them.

Recap:

Find a business model that works.
Stop being a perfectionist.
Serve first.
Attract the right clients.

Remember, “ You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want .” ~ Zig Ziglar

Do you have any great business building tips to share with us? We’d love to hear from you.

Cloaking, link schemes, keyword stuffing – those days are finally over! Apart from focusing on the quality of content you feature on your website, the way you build links also needs immediate improvement. Google’s Penguinarmy continues to keep a close watch on the websites that indulge in link spam. If you use black-hat SEO techniques to build links for your website or blog, Google’s Penguin is never going to spare you.

So, the link building tactics are fast evolving. You can help your website do better in search engine results for the long term only by sticking to those link building strategies that are Penguin-friendly.

If you don’t know, given below are five important Penguin-friendly tips that you can use to build links for your site.

#1. Quit Obsessing Over Anchor Text
After being manipulated for so many years, anchor text has finally lost its weight as far as SEO is concerned. If you have an obsession for the money-keyword, you can get yourself into trouble quite easily.

In simple words, you can’t pressurize Google anymore to rank your website for a specific keyword like ‘best travel agent’. If you still try to manipulate the anchor text to rank for a specific money keyword, you are definitely inviting Google’s Penguin to bring its axe down upon you.

So, stop abusing anchor text right away.

#2. Stick to Your Niche
While building links in the post-Penguin world, you can’t cross your niche. In a bid to generate more and more backlinksfor your site, you may try to reach out to those sites that are not relevant to your niche. Brace yourself, irrelevant link building will easily tear your site apart.

If your website belongs to the travel or tourism industry, you should never try to get links for career website.

#3. Think Authority
Before you start to build links for your website or blog, you should never forget the word ‘authoritative’. Even when you choose niche-relevant sites to acquire links from, you should make sure they are authoritative.

Key signals to measure site authority include –

Quality of content
Freshness of the content
Traffic stats
PageRank
Social sharing

Acquiring 10 backlinks from authoritative sites is far better than getting 100 or 1000 backlinks from low quality sites.

#4. Use More ‘Click Here’ or ‘Read More’ Links
There was a time when anchor text like ‘click here’ and ‘read more’ were considered to be useless. Thanks to the Penguin algorithm, such anchor texts are surfacing on the scene once again. It’s only because this is how most of the people usually link to content on the web.

Such anchor text (as opposed to exact-match anchor text) makes the backlinks profile of your website or blog look natural to search engines. So, you should use them more.

#5. Say ‘NO’ to Automated Link Building
Post-Penguin, Google leaves you no space for any kind of automated link building. Social bookmarkingand directory links are out of the game. If you want to make your website Penguin-friendly, you should switch to manual link building once and for all. Create an entire team and have brainstorming sessions to come up with creative manual link building techniques.

Do you think your website is completely Penguin-friendly? Please feel free to let me know what you think.

Do you make money from your blog?

I strongly believe that every blogger is entitled to profit.

For most bloggers, living the internet lifestyle is only a day-dream.

Working hard without seeing results doesn’t make sense. Or does it?

And what if there is a simple way to eliminate your blogging nightmares – would you take action today?

I can see a lot of people aspiring who wants to start their blogs and make money.

Interestingly, the easiest task online is to set up a blog, but turning it to a profitable venture could be very difficult.

I worked harder than most bloggers. Wrote over 500 guest posts in 2011 – blogging is hard work, my dear. It’s not always been easy for me. I struggled to make my first $100 – but something happened, which changed my life. Read on…

Let’s face it – is there any money to be made as a blogger? Absolutely, there is. In fact, there is so much money to make blogging, because you’ve the greatest platform .

Even Celebrities don’t have the great opportunity that bloggers have. See, a celebrity cannot act outside of her domain, or they would appear on the News quickly.

So they hold back. If you’re a blogger, this is the era where you can launch out your creativity and make money without hurting anyone. Wow!

Most of the time, we’re the ones stopping our success. Some people don’t make money with their blogs because they think it’s impossible. Well, it’s possible and I’ll show you a simple, yet powerful way.

Yes, the greatest way to make money blogging is to recognize the fact that you’re a salesperson. I recently read Brian Tracy’s Book, Goals and discovered that everyone is actually selling one form of product or the other.

We often shy away from selling – I quite understand the embarrassment people in the offline world face. But on the internet, selling is much more rewarding.

My question to you is, “what exactly are you selling?”

You’ve heard so much about people who started with nothing and became extremely successful with their sales career. Listen; there is a secret to making money. Knowing what you sell is different from knowing what your value is.

Even though you’re selling an e-book or advertisements on your blog, you’re not going to make a lot of money until you add value to it. Don’t sell anything if you can’t deliver on promises made.

Some bloggers simply add banners to their sidebar, without knowing what the product or service can do. Before I started making money online, I used 96% of the affiliate programs that I promote.

I know this post is quite contrary to your beliefs. What you desire the most is to make profit, but if your mindset continues to go towards that direction, you’ll fail. Instead, develop yourself. Add value to what people already know and talk about.

Don’t do what everyone is doing – look out for opportunities and add your own innovation to it. No, I’m not asking you to reinvent the wheel; all I’m saying is that you must stand out from the crowd. Have a brand – your identity! Use content marketing to brand your business. Click herefor the secret tip

Sell your time and make money. That’s my advice to you.

Affiliate marketing works. But you must learn how to promote hot and quality offers. And it goes beyond adding affiliate banners on your blog (sidebar and header). You need to build an email list. All these takes time – can you wait?

Why not sell your time for profit. Start a consulting business. Become a freelance writeror designer. Help potential clients drive trafficto their websites. Learn how to create a charming theme and sell it. Stop striving to persuade your readers with affiliate offers that wouldn’t help, offer your professional services and make money easily.

Do you make money bloggingyet, or are you still struggling? Be honest and leave a comment below. I’d be glad to help you in my next posts. Make sure you subscribe to this blog for updates.

Mexican Green Bean Salad Recipe

Yield: Serves 4.

Make sure to use the freshest green beans you can find. Good green beans should feel firm and should snap in half, not bend, when you try to bend them.

Ingredients 1 lb fresh green beans, strings removed, ends snapped off, cut in half into about 1 1/2 inch length pieces 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped 2 Tbsp lime juice or white vinegar 1 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican oregano if you can get it) 3/4 cup packed, chopped cilantro 1/3 cup canned, pickled jalapeño chili peppers, sliced 1/3 cup chopped red onion 1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese (salty Mexican cheese that resembles feta) 1/2 avocado, sliced or cut into inch long pieces 1 medium tomato, cut into 8 wedges, or a cup of halved cherry tomatoes

Method

1 Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the beans and simmer until just crisp tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the beans and run cold water over them to cool them quickly. Drain completely.

2 Place beans in a large bowl. Gently mix in the the lime juice or vinegar, olive oil, 1/4 cup onion, sliced pickled jalapeños, sea salt, oregano and cilantro. Let sit for half an hour.

3 When ready to serve, gently mix in the chopped red onion and cotija cheese. Serve the avocado slices and tomato wedges on the side or mixed into the salad.

Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on Simply Recipes. Thank you!

This recipe is an adaptation of a variation of a recipe for a cactus salad (ensalada de nopalitos) in Diana Kennedy’s The Art of Mexican Cooking, recently re-released in a new edition. If you adore authentic Mexican food and want to learn more about cooking it from a master, this is the book to have. It’s a classic.

To make cherry ice cream, you do have to pit some cherries. Takes about 10 minutes with a paring knife, though I hear it’s a lot faster with a cherry pitter. This recipe calls for regular sweet cherries, which are milder in flavor than their sour cherry cousins, but easier to come by. Because of the mildness, this ice cream benefits from the addition of chocolate, and some berry liqueur.

Cherry Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips Recipe

Yield: Makes about one quart.

You can also try making this ice cream with yogurt instead of cream. Heat the cherries, sugar, salt, and milk first. Then let cool. Add 1 3/4 cup of full-fat yogurt and purée. Everything else is the same except no need to add lemon juice.

Ingredients 1 1/2 cups pitted ripe sweet cherries (from about 3/4 lb cherries) 3/4 cup milk 1 3/4 cups cream 1/2 cup sugar 1 pinch salt 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 Tbsp Amaretto, cherry liqueur, or rum (optional) 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine, keep in freezer until used

Method

1 Put cherries, milk, one cup of the cream, sugar, and salt into a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat until the mixture is steamy, then lower the heat to warm and just let sit for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour mixture into a blender, or use an immersion blender, and carefully purée. (Careful because you are dealing with a hot liquid. Make sure you hold the cap down on the top of the blender while puréeing.)

2 Put mixture into a large bowl. Stir in the remaining 3/4 cup of cream. Chill for several hours in the refrigerator until completely cold. (Can also place bowl over an ice bath, to speed up the cooling process.)

3 Before putting the mixture into your ice cream maker, stir in the lemon juice and the Amaretto or other liqueur if you are using. Note that you can skip the alcohol if you want, but the addition of it will help the ice cream from getting too icy, and the amaretto can add a nice flavor boost to the ice cream. Churn the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

4 Once the ice cream has completed churning, the ice cream should be pretty soft. Gently fold in the finely chopped chocolate. Put in an airtight container and place in the freezer for at least an hour, preferably several hours.

Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on Simply Recipes. Thank you!

Links:

How to make ice cream without a machine- from David Lebovitz
Cherry ice cream- from Sunshine and Smile
Homemade ice cream without an ice cream makerfrom my friend Simon at SciToys.
Sour cherry sorbetfrom Cafe Fernando
Cuisinart 1-1/2-Quart Automatic Ice Cream Maker for sale at Amazon.com

As you all know, ive been looking for authors for Blogging Tips. I have not really spoke much about the way i want things to work yet but ive had a lot of emails asking to be an author here so i thought i should address the situation.

First off, im looking for experienced bloggers and people who have been involved in web development for a few years.

I dont want to disappoint people and i appreciate the effort that people put into writing posts however clearly the site does not need 10 people blogging about making money online etc so i need to choose who i want to be writing here. Please do not be disheartened if you are not accepted as an author – in the last 12 hours ive had 15 requests to write here.

I briefly checked the websites of those who are interested in writing and i was very pleased with what i said. Im keen on those i spoke to write a post or two here however longterm i cannot commit to giving authors unlimited writing options. Infact, i want the blog to have established regular blog authors rather than authors from dozens of people.

Clearly, its in no ones interests for there to be 10 posts one day and 2 the next so i will be decide soon who i am keen on writing on a regular basis and decide on a day every week they want to post (they can use the timestamp to publish in advance). This will ensure that posts that are not from me are published evenly through the week. Im more than happy for one off posts to be made from good authors though – ie. from those who cant commit to writing no a regular basis.

I will doing my best to give as much exposure to authors who write frequently but i stress i do not want affiliate links and self promotion in posts. I recently invited 13 year old blogger Carl Ocab to write for us to give a view from someone who hasnt been involved with the web long. He asked if affiliate links were allowed inbut despite telling him that it was not allowed he posted an affiliate link and encouraged people to visit his other site. Don’t worry – i aint mad at himBoys will be boys and im sure if i was 13 and trying to make cash i would have tried my luck haha!

If you are wondering whether you could write for Blogging Tips then please leave a comment however i am specifically looking for people who have experience with and can write articles about :

Im sorry if ive came across as a bit of a dick in this post but im not looking to get hundreds of posts here with poor content. Im looking for informatitve guides and posts which will help people blog. Quality over quantity.

If you have any questions about the author situation please ask here and ill let you know. Im rushing this post a little (im in a net cafe!) so im sure ive missed out a few things but ask and ye shall receive….an answer that is!

We’re now heading into the last 2 weeks of the year and if life wasn’t busy enough we still have our blogging to do. These last 2 weeks are a great time to reflect back and think about the things that have happened during the year. Not to mention it is a great way to come up with a few great blog posts in the process.

You’ve seen the TV shows that highlight the top 100 moments of 2007 or the top songs from the last year. Well why not use the same concept to create a really great post. Here are just a few headlines I came up with to get you started.

My favorite 10 blogs of 2007

Countdown of the best blog posts of 2007

The best (your niche here) blog of 2007

Top 10 link bait articles of the year

My top 10 posts of 2007

10 best tips I learned from Bloggingtips.com

But it doesn’t have to just be about things online, although it is good link bait. It could be about things personal to you that you want to share with your readers, or it could be things that happened in the world.

My most memorable moment of 2007

2007 My best year yet

5 things I disliked most about 2007

Let your imagination run wild and come up with your best year end wrap up.

It was an absolute thriller from lights to flag with more overtaking moves than you could shake your DRS at, a series of memorable tussles between team-mates, and even the introduction of the safety car after a breathtaking collision to add extra drama to the closing stages.

It was all played out under 5,000 blazing lights in the desert of this Gulf kingdom and the fireworks that exploded into the night sky were a worthy celebration of the best race for years. The crowd of 31,000 was also a record for this race, though that is not saying much for this historically poorly attended event.

Like all great races, it had a compelling climax. It came when the safety car, which had been introduced following Pastor Maldonado’s crash with Esteban Gutiérrez – with the Lotus driver at fault – left the stage for the final Mercedes double act between Hamilton and Rosberg.

The safety car had wiped out Hamilton’s advantage of nine and a half seconds over his team-mate. And now Rosberg, on the faster soft-compound rubber and also armed with DRS after a two-lap delay, was the clear favourite with Hamilton wearing the harder medium tyres.

Paddy Lowe, Mercedes’ executive director, had his heart in his mouth but somehow got words to both his drivers: “With 10 laps left to race let’s bring both cars home.”

That did not prevent an electric final head-to-head, one which reprised the start of the race and the unforgettable duel over laps 18 and 19, when the lead changed a handful of times.

Rosberg again ran wheel to wheel with Hamilton and time and again appeared to have the advantage only for the British driver to hang on by the skin of his tyres; his 24th victory equals the record of the great Juan Manuel Fangio.

He said afterwards: “I haven’t had a race like that since 2007. It was really exciting, Nico drove fantastically well, it was so fair but it was so hard to keep him behind me. I was on a real knife edge at the end but just managed to take it.”

Rosberg, who rugby-charged his team-mate in a boisterous double celebration at the end, said: “I strongly dislike coming second to Lewis, I have to say that. But it was definitely the most exciting race I have ever raced in my career. I think today was a day for the sport, we put on a fantastic show as team Silver Arrows and I will be back to win here next season.”

But what made this race truly extraordinary was the fact that the breathless fencing between Hamilton and Rosberg was replicated – albeit at a slightly less frenetic level – by other teams, most memorably by Williams, Force India and Red Bull. It was ultimately Sergio Pérez who took the third podium place, only Force India’s second and their first since Spa in 2009. Remarkably, they are second in the constructors’ championship.

Hamilton made a sensational start to the race, slipping through on the inside of Rosberg on turn one. Rosberg fought back immediately but Hamilton squeezed him off the track on turn four. Felipe Massa, seventh on the grid, also got off to a flyer and challenged for third place, along with Pérez, Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hülkenberg, who had made up ground from an unpromising grid position.

And so the vivid opening brushstrokes were painted and the colours did not fade for the next two hours.

There was more disappointment for Ferrari, whose cars finished at the back of the top 10. And there was another painful defeat for Sebastian Vettel by his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. Vettel had to fend off the Williams pair to hold on to sixth place in the closing laps. How times have changed for the world champion.

They have also changed, wonderfully, for Formula One, all in the space of a single race.

The phrase “build character that others will admire” speaks a sad oxymoron. The elements of the phrase contradict one another since character excludes such motivation.

Character Defined

Character consists of doing what is right, no matter what. Such a definition may seem too simple, but simple words often convey truth most clearly. Character builds on convictions rooted in moral absolutes. Those convictions remain solid, regardless of who is watching or listening.

Attempt to build character that others will admire and you destroy the solidity of character. Nevertheless, you can build character that others will appreciate .

The Right Stuff

Consider just three of the necessary or ideal qualities of character in the world of business.

Integrity leads the list. Business demands men and women whose consistency shows in every situation. What you see today, you will see a year from today. What the boss sees matches what every employee sees. All of your actions fall from the same tree – and boost your career.
Honesty follows on the heels of integrity. Honorable business leaders long for personnel honesty. Those who reject every attempt to deceive, even though the deception seems small or momentary, are thrusting a foot up the career ladder.
Self-Control oils the inter-personal machinery of any company, making it run smoothly and efficiently. Controlling one’s time, work ethic, speech, anger, etc. commends an employee to the company leadership. Such commendation gives a hand up to the next career level.

As The Economiststated in editorial praise of the American process: “… Anyone deficient will be found out: anyone with the right stuff has a chance to shine.” Character builders build the right stuff.

The How-To of Building Character

The limits of this article allow only a preview of how to build character, but this will get you started.

Assessment begins the work. Take an honest look at your life. Enlist the aid of a trusted friend or family member. Write out a list of qualities you see in yourself that match those on a reputable list of character traits. Assess their current degree of strength or weakness in your life.
Focus your attention on one feeble or missing trait. Look back over your list, consciously choosing the first trait you want to build. Alternatively, look at a character program that leads you from one trait to another, and focus on the first trait presented.
Target that trait for building. Make it a goal. A goal requires that you truly desire to build that trait. Next, you set a specific calendar date by which that trait will be active consistently in your daily life.
Study the trait until you can clearly define it and understand how to develop it.
Motivation for building that specific trait must be determined. A desire to build character that others will admire fails to meet the need. Write a description of how life will change when you possess this trait. Look specifically at how your career will change.
Role models who demonstrate the trait will prove helpful. We catch character more quickly than we learn character. Look for one or more individuals who consistently exercise your focus trait.
Act ! A character trait that exists only in the understanding has no life. True character acts. Think carefully first. Then exert conscious effort toward exercising that trait in every area of your life.
Consequences will follow every action, so prepare to accept them. Blame only yourself for a lack of character. Your power and ability chose, and you must accept the consequences of your choice.
Effort yields success when you apply that effort consistently and positively. Do whatever it takes. Use charts, spreadsheets, journals or any other legitimate tool to keep yourself on track.

Conclusion

You can build character that others will appreciate if you do the necessary work. Then, while others’ character deficiencies tarnish their value, the right stuff of your character will make you shine.

There are a dozen recipes in Jennie’s book that I can’t wait to make, but this one caught my eye first. It’s vegetarian and filling (so, perfect for Lent), and I have a hard time resisting anything with bread, mushrooms, cheddar, and kale. I think the next time I make it I may swap out some of the cremini mushrooms for shiitake, to make it even more intensely mushroomy. And while the recipe calls for kale, you could easily make this with chard or other good braising greens. It reminds me a bit of the panadewe made here a while back, a bread soup with greens, mushrooms, and onions, just without the soup part. Enjoy!

Kale, Mushroom, and Cheddar Bake Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 1 hour, 10 minutes Yield: Serves 6.

Ingredients 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 bunch (7 oz or 200 g) lacinato kale (dinosaur or Tuscan kale), center ribs removed, leaves thinly sliced Salt and freshly ground black pepper 5 ounces (140 g) of cremini mushrooms, finely chopped 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup) 1/2 loaf (185 grams) ciabatta bread, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices 3 large eggs 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) milk 4 ounces (112 g) grated cheddar cheese

Method

1 Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with a little olive oil and set aside.

2 Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the thinly sliced kale and cook until just wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes.

3 Add the onions and mushrooms, and add salt and pepper to taste. Increase the heat to medium high and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have released their moisture and the onions are translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

4 In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs.

5 Line the bottom of the casserole pan with one third of the thinly sliced bread. Spread one half of the kale mushroom onion mixture over the bread.  Sprinkle one third of the cheddar cheese over the top. Lay down the second third of the bread slices. Top again with the remaining kale mixture, and then with a third of the cheese.  Lay the remaining slices of bread over the top.

6 Pour the milk egg mixture over the bread, pressing down with a spatula so that the milk is absorbed by the casserole layers. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheddar cheese. (At this point you can chill overnight for making ahead, or continue.)

7 Let the casserole sit for about 15 minutes to further absorb the milk while you preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).  Cover with foil. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbly.  Let the casserole sit for a few minutes before serving.

Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on Simply Recipes. Thank you!

Recipe from Homemade with Love: Simple Scratch Cooking from In Jennie’s Kitchen, by Jennifer Perillo. Republished here with the permission of the author.

Links:

Panade – Bread Soup with Chard, Onions, and Mushroomshere on Simply Recipes

Broccoli Casserolehere on Simply Recipes

Homemade with Love: Simple Scratch Cooking from In Jennie’s Kitchen – book available on Amazon.com