Blogging Archives - The At Home Couple

Inspiration Has Worked It’s Magic Once Again

If you’re reading this, then that means you’ve (probably) noticed our new blog design! We started this blog way back in July of 2008 as a way to connect with other like-minded people who share a passion for ideas, blogging, the web and various entrepreneurial adventures.

Since then, TAHC has become something much more… it’s become OUR FACE online. If you’ve been reading this blog since the beginning (Lori we love you) you’ll know that it hasn’t been an easy ride, and even to this very day our life on and off the web remains hectic – in a good way!

In the tradition of new beginnings, we decided a new look and feel was long overdue. You’re probably a little surprised at the “non-marketing” look of the new design, but rest assured, how we market this site online was at the forefront of the overhaul “to-do” list.

Since when have done anything conventional on TheAtHomeCouple.com??

The new design was born out of the following inspirations:

We wanted the new site to have the look and feel of our apartment. So we did a custom arrangement of some of our personal items for the header, snapped a picture and gave it some “texture” in Photoshop.
We’re both big fans of typography and the magical powers of a great font, whether it’s online or in print. Rather than have a “logo” we opted for a super simple font – can’t tell you which one though!
It’s all about wood. We’re both second generation hippies, therefor have a super-deep relationship with anything earthly and natural. There’s something comforting about the thought of sitting around a wood table with friends (like at the cottage on a Saturday morning after a late night around the fire) and that is the vibe we attempted to catch with the background texture. It’s like the same feeling you get after an AWESOME cup of coffee (Jay).
Imagery is essential. Our old theme didn’t have any thumbnail features on the home page, or inner pages for that matter. All of the images had to be input manually, which was a pain sometimes. It was essential that our new theme had robust options regarding images, dynamic resizing and custom thumbnail options.

Choosing a new WordPress theme was not fun, and it took forever, but we’re REALLY excited with the end result!

You can expect the site to show a few more changes over the next couple of days, and if you have any thoughts or suggestions – please let us know!

Honesty is always appreciated (especially if you’re not a douche bag).

Cheers,

Elijah

August Was Crap – What’s Next?

Is it just me or was August crap for everyone? Not to be a total buzzkill but Veronica and I had the worst possible month ever. As tempted as I am to get into everything, let’s just say that after Veronica quit her job, everything that could have possibly gone wrong has gone wrong. Websites haven’t been selling, we’ve had to change Internet providers (in the process), lights are blowing out in our apartment, tears have been shed, scotch has been consumed and my laptop screen doesn’t seem as bright as it once was.

A few things that I’ve realized while picking my nose at absolute rock bottom is that my absolute worst case scenario isn’t all that bad. What’s the worst that could happen, really? Let’s think about this for a second:

The rent can’t get paid
The bills fall behind
We get evicted

We have no children, no mortgage and no car. Both of our families could easily take us in for a few months if we crashed and burned. We would help out around the house, continue plugging away online while paying down our debt and pitching in. In the meantime we’d be well fed, with the company and support of those whom we love most and things would eventually get back to where they were before Pandora’s box opened.

I was so stressed a week ago. I honestly felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown and once I visualized the absolute worst case scenario, it all seemed a little over dramatic in my head.

Each day is a new opportunity.

Today wasn’t so bad. I managed to secure relations with a new client, as well as connect with two prospects for long term development and marketing partnerships. Our Paypal account is $373 heavier today and it’s my birthday right now (09/04)… I have a strange feeling that my 28th year of existence is going to monumental. I’ve already got a couple of gray hairs and I’m okay with it.

Shit could always be worse.

Keep your heads up!

Cheers,

Elijah

10 Reasons Why I Don’t Regret Starting A Blog

It’s amazing how life takes you down certain paths that otherwise you would have never persued – blogging being a perfect example of what I mean. If you were to sit me down 12 months ago and tell me:

“Elijah, in 12 months from now you will be on your path to financial freedom through the means of making money online. You will meet several awesome people along the way, many of which you will remain good friends with and invite to your wedding. You will also teach yourself HTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP and Photoshop – and you will use these new found skills to generate more income. You will have a business registered and begin to teach yourself the basics of accounting. Elijah – you will do all this in the next 12 months.”

I would have told you, with zero effort, to go eat 15 soft taco’s from Taco Bell then shove your head up your own ass and wait for them to digest. I would have reacted like this not due to my lack of confidence, ability or drive (I’ve never had a shortage in either of those departments), but simply due to the fact that 12 months ago this is the last place I would have expected to be – plain and simple! And guess what???

I wouldn’t be who I am today without blogging.

Here are 10 reasons why I don’t regret starting a blog (even though I don’t have time to blog anymore!):

I finally realized that all those years reading books about time travel, Raul Duke, middle earth and vampires really paid off – in the context of sounding like I know what I’m talking about when I really don’t. This is a key ability to becoming a millionaire in the blogosphere.
My bitterness towards the college to cubicle lifestyle translated very well with the public, and allowed me to come to the realization that I’m not alone – and people find my bitter sense of humor quite amusing.
I would have never discovered the power that an over-sized head can give you – especially if it’s displayed in a cartoon format. I’ve also discovered that there’s tons of money to be made in sammich promotion.
I’ve finally found a sense of normality in knowing that it’s quite common for bloggers to be awake at 4am. Prior to blogging I was starting to believe I had a sleeping disorder.
I confirmed the fact that I am one of those rare breed of people who actually enjoy seeing and hearing themselves on video. My grandmother thinks I’m cocky.
I’ve spoken on the phone to people all over the world – all of them which I met via blogging.
After years of searching for a magic button, I finally discovered that there is an actual industry online. With the right tools, skills and persistence it is possible for anyone to make some money. If I didn’t start a blog I would have still been stuck in the sales page loop searching for that secret solution.
I’ve made some great friends, and I mean REALLY great! Call me naive, but I don’t see myself loosing contact with any of you (you know who you are) in the near future. You bitches are stuck with me.
In the real world talking about midgets, one-armed prostitutes and dildos doesn’t go to well – especially in the workplace. In the blogosphere I’m looked at as someone who isn’t afraid to speak their mind, and commended by my peers for a “great post!”
More than anything, blogging has taught me to be giving. It’s all about sharing, helping and giving credit where credit is due. This doesn’t manifest itself as much in the real world, but in the blogging world every comment counts! Bloggers stick together. Bloggers are smart. Bloggers are dreamers. And I’m proud to be one.

I would absolutely love to read some reasons why you crazy bastards don’t regret starting a blog. Share what you’ve learned and any crazy stories you might have throughout your years or months in the blogosphere. Don’t forget to track back so I can stop by and read your posts!

Have a great week guys.

Cheers,

Elijah

Less Talk, Less Love, More Money!

So the other day I felt the urge to leave a little “cheap shot” remark on SuiteJ’s most recent post. It went something along the lines of “you bastards don’t comment anymore” and I was openly speaking to all my previous regulars who haven’t given me the light of day, but had no problem showing ol Big Head some love – even though he posts less than I do! It’s all good though – I’m not bitter at all. But you guys definitely know I’m the type who is quick to hit the “potty mouth” button in the middle of a investment bankers conference if that means I’ll get some attention and a free portfolio analysis. I cleverly made a statement, and it paid off because I got both SuiteJ and Neal from Nota Bene Consulting to hop on over and increase the comment count on my last post to beyond 4.

Updates and stuff…

Since 2009 has started, I’ve been battling this invisible force of poor task management. I find I’m getting easily distracted, and I can’t blame it on blogging this time. Despite my distractions, I’ve managed to make some great progress this month, especially in the networking and site flipping departments. Here are a few goals that I set which I have accomplished thus far:

I wanted to flip 8 sites this month, and as it stands now I’ve sold one, with two auctions currently live, and two more auctions going live before the end of the weekend. Providing they all sell (which they will) I have to develop 3 more sites in the next 15 days. Easy peasy.
I wanted to have an exclusive partnership with an uber-talented freelance writer to outsource my content for site flips and various other niche projects I have lined up this year. After a few emails to my Big Headed mentor, I’ve now been working side by side with one of the coolest, most talented writers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. His name is Chris. He is 26, and has been making a full-time living online for the last 5 years via freelance writing, affiliate marketing and blogging. If you would like to learn more about how to make a living as a freelance writer, he’s got a pretty sweet course available over at ChrisBlogging.com. This guy is a fucking machine when it comes to cranking out keyword rich, unique articles – I love it!
I obviously set some goals regarding marketing and networking in the popular Internet marketing forums, and I’ve successfully stuck to a regiment, slowly increasing my presence and thread count. On the networking end, I read a really cool thread by this cat named AJ who’s been making a killing with affiliate marketing blah blah blah… but let me tell you something, this dude is the real deal! What led me towards him was his focus on presenting value to the buyer, and how important of a role that plays – as well as how so many people over look it when trying to get the sale. Anyways, rather than linking to the thread, we ended up connecting and I’m going to have him do a guest post, as well as he agreed to become my next “20 questions with…” victim! I’m definitely keeping an eye on this dude – he’s got a new membership site coming out that looks sick! I’ll keep you guys posted.
I’ve started my first ebook, and yes, it will be on site flipping. I’m so sick of all these garbage-ass site flip products that keep coming out.. for real, 90% of them only cover the basics, and to be honest, it’s not enough to help a complete newbie make $3000/month as they claim. Not even close. My ebook is going to be dead simple. I am basically writing from start to finish my exact process of creating a site within 8-12 hours and cashing out between $200-$300 profit. I learned this process from a crackhead with a lap top who sleeps behind a Jewish church by my apartment – and I’m going to be sharing it with the world. Quality, not quantity – that is how you make real money of flipping websites.

Anyways, I think that’s about it for today. I hope nobody comments on this so I can prove my point that once you stop commenting on other peoples blogs, they stop caring about you. And once you stop posting, they stop reading. And once you start making money, people start hating you.

IM KIDDING!! Man, you guys haven’t learned yet! I absolutely dig each and every one of you people.. and It’s a good thing that I’m not seeing you guys around as much because that can only mean one thing – you’re being productive elsewhere! And that right there makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside – kind of like when I stick my hand down my pants.

Cheers,

Elijah

I’ve Lost My Way

So it’s very clear that I have lost all steam on TheAtHomeCouple.com – what amuses me the most, is I have no reason why, or when this happened. It’s like one day I woke up and had nothing to write about. Eventually that day turned into weeks, and now I’m at the point where I am.

I want to be very clear in letting all of you guys know that Veronica and I are doing well. We’re doing great actually! I’ve been kicking ass online and making somewhat of a living over the last 3 months; a little white hat, a little black hat, a little NO HAT. I’ve recently hit the point where It would be smart to start outsourcing some of the content creation for my site flips, so I can produce more sites in less time – ultimately increasing my profit for that revenue stream.

To answer a few questions that I’ve received…

I am not selling this blog – no way in hell.

I am going to get back on a regular writing schedule after Christmas, promise!

TheAtHomeCouple.com will be revamped in the early new year, with a new theme, vibe and logo.

I promise to start leaving fucked up comments on your blogs more often as I manage my time and tasks more accordingly (this is where outsourcing comes into play).

That’s it!

I might squeeze out a post before Christmas hits, but in the mean time I hope all of you guys have a great holidays, eating lots of food and drinking lots of other people’s booze. If there’s a girl at your office that you’ve had your eye on, be sure to give her ass a good squeeze at the Christmas party – because it’s the only time of year you can get away with it!

Cheers,

Elijah

All Sales Pages Suck Ass

After I wrote you the title for this post I stopped and asked myself, “I wonder what kinda weird traffic I’m going to be getting for the term suck ass?” Anyways, it’s the first thing that popped out of my head so I wrote it. Over the last few days I’ve been working on an ebook package to flip – while simultaneously building a mini site template to cut down the amount of time it takes me to crank these babies out. Not only do I hate the tedious aspect of working in HTML, but I also hate how crappy most sales pages are.

I have never in my Internet surfing career (10 years) read a sales page that convinced me I should buy something – and that’s the honest truth. If I’ve ever bought something online, whether it be an info product or a service, it was because I did my research or because I have purchased from that person before.

Here’s the dilemma…

As I’m new to the process of creating my very first info product and campaign, I’ve been searching for related products and sites that I feel are examples of what an up-to-date ebook sales package would look like – and to satisfy my expectations I’ve been continually disappointed. I can’t stand the fact that somewhere in the history of info marketing it was decided that this is what works, and this is what encourages people to purchase your product, or opt in to your list.

I realize that there is a science to copy writing – which is a very complex skill to say the least. Developing your ability to write enticing copy that will convert traffic requires training, and the more I reference recent product launches the more I find myself wanting to vomit at the thought of releasing my own.

Change is needed…

Considering my first info product is going to be an off the wall (naked) guide to better blogging, it would be safe to assume that my buyers will fall under a handful of possible categories:

Existing bloggers who are looking to blog more efficiently
Existing bloggers who enjoy my style of writing from TheAtHomeCouple.com (you people)
New bloggers who can’t seem to get things going
Word of mouth bloggers that have read my dumb ass comments around the way
Random newbies who want to start a blog
All people in general who can’t find a bullshit-free product on effective blogging

More importantly, the success of my first launch will rely heavily on who I know – and what they’re willing to do for me. Yes, I know that a bunch of you will blast it on your blogs, or contact me to arrange some sort of contest – but how vital will the role of sales copy and a mini site play in the greater scheme of things?

SuiteJ was telling me earlier that he genuinely believes that 90% of people who buy a product scroll right down to the price. I agree with him entirely.

I think it would be safe to assume that people buying products within the MMO niche, whether it be on the Warrior Forum or via some autoresponder opt in have already made up their mind whether or not they are going to “show love” and make that purchase. Don’t get me wrong, there are still a whole load of people on this planet who have no idea what copy is, and are just starting to read some things about this “affiliate marketing phenomenon” and how to make money blogging – but what’s percentage of people really read the entire sales page and base their purchase decision on that?

I think there needs to be a change in the way we market within this make money niche. All these “Find Out How A 7 Year Old Retarded Kid Made $3789.77 In One Month By Selling Drool Samples Online” make me sick – and I’m sure there are a ton of newbies who are getting sick of it as well. Guys like Joel Comm and Frank Kern don’t make a killing because of their sales copy – they make a killing because of who they know, and how many people know them.

Perception is everything and the more visible you are to your potential buyers the more likely it is that your launch will be a success. Selling “make money online” products to the make money online niche has little to do with copy, and everything to do with visibility.

The sales page needs to die and we need a revolution.

That’s my opinion.

Cheers,

Elijah