admin

5 Reasons Why I Love PicMonkey

March 13, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

I have been using PicMonkey since 2014. I am loyal and love how simple it is to use. Here are my top 5 reasons why I love it!

1. The Hub

You get 1 GB of Hub online storage with the Basic plan, which is enough for us bloggers. I love it because I can access the images from my phone via the PicMonkey App. This makes is so simple to download images I create in PicMonkey on computer to my phone so I can post on Instagram. This is a huge time and headache saver for me. I know it seems like a simple concept, but not having to save the image, then load it to another file share/cloud tool that I then have to access separately is so convenient. At first I was not into the HUB because I thought I could just figure it out myself, but once I really learned how it worked – I was sold!

The Hub on my phone.

2. The Templates

I know that most online graphic tools have templates. But I’ve found that PicMonkey’s are the best and easiest to use. While yes, sometimes you need to make a graphic specific size for your website, its nice to have the premade templates for Facebook Covers, Instagram, and especially Pinterest. I usually use the template for inspiration and design because I’m not that creative. I especiallly love the holiday themed templates.

They even have video and YouTube templates, etsy page templates, kindle ebook cover templates, apple book cover templates and more. This creates the size you need without having to think about it.

: Template Search

: Pinterest Template Results

: Lots of other templates

3. The Mobile App

I know I mentioned the Mobile App in number 1, but I its more than just access to the Hub. You can pull in photos from your phone or create a new graphic right there in the app. Again, they’ve made it simple and quick. On the app you can edit a photo, upload photos in a group, access the hub or create a new

4. The Intuitive Functionality

Somehow, PicMonkey intuitively knows what size to import an image. Whether is one of theirs or one of your own you’re pulling in. I am always amazed that it can usually pop it into the image at almost exactly the size I needed. they must have some kind of voodoo magic code algorithm thingy that tells the tool what size to make the graphic or image based on the canvas size and other graphics already present. Anyhow, I really appreciate it and the time it saves me.

Also, it somehow knows whether to add text as black or white depending on where you click to add it in the graphic. If you’re adding to a darker area, it makes it white automatically. So convenient! Additionally, it remembers things as well, such as I always save my images as jpg low res, after two or three times of saving it that way, it does it automatically.

I guess for me, its the little things that make a big difference. But any tool that’s going to save me time is aces in my book!

5. The Graphics and Themes

The graphics are super fun and there are so many. They are constantly adding new ones. They refresh them for upcoming holidays as well. This is a great way to keep your graphic fresh. Additionally, they are customizable. For example, I didn’t like the colors of a 4 leaf clover for St. Patricks Day, so I just adjusted. So simple!

Here are a few of the ones I use most often;

: Graphic’s Categories

: Super Fun Holiday Graphics are Refreshed for Upcoming Holidays but Christmas is available year round.

: I find myself using these a lot to create labels on my images

Want to see what New PicMonkey is all about? Sign-up for your free trial today!

Make Money on Ebates

March 12, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

I have been a loyal Ebates user for the past 5 years. I was super skeptical at first but after I got my first check, I was sold! Here are a few strategies I’ve used to get the best bang for my buck – so to speak!

Ebates Add On Icon

If you’ve never used Ebates before, its really easy to sign up and just as easy to use. Click here to sign up. To earn money, click through from the Ebates website or mobile app and make a purchase. You must click through the app in order to get the “Ebate”, but its super easy. You can also download the google chrome add on button. When you go to a website that’s on Ebates, it notifies you so you can be sure to get your “ebates”. Once you’ve added it, you’ll see the E in the add on bar, then a little box will pop up in the right side of the browser, once you click Activate all you have to do is shop and earn. Super easy.

In Store Cash Back

Go to In-Store Cash Back, then add your credit card(s) and debit card to Ebates and click link. If you’re worried about security, its safe. As safe as shopping on any other website out there. They’ve got their security (SSL) bases covered, thankfully. The most important thing is to remember to log back in to re-link the offers as they reset about every month or so. Once linked, all you have to do it shop (well, drive there, park, then shop with one of the cards you’ve linked.) Bed Bath and Beyond has a year round in store cash back offer, and I make $15-20/year. There are several others that pop up occasionally, like Petco and World Market that are great as well. I don’t live in a highly populated area but if you do you’ll see lots of stores listed that you may already be shopping at regularly.

Keep an Eye Out for Store Promotions

Amazon and a few other stores don’t always have a high % Ebates offers, but 3-4 times a year they do. So if you are an avid Amazon shopper be sure to check back often to make sure you’re making purchases through Ebates. You’d be buying it anyway, why not get 10% back!

Magazine Subscriptions

Do NOT purchase a magazine subscriptions anywhere else! I repeat DO NOT PURCHASE A MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION ANYWHERE ELSE. Phew, sorry for the yelling, but seriously don’t do it. I have purchased all my magazines through Ebates for the past 5 years. I won’t even renew then – I always purchase through Ebates because of this! I love Magazines.com mostly because its simple up update my address and payment there, but 25% cash back! Its one of the most lucrative Ebates offers.

Check out the past two years of magazine subscriptions for me; $25 back in 2018!

Flowers and Gifts

Using Ebates encouraged me to send my in laws flowers and gifts more often, which gives me brownie points. Its also a great way to send a gift you know someone will love. Flowers.com and a few other sites always have pretty high Ebates cash back offers.

This is just a few of the flower stores that offer Ebates offers, but holy moly! 46% cash back?? That’s amazing.

Travel Sites

Most of the popular travel sites are on Ebates. So be sure to click through when booking directly. You’ll find both hotel sites like Marriott and Holiday Inn, as well as travel booking sites like Expedia and even Home Away. I have made a lot of cash from travel booking. Especially if you’re traveling for work and book your own travel. Be sure to book through an Ebates site and make a little extra cash.

Here is an example of an Ebates check that had a lot of travel related Ebates. The last column is my cash back amount.

Cash Out Options

Last year Ebates started offering a deal where you get 3-8% more cash back when you opt for a gift card instead of a check. (Yes, they actually mail you a check!) So if there is a store you shop at often, you can earn even more by opting for an e-certificate from that store. The past two “Big Fat Check” periods, I’ve opted for Kohls, but I’ve also done Petco in the past. Bam – all my dogs food was paid for from my Ebates money. When its getting time for the check to be sent, they will email to ask you if you want the check or if you want to opt for an eGift Card. They will show you the options, and what percentage more you’ll get for choosing that instead of the check. Its simple. In January of last year I got almost $15 more just by opting for an eGift card.

You can see how they add the adjustment to your account;

Have I convinced you? Ebates is the real deal.

My Top 5 Books about Blogging

February 25, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

Any blogger needs a good set of resources available at their fingertips. I personally like to hold a book, smell the pages, and highlight my most used content. Here are 5 books I can’t live without.

1. Lifestyle Blogging Basics: A How-To for Investing in Yourself, Working With Brands, and Cultivating a Community Around Your Blog

This is a must have. Its got all the basics, as well as lots of motivation for when you get discouraged. Which comes in waves. I keep this around with highlighted passages that I need to read when I get in a rut.

Bonus: its free if you have Kindle Unlimited!

2. Starting a Successful Blog when you have NO CLUE! – 7 Steps to WordPress Bliss… (Beginner Internet Marketing) (Volume 1)

If you are starting from scratch, this is your book. Its a fast read, but packed with helpful tips. It even includes some steps for WordPress set up.

3. Blogging: How To Start A Profitable Blog: A Guide To Create Content That Rocks, Build Traffic, And Turn Your Blogging Passion Into Profit (Blog Mastermind Booklets)

This book is great for content building. It helps you figure out your writing style and manage your editorial calendar.

4. The Essential Habits Of 6-Figure Bloggers: Secrets of 17 Successful Bloggers You Can Use to Build a Six-Figure Online Business

Get tips from and strategy from 6-figure bloggers. This will show you how others have succeeded. Not every strategy is right for every blogger, but at least you can learn what has worked and failed for others when making your decisions on what will for you.

5. How To Blog For Profit: Without Selling Your Soul

Because when your traffic increases and you start to get sponsors it can feel a bit like your selling out. This helps you make smart decisions without compromising your content.

Blogging Resources 101

February 25, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

I have been writing a blog for about four years. My other blogs are, www.mycleankitchen.com, and www.wecookwecraft.com. But I’ve never really been successful at making it my full time gig. My goal is to quit my “day job” and make blogging my complete focus. I started my journey with My Clean Kitchen(MCK). We had so much fun creating MCK. We started it with the plan of making it a full time job, scheduling, strategy planning, etc, but we quickly got burnt out as we didn’t make any money. Granted, this was at the start of the blogging boom, and affiliate marketing was fairly new at the time. So instead of sticking it out, we let it slip in priority and eventually got “real” jobs. The blog began to suffer and we didn’t post for years. Yes, years! But, the good thing is that we decided to keep it up and would occasionally maintain it. Now that I’m focusing my time on it again, I hope it make it great! I recently added We Cook We Craft and Virginia Boozer to my repertoire and plan to make each of the sites as great as they can be for my readers, as well as earn a living in the process.

This page contains affiliate links.

Getting Started

Create and Go Blogging Courses

I recently decided to dedicate my time and energy into making my blog the best it can be while earning a full time income while doing it. I did a lot of research on blogging courses, and this series by Create and Go won me over. I recently completed a course from Create and Go Courses. I learned so much. I did the course “Make Money Blogging for Beginners.” A lot of the courses out there promise fast money, quick results, etc. But, I think that message sets you up for failure. Making it work, as I’ve said already, takes time, hard work, strategy and lots of dedication. If you’re a beginning blogger, I recommend starting with their first two courses;

Launch Your Blog – I did not take this one, only because I already had my blog launched, but may go back and take it later. I’m sure I’ll learn something!
Make Money Blogging for Beginners – I’m doing this class right now. I’m really learning a lot. I am on track to start earning soon. I think! I’ll keep you posted.

I’m planning to take the Pinterest Avalanche course in the next few weeks. Once I do, I’ll update this page with my experience.

Blog URL (Website Address) and Hosting

Go Daddy – Websites and Hosting

I currently use Go Daddy for all my website URL and website hosting. URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator, if you’re a nerd like me and wanted to know…and its basically your website address. Mine is www.wecookwecraft.com. I like Go Daddy because I get 5% back on all purchases with EBATES. (I love EBATES by the way, and you should totally sign up if you haven’t already!) At Go Daddy you can purchase your URL as well as your website hosting. Website hosting is where you’ll website will live and publishes your site on the public internet. I like to purchase my hosting for the full year because its cheaper. I know a lot of bloggers are committed to Blue Host, another hosting company, but I’ve never made the switch. I’m sticking with Go Daddy. With Go Daddy you can also access your CPanel where you’ll install Word Press as well as set up email address(s) if you choose to use them. If you’re new to Word Press I suggest the “Launch Your Blog” course from Create and Go. There is a section on mastering Word Press.

WordPress Themes

StudioPress

WordPress is really the way to go when setting up your blog. When I first got My Clean Kitchen started, I used a simple theme. But as I learned more and needed more, I looked for a theme that would fit my needs. This is where StudioPress came in. I absolutely love the Foodie Pro Theme. I use it for almost all my blogs. It is a child theme of the Genesis Framework. The Genesis Framework makes it easier to set up SEO, includes social medial links and also image sliders. It improves speed and browser compatibility. It is required for Foodie Pro. There are so many companies out there that provide Word Press theme. Studio Press is my favorite. They provide fantastic support and their templates are simple to customize. Also, their documentation is well done. I use it a lot when I need to add something new to my sites. If anyone ever asks, they are my go to.

Graphics and Images

PicMonkey

I absolutely love PicMonkey. It makes is so simple to create engaging banners and graphics. They have a ton of templates that can help get your creativity started. I have been using them since I started my first blog more than 4 years ago. They just keep getting better. Click here to access PicMonkey. Want to see what New PicMonkey is all about? Sign-up for your free trial today!

Deposit Photos

Even if you take your own photos, you’ll need stock images from time to time. I love this site, they have a couple of plans that make it affordable depending on how often you need them. I personally like the pay as you go plan, but the monthly plan would be a good option for those who use stock images more frequently. I also really like the photos on this site. They seem to fit my ‘style’ more than others I’ve seen.

Affiliate Marketing

Share-a-Sale

Through the years, I’ve tried several different affiliate marketing tools. So far Share-a-Sale has been the easiest and most profitable. They have the most vendors, and really good commission rates. They also take new bloggers.

Amazon Associates

Amazon Associates is the Amazon affiliates program. Every blogger should belong. It allows you to create links to any product Amazon sells. So if you have that one brand of mustard you love and want to talk it up on your blog, you can post a link and potentially make a little money if someone buys it. I found this ebook helpful to learn how to use Amazon Associates. I also found this list of resources helpful. Blogging Tools on Amazon I’ll be adding more resources as I use them. I’m testing email tools right now. So far I’m loving ConvertKit. I’ve used MailChimp before. Once I determine which one I like best, I’ll be sure to add it here. Do you have a resource you love? Let me know and I’ll test it out.