Sorry About the Pop-up Ads: Lessons in Advertising, Money & Life

Word on the Cyber Street: There are annoying pop-up ads on my blog. My response: Sorry! My bad. I didn't realize that the ads were so intrusive, annoying and consistent. (Two fellow bloggers kindly sent me emails voicing complaints and community grumblings related to the pop-ups.) Thank You!

Here are the life lessons that I've retrieved from pop-up blunder:

1. Consider contracts carefully: I should have paid more attention to the visual impact on my blog and the annoyance factor. I've cancelled that portion of the contract. (I hope the change won't take too long to show up on my blog.) Likewise, as a buyer, seller or business partner, I should be more heads-up about future contracts involving merchandise, services or other financial arrangements.

2. Don't lose sight of the big picture. Duh! I started writing a blog to reach others, but if ads detract from my goal, then I'm working against myself. It's a pattern. From personal to financial goals, I've periodically fallen into traps of self-sabotage. Or I let myself get sidetracked by minor opportunities. Keeping sight of bottom-line goals will help me stay focused on the right path.

3. Move quickly; Move on: I received the complaints this afternoon about the pop-ups. Immediately, I altered the contract, thanked the fellow bloggers and wrote this post. I've learned a lot from past mistakes related to money, love and work. When I make mistakes --which I have--it's best to quickly correct the situation and then move on.

Thanks!

First-Person & Public: How Writing in the First-Person Saves Money

It's like going to the mall without make-up or even a smear of lipstick. That's how it feels to write a first-person column on finance under my real name. I recommend the process or other forms of peer group mentoring. Public discussion actually helps me to save money and to set realistic financial goals. Here's how:

The You vs. I bonus: A little while ago, Flexo of Consumerism Commentary wrote a column about keeping personal finance personal: (Thoughts On Finance Writing) Basically, he mentioned the importance of using the pronoun "I" instead of "you." He urged fellow personal finance bloggers to keep it real. Reading that column -- excellent as always -- had a profound impact on me. Here's the deal: I've written about stocks, bonds and the capital markets since the mid-1980s. I earned money by writing about OPM (other people's money).

But writing about personal finance is trickier when I put myself under the microscope. The process demands a different set of skills and disclosure than those I developed as a financial reporter. And although I continue to rely on news releases, industry studies and expert interviews, I've also started to write more columns about my own mistakes, triumphs and experiences.

That means I have to try many of the tips that appear in this space and then report on the process. For example, it's great to write about a money-saving, all-natural hair dye (cold brewed coffee on my greying hair). But to make it real, I actually poured coffee on my head. The experience provided a fun story and enhanced my life. And besides, the scent of coffee in my braids keeps me alert.

The Folks Factor: Because I write under my real name, I know that my Mom and Dad can easily track my personal accounting. Besides, they really know me and hold me accountable. (My phone will ring about 30 seconds after my folks read this post.) For example, earlier this year when I wrote about adding more money to an emergency fund, my parents wanted to see results not just words. Bottom Line: Pleasing M&D still matters to me.

The Mirror Factor: My blog reflection has to match my inner mirror reflection. Fears of sounding insincere or false keep me up at night. Therefore, if I write about saving energy, I feel obligated to turn off unnecessary lights throughout my home. And in fact, I just walked around my apartment and hit the off switch in two rooms and a bathroom. As such, blogging in the first person saves money.

The quest for new material: I write on a dining room table that faces the ocean. (I live in a low-rent building in a high-rent neighborhood.) I see a lot from this view point, but without constantly reading and reporting, my blog, life & finances get stale and stagnant. Therefore, in order to hunt down new topics and personal finance tools, I have to live a fuller life.

This year, for example, I'm plan to enroll in a 529 college savings plan for my middle-school son and elementary-age daughter. Maybe I'll also enroll in a DRIP stock program or some other investment. I also plan to try a new budgeting process that I read about in the Weekend Millionaire Mindset. My goal: Live it; earn it, save it & blog it.

Embrace the "YOU" pronoun: Of course, I'm not abandoning the second-person "you" pronoun and in 2008, many of my posts will continue to read like this: "You should try... or You should do... or You should save.... " But in those cases, that you means me. I'm not lecturing or preaching to anyone but myself. That understanding helps because as I blog about personal finance, I'm constantly reaching to improve my own financial portrait.

Other interesting posts on this topic:

From The Simple Dollar: Why Talking About Myself Is Important When Writing About Personal Finance

From Flexo: Why Do I Share My Finances Every Month?

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Sharon Harvey Rosenberg is the author of The Frugal Duchess of South Beach: How to Live Well and Save Money... Anywhere!, which will be published in May of 2008 by DPL Press.

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Previous Posts

Yesterday:

Park Carefully: 10 Frugal Tips for Post-Holiday Shopping
Holiday Zalute to Zo (Miami Heat!): 10 Reasons To Cheer for Alonzo Mourning
How to Recycle Christmas Trees: Mulch Conversion:

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Digg!

Posts I Liked Last Week

Frugal Weddings, DIY holiday baskets and financial role models are on the lineup today as I look at some of my favorite posts from other bloggers. I could spend hours reading, because there's a lot of great info out there.

Get Rich Slowly offers this excellent primer and behind the scenes look at the nuts and bots of blogging. He spends about 40 hours a week on his blogging habit. I enjoyed this piece very much. I've just bookmarked it.


Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has a fun piece about why he hates paper checks. He taps into some strong arguments for doing away with old school checks: stamps are expensive, your account number is on the check. It's a great read.

Single Ma offers an insightful piece that addresses this question: "Are personal finance bloggers role models?" I appreciate her honesty. We're on the same page:

I have a limited income.
I like to shop.
I have debt.
I have made bad financial decisions.
I do not possess any special skills or abilities.
I am not an expert.
Most importantly (gotta CYA), I am NOT a licensed financial adviser.---Single Ma

Binary Dollar provides wonderful tips about
planning weddings and saving money. Lots of good frugal options: don't wed on Saturdays or in June; get married in the morning and skip the over-the-top dress. I was married in June, but we picked a Sunday service at noon and I wore my sister's dress, with a few modifications.

I'd love to chat with the author for a future print column.

No Limits Ladies has a cute, fun piece about DIY holiday gift baskets. She reads upscale catalogues and then duplicates the idea with items from the supermarket. Really, really fun piece.


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Posts I liked Last Week

I've been reading about coin collecting, grocery strategies and stock-voting rights. One of the best perks about blogging is being connected into a network of smart people. Some of the best and well-read minds in the personal finance blogsphere are posted at pfblogs.org: A super news aggregate for info on real estate, personal finance, investments and frugal living.

Here's my weekly roundup of some of my favorite posts from other bloggers, with a caveat: I started teaching a new journalism class last week and therefore, my reading time has been contained. So of course, there's other good stuff out there, beyond my weekly roundup.

The Mighty Bargain Hunter has a thoughtful piece about state coin collecting programs. Hint: Fun coins to collect, but not a savvy financial investment.

1st Million at 33 featured an interesting piece about second-class shareholders at Google and other public companies. Frugal does a good job explaining how public shares aren't all created equally; some have 10 times the voting power of other classes of outstanding stock.

I liked the Simple Dollar's post linking weight-loss programs and debt loss. Diet and Debt.

2 million has an insightful post about establishing multiple income channels.

Molly's Brother on a Budget has a cute post on how to save more with everyday strategies. The piece offers his plan of segregating his shopping list into perishables and non-perishable items.

And I really, really enjoyed Frugal Girl's list of the best financial moves she has made.

PS. My own post about lessons I learned from a recent air flight and holiday packages is also decent.


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Chasing the Prince of Profits in Blogsphere: Ideas from Dumb Little Man

I'm not really blogging for dollars. It's fun; it's ego; it's informative.

Basically, blogging has become an addictive hobby. But I have a friend, who began knitting as a hobby and has found a way to make a few bucks from her part-time passion. (She knits killer suits that look like some Chanel couture creation that Linda Evangelista* could wear in Vogue magazine. My friend also teaches classes to other would-be knitters.)

*(FYI Linda E. is my favorite supermodel. Evangelista is another bottom-line girl. She was famously quoted as saying that she does not wake up in the morning for less than $15,000 a day.)


So here's my bottom-line assessment of my blogging obession: Do it for fun, but try to make it pay! I've thought about offering editing services in exchange for small fees or some kind of ad barter. Or maybe I could peddle print articles about my so-called life as a blogger to big-ticket, big budget magazines.

For other ideas, I turned to Dumb Little Man, who has recently offered some great lists about money-making ideas and other tips on writing:


1. 50 tools for improving writing. This is a link I've used before my Dumb Litte Man introduction. I teach a journalism class to high school students and this list has great tips for writing.

2. This is a great DLM list, featuring 40-plus ways to make money on the Internet. I have been systematically going through his various ideas.

3. Then Dumb Litte Man followed up with another list of money making tips.




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My Interview at Money Blogger Podcast

Scott at Money Blogger Podcast was kind enough to interview me for his latest broadcast. I've enjoyed listening to past interviews in the series and I feel fortunate to be included.

I had so much fun chatting with him about personal finance, the world of blogging and frugal living. I appreciated his questions about my dual life as a newspaper columnist and my other life as a blogger. The opening music on his podcasts is very cool; Scott asks great questions, including some from other bloggers like Queer Cents.

Thanks to Scott for providing the space and to Flexo (Consumerism Commentary) and Mapgirl for mentioning the interview on their blogs.

I also appreciate the mention from A Penny Saved (who supplied a great question) and anyone else who took note on their blog.
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The Frugal Duchess Boutique
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Web Pages That Suck.com

Want to make more money on your site?

There's help: Web Pages That Suck.com is the actual name of a website featured in a New York Times Article: How to make your web site sing.

Web Pages That Suck provides links to websites that are hard on the eye or the mind and the features include the "Daily Sucker." It is a very informative and entertaining site.

A site must have addictive content, said Vincent Flanders, a Web design consultant in the Seattle area who is the creator of Webpagesthatsuck.com, a site that analyzes why some pages do not work. “People must be willing to crawl through a sewer for it. --from the New York Times

Personally, when it comes to blogs, I am especially fond of the content and design of Millionaire Artist and Dumb Little Man. Those sites sing to me.

But I've also picked up a few pointers from the New York Times piece and the sucky website site.

1. The front page counts most.
The first screen view is important. In newspapers, it's called above the fold (that top half of the front page). Not everyone scrolls down to the lower half of the screen.

Studies by Mr. Nielsen’s company, the Nielsen Norman Group, an Internet design firm in Fremont, Calif., show that only 50 percent of Web visitors scroll down the screen to see what lies below the visible part on their PC monitor.--NYT

2. Grammar is important.

3. Get rid of unnecessary items: Too many bells and whistles can be a turnoff.

4. Avoid "Mystery Meat Navigation," which are links that don't tell the reader where they are going. Like this. (Hint: it's a link to an article about mystery meat links.)

5. Don't be long winded. And on that note. I'm signing off.

Here are other links to articles about blogging and money that I found helpful.

1.Blogging for customers from Forbes

2.40 ways to make money on the Internet from Dumb Little man

3.7 ways to make the most of your blog from Folksonomy, which was featured on Cyberjournalist.net.

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