I have it on good authority that I’ll have the funding for our roadtrip this week. Give a few days to gather up all the equipment, we will be launching on our trip, maybe on monday - June 23rd.

Visiting 50 states is going to be a huge endeavor. I’ve promised my sponsor that I can and will complete the tour and interview 50 bloggers in 50 states(and some of Canada). If funds are stretched though I have the option of finishing the roadtrip remotely. But hopefully between sponsors, donors, etc we’ll be able to get it done.

My sponsor is lining me up an interview possibly with Amber Mac a tech vlogger / journalist who is big in Canada - also I’ve dropped an email to John Chow - who has agreed to do an interview IF I can get there before he leaves for a month in Mid-July.

I’m starting in Ohio and have to race to get the interviews done in the eastern USA then get to Vancouver, BC as fast as possible.

Interviewing John Chow would be a huge opportunity, and will help push the exposure this trip gets. I’ll also be interviewing a less famous blogger in BC  - my goal is to give the average joe blow blogger some exposure and interview everyday joe’s. But a john chow here and there will definitely be nice too.

STay tuned - this is going to be big.

We still need bloggers - especially in Northeastern, OH - Northern PA - and Northern NY (my first 3 stops.)
Submit your blogs here!

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Tags: 50 states, average joe blow, blogger, bloggers, blogs, canada, donors, eastern usa, endeavor, interviewing, John Chow, northeastern oh, roadtrip, vancouver bc

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As you may or may not be aware(if this is your first time to my blog) - I’m embarking on a journey of a lifetime. Perhaps the first of many such journeys.

I am going to be interviewing 1 blogger in EACH of the 50 states.
(Now the 10 major provinces of Canada too!)

Recently, I’ve put out calls for sponsors, and I’m very close to closing a contract with an awesome sponsor - I don’t want to layout all the details just yet - you’ll have to stay tuned to learn more about this great web2.0 company and what they have to offer.

The exciting thing is with their support we will be able to get this launched a lot quicker.

Which means I need your help - at our sponsor’s suggestion we’ve decided to not only hit ALL 50 states, but ALSO all the Provinces of Canada as well.

Each blog will be featured on video sharing sites across the internet, podcasting directories, etc… This is truly the power of synergy - each blog accepted will also be linking back to the project and it will snowball.

We need more bloggers - it’s easy as pie to enter and you will get a ton of exposure for your blog.

Step 1 - Go to: http://www.thereseabloginmysoup.com/directory/

Step 2 - Click on the state / or province that you live in.

Step 3 - Click the link that says “Insert your link here”

Submit your link to our directory  - we will be choosing blogs when we have at least 2 blogs per state / province - Show your State / Provincial Pride Today!

We are also going to be collecting some cool ’swag’ from the bloggers we interview - as well as other souvenirs that we pick along the way - and will be holding some tight contests to give away our road-trip swag, after we return.

You know the beauty of this is it all started because of Twitter. Twitter truly is an amazing tool.

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Tags: 50 bloggers, 50 blogs, 50 great bloggers, 50 state roadtrip, 50 states, 50 states 50 bloggers, 50 top bloggers, American Blogger Directory, American Bloggers, blogging roadtrip, journey of a lifetime, podcasting, road trip, roadtrip, roadtrip advertising, roadtrip donations, [...]

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LAUNCHING TODAY: The American Blogger Directory - find great bloggers in your state now!

I swear I’m not being anti-world, or anything - But today I have launched an American Blogger Directory - in order to organize the blogosphere by U.S. States. This will of course help me immensely in making my decision for who to visit in each state, during my 50 Bloggers, 50 States, in 50 Days Road Trip.

If you would like to be interviewed via text, audio, and video - and have your blog mentioned on all the top video, and podcasting sites please feel free to add your link to the American Blogger Directory.

In order to grow the American Blogger Directory as well as the traffic to this site - I will be requiring a reciprocal link somewhere on your site - it could be in a blog post, blogroll, etc.. This will of course in the end - benefit everyone who signs up as it will increase the pagerank and seo power of the American Blogger Directory.

The bottom line is: The more traffic this site gets, and higher it ranks - the more traffic you will get if I choose to visit and interview you.

Go to the American Blogger Directory and submit your blog now!

Before adding your site please be sure to link to: http://www.theresabloginmysoup.com/directory/

 

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Tags: 50 states, American Blogger Directory, American Bloggers, American blogs, bloggers, blogosphere, pagerank, podcasting, reciprocal link, road trip, text audio, US Blogger, US Bloggers, US Blogs

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Fact: “Blogging”, “Making Money Blogging”, or just “Making Money” in general is the toughest market to tap into.

Reasons Why Bloggers Fail in this Niche:

1. Too much hype.  Most people looking to make money have tried just about everything possible, including: MLM, Network Marketing, Real Estate Programs, Ponzi Schemes(HYIPs), Surfing Programs, Egold Scams, etc etc…It could be compared to the Diet industry as most people have tried every potion, powder, exercise program etc, with no real lasting results.

   The people are looking for real solutions to their problems, and skepticism has been bred by years of failed claims and promises.

2. Extreme Competition.  Everybody wants to make money, they’re even passionate about making money, seriously who isn’t?Even the Filthy Rich still want more of it.

   The more competition the harder it is to succeed, in the given Niche.

   Personally, I chose this Niche, because I have been at this since 2000, and believe I have something unique to share.

   I also have some good ideas to make the topic fun and exciting (E.G. My Summer Roadtrip to Interview 50 Bloggers in 50 States.)

   I actually believe this blog has a good chance of making it to the level of John Chow(Read why he says: “The Majority of Bloggers Will Fail“), Shoemoney(Read what he has to say about “The Pursuit of Happyness“, or Steve Pavlina(He wrote a really good article on How to Make money Blogging.

   A good example of a blog that came up out of no-where and made it in a competitive topic would be Dosh Dosh(Circa Jan, 2007). Read what Maki at Dosh Dosh had to say on “reaching 10,000 subscribers“.

   So it is still possible to make money in this topic, it’s only harder, and takes a lot more dedication.

3. It’s all been said before….45n5 Wrote a good post about how everything on how to make money blogging has already been said before on one blog or another…

   Most newbie bloggers to the ‘Make Money Niche’ are imitators, or rehashers of info.

   Rehashing info might get you some notice, but to really make it, and be the next big blogger, you absolutely MUST be original, you cannot re-hash information and expect to make it anymore.

With all of that said, if you’re still gunghoe about going for the “Make Money” Niche. Here are Some tips to succeed in this Niche. (Heck these are good tips for any blog really, but especially one on Making money and Internet Marketing):

1. Web 2.0 was the Blog and Social Networks. Web 3.0 will be Audio/Video. Use Video / Audio often. Change it up, and be different.
2. Network, Network, Network! Be sure to build up your network(I can’t say enough about using Twitter to this end.)
3. Get them to subscribe. I’d reckon to say each subscriber to your feed is worth a good $1 per month, if not much more. Read more about finding Subscribers here.
4. Do you Tweet? Did I mention how wonderful Twitter is?When I write a good post, I usually will send it out 3-4 times to my twitter followers. I will send out the link to digg it, the original link, and the link to stumble it. This get’s me huge exposure and a ton of traffic.
5. Don’t be afraid of A-list bloggers. If you have a good product, or idea you can’t be afraid to approach the A-list bloggers. My suggestion, though, is not to just go for one, but go for 3-4 at a time, a lot of times some of them may not like your idea, but if one does - you win!
6. Create meme’s. A good is example is my ‘Feed the Twitter Monster‘ meme…
7. Make Lists and Lot of Them! The best bloggers use tons of lists with bullets, pics, good formatting, and the whole nine yards. People like easy, concise information. Give your readers what they want.
8. Use your Blogroll Wisely. A blogroll is very important. All of the A-list bloggers usually link to one another via the blogroll.If you want to be an A-list blogger it’s a good idea to put links up to them asap, whether or not they return the favor. The point is that some day they will return the favor. But you have to start the linklove.
9. Go fishin’ with Linkbait. You need to write as many high quality blog posts as you possibly can, then you need to have your network of friends and twitter followers stumble, digg, and bookmark them.If you do this, you will get a storm of traffic and many will even link to your posts if they’re good enough and this will give you some good Search Engine Juice.
10. Paid advertising. This is not an option. This is a MUST! John Chow got popular by branding himself all over google, and websites with the keywords ‘make money online’.Did you know - as popular as John Chow is, he STILL uses google adwords to promote JohnChow.com?

    What does that say to the importance of using payperclick? I even saw an ad for JohnChow on this site, and I must say it threw me off a second. That’s when I realized it must work.

11. Post a post or five every single day. You absolutely have to keep content coming, the more the merrier. If you miss a day or two, you will have to work that much harder to bring people back to your site.Also for every 5 posts, at least one should be a really big post.
12. Comment Often. Be sure to be a good commenter on other people’s websites. Especially if someone links to you - go to their blog and leave a comment, trust me. It builds trust and they will come back to your site often.

    Along with good commenting, is being a good responder - responding to your readers will create trust and rapport, and bring them back for more(Wow, I’m a poet and didn’t know it!).

13. A good design can make or break you. You must also have a good site design, and it must highlight the top posts on your site, and any flagship content that you have. Also the design is paramount to getting revenue with adsense or any other advertiser. If your ads fit in nicely you will see much better results, and your private advertisers will be more ready to dish out the money.

Conclusion:

If you cannot do ALL these things, then get the hell out of this Niche. There are many more things I may have missed that could be added. 

If you can’t do these 13 simple things - you are in the wrong Niche, and as harsh as it sounds you most likely will never make more than $5 - $10 a month blogging. With the cost of gas and other life expenses now a days that won’t get you very far.

If you can’t do all these things religiously -  go blog about Butterflies, or Roach control, or something else unique like that. You will receive a lot more money in a less competitive Niche, but that is another blog post entirely.

 

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Tags: 50 states, diet industry, exercise program, extreme competition, good chance, how to make money, hype, John Chow, marketing real estate, ponzi schemes, real solutions, scams, surfing programs

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My wife and I are planning on going on a roadtrip - to visit the top Blogger(s) in ALL 50 states. This is going to be a HUGE Blog promotion.  

Our Goal: Find & Interview the most popular / successful bloggers from all 50 states. (We might even choose 2 for some states. We will be doing an interview via text, audio, and video. If you prefer not to do audio/video that’s fine as well.

Photo Coureoousy of Hometown Invasion.

If we choose your blog, you will receive:

1. Permanent Blogroll Link.
2. Your interview will be taken in video, audio, and text formats - in order to gain the highest exposure. They will be submitted to ALL video / ipod networks.
3. You will also receive exposure in many blog posts leading upto the roadtrip.

What we need to make this a success:

Currently, our resources are a bit limited, as we are a new and growing blog. Donations via paypal would be greatly appreciated - they can be sent to: yourstruly AT patrickcurl.com - or you can click the button on the sidebar(Note: Paypal just doesn’t play fair with wordpress posts / pages) .

All donations of $20 or more will receive a 100+ word review. All donations of $40 will receive a 300+ word review.  All donations of $60 or more will receive a 500 word review, and a 6 month link on a blogroll labeled “Roadtrip Sponsors”.

Before we go we’re trying to raise enough money to buy a laptop, and a new video camera. If you would like to sponsor or donate one of those to us - we would make sure you’re on the list of stops, as well as receive a 1000 word review, and a permanent link on our Blogroll.

We could also use help in promoting this - if you could write a blog post about it, we would really appreciate it. Who knows - we may choose to stop by and interview you!

We are going to be doing a blog post each day, seeking bloggers from each 50 states - so stay tuned if you’re interested in being a part of this!

Other ways you can help us out:

1. Follow us on Twitter.
2. Subscribe to this blog.
3. Add me to your facebook friends.
4. Blog about this Promotion.
5. Send a link to this post to all of your twitter friends.
6. Bookmark this post.
7. Digg this post.
8. Stumble this post.
9. Sphinn this post.
10. etc… Do anything possible to get the word out. The more people we have in on this, the more exciting this will be. We may also visit a few locations on our way, and do mini-interviews on a bunch of bloggers.

PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT on THIS PAGE - IF YOU’RE RECOMMENDING A BLOG TO VISIT. I will be putting up a page for each state by letter, please comment on that state, and I will choose the best blogs from each state. (1 letter per day, actually.) Please do feel free to comment on your thoughts of this program.

I’m also thinking of having EACH Blogger contribute a ‘Souvenire’(spell?) and having a big contest when we get back. Let me know your thoughts. Comments are greatly appreciated!

Official Pages to Join:

• Bloggers in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas - Please Leave a Comment.
• Bloggers in California, Canada, Colorado, Connecticut - Please Leave a Comment.

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Tags: 50 state roadtrip, 50 states, 50 states 50 bloggers, 50 top bloggers, Blog, blogger, Blogroll, digg, facebook, stumble, Summer Roadtrip, Twitter

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