Being Bold

[Elizabeth Ann West]

Well, I finally dove in, for a the big cost of $10. LOL

I've dreamed of creating a resource for high school students growing into adults for 3 years now. Originally, it was going to be a workbook and I was going tos eek publication, but now I know it's best idea is as a website.

So I bought a domain (it's still updating DNS records at the moment) and now I'm working on content. I'm using my real name, so my idea is to sell some of the pieces as use articles here, and also use them to promote the new "blog" style page. I'm not getting too fancy, just using blogspot with Google ads. But I plan to offer information on education, finances, careers, lifestyles, and civic responsibility. It's going to be a blend on third person non-fiction and first person experiences.

I decided to buy the domain name because as long as the project stayed an idea, I wasn't getting much further than lists of article ideas. Now, it's put or shut up time, and I'm hoping to recoup the $10 in 6 months of adsense (figure it will take that long to generate meaningful traffic).

**Fingers crossed**

[ashejane]

Yay for you! I hope the site works out well! Do share when you have it up and running!

[Evelyn]

That's AWESOME. Awesome! You'll enjoy the experience and learn a lot. Good for you.

[Elizabeth Ann West]

Well it's growing! And this is FUN! I signed up for Amazon's Associate program, you can add images only to your blog posts and when people hover over them, it gives them the option to buy. Easy way to add appropriate images without worrying about copyrights, and it can bring you in money!

For example, I wrote a piece on "Important Documents You Need After 18: Birth Certificates, Social Security Card, Driver's License, and Insurance Cards" and in the second paragraph I suggest a 'safe place' to be a file folder in a file box. Right under the paragraph is now a picture of file folders (which allow users to buy a box of folders) and an iron, locking file box.

I mention that birth certificates and social security cards go in the file box, but driver's licenses and insurance cards are carried on your person. So the 2 images before those topics are a wallet (Kevin Kline $14.99 LOL) and a stylish purse. It works as a visual cue for what I'm writing about, and you never know, might pay out. Plus Amazon pays once you reach $10. And with blogger, it is easily integrated so on the right hand side is the widget to add in images, you can choose just text link, images, or link and image. I prefer the image as I think it is looks more clean.

[Elizabeth Ann West]

Finally have 2 articles up, and more written and ready to come out. To check it out, lifeafterhighschool.info

I am SOOOOOOOO excited, I can't even begin to explain. My goal is to have 4 articles up each week in each category (living life, learning more, making money) with marketing debut in mid-May. My marketing idea is to use social media and every advertising outlet I can think of and spin the link as a free graduation gift.

Then as the summer comes to a close, I can add content about starting college or any other education outlet, and push it as ideas for a fresh start at school etc. But you get the general idea. I know if I work really hard at least through the summer, the content will have an audience that needs the information, and they are a generation more likely to shop online etc.

[Karbyn]

Good for you, and congratulations. I've just been over to visit and things look great so far!

I'll share it around to my highschooler and her friends, so hopefully that will give you a boost.

I've just been starting this same thing myself, in the past six months, getting my own sites up and my own ideas out of my head and into the world, so I'm recently familiar with your happy feelings . . . enjoy!

[Sharion]

Congrats, EAW! It's really exciting, isn't it? A place of your very own to share whatever strikes your fancy.

The hardest part of a blog for me is Ed. Many of my blog posts go up after a very brief edit and they are usually first person, meaning they wouldn't pass muster with Ed. I can't help but cringe with every post for that reason. However, the blog isn't designed to be crafted to perfection.

Go forth and play in your sandbox. It feels really good to watch your blog grow from a seedling into a tree.

Oh dear, I just realized how belated my reply is. I've been a bit overloaded these past few weeks and it's just now starting to clear up a little. The congrats still stands, however belated

[Elizabeth Ann West]

No not belated at all! I'm still grinding away. As an update, I've shucked Blogger and bought cheap hosting space with Go Daddy and now I use wordpress. I love wordpress, and $50 a year for hosting space wasn't too bad. We have a home server, and I could have placed it there, but I wanted to be 100% autonomous from my husband (the home server is his domain). Plus, since this 100% a site of my business, the hosting space etc. is a write off.

lifeafterhighschool.info is still up and running. I love my new theme, I think it looks pretty snazzy, but I would be happy to hear reviews.

As far as blog posts go, maybe it's just my training here at C-C but I leave "I" out. I find it much better to write my posts 3rd person, but I haven't ruled out a few first person accounts to spice things up. The nice thing about writing third person is it makes it MUCH easier to then turn around and submit the articles at other places, like C-C and article directories. I haven't submitted any of my pieces from the blog to C-C, only 2 pieces about becoming a professional blogger.

I am also working my way SLOWLY through the 30 day challenge. It's a site that has 30 days of lessons on blogging covering everything from keywords, backlinks, traffic, etc. I also have submitted my blog to technorati, and also with the suggested link building tool on the 30 day site. this one website I gave tons of information about my blog to them, and they are submitting to tons of directories for free, building my backlinks.

And if it didn't get any cooler, everyone I tell about the website wants the URL for their young adults and tells me to write a book. I did find two books on Amazon that are similar to what I'm doing, but I'm hoping my content is slightly edgier since I'm less concerned with PC (i.e. you must go to a 4 year college) and more focused on what's the real deal (if you're joining the military, don't do any kind of recreational drug for 60-90 days before signing up because when you join you will perform a urinalysis, drug use alone isn't enough to bar you from military service as your recruiter can apply for a waiver, but active drug use or any drug convictions could halt your career goals in the U.S. military)....

[Celeste Stewart]

Many of my blog posts go up after a very brief edit and they are usually first person, meaning they wouldn't pass muster with Ed. I can't help but cringe with every post for that reason. However, the blog isn't designed to be crafted to perfection

Just because CC requires second and third person, that doesn't mean you should feel that first person voice doesn't have its place. Nothing wrong with first person; it's just not appropriate for CC's marketplace. So please don't cringe

[Debbi]

Elizabeth,

Looks like you've been working hard! Lots of good information on your blog

I didn't see your byline or copyright notice on your blog posts. Seems like that would be useful.

I looked at the site in both IE and Firefox and the title breaks off after "High" for me on both. If you can't make the margins smaller so your site is wider and the whole title fits across the top, maybe you could break the title after "After"?

The pink color is pretty but not very manly. I don't know if guys care about colors on web sites though.

Just my two-cents

Debbi

[Elizabeth Ann West]

Thanks Debbi for the input! I have a copyright notice at the bottom, didn't think of putting one on each post. Hmmm, I'll think about that.

I fixed the title. Look better?

The color was supposed to be red. My other choices are blue, green, and orange. I thought red was more gender neutral, and so many websites are blue and green. Plus, red is my signature color (LOL). I will go with blue for a while and see what happens.

I have so much more to write, but I am proud of myself that I got through the awful design process. Perfectionism easily derails new bloggers...

[Debbi]

Ah, I like the blue much better Also the title change and the tagline. It couldhave been my new monitor making the red look so pink though.

[Elizabeth Ann West]

Copyright Plugin for Wordpress That Rocks

I just installed the Digiprove copyright plugin for Life After High School. It does 2 very awesome things. First, it places a slightly intimidating copyright notice at the bottom of your posts. Second, it send you an email with the digital certificate to prove that you owned the content with a time stamp (not sure how you would use this exactly, but I have it). Also, it will give you link back to your content from their system, and I think it tries to place the link with other similar content so it's a "good" link back.

Still looking through the ins and outs, but so far, I like that it automagically places the professionally looking copyright notice on the bottom of my posts (check out Get a Bank account article, first one to sport the copyright at the bottom).

[Debbi]

Nice Now that kind of thing makes an author feel a little more secure!