Courtney Speaks

Many of you know that I own and run the site Christian Mom PLR, a place where I sell Christian based PLR content.  I recently created a free e-course called PLR for Podcasts that explains how you can use PLR content to start a new or boost your current podcast and or Internet radio show.

For those who do not know, PLR stands for Private Label Rights.  Private Label Rights content are privately branded articles that you can use on your website or blog without having to add an author credit bio box. PLR articles can be posted to your blog or website as if you had written the articles yourself.  You are also normally able to edit them all you want as well.  There are a lot of great ways that PLR can benefit you if you blog or have a information product or even a podcast.

If you are interested in finding out more about PLR for Podcasts free e-course just click on over to Christian Mom PLR.  If you have any questions about the e-course or PLR in general, just let me know, and I will do my best to answer them.

Are you looking for some great Christian content to read?  Or do you want to help promote other Christian writers and bloggers?  Then Christian Media Zone is the place you want to be.  Christian Media Zone is new site by a good online friend of mine and is like a Digg for Christians.  You can submit links to articles and/or blog posts you think rock and also find articles other Christians have submitted as well.  You can also vote on submitted articles and indicate if you like them or not by clicking a simple up or down arrow button.

I know the site is new, but I can see great things happening over at Christian Media Zone.  So head over, sign up for an account, and submit you articles!

I seem to mention Mom Masterminds a lot in my posts and there is a reason for it. It is a great group to learn all about blogging, Internet marketing, affiliate marketing, and just how to make money online. It is a site ran by Kelly McCausey with an awesome group of ladies who help along the way including, Lynette Chandler.

Below is a list of my favorite features found at Mom Masterminds. Keep in mind these are just a few of all the awesome features Mom Masterminds has to offer.

1. Professional Support & Help – The professional help is incredible. There are women who are making money online and have successful online businesses and they are great at answering all kind of questions, leaving feedback, and offering suggestions. It is a great way to learn from those who are already have successful online businesses.
2. Prayer Requests – Mom Masterminds is not a Christian based group. However there are a number of Christian members, including myself. When my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last month I posted a request for prayers. A great number of women responded saying they were praying for my mother and my family. That alone tells me something about the integrity and type of character you can find in a member of Mom Masterminds.
3. Learning Center – Mom Masterminds has an extensive learning center chalk full of great information and it just keeps growing. I was going to purchase an e-book once but luckily before I actually made the purchase, I discovered it in the learning center! You never know what you will find in the learning center.
4. Breakthrough Sessions – Every Monday morning Mom Masterminds hosts a Morning Breakthrough Session in Kelly’s conference room. Anyone can attend the Breakthrough Sessions, you don’t have to be a member. However, only members are given access to the recordings. I am not always able to attend the Breakthrough Sessions because of the time, but I do listen to all of the recordings. It is good stuff. A great way to get motivated for the week ahead.
5. Contacts & Networking – I can not even begin to list all of the great people I have met and contacted with through Mom Masterminds. I even met my accountability partner at the forums.

Of course there are many more features of Mom Masterminds, such as joint venture opportunities, and Special Mom Masterminds Only offers, but the above are the features that benefit me the most. I know the cost can be a little off putting, but remember that after 12 months you become a lifetime member! If Mom Masterminds if something you have ever though about joining but just are not sure yet, I encourage you to attend on the free Monday Breakthrough Sessions, take the free 9 day e-course, or even better sign up for a free 7 day trial.

P.S.  If you have questions about membership at Mom Masterminds, I would be glad to answer them.  Just leave your questions in the comments.

photo credit: Tim Dorr If you’re a work at home mom like me, you may also have struggled with finding reliable web hosting. Well, over the years (and many headaches later), I’ve come up with a checklist of essentials that your web host must have before you even consider working with them.

1. Excellent Reliability.
There is nothing more frustrating than finding out your website is down, and has been for hours. Although no time is a good time to have your site down, the timing can be just terrible. That sinking feeling when you’ve purchased advertising and you know the ad is about to be sent out and
you go to your website for last minute touches and … it’s down.

That is not cool. That is not acceptable. You must make sure that the web host you select not only has good reliability, but superior reliability. This is your business on the line, not some hobby site. Treat it as such and get hosting that works for you when you need it. But, you can’t just trust a website that says they are reliable. Make sure they can prove it.

2. Superior Customer Support.
When you do need help, make sure that your hosting will provide it. One thing I recommend is to contact support to ask a simple question about the hosting, before buying. That will give you an idea of what the customer service is like before you make a commitment. Yes, customer service has a difficult job – making sure they do not confuse less-experienced customers, yet, at the same time, also making sure not
to talk down to the geek types. However, you should never feel like you are a “bother” or that your question is not as important as anyone else’s.. or worse, dumb. You should find a web host with superior customer support.

3. The Stats You Need.
Several of the most popular hosts do not offer the web stats that every online business needs. You may not think that you need stats, but, how else are you going to know what is working – and what is not? You need stats that tell you where your visitors are coming from, how long they are staying, and which pages they are coming in and going from. Does your web host offer that? If they have a CPanel as their control panel, they do. Find a web host that uses a standard CPanel.

4. Affordable.
Why spend more if you don’t have to? When looking for a web host, price is always a factor. So, shop around and make sure that the web host you decide upon offers a great price.

5. Room to Grow.
The web host you choose should offer unlimited hosting. This means, that, if you add more websites to your package down the road, the price does not increase drastically for each one. Many online businesses start with one site and grow over time. Can your host grow with you?

6. Bandwidth and Disk Space.
Also, make sure that the host you choose is in the ballpark for bandwidth and disk space. Most programs offer approximately the same amount, but, especially if you plan to add a lot of audio or video, be sure to look into this, as well.

7. A History of Happy Customers.
New hosting companies are popping up daily. Some are being run by a couple of teenagers in their garage. Obviously, that’s not who I want to entrust my business to. Do you? I want to know that the company I’m choosing has been around a few years, and has a history of happy customers to show for it. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, and you shouldn’t either.

Those are the key features that any web host should offer before you consider doing business with them. Choosing a web host can be more important than any other decision you make in your online business – if you choose wrong. So, take the time and find a web host that will work with you, and help you to succeed.

Nicole Dean is co-owner of Mom Webs Hosting – www.MomWebs.com where you’ll find the host that offers everything a work at home mom needs – reliability, unlimited hosting, and customer service that never makes you feel intimidated — all at a price you can afford.

I have mentioned a couple times how great the support and encouragement is over at Mom Masterminds.  The ladies in the group inspire me to succeed and the majority of them are also fellow Christians.  The group, also recently known as the Hungrey Women of Internet Marketing, is starting an accountability group for the Affiliatenaire membership program.

The Affiliatenaire program is a 12 month membership site by Jimmy D. Brown, another fellow Christian, that teaches you how to become a successful and profitable affiliate.  It is designed to help you find buyers.  It was created to help you promote your affiliate link.  Every week Jimmy will send you a 5-7 page lesson that explains in “beginner language” a way to find buyers. You follow the steps he lists.  You get clicks on your affiliate link.  You earn referral commissions.

A group of us at Mom Masterminds have all joined Affiliantenaire and will be meeting online once a week to track our progress and to make us accountable.  Of course at the same time we are hoping to make some money too.

If you have ever wanted to get started in affiliate marketing, I would highly suggest you join both Mom Masterminds and the Affiliantenaire program.  Not only will you be learning from the best, Jimmy D. Brown, but you will get support and encouragement from other women like you.  I can’t wait to get started!

I have been searching long and hard for a task tool that I just love and cannot live without.  I tried a lot of different programs, online and offline, but never really fell in love with any of them.  That is until i tried Toodledo.  I just wish I would have found this site earlier.

One of the many things I love Toodledo is that the site is very simple.  It is easy to navigate and read.   The site does not have any ads either, even the free version is ad free!  While Toodledo has a lot of features that they offer, I especially love the folder and notebook features.  With the folder option I can assign each task to a specified folder.  In my case I set up a folder for each of my online ventures.  Then when I create a new task I assign it to the folder that it applies to.

Another feature I like is the notebook.  I can make notes about anything I want and also add it to any folder I wish.  When I decide on a blog post series I will write up all of the topics on  notebook and assign it to the related folder.  Then when I am ready to start the series I just add the post ideas I had to my to do list.  I like that I can have everything in one place.

Toodledo also has a Firefox addon that I have yet to use and also an iphone application that I use all the time.  I love that I can add to my to do list anytime something jumps into my mind.  No more forgetting!  I just add it to my to do list as I think about it instead of waiting to get home to write it down.

I know a lot of other tools offer similar features and, believe me, I have tried them all but Toodledo is the one that is just the right fit for me!

Have you tired Toodledo yet?  Do you love it as much as I do?

photo credit: knitsteel

Do you want to work from home but don’t know what to do or where to start?  Just Add Sweat has created an online quiz to help you determine what type of home based business would be best for you.  This quiz is only 10 questions long but should help you out tremendously.  Check out the quiz and find out what business would be best for you.

There is a new site from the owner of Daily Blog Tips, Daniel, where you can learn all about in and outs of internet marketing – OnlineProfits.com.  Through the program you will get access to:

• 21 training modules and 66 lessons
• Video tutorials
• Exclusive interviews and case studies
• Private Forum where you will get all your questions answered
• The Social Club to boost your social media traffic and exposure
• Exclusive tools and resources

What makes this program so great are the people who produced it.  They all have great experience and success in  Internet Marketing so I’m sure the information they provide will be priceless.

Daily Blog Tips is  giving away 10 6-month memberships to OnlineProfits.com.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

I joined Mom Masterminds back in August and can not be any happier with my membership.  I was very wary about adding the extra monthly expense to my budget, but it has quickly become my go-to place for all of my questions about making money online and blogging.

My Mom Mastermind’s membership has been so important to my success and they offer a free eCourse to give you a real taste of the quality of their resources.  During the free eCourse you will get one email everyday for nine days and each one is like a mini tutorial.  The eCourse covers topics such as copywriting, search engine optimization, press releases, and good content.

Of course if you are curious about the membership and want to check out the private membership forum and the learning center you can try Mom Masterminds for free for seven days.

Even if you don’t sign-up as full fledged member, at least take advantage of the free eCourse and free seven day sneak peek.  You will not be disappointed.

If you have any questions about Mom Masterminds I would be more than happy to answer them.  Just leave me a question in the comments and I will answer them as quickly as I can.

Google Calendar keeps me sane by helping me say organized. It allows me to keep track of everything I need to do for all my sites including what day to post what, when to do giveaways and when to draw a winner, what book I need to be reading for a review, etc.

When I first started blogging and then started MomGiveaways.com I struggled with keeping up with 2 blogs.  That is when I started looking for a way to keep me organized and on track.  After trying different online and paper calendar options I found that Google Calendar worked best for me.

One of my favorite features of Google Calendar is not only the option to have multiple calendar but the abilities to show as many or as few of my calendars at one time as I wish.  Plus I can assign a different to each calendar making each item being shown easier to identify.

Another great feature is the ability to have be able to share your calendar with others.  For my personal use, I have a family calendar, a personal calendar, and my husband has a calendar.  My husband shares his calendar with me and I share the family and my personal calendars with him.  We also share our family calendar with family members so they also know what is going on.  This makes life so much easier since a lot of our family is out of town and my husband works extremely long hours.

For my work online and with blogs I keep a separate calendar for each online project I have.  This helps me keep track of what needs to be done daily.  For my review blog for instance, when I receive a product to review I immediately put it on my review blog calendar.  That is the day I will post my review and I know I must actually review the item by that date.  By immediately putting the item to review on the calendar I know every review will be posted timely and none will fall by the waste side.

How do you keep track of everything and stayed organized?