Progress thread: Teeball Baseball Blog dot com

[tchandy]

I've nearly completed the Millionaire Fastlane twice since November of last year. The book gave me a lot of insight, rethink my current and long term strategy, as well as take a crash course in blogging. In my last post, I stated I stopped investing in my IRA. Stocks are fine but there seems to be too much manipulation so I diverted my future IRA money and a little more towards a steady money market to be used to buy real estate in the near future. That's really where my heart lies and not with stocks. Cashflow is what I want, not a retiremet nest egg.

Back to the blogging. I wanted to start a blog but wasn't sure what I wanted to discuss. Everyone has a blog about money so I crossed that out. The one day I signed my son up for teeball and then it hit me. I'll blog about teeball. I never played teeball but played baseball as a kid. I love the game itself and didn't think the blog would be too difficult. There were some websites out there but not many were up to date and contiued to post daily (consistant) blogs. Like MJ said you don't have to be the only one out there, just improve on what your competitors are doing.

I've been reading a lot about blogging from people who make over $10,000 to $20,000 a month. They provided tips that even I, a non-blogger could uderstand. There's a few things I still don't understand but like MJ said it's all free on the internet.

After a month I've had close to 1000 page views, 10 likes from Facebook, and made contacts with various websites. In addition I was asked to be an assistant coach for my son's teeball team. So my blog should have a little more credibility which I was looking for. I was planning to coach next year but this asst position gives me a little preview.

I've never been a fan of YouTube or Twitter until now. I've posted on both sites primarily in relation to my blog. I added Adsense as well and made $.06. I expect this to increase over time.

On a seperate topic, but still in relation to this. I went to Google last month as part of a business related trip. In my organization I volunteer on a website as a moderator. Well the group took us out to Google HQs. Just seeing what Google has done in a few years is remarkable. I also heard from a non-profit organization and they said we haven't seen anything when it comes to technology. He was basically saying if you're not wired, you're in troooouble. By 2020 technology will make leapfrogs that the current 11 and under generation will grow up on.

Well, let me get back to my blogging and improving my site. Still not content after I've gone through four WordPress themes already.

My site is Teeball Baseball Blog dot com and also found on Facebook under the same site name or my Facebook name with the latest updates. Twitter is handytc since someone else has tchandy. I'll post a update probably next month.

Take care,
Tom

 

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[Chicago_DSM]

Congratulations on your first blog! I am headed down the same path and I am really happy to see other people with the same aspirations.

Who did you use for your hosting company? Did you pick a free theme or pay for one?

Not to steal content, but for creativity purposes, I find it helpful to look at what others are doing and think about ways you can do it better. It looks like this site is one of your biggest competitors: TeeBall Baseball Parents Guide Blog

That blog makes up the first three or four links on Google when you try searching for your site. I guess the point is, can you do it better? Can you market it better? Can you deliver more value? Why is your site unique?

Best of luck!

 

[tchandy]

Thank you for the feedback. I think with the internet things are changing so fast. I looked at the site you mentioned and the site looks like it's running before Facebook and Twitter become so popular. I cater to that group, look for feedback - positive or negative, and provide the best information. I may not have the years of experience as the site owner but I use my son as the main guinea pig (I couldn't think of a better word but this gets the point across). Not many blogs are written from a coach as well as a father's point of view which I can cater to that audience. For some parents the thought of teeball may seem overwhelming. So I try to keep it simple.

I take advantage of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, as well as look for guest bloggers, among the main tools. Tball Baseball parents guide looks archaic, like its for old timers. Most parents are around the 23 - 40 year old age group that I'm targeting. I don't have the numbers but I'm sure they're some of the top users of the sites I mentioned.

My theme's through WordPress, I paid someone to set it up since he offered a reduced rate on the hosting through Host Gator, Google credits, as well as other freebies. I believe the theme's free but don't quote me on that. But I have changed the theme at least four times to find the right theme but always looking for an upgrade.

In my line of work, there's a saying to build a better foxhole. So I'm always improving and changing my site to find out what works best. I'm at the point now where I make at least one or two updates a week trying to see what works best.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[tchandy]

Month 2

I had an incredible second month and even cut the month short by 11 days. I wanted to get on a normal monthly schedule. I came close to beating the first month in terms of page viewers and focused more on Twitter followers this month.

I had to fix the Facebook like plugin and started back at zero. It's good that I made the change early enough before the blog really kicked off.

I'm number four when teeball blog is googled. I'm working to knock off the number one occupier and cover a majority of the Google search engine. So I read up on SEO as well, an area I previously ignored.

YouTube became a friend this past month as I posted a few clips.

I got rid of adsense ads since it would take plenty of clicks just to make some serious cash. I opted for the affiliate links instead. I think's it's funny since I ignored the affiliates comments earlier since I didn't take the time to read the posts. I've added Amazon and waiting for a response from Google and another company, Epic Direct.

I ordered a few teeball books and will post reviews over the coming weeks. This will prep me for my book.

On my site I posted a more detailed update as well as a few Twitter tips. Be sure to stop by.

I want to publically thank a few people over the past two months for their assistance whether they know it or not,
Terrance, Kerry, and Kasey. They pointed out a few things to improve my blog.

And of course MJ, for creating this site. I learned to do new things since I joined the site that I never would have thought of. If you told me five years ago I'd be a blogger I'd laugh at you. I've learned a lot here that any where else.

I gave out some pointers here for future bloggers so take the time and read up on them. Join a few blogging sites as well. Join the ones who teach you something. Have goals as well. Look long term as well as short term.

Take care,
Tom

Fixed the "like" button but working to get the pics to show.

 

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[tchandy]

I commented to a fellow blogger how my site was doing in one word and I said "progressing".

Blogging has been an adventure.

Last month I guest blogged on two websites, Baseball Square and All You Need is Lists. Both websites did an excellent job of providing photos to accompany the posts that made the article look even better. The articles were good but I thought the photos added the finishing touch.

For my son, teeball ended so I adjusted my blogging schedule since I didn't want to produce quality over quanity. The "days off" gave me more time researching, writing and learning.

In addition I started writing my book and devote a few hours on the weekend when my family's asleep.

Reader comments took off this month. A lot of positive comments but then so did the spammers stop by. I caught them but didn't catch them at first. I was overwhelmed when I had 10-15 comments overnight. After checking their web addresses I realized I was getting spammed.

This past month I started my teeball review on children’s books that focused on teeball. I also started a reading challenge for the summer that I'll donate 10% of books purchased from my site through Amazon and donate it to

Facebook likes increased as well as Twitter fans.

A minor bad point hit my blog mid-month as the WordPress stat tracker crashed and I didn't have my back-up set up so I added Google Analytics and Clicky.

Page views kept up pretty well and didn't lose a step from the previous two month.

I signed up with Fiverr to get a logo built. Without going into details I had to cancel the contract with the first seller since he didn’t live up to his agreement. He sent the logo but I had to sign up with another website and possibly pay money to access the logo. Fiverr gave me a credit since the seller didn't live up to his agreement.

Then I asked questions with the second seller and he came back with much better results. So you can see the logo as my new avatar for $5.

My page rankings are rising so that's good. Depending on the search I'm on page one and then on others page six.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Tom

 

[Runum]

Looks good Tom. have you activated the Akismet plug in for Wordpress? I use it and it catches a ton of spammers.

 

[tchandy]

Yes, I use Akismet. I think it works great.

 

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[tchandy]

This is the fourth month for the Teeball Baseball Blog dot com and the blog shows no signs of fading. With many teeball seasons ending there was a small decline in numbers but my posting frequency also declined as I mentioned a month ago. My blogging frequency went from an average of five days a week to an average of three days a week.

For the month of June there were 766 page views from around the world. To date there are 49 visits from countries around the world-wide. My world-wide Twitter tracker didn’t start from day one of the blog creation but this shows you this is a world-wide sport.

I added a new plugin this past month so I could easily see my page views right from the WordPress dashboard. This plugin saves a lot of time and limits my need to check other page views on other sites. The name of the plugin is Google Analytics Dashboard. The other site I use is Clicky which I check once a week. I added these stat trackers because my WordPress stat tracker stopped for no reason. It’s good to always have a back-up.

These counters have different settings and allows you to check for certain categories that other sites don’t have. I use Clicky to track my progress on how readers find the blog through search engines.

In addition, the Google RSS Feedburner numbers have varied from four to eight for the month of June. This could be because teeball season’s are ending as well as the sport starting up in different parts of the country. Every day I find a new teeball season starting across the country.

The total time readers spend on the blog is less than five minutes. The average visit is between 3:56 and 4:32 depending on which tracker I use, Google Analytics or Clicky. That’s not bad considering most of the articles are not very long and are quick reads.

Have a Kindle?
This month it took me several weeks to install but the Kindle subscription was added as a feature to the website. More and more people are using the Kindle reader and I wanted them to have access to this blog. No one has signed up yet but the subscription’s available.

Reading Challenge
The reading challenge has been a popular post. I highlight books that play a part in my four-year old son’s education and encourage other parents to do the same. I mentioned several children’s books in this article here. I purchased several books for my son’s fifth birthday which is coming soon.

In addition the reading challenge is for every book purchased through my Amazon site, I will donate 10% to the Reading is Fundamental (RIF) organization. Well, last month purchases from loyal followers allows me to do that. If you plan to buy a book check out my link to Amazon.

Four books were purchased, two from books I recommended and two other books were also purchased. I’ll donate 10% to RIF from these purchases.

books purchased – 4

total price – $28.93

10% donation – $2.89

I also added a baseball news feed.

This month I'm planning to write more on my teeball book which I've finished three chapters. I addition I;m planning to guest post on at least two other blogs to gain more followers.

Tom

 

[JeremyDS]

Good job, keep it up. I would recommend working on your ad placement and improving the design. Maybe place an ad above the fold so it has a higher chance of being seen and clicked. Spice up the colors! If it's about teeball and baseball it should project a feeling of youth and fun.

 

[domular]

I was curious if you have a plan to try to monetize this site with a product or if it's just a hobby site?

 

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[tchandy]

I was curious if you have a plan to try to monetize this site with a product or if it's just a hobby site?

I'm working on a book that I want to get out before teeball starts next year. I'm working on a chapter a week but got off track last weekend (my son's birthday).

 

[tchandy]

I haven't posted to this thread in a while but the site is on the first page of Google. Unfortunately my time to post really cut back this year. I learned a little more about myself and my son. Also my book took a back seat as well.

Since last year I closed on another rental in Louisiana that cashflows for $200 a month. The previous owner sold at a big loss -approx $25,000.

I also moved Kansas and currently in school for the next year until I move.

I came across a Network Marketing Company, Numis, (yeah I know that's not the way to the Fastlane) but just another thing to add to my schedule. See ink below. I'm working with Dianne Kennedy and this NM company will add to my money for real estate deals.

 

[tchandy]

To provide an update for my blog, I've been getting companies and writers asking to write for my blog. One person even offered me money to include his post a few weeks ago. It seems like the hard work is starting to pay off.

Another company offered me money, not a lot, but I have to figure out some ad placement if I want to use their ad.

Lastly, the book I started working on is 90% complete and I plan to use the winter break to review and edit it. My goal's to get it ready for the teeball season which is right around the corner. The book is aimed at first time teeball parents so it covers the basic steps they need to do to get their child ready for the season.

 

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[JSY]

I'm glad to see things are going well for you. I took a look at your site and noticed how slow the initial load time was. I did a quick pingdom test and they tested the load time at around 8s and needed to make 239 requests. You could definitely get that initial load time down a lot. I would suggest taking a look at Google's page speed analysis tool (Found Here) and YSlow (just google for it there are browser extensions for chrome and firefox I believe.)

 

[tchandy]

I really appreciate it. I took a look at the analysis tools. Looks like a little more work for me to do in the new year.

 

[tchandy]

Well I haven't had time to work on the speed of the blog, maybe I'll pay someone to do that. But I did earn $40 from a guest blogger earlier this week.

Then I joined another MLM, bad me. :bgh: This company is just starting up but it is very inexpensive. From what I've seen the people who get in early and do well in the business end up doing very well. I'll have to see how much I can earn from this one but it's a different market.

I had the opportunity to do BeachBody but I don't think I could give that my full devotion to the product and my representatives since I love the gym so much.

Take care,
Tom

 

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[DeletedUser2]

From what I've seen the people who get in early and do well in the business end up doing very well.

I think I have heard that quote 5.3 M times.


probably from everyone who ever talked to me about MLM.

that must be the exact quote too. is that in the MLM handbook?


Z