The Monetizer's 2008 Resolutions

As another year rolls in and people are just waking from hangovers (or still sleeping them off), I decided to evaluate my upcoming resolutions and goals here. Since the year ends in an 8, I came up with 8 for my online ventures.

1) Make More Money - It seems like a greedy top goal, but more money equals more comfort in life. Once you have money to live comfortably, you can also give back to others. While that's not the only way to give back, it's very helpful. So I put this at the top of my 2008 list. To do so I will have to evaluate my strategies and blog audiences better. I'm seeing what works and what doesn't, and it will be a continued learning process.

2) Improve blogs - that means site designs and layouts. I'm never satisfied completely with current blog designs even if they are pulling visitors. I always know this can be improved, especially when you use Blogspot. This blog rests on blogspot, until I make the decision to go for a domain. Why wait? Because right now I have several blogs, and making a decision on which to host has been a major point of contention for me. I urge those who can afford it and are serious about blogging to host their site as soon as possible, it's one thing I've learned the hard way.

3) Improve ranks - That includes this blog and other blog's RSS subscriber counts, Alexa ranks, PR's and other ratings. I've done very well so far on this particular blog, thanks to things like BlogCatalog, BloggingZoom, Social Media and Entrecard. Looking to continue this in 2008.

4) MakeTop 100 for a Squidoo Lens - This might not seem important to others, but when you're close once it makes you hungrier to get there. I'm nearing this goal as I type, and it will be a great way to start the New Year. Monetizer has come close before, and is curious to see what it brings in revenue. If you've hit top 100 with Squidoo, let me know if you noticed any drastic increases in revenue.

5) Make Top 100 of 45n5.com list - Right now I've moved closer to the top 100, at #164. Something about this list is inspiring, with Problogger, Shoemoney and John Chow sitting at the top. Being in their company in the Top 100 ranking of anything is pretty sweet.

6) Continue building social media networks - The ones I see becoming increasingly valuable seem to be Facebook and Twitter. Myspace in my opinion is being eclipsed and at times it seems very old-school compared to the new school players, especially Facebook. I haven't fully learned how to tap into Facebook, but this will be part of 2008. Also, I'm looking to build up my Digg, StumbleUpon and other valuable networks to see if I can harness that power more. If you're on Digg, I advise you to add people with

7) Improve time management - Belonging to so many social media, bookmarking, content, blogging and advertising type sites can really be rough. It's come to the point where I actually missed approving ads on Entrecard (apologies to any who felt rejected). When you belong to so many article, media and other sites it can be tough to prioritize. In 2008, I hope to sort through these and use them with better management.

8) Learn more SEO - this is an area I felt was one of my weakest, so towards the end of December I started toying with it more, and feel it's something I can do well with. I was able to achieve page 2 of a Google search result within a week or so on another blog. So I will continue to learn more about these techniques in 2008. I recommend Courtney Tuttle's Internet Marketing School to those looking to learn. I've seen very valuable lessons and info in there.

Looking ahead, things can always get better. And that's the main goal, keep looking forward this year. Hopefully everyone isn't hurting too bad in the wake of their New Year's Eve celebrations, and let's get ready for a great 2008!

iPod Touch & $250 at Amazon Up For Grabs!

With Christmas approaching us at warp speed, a few contests are going around that are sure to make it a happy holiday season for the lucky winners.

First up, Filelime.com is giving away the 8 gigabyte iPod Touch, one of the coolest gadgets out today. Filelime is a file hosting site which offers you a total of 150MB free hosting space, 5 multiple uploads, a progress bar uploader, and even a direct link to your upload! It has a very simple, clean interface and is a great option should you need to host pictures or other files for your blog or website. And now they are giving away one of the nicest tech goodies around. To enter see the official contest post at their site. The winner will be randomly drawn on December 18, 2007 at 8PM EST. The prize has a retail value of $299 and includes the brand new iPod Touch with all it has to offer!

Secondly, is another way you could possibly buy an iPod or just about any other item you might want. There's a $250 Amazon voucher being given away by Mr. John Cow, courtesy of AdToll.com. You can do plenty of last minute Christmas shopping with that voucher or just pick up some nice items for yourself. As many know, Amazon has everything you can imagine, such as computers, TV's, DVD's, books, cd's and more. It would be quite the shopping spree just in time for the holidays!

Just so you know a bit more about AdToll.com, it's a great looking service where you can find the perfect websites to advertise your website or products. You can also join as a publisher to make money by allowing others to advertise on yours! You must have a self-hosted blog on your own domain to be eligible for their publisher program, but it's a pretty sweet deal. John Cow and several other sites are already using AdToll to monetize their sites and make money!

All you need to do is write up a 250 word blurb on your blog detailing the contest. You'll also need to do a StumbleUpon review for the contest sponsor and 1 for your contest post on your own blog. Then you'll need a screenshot to prove it, and all of this submitted to Mr. Cow. Hey, so you have to do a little work to win a sweet prize.. Check out the full contest details at John Cow. The deadline is December 20th to enter.