Starting a blog is damn easy; it takes two seconds. Name and template, then go. But maintaining a blog is not easy and many bloggers give up early, hit the snooze button and nothing happens ever again.

I’ve been guilty of this on a number of blogs over the years, sometimes because my life changes and the blog no longer fits, and sometimes because I simply get lazy or distracted by other things. But there is a choice: let your blog slowly fade, or go out with a bang. Perhaps you’ve worked hard and grown your blog to a point where it is worth something, and the time is ripe to sell.

RyanShamus.com ran for over six months, started by Ryan Shamus at about the same time RichMinx.com was started by Rich Minx (I’ve legally changed my name now). Over that time Ryan has come up with a zillion ways to make money online.  And Ryan even quit his day job, such is his determination to make it online as his own boss.

Now Ryan has sold his blog for $2,500. While I felt a little sad at this news, I think Ryan got a good price and it’s fitting that Mr Shamus’s energy and Make Money Online philosophy has carried through to the end.  But it’s not exactly the end; buyer Gavin will continue in Ryan’s footsteps and keep the blog alive.

I think this growing trend of selling blogs is great. Why not pass your “baby” on to someone who will love it and look after it, instead of abandoning it completely? Not to mention making some $$ in the process.

Some thoughts/questions about blog selling:

• What makes a blog valuable? Is it PageRank, age, name, content, traffic, personality, pictures, revenue?
• If it’s all of the above, how many of those factors translate over in the sale, and what are some success stories from the buyer’s perspective? (I just had a glance at CareerRamblings.com for the first time in ages, since BBB – Bubbly Blond Businesswoman -  Jane May sold it for a reported $25K earlier this year. I notice her image is still in the header and as the favicon – why? I wonder if the sale was a good investment – activity seems somewhat lighter than it was…)
• Would you sell your blog? I feel like I wouldn’t but everything has its price What are the “selling points” of your blog? My blog can tap dance.
  
• How do you determine the price? Is it by a year’s projected revenue? But how can you really tell? Who knows what will happen on the internet?
• Would you ever buy a blog? Here is an article with tips on how to sell and buy a blog.
• What about ‘renting’ a blog out instead of selling it? Or is that too close to pimpin’?

Answers on the back of an envelope.

I am generally reluctant to spend money online because ‘most everything is free: entertainment, information, videos of Paris’s extra-curricular activities, you name it. And there are many ways to make money that don’t cost a dime, such as adding some affiliate ad code onto your site. But sometimes spending can be a form of investment, if you’re expecting a return on your money, and if the cost is low it can be worth a shot.

Pros of spending online to make money:

• If you’re quick, you can secure a good keyword/url/placement and reap future rewards, in the form of money and/or traffic, once the buzz grows.
• If you make a successful investment, you can share your experience with others.
• You can build on your initial success to generate more money with other savvy investments.

Cons of spending online to make money:

• It’s a risk; there is often no guarantee of making money.
• Success can be random. Often it’s 10% idea but then 90% execution. Who would’ve put their money on Million Dollar Homepage working out?
• You may feel a bit silly if you share your ‘find’ with others and it flops.

Below are two recent examples of ideas from fellow bloggers (inspired by the Million Dollar Homepage story) that may help you promote your site and make money, if you are prepared to spend money in the first place.

1. Ryan Shamus (who must drink, like, a thousand Red Bulls to juggle all his projects) has created a new site called Blogging’s Most Wanted, where you can buy a square on the homepage that links to your site for $15, plus go into the draw to win $1,000 (first prize) and $500 (second prize) once all 625 squares are sold.

If you click the link above and direct your gaze to row 2, box 5 (it’s like playing Battleship), you’ll see mini me. I really need a logo, I’m sick of that blue top – so last season. Anyway, read more about BMW here and find out how to get $5 back on your purchase.

2. As part of his quest to make a fulltime living online within a year, Bryan (no relation to Ryan) at OneMansGoal is selling squares on a page of his site for $10 each. And he’s promising a whopping $10K (US$), once they’re all sold, in a random draw to one square owner. AND he’ll donate another $10K to that person’s charity of choice! Read more details here.

Those are just two examples from a growing number of site owners looking to make money by selling ad spaces cheaply on a single page, with a prize giveaway as part of the incentive. What do you think? Would you take part or stick with marketing your site for free?

Today I un-decided that and instead invested the money back into the Internetz. I have purchased a Million Dollar Wiki page after reading about it on RyanShamus.com and JohnChow.com. I’ll tell you which page in a few days, when I’ve written some content for it.

What is the Million Dollar Wiki?

It’s a page-purchasing idea from 22-year-old Graham Langdon who is aiming to make $1 million by charging $100 per page. You buy a page for a particular keyword (eg. JohnChow bought ‘Make Money Online‘) and then customize it with relevant content. Some great keywords are already taken (I wanted ‘Dating’) but the project’s in its early days so there are still plenty of opportunities. Read the FAQ here.

Minx, why are you throwing your money away when you could’ve invested it in a trust fund for your unborn children?

You’re right, Phantom Voice in My Head, it’s risky – there is no guarantee of making money – but response has been positive so far and if the project keeps growing there will be more traffic, more clicks on my affiliate links, more exposure for RichMinx if I add that too, and the possibility of selling the page for a nice sum.

I figured parting with $100 wouldn’t kill me. And this way, we all learn together. Watch this space!

How does one go about making money online?

1. Mindset. I always felt sure I’d be rich. I don’t know if this contributed at all, it was really pretty irrational but I’m sure it didn’t hurt.

2. Sense of opportunity. I remember the first time I heard about the internet. I felt it would change my life even then. Then, when I started to use it, I was even more taken with it. Basically the ability to serve a worldwide market for such low cost seemed too good to be true.

3. Fun. I enjoy what I do. I used the internet a lot before I even made a cent, then when I started making money and doing business online it just felt like a fun computer game (I used to like all the Railroad Tycoon and Ports of Call-style virtual business games).

4. Inspiration. Seeing others do well sparked the competition in me and gave me ideas.

5. Imitation. Copying things that others had done, but changing them and improving them by adding my own spin.

6. Initial success. The first sales gave me just enough motivation to continue.

7. Trying and Failing. Some things work, some don’t, you won’t know which your plan is until you try it. For example, I tried setting up a blog network but it didn’t work out.

8. Track and Test. Most business plans don’t work the very first time. You need to optimize, and you can only optimize properly if you’re tracking your stats properly!

9. Functionality. I know it’s common sense, but make sure your website works properly in all browsers etc. I often get lazy and don’t, then am surprised when fixing something like a form makes a world of difference to my conversions.

10. Luck. Luck will often play a role; you can be in the right place at the right time. Of course, the more you work and the more you try, the better the odds of making it big!

Newletter pre-send checklist

Once you’ve written it and built it (if you have a template) you’re ready to click send. But wait! If you’ve made a mistake you won’t be able to undo it. This is it. You’re about to push the button. First, run through these questions.

• Are your links all working? Broken links will frustrate users and kill traffic
• Do you have a clever subject line? A good subject line will get them clicking – keep it honest, though,and nothing raunchy. Is it SFW (Safe For Work?)
• If you have a template, have you tested it in all the main email clients? Just because it looks good in your Gmail in IE7 doesn’t mean it’ll look like that for everyone
• Has someone proof-read your copy? Staring at it yourself won’t be enough. You’ll miss things
• Does the email contain branding? You’ve worked so hard… don’t forget your logo if it’s an html newsletter, and put your brand in the ‘from’ section so it’s clear who’s sending the email
• Does the email contain an easy Unsubscribe option? You don’t want to encourage it, but make it a simple click process – better than being labeled ‘spam’
• Is your database full and ready to go? Have you checked it for de-dupes (an email address added more than once)? Did the people in the database sign up? Don’t send unsolicited emails, it’s a dangerous path
• Is your site running? Sounds silly, but if your server goes down as you send, of your links won’t open. That’s traffic lost and annoyance all round

When you’ve run through the list above and had a shot of whiskey, click send. Now comes the tracking which may happen immediately if you are using snazzy software.

Tracking involves answering the following questions which will help you tweak and plan more newsletters:

• How many people opened the newsletter? When? Read time can play a key part in when you send the newsletter and your content (for example, I sent a recipe newsletter mid-afternoon when people were hungry and considering dinner)
• How many clicks did you receive? One of the main aims of a newsletter is to drive traffic to your website. If users aren’t clicking then there’s a problem (note: a clickthru rate of 7% or more is considered positive)
• Which links were most popular? Tracking the popularity of links is key to building future newsletters which should be tailored to your users
• How many people unsubscribed? It’s tragic, but you will get some rejections. Keep the number as low as possible, that’s all, and don’t email people too often or they’ll opt out
• How many people wrote to you complaining they couldn’t read it or the code was all wrong? Good of them to let you know. If you’re struggling, enlist the help of an IT friend to check your code

It seems like a lot of work…

Well, you can always just paste some copy and click send if you’re only sending to a few people. But once you’ve grown a big database and want to go all professional, you’ll want a template and system. It is a learning curve, but with a few repetitions you get the hang of it and it’s fun tracking the stats and seeing your traffic boosted!

Done! Thanks for reading. Are you planning to send a newsletter, or have you sent some before? Do you sign up for newsletters all the time, and which are your favorites? Do tell.

Of course, the most basic way is just to paste your text into an email and send. But that’s not very pretty, and there are many free online email templates these days to make your job easier. You can also sign up for software that checks, sends and tracks the e-newsletter for you, but most come at a cost. Scroll down for examples.

What does a good e-newsletter system offer?

• A handy Wysiwyg (content table) so you don’t have to dive into code and can easily insert graphics etc
• Wysiwyg/HTML view options so you can easily switch between the code and the layout
• Preview option for test sends
• Customer support and easy to follow FAQ and guidelines
• Ability to insert personal data, eg. first name of subscriber so it says ‘Dear Rich Minx’ instead of ‘Dear Customer’
• Tracking and removal of bounced emails (often because the address is incorrect or the mailbox is full)
• Easy importing/exporting of email addresses and a good search function if you need to edit/remove
• Clear tracking of sends, open rates, unsubscribing and clicks
• The ability to post-date a send and specify the duration of a sendout (sending all at once can negatively affect your status in email clients, who might label you spam)

Should I pay for an enewsletter system?

You don’t have to, but if you want personalized customer support and reliability for sends, and are sending to thousands of people, you might want to consider a paid option. But look out for what they charge per send: do they have discounts for large databases? Is it easy to import/export the database? Many offer a free trial – take it for a spin first.

Tips for building an e-newsletter

• Learn basic HTML. The Wysiwyg helps but there will be times when you need to edit the code
• Test repeatedly by sending previews to major email clients (eg Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) and check in different browsers (eg. IE, Firefox). You will not be able to make it look perfect everywhere, but set a high standard for the main clients.
• Avoid CSS when possible (email clients may override your styles); use basic, old-fashioned HTML codes if you are building the code yourself.
• Keep the layout as simple as possible, and make sure images aren’t too heavy. Too many bells and whistles increase the chance of failure and being sent straight into ‘Spam’. No animated graphics!
• Make sure there is an easy Unsubscribe option. Provide a link (often near the bottom, but clear) to an Unsubscribe page. Many templates add this automatically. Don’t ask the person to enter their login details; keep it simple or they’ll just label you spam to make their lives easier.

Some free e-newsletter templates to modify and send yourself

• Mail Chimp
• Templates Box
• Interspire
• Kekeko

Some newsletter systems for creating, sending and tracking

• Constant Contact (has free 60-day trial)
• E-Newsletters Online (has free 14-day trial)
• Send Blaster (free basic version, paid upgrade to ‘Pro’)

Next: How to send your e-newsletter with a pre-send checklist

For a few years I was responsible for creating at least one e-newsletter a week for a company I worked for. The database grew from nothing to tens of thousands by the time I left (no, that’s not the entire population of New Zealand, but it’s a small town!).

Process of sending a newsletter

• First, promote the newsletter on your site and encourage your users to sign up, explaining why they should (exclusive content? competitions? free stuff?)
• Decide how often it will be sent (weekly is a suggested maximum) and what the key content will be, planning ahead by a few weeks so you don’t get stuck
• Write the text – see below for an example
• Write the code, or use a template (if using an html version, which I’ll cover later)
• Edit the template with text and images if using html
• Preview again and again
• Send via email or special software

Why send a newsletter?

• Promotes your site and key content to a targeted audience
• Increases traffic and conversions if you are selling a product
  
• Creates an added sense of community
• Provides a service to your user (bonus free content, exclusive offers etc)
• Little cost to your business and, once you’ve gotten the hang of it, not very time-consuming
• If you sell advertising, it’s more advertising space to sell

Writing an email newsletter: tips

• Keep it short
• Don’t write chunks of text
• Promote and link to your key content
• Keep the tone light
• Make the user immediately aware of the benefits of the newsletter

Example

Dear Bob Loblaw,

Welcome to Rich Minx Express, the newsletter with bonus content for Rich Minx readers. This week we have a $50 discount voucher on an iPhone, exclusive to Rich Minx Express members! See below for details.

It’s also been a busy week with our $5 million cash giveaway for the best site review; click here to enter if you haven’t already. A lucky winner will be chosen next week.

The most popular article this week on Rich Minx was How To Make Your Blog Not Suck Majorly, and the Rich Minx forum ‘buzz’ has centered round FrogMan’s thread about how he became a prince in just 90 days. Check it out!

‘Til next week,
The Team at Rich Minx

It’s a fake, but you get the idea.

Next post: How to build your newsletter.

Anyway, I was reading an interesting post on Self Made Minds where Scott was considering his mortality and how his death would affect his online business. He made a list of things to ‘hand on’ to prevent all his hard work going up in smoke.

I read all the way to the bottom, thinking I really must make similar contingency plans, and then saw my own name.

“Thankfully I am an online nobody, some bloggers like Darren, Paula, Shona & Yaro are brands who could lose most to all income without their actual presence…”

While I was sleeping, someone had called me a brand and considered my mortality. I was touched.

This was my comment:

“Woohoo, I’m a brand! That means I must be ready to create my own perfume line. “Rich Minx – the scent of money”. You’re right, if I went to the great Blogosphere in the sky my blogs would not hum along nicely without me. Mental note: must clone self. I’m not sure my family would miss the $3 a day though ”

Have you planned for your possible rendezvous with Death? Would your blog hum along nicely without you? Are you insured? Do you have a will? These are all deep questions for so early in the morning here but most of you are at midday yesterday so should be able to catch these curveballs.

* Weetbix is a New Zealand wheat cereal that tastes better than Weetabix. Marmite is a black yeast extract that you spread on toast and only tastes good if you were raised on it and tastes better than Vegemite, which is a similar spread that Australians like.

I ask because I was reading this article about big-time CEOs and the profit or loss they make each day depending on the value of their company’s shares. For example, yesterday:

Jeffrey Bezos of Amazon.com Inc made around $25 million, with a percentage gain of 0.35% in share value, while Lawrence Ellison of Oracle lost $118 million as Oracle’s share value plummeted by a whopping, er, 0.44%.

I can’t even imagine the surge of adrenaline such gains/losses must elicit. I get excited when I find a $5 note behind the couch, so I think I’d fall into a coma with daily net worth fluctuations involving 8-9 figures.

Do you think they cope by just not really caring because, in the words of Scarlett O’Hara, tomorrow is another day [of market fickleness]?

But this is how it runs in my head, which is usually somewhat removed from true events:

Mr Bezos, bursting through the front door: “Honey guess what? I made $25 million today! Woohoo! [Throws suitcase and laptop in the air.] Screw work tomorrow, I’m taking you and the kids on a space trip!”

Meanwhile, Mr Ellison sits hunched over a rickety wooden table, his head illuminated by a single dusty lampshade swaying above. He swigs back the remaining drops from a bottle of Jim Beam. A black Labrador sits obediently beside him, his head on Mr Ellison’s lap. “Data, I’m ruined I tell you! How can I show my face in Boardroom 6 tomorrow?” Data blinks.

Facebook
Everyone’s talking ’bout Facebook. I love it. It’s got handy applets you can add to your profile, it searches your email contacts to add friends and shows you all the recent updates from your friends. It seems to know and share an awful lot of information, though…

MySpace
MySpace is still huge, but is clunky and slow-loading compared with Facebook. You also get lots of spammy ‘people’ wanting you to join their crappy network.

Bebo
Bebo is quite big in the UK and Europe especially. I’m on it but hardly ever check it. What’s so special about it?

Friendster
Oh please. Why not just scribble on some papyrus and wrap it round a pigeon’s leg?

MyBlogLog
MyBlogLog is pretty handy for blog promotion, referral traffic and to keep tabs on the lurkers who don’t comment. You can join blog communities, or it adds you automagically if it detects you’ve visited a certain site multiple times.

Digg
The Big Daddy of user-submitted content. I’ve stopped pushing my own posts now but still head over once a day for the top stories, and leave the odd comment on the silliest ones. Much of Digg is about who you know, being sarcastic and having fab geek posts, but it’s still worth checking out.

StumbleUpon
I enjoy surfing Stumble when bored and submitting articles results in some good ongoing visitor numbers, although it shortens my User Session Duration stats when people Stumble right on out of my site again. I like how I can narrow my surfing down to specific interests and keywords, and meet like-minded Stumblers who are generally less bratty than Diggers.

Technorati
Say no more. I’ve been checking my blog’s progress in Technorati‘s rankings so much it’s ridiculous, and although I’ve been shooting up recently from the ViralTag and ViraLink trains, it’s resulted in almost 0 extra visits and I’d rather be linked to for articles people like.

What social networking sites do you use?