Can A Blog Make Money on Auto-Pilot : 1 Month Experiment

The true independence in life is achieved when you are earning money on auto-pilot. Money is not everything, but it’s quintessential to get on with your day-to-day life activity. Six years back, when I started blogging, I never knew that blogging can be one such profession that can give financial independence. On an average I earn about $7000/month from my blogs and this was the first time in last 6 years, from 1st December 2014 to 28th December 2014 ( almost one month) that I was away from blogging and any online work.

I was busy with my wedding and post-wedding events, and I comprehended that this is a good time to evaluate if an idle blog can make money for me.

Most of the profession/business I know of, requires your presence in one form or another. In most of the jobs, you can take leave for a limited number of days but after that it’s always an unpaid leave. Full-time blogging is same as a business and one month of blogging vacation gave me enough data to evaluate blogging in the terms of making money on auto-pilot.

Do consider the fact that this blog  (ShoutMeLoud) is a six years old blog and with a community of more than half a million users. In this article, I will share about how much money I earned in the month of December 2014 without any work and how it affected the blog traffic. I will also share my observations and learning in the appropriate section below.

Traffic effect on the blog after one month of inactivity:

I stopped working on ShoutMeLoud from 30th November 2014, and I was getting decent traffic back then due to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. What I was really interested to see, how traffic will go down after the Cyber-Monday as there will be typically no action ( including no comment moderation) on the blog.

Here is the breakage on the Weekly Traffic:

Week 1: 138,478 views
Week 2: 133,035 views
Week 3: 129,781 views
Week 4: 123,322 views

As you can notice, traffic decreased over the time but it was not as high as I expected. On 29th December, I had published this post and traffic again went back to normal. The major reason for the change in traffic was due to the loss in social media and returning visitors traffic.

Overall one thing that is clear now that traffic drop will not be so high for an inactive blog with evergreen content.

Now, let’s look at the income report for December 2014.

Blog income report after one month of inactivity:

Unlike my other income report, here I’m reporting how much total sales, ad revenue I generated into my account in the month of December. The final figure may change, and I will get an exact report in the month of March 2015 (When I will be paid for all affiliate sales).

The majority of ShoutMeLoud revenue comes from Affiliate Sales , Direct advertisement and a chunk is from Google AdSense or other ad networks revenue. Here is what my December income looks like:

Affiliate income: 5822.30
ShareAsale: $109
WP Social Pro : $15.72
Dreamhost affiliate Program: $314
Aweber affiliate program: $59.40
TweetAdder Affiliate Program: $197
Elegant Themes Affiliate Program: $19.50
SwiftTheme Affiliate program: $46.01
Direct ads: $1450
Viglink: $20
AdSense: $550
—————————–
Total: $8602.93
In Indian currency that’s about five lack 43 thousand. I ignored few other small affiliate transactions in the above report.

This month I missed out mostly on services such as Blog consultancy, WordPress SEO service and few more (check here) due to my inactivity. If I have to compare this income with other businesses, I’m satisfied with the income my blog generated without being active.

There is no denying the fact that income will drop if I keep the blog inactive for a couple of months. Overall, taking one-month complete break hardly affected the blog revenue (October income report was $7788).

For me, this data is valuable as I feel it would encourage you and others to jump into blogging and take it as a serious career options.

How to use a sample business plan to write your own plan

How to use a sample business plan to write your own plan

If you’re like most small business owners, you’ve never had to create a business plan before. In fact, you may have never even seen a formal business plan document let alone had to put one together.
This is why we gathered this collection of sample plans for you here on Bplans. Our business plans can give you a great sense of what a finished plan looks like, what should be included, and how a plan should be structured - whether you’re building a plan for investment or just to develop a better strategy for your business.
But, building your own plan isn’t as simple as just cutting and pasting from someone else’s plan. In fact, if you do that, you will be doing yourself (and your business!) a huge disservice. Here are a few tips to get the most out of our sample business plans and build the plan your business needs to succeed.

1. Find a plan from a similar industry to your business, but don’t worry about finding an exact match. In fact, you won’t find an exact match for your business. That’s because every business is as unique as its owners and managers. Every business has a different location, different team, and different marketing tactics that will work for them. Instead of looking for an exact match, look for a business plan that’s for a business that operates similarly to how your business will work. For example, a business plan for a steak restaurant will actually be useful for someone starting a vegetarian restaurant because the general concepts for planning and starting a restaurant are the same regardless of what type of food you serve.
2. Use the sample plans for inspiration and ideas. Staring at a blank page can be the worst part of writing a business plan. In fact, that’s probably the reason that’s preventing you from getting started right now. Instead, take advantage of our sample plans to avoid writer’s block. Feel free to copy words, phrasing, and the general structure of a plan to start your own. Also, as you read through several plans, you might find ideas for your business that you hadn’t considered. Use our plans for inspiration and ideas, borrow phrasing when it makes sense, and just get going!
3. Write a business plan that’s right for your business. As tempting as it is, don’t just cut and paste from a sample plan. Any banker or investor will be able to tell from miles away that you copied someone else’s plan. Not only will you be less likely to get funding if you copy a business plan, you’ll be greatly reducing your chances of success because you didn’t write a plan that’s right for your specific business, its specific location, target market, and your unique product or service. Thinking through how you are going to launch your business is a critical step in starting a business that you shouldn’t let go.
4. The value of business planning is in the process, not the final document. By creating your own business plan, you are going to have to think about how you are going to build your own business. What marketing tactics are you going to use? What kind of management team do you need to be successful? How is your business going to set itself apart from the competition?
   The process of writing a business plan guides you through answering these questions so that you end up with a strategy that works for your business. You will also end up with a plan that you can share with business partners, investors, and friends and family. Sharing your vision and your strategy is the best way to get everyone on the same page and pushing forward to build a successful business.
5. Use your plan as a management tool and build a better business. When you’re done with your plan and your business is up and running, your plan shouldn’t just end up in a drawer. That would be a huge waste of all the time and effort you put into your strategy, budgets, and forecast. Instead, using your plan as a tool to grow your business can be one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your business. In fact, businesses that use their plan as a management tool to help run their business grow 30% faster than those businesses that don’t.
   To use your business plan to grow 30% faster than the competition, you need to track your actual results - the sales that you get and the expenses that you incur - against the goals that you set out for yourself in your plan. If things aren’t going according to plan, perhaps you need to adjust your budgets or your sales forecast. If things are going well, your plan will help you think about how you can re-invest in your business. Either way, tracking your progress compared to your plan is one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your business.

10 Proven Ways to Judge a Person’s Character

We all fall into the trap of judging a person’s character by their appearance.
How wrong we are! All too often, the real character of the person only appears when some negative
event hits them or you. Then you may see a toxic person emerging from the ruins and it is often a shock.

physical appearance

A truly frightening example is revealed in the book by O’Toole in Bowman called Dangerous Instincts:
How Gut Instincts Betray Us. A perfectly respectable, charming, well dressed neighbor was found to have
installed a torture chamber in his garage where he was systematically abusing kidnapped women.
This is an extreme example, but it does show how we can be totally deceived by a person’s physical appearance,
manners and behavior.

So, what can you do? You want to be able to assess personal qualities when you come into contact with colleagues,
fresh acquaintances and new friends who might even become lifelong partners. You want to know if they are:

 honest
 reliable
 competent
 kind and compassionate
 capable of taking the blame
 able to persevere
 modest and humble
 pacific and can control anger.

The secret is to reserve judgment and take your time. Observe them in certain situations; look at how they react.
Listen to them talking, joking, laughing, explaining, complaining, blaming, praising, ranting, and preaching.
Only then will you be able to judge their character. This is not foolproof, but if you follow the 10 ways below,
you have a pretty good chance of not ending up in an abusive relationship.

1. Is anger a frequent occurrence?

All too often, angry reactions which may seem to be excessive are a sign that there are underlying issues.
Do not think that every person who just snaps and throws his/her weight around mentally and physically is
just reacting normally. Everyone has an occasional angry outburst when driving or when things go pear-shaped.

But if this is almost a daily occurrence, then you need to discover why and maybe avoid that person. Too often,
anger will escalate to violent and aggressive behavior.
You do not want to be near someone who thinks violence can solve personal or global problems.



2. Can you witness acts of kindness?

How often do you see this person being kind and considerate? Do they give money to beggars,
donate to charity, do voluntary work or in some simple way show that they are willing to share
the planet with about 7 billion other people?

earthI was shocked when a guest of mine never showed any kindness to the weak and disadvantaged people in our town.
She was ostensibly a religious person, but I began to doubt the sincerity of her beliefs.

    “The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good,
and how he treats people who can’t fight back.”

   
3. How does this person take the blame?

Maybe you know that s/he is responsible for a screw-up in the office or even in not turning up on time for a date.
Look at their reaction. If they start blaming other colleagues or the traffic, well, this is an indication that they
are not willing to take responsibility for their mistakes.

4. Don’t use Facebook as an indicator.

You will be relieved to know that graphology (the study of that forgotten skill of handwriting) is no longer
considered a reliable test of a person’s character. Neither is Facebook stalking, fortunately.
A study showed that Facebook use of foul language, sexual innuendo and gossip were not reliable indicators of a candidate’s character or future performance in the workplace.

5. Read their emails.

Now a much better idea is to read the person’s emails.
Studies show that the use of the following can indicate certain personality traits:

  Too many exclamation points may reveal a sunny disposition
  Frequent errors may indicate apathy
  Use of smileys is the only way a person can smile at you
  Use of the third person may reveal a certain formality
  Too many question marks can show anger
  Overuse of capital letters is regarded as shouting. They are a definite no-no in netiquette, yet asurprising number of  people still use them.

6. Watch out for the show offs.

Listen to people as they talk. How often do they mention their achievements, promotions,
awards and successes? If this happens a lot, it is a sure indication that this person has an
over-inflated view of his/her achievements. They are unlikely to be modest or show humility. What a pity!  Another person to avoid.

7. Look for evidence of perseverance.

A powerful indicator of grit and tenacity is when a person persists and never gives up
when they really want to achieve a life goal. Look for evidence of them keeping going in spite of enormous difficulties.

Great achievements by scientists and inventors all bear the hallmark of perseverance. We only have to think of Einstein,
Edison (who failed thousands of times) and Nelson Mandela to get inspiration. The US Department of Education is in
no doubt about how grit, tenacity and perseverance will be key success factors for youth in the 21st century.


8. Their empathy score is high.

Listen to how they talk about the less fortunate members of our society such as the poor, immigrants and the disabled.
Do you notice that they talk in a compassionate way about these people? The fact that they even mention them is a strong indicator of empathy.
People with zero empathy will never talk about the disadvantaged. They will rarely ask you a question about a difficult time or relationship.
They will usually steer the conversation back to themselves. These people have zero empathy and in extreme cases,
they are psychopaths who never show any feelings towards their victims.

9. Learn how to be socially interactive.

lonelycabinWe are social animals and this is what makes us so uniquely human. If a person is isolated or a loner,
this may be a negative indicator of their character. You want to meet a person who knows about trust, honesty and loyalty.
The only way to practice these great qualities is to actually interact socially. The great advantage is that you can share
problems and celebrate success and joy together.

10. Avoid toxic people.

These people are trying to control others and often are failing to come to terms with their own failures.
Typical behavior and conversations may concern:

    Envy or jealousy
    Criticism of partners, colleagues and friends
    Complaining about their own lack of success
    Blaming others for their own bad luck or failure
    Obsession with themselves and their problems

Listen to these people talk and you will quickly discover that you need to avoid them at all costs because
their negativity will drag you down. In addition, as much as you would like to help them, you are not qualified to do so.

IBU Pahlawan Dalam Hidupku (season DCC)

pahlawan dalam hidupku adalah ibu, sebab ibu selalu ada untuk ku,

dan ibu orang yang begitu keras dalam mendidik,

ibu selalu memperingatkanku untuk  selalu hidup prihatin, 

dan ibuku orang yang tak mau berdiam diri dirumah, 

dan ibuku tipe yang setia kepada almarhum ayah ku, 

setiap pagi ibu berjualan sayur di pasar, dan ibu juga taat beribadah, 

intinya ibuku adalah orang yang begitu berarti dalam hidupku, 

maka dari itu ibuku adalah pahlawan dalam hidupku.

Translate English.

heroes in my life is the mother, because mother was always there for me, and mothers who are so hard in educating, mother always warned me to live always concerned, and my mother who did not want to remain silent at home, and my mother types who are loyal to my late father, every morning the mother sell vegetables in the market, and the mother also devout worship, the point my mother is a person who is so meaningful in my life, therefore my mother is a hero in my life.

Renungan Disaat Rindu Akan Sosok Ayah (Alm)

teramat sepi jiwa ini
ingin berbagi dengan sesosok figur ayah
namun itu takan pernah terjadi
wujudmu tak pernah kulihat
ingin ku bercerita tentang kelu kesah di dunia ini ayah
meskipun engkau jauh disana

teramat sakit raga ini
banyak luka yg membekas
meskipun tak terlihat secara kasat mata
itu pun mampu menggoyahkan psikis anakmu ini  
dan keputus asa'an sering terlintas di benak ini

ayah adakah kehadiranmu dalam hidupku . . ?
meski hanya sekejap saja aku melihatmu
dan dapatkah ruh Mu datang untuk melihat anakmu ini
yg sedang menapaki jejak hidup tanpa dirimu

ayah . . .  rindu ini begitu tebal untuk dirimu
20 thn sudah kau pergi tinggalkan duka yg mendalam
kini anakmu beranjak dewasa, yg saat ini mencari arti dari hidup

ayah . . . haruskah anakmu ini pergi tinggalkan dunia fana ini. . .
untuk sekedar memeluk dirimu karna dekapan mu saat ini
mungkin mampu tuk hapuskan luka di jiwa raga,

ayah . . .  sanggupkah anakmu ini jalani hari-hari yg penuh tanda tanya (?)
rasa ketidakpastian sering ku jalani hingga rasa perih kudapati
dan hidup anakmu saat ini hanya sandiwara belaka

ayah  . . . di dalam setiap sujud anakmu ini tersiratkan ayat-ayat suci
untukmu ayah yg jauh nan disana
ayah bimbinglah anakmu ini  meskipun engkau jauh disana  . . . 

Natori (Alm)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lukisan Kenagan

How to make an announcement of death

The announcement of death, it is important and emotive.

The loss of an appreciated person is always painful.

The people react different ways. Expressing and sharing their sorrow sometimes only with their close relations,

but of another time also with their colleague with work. Sometimes also while insulating itself completely.

A company can’t unaware of such an emotive event. It is completely suitable for a company to inform the employees of the group.

   Rambit Human Ressources

How to make an announcement of death

The announcement of death, it is important and emotive.

The loss of an appreciated person is always painful.

The people react different ways. Expressing and sharing their sorrow sometimes only with their close relations,

but of another time also with their colleague with work. Sometimes also while insulating itself completely.

A company can’t unaware of such an emotive event. It is completely suitable for a company to inform the employees of the group.

An announcement of death can thus be prepared and diffused. The notice must be very objective, see detached, or show

compassion according to the relation between this employee and the group and the company. Thus,

if the employee has been within the company for 20 years, the announcement of death could not have the same content as if the employee

joined to the group a few weeks ago.  The type of company is also a factor determining the depth of the announcement of death.

Though it is, the company must inform the person in mourning and get along on the contents of what will be diffused.

It is always necessary to respect those which want to live this period in the family intimacy.

You will find in this page some typical examples of announcement of death. We put some several,

because you must adapt it to the circumstances particular to the touched person and the culture of your company.

How to Manage Your Time

Why use time management skills?

It's important that you develop effective strategies for managing your time to balance the conflicting demands of time for study, leisure, earning money and jobhunting. Time management skills are valuable in jobhunting, but also in many other aspects of life: from revising for examinations to working in a vacation job.
Sometimes it may seem that there isn't enough time to do everything that you need to. This can lead to a build up of stress. When revising for examinations, or during your final year when you have to combine the pressures of intensive study with finding time to apply for jobs good management of your time can be particularly important. Once we have identified ways in which we can improve the management of our time, we can begin to adjust our routines and patterns of behaviour to reduce any time-related stress in our lives.

What skills are required for effective time management?

Some of these skills including setting clear goals, breaking your goals down into discreet steps, and reviewing your progress towards your goals are covered in Action Planning.
Other skills involved include prioritising - focusing on urgent and important tasks rather than those that are not important or don't move you towards your goals; organising your work schedule; list making to remind you of what you need to do when; persevering when things are not working out and avoiding procrastination.

TIME MANAGEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

Here is an exercise which will help you to identify areas in which you might be able to improve your time management and action planning and give you strategies to help you to do this.Try to answer the 40 questions as honestly as you can.