Money Making Guru 3
Money Making Guru #3 ARTBYLINDA
A Money Making Guru: Someone who knows the tricks and trades of making money online. These gurus understand how to use online tools to maximize their earnings and drive traffic to their content. The Gurus don't give us fish. They teach us how to fish.
ArtByLinda (Linda) is an artist on multiple levels. Not only does she have a number of photography collections, but she also creates pictureseque landscape paintings. Linda uses other sites and the RedGage community to drive traffic to her content. In her interview she touches on how to use Twitter to get more views and how to balance family with work! Since Linda has also won a previous contet, we have also asked her to touch on how she has used the extra RedGage contests to her advantage. ArtByLinda also sells her art on Amazon , so she has an advanced understanding of selling your content online.
ArtByLinda: I just wanted to start off by thanking the support staff here on RedGage for creating such a fun and unique website. I love the ease of use, the tools given for it's members to easily upload and share their content. The awesome original content, including my favorite; photographs and art. But you have found a way to create a strong community team here at RedGage that encourages all of us to make friends, share and visit other peoples content with incentives including payment in the form of money, friendships, and content features, as well as fun raffles, contests and games.
RGHelp: Thank you so much for the kind comments. Which of your efforts have you found to result in the most page views to your content?
ArtByLinda: Honestly, I have the most luck with sharing my content with my friends and fans on Twitter, Facebook, my Blog, Tagfoot and on RedGage itself. I love browsing the new content as it is uploaded as well as the high quality of the featured content, and I know others do the same and enjoy my content as I upload it.
RGHelp: On the other hand, are there any efforts or sites that have been a waste of your time?
ArtByLinda: I haven't had much luck on any of the other social networking sites, but that could be because I am not as active on them and have not developed the friendships and fans needed to encourage content sharing.
RGHelp: I see that you are a part of Squidoo and Amazon, how have these sites or communities helped you sell or promote your art?
ArtByLinda: Squidoo is an amazing community in itself, it encourages friendships, creativity and a solid learning foundation for those interested in working at home and earning money through profit sharing, affiliate marketing and creating unique one of a kind websites designed to educate, entertain and inspire others..
I have been able to share my artwork and photos throughout my lenses on Squidoo. I honestly love to create things that people find educational and helpful for their needs. I love sharing things that I create on Squidoo here on RedGage. I really get a lot of traffic from my RedGage friends to Squidoo.
Amazon is one of affiliates and has great tools to create your own stores, which I use with my Squidoo lenses (websites) to offer a variety of choices to my website patrons.
RGHelp: How do you recommend continuing in one specific area. Any tips to newbies in finding a niche?
ArtByLinda: I highly recommend finding your own niche, but it truly has to be something that interests you yourself. I admire those that have stayed with one theme throughout their lens creation. I find my interests of animals, art, photography and travel bring such a variety of content I am not sure I have a true niche. I would highly recommend that someone that is new to lens creating just find their passion and run with it. There are so many things that can be created surrounding each and every type of interest and passion. But you have to enjoy what you are doing or it will seem too much like work and you can easily burn out.
RG Help: With all of these networks, how do you coordinate time management (online and offline)? Any tips on striking that balance?
ArtByLinda: I work full time and have a family. I prioritize my life in many ways. My family will always come first, always! I try not to be on the computer except when I have time to myself, or when my husband is busy watching sports! LOL My children are adults and on their own, which give me a lot of free time when I am off work. I would encourage others to always give their priority and attention to family first, limit your time if you are using the internet as a way to supplement income. If it is your full time job, use it like a job. Don't work more than 8 hours in any day on it and make hours that work around your family time.
RGHelp: How do you find your specific target audience?
ArtByLinda: The secret is to get your content out their by sharing it in the beginning, but then let the search engines work their magic. Add tags that match your content, always have "alt tags" on each photo. This allows people to find your website through the pictures you post there. People will use search engines to find what they are looking for. If you build it (and include awesome, unique and interesting content), they will come!
RGHelp: Since you also use Twitter, how would you explain the benefits of using the site to promote the URLs to your content?
ArtByLinda: I can not say enough about using Twitter to promote your content on RedGage. Do people realize how they can watch their money go up just by sharing on Twitter. Try this little experiment, add some fantastic content. Check and see how many people have viewed your content. Then share it on Twitter, wait five minutes then go back and refresh your content. How many views did you gain? If it wasn't many than you need to become more active on Twitter. Find friends with like interest and actively view and comment on the stuff they choose to share.
RGHelp: What steps do you usually take when uploading your content and promoting it within your networks?
ArtByLinda: I upload, tag with relevant tags, favorite my own content, and share it on Twitter and facebook. I also try to answer all the comments on my own content, visit my friends content and leave comments (usually choosing from people that have left recent comments on my photos). Spend some time adding friends within the RedGage Community.
RGHelp: What efforts do you take in branding yourself online?
ArtByLinda: Most websites I am on, I have the same name "ArtByLinda " and use my own photo. The exception of this is Twitter, where I am just "thehox". I think I created that profile before I was confidant in the website itself and wasn't sure if I would be using it very often. I had no clue what "Twitter" was. Boy was I clueless!
RGHelp: Do you do anything off of the computer to promote your photos and art?
ArtByLinda: I share my photos and artwork with family and friends. Often giving away my artwork as gifts. I have found interest from others that see my artwork in their homes.
RGHelp: What types of activities do you partake in to maintain quality and genuine relationships within the RedGage Community?
ArtByLinda: I think being honest and genuine with your friends is important. When I visit and comment on their content it is from my heart that I view and enjoy their photos and shares. I do not visit others to gain visitors myself but because I love seeing their new things, mostly photos because that is my passion, but I enjoy their thoughts and feelings on blogs and Squidoo lenses. Sometimes I feel bad that I don't have more time, or don't get to visit and bond with all of my friends here on RedGage. I am so appreciative of those that care enough to come by and drop a comment now and then, it makes you feel as if people truly care.
RGHelp: What tools would you like to see on RedGage that you think would help you earn more money?
ArtByLinda: I love the raffles and contests, that encourages people to be more active and it really makes it a lot of fun. I think it would be fun to allow some personalization of our main profile pages too. I think creativity creates passion and helps people feel like they are home when they get here.
RGHelp: What aspects in a user, and in a community, do you think are crucial in creating a supportive community?
ArtByLinda: I think the personal comments and friends really encourage the community bond. But also one thing that Squidoo has that helps is a forum. This forum encourages people to share with each other, allows the users themselves to be the ones to offer to help one another. Wouldn't a forum or community blog be fun for the RedGage community there has been so many times people have asked me for assistance here. I think it is because of how much money they see that I have already made. But when I help them, I always think it might be something that would help others too, but unless they visit their page or mine, the others won't see that information. What do you say RedGage community, would you love to have a forum where we could share ideas with each other?
RGHelp: Since you also sell your work in online stores, you have unique knowledge on promoting. What have these experiences taught you that are relatable to your online promotion tactics?
ArtByLinda: Patience! I have learned a great deal of patience from selling online. You get excited as you create a website or store that you know people are going to love. But it takes time to build up the customer database. I like those websites that encourage customer feedback, rather than never truly knowing who that angel was that just purchased so much out of my gift store! I want to thank them personally, but sometimes I can't because I don't know who they are.
RGHelp: What tips would you tell a user who is looking to increase their online network of friends?
ArtByLinda: I would say "be a friend" and you will make friends. If you give of yourself and are genuine than you will find true friends that will touch your life in so many ways.
RGHelp: How do you include your friends and family that are NOT online with you?
ArtByLinda: I share things I love about what I do. I have encouraged many family members to join me here at RedGage, Zazzle and Squidoo because I believe in these sites and love them. But I also have helped out family members that have fallen on hard times in this economy with money that I have made here on RedGage and on Squidoo. Making a little extra online means more to me than you know, because it gives me the freedom to offer help to my family that I may not be able to afford otherwise.
RGHelp: You were the big time Contest winner and did well in both the raffle and the competition. What are tips to users about how to be active and competitive on the site?
ArtByLinda: Yes, I was! Have I told you Thank You again? I was a HUGE contest winner, I won a $400.00 monthly raffle, can you beat that? It was one of the most exciting days, weeks, months actually! My secret here is doing what I love to do at RedGage. Visit other peoples content, take the time to make friendships, comment on your friends and acquaintances content, upload quality content that you feel good in sharing, tag it well, and share, share, share it! I love to be "first to comment" on new stuff too, because you know that person that just uploaded it is waiting, wondering, will they like it? It feels like something special you can do to make someone's day just a little bit nicer!
Thank you so much for allowing me to share my art and photography here on RedGage and for encouraging a bond between the RedGage Community and Squidoo, which work well as a partnership for so many. Thank you too for choosing to interview me.
Sincerely,
Linda
