They decided to create an essay contest with a $100 entry fee. There have been 500 entrants thus far with the goal of attaining 2000 total. It appears that they are falling short. The deadline has been extended at least once from this month (March) to May. All entry fees are held in escrow until closing when a title company will wire funds to the couple’s mortgage company. If they don’t receive enough entries, they will send the money back to the entrants.

I was curious as to what the topic of the essay was to be. As it turns out, the topic is open and the essay is to be 500 words or less. The judging of the essays will be done by volunteers in the Red Feather Lakes community. What kind of topic and approach would capture their attention? It is an interesting question. In the teaching of writing, one is to consider the audience that one is trying to reach. I wonder what topic and point of view would stand out as a winning entry.

My prediction is there will not be enough entries and the money will be returned. But should you like to participate, you can send your entry here:

Colorado Home Essay Contest / JJ Rodgers
P.O. Box 436
Ft. Collins, CO. 80522

The Top SEVEN Snafus:

ONE: Picking the How to Make Money Blog niche.

If you look at the number of new blogs which begin everyday, no doubt you will clearly find too many that choose the subject on making money online niche. While most of us would love to build an income from our online endeavors, writing about how to make money BEFORE doing it is a sure map to failure and lost credibility. Too many of these blogs are nothing but posts hailing the newest and greatest affiliate programs/products promising an easy road to riches. In my opinion, it’s not only the most prevalent mistake, it’s the biggest one too.

TWO: Personal Irrelevancy

Spending time on what is important to you is possibly the secret to success, credibility, and longevity in blogging. Not having a passion or belief in what you are writing is obvious and will not build a readership. For example, you won’t find me writing much about things that I either don’t know about, have experience in , or care much for. Yet, I often see bloggers writing on such topics because it’s the hot topic of the day, week, or month. Keeping it real, I think, is very important.

THREE: Inconsistency

Inconsistent posting is without a doubt a certain death for an established blog, let alone a new one. Consistent posts that offer quality content are required. I know that if a visitor enjoyed today’s post, they will be back tomorrow. I will lose them if there is nothing more for days or weeks. This is the reason my first 40 Day Challenge was to post each day for the first 40 days of this blog. I felt it would set my level of commitment and priority from the first day. Posting regularly is also a great discipline builder.

FOUR: Having a Poor Blog Design

This is an understandable one, especially for guys like me who have no knowledge of html, css, java, flash, and whatever all those languages and scripts are. So using the experience that comes with age, you do one of three things, teach yourself how to do that, pay for a custom design, or find and use a free one readily available from various great sources. Thus, there is no excuse for putting up a crappy, ugly blog design. Ultimately, having a custom design done is recommended, but I feel this can wait until you have a decent amount of readers and daily traffic. At that time, the design can be done to enhance your branding.

FIVE: Using a Free Blog Service

Now using a free platform for your blog is not necessarily a bad way to start. Actually, I think it can be a great way to begin and see if blogging is something really for you. My first blog was hosted on Blogger. That experience help me understand first hand many of the things I was reading about in other blogs. With that said, if you are a new blogger with an interest worth developing and plans to reach the largest audience, acquiring your own domain name and hosting is the way to go. Almost every blogger I have read about that started on one of the free blog hosts regrets not initially setting up their blog with its own domain. With the tools offered today, it is also very easy to do compared to a few years ago. Even though free is a tough price to beat, you can have your own domain and site up for just a few dollars a month. It’s worth it.

SIX: Giving Up Too Soon

I think many give up too soon. Obviously, those who have the wrong intentions or motivations will fade early. The web is littered with blogs with just a few posts. I’ve seen some with only one. There are others that for whatever the reasons, have decided to close it down after clearly putting in a lot of work. It’s always a tough decision to quit. I do think we, our culture (American), will move on too soon, too often. Before deciding to quit, I would first take a little time off and let things clear and then make that decision.

SEVEN: Not Having Fun

Most blogs I’ve read do convey a sense that the writer is enjoying the process of blogging. Occasionally I’ve come across one that makes me think, “Wow, they are angry!” Blogging is a burden. Sad. The best definition for blogging I’ve found is the creation of conversations and relationships. Fun conversations and relevant relationships. What’s not fun about that? If you are not having fun, it’s not worth doing.

In summary: Don’t focus on the money; keep it real — everyday; look good while spending a little money, and smile while hanging in there.

I welcome hearing from you if you are just starting out. I also would appreciate any words of wisdom from those who have been at this awhile and are succeeding.

Maybe that is why people have often said I look so much younger than my age.