Ha!…That headline.  Notice the quotation marks, I really wish there were truly a universal sarcasm font that could be used.   It’s a suggestion that you will see all over your search engine results when you google blogging. Everybody has a course with a quick fix and how you can make six figures in a month working four hours a day.

While there are many courses that are very very helpful, I’m not knocking that at all, there’s work you have to put in.   A lot of these courses do benefit you in that they tell you of their failures and how to avoid them saving you a lot of experimenting and time.   I think though that a lot of people fail at blogging because they go in with the expectation that there’s nothing really to do.  Once you’ve got a foundation and a couple years behind you then you might be at the point where you are working from home and have 4 hour days. Talk to successful bloggers and you’ll see they had to work hard, sometimes felt like a total failure but pushed through anyway to get to where they are.

Persistance

My point is, it’s going to feel difficult at first.  Doesn’t most things worth doing feel that way at some point?  If they didn’t everyone and their grandma would be doing it.  Don’t be discouraged, be persistent.   There are Facebook blogger groups and many great courses to help you find your footing and let you know they’ve been there before.  Just be leery of any that promise little work and instant success.

Are there any courses you’ve taken that have helped? What would you recommend?

I really liked Suzi Whitman’s Blog by Number, I found it to be easy to follow and very helpful.  I’ve heard great things about Ruth Soukup’s Elite Blogger Academy and have gotten some helpful free downloads from it but haven’t actually taken the course yet.

This past weekend started out with the kids getting sick.  Anytime one of your kids is sick it’s not fun, and when you have more than one child and they are both sick it’s near torture.  “Hold me!” “No I want you to hold me!” Thankfully, mine are 6 and 3 so I can still manage to hold them both on the couch.  However it’s not long before they start fighting or complaining that the other one is too close.

This is when being a mom is really tough.  The kids are cranky because they don’t feel good and you want to sympathize and baby them some but then you can’t let them bicker and gripe at each other.  I don’t know about your kids but both mine annoy  each other pretty equally when they want to.

Kinsa Smart Stick Digital Thermometer To My Rescue

Sick kids are rough, but I love the Kinsa Smart Stick Digital Thermometer . It makes it so much easier on me to track any fever.  The Kinsa Smart Stick Thermometer connects to your smart phone and keeps track of fevers for you. It’s so handy and easy to use.  You have to read the directions though when it comes to using the extension.   I was so mad that I almost threw the thermometer away because I thought it wouldn’t work.   Finally, I sat down and saw that I had to first connect the thermometer directly to the phone THEN I could use the extension and connect it to the phone.

Each child has their own profile, so if more than one kid is sick at at time (which is what happened to me recently) then you are able to easily track each one.

There’s a lot of great features in their Resources area as well-

They each took a cool bath, which meant that I was running from the bathroom to the living room to keep a check on both kids.  It helped, but at one point their fevers got high.  This was when I realized that I had run out of Tylenol and Motrin.  I know, who does that? Right?!  My husband ran down and got some along with some gatorade.  I gave each kid some Tylenol and it came down some (thankfully).

Fever = Cold Kid

The other hard part to me about a child with a fever is when they are cold.  You obviously don’t want to put blankets on them or wrap them up in sweats however at the same time you don’t want them to be miserably cold on top of sick.  Enter my favorite blankets on the planet.

I had some aden by Aden + Anais  swaddle blankets from when my son was born (not to mention many other things in their line because the products are FANTASTIC!).  The swaddle blankets are made of muslin material which is light and breathable. The blankets also get softer each time you wash them.  What could be better than that?? I put one over each kid which sufficed them being cold but wasn’t a heavy blanket either.

I keep a couple of these in the car as well so for when they get cold.  Typically this is when we are going out of town (but you know kids).  They are light and easy to store away which is a huge plus for me.

All better…

Thankfully, it seems to have been a one evening deal and all is well now. It sucks having sick kids, but when you can find things to comfort them or make it easier to care for them a little bit of stress can be relieved. When you are a parent, every little bit counts :).

What do you do when your kids are sick? Have you found anything that helps comfort them or makes it easier for you to care for them?

*This post includes Affiliate Links, this means that if you choose to purchase something from one of them then I may receive  a small commission at no additional cost to you.*

When you decide to start using affiliate marketing as an income stream for your blog you’ll find there are MANY to choose from.  As you get into affiliate marketing you want to keep a couple things in mind.

1. Don’t overwhelm yourself.  Start slow. You can add in more affiliates as you go.
2. It can take time to find the right fit.

Remember when you are determining what program you want to use, that this does involve marketing.  I know, I know…it seems obvious but a lot of times it’s not.

What is marketing?

Business Dictionary defines it as:

“The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. It includes the coordination of four elements called the 4 P’s of marketing:
(1) identification, selection and development of a product,

(2) determination of its price,

(3) selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer’s place, and

(4) development and implementation of a promotional strategy.”

Understanding Marketing will help you make affiliate marketing work at it’s full potential for… Click To Tweet

Your affiliate marketing doesn’t have to be tied into directly into content (example-a blog post). For it to be effective though, it must be related to your niche.  If you are blogging about knitting,  having banner ads for  fishing poles  won’t make the most sense for your audience.

Creating a Strategy

You have to think about marketing and strategy. Entrepreneur.com has a great article on sales funnels to help you understand marketing strategy. Another great resource is Creative Live’s Online Marketing & Sales Classes.  I really liked this class- Create A Marketing Plan And Grow An Outstanding Business from Tara Gentile.  There’s a TON of great information in it.

Affiliate Marketing Programs

When it comes to finding affiliate marketing programs, there are a lot…a lot of different affiliate programs out there.  My favorite program has been Share A Sale.  Using Share A Sale you are able to find sponsors for your site, and they have a large variety to choose from.

Share-A-Sale Categories:

Other Popular Affiliate Programs-

Commission Junction is another well known affiliate marketing program that has similar offerings to Share A Sale and a wide variety of advertisers.

Link Share is another very popular program with a lot of different offerings as well.

Amazon Affiliates is another well known program with a lot of different product offerings for you to choose from.

Do you currently use any of these affiliate networks? Which is your favorite and why?