Name of your website?Pajama Professional
Your name?
Sara Christensen
Your Location (city, etc)
Silverdale
When did you start your website and why?
I started my blog in March. I've written blogs since they were first introduced, but decided it was time to try my hand at monetizing one.
Please give us a short summary of your website, business model, etc
Pajama Professional is a blog featuring free and inexpensive ways to make money online, blog reviews and resource recommendations.
What has been the most difficult part of creating and running your website?
Generating traffic takes time. My daily traffic is increasing at a healthy rate, but it takes some patience.
What has been the easist part of operating your website?
Wordpress is a dream. In the past, I'd used blogger, but when I bought my domain, I decided to transfer over to Wordpress and it was the best choice I could have made. With the ability to fully customize templates and the endless number of useful plug-ins, Wordpress has to be the best blogging platform available today.
What was your biggest mistake?
I was terribly at time management for the first month my blog was live. I would jump from one thing to the next and not finish anything: write half a post, download some PLR articles, read a few RSS Feeds. I feel like I wasted some really key launch time on the wrong activities.
Who maintains your website and why?
I maintain my site. I've been building websites and blogs since the late 1990s. The entire process is totally enjoyable, from logo creation and layout design to CSS coding and post writing. Though my blog is about making money online, I created it because I love the process.
Tell us how your business has benefitted from your website?
Well, my website is the business, really. I haven't gone into product sales yet, but my income from the blog is increasing weekly. It's nowhere near where I'd like it to be (my current goal is to pay my rent each month with blog profits), but the continued upswing is promising.
What are your views on ecommerce and the future of the internet?
I think it's only going to get more and more popular as time progresses. E-commerce solves many problems and caters to both convenience and impulse. With more people concerned with being "green", using the internet for shopping and information-gathering allows for less travel and, in turn, less use of resources. I believe the future of the internet is limitless and its importance in our lives will only increase exponentially as technology progresses.
What are your views on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
I think it's tricky and important. I just read an article today that told me I'm misusing the categories on my blog. I've got tons. I need to take it down to perhaps a quarter of what I currently have. If I don't narrow my focus, it will be harder to make it higher up on the search engines. I need to pick about ten keywords to really focus on.
What are your views on Search Engines? Have they helped or hindered your website?
I think the last question somewhat answered this one. I think overall the search engines help. It's a good way to compare yourself to other sites and it gives you some clear objectives to shoot for when designing and maintaining your site.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
I think commenting on other blogs has really increased my readership. I enjoy reading other blogs in the same general niche as mine and I find that writers and other readers of those blogs enjoy reading my blog.
What method has been least successful for promoting your website?
I find traffic exchanges really tedious. They work, but I just don't have the patience to sit there and click on a regular basis.
What would you like to see change with respect to the internet?
I would like for web 2.0 technology to extend to the inclusion of a better identity check. My Space has become a haven for liars and pedophiles. It's sad how a few can ruin it for the many, but it's essentially become an unsafe environment for kids and teens. Even adults need to be careful what they share. If a social networking site could be developed that truly checked identities while still allowing the user to remain anonymous to other users, I think it could perhaps become the most successful site on the internet.
What are your three favorite blogs and why?
Brandon Hopkins, [404 Check: was link to http:/ / www. pureblogging. com, anchor: David Culpepper's Pureblogging] and Courtney Tuttle. All three are original, well-written and full of great information for anyone who wants to build a better blog and make some money with it. I honestly read all three of these blogs on a daily basis and would miss them if I couldn't. I've learned a ton of invaluable information from each.
What is your website address?
Pajama Professional
