First of all, let’s say Happy New Year’s Eve to everyone and I hope you guys all have a great time drinking, partying and doing all the things that I would do. With that said, don’t you wish you could record everything so you don’t miss a beat? Well, we’re giving away a Flip Mino HD in my December Giveaway sponsored by Market Leverage and today is the last day to enter!

If you haven’t read the Flip Mino HD, iPod Nano and other great prize giveaway post, you should do so. With that said, you have a very, VERY good chance of winning and it doesn’t take much to enter.

Basically, all you have to do is write an affiliate marketing tip or secret as a blog post, by leaving a comment on the contest post or e-mailing me. Of course, there are minor guidelines so make sure you read the contest post so you’re not leaving a random comment like “Oh, I never win these contests so I hope I win this one!”

And yeah, I got one of those comments and it’s still waiting to be moderated. Honestly, I’m not even sure if I’m going to approve it, unless that contestant e-mails me their official entry.

I will be picking the winner and I think I only have about 10-15 entries, if that. I didn’t really have the time to promote this contest like I wanted to so lucky for those that did enter, your chances just increased drastically.

For those that are hesitant about entering because they don’t have a clue about affiliate marketing, I would suggest just reading on some cool affiliate marketing tips or secrets from other people and submitting it. Of course, if you do that, please don’t tell me because that’s just unethical man!

Anyways, today is the last day to enter to win a Flip Mino HD, iPod Nano and more prizes so get on it!

Each year, we all set some goals that we want to accomplish. Some do New Year’s resolutions and others just set goals so they can push themselves to accomplish that feat, cross it off and then continue onto the next. Well, each year I set my goals so I can focus on them then look back to see how well I did. So, what are my 2009 goals going to be? But more importantly, what are yours going to be?

Last year around this time, I posted just a couple of minor goals that I wanted to accomplish online. It was nothing big and quite frankly, when I read it today, I feel as though I wasn’t even taking this online entrepreneur stuff seriously.

And I wasn’t.

One year ago, I started this blog and didn’t think it would grow as much as it did. Matter of fact, I didn’t even take this blog seriously so why would I assume it would? I lost track of a bunch of projects I worked on, favored certain aspects of my online business more than others and I set my goals pretty damn low which lead to less determination and motivation.

Last year, I set three minor goals that I wanted to accomplish in 2008 – increase my RSS Feed subscribers to triple digits, get some sort of Google Pagerank and increase my Technorati authorities to triple figures.

Can you tell that I obviously didn’t have too many serious goals?

Well, at least not when I wrote that post. And to think, those simple goals were shattered as I – increased my RSS Feed subscribers from the 50’s to nearly 700, I went from PR0 to PR4 back down to PR3 and at one point my Technorati authorities were over 1,000! Of course, since then it fell because we should all know Technorati is based on a 3-6 month cycle.

I didn’t even mention anything to do with revenue because I wasn’t really focused on making money online. Then when I started to make a decent amount, I was like “Damn, I can make money online!”

So, let’s get to some of my 2009 goals and expectations I have for myself so I can look back in one year and complain about it again:

1. Increase my RSS Feed Count to 1,500 or More – Last year, I wasn’t even specific on a number. All I said was I wanted to increase it to triple digits which could have been anywhere between 100 and 999. Well, in 2009 I’m aiming to double my current count and set an achievable goal of 1,500.

2. Make a Consistent $1,000/month from this Blog Alone – I’m not sure what my exact figures are but I think I make between $400 and $600 from this blog monthly. Even though I host my design work here, that is not included in the figures. And keep in mind that does not include the various separate projects I have going on either.

This is definitely an achievable goal since my private ads bring in a few hundred dollars alone. And recently, more and more sponsors have been contacting me for paid reviews which I will probably continue to do but no more than once a week because I don’t want to overwhelm my readers.

In addition, I plan to implement some referral sign ups so I can make some money and you guys can do the same exact thing simply by signing up.

3. Make a Total of $60,000 in 2009 Online – Again, another achievable goal here. There are some people who might aim higher when it comes to total revenue but before I just jump into random figures without thinking out the realistic issues, I want to preach consistency.

If you’re making, say, $500/month online now, after 12 month you would have made $6,000. Now if you think setting your goal to $100,000/year is good, well, more than likely you’re going to head for some disappointment. I mean, you would have to make more than your projected yearly amount each month. And we should all know making money online has its ups and downs.

So, rather than setting such a high goal for myself, I’m just aiming for consistency. $5,000/month is definitely a reasonable amount when you factor in all my online projects. And $60,000 is more than what most people would make at a regular full-time job.

And if you have a fairly high goal, I’m not saying you won’t or can’t make it, I’m just saying it will be extremely hard especially if you don’t make much now.  But again, it is doable so don’t let me get you down.

4. Partner with Other Online Entrepreneurs – I’ve already partnered with a couple of people on projects that have been pretty successful and I continue to expand my horizons and partner with multiple entrepreneurs.

I have already mentioned my site flipping team(s) which is still being worked out. But in the big picture, I want to network with others, build relationships, make some money on the way and more importantly, I want to learn. You can never stop learning and if you continue, success should just be right around the corner.

5. Revisit Old Projects I Keep Putting Off – When I have an idea, I tend to run with it. I don’t want to forget about it so I get it set up, for the most part. But when another idea comes up, I sometimes just jump into it and leave my other project hanging.

And as some of you guys know, I tend to procrastinate so currently, I have about 5 projects that haven’t been finished that I need to work on. Projects that will make some easy revenue come my way with very minimal work.

I’m sure once I finish these up, I will have more ideas, more projects and probably more procrastinating and postponing. But I will definitely revisit and hopefully complete all of the ones I hold off on.

Now, I have a lot of goals but I’m not going to list every single one here. And I don’t know if you guys noticed but I didn’t add the small things like increasing my Pagerank or anything like that. I’m not saying those aren’t important, but I feel as though those type of stats will just eventually come over time.

So, what are your 2009 goals? I’m definitely interested in hearing what you guys have set for 2009. With that said, if you create a 2009 goals post, let me know and I’ll add it to this post. Of course, if you want to send a backlink to this post, that is also welcomed!

Check out some of the other 2009 goals posts I have already read:

“My Goals for 2009” at TylerCruz.com
“Ryan McLean’s Goals for 2009” at Smarterwealth.com
“Balkhi’s New Year’s Resolutions” at Balkhis.com
“My Internet Goals for 2009″ at Improvingtheweb.com – Nice new blog btw Wesley!
My Goals for Standoutblogger in 2009 at Standoutblogger.com – Damn Tom, your blog has really grown! And to think, you was going to sell it!
New Years and Some Luv at Havocdynamics.xtreemhost.com – Some nice goals and thanks for the link love appreciation!

First of all, I hope everyone had a nice Christmas, enjoyed the holidays and received some amazing presents.

When it comes to site flipping, any site can be flipped just as long as you have a buyer. But how much is your site really worth? What are they basing it on? Are they paying way too much?

If you read this blog, more than likely you read Theuniversitykid.com as well as Slyvisions.com. And I’m sure you know both of them are selling their blogs. Matter of fact, Sly already did. He sold it for a $9,500 while Jason a.k.a. TUK can’t seem to get serious bids over $5,000.

If you ask me, TUK should have been sold for, at the very least, the same amount as Sly did, if not more. The reason why I say this is simply the fact that when it comes down to it, TUK had better overall stats than Sly so that would be the logical reasoning why he should have sold it more, right?

Wrong!

When it comes down to it, the buyer will look at the stats, how much revenue you make from the site, but it’s all about their preference on what they want to spend their money on.

So, if you don’t think your site is worth selling, you may just be underestimating yourself. See, no what you think, any site can be sold, all you need is one buyer.

Remember when our site flipping group sold ListLunatic? A lot of you guys didn’t even think it would sell for a couple hundred dollars. Matter of fact, I think there were only like three guesses around what it actually sold for – $2,000.

We didn’t really make any revenue from the site either but we still managed to sell it for a pretty good chunk of change simply because we found a buyer and we had some great selling points.

Now, if you barely get any traffic or barely make any money from your site, I believe there is a buyer out there especially for you… you just need to know where to look and know how to become a good salesman with great selling points.

So, never EVER underestimate yourself!  You’ll surprise everyone, including yourself.

Side note: Yes, I have received everybody’s e-mail regarding the site flipping team(s), just haven’t had a chance to full fix my e-mails because I have been out-of-town… and I’m still not home from the holidays yet.

Since some of you guys are about to jump into site flipping, probably for the first time, I figured I’d give you a sense on what people are looking for. It’s very simple doing your research on what people are interested in; just go to your major site selling forums and see what people are asking for and actually buying – see, simple!. But wait, there’s more than just that!

First off, let me just say that the best type of site flip is the unique niches and ultimately the ones that make a good chunk of revenue. Though, I’m sure if we could all find unique niches and make money off of it then we wouldn’t need to do this type of research, now would we?

Matter of fact, if the unique site makes quite a lot of money with minimal work then you might want to consider holding onto it for a while.

Anyways, this is what I do before I create a site in which I will potentially try to flip:

Check Places Like Sitepoint and Other Marketplaces Like That – I tend to visit only the marketplace section where the sites are being sold as well as the section “Want To Buy”. If I see that a few people are looking for sites related to gaming then I’ll try to make a quick Wordpress-based site, make some money for a few weeks (or months) and sell it soon after.

Sometimes people are willing to buy the site based on the potential rather than stats and revenue proof. Just keep that in mind.

Check Out the Competition – No one wants to have a site and compete with millions in the same niche *cough* make money online *cough* so you want to check out the competition. If you’re starting a blog, Technorati is a good place to search to see how many other blogs are in the same niche.

You can also Google specific keywords related to the niche. Eventually, you will want to build links around your popular keywords anyways so you will have to look into this.

Will It Make Me Money? – I understand that some people will buy sites based on potential, traffic and whatever else; but most will base it on revenue. Revenue surrounds site flipping and you should embed this in your head because people will want proof. Plus, you always want to earn money from the site just incase you are unable to sell the site.

Will It Cost Me Anything? – A lot of pro site flippers tend to spend money to speed up the process. I am not one of those types. So, if you’re planning on spending money to build up a site, make sure your net profit is always higher. That should be pretty obvious.

How Much Time and Effort Will It Take? – If you feel as though you’re spending too much time on it then more than likely you are. Now, if you see potential in the site and making money then you should spend as much time as you need on it.

On your quest of researching, you should be checking out other people’s listings, and while doing so, you can take a lot of knowledge just from that. For instance, not only will you see the type of sites that are selling but you will also learn things like:

How to Write Your Site Listing – Writing your site listing will be extremely important because you become an online salesman with a sales pitch because you want someone to purchase your product; in this case, your site. You always want to emphasize the strong selling points and if you need help, just look at some other ones that have already sold.

Other Ways of Generating Revenue – It’s funny but I still manage to find new ways of making money online just by reading site listings. For instance, what networks and programs people are using, how they’re converting, etc.

New Ways of Building Traffic Sources – I’m sure if you’re trying to start a brand new site that you don’t know too much on, reading a similar niche site listing will give you endless information on building targeted traffic.

Anyways, I hope you guys take some time to at least look through site listings just to see how you match up and who knows; maybe you’ll gain a few things from it.

If you didn’t figure it out, well, this past week pretty much sucked. Let’s see, my laptop got screwed up, there were a lack of posts here (obviously), the rest of my online stuff was virtually at a standstill, there was too much damn snow here, I now have to raise quite a lot of money to pay things back and my birthday was eh (except I got to spend it with an angel).

Here are some quick updates for you guys:

I Bought a New Desktop Computer and Laptop – I figured I needed to upgrade my desktop anyways because it was already 8-9 years old. And you guys already know how my laptop crashed. Plus, I need to have a way to work efficiently online and make money.

The downside, now I have to raise some money to pay back the large bill which will force me to stop procrastinating and being lazy. Not only that but I have to try to get everything situated with my new computers.

Password for Protected Posts and E-mails – Thank you to everyone that continues to send me e-mails asking for the password. Trust me; I will get you those passwords as soon as I get my e-mail setup properly. Currently I’m able to receive e-mails but I’m having issues with my outgoing mail.

Site Flipping Team(s) – I have received every e-mail sent by you guys and a few of you guys impressed me with your introductions and why I should have you on my team.

A few of you also mentioned that we should have some sort of contest to give more incentive and push to succeed so you guys won’t slack off. I’m considering it but I want this to be more of a learning experience, for some, and for all of us to make a pretty decent chunk of change.

If you haven’t read some of my team members’ expectations already, please do so.  If these teams work out, I will definitely be working with you guys for upcoming projects.

Q&A Posts: The Answers and Backlinks – Because of my unexpected laptop crashing, like I’ve mentioned too many damn times just a couple of times, a few things got postponed. I had to set my priorities elsewhere but I’ll have the Q&A answers post and backlinks this upcoming week.

Helpful Posts – Did I mention everything got postponed? I promise I’ll have some more useful and helpful posts this week for you guys trapped in the house from the winter. Or maybe bored on Christmas? Whatever it is, I don’t want to bore you guys with these type of posts so I’ll try to get some helpful and useless ones this week.  Matter of fact, I have one scheduled for tomorrow.

Revisiting Old Online Projects – I have a bunch of old projects that I never finished either because I’ve been lazy, I forgot about them or I just didn’t have the time, but now I have to find the time because I’m in need of that extra cash to pay back some of these bills.

I mean, damn, I considered selling this blog so I could possibly take the easy route. But don’t worry, I’m not at that point… yet.

Please Join My Current Contest (It’s Easy!) – If you haven’t joined my contest to win a Flip Mino or iPod Nano (and more) sponsored by Market Leverage then you should get on it. All you have to do is submit an affiliate tip. A lot of people are new to affiliate marketing but who knows, your tip may very well be the best one I may read.

MarketLeverage Win a Flip Mino HD or iPod Nano

Special Thank You To These Folks – Quite a lot of people were nice enough to take some time out their busy day to give me some good helpful information on my laptop crashing situation so I wanted to thank you guys. You guys are here for a good read, yet, nice enough to help me out when needed too. I will probably have to follow-up with a few of you guys for additional questions as soon as I get my stupid Outlook working properly.

But thank to:

- Clint

- Trevomanut

- Vishalhd – *cough* link dropper *cough* Oh, and also, I was using Firefox if you read the second paragraph.

- Luke

- Blog for Bloggers

- Kurt Avish

- Barry

- MLDina

- Play Games Win Prizes

- Matt Helphrey

- Tom At The Home Business Archive

- Ben (didn’t get a chance to call yet, what’s your time zone?)

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! – I hope you guys all have a great Christmas, enjoy the snow (make sure not to eat the yellow snow!), get great presents, eat good food, drink eggnog, etc. Have a good one!