Half-Hour Workweek

Google AdManager Beta Launch

By Michael on March 13, 2008

If you haven’t heard already – Google has quietly launched an invite-only Beta for their AdManager product.

This is incredibly exciting news. Everyone currently using other Ad management suites, including OpenX, will find themselves migrating to Google AdManager as soon as possible. I really support Open Source and have had great experiences using PHPads (OpenX), but when the Google Goliath makes a move like this… there really isn’t any way for other solutions to survive. This is an E.L.E. for those developments.

Check out the FAQ and Features list to find out more on how Google hosting, analytics and the other benefits of using Google AdManager is going to directly effect our online businesses.

And, before you do anything else today, GO SIGN UP FOR THE BETA AND TRY TO GET AN INVITE! (if you didn’t receive a private invite already).

Posted in Affiliates, Net Marketing | Leave a response

2008 Economic Stimulus Package

By Michael on March 9, 2008

Paul Bourque, over at UberAffiliate made a post regarding a letter he received from the IRS, letting him know he basically won’t be receiving a nice little rebate check of $600 or so. For most of us who don’t qualify for the rebate, due to our having an adjusted gross income over $75k ($150k for those filing joinltly), it may seem strange why the IRS would want to distribute money so unfairly…

I posted the following comment in response to his post to hopefully bring a bit of clarity to everyone on why the IRS/Fed are taking actions to stimulate the economy that seem counter-productive:

Paul,

I just wanted to point out a few things about the letter you received from the IRS.

First off, everyone should know that it cost the IRS over $42 Million Dollars (Yes: $42,000,000.00+) to send that form letter out to everyone who may or may NOT qualify for the rebate. Talk about a waste of money — should have just let the media tell the masses they have some petty cash coming their way.

Second, in response to WHY the IRS is not giving rebate checks to those of us who are filing taxes with too high of a gross income, the reasons are many but the main component is due to the overwhelming true statistic that “middle class” (and more recently the new so-called “upper lower-class” — those who make over $3k gross income — any lower and you don’t get a rebate either…) all spend most of their disposable income on everyday consumer goods, eating out and entertainment. Statistics show that those making over $75k per year spend FAR LESS, on those specific categories, and are most often very frugal with their more expensive purchases. They spend almost all of their “disposable” money wisely and will opt to invest such monies right back into their own businesses, if self-employed, or into real estate / stocks / mutual funds.

So, even though at first glance it might seem unfair to some of us, the reality is that the IRS and the Fed are putting this “stimulus” money right into the hands of those who will gladly hand it right back to the “rich” — and therefore bringing truth to the quip of the “rich getting richer.” The divide between the rich and the lower/middle classes will continue to broaden as long as they remain fiscally uneducated and unable to control their basic desires to spend money as if it will go bad, like a coupon with an expiration date.

There are several other reasons why the 2008 Stimulus Package actually helps the most wealthy 1% of America, yet also attempts to help those who allowed themselves to be swallowed up by the “irrational exuberance” (quote from Alan Greenspan, ex-Chairman of the Fed) of the last decade or so. But this is intended as a comment to your post, not a book, so we won’t go into all the details now.

I’m glad to hear you aren’t receiving your “rebate check” — it means you’ve done better than 95% or so of all American citizens this last year in gross income.

Have a great night!
- Michael, halfhourworkweek.com

P.S. Also, keep in mind, the IRS knows most individuals earning over $75k AGI will claim their income and file their taxes accordingly and they don’t really care about those making under $3k. So, they’ve just provided an “incentive” for everybody else to quickly file their taxes on time to get that rebate and, in effect, get more tax dollars into the hands of the Fed… faster.

It is a positive move for everyone to have active conversations on this topic… staying informed keeps you ahead of the game!

Posted in Finance | Leave a response

Update to Credit is Important

By Michael on December 20, 2007

First off, a quick update!

Many of you are finally receiving e-mail responses to messages you may have sent to me from up to a month ago — I took a couple month-long retreats and had some incredible experiences, which I will post about in the near future.

I appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding my time constraints. I enjoy and appreciate receiving e-mail, but I am not about to start taking up huge chunks of my time responding to messages.

I’m going to return to making more frequent posts soon, as I have some great information to pass on to site readers and all of you RSS subscribers!

To get back into the swing of things, I wanted begin by giving a longer response to a comment left by Scott in regards to Credit Card balance:

18% seems pretty arbitrary. Where did you get that figure? I’ve seen 50% and 75% and 90% discussed as key cutoff points on FatWallet Finance but haven’t heard anything about 18%. - Scott

The 18% figure was given to me by an Executive over at Wells Fargo Financial. A fantastic company, one of the largest banking institutions in the States, and I highly recommend you find a nearby branch or business center of their banking arm and work out getting yourself a personal business banker to assist you with all aspects of your endeavors.

Some further details from her indicate that this seemingly arbitrary number is derived from analysis of how the credit bureaus’ algorithms define what is to be considered “good or bad,” which is then used to determine an overall score when combined with all the other factors of credit (i.e. existence of any derogatory elements, such as being late on payments, etc.) The 18% number, arbitary or not, is what WFF credit consultants use when doing seminars or information briefings for mortgage brokers to assist them in taking their clients’ scores to the next level. Therefore, if a mortgage brokerage was on top of their game, they would be advising their clients to aim for this number as well.

Wells Fargo also wants consumers to know about their new program, announced on Dec. 5, called Steps To Success^SM, the mortgage industry’s first comprehensive program aimed at helping Nonprime customers take a proactive approach to their credit and get on the right path towards their financial goals.

True financial education is something all of our schools are lacking; managing credit and debt is what young adults and even children (at some level) need to receive now more than ever. Let’s hope the readily available information on the Internet will give future generations an easy way to gain access to understanding of this important aspect of our lives!

Posted in Affiliates, Finance | 1 Response

Easy Web Traffic Increase

By Michael on September 17, 2007

I’m back from a week-long excursion and happy to say I am feeling just great!

It definitely wasn’t a vacation, as “a vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you’ve been taking” (Earl Wilson quote) — and I enjoy every minute of what I do on a daily basis. I’ll get into the habit of letting you know when I am planning on not posting for more than a few days at a time.

So, how about a few tips on increasing your sites’ web traffic with little or no effort? Let’s dive in.

We’ll have to break things up into two types of basic sites — business/sales sites and more personal/blog style sites. (Both types may serve as a “muse,” depending on monetization and other factors.)

First off, increasing traffic to your more traditional “business” income sites (cart-based, services, affiliate sites), without just increasing your spending on Google AdWords, can be accomplished by just making subtle and even simple changes to your content and layout.

Content: Increase the relevancy of your content — create more in-depth explanations by linking to FAQ’s and provide your customers with access to more information (yes, even to other sites that you do not own) to give them the feeling of confidence in your position as an authority site for your specific product/service. Even in the beginning of this very article, I provided a direct link to Wikipedia.com — if someone might want to find out more about professional baseball player Earl Wilson (who said that great quote). Just that action may result in more traffic down the line, because even though a reader may forget Earl’s name or the exact quote, there is a very good chance they will remember reading the quote here at HHWW and return to the site to find that specific link leading back to Wikipedia.

Layout: Always re-visit your sites to ensure that the layout is readable, easy to navigate and just has an overall user-friendliness. Would you return to a site that annoyed you everytime you wanted to browse? I can think of a few sites that have an annoying layout or difficult navigation.

I’ll give you a great example. Sometimes I like to visit StumbleUpon.com and check out a few videos. Seems simple enough. After going to the site and clicking Videos, you are presented with several thumbnail-size video links and not a Stumble button. That means you have to click one first, just to get started. This not only annoys me, but I have actually met two web-savvy people who actually kept looking on that page for a Stumble button for a couple minutes.

Once you’ve actually loaded the video interface, try clicking on the StumbleUpon logo in the top left corner to return to the site’s main page — no dice. It doesn’t link. Sure, you can use the back button, but that is something that should be ingrained into every web designer’s subconscious — logo/name links back to homepage (almost like a reset button for the user). In fact, there are almost no navigation options — aside from Sign Out & Learn More. Visitors remember even the slightest difficulty in navigation or awkward layout and will respond by not returning to the site as often.

Secondly, for your personal/blog style sites, you should definitely consider the above two items along with the following:

Consistency: Keep your topics consistent. (Or at least organized into well-defined categories). Write new posts on a consistent basis, and if possible, try to write a minimum of one post per day to build traffic faster. You’ll get more traffic over time, free, from organic searches on Google and other engines as your overall content expands by subject and depth.

Social Linking: You will automatically build traffic as more sites point to your site as an authority on a specific subject or if you are writing great content. There are, however, other ways to build up the number of sites/links pointing to your blog.

I mentioned one such service above: StumbleUpon. You should check it out and utilize it right away. Many sites are getting the majority of their traffic just from being Stumbled Upon.

Another, newer service, started by John Reese (super successful Internet marketer) over at Income.com, has been released as BlogRush and it is already taking the blog world by storm. It was released for public use a few days ago, and as of now, all the features seem to be working great — including the Dashboard stats (which didn’t quite function at launch!).

~~BlogRush~~ is set up to allow each user to earn “syndication credits” based on how many folks are looking at other posts that are listed on their blog (you can see a working example of BlogRush here on HHWW, on the right sidebar). It has the potential to build traffic exponentially over a short period of time, and best of all, its free.

And, even newer (just announced today at the Techcrunch40 Conference), is an upcoming service from Adbrite (the company started by Phillip of F’d Company fame) named Spottt. Make sure you go sign up now to qualify for the upcoming Beta program while you can.

That’s it for now. I’ll be making a post about SEOmoz’s contest results and my thoughts on landing pages, soon.

Posted in Affiliates, Net Marketing, Web Design | 1 Response

Luxury Living on the Cheap, Part 1.5

By Michael on September 8, 2007

After an interesting comment was posted in response to my “Luxury Living on the Cheap” entry, I mentioned that I would spend some time going into specifics on how to put things into motion and accomplish it for yourself. This is not quite Part 2 of the post, but I feel Neuromancerr’s second comment brought up a good issue and I want to respond with my thoughts on home foreclosures and the basic mortgage meltdown that we are experiencing here in the US.

…I want a permanent place in Dallas. I am targeting mid november for that. With the big mortgage companies filing bankruptcy It is opening up some big foreclosures around here. I need some hard facts and good ideas to work with as I try to get a house for half as much as it’s worth. (Neuromancer, seductiveman.com)

You’ll probably meet up with quite a bit of competition for foreclosures in Dallas’ nicer neighborhoods. Most lenders, even ones heading for bankruptcy, will want to get as much of their investment out of a foreclosure property as they can.

Typically, lenders lose approximately $40-$60k whenever they end up making an REO out of a property.

I’d advise you seek out a homeowner who might be “in trouble” with their payments, but not yet in a foreclosure situation with their bank. Let’s say an example homeowner lost their job or has decided they want to move to Argentina and live entirely off one of their muses — but can’t sell their Dallas home quick enough (because of current market conditions & listing saturation, etc). Using some skillful negotiation and a good knowledge of the real estate market in your area — you will be able to get a property for considerably less than what it may currently appraise for (or sell for on the open market).

This can be accomplished by either assuming their current mortgage loan, or, depending on how transfer of title works in Texas, by taking over their mortgage payment in exchange for full interest in the property. There are a number of resources online that describe such a process in detail.

But, that could be considered a totally different scenario than what my post on “Luxury Living on the Cheap” was using. We’ll save that for Part 2.

Instead, I’ll describe another method for getting some true luxury accommodations in Dallas, that has nothing to do with foreclosures or pre-foreclosures. (And, again, not a scenario that matches my specific situation.)

First off, you’ll have to make some basic assumptions and hopefully have access to an appraiser or Realtor with the ability to check Tax Records. Also, keep in mind that statistics show the majority of homes purchased over $1 million dollars are paid with cash (no mortgage loan).

For the sake of this example, let’s say someone owns a property in North Dallas — an exceptional Preston Hollow estate property — and it is worth approximately $2.9 million on the open market.

Given today’s current buyers’ market, they probably won’t get more than $2.5 million, if they are actually lucky enough to get it sold, and may end up waiting a long, long time for that special buyer to come along.

Though the current owner may have initially purchased the property outright a decade ago, folks’ circumstances often change and they may find themselves taking out a mortgage loan on the property to infuse cash into their business or for some other important reason. This, combined with other aspects of the scenario, creates a picture of a possible opportunity for an individual to step forward and make something happen.

We’ll keep it simple as possible, to ensure everyone will understand the basic concept:

In order to get ahold of some cash and liquidate part of their equity in the home, the owners obtained a mortgage loan on the property for approximately 30% LTV (Loan to Value) — in the amount of $900,000.00 — and therefore have a mortgage payment of approximately $5,250 (at 7% interest-only). One of the reasons they may be hoping to sell the property is to cash out their remaining equity, or, perhaps it is to get rid of that pesky $5k payment that they are responsible for each and every month.

Now, you come into the picture and basically offer the owner a monthly payment of $7,000 (covering their mortgage payment, along with part of their property taxes), in exchange for not only taking possession of the property as a rental/tenant (via a formal TIC Agreement or other contractual legal means) — but also with the caveat that a percentage of the amount you pay will yield you an interest in the property itself. This interest in the property will be directly proportionate to a specific agreed upon amount and, upon sale or transfer of the property, will basically be realized in the form of money back into your pocket.

So, you’ve accomplished a few things here.

Firstly, you’ve released the owner from the burden of payment on their loan and a portion of the property taxes.

Secondly, you are allowing the owners to continue to build equity via further appreciation of the estate over time — thereby keeping their large investment intact, instead of their selling it outright.

And, finally, you’ve just secured yourself a luxury accommodation for less than half of what the typical mortgage on such a property would be (approximately $15,000 per month, according to Realtor.com).

Your payment is immediately half the typical mortgage payment, PLUS you are building interest in the property itself as an investment vehicle.

This is just one of probably hundreds of different ways that people have developed as a means to acquiring true luxury accommodations ANYWHERE in the world, in ANY market.

And, wow, Dallas looks quite nice — I usually stick to looking around Austin/Houston. Although, I have been looking as far south in Texas as McAllen! (By the way, have you seen the amount of home you get for your dollar in McAllen? Geez!)

Posted in Finance, Lifestyle, Real Estate | 2 Responses

Luxury Living on the Cheap

By Michael on September 7, 2007

If you’ve read Tim Ferriss’ best-seller Four Hour Work Week, you know he is a proponent of living really well for not a lot of money.

The idea behind it is that for the cost of “average” expenditures for housing in the United States or UK, you can live like royalty abroad — in luxury accommodations. The philosophy, though, is based upon being more of an adventurous vagabond, taking advantage of lower cost of living expenses in certain countries, rather than being an American homesteader paying as much as 80% of your 9-5 income on a home mortgage (as most residents of California do).

Giving up what most people consider “home” to be — a single residence that encapsulates who you are, defined by what type of nick-knacks and other items that have been picked up along the way — allows you to embrace a different type of lifestyle and develop a new definition of “home.”

A new definition of “home” and what it really means to YOU.

“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.”

Very wise insight by Matsuo Basho, the most famous poet during the Edo period of Japan.

Fantastic. As long as you don’t mind moving to Argentina or Thailand, right?

Well, not exactly. Tim mentioned in his book locales such as Berlin, Tokyo and even San Francisco as places he likes to frequent — but these places aren’t typically considered to be “cheap,” especially not for luxury accommodations. There was a thread on the 4HWW message board, commenting that living in Berlin (in a specific neighborhood mentioned in Four Hour Work Week) was far more expensive than the reasonable cost quoted by Tim. A response from Tim stated that, indeed, the cost he paid was accurate and was based upon some savvy negotiating skills on his part. This point was further discussed by a world-trekking family at Familyhack.com.

In a nutshell, it is often difficult for people to fathom there are incredible opportunities to actually live in luxury accommodations for a bottom-dollar price — even in what some consider to be the most expensive places to live. The reason it hard to comprehend is due to the fact that every opportune living situation is very different and sometimes unique in nature. Your skills in negotiation and critical thinking come quickly into play as soon as you happen upon a such an opportunity.

Acquiring luxury accommodations, whether domestically or abroad, will often vary in cost dramatically — proportionate to where exactly you are looking to live. Of course, Argentina or Thailand will cost you a great deal less to live like royalty — yet, you can apply many of the same ideas and principals for negotiations in more expensive locales, and realize a great discount.

To reinforce what I am saying here and to support the notion that Tim Ferriss is not just out of his mind, I am a perfect example of how you can utilize this type of thinking anywhere in the world.

That’s the view of San Francisco I’m looking at while typing this post. It isn’t a scene from a hotel room or outside on a hilltop vista — it is from a luxury residence that costs between $4,500 and $5,000 per month.

I pay approximately half that amount each month. Keep in mind that I know this amount may far exceed what you currently consider to be “cheap” for luxury living — but it really does come down to where exactly you are attempting to live. This residence, in a town named Tiburon, is located in Marin County — one of the most expensive & affluent counties in the US.

Thing is, many of my neighbors work a non-stop grind at jobs they hate to enjoy the same amenities that I do for half the cost. In fact, I probably have more time to take in the view and enjoy the lovely town of Tiburon than half the neighborhood block!

Zooming in, you see the Tiburon Ferry on its way through the bay. It shuttles people just like you and me, back and forth to work at a job — and many of them don’t have to. They don’t even have to leave everything behind to go live in Argentina or Thailand, either. It actually comes down to recognizing opportunities when they present themselves, as well as seeking out an effective way to do everyday things. It is about utilizing others’ knowledge and harmonizing it into your own life. Reading Tim’s book is probably a great way to start for many people.

Don’t let it end there, though! Use what you learn as a springboard into taking action and taking full control of your life. Start your path towards freedom from the 9-5 grind, as well as financial freedom, and you’ll soon realize:

– the journey itself is your home.

Posted in Finance, Lifestyle, Real Estate, Travel | 7 Responses

Domaining as a Muse

By Michael on September 6, 2007

Domaining is the business of “buying, selling, developing and monetizing Internet domain names,” as per Wikipedia. Becoming a “domainer” is entirely different than someone who cybersquats a domain name. Purchasing generic, yet relevant, key terms as domain names often yields incredible results for both traffic exposure and monetary gain — all with very little or no advertising costs.

Domaining is a perfect business (or muse) for what Tim, at 4HWW, would call the New Rich. Most people are surprised to discover that “direct navigation,” or the action of a web user to type what they are looking for directly into their web browser’s address field (i.e. “omahadivorcecounseling.com“) is used by millions of web surfers in the United States and abroad, everyday.

Though there are domainers who have upwards of 300,000 unique domain names, like Frank, for example, the future of being a domainer is creating muse-type developed sites utilizing well-defined and niche domain names that make sense and are a brand in and of themselves. Even the mainstream media is beginning to acknowledge and realize the domain industry, including this article in the New York Times. Imagine an online business that generates traffic all on its own (via direct navigation), combined with proper use of Google PPC and great pagerank for using a domain that aligns with what you are selling.

It all adds up to more profit, more free time and opens up the door to reselling a domain to a bigger fish.
There is much discussion in the world of domainers in regards to how many Web 2.0 style companies are using random names that they make up out of thin air — instead of doing the smart thing and securing generic key term domains that match their business model. In time, those individuals who took the time to put their creative mind to work and find great domains — both undiscovered, as well as underpriced domains available on the secondary market — will be richly rewarded as companies seek out generic domain names at values that most folks cannot currently comprehend in today’s domain market.

If you are thinking that becoming a domainer is a perfect muse for your life as part of the New Rich, send me an e-mail
or post a comment to let me know — I’d be happy to help a few people get started with some specific tips.

Posted in Domaining | 2 Responses

Credit is important! (as I posted at FHWW)

By Michael on September 5, 2007

The very best reason to have more than one or even just two credit cards is to help you establish a good credit rating with the three credit bureaus. Having a great credit score will enable you to utilize your muses to their fullest potential and will also open up many doors when applying for an account with a wholesaler or vendor.

You should have at least three credit cards (but not an excessive number, no more than five) with a balance of approximately 18% on all cards. Unlike what most sources tell you — having a $0 balance on your cards is NOT a great way to get higher credit scores. In fact, having no balance shows that you don’t actually know how to “manage” your credit to your benefit.

Most important, never max your cards out and make sure you never go over-limit. Even though it may seem counterproductive to keep your cards at 18%, you will see much better credit scores in the long run. Just make sure to avoid any credit card that has an annual fee attached to it. In addition, make sure you use all of your cards at least one time every six months. Cards that are considered “inactive” will not be of much help. Paying a bit of interest is a small price to pay for building excellent credit.

Here’s an example of how to use three credit cards in a positive way — all while helping your muses make you more money:

- Card 1 & 2 are used to 18% capacity each month to pay for PPC advertising via your muses’ Google Adwords programs, plus MS Adcenter / Yahoo (Overture).

- Card 3 is used for your “everyday” expenses (up to 18%) of the credit limit, this allows you to keep track of your daily expenditures so you can keep on budget and make sure you are hitting your goals for your Dreamlines.

If you have a credit limit of $5,000 on each card 1 & 2, you will have approximately $1,800 available to use for your PPC programs (18% of $10k overall limit). By showing your ability to manage creditor debt — the Fair Isaac (FICO) and other two credit bureaus (Experian & TransUnion) will interpret a higher range of credit scores in your favor.

In time, you can use your higher credit scores to request an increase in your cards’ credit limits in order to have even more access to funds for your PPC programs (you may find that you will quickly exceed your available 18% as you create more and more successful muses). And, let’s face it — Google doesn’t mind accepting your credit card(s) as payment for your Adwords accounts.

You can request a credit increase over the phone and even online with your card issuer, in fact, by managing my credit so well over the last few years, I have successfully had increases without having my credit pulled at all!

I’d recommend you get ahold of an American Express card, as well, if you don’t already have one. Once you’ve done enough Google PPC charges each month on your American Express you’ll be able to qualify for an AMEX Centurion card (you won’t mind the $5k setup and $2,500 annual fee once you’ve achieved this feat, trust me). If you haven’t seen one, it is also known as “the black card” and is made of titanium. You’ll be able to run all your muses’ ad programs from it and not worry about hitting a credit limit each month. Plus the discounts and free flight upgrades are awesome.

If anyone needs any help or has more questions about credit, I’d be happy to assist when I can. (Please don’t hesitate to ask via comments, but don’t look for a quick response… give me some time to get an answer back to you!)

Posted in Finance, Net Marketing | 5 Responses

Half-Hour Workweek

More money. Less work.