A lot of people have contacted me with an urgency about learning how to make money online.  As I'm sure many of you have realized, there's no "quick fix" to doing this, but I believe that if you work hard, and keep at it, soon, things will start to work in your favor.

Remember: "Success" only comes before "work" in the dictionary!

With that in mind, today I'd like to share a money generating tip that is definitely good as a long-term strategy.  I think you should consider Writing for Examiner.com as a local-based expert in your niche.

Working with Examiner.com provides a great avenue to market yourself online in two ways.  The first is through Writing for Examiner.com as a location-based Expert, like the “Nashville Scrapbooking Examiner”.  The great thing about Examiner.com, is if they don't have a "Nashville Scrapbooking Examiner", you can submit an application to become one!   Or, if they already have one, you can submit an application for your own suggested Examiner column, for instance "Nashville Scrapbooking Home Business Examiner".  The site pays about a penny per click for article views, so the real value in writing for Examiner.com is becoming a "subject-matter expert" on your topic, and being found more readily in search engine when someone searches for your name or your topic.

Before I started blogging and podcasting, my Examiner.com results were the most prominent things you could find about me on the internet.  I've even had people contact me by finding me through Examiner.com search results to ask me various questions based on the content I've written.  This is something to think about if you are looking to get the most out of your online marketing experience and build your online reputation.  It's a bit time-intensive, but it can have a great payoff!

Another great thing about Examiner.com is that you can re-publish content that you own.  “Re-branding” it for the Examiner.com audience is best to insure that your content stays relevant and keeps readers coming back.  And if you are currently blogging, this provides you with another avenue to get more buzz about what you're doing.

The second way that you can market yourself as an online marketer is to Sponsor an Examiner.com Writer because it is a great use of targeted online marketing.  Say for example you own a local crafts store and you choose to sponsor the "Nashville Scrapbooking Examiner" (if there is one), well you can pay $29 or $39 (depending on the city), and you'll get one of the sponsored links that appears beside their articles.  One of the reasons I'd recommend this as a paid advertising effort is that you'll know that people who are visiting a Nashville-based article are more than likely in the area, and that's a "warm lead" since they're already reading content related to your area, so the ad being positioned right there is capitalizing on their interest.

So, if you're interested in signing up as an Examiner.com writer, you can click this application link, or contact me personally if you’d like to learn more about my experience writing for Examiner.com before filling out an application.

Don't forget to check out the YouTube videos that have been uploaded to my Youtube Channel: YouTube.com/BootstrappingWithout Leave comments on this blog, or send me an email at “podcasts[@]bootstrappingwithoutboots.com”.  There’s also a Twitter account where you can reach out to me in 140 characters or less, and that’s withoutboots.  Finally, you can give me a call on my Google Voice Line at 615-59-BOOTS (that's 615-592-6687).  

Kindra Cotton, Small Business Survival Specialist
Serial Entrepreneur: Jill of All Trades and Master of Two (Information, Technology)