As the current financial climate is really beginning to bite, more people are looking to try to earn extra money with their camera. But at the present, people are spending less and everyone is tightening their belt so what are your options?

The first question that you must ask yourself is Are my photographs good enough to sell, do I have the confidence to photograph people and do I have the commitment to see it through? Making money with your camera is not an instant quick fix for your finances. Dont forget theres the seasoned pro photographer out there also trying to drum up more business and if they are struggling, well what about the newcomer?

But things are not all bad. The large company has to still market their goods and services. Couples are still getting married and there are still opportunities for the portrait photographer. Even in the hard times people still have money for luxuries but you have to market your photographic services and marketing usually involves spending some hard earned cash. But if youve got the money, confidence and commitment, then go for it!

As the owner of a Digital Camera you do not have any film or processing costs. You can shoot as many pictures as you want without using any spare cash that you may have. One market I would certainly look at is the Microstock Photography Market, but dont expect to be rich overnight. The big plus with submitting your photographs to the Microstock Photography Market is that you dont have to layout any money to get started. The pictures that you upload to the libraries, who sell them on your behalf, charge no joining or subscription fees. They take their commission when and only when your image has been downloaded from their library.

I know it sound too good to be true, selling pictures each and everyday and receiving your commission cheque at the end of every month, well it is too good to be true. The commission that you receive from a download can be as little as twenty five cents. But before you stop reading let me explain. You can have that image registered with any number of Microstock Libraries. You could sell hundreds a day in theory, but I doubt that you will until you have built up a really good portfolio.

I personally, on average earn six dollars every year for each image that I upload to the Microstock Photographic Market. So if I were to upload ten images from my day out this Sunday I should earn over the next twelve months sixty dollars and another sixty dollars in the next twelve months. Some of my images have not sold yet; others are downloaded very other month. My top selling images sell on a regular basis and bring in a regular income.

My personal view of Microstock Photography is that it is an additional regular monthly income, my pension for later in life. I also regard it as a release where I can be creative and shoot my own thing. If you love taking pictures, look forward to building a future income, setting a goal to aim for all without spending any cash, Microstock Photography could be for you. Yes you can make good money from it but you must be totally committed and upload images on a regular basis. As a long term option then Microstock Photography could be regular passive income from your camera that you are looking for!

The first question that you must ask yourself is Are my photographs good enough to sell, do I have the confidence to photograph people and do I have the commitment to see it through?

A Guest Post by Jennifer Blanchard of Procrastinating Writers

I read this blog daily. But it wasnt until last week when I noticed the results of Darrens poll on How long have you been blogging? that I decided it was time to submit a guest post.

According to that poll, more than 4,000 of this blogs readers dont actually have a blog.

I have to say, this fact stunned me a little. Why would 4,000-plus people want to read about blogging if they dont actually have a blog?

Then the same answer that caused me to start my own blog popped up in my mind – Procrastination.

Procrastination is the continual habit of putting off – sometimes until the very last minute – tasks you need (and want) to accomplish.

Oftentimes people procrastinate on tasks they really dont want to be doing, like household chores, writing a paper for school or making a phone call theyre dreading. But many times, people also procrastinate on tasks they actually want to be doing.

Why People Procrastinate

There are many reasons why people procrastinate. But the top reasons include:

• Fear – Fear of success, fear of failure, fear of not being good enough and fear of rejection are the most stand-out fears procrastinators often have. They fear starting a blog because it might not be as good as someone elses blog. Or they fear starting a blog that no one will read. Or they fear they dont know enough about a particular topic to start a blog. Or they fear their blog will actually be successful and that will cause them too much stress and anxiety. This list really could go on forever.
• The Phrases Should and Have To – Believe it or not, by telling yourself you have to do something (ie: start a blog) or that you should be doing something, it makes you not want to do it at all. This is when procrastinating behaviors creep in.
• Whole Project Thinking – When you think about starting a blog, youre likely bombarded by all the things requiredto start a blog – you have to decide on a domain name, purchase it, then you have to choose a blogging platform, then you need to decide what youre going to write about and you have to come up with topics and determine how often youre going to post and then, and then, and then Thinking of the project as a whole, rather than as small pieces, overwhelms you, which then causes you to procrastinate.
• Perfectionism – Other than fear, this is the main reason people procrastinate. They get so worried that the blog they create wont be perfect from the get-go that they dont even bother starting it. Perfectionism causes serious stress, which is always a recipe for disaster.
• Telling Yourself Its Too Much Work and Not Enough Fun – When people think a project they want to complete is going to be more work than fun, it usually stops them in their tracks and keeps them from starting.

How To Stop Procrastinating and Start Your Blog

Now that you know what causes you to procrastinate, you can begin to take steps to overcome it.

Truth be told, starting a blog is not as difficult as you think it is. All it really requires is a domain name, a content plan and a platform.

So here are some steps you can take to begin overcoming your procrastinating behaviors and start your blog:

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyways

Ive heard this phrase a lot lately, and it couldnt ring more true. Yes, its scary to start a blog. Its scary to put yourself out there and share your ideas with the world. Yes, people may reject you. Yes, your blog wont be perfect.

What you have to do is understand this; accept it; and start your blog anyhow.

If you allow fear to hold you back, youll never really be happy in life because youll always be compromising (or avoiding) what you truly want.

Remove Should and Have to from Your Vocabulary

These phrases make starting a blog feel forced on you instead of being a conscious choice youre making; resentment and rebellion are typically the next feelings that come up.

In reality, theres nothing you should be doing or have to be doing. If starting a blog doesnt inspire you or if you dont have a topic that youre passionate about, then by all means, dont start a blog. But my guess is, starting a blog does inspire you and you do have a topic youre passionate about, otherwise why would you be reading this blog?

Should and Have to take your power away and give the power to the task of starting a blog. But by changing your self-talk, you can easily change the way you feel.

Instead of telling yourself, I should start a blog or I have to start a blog soon, tell yourself, I want to start a blog or I choose to start a blog. Words like want and choose are powerful words. These words mean youre making a conscious choice. Youre deciding to start a blog; its not being forced on you.

View the Project in Pieces

You cant start a blog and have it all pieced together in one day. It just doesnt work like that. It takes time to come up with a name and determine a content strategy and learn how to write headlines that are effective and find traffic, etc. Instead, view starting a blog like putting a puzzle together: One piece at a time.

The best way to do this is to break the process of starting a blog into steps. Start slowly. Spend some time thinking about what type of blog you want to start. Then choose a domain name. Research available platforms and choose the one that best fits you. Next work on developing a content strategy, which includes what youre going to write about and how often. Then work on how youre going to market it and get traffic. Then you can work on finding ways to make money from your blog, and so on.

If you learn to break larger projects into smaller, more manageable pieces, youll feel less overwhelmed, which will help keep you focused and not procrastinating.

Give Up Perfectionism

No matter how hard you work, you will never be perfect. Perfection is an idea, not a reality. Humans werent born to be perfect. They were born to make mistakes and to learn from them. So rather than berate yourself for not being perfect, remember that life – and blogging – is a journey. And the only way to reach the end goal of that journey is to take the first step: Start your blog!

As you work through the trials and errors of starting a blog, youll come to realize that mistakes are actually gifts in disguise. Because for each mistake you make, you learn how not to do something, which will help you do it better next time.

Make It Fun

As the saying goes, If its not fun, dont do it. But if you never start a blog, youll never get to see how much fun it actually is. Writing about topics youre passionate about and connecting with readers are twoof the most fun things on the planet. And theres definitely nothing more fun than getting an e-mail or Twitter message from a reader telling you how much youve inspired them.

What blog project have you been procrastinating on? Why?

Jennifer Blanchard is the founder of Procrastinating Writers, a blog that offers advice, motivation and inspiration for writers who struggle to get started. If this sounds like you, be sure to subscribe to her blog and/or follow her on Twitter.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

How To Stop Procrastinating and Start Your Blog

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Website flipping is undoubtedly one of the fastest growing industries on the internet. However, it is also a fact that the industry is hyped to some extent, as there are not many web masters out there who confirm to have gained huge profits from the business of website flipping. So what differentiates a successful website flipper from a website flipper who is a failure or is not that successful? This article aims at helping all those website flippers who are considering website flipping as a serious profession and want to avoid all the reasons which can hinder their success. Please find some important facts below, which will give a clear understanding of the reason why many website flippers fail to make it big in the industry: 1) Lack of thorough research: Website flipping is definitely one of the most profitable jobs on the internet, and hence it does not come as a surprise when many skilled webmasters are tempted to jump into the vocation without researching the niches thoroughly. One fact which no webmaster can afford to ignore is the importance of a dynamic niche. Any website, however well-designed, is going to attract potential buyers only if it includes a topic which is of interest to many. 2) Determining on a niche which cannot be monetized: It is not only important to determine on a popular niche, but it is equally important to check the feasibility of the monetizing factor of the determined niche. One of the primary reason for the failure of many webmasters is that they do not give due importance to the monetizing factor. Websites with niches which are difficult to monetize are likely to fetch very low or no profits. 3) Neglect content: Quality content plays a very decisive role in determining the value of the website. Any website with a poor content is bound to be ignored by many buyers. Poor content is an indication that the website was dealt by an unprofessional, and hence is very unlikely to attract any high paying buyers. No doubt that, a website flipper who does not attach due importance to the content factor, is very unlikely to become a successful website flipper. 4) Outrageous pricing: Many webmasters do everything right with website; however demand such a high price for it that many potential buyers lose interest in such deals. However good a flipped website is, it should be reasonably priced, for the buyer to find it attractive and profitable. 5) Substandard appearance: The look of the website plays a major role in getting high paying customer as the look is the first thing which is going to bring the buyer closer to the deal. Any website flipper, who fails in beautifying his website, is very unlikely to make it big. If you are a website flipper who is diligent enough to avoid the above mentioned reasons for failure, you should not be surprised when success knocks your door next time!

One of the most common questions that our readers ask us is how to increase traffic to their website. To make this as simple as possible I would tell you that there are 2 things you should always be doing: Adding unique useful content and building your link popularity.

Adding Content – When I say you should add unique useful content to your site I really mean the content needs to be 100% original and useful to other people. Writing content just for content sake is a big waste of time, especially if you are the one writing all of the content. When you write useful content people will have a reason to come and read it. People will show it to other people, and people will link to it.

Let me give you a great example of how by writing one good post I increased the traffic to my website by 1000%. I came across a new product a couple of months ago and saw that the product was in my same industry so I looked at the site for a minute or two and then went on with my day. The next day I found a site that was almost exactly the same making the same claims and showing the same pictures of checks and sportscars.

I quickly realized that this new product was a scam. I decided to write an very in depth post about this scam and warning people what to look out for. Little did I realize that this scam was so widespread that thousands of people a month were searching for the name of this new product to find out if it was legit or not.

Because I took the time to write a very detailed post about the product we jumped to the top of the rankings for the product name. The result of this one post was going from a couple of thousand visitors a month to over 20,000 visitors a month. Imagine what your business could do with 10 times the amount of traffic it gets now.

Building Links – Because this is such a hard thing to do people will try to tell you that this is not that important in getting more traffic to your site. In reality, link building has proven to be the most influential factor in the rankings and traffic I have achieved with the internet. Nothing sways rankings more powerfully than good quality one way links that point to your website. (Read more about how to link build here) I acheived #1 rankings in Google with my old SEO website for the term SEO services when my site had much less content and far fewer pages than all of my competitors. How did I do it? A consistent flow of good links.

If you want to know my secret to success I just gave it to you. Good quality content and relevent quality links. If it sounds too simple then try it another more complicated way. All I can give you is what has helped me become successful online.