By the time I post this it will be tomorrow, but today… Sunday… my family went to Tulsa for the week. My first impulse was to sit down and cry (which I did for a little bit ~ I can’t believe my baby is gone for a week! ~ oh yeah, and my husband too!) THEN… after a little wallowing I started remembering what my life was like a little over 4 years ago, when I had no one to answer to, no noses to wipe, no one asking a millions questions every minute of my life.
I realized my road bike will fit in the car (without the car seat there!) ~ Now if it gets under 100 degrees I’ll go for a ride *fingers crossed for the morning*
I then went out and cut veggies from the garden and realized it would be a perfect time to get some canning done. As much as I love to cook with Hanna ~ I’m still new to canning and think it will be much easier to do without a million questions and a little one under foot.
So I went looking for recipes. I’ve got plenty of cucumbers for regular pickles, but I’m getting inundated with Zucchini and was wondering if I could can it… so in search of recipes I went.
I found a couple relish recipes, and realized it was getting on dinner time and without my picky eater (the husband) in the house I could eat foods I don’t normally fix. YAY!!
That’s when I came across this fantastic recipe: OH YUM. And so many ingredients I love but the hubby won’t touch. Sounds perfect for dinner.
I’m reading the recipe, and then got to the comments and here’s what I saw:
(the hi-lite is mine). The author talked a lot about this completely fantastic Mandoline she just got, how much she loves it, the great features it has that make it a dream to use and then didn’t tell us what it was, or let us look at it or give us a link. 
I have a mandoline and I haven’t quite figured out how to use it yet (maybe I will for this recipe ~ but I think I’ll probably use the potato peeler method lol)
She is talking to cooks ~ that’s her audience. Don’t you think if she LOVES this mandoline so much, then they will too? Isn’t there a chance that someone out there reading this fantastic recipe might also be in the need of a fantabulous mandoline?
As a matter of fact ~ after a quick search at the Google tool I can see there are 1900 people every month looking for a mandoline review. hmmm…
So many times we get caught up in what we’re talking about (the recipe) that we forget there are other elements involved in the story that could easily help us monetize a post. (the mandoline)
I know in the beginning I would think about putting links to tools I was using or talking about in the post and I’d feel like “oh jeez, I don’t want them to think I’m trying to sell them something”.
I don’t think like that anymore. I think along the lines of wow ~ I don’t want my readers to have to say… I would have liked to have seen the (fill in the blank) you recommend. I’m in the market for one too!
I was talking to Mary K about this the other day. (She’s my accountability partner and the Queen of Play) She was saying how frustrating it is when she’s reading something and someone’s talking about a something ~ be it a tool, or a site or whatever ~ and they don’t link to it. It’s like they are “keeping” it from her, and she really wishes they would share.
As you’re writing, and telling stories make sure you keep in mind the tools you use. Those are the things you are likely to be very passionate about, and may be things you can easily monetize. If you leave out your links you’re doing not only yourself, (almost all the De Buyers mandolines at Amazon are over 100 dollars) but your readers a disservice.
What tools of your trade do you use regularly. Are you talking about them in your blog posts? Are you linking people to be able to buy them? If not… maybe you should be. I’d love to hear what you think in the comments section. 
Now I’m off to make that fabulous looking recipe.
No related posts.
You should always take advantage of the easy stuff. You provided the content, no need to feel guilty about providing access to the feed. They may be interested, they may not. If they are then all the better.
Chris@Internet Marketing Services´s last [type] ..Benefits of Being a Local Intenet Marketing System Customer
Maybe it was her way of leaving you in suspense. I am sure you we not the only one who was disappointed . This should teach all types of bloggers a great lesson. Although you should leave people asking for more, it should be because you did your job well and not because they were not satisfied with whatever you offered.
I guess that’s the trick to become the hunted and not the hunter. As an internet marketer it’s hard to convince readers to buy the products you’re promoting. Thank you for sharing these ideas to us. It really is an interesting article!
Hi Jackie,
I really appreciated this post – especially the part where you mention that you used to be afraid to link to a product, because you didn’t want people to think all you were doing is “selling.”
I, too, have felt that way – and you make a LOT of sense with your newer response! I just hadn’t thought about it, that someone might resent NOT mentioning the link where they could get this thing or that thing…
I love to write, and I do a LOT of it. Obviously, in ezine articles, we’re not allowed to really sell our products in the bulk of the article, but to NOT have a call to action in the resource box would be nuts! I need to be a little less afraid, and a little more confident!
I think your blog is terrific, and I’m bookmarking it! You’re an inspiration!
Cheers to You!
Kath
(PS: I had a “Computer Hiccup” when I was posting the original response…Hope this one comes through correctly!) Thanks!
This is so true as what you’re writing were based from real experiences. And for sure your readers will really be eager to buy.
Joe@El Paso Divorce´s last [type] ..Understand Child Custody with a Divorce Lawyer in El Paso
This is really a great post. In a website it is important that you can persuade your customers to do what do you want them to do. Because if you can do that, the traffic that is coming to your site is useless.
I think many people are afraid of linking too many times on their blogs and they shouldn’t be. As long as the link is related to what you are writing about, don’t be afraid to link to it.
Mary, don’t be afraid to link right away this way you don’t have to go back and do it later. You never know when the right reader may come along and make a purchase.
B
Bcarter @ Dance Dance Revolutions´s last [type] ..TV DDR Pads
Jackie, I loved this post. Great ideas for Monetization and thanks for reminding us that it is OK to add things for profit to our posts. Sometimes I forget that people really are interested in what we have to say.(Sometimes LOL)
Gail
gail@homedecoratingideas´s last [type] ..header-03
Hi Jackie, your mention of canning reminded me of a website I came across at http://www.simplycanning.com its jam packed with info on how to canning, tools and related recipes, maybe you can find some info and tips there to help you with your own canning.
David´s last [type] ..Pirate Theme Costume and Party Ideas updated Sun Jun 6 2010 7-33 am CDT
Jackie,
I don’t know what a mandoline is? And also could you please tell what lol means? I thought you needed to build up a presence on the web before selling something?
A mandoline is a slicing tool. LOL means laugh out loud.
You do have to have a blog or somewhere where you write.
You have to have readers to buy something, but you can still monetize your blog as you go ~ that way when you do get readers it will already be done.
A very common trap – feeling guilty putting links out there.
You’ve got the right mindset though. You’re not just selling me something, you;re helping me achieve something; the solution just happens to be cost-based.
Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last [type] ..I Figured it Out- Plus – I Need HELP Locating a Plugin
Dennis – You are absolutely right that this is a common trap.
I’m figuring out that this mindset usually comes from being in the “Internet Marketing” crowd…..not stopping to realize that the general public, non-Internet marketers, probably have no clue what affiliate links are. Sure, they click and see it goes to Amazon, but it’s only OTHER INTERNET MARKETERS that say “Hah! Gotcha! This is your AFFILIATE LINK”. Then they click off and act like you’ve done something bad or worse, they are maybe threatened by the “competition”, or they might even steal the commission by swapping out with their own affiliate link.
The average person would not know what the word affiliate link even means. Hence, why we have to put a Disclosure on our sites. However, I’m not convinced that most people even read the Disclosures, nor really care to comprehend what it all means.
Truly, I really think it’s the sour-puss attitudes of other Internet marketers that we are reacting to on a sub-conscious level. At least this is what I have figured out about myself. Jackie’s post really made me stop and dig through my own “fears” about making people “mad” by having affiliate links on my sites. I’m not a hard seller, nor do I like sales per se. Affiliate marketing is not supposed to be so intimidating like straight in your face car salesman pitches.
However, many Internet Marketers that create and market products for the Internet Marketing NICHE, as well as some of the affiliates….use a hard sell.
Products that are NOT in the Internet Marketing niche should not be as tough to get that passive affiliate sale. Jackie has said this in previous posts and Lynn Terry often says that regular products are not as difficult to sell. Also Rosalind Gardner has said as much as well.
Well put. I’d say though, it’s not that non-marketers don’t know what it means (anyone with a lick of business logic knows what “affiliate’ means), it’s the simple fact that they just don’t care.
Dad is buying mom a gift. Assuming he is not loyal to particular company, he really cares not who sells it to him.
Jackie, Lynn, Rosalind, and others are 100% right, the *real* money is NOT marketer to marketer, UNLESS…
1. You pick a real good sub-niche.
2. You began in the mid-late 90′s and are now a sought after “guru”.
LOL
Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last [type] ..Organization Under Control – Getting Back to Work!
Thanks again Jackie!
We all need to remember that if someone is reading our blog posts be they personal blogs or “money” blogs… they are reading for a reason and stop worrying about overselling. If we are talking about a product that we love or something that makes our lives easier – give our audience a link to check it out.
Keep the great posts coming – happy to be a part of this great group of people!!
Jane ~ MoneyMom
Jane´s last [type] ..Nostalgic Candy Baskets updated Wed Jul 7 2010 4-15 pm CDT
It’s a belief we all just have to get over. If we love something, then there’s nothing wrong with recommending it and getting paid for it. As long as it doesn’t violate the trust you have with your subscribers, then I say go for it.
Great reminder Jackie! anytime there is an opportunity to link to something, be it a product or just another article within my blog or outside of my blog, I do it!! I want to help as many people out as possible. Linking to a product that I use that will help the reader out is great!
Primal Toad´s last [type] ..Primal-Paleo Recipes- Grass Fed Hot Dogs w- Veggies -amp Banana Avocado Green Smoothie
Hi Jackie,
Thank you for the great reminder opportunity is all around us and in everything we touch and see. It’s really just a matter of experiencing our lives through the eyes of creating opportunity, for ourselves and our readers, to discover new ideas, information and products to solve those little everyday dilemmas or simply make life a bit more fun.
Thank you again for a great, informative blog.
Best,
Sara
Sara´s last [type] ..Scuba Diving- South American Cruise
I have a blog where I had a really hard time (gulp) asking people actually to buy stuff. I’m getting better at it, but this has been a tough one for me anyhow.
Excellent advice. Thanks so much.
That sounds like wisdom to me, but how many of us think that way(?). Now, I need to go back to the posts I’ve already written today – the more personal-type blogs than the money-making niche blogs – and see where I can help my readers.
Thanks for the reminder.
Edie from Elder Care Cafe´s last [type] ..What is a Heart Attack