I’ve gotten to fly my Ercoupe more this fall than since I bought it four years ago. That, in itself has been worth the change of status. I’ve gotten involved in learning to dance (a colleague named Asif was an inspiration) in a style called Hand Dancing and have joined two dance clubs that are active here at the beach. I’ve also gotten on a weight-loss routine, which is simple and “painless” with a program called Lose It! I’m  lovin’ it because it works [very well] for me. I also realized that I’m loving life right now and want it to last a bit longer.

On the business side I’ve been more relaxed now that I am no longer co-managing the checks program. I am proud to have gotten them kicked off and functioning and having them be the influence for the growth of a much larger set of programs. But I am very happy to get back to being just an affiliate and get back to my roots of selling hotel reservations which I’ve been doing since the year 2000. I also had a blast, starting in 2007 by selling business checks and personal picture checks – for other companies – as an affiliate. Those “affiliate days” are back, with a couple of new sites in development, and I am a happy camper. I also started a new merchant site for zoo animal checks, which is sort of a “hobby” site because it features only photographs of animals on checks that I personally shot.

However, with over a dozen years experience in all aspects of this industry, I also get occasional requests for advice. I don’t quite understand why – I’m not all that good – but must have some people buffaloed. LOL With that in mind I started a small consulting and performance (affiliate) marketing business and named it 12PM.com – High Noon Performance Marketing (because I already had that “killer” domain name).

‘Nuff for now…

I did have the service, phone and Internet, shut off in June when Nancy retired. I had been the FSL using since we moved in over four yeara ago.  Sooo…I actually ran a speed test – and it is faster – even though I only get 3G here in South Baltimore. If I was downtown it would be a LOT faster on the 4G network. Imagine – faster Internet connectivity via the cell system than hard-wired direct connect DSL from TPC. Yikes…

But I do have a (rather) easy way for person who wants to earn online – to get started. I call it my Seven-Step-Method. No, it’s not an eBook with a price ending in a “7″ either. It’s too short for a book – in fact it won’t even fill a page…

Here’s a relatively easy way…to earn some cash…if you already have some internet capabilities (sites or blogs or photo sharing gallery or…):

1) Register a domain (with a keyword or two).
2) Install a WordPress site on a slice of your server space (the default theme will work fine).
3) Write some original narrative – like maybe three articles – with text links embedded.
4) Include some images – from your own files, from a free photo source (wikipedia, with Creative Commons licensing), or shoot some new ones. Then use proper SEO when you install them.
5) Describe the photos as they are related to your narrative
6) Toss some banner ads into the right-side nav area.
7) Provide a couple (only a couple) links from another of your sites.

Lather-rinse-repeat.

That’s niche marketing on a small scale. One small site for one product-set. We see affiliates in our programs doing it all the time – and making consistent sales.

I suppose I should follow up with a bit more explanation for each of the seven steps. Stay tuned.

Of course, photos of animals will be an integral part of a new web site – featuring zoo animals on personal checks.

My beach web site for Ocean City, Maryland has been online for a dozen years this month (Happy Birthday) and entertains about 2,000,000 visitors per year. Ocean City has it all – the beach, the boardwalk, entertainment, great places to eat and plenty of shopping. The only problem is that its “age” is beginning to show. The shopping is about as disjointed as it can get – with no really centralized place with variety and upscale stores.

So, what’s this with Myrtle Beach. We never cared for the place in the past. But last year, with the opening of the Brand New Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and Promenade the lure of Myrtle Beach has been on a rapid rise. That uptick has impressed us, as well as thousands of new visitors from as far away as western Virginia and Pennsylvania – people who formerly went to Ocean City.

The new Skywheel is located on the Boardwalk next to Plyler Park, as seen in this photo from a Myrtle Beach Webcam.

I have teamed up with a friend and colleague who lives in Myrtle Beach to collaborate on a small series of web sites designed to help the traveler and beach-goer learn a few things about South Carolina’s main beach resort – along the section of coastline known as the Grand Strand.

So, this morning, I was able to leave work (I’ve got an understanding boss when it comes to flying ) and head to the airport. The weather was not conducive to flying to a destination – cloudy, low ceilings and slightly “bumpy.” But the ceiling was high enough to safely fly in the local area and do a series of takeoffs and landings (TOLs).

The first flight after any reconstruction and an annual inspection (which was completed when the wings were done) is akin to being a test-pilot flight. So, a test pilot I was. First a thorough pre-flight inspection was in order – which we do EVERY TIME we fly. Then I did one lap around the pattern, flying for less than 10 minutes, and landed. That was followed by another thorough pre-flight inspection – checking for leaks, looseness in any fittings and anything out of the ordinary. Everything was perfect. Yayyy! So back up I went…and flew for about an hour. I did more TOLs and some local flying with basic maneuvers – all the while staying within “gliding distance” of the airport. I am confident the job was done correctly (I monitored the steps of the process) and the plane has been flight tested, so I am eagerly awaiting good flying weather to go chase that $100 hamburger.

Oh yes, not only do the wings look new, but I can tell a difference in the handling of the airplane. It responds better in slow flight – the technical reason being too involved for this post. (Now I need to find some pictures.

At one time ABW was once considered the “standard” in the affiliate marketing industry. However, as with most forums today, ABW is faced with a serious decline in “serious” activity because of the dilution of social media (industry blogs, Facebook and, yes, even twitter.) Figured I might as well start my own blog – about my affiliate marketing experiences over the years. Then I can at least monetize some of my rants…that I would normally be posting in forums – and, in effect, “giving” my narrative to them to monetize. No “sour grapes” about my time being a Mod at ABW, and I do plan to remain (somewhat) active there – as a plain ol’ member – as long as the current leadership does not undergo drastic changes.

Narrative is what brings people to a website. I figure I have some experiences to share – that someone may find either interesting or useful. Life experiences (yeah, I have been around a while – let’s just say I recently celebrated the 30-something anniversary of a 30-something birthday), job experiences (from when I had a day j*b), and even online marketing experiences. The fun part of life experiences and the affiliate marketing experiences should provide a few narrative opportunities.

Last Friday I was having fun mowing the yard at our beach home. I was having a good time – the day was ideal – so I even cut our neighbor’s entire yard. The yards always looks so nice when freshly mowed. Now that’s not a real big deal – compared to what some of you may mow (or not) – but I realized I need to be outdoors more. We’re not getting any younger and I don’t want to see the world go by – only at 1366 x 768 pixels on this ol’ Sony. So I decided to resign from one of my volunteer activities, one which involved several hours per week, every week. My new-found free time will be put to good use – for ME.

Yep, that’s me in the header picture, but that’s not my airplane. That AT-6 “Texan” was a World War II fighter trainer – and costs waaay too much to rent, fly and maintain. For my R&R in the sky I have a “less expensive” antique airplane, a 1946 Ercoupe (pictured below).

Ercoupe taking off from Runway 28 at Harford County Airport (0W3) in Maryland.

I am occasionally asked if an airplane as old as mine is safe to fly. My answer is usually a question, “How do you think it got to be this old?”