Posted: March 12th, 2012 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Blogging | Tags: blogging, Yakezie | 2 Comments »
I’ve been blogging about personal finance and becoming debt-free for about 4 years now, but I must confess I’ve been a bit inconsistent about it. I started blogging as many do – as a hobby. I quickly realized that my level of interest in personal finance was more than the mere hobbyist level, but my interest in the mechanics of blogging was, shall we say, more limited.
As a result, this blog has been in existence for about 4 years now but is nowhere near the level of visibility of similar blogs of that vintage.
I know that much of it is due to a haphazard approach on my part. After all, this is still a hobby of mine. I’m not a professional blogger by any stretch, and I still maintain this blog by myself in my spare time. I have a day job, and this is not it. Because of that, I don’t expect to be on par with the A-list bloggers in this niche – blogs like Consumerism Commentary, Financial Samurai (Honorable Personal Finance), Len Penzo dot Com, Free From Broke (A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks) and many other great blogs out there.
Still, I have decided to make a concerted effort to improve the quality and visibility of this blog. I have recently re-launched Simple Debt-Free Finance with a new theme that focuses on readability and emphasizes simplicity.
I will no longer be accepting “guest posts” from companies pretending to be bloggers.
(This was the result of many late-night moments of desperation, when I was tired from a long day at work and felt I “needed to keep the content flowing.” Whether it was written by me or some marketing department didn’t matter. It matters now. I am still accepting guest posts, but only from real bloggers now. no more businesses looking for cheap marketing and free link love.)
Another major part of this new effort is joining the YAKEZIE ALEXA RANKING CHALLENGE.
I’ll be honest, I have no idea where the name Yakezie originates and I have no particular hang up about my Alexa ranking. However, I am open to trying new venues and am always up for a challenge. Besides, the YAKEZIE CHALLENGE is ultimately about community and helping others succeed as well as yourself and I can definitely get behind that.
For those who may be interested in taking the challenge themselves, here are the guidelines from the challenge site:
TO JOIN THE YAKEZIE ALEXA RANKING CHALLENGE
1) Install the Alexa toolbar if not already and comment what your current Alexa ranking is, so we can keep track.
2) Write consistently 2-4 times a week on your own site and consider guest posting around the community including on Yakezie.com to raise your profile.
3) Install the Yakezie Challenger Badge.
4) Announce on your blog that you have joined the Yakezie Challenge.
5) Selflessly promote others and build relationships.
6) Stay committed and consistent over the next 6 months! Whether you are a huge blog or a start-up, everybody most go through a 6 month Challenge period to ensure that we build the best relationships possible.
7) Come introduce yourself on the Yakezie Challengers Forum and get to know your fellow Challengers and Members.
Once the 6-month challenge is over, let us know how far you’ve come in the forums, on your blog, and via an e-mail. If you’ve developed good relationships, broken 200,000 in Alexa, and are ready for the next step, we will invite you to submit a form and write your Yakezie Member Post and become an official member.
At this time, my ranking is 731,734. I hope to at least crack the 200,000 level in 6 months. Wish me luck!
Related Posts:
Posted: April 23rd, 2011 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Blogging | Tags: blogging, carnival | No Comments »
It’s Easter weekend and it’s also the last full weekend in April, so it’s time to share some links to the blogs who have been kind enough to give a mention or two of my blog this month.
First up is Mrs. Accountability at Out of Debt Again. She was kind to include a link on her Carnival of Money Stories #100 Retire Gracefully Edition. Thanks Mrs. A!
Next is a very special thank you to Evan Carmichael for seeing fit to consider Simple Debt-Free Finance one of the Top 50 Get Out of Debt Blogs to Watch in 2011 ! I’m very flattered and honored to be included with such great company.
The College Investor was gracious enough to let me take part in his Totally Money Carnival: Tax Day Edition. Thank you, CI!
Lastly, I want to give a shout out to Ron at The Wisdom Journal for giving me a mention in his Great Links sections in his post:
Putting Off Filing Your Taxes Because You Owe Money This Year?
Many thanks to everyone!
Related Posts:
Posted: March 25th, 2011 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Blogging | Tags: blogging, carnival | No Comments »
It’s been a busy month for me so far, and I don’t see things letting up anytime soon! That’s ok… I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I wasn’t so active. I just wish my NCAA bracket was doing better :-/
Anyway, I’d just like to give a quick shout out to the blogs that have seen fit to include me in their carnivals this month – MANY thanks!
First up, my post How I Cut My Cable Bill By $40 A Month! was featured in MoneyCrasher’s Carnival of Money Stories #95: Bedtime Story Edition. Easily one of the most entertaining and creative carnivals I’ve seen. This post was also featured in the Family Finance Carnival at About.Com
Next, my article warning of Debt Collectors Using Facebook to Collect! was part of MoneyMamba’s #11th Edition of the Totally Money Blog Carnival .
Finally, while it’s not technically a carnival, the Top 5 Ways To Save On Car Maintenance was included in Ron’s
Roundup and Link Love: Let’s Pitch In To Help Japan at Wisdom Journal.
Thanks again to everyone, it’s an honor to be chosen.
Related Posts:
Posted: August 18th, 2010 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blogging, facebook | No Comments »
Check this out:
A Pasco County man was arrested Monday night after he allegedly violated a court’s protective order by sending his soon to be ex-wife requests to ‘friend’ him on Facebook.
HA!
Not only does Facebook make stalking easier, but it also makes violating restraining orders a snap! Something tells me that’s not going to be on any Facebook marketing content anytime soon.
He apparently admitted to “friending” his ex, but lord only know why. I guess it wasn’t a unanimous decision to split. it was also a costly action:
“Bruder was jailed on $5,000 bond.”
By the way, just in case you are on Facebook yourself and hadn’t noticed the pig along the right side of this site,
you can follow Simple Debt-Free Finance on Facebook now. You’ll get updates on posts from this blog and other blogs I read.
Will it change your life?
I won’t lie to you. Yes. It will change your life in ways you never thought possible. “Like” it and all of your wildest dreams will come true.
Just stalk me. Especially if you’re an ex-wife of mine. 
Related Posts:
What others are saying