I want to welcome MSN Money visitors that came through Karen Datko’s post Need extra income? Here are some ideas as she described my article Alternative Income Idea: Stringing Tennis Rackets. I hope you enjoyed the article and I am interested to know what alternative or extra income ideas are working for your family? Please take a few moments to leave a comment and tell us what are your passive income goals or success stories.

You might find these articles interesting if you want to learn more about passive investments and alternative income ideas:
Passive Income Ideas
Flickr: Frugal Pictures, Social Network and Blog Traffic Too
Pet Sitting For Extra Income
Lawn Service For Alternative Income. Mow Your Own Lawn and Your Neighbors?

Want to make your old items feel new again? You might enjoy this article:
10 Ways To Make Your Stuff Feel New Again

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photo credit: Joseph.S

A few months ago I was looking for a source to post pictures online efficiently and cheaply. At the time I did not even think about the ability to store pictures, have a social network, and deliver quality blog traffic to my site. I was just looking for a cheap alternative to storing pictures on my computer hard drive. I was excited to get a new digital SLR camera and take picture of our trip to Disneyland, Yosemite family wedding, and as much of nature as possible. With my new Nikon D60 I was able to capture some great pictures, but soon found out that I needed many more pictures for my blog posts. How would I find them? Well, I found it and so much more. Flickr has transformed the way I upload and search for blog pictures online. Most important, I adhere to the creative commons license agreement and give attribution to the photographer. If you enjoy taking photos and have a blog, why not utilize a service like Flickr?

You might have a website about dogs or maybe you have a personal blog about mustangs. If you own a mustang you could post personal pictures on Flickr, but how will you get your other photos? If you’re writing about the new Shelby Mustang and your local Ford dealer doesn’t have one in stock, what will you do? Find a Shelby photo on Flickr that you can share through the creative commons agreement and you can now add a great picture to your blog article. Share you own mustang photos and people will find out more about you. Another writer may be looking for the photo that you just took and is interested in using it. You also never know when a magazine or print vendor might be looking for a photograph of the exact car you own.

Here’s what it has done for my blog. ( I will add that I’m an amateur and bet anyone with better skills could grab more attention and traffic):

1. Use the advanced search criteria and find creative common licensed pictures.
2. Once you’ve found your picture, leave a comment for the photographer with a link to your post.
3. Curiosity and flattery will bring that photographer to your blog or website. 1 source of traffic.
4. Whenever another visitor comes through Flickr, they can see your comment and might be interested in learning more about your site. The second form of traffic.
5. The photographer or visitor may also be interested in looking at your pictures too. A third source of traffic.
6. I’m not a professional photographer, but if you did have pictures for sale, you can mention that with a link to your site. Many photographers offer a smaller size online and then have a link if you are interesting in purchasing the larger file or a print for media. This could be a tremendous source of alternative income or extra money for your photo business.
7. Join a group. Even if you don’t own a Nikon D60, you can find others that own the same camera and share info.

Lot’s of ways to drive traffic to your site from Flickr. If you are a photographer with a blog, this is one of the easiest and best ways to start with a social network. You already have an eye for quality pictures, so now is your time to show off your talents. If you have a blog, do you utilize pictures in your posts? Do you have an alternative to Flickr that you enjoy better? Are you made any photo sales through Flickr?

More posts from bloggers excited about Flickr:

Wordpress Flickr plugin Photodropper
How to Rock Flickr Like a Champ
A Complete Guide to Finding and Using Incredible Flickr Images
Turbo Charge Your Traffic With Flickr Groups
A Comprehensive Guide to Using Flickr for Traffic Building and Brand Marketing

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photo credit: dro!d

Are you utilizing social networks for your small business? Are you ready to bridge your small business with the millions who use Myspace, Facebook, or Linkedin? Let’s say you run a profitable photography business from home and are looking for new brand exposure and free marketing. You’ve already utilized local print media, craigslist and word of mouth for advertising, so what else can you do? Have you considered utilizing a social network and reaching out to new prospective customers? If you have a brand and existing business, this could be a fantastic boost for sales. I want to start a series here on The Passive Dad and focus each week on one social network to find out how it could boost your business and your brand. If you already utilize a social network with your small business, I want to hear from you. Has it brought more traffic to your website or more emails from prospective clients?

This week I want to ask the question: “Do you mix business with pleasure?” Do you bridge your personal life with your business life? One example using the professional photographer, should the photographer offer personal information through the social network? If your business is Scott’s Photography, then people will also know you as Scott the husband, cousin, grandson, neighbor and business owner. If you sell photo equipment online, do you want customers to know about your non-business friends? Is it professional to have family pictures for your branded business website? I really think this could give mixed messages for clients and you would want to really think about the impact it could give. But, if your brand is you or your name, then that would be different. For example, if you are selling and marketing a nutrition program, you might want to consider having friends and family give testimonies of your product. Have you lost over 100 pounds and want to show the world your progress? That could be a perfect opportunity for increased sales and marketing through the social network.

Next week we will look at Flickr and the ability it has to transform your website, blog, or personal business. Could social networks offer another passive income to your site?Do you already use social networks for your small business, I want to hear from you. How has it changed your business?

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Using Flickr on The Passive Dad has allowed me to enhance the site visually and build some blog traffic as well. Flickr is also a social application that allows you to interact with friends, family, or even strangers. Say you just caught that amazing picture of Michael Phelps winning his 8th gold medal, you could put it on Flickr and share it with the world. Or, if you wanted some passive income, you could sell the picture to Sports Illustrated or to the highest bidder. Just kidding. Now I know we are not all going to be able to catch the Michael Phelps gold medal shots or the latest Britney Spears haircut pics, but you can earn something else for your efforts.

On a side note, I am fascinated by the paparazzi craze that seem to engulf the latest Hollywood stars and their children. I’m always blown away by the prices these guys and gals get for exclusive pictures of celebrities and their newborns. I know some of the celebs give the money to charity, but still someone is feeding the system. O.k. maybe you have an opinion on paparazzi’s? Not my point for this post, but maybe you feel they have a right to make as much money as possible. Or, maybe you think they should start taking nature pictures, like bees making honey? Well, I did just that. Take a look!

photo credit: The Passive Dad

First, I’m not a very good photographer and would rate myself a 5 out of 10 for skill and knowledge about photography. I did have a Pentax 35mm camera when I was 14, but could not afford the cost of film and quickly gave it up as a hobby. Once I had children, I started taking more pictures and enjoyed using iphoto on my mac. I’ve always wanted to learn more about photography, so maybe now is the time to take a class or two. Right now for my blog, I think Flickr can be an effective tool to manage pictures and possibly add new blog traffic to a site. How? Flickr allows you to share your pictures with everyone and also create descriptions and tags. For instance, I used Bumble bee, honey, flower, pollination, pollinating, and bees for my tags. This will allow my picture to display on Flickr when someone uses that search criteria. Will this bring targeted traffic to The Passive Dad? It could, but it would be better if the picture had something to do with personal finance, passive income, or making money online. So here’s a picture I took at the hotel to meet this criteria. The perfect passive investment!

photo credit: The PassiveDad

Now it’s your turn. Are you using Flickr for your blog or website? Maybe you’re already driving traffic from Flickr to your blog, care to share?

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I’ve had the same personal email address for the last 10 years, and never gave much thought that I should establish a new work at home email account. I’ve also had the same home phone number and cell phone number for years, why change my email? Well simply, organization and professionalism.

A separate work at home email account can offer free advertising and brand recognition of your website, blog, or business. For the first few months, I utilized my personal yahoo email address for www.thepassivedad.com, and learned the lessons the hard way. I wanted to respond to blog comments and join social networks, but lost business continuity by not using The Passive Dad name. Sure I was able to respond to emails, but I was not being effective and smart with it. If someone saw my email, they wouldn’t necessary make the connection between my yahoo account and my blog. Utilizing thepassivedad at gmail dot com has allowed me to strengthen the blog name and effectively advertise through comments and social networks.

I’ve come across some wonderful blogs and wonder why some people still use personal email addresses for blogs. I can understand the organization aspect, but you are also missing out on branding your blog through email.

If you have a free blogger or wordpress account, you can utilize gmail or any of the popular free email accounts for your site. I prefer gmail, but if you are more comfortable with hotmail or yahoo, go for it.

When I read comments on my blog, I will visit your blog or website and can easily recognize branded sites. Some of the bloggers doing it right are Todd at Harvesting Dollars and Kevin at No Debt Plan have branded blog email accounts. It’s very easy to identify Todd and Kevin as the email blog address matches the blog. This makes life so much easier! I would encourage you to establish free work at home email account for your blog or website.

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