Goals and Achievements – May, June & July 2011

Hello everyone! I hope you’re having a fabulous summer.

First off, I’m sorry for the lack of updates. Things have been really hectic on my end, and I haven’t been able to check email, reply to comments, or update this blog as often as I used to. But I haven’t forgotten about you! I’m going through a few major life changes at the moment, but I’m hoping to straighten everything out in the next few months so that things can get back on the usual schedule.

Now, I know many of you are eagerly anticipating an update on the Do Something Remarkable contest. As you probably know, the deadline for the contest was June 1st (see here for more details). I’m currently going through the list of participants and will email the three winners by Monday, July 25th (thanks everyone for being so patient with me). Once each winner has accepted his/her gift(s), I’ll announce the winners publicly. Thanks again for your overwhelming support!

For those of you who have emailed me in the last few months, expect a reply in the next couple of weeks. I’ll be going through all of my email and comments in the weeks to follow, so it may take some time to get to you. But I will! Stay tuned for that.

Now for the actual post…

I have good news, and I have bad news.

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Goals and Achievements – April 2011

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s the first week of a new month, and we all know what that means; time for another goals and achievements post!

Yes, I know. You’ve all been waiting in anticipation. I’ll be honest with you though – this month wasn’t exactly my best month yet, but I did come to a lot of realizations that will potentially open a lot of new doors and opportunities for me (at least, I hope so). You see, I’m starting to realize what’s important… and what’s not so important in my life, and it’s really making a huge difference in the way I think and go about my daily tasks.

I’m still straightening everything out, but just know that this won’t be your ordinary goals and achievements post. This month, I’m going to try something new. And for that reason, I won’t be getting as detailed as I usually do in the goals section. But I’ll get to that in a second.

Photo by Julian Wylegly (flickr)

Lucky for you, I also have a surprise for you! Yep, another one. Am I not awesome?

Ahem. (Hint: This is your cue to say, “Yes, Christina. You’re very very awesome! No one could be as awesome as you are,” and try to butter me up with excessive compliments; you know, the things I like to hear. )

I won’t give anything away because, well, what good would the surprise be then? But I will say this: In the next few weeks, you’re going to be seeing some awesome things here on Cash Campfire – and Christina is going to be getting out of her comfort zone! The fun and lovable (and somewhat dramatic, while often annoying) Christina is breaking free at last, and you’ll all get front row seats to watch her stuttering, embarrassing show. Now don’t you feel special?

It might get pretty mortifying (at least, for me), so don’t say I didn’t warn you. But you’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?

Anyway, let’s talk goals. (more…)

Goals and Achievements – March 2011

Well everyone, it’s time for the monthly income report. If you’re new here, here’s how these posts work: At the start of every month, I look at the goals I accomplished the previous month and analyze my progress. Then, I give a detailed breakdown of the income earned from the month before, followed by the goals I’ll be working towards as the month rolls on and how I intend to accomplish them.

Goal planning is something I always enjoyed doing. The reason why I write these posts is not to satisfy my ego (rather, the opposite). Instead, these posts are meant to:

• Keep track of my monthly income.
• Plan out my goals (and have them all in one place to refer back to throughout the month).
• Hold myself accountable for my goals (to increase my chances of completing them).
• Celebrate new milestones.
• Acknowledge where I came short, learn from my mistakes, and strive to do better.
• Offer encouragement.
• Inspire others to set their own goals, work towards their dreams, and improve their lifestyles.
• Stay on track so that I avoid doing tasks that offer no (or barely any) value.

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Goals and Achievements – February 2011

First of all – sorry for the late income report. I just got back from vacation the night before yesterday, so I’m still getting everything settled. I’m also pretty behind in comments and email. So if you commented on a post or sent me an email while I was away and I didn’t respond, don’t worry. I’m not ignoring you. I just haven’t gotten to it yet – but I will! Over the next few days I’ll be setting aside several hours to answer comments and email, so check your inbox for that.

Second of all, I’m really excited to tell you that I achieved a major milestone last month. But before we get into that, I’m going to talk about my major accomplishments last month, any mistakes I’ve made, and what I’ve learned from them. Then I’ll get into the income report and my goals for February.

Photo by Eric Danley (flickr)

Also, before I forget, you can still join in the Do Something Remarkable Contest for a chance to win Rework by Jason Fried & David Hansson and a $30-60 Amazon gift card. For those of you who are a little late, the rules are simple. Do something that will help better your life by March 27th (my 21st birthday!) and tell me about it. It’s a win/win in my book. You win because you’ll be furthering your career and meeting new milestones (while you compete for a free book and cash prize), and I win because it makes me feel good to motivate you and watch your progress. After all, that’s what this blog is for – to help you grow as a writer and entrepreneur. (more…)

Goals and Achievements – January 2011

Well, it has been a month since I started this series. I must admit – I didn’t make as much progress as I planned last month, though I did see some major accomplishments – the new Cash Campfire newsletter and ebook Jump Start Your Freelance Writing Career, just to name a couple.

I believe the main reason why I didn’t make a lot of progress was because I set my goals too high and so became discouraged after looking at the work involved. Then stepped in procrastination, and.. well.. I think we know the rest. I was also having back pain trouble, which prevented me from writing much for a few days. But, really, I only have myself to blame – and I’m ashamed because of it.

Photo by Search Engine People Blog (flickr)

But, this month I’m going to get everything back together, set more obtainable goals, and take action. Whatever happens, I won’t disappoint myself (and you guys!) like I did last month – I did just terrible, and the disappointment really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

This is just a warning that the following results from last month won’t be good, and I promise – with every breath in my lungs – to make it up to you and myself this month by starting over with a clean slate and completing every last one of my goals.

On a side note – since I have a 3 week vacation to California coming up on the 26th, I have to do a lot of planning in advance to reach my goals for this month to free up time during the trip. So I’ll be prescheduling many of my blog posts, and I’m accepting guest posts as well (free traffic for you).

If you want to help me out, feel free to contact me with your topic idea or guest post draft. I have no requirements other than to please not use affiliate links in your article (or I will take them out), focus your article on either freelance writing or entrepreneurship, and try to base your article on your own personal experiences (makes a better read and proves that you know your stuff – even if you’re just writing about how you organize your office desk space). (more…)

Goals and Achievements – December 2010

Hey everyone! As you know, I’ve been pretty busy for the past few months – mainly working on my eBook and introducing myself to new challenges (the most recent one was the Niche Site Duel).

But, even though my workload may have gotten a bit crazier than usual, I really wouldn’t have the motivation to work as hard as I am if it wasn’t for your growing and continuous support – so thank you!

Because you’ve all been so supportive, I want to give something more back. Namely, I want to share with you my goals and aspirations month after month – then describe my achievements, what areas in my career need work, and where I’ve failed or succeeded along my entrepreneur journey. My hope is that, by following my progress, you can be inspired (and motivated!) to make your own progress as well. Sharing my goals here will also help me commit myself to them and encourage me to push myself to achieve more.

Before moving on though, I just want to say that most of the goals you’ll see will be long-term goals. So I probably won’t see major results until several months down the road. Also, since I tend to easily lose motivation if things get too repetitive or dull, I have a lot of ongoing challenges going on.

To some people, working on so many projects at once is a big mistake and a foolish thing to do. I’ve found that I’m much more likely to stick with something and keep working towards my goals if I’m faced with change however – the reason for the variety of ongoing challenges. If I ever tire from a project, I can just continue working on one of my other projects. Results may come slower, but I’d much rather have slow results than no results at all. Everyone works differently. I’ve found that constant change keeps things exciting for me. This is just the kind of person I am.

Without further ado, I’ll get right to my goals. Once the month is over, I’ll talk about what I’ve achieved for the month of December and then describe my January goals. I hope you enjoy the new Goals and Achievements series! (more…)

Demand Studios Earnings

Demand Studios is a writing opportunity where you can get paid to write articles as a freelance writer, review articles from other writers as a copy editor, and produce groups of online videos as a filmmaker. Reliable, Demand Studios is great for writers just stepping their foot in the door and experienced writers wanting to make some quick upfront cash every Tuesday and Friday. In fact, some people can even make full-time income working for Demand Studios, though it takes hard work, time, and dedication to do so.

If you’re unfamiliar with how Demand Studios works, you should read my Demand Studios review. To maximize your earning potential, I recommend reading my series Become a Successful Demand Studios Writer. If you want to just follow my progress, check out the Demand Studios Work Challenge.

Without further ado, the following is the earnings I’ve accumulated throughout the years from working for Demand Studios.

Total Demand Studios Earnings: $885.00

Income in 2010

Demand Studios Payment 1 – February 23,2010

Description: I made my first $15 from working for Demand Studios. Some articles are still pending approval, so I should expect more earnings Friday.

I’m going to try to write 3 articles a day at least. Let’s see how things go!

Income: $15.00

Demand Studios Payment 2 – February 26, 2010

Description: I made quite a bit this week! So far, Demand Studios has been the most profitable out of all the writing opportunities I’ve tried in such a short time period. I’ll definitely be writing more for them as time goes on.

Hopefully I can keep this up!

Income: $105.00

Demand Studios Payment 3 – March 2, 2010

Description: I got a lot of writing done for Demand Studios, though the rewrite requests are becoming a pain and slowing me down a bit more than I thought they would. Nevertheless, I’m going to stick with it!

Let’s see how the next few days go.

Income: $90.00

Demand Studios Payment 4 – March 5, 2010

Description: I haven’t had that much time to write, so my earnings decreased a little. I’ve simply been too busy with school and my other priorities.

However, I’ll still write for Demand Studios every now and then. I just don’t think I can write as often as I could before.

Income: $45.00

Demand Studios Payment 5 – March 9, 2010

Description: Received more money from Demand Studios! Besides the rewrites, writing for them has been great so far. It’s also pretty exciting to see that email from PayPal saying that I’ve just received money in my account.

Hopefully this can be a steady income stream for me in the future.

Income: $30.00

Demand Studios Payment 6 – March 12, 2010

Description: I’m going to take a short break from working for Demand Studios so that I can get everything else in order. Even so, Demand Studios has been a wonderful writing opportunity for me, and I hope to continue it later on down the road.

Who knows? I might even start writing full-time for them later.

Income: $15.00

Demand Studios Payment 7 – March 16, 2010

Description: Received $15 from my last article that was pending. Hopefully I’ll come back to working for Demand Studios soon! The prospect of writing about topics I enjoy is still an exciting one, even with the rewrites.

I’ll update here when I start writing again.

Income: $15.00

Demand Studios Payment 8 – May 14, 2010

Description: I’m once again working for Demand Studios. I hope to write at least 2 articles a day if I can stay motivated. I’ll record my progress in this Demand Studios earning report as I go along.

Let’s see how things go.

Income: $60.00

Demand Studios Payment 9 – May 18, 2010

Description: For the past few days I wasn’t able to write much, so I only earned $15 from Demand Studios. I’m thinking about maybe starting a series where I’d strive to raise my grammar and research score on the Demand Studios scorecard.

Hopefully I earn a lot more in the days to follow.

Income: $15.00

Demand Studios Payment 10 – May 28, 2010

Description: By trying to improve my Demand Studios performance by writing 7 articles a day in accordance with the Demand Studios Work Challenge, I’m making pretty decent money.

I’m hoping that I can keep this up!

Income: $90.00

Demand Studios Payment 11 – Jun 1, 2010

Description: I’ve been doing a lot of article writing for the past few days, so my income is looking up. I don’t know how long I can keep this up, but my Demand Studios scorecard is improving with all of the articles I’ve been writing.

I look forward to the months ahead.

Income: $135.00

Demand Studios Payment 12 – Jun 4, 2010

Description: Well, I crashed. I’m probably just going to write whenever I have time, but 7 articles a day is just too many to keep up for me, along with my blog and the other projects I’ve been doing.

For now, I’m going to take my time and write at my own pace.

Income: $30.00

Demand Studios Payment 13 – Jun 11, 2010

Description: I haven’t been able to write much, so I only managed to get 1 article through. I did noticed that I’m getting less frequent rewrite requests though, which is good and definitely a lot less stressful on me.

Overall, I believe my article quality is improving.

Income: $15.00

Demand Studios Payment 14 – Jun 15, 2010

Description: Earned another $15. I’m going to see if I can write more when I have the spare time. Right now, I’m just giving myself a break as I work on other projects that require my full attention and strive to write more for residual income.

It’s comforting to know that Demand Studios will always be here if I need more immediate cash.

Income: $15.00

Demand Studios Payment 15 – Jun 22, 2010

Description: I was able to write a bit more for Demand Studios, though not as much as I once did. However, I think this is the perfect pace for me, and I’m confident that I can keep it up if I choose to do so.

The less frequent rewrites are a relief though, since I don’t have to worry about articles getting sent back as often!

Income: $75.00

Demand Studios Payment 16 – Jun 25, 2010

Description: I earned a bit more than I did last time, which is good. I’ve been trying to do a combination of $5 articles and $15 ones. I find the $5 answerbag articles less stressful than the how tos.

I’m going to see if I can write more residual income articles in the months to follow, so that I have a steady stream of income coming in even when I’m not writing.

Income: $80.00

Demand Studios Payment 17 – Jul 2, 2010

Description: I was only able to get 1 article in, so my earnings aren’t too impressive. I probably won’t be writing much for Demand Studios for now, but it’s good to know that they are still there if I ever decide to write more. I’m also looking into other content sites.

If I do start writing more again, be sure that I’ll update here on my progress!

Income: $15.00

Demand Studios Payment 18 – Aug 3, 2010

Description: It’s been a whole month since I last started writing for Demand Studios. At this point, I’m unsure about whether I want to continue writing for them or not, since I have other writing commitments with my blog. I also want to improve my eHow income by working on eHow articles already written.

We’ll see how things go.

Income: $15.00

Demand Studios Payment 19 – Aug 6, 2010

Description: I figured I’d write an article for a little extra money to use for blog hosting, so I received another $15. I’m probably not going to write much more for Demand Studios, but I have a few pending articles that I’ll probably get done.

I’ll most likely continue writing for Demand Studios in the future, but right now I just have too much on my plate.

Income: $15.00

Demand Studios Payment 20 – Aug 10, 2010

Description: I wrote 2 more $5 articles, though my grammar score went down slightly. I’m probably not going to write any more upfront pay articles until I start earning more residual income. It’s just more profitable to write articles that can potentially earn a lot more than the upfront pay articles give.

So, expect less frequent updates until I get the residual income ball rolling.

Income: $10.00

eHow Earnings

eHow, a writing opportunity where you get paid to write online how-to articles, has been a wonderful opportunity to expand my writing expertise, earn extra money online, and increase my eHow earnings gradually while adding to my how-to library. What further increased my income, though, was the eBook How to Earn Passive Income on eHow.com: Maximize Your Online Earnings by WriterGig, a fellow eHow writer as well. In the eBook, WriterGig talks about how to increase your earning potential on eHow and describes step-by-step how to be a successful eHow writer. It’s only $25 and well worth the money spent. In fact, I made 3 times the money I was making before after reading the eBook!

The following is a complete list of my overall eHow earnings since being a member. Are you a good writer? Why not expand your writing career with eHow? The key to success on eHow is quality and quantity, so you must have enough time to write a lot of good quality articles, while still maintaining a good keyword density. If you need examples of what how-to articles look like, you can find over a hundred examples just by browsing my collection of eHow articles. (more…)