How to Wake Up Early with Enthusiasm: The Ultimate Guide

For the past few weeks I’ve been talking about how I had a surprise for you today. Well, this is it. I’m sorry if it isn’t what you were expecting, but I promise it will be worth your while once you start reading. I also have special guest contributors who were kind enough to share their thoughts.

Update: Want to wake up early but unsure when to go to bed? Well I found an AWESOME (free) tool to help you, and it’s called the Bedtime Calculator. Simply enter what time you want to wake up (or the time you’re going to bed) and it will spit out times in which you should go to bed (or wake up) according to the average human sleeping cycle.

Photo by Vince Alongi (flickr)

Do you struggle to wake up early each morning, only to rise out of bed later in the day – rushing to get things done without enough time to accomplish your goals? By the time the sun sinks down into the earth, you still haven’t gotten everything you set out to do done and the day has turned out to be a total bust.

Believe me, I’ve been there. In fact, it got to the point where I was sleeping 10-11 hours every night, with very little time left during the day to work on what I wanted to do, while also having time left over to truly enjoy myself.

I wanted a change.

If you’ve been following my progress over the past few months, you’ll see my various attempts to create that change by changing up my daily writing routine, with the first one being 4 months ago when I posted Finding Motivation: How to Adapt a Routine. I then expanded on the topic in my post A Confession and Report: How I Developed My Writing Routine a little over a month later. My most recent attempt at analyzing my writing routine and creating a writing schedule that worked for me was just earlier this month when I posted A Writer’s Reflection: My Life as a Writer Revealed.

There’s no secret that, after feeling how it feels to wake up earlier at 7am and getting so much done, my mind has been consumed with the thought of waking up even earlier than I am – 5:30 or even 4:45am.

Well, now I’m doing it again. I’m going to make a change in my life. And so can you.

But let’s start from the beginning. (more…)

Ask Me Anything You Want for the New Year

Hey everyone!

It’s hard to imagine that we’ve already been together for a whole year. If you didn’t know already, January 10th we’ll be celebrating Cash Campfire’s first birthday (I’m planning something especially special for the event – which has something to do with free stuff – so keep your eyes peeled!). In the meantime, I wanted to give something back for the new year. After careful thought, I decided to give you two things.

The second one is coming tomorrow (no, not the free stuff… yet – but I think it’s something you’ll really enjoy; I’m excited about it). But the first thing I wanted to give you is this: My full, complete attention because I know how awesome you are (and if you don’t know it – it’s time for a reality check), and I want to be as useful to you as I possibly can.

To show my sincerity, to the left is a picture of me (yes – I wear glasses for distance, and yes – that is my real hair color [some people seem to think I dye my hair brown] ).

Now, I know I already do a lot for you guys compared to other bloggers out there; I read and reply to every single comment, I read and answer all of the emails you send, I publish free additional weekly tips in the Cash Campfire newsletter for those subscribed, I spend hours out of each day just writing up new content so that you always have something new to read when you come back to this blog, and then tomorrow I’m going to be really breaking my back for you guys.

But that isn’t enough. I want to show you that I really do appreciate all that you’ve done for this blog. I want to give you more. (more…)

Have a Very Happy Christmas!

Hey everyone,

I know how busy you probably are with Christmas preparations, so I’m going to keep this short – I just wanted to take the moment to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a wonderful year ahead.

With the new year upon us, you’re going to see some pretty interesting things here on Cash Campfire, starting with the second issue of the Goals and Achievements series and the celebration of our first birthday (plus, a special announcement).

Speaking of special announcements, I also want to let you know about an end-of-the-year surprise gift that I’ve been putting together, which includes special interviews from Pat Flynn of the Smart Passive Income blog, Mary Jaksch of Goodlife Zen, Felicia Williams of No Job for Mom, and many many others.

And yes – the gift is free and will take the form of a post. I love everything that you’ve been doing here to keep this blog alive, so this surprise post is my way of thanking you for supporting me and this blog for the whole year that we’ve been together.

As you know, I don’t do many interviews (haven’t done any at all yet so far), so this special treat will be live here on this blog by December 31st, so look out for that. Many more interviews will follow in the months ahead.

So, with that said, here’s a funny photo to get you in the Christmas groove -

Photo by Cordey and Jannes Pockele (flickr)

To continued success,
Christina (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…)

A Trip Back in Time: My 7 Link Challenge

Photo by Michel Filion (flickr)

Yesterday I was browsing Marian Schembari’s blog (if you haven’t checked it out yet, you should definitely do so – her blog is filled with social media and blogging tips), when I came across her post Let’s Do the Time Warp: My 7 Link Challenge. In the post, she mentions how she got the idea of the 7 Link Challenge from Stanford’s post 4 My Tweeps on the blog Pushing Social (a blog all about social media) who got his idea from the post Take the 7 Link Challenge Today on ProBlogger.

Basically, the 7 Link Challenge is where you create a blog post consisting of 7 links, sharing with your readers a little bit more about you and the history of your blog. It’s really just a fun activity, and I figured I’d join in and do the 7 Link Challenge with you all since I hadn’t participated yet.

Before I move on, I must say that Marian’s 7 Link Challenge post was really encouraging and, in a way, inspired this one. It was also interesting to see how Marian’s social media career took off since the very beginning and continued to grow with her throughout her blogging career.

I hope this post shares a bit about me as well. (more…)

The Freelance Writing eBook Contest Ends Tomorrow (Thursday)

Hey everyone! I just wanted to remind you all that you only have 1 day left, until 11:59pm EST on Thursday, to enter in the freelance writing eBook contest.

I’m giving away the eBook Jump Start Your Freelance Writing Career for free to 5 participants, who will be randomly chosen. Once the contest is over, the eBook will be sold at its original price.

I’ve been getting so many enthusiastic responses from everyone, both through emails and comments on the contest thread. Just like you all, I’m very excited about this eBook launch.

I wish everyone the best of luck, and keep those comments rolling! (more…)

I’m Giving Away Free eBooks on Freelance Writing – Interested?

Photo by MarcinMoga / Lolek / Marcin Moga (flickr)

Hey everyone! As you probably know, I’ve been pretty busy lately working on a content-rich, ingeniously crafted eBook for my readers – YOU! I’m really excited about how much it has grown in the last few months, and I’m happy to announce that it’s almost done!

I know that you’re just filled with suspense to the point of unyielding tension, so I’m finally going to reveal the details of this amazing freelance writing guide (woops, did I just give it away?) – and then hand out a limited number of free copies.

The eBook, Jump Start Your Freelance Writing Career: Become a Successful Freelance Writer in 60 Days or Less, is a resource for freelance writers that provides a detailed guide on how to create an unique freelance writing lifestyle to love and cherish. You not only build a lucrative lifestyle, but you design the lifestyle you want to live. One that you enjoy living. It’s a guide that describes everything you need to know in order to become a freelance professional, while achieving your dreams – whatever they may be. (more…)

Going on Vacation for Two Weeks

For the next two weeks from July 1st to the 15th, be in California visiting a close friend of mine and won’t be able to update the blog much. I’ll still be checking my email to answer any questions, so don’t hesitate to contact me. I’ll also be able to read and approve comments while I’m away. I figured I’d give myself much needed time off from work, so I’m funding my trip with Demand Studios earnings, believe it or not. It should be a fun experience overall. I’ll let you know how it goes! (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…)