I joined her site Mom Masterminds soon after that, in February of 2005 so that I'd have the opportunity to get to know her better. (Sneaky, eh? I was stalking her!)

Since then we've partnered on many projects including ReliableWebs.com & EasyArticleMarketing.com, she's been an adviser to me, and a sanity saver on multiple occasions.

Here's more about Kelly:

Kelly McCausey has built a thriving internet business doing what she loves; writing, creating, coaching and encouraging others. With a goal to provide high value, low cost resources and services that help moms achieve dreams of working at home, Kelly publishes a variety of blogs, podcasts, ebooks and audio products along with a weekly newsletter that reaches 6000+ moms.

The audio recording of our interview is at the end of this blog post. Just look for the “play” button and listen. It’s free!

Learn More about Kelly here –> WAHMTalkRadio

Paid “Must Have” Tools & Resources Mentioned in this Call:

• Amember– for running membership sites
• Membernaire– a course about running membership sites
• Basecamp – to help you juggle projects, clients, and helpers without losing your mind.

Free “Must Have” Tools & Resources Mentioned in this Call:

• Google: Gmail, Apps, Calendar, Docs
• Twitter: Kelly on Twitter | Nicole Dean on Twitter
• Tweetdeck

Kelly's Mentor

• Alice Seba

Takeaway Points from Kelly

• Offer much free content.
• Adjust your business smartly.
• Focus on one market
• Look for & expect cooperation.

Listen below and leave me a comment about your thoughts and/or who you’d like to hear as a guest in a future episode.

Comment to Enter to Win Kelly's
The Complete Internet Marketing Moms Start Up Guide
$35 Value

After listening to the show, comment below and you'll be entered to win a prize from Kelly. (US and Canada are only eligible as this has to be put in the mail – but I, of course, hope you'll comment no matter where you live.)

Here are some ideas.

– Tell us something you learned from the show.
– Tell us something you're changing after listening.
– Tell us about a time when you fell flat on your face and had to get back up.
– Tell us a time you took a risk and it paid off.
– Tell us what questions you have about your business.

One winner will be chosen from all “non-spam” comments (US and Canada) by using Random.org.

PS. Click to learn  How to Record Telephone Interviews like I do.

I interviewed 16 moms who are all making full time money online and asked them a few very direct questions. “What was your #1 mistake?” and “What was your tipping point?” for instance. They were not shy in answering at all.

The funny thing was that I kept hearing a lot of the same answers. So, maybe being an online success isn't such a mystery after all.

I found it fascinating and I think you will, too.

To learn how these women earn a full time living on the internet on a part time basis, visit http://www.fulltimewahm.com

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. I would love to hear what YOUR tipping point was, as well. Please post it below.

I've chatted with Mary Ann several times, as she's an affiliate for a few of my clients. She's definitely rocking as an affiliate marketer (I see her stats and KNOW she knows her stuff) — so I wanted to showcase her and let her teach us all a thing or two.

Here you go…

Welcome, Mary Ann!

Tell us about you.

I am now a work-at-home mom who started a basic homeschool website, www.TheHomeSchoolMom.com , 7 years ago when I started homeschooling my children.

Over time I learned more about good website code and design and was blessed to move up in the search engine rankings. I joined an active online community of homeschool webmasters and thanks to their shared knowledge I have been able to continually improve my site and earn a good income. My sites now include the homeschool website, a menu planning website, and a local parenting website that is still in the development stage. I love what I do and often find myself reflecting on what a blessing it is in this world where so many are dissatisfied with their jobs that I am able earn a good living doing something that I love to do (and still stay home with my children).

Why do you do affiliate marketing?

Although contextual pay-per-click ads (like adsense) do very well on my sites and represent the bulk of my income, I have found that targeted affiliate products are very successful and help me balance my income sources so that I am not too dependent on any one company for my livelihood. Because all of my websites target women, and moms in particular, I have found that menu planning affiliate programs are highly successful. Even though one of my websites – www.Menus4Moms.com – actually is a source of free menu plans, I like to offer my visitors other options. By highlighting affiliate links to other menu plans that are more specialized than mine (Kid-Approved Meals and Healthy Menu Mailer are good examples), I am able to provide my visitors with what they need while creating an additional source of income for myself.

What's the #1 mistake you've made and overcome with your online business?

Because I started with no training in online businesses and basically through trial and error, I made more than my fair share of mistakes. I think the biggest thing that I learned is that there is no free ride. I took it for granted that because I considered my site valuable that others would be excited to hear about it too, and would love to hear all about it. I made myself a pest telling people about it online and didn't realize that what I was doing was poor netiquette at best and extremely annoying at worst.

I learned quickly that *if you want traffic for your website, you have to earn it with time and effort.* I backed off the self-promotion and really tried to create something that promoted itself. It took at least 3 years before I had enough traffic to make any significant income, but the site has grown steadily since its inception. The one thing that helped more than anything was to create something valuable to give away on the website and publicize it (in a more kind and gentle way). That is when my traffic really started to build. For my homeschool site, that was a free downloadable homeschool planner. Asking for people to link to your site when it only benefits you is not nearly as easy as getting people to link to a free resource that will benefit their visitors. And once a few sites start linking to yours, the search engines start to take notice, and it's all downhill from there.

Do you have any recent news, products, a new launch, freebies, etc.

I just launched my first digital cookbook this month, Bulk Cooking for the Freezer: Ground Beef , and look forward to adding more Bulk Cooking ebooks to the store soon. I also have a free planner download including a menu planner found here: http://www.menus4moms.com/homeorganization/planner.php
This year I launched a new section of the Home Organization area of Menus4Moms called the Daily Reminder. It is a 15 minute task that is emailed each weekday to help moms declutter and organize the home. This is new within the past few months and has taken off like crazy, going from launch to 6600+ subscribers in 6 months.

What are your absolute favorite products or resources you can’t live without in your business?

This year I made the leap from desktop to laptop. In the past I carried a laptop when traveling but worked on a desktop at home and had to go through the hassle of synching files and dealing with network problems. This spring I purchased a workhorse laptop so now I don't have to switch back and forth between two computers. I absolutely love working this way and it has really freed me to travel and work outside the home when necessary without synching files and dealing with emails on both computers.

My other two favorites are PayPal and Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver was an expensive investment about 3 years ago that has been worth every penny. It has allowed me to accomplish tasks in minutes that used to take hours (particularly updating snippets of code on pages throughout my websites). I wish that I had made this investment sooner! Paypal has allowed me to take payments from advertisers and ebook customers without any hassle or complication.

What's the #1 tip you'd give for your success?

Know your audience and appeal to their specific needs with high quality affiliate ads. Just throwing affiliate links out there willy-nilly is likely to be unproductive and may even lower your site's credibility. When you frame each promotion around the needs of your site's visitors, they begin to look at your ads as a valuable part of your whole site. What bride doesn't consider the ads in Bride magazine just as valuable as the articles? But if the ads are unrelated, poor quality, or badly worded, the whole magazine suffers. The same is true for websites. Site owners that know their audiences and combine high quality relevant ads with excellent site design increase both their income and the perceived value of their site.

Thanks so much, Mary Ann, for your time!

Nicole

Name:
URL:
Rates:
Specialties:
Your ONE favorite thing to write for your clients (topics):
Samples?

Nicole

Name:
URL:
Rates:
Specialties:
Your ONE favorite thing to do for your clients (design, optimize, etc…):

Thanks so much!
Nicole

I consider it my job to act as a translator and help toss out the hype and break things down into bite-sized pieces. If you have questions you'd like to ask about being a WAHM – either post them to my blog or leave a message on my phone line.
(214) 231-2905 ext 4487

I'll be answering questions in upcoming notes. Thanks much!

I have a confession.

I’m a mostly-sane WAHM. I’m far from the ‘got it together’ work at home mom that I’d like to be.

I believe that there are a lot of women out there like me – clutching onto your sanity while juggling family, daily work requirements, basketball practice, ballet recitals, PTA meetings, and the many other responsibilities we carry on our shoulders.

If you’ve been a WAHM for more than a minute, you know the predicament we face. We chose to work from home so we could spend more time with our children. This is great in theory. What happens, though is that we end up with no scheduled and defined work time, so it becomes a struggle to find time to spend with our kids. When you hear other people say “It must be so nice to work from home so you can spend time with your kids all day”, you roll on the floor laughing. If only it were so simple! Finding the balance between work and home can be a constant struggle especially when work IS home.

I remember the days when I worked out of the home in an office job. I had two separate and distinct compartments in my life. There was the office, where I could work in peace and quiet, focus on projects and be productive. And, then there was home, where I was able to focus on my children and have fun. I had scheduled working hours, and also distinct family time.

Now, I have the ‘hom-ffice’, an odd melding of home and office. The line between the two compartments is unclear. My office is now an extension of home. And, home is becoming an extension of my office.

Because of this dilemma, I find that I’ve got the focus of a gnat. Here’s how my work day goes.

I wake up, grab a cup of coffee, and sit in front of the computer to check my email. Fifty new messages. No problem. I get ready to tackle the first one.

“Dear Nicole, I was wondering if you might be interested in” …

“juice in a sippy cup, pretty please my pretty mommy?”

Whoa!! Ok, brain switch! I turn and look at my little girl who just crawled out of bed. She is a perfect picture of childhood, with her big brown eyes, sweaty wildly curly hair and big grin. I hug this rosy-cheeked angel and go to the kitchen to get juice. Then, I sit back down and attempt to read my email

“Dear Nicole, I was wondering if you might be interested in my new affiliate program selling” …

“the new Lego robot I built!”

Brain switch again. I swivel my office chair and see my son, his blue eyes twinkling, and his face beaming proudly, holding up his Lego creation. I ‘ooh’ and ‘ahhh’ over the new Lego invention — a robot that can climb walls. I rub his blonde head and tell him how wildly creative he is. He grins and goes back to Lego-building.

I swivel back to work, and try to get as much done as I can between the many interruptions, karate practice, dinner and bedtime stories. Oftentimes, late at night, you can find me working, while watching late night TV shows. My husband comes in to check on me. I swivel my chair to get my good-night kiss and I tell him that I just want to wrap up a few last projects. I stagger to bed late at night only to start again, before the kids wake up in the morning.

Are you seeing the pattern? Is there any wonder that I’m mostly-sane? Look at your own days and I’ll bet they are very similar to mine.

Despite the frazzled hours and days, and all the distractions, I love being a WAHM. The honest truth is that I wouldn’t trade my job for any corporate job in America.

However, as I meet more and more work at home moms, it’s becoming apparent that I’m not alone in my struggles. Other moms are setting expectations that are just not matching reality. What can we do about it?

1. Reclaim your office:

If you have one room that you can dedicate to your work, stake your claim on it. Clear out all toys and non-work items. Make your “hom-ffice” a real office. No more messing around with half a commitment to your business. Your office is your turf. Protect it.

2. Buy a timer:

If your children are old enough to understand the concept of time, invest in a timer. It’s a life saver. The next time you need uninterrupted working time, tell the kids that you’re setting the timer for 20 minutes. If they give you 20 minutes of uninterrupted work time, then reward them with quality time with you. Play a board game together or go to the park.

Set goals this month to reclaim your work area and your time, and you will take a step closer to being a happy, relaxed, and successful WAHM!

Nicole Dean is a mostly-sane WAHM, and proud owner of http://www.ShowMomTheMoney.com – a fun and informative site to help moms find success at home!

* This article was originally published in the WC It may be reprinted online or in print with author resource box and credit to the author intact.*