You may have noticed that in addition to the increase in my writing level lately, I also recommend products from time to time. When Christopher broke his toe, it also broke the bank and I quickly scrambled to find more income. Taking a second job would mean losing out on time with the kids. Not an option.
Through my friend Julie, I learned about blog marketing and getting paid to mention products or services on my site. I had let my site slowly wither away, having been hit by sheer boredom after 8 years of writing. If I hadn't done that, I could make a lot of money as there have been some big dollar "opportunities" lately. I don't have the search engine ranking necessary to take those but this will help me make a few bucks a week to pay the doctor bills.
If you need a little extra, you should check it out. I was skeptical at first but I've seen actually money in hand now so yes, it's legit. You do have to have an established site, preferably on your own domain, and disclosure is required of all bloggers. (hence that little disclosure link some of you have asked about.)
You decide what you want to write about by picking opportunities. That also cuts down on some of my choices because I'm not going to write about stuff I don't know about or things I wouldn't actually buy myself.
A personal side benefit to the increased writing is that I'm clearing my head and getting things archived again. I've always loved going back over my archives and remembering things long forgotten. I used to be quite funny I think. Perhaps I'll tap into that again.