I'm currently learning to build some really fun websites and blogs using Wordpress. I tried once before and ended up frustrated that I could not get the code to do what I wanted. Today, with CSS, I am able to much more than before so I'm trying it again.

On top of the Wordpress code I am using a great theme called Thesis. I have enjoyed learning everything this combo can do and they can do bunches!

My first website is taking shape. It may not look exactly as it does now but it should stay pretty close. I'm combining my love of web design, amateur photography and entrepreneurialism to create my latest venture.

I am uploading many of my funnest and best photos, along with a collection of vernacular photographs, and will be offering low resolution images for free use on non-commercial websites and blogs. High resolution images will be available for print with just the click of a button.

Check out the site and give me some feedback! As I stated above, it is currently a work in progress... Life's A Photograph (www.lifesaphotograph.com).

Labels: entrepreneur, Internet, make money, niche, Photo

Hey guys, have you seen the cool new button icons along the side? There are now so many social media type sites it is getting tough to keep up with them all. As an Internet guru I have been trying to stay on top of the latest and greatest sites and services.

I have joined most of the major social networking sites and now have links to most of them. In those swanky new buttons along the side you will find links to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, MySpace, LinkedIn and a few others. I try to keep many of these sites updated but can't updated all of them on a regular basis. I have 100 other websites to update you know.

I hope you bounce around and check out the sites. Join any that you are not a member of and start connecting with people you haven't heard from in years or connect with people you would have never met in a million years.

I've also added my Labels along the side lower down. If you click on a label it will pull up all of the posts that relate to that subject.

Enjoy! And thanks for stopping by from time to time. That's all for now and it's back to the drawing board!

Labels: blogging, Internet

Have you ever re-gifted? Well, I'm re-posting. This was originally from June of '08 but I thought any new readers might get a kick out of it.

This post is not about the spam you sneak in into your kids lunch when they least expect it. You know, the mystery pink meat substance that we all had to eat once or twice while growing up in the 70's. This post is about the even nastier spam you reluctantly allow to fill your inbox.

As much as we all hate to get electronic spam, I may have found that there are actually a few redeeming values to spam. I know, I know, you can't believe what you are reading. Take a deep breath and see if you might not just agree with me.

Email spam is good because:

1. People without friends that would otherwise never receive an email are now guaranteed to receive an abundance of mail every day!
2. Should you ever need your manly organ enlarged you will know exactly who to contact!
3. We can all say that we've won the UK Lottery!! 167 times in one month.
4. Three names: Nandy Gaskins, Lagina Welty and Dorcas Dull. Should you ever need a baby name you can just use the sender name from your latest spam. These are the last three senders names on three of my latest spams.
5. If you ever need $72,000,000 from a bank in Ghana you know where to get it.
6. You're always sure to get a file full of hysterical cartoons.
7. You can easily kill off 7 people by not forwarding the latest "must forward or else" chain email.
8. You can eliminate friends you don't like by not answering the 20 question chain email and forwarding it back to them and 20 other friends.
9. Deleting spam gives you 20 minutes of break time at work.
10. Deleting spam quickly increases your eye/hand coordination.
11. It gives you something to forward to people you don't like.
12. Has created an entirely new industry in spam prevention.
13. Just getting to say the word spam is kinda fun.
14. You don't have to eat email spam!!!!

That's about it. Please copy and paste this post into an email and forward it to 10 of your closest friends within 1 hour. If you don't you'll have bad luck for 7 days, if you do, you will win an unexpected prize. Be sure to link back to this blog also... curtistucker.com. That is all.

Labels: funny moment, Internet

Many of you may be wondering why I have all of my websites and why I put so much crazy stuff out there on the Internet. Well, the simple reason is that the more I have out there, the better chance something is going to stick. Stick where, I don't know, but I'm hopeful somewhere that creates a cash flow.

I just finished my first "real" photo shoot today and did a corresponding interview last week. I will have my own one page story in the regional magazine called Midwest CEO. They do a monthly feature on a unique occupation that takes place in an interesting workspace. They call it the Goat Locker.

The editor of the magazine was looking for a cartoonist in his next issue and went searching the Internet for a cartoon studio. Who's funky cartoon studio do you think pulled up in Google while he was searching. Of course it was mine. Why? Because I started this goofy blog and posted some photos of my cartoon studio.

Are you now with me on this "throw it out there and see what sticks" thing? Maybe one day my goofy videos will lead to a Saturday morning kids show or even my own blockbuster movie. Then again, maybe they won't.

Anyway, I will be in the December issue of the magazine and will keep you posted and hopefully upload a photo or two from the shoot.

That's all for now and I will see you later!

Labels: Curtis Tucker, Internet, Press

1. Clicks on Google AdSense ads
2. Had advertisers pay me to run independent ads on my sites
3. Made affiliate money through Commission Junction & others
4. Sold pieces of clip art
5. Created custom cartoon logos and mascots
6. Hired for 2 creative naming projects
7. Collected web hosting fees
8. Had online orders for paper greeting cards
9. Built web sites for a couple of clients
10. Updated several client web sites
11. Sold royalty free cartoon characters
Get busy! There's money to be made online!

Labels: Cartooning, Internet, make money

Labels: Daughters, funny moment, Internet, video

1. Create a video on YouTube, optimize it, link it to your site.
2. Leave comments on blogs related to your site, with a link back to your site
3. Join forums related to your site, leave comments with a link to your site
4. Optimize ALL of your pages for multiple high traffic keywords
5. Email friends and family, ask them to email friends and family
6. Run an ad in your local paper with your web address
7. Put your web address on your car, business cards and a t-shirt
8. Open accounts on social networks linked back to your site
9. Optimize graphics and photos with keyword names and alt tags
10. Start a blog (if you have a website), update it regularly
11. Submit your site to a dozen free directories
12. Announce a free give-a-way on your site
13. Create press releases and post on PR sites
14. Volunteer to give speeches and do interviews about your business
15. Trade links with as many web sites as you can
16. Twitter
17. Write awesome articles, submit to article sites
18. Build more than one web site
19. Add five pages to your site every week
20. Run a Pay-Per-Click campaign, only bid a penny
21. Interview a very popular web celeb
22. Pin up your business card at Starbucks
23. Join local message boards
24. Teach a class on your subject or business
25. Write a newsletter or be a writer for a newsletter
26. Join web rings and traffic sharing sites
27. Post ads on Craig's List and other classifieds
28. Create an ebook to sell on Clickbank
29. Add a RSS subscription button
30. Send your story to The Big Idea on CNBC
31. Get a magazine to do a story about you
32. Buy cheap links on hot sites
33. Pick a memorable domain name
34. Get people to Digg & Stumble Upon you
35. Send funny lists to bloggers to use on their sites
36. Choose high traffic keywords
37. Book a spot on Oprah
38. Create the world's funniest video
39. Run late night radio ads
40. Join associations and clubs
41. Be controversial
42. Create a Cafe Press store, sell stuff
43. Give away a prize on another site
44. Collect a mailing list and email to it
45. Guest post on another blog
46. Create a forum on your site
47. Create a fun Google Group
48. Start a podcast, submit to iTunes
49. Attend conferences and seminars
50. Add nude photos to your site (kidding)
50. Be patient!!

Labels: blogging, Internet, make money

Have you ever wondered what the secret ingredient is to make money online? When you boil it down into a nutshell there is one important factor to making money online and that key is eyeballs. Yep, good old fashioned eyeballs.

I can almost guarantee that you can have the best web site, the best content and the best offers in the world, but without eyeballs you're not going to make one red cent. I have been guruing (not a real word) several people over the past year and they have taken my tips, ideas and strategies and created great little empires. The only problem they are finding is that they are not making much money and the reason is... not enough eyeballs.

Eyeballs is of course just another term for traffic. Even the worst offer in the world will convert to cash with a large amount of eyeballs. With that said I would suggest that you learn how to direct eyeballs to your web sites. I will post 50 ways to add extra eyeballs to your website before the end of the month. Keep checking in and start learning how to drive traffic!!

Labels: Internet, make money

Hi Guys!

Is anyone seeing PSA's over there to the right where my Google ads should be? For 24 hours now I have had that PSA show up just on my homepage. I've gone through every word looking for trigger words and changed any that I thought might be triggering it.

If you are an AdSense hound and can help me out take a look and see if you can figure out why I'm getting PSA's on this page only.

Thanks for da help!!

P.S. They may have finally disappeared.
P.S.S. They came back... I just removed the words w-i-c-k-e-d, b-i-g-f-o-o-t and O-J. Let me know if you still see PSA's.

Labels: Internet

I was just emailing with one of my new readers and he brought up something I have not eluded to yet. As of today, I do not use any form on PPC ads, AdWords or pay for any other form of advertising. That is not to say that I wouldn't try some of those forms of traffic building in the future. I'll let you know when I use any form of paid advertising.

All of my traffic and income is based on natural SEO. That means I do not spend a dime on advertising, zip, zilch, nada. My traffic comes from my natural rankings in the search engines. My only reoccurring costs are for domain names and web hosting.

My web pages had over 5.8 million page views in 2007 and I aim to shatter that number in 2008. I have not optimized my sites very well for advertising and have relied heavily on Google Ads. This year I am trying new forms of income generation and I will share with you what has worked best for me.

I would guess 90% of my traffic is generated by Google. Another goal in 2008 is to create a large amount of new traffic using viral marketing. More about that later.

Check back and I will soon write some posts on how I can create that amount of traffic without spending a dime.

Labels: blogging, Internet, make money