Another year has come and gone.  It only seems like yesterday that it began, yet here we are.  Stepping into not only a new year, but a new era.  An era where we have finally shown just how diverse America can be.  A year when a black man takes office as the president of the United States.

I can only wonder what changes lay in store for me as I slip into 2009 and another year with the military.  It’s a scary thought, but whatever choices are made, whatever paths are taken, I’ve already promised my service, and should my country call me, I stand ready.

Aside from the economic and political changes our country faces, we can all be sure of one thing.  Tomorrow is a new day, a time for a fresh start.  And in the spirit of that fresh start, I give you my personal and professional goals of 2009.

The Izea Insiders

As many of you already know I am one of only 10 Izea Insider Crew Leaders and it’s an honor to have been chosen to be a part of this super elite “Rockstar” team.

It was an awesome year for Izea in 2008 and it promises to be even better in 2009.  The best part about that thought is I’ll be there every step of the way, helping in any way I can.

My goal as an Insider is to really help open up the online community that we all seem to forget has very little existence beyond the bounds of bloggers and social media gurus.  I want to bring the knowledge of the revolution that’s really going on within our walls to those on the outside who never knew they wanted in.

Izea is planning things that are going to blow your socks off in 2009 and with the possibility of IzeaFest 2009 being at SeaWorld, we are going to be in for a real treat.

Networking With The Masses

Another of my goals is to reach out and touch as many people as possible.  I’ve got plans to attend a lot of the major blog conferences and expos in 2009.  I’m expecting this to help push my blog through a major threshold and never look back.

In addition to the conferences, I’m looking at building a local group of bloggers to help each other grow in our online journeys and to help propel us with a force like you’ve never seen right on into 2010.

The Advancement Of My Blog

My blog, the key to completing my previous goals, is going to achieve things in 2009 of which many bloggers can only dream.  I’ve already shown the speed at which this blog has grown.  A display of growth only a small number of bloggers can reach so quickly.

I’m not slowing down anytime soon, so if you plan on sticking around, hold on.  It’s going to be a fast ride.

A Little Personal Goal

Among all of these professional goals I’ve created for myself in 2009, lies my one personal goal.  To get into shape.  And I’m not talking about “round”.

When my wife was pregnant with our first child, I gained 30 lbs.  And now, almost 2 years later, I haven’t lost it.  So I’m beginning my exercise and healthier eating routine, and within 2 months, I plan to lose all 30 of those lbs.

It’s a goal that will make me happy, as well as my family.  Its also helps that losing weight is cheaper than buying all new clothes.

For all of you that don’t know, Ted Murphy at Izea is exercising and getting healthier as well.  So make sure you check out his blog, and help motivate him to keep going.

What are your goals for 2009?

If you missed my latest post, click here to learn how I make $40-$50 per month with my SMS Blog Feed and only 3 subscribers.

With my passion for wanting to help others learn how to make money and be successful blogging, I’ve decided to write a book.

This book will take the reader from day 1 of deciding to create a blog all the way through successfully generating an income from their blog.

I’ve started writing already and have a general outline of the topics I want to cover.  And here’s where you come in.

Your Role In My Book

I’m not interested in writing a book that no one will be interested in reading.  No matter how important I may think a topic is, if no one is interested in reading that particular topic, then no one is benefiting from the book.

So I want to hear from you.  What topics and general myths, ideas, and facts would you like to see in this book in regards to blogging and making money doing it.  This could include things like affiliate marketing, social networking, etc.

Feel free to give me ideas, or even submit articles on particular topics you’re interested in with your views and experience on that topic.

I realize that I’m not an expert in every topic related to blogging and making money doing it (no one is).  Which is why I’m calling on those of you who are experts in your particular field, to help write this book.

A bo0k for the people, by the people. (Remind you of another very successful document?)

The Benefits For You

I will give props to everyone who submits an article that is used in the book, on a special “Contributors Page” with a short bio and a link to your blog/website address and Twitter account.

This is your chance to be published in a book and to reap the marketing rewards from it.

In addition to the “Contributors Page” for the authors of each article used, there will be an “Inspiration Page” that lists the name of anyone who gives me an idea/topic that gets used in the book.  First come first served, which means if you submit an idea that gets used, then someone else submits the same idea, your name will be on the “Inspiration Page”.

The Small Print

By submitting an article to me, you are giving me the rights to publish that article and/or the viewpoints of that article in paper and/or electronic format.

You can submit your articles to “thebook (at) steven-sanders.com”.  Please include a short bio, blog url, and twitter username as well as the name you want displayed as a contributor with your article.

Submit your ideas/topics to me via a comment, so everyone can see the topic ideas.  I’m interested in others seeing your idea and generating some conversation about it, so I can better evaluate the demand for the particular topic before deciding to use it.

You articles will be altered slightly so that they fit seamlessly with the rest of the book.

If you have any questions, please use my contact page.

The floor is yours, leave me a comment now.

Election day is upon us and every eligible U.S. citizen should go out and vote. Once you vote, make sure to save and display this badge on your blog to help encourage others to get out and vote as well.

If you’ll head on over to the Izea website and visit their blog, you’ll know there is a contest going on right now to win one 10 coveted positions as an Izea Insider.

Those selected will have access to all of the new things going on with Izea before the rest of the world, as well as other cool prizes and perks.  You can find out more about the Izea Insiders program here.

This is my entry into the contest.  A look at why I should be one of the 10 Izea Insiders.

A Little Bit About Me (And That Crazy Photo I Have)

I was born and lived in a town that no one reading this blog has ever heard of.  A place called Wingo, KY.  A place that isn’t much bigger than your great grandmother’s flower-patterned couch.  We had a school, a gas station, post office, and a couple of houses.

I only lived there for about (wait, you probably don’t want to hear all of this).  Fast Forward.

Here we are.  Eighth grade English class.  The first day of the rest of my life.

My eighth grade English teacher, Mrs. Owen, asked me if I’d like to be part of the school webpage club and design the school’s website.  I agreed, not even knowing what a website was.  But that week was when I realized the web is where I wanted to spend the rest of my life.

Since that time, I’ve become the senior website developer and graphic designer for a company here where I live, as well as an avid blogger, teaching others what I know best, and that is making money online.

So about that crazy photo?

That photo was taken by my beautiful wife as a joke for my originial steven-sanders.com website, which wasn’t anything more than a static page that had a crazy-ass picture of me on it.

But that picture is the reason I got the job I have now.  I was chosen over applicants much more qualified than me, just because I had a crazy personality, and my employers loved the photo.

I Know A Thing Or Two About Marketing

I’ve spent over 11 years learning about internet marketing and search engine optimization.  I’ve been here through it’s ever-changing ups and downs.

Within 4 days of launching the website of the company at which I currently work, we went from no listing in Google, to the first page for a couple of important keywords we were optimizing for.  It takes most websites a good month just to get listed, then another 15-30 days to get listed on the first page for good keywords.

Not long after this launch, I started this blog.  Steven-Sanders.com (the blog) has been here for 2 months now, and it has grown in leaps and bounds.

In this blog’s first month I saw an increase in visitors to over 4700, and now after month two, it’s grown even larger, and now has 66 RSS feed and newsletter subscribers, and is still growing at an alarming rate.

I’ve gone from a 12+ million alexa ranking to a 320,000 3-month ranking, and 142,000 1-week ranking.  This blog is going places, and it’s going there quickly.

You can find out more about the advances I saw after the first month here.

I am very confident I can take whatever is put in front of me and grow it exponentially in a very short period of time.

It probably doesn’t hurt either, that I worked with and been submerged into Military recruiting for most of my life.  It has not only helped me to learn the ins and outs of marketing, but also how to build one hell of a team.

Why Haven’t You Seen Me At Conferences?

This is an easy one!  I only just started blogging the last couple of days of August, so I didn’t have the time scheduled or the money set aside to attend any blogging events or conferences.  But you can bet I’ll be at quite a few of them in the coming year.

My boss has already told me he is sending me to conferences in my field of work, and since it ties in so nicely with the blogging community, I’ve already got someone paying for a few of them.  You can’t beat that with a stick.

My Tools Of The Trade

There are alot of plugins, and other online tools that I’ve recommended in past posts that I currently use, but I’ve never really talked about the physical tools I use behind the scenes at my dot com headquarters (read, my bedroom).

There really isn’t a whole lot to it.  I’ve got a Dell Inspiron E1705 because God knows I’ve gotta have the biggest damn laptop screen I can get my hands on.  I do have wireless built right in.  I even run a wireless router for internet access.  I’ve also turned an old Windows XP desktop into a home file server with external usb hard-drives to backup all of my important data.  You know… the thousands of songs I’ve got from iTunes.  I’ve also got a wonderful Flip Ultra (I really could use the new Mino, though), and a Digital Rebel XT for shooting those high quality photos that turn out so good.

And when I’m traveling, I’ve got an AT&T Tilt that tethers nicely to my huge laptop so I’m never without internet access.  I’m looking forward to using it at the next IzeaFest.

Why I Should Be An Izea Insider

Besides my mad internet marketing skills, and my crazy ass personality, the only reason I can think of for being one of the elite 10 Izea Insiders is because my chinese fortune cookie said, “You will be institutionalized very soon.”  And I thought, this must mean I’ll be joining people that look like this: