| "Camping is nature's way of promoting the motel | | | | must be certain you know how far the nearest |
| business." - Dave Berry. | | | | 4-Star restaurant is from your campsite and |
| Having returned from my first camping trip, while | | | | you've MapQuested the directions... " |
| casually thumbing through the Yellow Pages for | | | | So where to start, in turning good advice like that |
| quick divorce lawyers, I received a call from a | | | | into gold? My advice - start a camping blog? Start |
| new camping website, asking "can you write an | | | | a camping blog, gain a following with your advice |
| article on turning camping into cash?" I closed the | | | | and make money from affiliate marketing or |
| phone book and here's the first installment of my | | | | selling advertising space. Starting a blog - personal |
| series of answers. | | | | publishing platforms -- can be done without |
| The camping world needs a woman's touch and I | | | | money. See WordPress. |
| don't mean a female Daniel Boone. I mean a | | | | Affiliate Marketing. Sign up with an affiliate |
| female Dave Berry. It really needs one and | | | | marketing company like or clickbank.com, chose |
| there's gold in them 'thar hills. There's no advice | | | | the product you want to sell on your website |
| for dreamers (who looked at brochure photos of | | | | (divorce lawyer advertising? Family counseling?), |
| laughing couples, holding hands while hiking along | | | | the company will provide you with the code to |
| majestic mountain paths) only to return from | | | | place on your blog and then every time some |
| their first camping trip with blisters the size of | | | | one clicks on the link or buys the product, (pay |
| baseballs, poison ivy welts and the need for blood | | | | per click or pay per commission) you get paid! |
| tests for Lyme Disease. And that's where turning | | | | Sell Advertising Space. For example, you can go |
| camping into cash and you come in. Just think | | | | to Google's site, sign up for an Ad Sense account, |
| about it, if you like to hike, canoe and camp | | | | and follow the instructions they provide to get it |
| anyway, it's all upside. That advice giver could be | | | | on your blog. You know those "ads by Google" |
| you. | | | | sections of web pages these days, that's what |
| Camping gear reviews -- advice on what camping | | | | we're talking about. |
| gear to buy and why -- is everywhere, from | | | | Sell Banner Ads. Offer spots for companies to |
| eBay's Camping Buying Guide or REI's Camp/Hike | | | | place banner ads on your site. To keep it easy, |
| Expert Advice. In bone-numbing detail, we learn | | | | you can place the banner ad code in one of your |
| we'll need out sleeping bags rated for -10* | | | | blog posts. If you want to get more technical, |
| Fahrenheit to camp in the snow or that a car | | | | you can attempt to place it on other locations on |
| rack must clamp to the seam between the door | | | | your blog page. |
| and vehicle frame if a car lacks gutters. And, | | | | Or ... |
| coincidentally, every tip and every piece of advice | | | | Squidoo. This is a spot for people to make small |
| relates back to a product for sale on the site. | | | | personal web pages about things they are |
| And the Internet also abounds with campsite | | | | interested in. You could, rather easily, make |
| reviews where information that should cause | | | | several Squidoo lenses (their dubbed term for |
| civilized people to recoil in horror is considered | | | | webpage) with various articles, photos, video, etc. |
| mighty handy information for the hardy camping | | | | The beauty of a Squidoo lense, is the money |
| crowd. These reviews allow them to discover | | | | making technology is built in. You can, with a click |
| which campsites have 30 amp electricity, which | | | | of a button, add an Adsense campaign to your |
| have sewage disposal for RVs, and those where | | | | lenses, Amazon modules, or ebay listings. All of |
| you best keep an eye out for rattlesnakes and | | | | which you split a commission on. |
| scorpions. | | | | HubPages. These are a similar concept to Squidoo. |
| But real-world advice? Forget it. You can search | | | | You make your own personal "hubpage" and use |
| the Internet in vain or Google until the cows | | | | the same methods to produce an small income, |
| come home but you won't find advice on whether | | | | AdSense, Amazon, etc. If your Hubpage has |
| it is better to choke to death on fish bones or | | | | valuable content, which as we established before |
| simply walk into the wilderness and freeze to | | | | shouldn't be that hard in the field of camping, its |
| death after your newly retired husband - who | | | | very possible to great a small but steady source |
| somehow convinced you to share a winter | | | | of income. |
| adventure ice fishing in Canada - hands you his | | | | This isn't get-rich-quick advice but it is a way you |
| fresh catch to clean and cook for the evening's | | | | could gain a national following, your traffic could |
| meal over a tiny propane flame. Nor can you find | | | | explode and then the world would be your oyster. |
| advice on the best response when -- while | | | | Don't quit your day job. But do take your laptop |
| pitching a tent in the dark with someone who | | | | with you camping. I believe in you. You should |
| forgot to pack flashlights -- asked what's taking | | | | believe in you. |
| so long to pound in your half of the tent stakes | | | | You may think the hardest part is coming up with |
| into the ground with the heel of your shoe | | | | great advice. Think again. Just go camping. Be |
| because someone also forgot to pack a hammer. | | | | sure to check back, as I am booked for a whole |
| You'll search forever for camping advice that | | | | series on this topic. |
| begins with "Just don't do it, don't go. But if you | | | | |