Otaku Links: Trans-Am Mode

8 years ago

I’m openly envious of my Forbes colleague Ollie for living such a cool life. Recently, he sat down to chat with Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino like it was nothing, and they discussed his works from 1979 to 2017.
Kixkillradio creates breathtaking miniature settings for her many Nenderoid figures to play in. I was mesmerized by this sped-up video in which she creates a miniature sushi house with real working lights!
Who wants an anime studio tour? Sakugabooru takes us through Kyoto Animation’s surprisingly large number of studios and buildings.
Here’s an English version of the Anime Industry Report 2016, via r/anime. Some highlights: the US is the biggest overseas market for anime, online streaming distribution is growing a ton, and the genre with the biggest potential for overseas growth just might be “adult animation.”
Funimation decided to market yaoi anime Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi by inviting fans of yaoi and BL to tag their experiences with the hashtag #fujoshilife. Funimation’s own staff led the charge, but the movement quickly fizzled out when people got offended. But how offensive was it? Over at Anime Feminist, Amelia launched a discussion about this complicated issue.
I talk a lot about Get Bullish, the organization through which I’ve met most of my DC entrepreneur friends and through which I sell my affiliate earning guide. In this resource-packed blog post, my friend Eva explains what it’s done for her.

Screenshot via Gundam 00, just added in HD to Crunchyroll. I’m watching it now!

Free e-course: The Geek Blogger’s Guide to Your First $1000

8 years ago

Freelance can be unpredictable. This week, I’m swamped with paid work. Last week, not so much. And since last Wednesday lined up with International Women’s Day, I decided to use my excess free time to build a new woman-created project I’ve been thinking about for months.

Now it’s here, it’s free, and it’s called The Geek Blogger’s Guide to Your First $1000. It’s part auto-bio, part how-to, of how I figured out how to get this blog to become profitable over the years, where profitable does not mean “wealthy” but does mean “gives back more than I put in.”

Get the course!

This guide is for you if you:

Have (or want to begin) a blog about a topic you totally geek out about. Passion is a huge part of my monetization process!
You want to make an income without being sleazy or alienating your audience. Look elsewhere if you want black hat or grey hat methods.
You’re open-minded and willing to do the work in order to get something back. Each of these methods involves effort up front, but I think they are worth it.

Mailing list members should already be well-acquainted with this course if they want to be, because I sent it out to my 500+ current newsletter subscribers last night.

If you’re not on the mailing list yet, you can get the Geek Blogger’s Guide to Your First $1000 as a six part e-mail course delivered to your inbox over a week if you sign up here.

Whither the old course, the Niche Reviewer Crash Course? You can still opt in for that. I’m using MailChimp to organize all this, so now, when you subscribe you the mailing list you can select one or both courses to receive when you sign up.

I put a lot of work into this course so whether you’re a current subscriber or new here, I want you to have it. And if you like it, be sure to let me know!

Get the course!

Otaku Links: Better blogging

Otaku Links

8 years ago

March always has me thinking about fitness, because I run an annual 5k race series in April. I’ve been loving otaku personal trainer Jaxblade‘s anime fitness videos. He’s done Saitama’s training, checked whether Deku’s regimen measures up, and more!
I’m really interested in how other people who work from home manage their time. Here’s how my geek careerist pal Bree does it—with a mix of quantification, automation, and cutting out distractions.
How to make money blogging, featuring Otaku Journalist and more than 250 other blogs! I can’t imagine how long it took to build this resource, but I’m glad it exists and thrilled to be part of it.
Speaking of which, I’m giving away a copy of the book where I explain how I make most of my blogging income over at Chic Pixel. Still a few more days to enter the giveaway!
How to Use Google Analytics with WordPress. Every now and then, I want to share a post I’ve written for somebody else because I think it’ll help people here, too. This is how I measure traffic for my blogs, some of my clients’ blogs, and Anime Feminist.
The real-life settings of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. I love these comparisons! Miss Kobayashi’s new neighborhood looks a lot like Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture. HT Zoe.
All about doujinshi culture and common misconceptions. An older article that debunks myths about doujinshi for English speakers. I had no idea, for example, that some successful manga artists create doujinshi parodying their own work.
I almost missed this: Saudi Arabia hosted its first ever fandom convention in February! An attendance number of 20,000 is nothing to sneeze at.

Screenshot of Kakariko Village in Breath of the Wild. I’m not playing, but I’ve been looking over John’s shoulder and the graphics are breathtaking.

February 2017 Monthly Income Report

Income Reports

8 years ago

February is a dumb month. My income isn’t exactly routine to begin with, and the shortness of February messes it up even more. I expected that this month’s income report would look almost the same as January’s, until I realized I didn’t get some of my end-of-the-month payments until March 3.

As a result, February is distinctly less profitable than January, even though I worked the same amount. I received exactly $900 of my February freelance payments on March 3, and I’m still waiting for an additional $250 from Forbes. Generally, these are payments I expect to receive the final week of the month, but since that final week was so short, I’m just getting them now.

That means that writing income was a much smaller piece of the pie than usual. It also helps that I receive my Amazon payments on a delayed schedule. This month I got my December 2016 earnings—$1080.88! It took me a long time to start making this much with Amazon, and I am extremely proud of myself.

Of course, there’s no such thing as a risk-free business venture, especially when you base a big chunk of your business on top of another company’s platform. Starting March 1, Amazon has launched a different commission structure for affiliates like me. A lot of articles about it make it sound like we’re all “panicking” about the change, but it’s different for everybody. For me, a low-traffic seller, a flat rate over a high-commission structure might actually increase my earnings, but I’ll know for sure in a few months.

I also made less on web design in February than I did January, but because I charge my clients 100% up front, I’m still working on stuff I got paid for in January. Here are some sites I’ve managed to finish:

I’m finding the work to be variable. Sometimes the fee I charge covers the amount of work I do perfectly. Other times I spend hours and hours doing unpaid work because the project took way longer. Since it’s so uncertain, I’m devoting more of my time to pitching new writing gigs. I’m interviewing (yes, even freelancers have to!) with a new client this week.

I spent $168 on business expenditures this month, just the basics that I pay for every month (Bluehost hosting, time tracking software, Quickbooks Self Employed, theme licenses, etc). I’m not doing any interesting expansion right now and I don’t need any supplies. This month at Katsucon, for example, I still used the old flyers I designed to promote Gunpla 101 for Otakon 2016.

Speaking of stagnation, I didn’t meet a single one of my February goals! So I’m going to just roll them over to March and stop being lazy. What were they again?

Create a new web design sales page (or site!) using recent finished client projects.
Come up with ten keyword-heavy post ideas for my new affiliate blogging project.
Write a new mailing-list incentive course (to replace The Niche Reviewer Crash Course).

How was your month? I’m always excited to talk with other geek careerists.

See also:

January 2017 Monthly Income Report

All Previous Income Reports

Otaku Links: Links forever

Otaku Links

8 years ago

The lead image is from Yayoi Kusama’s All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins. I saw this in person on Thursday with a friend. (Yes, there are just two of us in this panorama!) Even after the exhibit, I learned a ton from this article: ‘Priestess Of Polka Dots’ Yayoi Kusama Gives Gallerygoers A Taste Of Infinity.
Otaku Parenting 101: Introducing Your Children to Anime. So glad a parent wrote this article because this is a question parents ask me a lot. I remember the days when hentai and shounen were grouped in together at the local Blockbuster. Now it’s a lot easier to figure out which is good anime for kids.
Chic Pixel’s Ultimate Guide to Blogging Part 4: Money Matters. Making money from your blog is always a touchy subject, but Anne handles it with care. You can also win my affiliate blogging book by commenting on this post!
Planning and Time Tracking For More Power and More Sunshine. I met Eva for a freelancer date (really just co-working at a coffee house) and was floored by a glimpse of her color-coded Google Calendar, which accounted for her time down to the minute. Here, she shows how—and why—she does it.
How I Make Money While Traveling the World Full-Time: Behind the Scenes with a Location Independent Writer. I will never get tired of reading about people’s fascinating alternative lifestyle careers.
All the Bad Dudes, All the Sad Dudes. C.D. Kingston tackles a tough subject that boils down to this: “Why are so many Nazis huge nerds?” A counterpart to my Monday post, Kingston discusses the shallow side of geek media and explores the danger of living in a fantasy world.
Let’s follow that up with an optimism chaser: 2017 is the year that Anime becomes mainstream. CEO Kun Gao shares some rare new Crunchyroll statistics that make me excited about welcoming more and more people to the fandom every coming year.
Yu-Gi-Oh Or Fifty Shades Of Grey? A surprisingly difficult Buzzfeed quiz in which you need to guess where a suggestive quote came from. I got 17 out of 20; can you beat my score?

Photo via Victoria Miro Gallery