One of the many tools available that I absolutely love is Amember from CGI-​​Central. Amember not only manages my membership sites, it also handles digital product sales, delivery, and protection.

For instance, it protects download pages, offers backend sales and automation, allows protection of “external” folders and files, and it even comes with a built-​​in autoresponder. (And that’s just a partial list.)

I use Amember with WordPress for my membership sites, such as, for example, the all-​​new Success Chef University, among many others.

But Amember does have its flaws…

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Since the new year is right around the corner, bloggers and marketers alike are posting their predictions as if a psychics convention has come to town.

So in keeping with that tradition, I’d like to post a few of my own. But unlike those who post their predictions in point form, I won’t make a specific list but rather share with you some of my thoughts.

(Near the end, however, this post will culminate in what I believe will be three major trends to watch out for and dive into, if you want to make some serious money in 2008 and beyond.)

First off, let me state that you may or may not agree with me on these. But something is definitely going on right now that points to these three trends. All the clues are pretty evident, and you’ve probably seen some of these yourself.

What I’m talking about is…

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Thanks for being patient with me. I haven’t posted in a while because of something that happened last week.

You see, my blog was hacked (not by a person but with malicious code that creeped into my blog), and as a result I was blocked by Google. I’m sure you’ve heard about it, as people talked about the news.

How did it get blocked?

Whenever my site(s) came up in Google, there was a “this site may harm your computer” warning. And when people clicked on my link, it lead them to a Google error page preventing people from accessing my site.

Apparently, Google checks its indexed pages against a database of “known offenders” (at StopBadware​.org, which is similar to many IP blacklists for spam), and turned all my listings on Google to unreachable.

So my site wasn’t banned. But the worse part was, Google not only blocked my site but also displayed a dire warning that my site was malicious! (You can only imagine what kind of damage this can cause to someone’s reputation.)

But that’s not all…

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As we’re getting ready to speak at the next Big Seminar, and share the stage with none other than Jay Abraham, my wife Sylvie and I have been working furiously on our upcoming product, Success Chef, which we are launching at Big.

But as busy as I am these days, and with the added stress of writing copy, dealing with clients and raising three teenagers, I sometimes find myself dipping into a few books as a distraction for some solace and quietude — and to give me some fresh ideas.

Last week, I bought four books, and devoured them in a single week!

I’m nothing short of amazed at how great these books are. And I want to share them with you and encourage you to grab a copy. (Audio versions of the books are also available, too.) They are…

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I recently joined a new band. It’s not a professional band by any stretch (I mean, not one in the sense of gigging all the time). It’s a hobby of mine. I’m the drummer, and I love classic rock.

And like most of the bands I join, I love designing their websites. And this one, Diggin’ For Hoffa, is no exception. Just like my main site at SuccessDoctor.com, this site is entirely WordPress-​​driven, even though it’s not a blog.

But I’d like to ask you a favor, too…

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Last month, I released a WordPress theme that mimics my previous blog design, Clean Copy. It has a left sidebar and the same font and color scheme as my old theme on my blog at MichelFortin​.com.

Thank you to everyone who downloaded it!

However, since then a lot of people have requested the right-​​sidebar version (I recommend the right for SEO purposes). And I also thought about a full, double-​​sidebar version, with one on each side.

So I decided to hire Cory Miller once again, a talented theme designer whom I highly recommend, to design them. And, he did it. Introducing…

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First off, this post is in no way comprehensive. There are many different ways to monetize your blog.

Of course, there’s selling ad space on your blog, such as through the use of pay-​​per-​​click networks like Google AdSense — which is the most popular.

But offering willing advertisers to directly sponsor your blog by buying a post, an ad, or a link is one area that’s becoming increasingly popular.

Sites like ReviewMe​.com, PayPerPost​.com, and Text​-Link​-Ads​.com are effective in allowing bloggers to get paid for selling content or links on their blogs. Basically, these networks bring both bloggers and advertisers together.

Granted, this has been the subject of a lot of controversy lately, particularly about disclosure. (And yes, all the links above are my affiliate links.)

But what if you want to make money directly? What if you want more control over how you monetize your blog? What if you want to make money based on sales (like an affiliate commission) and not just ad clicks or views?

Well, here are a few cool WordPress plugins I found.

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