A blog is like a baby. You have to nurture it to properly grow. You have to take care of it and pay special attention to details. If you are a blogger you might have noticed that blogging can be difficult. Writer's block, no free time, laziness, technical difficulties could be all turn offs for a blogger.
But if you are dedicated to your blog and treat it seriously it will grow just like a baby, even if it's just a hobby. Serious but still a hobby.
And then there are those bloggers that do that for a living. They take chances, find the perfect niche and they turn to full time blogging. I have seen numerous blogs around that will tell you what and how they do it. What they earn and how they make the most of it. And there must be also those bloggers that try to go full time and fail.
Would you quit your day job just to blog? Would you invest in bloggging? Will you be able to cope with failure if such a thing happens? How would one cover their back?
While browsing the internet I always find business solutions, traffic solutions and money solutions. From time to time I will bring one up as I could be interested in any one of them. I found today this bad credit credit cards site. If your credit is really bad, maybe you should take a look inside. It's the regular browse, compare and apply online kind of site but might prove to be more than useful. If you are a blogger going full time on blogging would you first consider your current finances and the security they offer? Or you are going full time blogging hoping to get rid of that bad credit you have been facing for the last couple of years.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Bad Credit Day Today?
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday's Movies 5 - Travelling
I have been traveling for almost a day at the beginning of the week and this week seems to be longer than usual. I just realized it's Thursday today and I've missed my movies weekly special. I will be speaking of travel related movies as I haven't really given much thought about this week's movies.
College Road Trip
Martin Lawrence is the overprotective dad in action here. And when his daughter chooses a college which isn't just 40 minutes away from home, well let's just say things are going to get funny. This one opens on March 7th. It's not the next Oscar but it will get you a couple of laughs.
10,000 BC
Do you remember how it was back in 10,000 BC? Those were the good old days. Anyway, lots of special effects here, some mammoths and Roland Emmerich directing. Where's the popcorn. Not sure if it's going to be the next big hit but it comes in cinemas everywhere on March 7th.
Meet the Browns
This movie is all about family, choices and even new beginnings. If you are interested in catching it as fast as possible, it comes out March 21st. I will be waiting for the DVD release. Not exactly my kind of movie from what I've seen in the trailer.
So that's about it. Here ends this Wednesday Movie special. Happy Thursday to you all!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Who is F@king Who?
I know what you must be thinking. Is that a catchy title or what? This is another not porn post so if you were googling for something porn related, then you'd have to be moving on by now.
You might have seen those two "songs" already. They are simply hilarious. First of all we have actress and comedian Sarah Silverman together with Matt Damon singing "I'm fucking Matt Damon". This is dedicated to Jimmy Kimmel. But guess what, Jimmy Kimmel has just responded: "I'm fucking Ben Afflek". And he has a crowd cheering for him.
Enjoy them both if you haven't seen them already:
I'm Fucking Matt Damon:
I'm Fucking Ben Affleck:
Blog Review - That Mutt
Blog Name: ThatMutt
What I have seen: No matter if you already love dogs or if you, for some weird reason, hate them, this is a blog dedicated to dogs. You will find interesting articles about dogs and how to deal with them in your daily life as a dog owner. And if you were just looking to get a dog, you might check this blog out to see what to expect from your new puppy.
The theme used it’s really simple and neat. The articles can be too long sometimes but really easy to read. What I would do here is insert some pictures. It much easier going to paragraphs with pictures in them. I’d also remove the Feedburner counter for now, until the RSS number will be much higher. People tend to join if they see a bigger subscribers count.
As for ads there aren’t any. There’s a Google AdSense bar, right at the bottom of the last post. I don’t know how effec
tive it actually is and maybe it needs to be relocated.
The about page could offer some more info about the owner as right now it only has displayed the email address.
My favorite: I don’t actually have a dog. I would get one if my apartment would be big enough. So my favorite post is one that shows you ten annoying dog behaviors. If you go through them you will discover these are just some of a dog’s characteristics that would make us love them.
Entrecard widget: The Entrecard widget is located above the fold and those of you who want to advertise here should know That Mutt is not ranked yet, from Google’s poing of view and the Alexa ranking isn’t available just yet.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Here's Another Contest
If you remember I just my first huge internet contest. I am still waiting to receive the $1500 diamond earrings I won about two weeks ago. I also held an unorganized but efficient contest myself and all the participants have received or are next in line waiting for my prizes.
In the mean time I did check other contest and I am entering Saphrym's contest today. It's the last day to win myself 1000 EC and $250. How it works is basically like this. February 27 is the last day for getting in this contest. You will have to link to Saphrym's blog and also blog about a post you liked or disliked.
I have been an on and off reader of Saphrym's blog for a while. I noticed he was for a while the most expensive Entrecarder to advertise on. This only brought him more attention and traffic and helped him consolidate that position. He has been an active member of the Entrecard community and it was fun from time to time to see how he would change his avatar to mimic other famous fellows entrecarders. I had a couple of laughs so I that's why I am recommending this post to you too.
And if you want to get in for your chance to win the big prize, here's the link where you will learn all about the requirements.
Wanted Guestbloggers!
I was offline for the most part of these last two days. I wanted to write an Oscars special as it is a major event in the movie world and this movie world takes a whole lot of space in my own world.
And after failing to write up and post that special I realized I would need some backup posts for those days in which I won't be able to write my own stuff.
In order to get good consistent traffic, any blogger should be serious about his blogging and consistent in writing. I am writing as often as I have something to say and I try to send to all my readers out there at least a post per day. So I've really been giving receiving some guesposts from you guys.
Are you passionate about writing? Do you think your post is somewhat relevant to my goal to reach the 1 million visitor? If you do, then contact me by leaving a comment here and I will get in touch with you. You will directly benefit as you will be able to have your links to your blog while providing the content I need for my days off blogging.
With these in mind I wish you all a happy blogging day where ever you might be writing from!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
How is Spottt Useful?
While I am going for the 1 million viewers in less than a year I am trying all sorts of ways to increase my visitors count. I have gone through BlogRush and I am using Entrecard to the fullest. Many of you have heard and have even started displaying the newest thing out there, the Spottt widget.
What spot is? Well I'd say it's another BlogRush with a tiny taste of Entrecard. Basically it's just another way of displaying freely your 125x125 banner across the known univers.
Why is it like BlogRush? Well because your banner will be displayed based of your credits. Your credits equals the numbers of impressions the Spottt widget gets. It also benefits really the big blogs and sites. The larger the number of people coming over to your site daily, the more impressions you get and the more spottts you will cover.
Why is it like Entrecard? Cheap knock-off if you ask me. The only resemblance is the way it's displayed. A copy of the famous now Entrecard widget. There's no community, no people hard working behind it, nothing. There's no proper dashboard, you can't choose when and where you'd like your widget to be displayed. You don't really have any stat. Entrecard is not perfect too, but it's continuously changing as we ask for more and more things.
So how is Spottt useful after all? Maybe combined with Entrecard, StumbleUpon and Digg it could make a difference. I do doubt that very much but starting tomorrow I will display it for a try. What do you thing about this whole Spottt thing?
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Saturday's Stumbles #2
I woke up today dreaming something weird. It's so weird I only have that weirdness feeling, but I wouldn't be able to tell you what it was...
Anyways getting back to stumbling, today is Saturday, so I put that StumbleUpon toolbar to good use and here's what I came up with. More pictures today, although I will not limit myself to pictures/videos only. Still thinking about dreaming and about how I dreamed about buying a house a few days back, here's what impressed me today.
This chateau is somewhere in France. If you owned that place does that make you master of the island? Do you rent the other rooms or houses? Would you live there? Would I?
So did you ever feel like you money wasn't safely stored? Don't trust the banks because they get robbed too often? (I wonder if that actually would happen to a bank - being robbed too much). How about this convenient money holder made out of glass?
I couldn't have missed this bridge. It will go perfectly well with my island chateau. There should be some kind of a smallish river inside that island right? This bridge would be a perfect match. Too bad I really hate speaking French.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Gold Miner Unleashed
It's Friday already so instead of a regular post I am suggesting a silly game. I just thought about getting a silly game in here every Friday to celebrate the end of another day at the office.
Here's one of my favorite silly games I thought I'd share it with you guys: Gold Miner. What you have to do is pretty simple actually. Gather as much gold as possible to make it to the next level.
| Add Games to your own site | |
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Will I PayPerPost or Not?
The other day I mentioned how I applied, among others, for a PayPerPost account. I did apply back in December when I first found an article about it while dropping Entrecards. Will I get paid to blog in order to reach my 1 million visitor I asked myself. At the time I was supposed to have a 90 days old blog which I had. What I also had was a more than 30 days gap between posts, which wasn't allowed...that November really held me back!
And while I was dropping cards a few days ago, I found an article saying that the TOS of PayPerPost have been changed and now you only need to have a 30 days old blog with at least 20 posts in it. I remembered my pending status, went back and submitted a ticket. I really like their customer support feature so far. They responded really fast with precise instructions to reapply with my blog. I did so and after a couple of days, here I am, approved and set to go. I will be posting paid stuff from PayPerPost as long as it suits my needs and goes perfectly well with my content.
If you are a freelance writer, which I am not (yet), you should go ahead and apply too. They have lots of offers, for which I don't qualify yet. If your blog is older than mine, with a better Google PR and higher Alexa Ranking you will however qualify.
Get paid to blog and have fun doing it. It might prove to be means to an extra income or the new monetizing solution you were waiting for.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Wednesday's Movies 4 - Do We Need Superheroes?
Our day to day lives are full of shit. That's right, it takes a lot of shit to make this life beautiful. Overcoming daily obstacles brings us closer to the general happiness we are looking for. Today's Wednesday at the movies is all about superheroes. We are all superheroes at one point or another. We live complicated lives and that consumes all our time. So here are the 2008 Superheroes I will be waiting for.
Superhero Movie
Well if you liked Scary Movie, you might want to give this one a try. I won't necessarily go out to see this on the big screen but I am not going to miss it. Among others you will see Leslie Nielsen and Brent Spiner casted in this comedy. It's supposed to come out on March 28th.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Some of you will say that this is not a Superheroes movie. Well Indiana Jones is really waiting to be nominated as a superhero. What is he if not a superhero? What about Harrison Ford then? At 65 he is still able to make it to the big screen. A must see coming out May 22nd
Hancock
And the final unusual superhero of the day is Hancock. Will Smith is a superhero hero. A homeless superhero, a hero people hates? There will be a couple of laughs in this one too. Coming out March 28th too.
Here we are then, and with the full Moon eclipse today, watch out, you might be a superhero too!
Blog Review - Live2K
Blog Name: Live2K
What I have seen: For any blogger out there, no matter what s/he is blogging about, news are generally important as they always can trigger that much needed writing inspiration. Besides the actual news a blogger needs to stay updated with www and tech changes. Live2K is exactly that, another tech blog out there keeping us posted on what’s new in and for the virtual world.
Live2K is a daily updated blog and it uses a simple 2 column design. The blue and white theme better highlights the content and brings up the pictures used in its posts. There are hardly any banner ads displayed in the left sidebar and there’s some AdSense.
Besides the actual content, Live2K offers a forum for its community where you can discus further issues you might want to get into. All you need to do is register and log in if you want to be a part of it.
My favorite: Whenever I am reviewing a mostly tech blog, it is harder for me to pick out a favorite article. It’s like picking your favorite news of the day. I did however choose my favorite a Windows related post. Apparently the guys over at Microsoft have released the Service Pack 3 for XP. Is this because more and more people aren’t switching to
Entrecard widget: If you want to advertise here and you were wondering what this blog’s traffic stats are, you must know it has a 3 Google PR and the Alexa Ranking has it at 638,217 right now. The Entrecard widget is located above the fold in the right sidebar and if you drop your card here you are most likely to be dropped back.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
What Are Your Posts Worth?
While I started blogging purely as a hobby, which I tend to take very seriously there are so many bloggers that got to blog indirectly. There are so many talented writers out there who are regularly freelancing for lots and lots of online businesses and various internet enterprises. It's only natural that if you are keen about blogging and writing in general you will find various writing opportunities over the net which will pay out really nicely.
From another point of view, so many bloggers, more or less successful at blogging, started considering writing up paid posts. No matter how experienced a blogger you are, you already know that backlinks from others pointing to your material will raise for example Google Page Rank or the Alexa Ranking and not only those. What this will inevitably do is raise your overall traffic and the exposure you get.
This is why so many companies, whether newer or older, will always hire people to write up reviews for them. Those reviews will benefit both parties involved. The writer gets the appropriate compensation while the buyer gets his much needed links while also improving his search engine ranking.
In my search for the 1 million reader I have come across the need of better advertising. And since I don't really have a budget for this blog and I have said from the beginning that any advertising this blog would get would always be self paid, I came across various writing for hire resources out there. As long as there are interested buyers, and as long as I will be able to write up a post about pretty much anything, I will be considering these pay per post opportunities as they come along.
I actually started with reviews offered as a store item in Entrecard. These have been indeed so successful as so many blogs wanted what I had to offer. Backlinks to their site besides my opinion regarding their blogs. But Entrecard's users are paying with Entrecard's credits.
Therefore I also joined a few pay per post sites out there and from time to time I have written or I will be writing paid per post reviews of various sites and blogs. As my blog is still little and unknown, I am still waiting to get approved, or if I am approved I am waiting to get some serious freelance jobs. I will basically write about anything suited to appear in my blog's pages.
So far I have joined three sites: Pay Per Post, Sponsored Reviews and Review Me.
Sponsored Reviews is a fast approving site. After you submit your general info and your blog, you will be shortly approved and ready to apply for writing jobs. These jobs will pay anywhere from $5 to $500, depending on what subject you are writing about and depending on your blog's stats. You can apply for as many jobs you want and once a buyer selects you, you will be required to submit the review in the following 7 days.
Pay Per Post is another offer you might want to consider. Their approval period is a little longer. A while ago you were required to have a site at least 3 months old with no posting gap bigger than 90 days. Now the TOS have changed and after 30 days you will be probably approved. I haven't been approved yet, but from what I have seen, there appear to be more offers to apply for and I guess it's a little better organized than Sponsored Reviews.
Review Me is the last site I have signed up. I am also waiting to be approved and I don't have that much info on it as of right now. I am waiting to be approved and to check out its opportunities. As general rules that apply to other sites too you must have your own original content for your blog besides any paid posts. You should be a serious writer, a writer that updates regularly his/her blog Also some buyers will require certain stats in order for you to get the chance to write up for them.
One of the downsides of all this is that Master and Commander Google will not approve of any link buying. They will even slap you down and tear off your Page Rank. Which will mean that you will loose some of that clientèle that would have conditions for your PR. If your PR is down, you might be temporarily be rejected by a site like Pay Per Post although I think they are working on ways to ignore a publisher's PR. What important should be is the number of people that read your blog. After all, the better the exposure the best effect will your review have.
So what are your posts worth? Give those sites a try if you are a dedicated writer and let me know if I missed any sites I shouldn't.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
5 Reasons Not to Reciprocate Entrecard Drops
If you have been following my never-ending quest on getting those 1 million readers you already know I have been relying on Entrecard to get some traffic towards that number. Besides raising all my stats, Entrecard and this newly formed community have definitely helped me to win my first important online contest. I have also gave you my insight on Entrecard and I explained how it works and most importantly how it could work best for you.
I am writing again about Entrecard and one important issue reciprocating drops. Apparently more and more people in the community are encouraging reciprocating drops and starting reciprocating quilds and groups. I do think that dropping your card back to all those who dropped theirs in your inbox is appropriate and it’s a respectful practice, I do not think that starting up any kind of guilds. I have been invited more than one time to be included but I haven’t joined and here’s why…
1) It’s restrictive. Entrecard’s whole purpose is getting traffic to blogs. How would you be taking part in that whole process if all you did was on the same 300 cards every day. Imagine there were more quilds, how would others discover you if their 300 drops a day are booked?
2) It’s impolite. How would you feel not being in any guilds out there? If this starts out and more and more people will get themselves guilded in just for those credits.
3) It’s destructive. If you are already in a droppers guild and all your 300 spots are booked for the day, whose to say others will still drop on you? I mean if they don’t get dropped back they won’t return to drop on you again will they?
4) It’s difficult. Sure so many bloggers have devised ways to improve the whole process of dropping cards faster. But what happens if you can’t drop every day? Although Entrecard is useful, life daily life doesn’t start and end with Entrecard. What if you can’t drop for 3 days in a row. Would you be outed from the guild? So now you’ll have to join another one? But you will have a bad reputation of being a not dropping guild member in the past? And since no one else is dropping on you as they know you are in a guild, will you get into a situation in which no one will be dropping on you?
5) It’s unrealistic. Imagine you are into all that reciprocating stuff and you are receiving 400 drops. How will you return them all? It’s not possible. What if you get to more than 300 drops regularly? That would implicitly mean your price rank will get over 600. So more people will indirectly want to drop on the most dropped blogger. You will get more people waiting for your drop back. As we speak the highest ranked blog is anywhere from 500-550. That means his/her average day dropped cars is anywhere from 200 to 250.
So am I dropping back? Well I haven’t dropped that many cards for the past following days. I am not a regular dropper, yet I do get anywhere from 100-150 drops a day. When I can, I try to reciprocate but I don’t always do that. It would be ideal but if you did only that, you would miss much of Entrecard and what it has to offer.
Blog Review - Sophistechate – Making tech look good
Blog Name: Sophistechate – Making tech look good
What I have seen: Lisa’s blog is different from any blog I have reviewed before. When you get at her home page you would expect a regular blog with the latest post showing up, surrounded or not of various ads. Well what I found here are lots of Twitter messages. It’s pretty original at least. If you want to find out what she is doing it appears that the Twitter messages come in pretty often. The last regular post I found was written on February 12 talking about Entrecard and Spottt.
And since it came up, there are no other ads except for Entrecard and well, Spottt. I wonder who has brought more traffic for her. The theme used is too black and whitish for my taste but it looks good overall.
Besides the first page, there’s a gallery and portofolio tab as well as a projects page. Once you finish the twitter message of the hour you might want to give those a try.
My favorite: It’s the last regular post I have found. It talks about Lisa’s experiment
with Entrecard. She is a new user and she was explaining here what Entrecard did for her. Wh
at I like is how she also explains TechCrunch reaction to Entrecard users commenting on Tech
Crunch piece on Entrecard. Apparently the guys at TechCrunch are banning all comments containing Entrecard. What they don’t know is how those people got to comment there in the first place. If you are an old Entrecard user watching the forums, you sure know about this whole story.
Entrecard widget: The Entrecard widget is above the fold right under the Spottt widget which
is strange to say the least. If you want to advertise through Entrecard here, you might want to know that it has a Google PR 4 and an Alexa Rank of 326,586
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Saturday's Stumbles #1
Today's Stumbles are a picture, a funny article and a video commercial.
I simply loved the picture above. I'd be interested how it was taken. It's simply amazing as I am a sea lover. Can't wait for this cold to go away..
I am still laughing thinking about what I read in this article. I have a question for Miriam too. It's rather technical so I don't want to bother you!
All the Saturday's Stumbles You Can Get
Any blogger at any point of its blogging career might find her/himself in such an awkward position that other call "writer's block" Well that's not the case for me. I could write for ever and I'd tackle so many things. I should also stay more focused on my goal, which is getting as much traffic as possible. There's a long way to October 2008 and lots of missing people to cover to reach my 1 million viewers.
About three weeks ago I started a series of regular posts called Wednesday's Movies. Every Wednesday I will show you what movies are coming out in 2008 and give you a trailer for every motion picture I would recommend. Today I am starting a new regular series of posts called Saturday's Stumbles.
It happens to me so often to go Stumbling about, and the things I see are really cool from different points of view. StumbleUpon is a place where almost 5 million bloggers and not only are marking and recommending stuff they find around the internet. This simple stumbling can lead to massive amounts of traffic being diverted to anyone's site or blog. I thought I'd show you what I found Stumbling every Saturday. I will be checking out sites while I eat my Saturday's breakfast and then I'll show you what impressed me that day. Pictures, articles, useful tips or videos I'll show them all to you.
Friday, February 15, 2008
My First Contest Winners Revealed
The beginning of February was most surprising for me. A contest I entered in early January turned out to motivate me enough to start my own contest. Although it was unprepared and unorganized it was a great success. It got me the $1500 diamond earrings for Goldsmith Jewelery and it is finally time for all those people that got in and voted for me to win their prizes.
I want to take this chance to thank again my family and all my friends that voted for me.
And thanks to everyone taking part in my contest and voting for me. Least but not last thanks to the Entrecard community and all those members that voted for me.
Here are all those that voted for me and left a comment here or through Entrecard:
http://www.kristensguide.com
http://www.biblemoneymatters.com
http://superheroesbase.com
Brenda - there's no link here
http://ave13.blogspot.com
Kris - there's no link here
http://writer.fitzhome.com
http://soul-to-soul.com
http://www.heavengraphics.com/blog
Wandalou McIntruff - there's no link here
http://www.avcr8teur.blogspot.com
http://akoogle.blogspot.com
http://writingthecyberhighway.blogspot.com
http://kailasmommy.blogspot.com
http://www.environmentastic.com
http://www.avcr8teur.blogspot.com
http://alivewithpassion.blogspot.com
http://maldiveslive.blogspot.com
http://thirdrock-thirdrock.blogspot.com
http://hugosays.blogspot.com
http://theenforcersrollcallnotebook.blogspot.com
http://carolsplaceforpeace.blogspot.com
http://www.bookcalendar.blogspot.com
http://mollybrogan.blogspot.com
http://www.orangeinks.com
http://www.mediamorgue.blogspot.com
http://elgiganteverdoso.blogspot.com
http://www.archon-digital.com
http://chalkischeap.co.za
http://wildclips.blogspot.com
http://myden-myden.blogspot.com
http://contestime.com
http://great-ads.blogspot.com
http://www.michaeltalk.com/category/free-stuff
http://www.thewebguy.tv
http://www.debontherocks.com
http://www.jeancosta.com
http://www.monkeychapps.com
http://blogcompetition.uni.cc
http://projectwicked.org/buzz
http://www.bloggersshowroom.com
http://www.herburban.com
http://www.brittanysblog.com
http://21stcenturyman.net
http://www.SearchEnginePanel.com
http://www.theseductionbible.com
http://laice-pics.blogspot.com
http://www.itsworthknowing.com
http://dustinsweep.blogspot.com
http://bendzgerona.blogspot.com
http://u3.desiblogs.co.uk
http://www.benspark.com
http://www.theasianeconomist.com
http://taylorsentertainmentnews.com
http://tinymeme.com
All those above will also receive 50 EC if they have an account, during the following days as promised.
Now let's get to the big winner. Someone won the big prize, and let's see what that was:
- 1500 Entrecard credits extra
- An year-long addition to my blogroll
- An year-long 125x125 banner above the fold
- One free review from me.
I went to Random.org and entered all the voters. Those of you who also took their time to comment on my blog received 2 entries and the winner, as you can see it in the screen shot I took is http://www.debontherocks.com.
So Deb On the Rocks will get all the prices above.
Congratulations to all the those winners and stay tunned closely. I will have a couple of contests here with better, bigger prices, in the following weeks.
Blog Review - Fitnesslifeclub.com
Blog Name: Fitnesslifeclub.com
What I have seen: Pat King, the nationally renowned health and fitness guru writes here for various advices on how to keep your health, both physical and mental. You will find inside lots of articles on different topics. If you aren’t really watching your general health or your diet, you might want to take a look in here. I am familiar with more than a thing or two when it comes to medicine and medical terms or conditions so it’s easy for me to follow Pat’s articles. But you don’t have to worry as all articles are written in a easy to understand day to day language. It’s not a medical book if you were looking for that.
What it could use is some more graphics and pictures. The posts aren’t that long but I don’t want to get the feeling I am reading a book. A picture now and then would make things much easier to read. Also I would change some of the colors as white and blue kind of remind me of hospital colors. As for 
ads, there aren’t that many. There are a few AdSense blocks and that’s about it.
My favorite: I like to see now and then people disagreeing over the internet. Disputes and debates favor competition and improvement. My favorite post is a response to one angry reader. Find out why he is angry and what the author responds over here. Also there’s a forum if you want to get in touch with other readers about health related topics
Entrecard widget: The widget is the last item of the left sidebar. I would move it up for better exposure. I also would display less articles two fasten the load time of this blog and indirectly get the widget higher. If you want to advertise here, the blog has a PR 2 and the Alexa Ranking is 515,156.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
What is Love?
It's Valentine's Day again. I could go on and on how this is or isn't a commercial holiday. I could tell you all about it and you'll see how it's origins are really old and they represent yet another merger between pagan and Christian believes. I could tell you how it was revived and customized in various country, but then again so many of us aren't really interested in all that.
You have the chocolates, funny greeting cards and flowers? Planning a special night out? Finally asking that question? ("Are we going to do it today?" :lol: ) Heading to your loved one for a special date? But why shouldn't all dates be special? As long as the fire is burning in your relationship then you should make everyday count. Instead of making so many (useless sometimes?) careful preparations and insisting on how different your Valentine's Day is going to be, why not considering making every day a little more special? I do know it's really easy to talk that talk
So what is love and why should this question be only explained every February the 14th? What is your definition?
Happy VD to all you guys out there! That's Happy Valentines Day of course, not Venereal Disease! And remember to show some love and get your loved one to read my blog and bring their relatives and friends over so it will get us closer to that 1 million visitor!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Blog Review - Hash It Out
Blog Name: Hash It Out
What I have seen: What is Hash It Out? Well you should give it a try and check out the author’s humor. Apparently this blog was initially created as a place for discussion, where people would hash it out. Those writers interested in joining can do so after contacting the author.
The theme is mostly black and white and doesn’t suggest humor at all. After starting reading you will get a couple of laughs which will make you wonder who this blogger is and what he is all about. The about me page is missing but you can find out what hash it out means. Also beware of the language as there’s a little bit of swearing going on so it might not be appropriate for you kids.
Except for Entrecard there are very few ads, and mostly they come from Project Wonderfull. There’s enough space left unused so I guess ads will be popping out by the time his blog gets more 
and more traffic.
My favorite: My favorite post is one about the cities he lived in and how they rate. Why I like it? Where it’s really simple. I hate moving. I will move around if I have to do so, no matter what city or country as long as there is a strong reason to do it. But I really will hate moving there for every step of the way. Here you will find out where he has been and why and whether he likes or not that strange city of the Angeles.
Entrecard widget: The Entrecard widget is placed above the fold. If you are interested in advertising on this blog, you might want to know it has a 0 Google PR and the Alexa Rating is 446,425
Wednesday's Movies 3 - Love in 2008
It's Wednesday the 13th. A day when anything can happen. Good or bad. It's also the day before Valentine's Day so naturally I am going to offer you some love movies previews next. If you are considering going to the movies tomorrow, or even spending the night in watching a movie with your better part, well the following won't be yet available. Good thing God invented illegal downloads!
We are starting with:
What Happens in Vegas
This comedy opens on May 9th and I'll have to see it. If you like casinos, if you miss Vegas, or just simply if your a fan of Cameron Diaz or Ashton Cutcher, you'll want to see this too. What would you do if you woke up in a marriage in Vegas? What if you had just won a $3 million jackpot? We'll find out there
Sex and the City: The Movie
What were we talking about? Love movies right? There's no love without sex is there? Remember the Sex and the City series? Well I do! At least some of it. The four girls are out on the big screen on May 30th. Not necessarily a must see, but I would be curios about it!
The Accidental Husband
Uma Thurman went from being the super-ex girlfriend to this accidental wife. Starring with her are Colin Firth, whose supposed to be married to her and Jeffrey Dean Morgan who apparently is married to her. This story comes out August 15th, plenty of time for me to decide if this deserves a night out or if it's going to be added to my download list. If I had one. I am not downloading anything I shouldn't be, am I? Seriously now, I am not!
That's it for today! I will let you get ready for your Valentine's Day and watch out February 13th.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Playing Hard to Get Before Valentine’s Day
We are less than 2 days away from Valentine’s Day. People everywhere, whether they like it or not, are rushing to get gifts: chocolate, flowers, romantic dinners and what not for their loved one(s). For more than a week Microsoft has been running after Yahoo but Yahoo seems not to be ready for such a commitment.
Lately Yahoo has been in the news. They are playing cat and mouse with your friendly neighborhood monopolist Microsoft. Those who invented the cool application for PCs around the world we like to call Windows want to buy Yahoo now. I guess no one told Microsoft that Google is going to take over the Internet as we know it so therefore they are trying to do it themselves.
Everyone must be against this acquisition, right? My first e-mail address ever was a Yahoo free e-mail one. I’ve started discovering the internet through Yahoo. And during all this time I’ve heard only bad things about Microsoft, while running several of their products.
Google was and I guess it still is the most scared apparently. They are afraid that such a bad marriage will only provide Microsoft the means to monopolize the Internet as well as they did with the PC. Imagine a world in which an Internet company uses it’s influence in a certain niche to take advantage of its consumers and make more money from it. Wait a minute... That’s what Google is doing in the ads business right? They make money while telling me what and how I can advertise for my dollar. So they are afraid that a Microo! or Yahosoft, or whatever they would have called this company, would do such a thing? Monopolize the market of free e-mail, instant messengers, ads and publicity and web browsers to destroy (crush) Google ?
Competition is what drives us forward in any field, internet included. If any big company was buying Yahoo, I would very much approve it. But I don’t think Microsoft should be allowed to make such a bid and be successful. By the way you Microsoft guys, if you want my blog and you still have the $44.6 billion, I might consider your offer.
And in all this commotion Yahoo announced the oneConnect application for mobiles, Yahoo aquired Maven Networks for $160 million which will help them incorporate their video-ad support in their services and they have launched Yahoo Live. And there were rumors about AOL buying Yahoo too.
Microsoft bought Danger (the mobile company) for $500 million in a poor attempt to try competing with the Apple’s iPhone. And they bought Caligari to get their Virtual Earth going on, and they made a bid for acquiring Ustream.tv for $50 million. Apparently not everything revolved around Yahoo.
Huh, that was close anyways. Valentine's Day is safe! So what if Yahoo + Micrsoft = No Love. I am sure a buyer will always be ready to buy out such a service. And that’s a good thing, as long as Microsoft stays out of it.
Yes They Can??
I was telling you guys how and what I'd vote for President of the USA today. Although "Yes We Can" is a political song, and there's no doubt about it, I still have it in my mind and I've been humming it for a while now. This kind of a song can do a lot for a campaign.
Bellow is a republican response to it. It's hilarious and it's a must see if you liked Will.I.Am's song.
So here it is ladies and gentlemen, john.he.is:
Monday, February 11, 2008
Yes We Can
Who would I be voting in the 2008 USA election if they were tomorrow? Well for sure I would choose the democrats. I would be however very undecided when choosing between the first woman president or the first African-American president in the history of the USA.
I tend to back up the Clinton name. Once a president always a president. However I really liked Obama's Yes We Can speech in New Hampshire and I particularly like the theme song which was inspired from this speech.
Check them both bellow. Who would you vote for?
Yes We Can - Barack Obama Music Video
Barack Obama: Yes We Can
Blog Review - Trend Spike | Men’s Blog and Guide
Blog Name: Trend Spike | Men’s Blog and Guide
What I have seen: This a blog that offers advice from men as it stated from the beginning. There was an extensive pre launch campaign and people were waiting to see what it’s going to be about. What will the author post first and what will he continue with were some of our questions.. The whole campaign had its success. People came in and started commenting even before there were any posts or videos. And soon came the posts. So far we have 4 posts and some funny videos to see but I am told more are to follow.
The chosen theme is a really practical one. It previews the last posts and has plenty of space for videos and popular articles. However I have seen this layout before in a few other blogs out there. As for ads there are just a few banners within the sidebar and a banner bellow the text. As this men's o
nline magazine will grow, I am sure those add spots will be pretty hard to get.
My favorite: I have been a World of Warcraft player for a while so my favorite post is so far the one on World of Warcraft addiction. Men like to play with their toys and their games, no matter what age. See here the author’s insight on this game. You’ll find out what it is and if it’s worth playing. And if you are already an addict of it, you might want to cut it down for a while.
Entrecard widget: The Entrecard widget is at the end of the page. You’ll find it just bellow the sidebar. If you are interested in advertising through Entrecard on this men's blog you’ll have to know it has a PR 2 and the Alexa ranking is 233,845 right now.
Road to One Million in 365 Days - January 2008
It is February already and I am still going strong for that 1 Million unique visitors for my blog. Things are going better and better. I have more visitors per day, more page views, more comments and more RSS subscribers. As usually I will be presenting in this series of posts my progress for the last month and the overall stats as provided by Google Analytics. I will also coming back with Alexa ranking stats, Technorati and more these days.
January 1st - January 31st 2008
The traffic increase is clear. More people are coming to my blog. I am still working on content and tunning the blog's appearance. Most of my traffic comes from Entrecard, which explains the low pageview average and the higher bounce rate. Not everybody comes in just for dropping their card though, and there is some good traffic too.
I quit using BlogRush as it's not doing it for me. Other traffic boosters have been StumbleUpon, Technorati and the contest I ran over here. They brought in some buzz and lots of winners.
As for making this blog pay for itself I have progressed too. I am using Google Adsense, Project Wonderful and Entrecard. I have quit Auction Ads and Widget Bucks. More about that in the following days.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
I Won The $1500 Earrings
Today I was doing all sorts of things but being online. Imagine my surprise when I saw a comment on my blog saying I won those earrings worth $1518. At first I thought it is a prank, and I checked out their site to to see whether or not they have announced the winner. And there I was on top of the page (check below). I did win the earrings. This is my first major win and I'd like to thank all my voters. My family and friends, the Entrecard community and all my readers. I did put some effort into promoting this but I never did expect to be the winner of it. I also proved that anyone, if s/he has a shot at something should definitely take it. Don't go out without a fight! Never surrender!
My thanks go to Goldsmith Jewelery too and all the other competitors. Thanks for holding this contest and I am looking forward for those earrings. And what better week to be a winner, with Valentine's Day coming up!
My contest here, although unorganized and not particularly well prepared, drew in some votes. All the voters will get their blog linked to and the 50EC. And the big winner will get the 1500 Entrecard Credits, the 1-year-long banner, the addition to my blogroll and the free review. All winners are to be announced by Friday, February 15th the latest. Stay tunned and get your prize!
Is a Medical Carreer Right for You?
I am always looking up various sites and blogs as I research my way up to the 1 million visitor. I am mostly looking for blogs to see how bloggers are marketing their product which is, of course their blog. I have also come across so many sites that promote health. Be healthy, eat right, loose weight, gain weight, exercise more, go for a check up, buy this insurance policy are just some of the articles you find around.
And sure health should be important and affordable for anyone of us. Considering a career in the medical field is a natural choice for many people. If you want to become a doctor, a nurse, a dentist of a ultrasound tech you can do that and you can be successful at it. All it takes is some good determination and lots of learning. It's not so easy choosing such a profession and it's even harder getting admitted into a good school.
If you are one of those people always talking about staying fit and healthy maybe you should think about a career change. Are you looking for an ultrasound technician school? Are you going to be the next top dietitian? Interested in how the mind works? You will find lots of sites waiting to guide you to a school which best suits your needs and your budget!
However if your dream job is being an ultrasound technician you might want to check this ultrasound tech school. Find out what schools in your vicinity are waiting for you. Learn more about staying healthy and teach others to do so.
Friday, February 8, 2008
My Entrecard Shop Items
Someone asked me the other day how they can get to my shop items in Entrecard. Since I've been mentioning Entrecard regularly in my last posts as means to getting me my 1st million readers, I thought I'd do a recap on what I have for sale down in the Entrecard shop.
I'll be also taking some time to explain each one of them since some of them are being knocked off as we speak.
In Advertising I have:
1 Week 125x125 Banner On My Blog - 150 EC
1 Month 125x125 Banner On My Blog - 1500 EC
1 Year 125x125 Banner On My Blog - 15125 EC
These three items were my first items. I have obtained the seller status with this idea and they had great success. However others have started to offer the same service for various prizes and various sizes. It's understandable as banners are some of the most used advertising choices for sites and blogs.
2 Months Addition to My Blogroll - 250 EC
Another item which has been sold really well through the shop. You can choose your anchor text and I'll have your link displayed in my blogroll for 2 whole months. You'll find spin offs of this one too.
Digg/Stumble/Technorati Favorite - 30 EC
This is one of the items that has been immediately copied and sold under various names and prices. I need visitors for my blog. I am marketing it's idea through every Web 2.0 resource and tool. That's how I realized others will want the same attention I'd like for myself. I came up with this idea and I was the first one selling this service, but I'm sure someone would have thought of it eventually. It sold really good and I got some good feedback on my actions. Others will say they were paying credits using the forum for this kind of service but they didn't list an item like this before I did so.
Subscribe by mail to your blog - 65 EC
Subscribe by Google Reader to your blog - 45 EC
This followed up soon on my previous idea. I know that new blogs crave for that RSS subscriber number to go up. Mine is going naturally up but I am not showing it off yet until it has reached a certain number. The higher the number, the more likely others will subscribe faster to my feed. Other bloggers show their feed subscriptions stats from the beginning. So these items I am selling will only do that. Increase that number and improve their chances to get more real decent subscribers. It's almost like inflating your RSS number by holding contests that would require your readers to subscribe to your feed in order to win.
Needles to say this was yet another spammed idea and I guess that by now you can get up to ten different people subscribing for credits.
In Books I have:
How to HTML eBook - 150 EC
If you are new to blogging and HTML editing this eBook will help you succeed.
In Writing I have:
Comments'R'US - 40 EC
As I said before others have copied my items. Well I am also admitting I have copied this one myself. In one of my earlier post I mentioned how Entrecard's purpose isn't to chain-drop but to get a blogger immersed in a certain community. I was also saying that while dropping one should stop, read, comment. So why not comment for credits?
Review your blog for 1EC/Word - 300 EC
I started this one off with a minimum of 50 words. They were simply not enough to describe a blog. Although more successful and better sold at 50 EC, I have decided to properly review a blog. I only have to learn and further research when a blogger ask for my review. This way I can avoid the spammers that are simply looking for some cheap backlinks to their site. I can't say this was my original idea, but reviews, like banners would be some of the first things to come up when asking someone how could a blogger get linked to from another site.
Guest write on my blog - 500 EC
If you want to write about anything you can think of, have your links pointing to whatever site you might want to promote, you can guest blog for me. I have priced it so high as this item is dedicated to serious, dedicated writers/bloggers.
In Gift Certificates I temporarily have:
Save $300 on any Dell Inspiron - 50 EC
Whenever I get any savings coupons worth mentioning I'll get them to you here.
So this is basically what I have so far to offer. Supply and demand play a big role like in any real shop out there. As I get spammed with copies of some of these items I'll simply have to invent others to be spammed. I deliver them as fast as humanly possible as most of them are really easy to deliver.
Breaking News. While I was finishing up this post and checking all the links work I've noticed I just got to the top of the marketing section of Entrecard! Woohoo! My shop must have helped too.
So get back to my shop items and in the mean time don't forget about my contest and sign up for it here. Vote for me and win!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Time to Stop the BlogRush!
One of the first traffic boosters I chose when I started this venture was BlogRush. It seemed a nicely designed idea meant to increase traffic for a blog. I decided to give it a try for a while and hope I will get at least some traffic to get me closer to my 1 million readers in 365 days.
Well my posts did indeed get some exposure but I seldom did get any clicks from the BlogRush widget on other blogs. Right after BlgoRush I set up the Entrecard account. And my traffic immediately rose and it's still rising.
I did not quit it 
although I've explained what the differences are and why Entrecard is so much better than BlogRush. Why didn't I quit? Well I still am a new blog. I waited for a while so it would get some publicity and thus it would get chosen and clicked. The downside with the BlogRush widget is mainly the competition you get. There are at least 4 posts competing with mine on any blog displaying them. The better known those other 4 blogs are, the more likely to get a click from a reader.
And I got others to sign up for BlogRush. I convinced 5 people to try it and they also quit using it as you can see in this graph. They also have realized it's not worth using a widget that won't deliver you the traffic you want.
And I have a credits balance which probably means I will still get my posts displayed until it is depleted. However I have removed the BlgoRush widget and I am not likely to use it again any time soon. And what better day to delete it than today when Entrecard has its 3 months birthday.
But the main reason I am quiting BlogRush is their lack of activity. It's a very dead enterprise. There's no activity, no updates, nothing to let you know they are working for improving this service. I wonder if BlogRush worked for any of you guys lately. And I don't mean the big blogs out there whose names are recognized and immediately read, but the new blogs like mine. If it did work leave me a comment telling me how and what did you do to improve this widget's performance.
And as I did tell you yesterday, I have removed the widget from my left sidebar and I will be looking for something else to replace it. I have also removed the Widget Bucks and the AuctionAds widgets, so there's more space and less ads in my sidebars.
I'll continue to tweak my blog but in the mean time don't forget about my contest and sign up for it here. Vote for me and win!
Entrecard - From 3 Months to 3 Years?
Entrecard has been a great tool for my blog. It did so far what it is supposed to do and I am sure it still will. I have often blogged about it giving you some of my tips and ideas on how to better use it
Today Entrecard has it's 3 months birthday so Happy Birthaday to Entrecard. I have signed up for it a few days before New Year's eve. In almost a month I have risen my traffic stats, I have gotten on the top campaign page, I have set up a shop and I am delivering daily items to other members and made lots of connections. I'll present all those numbers in my monthly report in a couple of days.
Will Entrecard die along the way? I am sure it won't do that at all. Quite the opposite. Entrecard will hold out for another 3 months and for another 3 months and for another 3 years as long as the people behind it are working and improving this service as they go along. They are listening to what people are saying good or bad about this whole idea and they are trying to work with those ideas. We are waiting for the new pricing system, the improved forum, the multiple blogs accounts and more things to be implemented.
And most importantly, as long as I'll be blogging about Entrecard to 1 Million readers or more, it will never die, will it?
In the mean time don't forget about my contest and sign up for it here. Vote for me and win! Get some Entrecard credits.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Valentine's Day Pimp My Blog
While trying to provide good content to keep you reading and get me closer to my million, I am also getting my blog tuned.
Let's see what I changed since my first blogging day. Too bad I didn't take any screen shoots so I can show you where I am and where I was. Well that won't happen again.
- turned the 2 column template into a 3 column template and now I have so much more space available to my discretion.
- added the 3 column footer and my footer is alive.
- removed the navigation bar which was a bit annoying and totally unprofessional.
- added various widgets and banners.
- signed up with BlogRush.
- signed up with Shopping Ads.
- signed up with Widget Bucks.
- signed up with Entrecard and I really pumped up my traffic by doing so.
- signed up with Intense Debates which totally pimped my comments section.
I starting tuning up my blog right before Christmas. We are closing in on Valentine's Day so I am about to make some changes.
Let's see what I have just done or will be doing these days:
- added the PayPal shop to advertise my Entrecard which are piling up and are ready for sale
- added the Project Wonderful widget. Check out my left sidebar if you want to advertise almost for free on my blog.
- delete the BlogRush. That's such a waste of time and effort. Interesting idea but it doesn't work for me and it shouldn't work for anyone else. First thing I am removing after I submit this post
- delete the Widget Bucks and Shopping Ads. These are interesting ways of promoting some ebay auctions. However I will not continue doing it as they aren't as successful as they seem. And this would be my second and third things to remove.
In the mean time don't forget about my contest and sign up for it here. Vote for me and win!
Wednesday's Movies 2 - Family Movies Coming out in 2008
This is my second post and as I told you last week, I will make this category a regular. Every week I am going to show you my movie picks for 2008. If you think I overlooked a blockbuster leave me a message and I will check it out.
Today is a very special day for me, it's the birthday of both my niece and my aunt. Happy birthday to them and may all their wishes come through. And as family is very important to me, today's movies will be family movies.
So let's what we have here..
Fool's Gold
Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey are a couple on the verge of divorce. What saves this family is a stupid and apparently pointless chase after a treasure. Yet again another treasure hunt movie. They are apparently famous. These two starred before together in How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days and they were pretty funny there.
This movie it's coming out on February 8th so we'll see it pretty soon.
Definitely Maybe
A divorce is so hard to be dealt with, especially by the kids caught in the middle. In this case Ryan Reynolds is a father trying to explain his past relationships. I wonder where's the happy ending. An easy movie for an easy night.
It's coming out on Valentine's Day. What better way of talking about love than explaining a divorce to a child.
The Spiderwick Chronicles
I wasn't going to show you only family comedies here. This one is a mix of Narnia, Jumanji and The Neverending Story. Freddie Highmore, whom you might remember from last year's The Golden Compass. I am waiting to see what's going on in this movie.
It will be in cinemas everywhere starting March 21st.
This is it for this Wednesday's Movies. Stay tuned for more. In the mean time don't forget about my contest and sign up for it here. Vote for me and win!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Vote For Me And Win Big - My First Blog Contest
A while ago I wrote a post about winning a pair of earrings and by doing so I entered that contest.
It appears that time has come for a winner to be chosen. There are lots of people who have blogged about it so what Gold Smith Jewelery are doing is a poll. Simply select the blog you want and vote for.
I just saw this today and apparently they have started voting today. So here I am unprepared to compete in this poll, but I am not going out without a fight.
Here goes my first contest then. In case I am declared the winner or not you are still going to win here at my contest.
Rules first:
1. Go to http://www.goldsmithjewelry.com/pages/diamond-stud-earring-giveaway.php and vote for my blog. Select "A Million Readers in About 365 Days or So..." from the list, write a couple of words and submit your vote.
2. Leave me a comment here to tell me that you have voted for me.
(3). Optional - Subscribe to my feed to find out what happened.
My prizes:
Each person that votes for me gets 50 Entrecard credits and a link to your blog.
But in case I win we will have a grand winner who will be chosen randomly from those of you who have commented here.
If I win you get:
- 1500 Entrecard credits extra
- An year-long addition to my blogroll
- An year-long 125x125 banner above the fold
- One free review from me.
So vote for me from 2/5 to 2/10 and win win win!
abc123
Monday, February 4, 2008
The Frozen Grand Central and The Super Bowl Pepsi Ad
YouTube is of course the most popular broadcast tool on the web. Millions of videos are viewed, added and commented each day around the globe.
These days while browsing or while chatting I've come across these two really funny videos.
The first one is so cool. 207 people have frozen in Grand Central, New York for 5 minutes. It's hilarious.
The next one is the all new Pepsi Super Bowl Ad featuring Justin Timberlake. Had to show it to you as I am a heavy duty Pepsi drinker myself! (And I drink lots of Coke too! I have to find some Coca Cola funny ads...)
Blog Review - MyBlogContest.com
Blog Name: MyBlogContest.com
What I have seen: Holding various contests with lots of prizes is a fair tool to increase the visibility your sites gets at a certain point in time. At this point there are lots of contests around and lots of sites promoting them. I am preparing my very first contest but in the mean time I am checking what the competition is doing. One useful blog for doing exactly that is MyBlogContest.com.
There are lots of contests and opportunities for a blogger to grab. Remember that the contest’s participants will get to a fair exposure to traffic. So getting into any kind of blog contest will make you a winner from the traffic increase point of view. The contests are clearly described with all the necessary you need to enter any of them. If you have a contest to submit, which will be my case soon, you can al
so do that here. Send them all the details and they will drive some competitors to you.
The chosen theme is a simple white and grey one which will only bring up to your attention all the other colors. There are lots of pictures and banners to promote the contests. Of course there are the regular ads on the right sidebar, but that’s not annoying. I’d actually am surprised when I don’t find those ads in a blog’s sidebar.
My favorite: As all the posts describe the rules of a certain blog/site contest, my favorite is a contest where everybody is a winner. How does that happen and how you will enter? Well I won’t spoil the surprise for you.
Entrecard widget: The Entrecard widget is just above the fold. If you want to advertise of course you would want to know that the PR is 0 and the Alexa rating is 133,337. From the numbers of subscribers I’d say this will only improve.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
How to Get on Entrecard’s Campaign Main Page?
And think that I was considering Entrecard for more than a week prior to actual joining. And think that I had my blog paused for a month – November 2007 – and that’s exactly when Entrecard released their service. And I still made it to the top Campaign page.
I was going to write this article to show my progress with Entrecard as I had some good responses from my readers on Entrecard related topics I had dealt with in the past. Little did I know I will reach the top page so fast.
So what can anybody do to get there? Here's my strategy explained:
1) Join Entrecard! If you are still thinking about it, well don’t. It will drive that traffic to your site sooner than you have thought. Sure you will have junk traffic. But there's good traffic there that converts into readers and commentators.
2) Choose the right category for your blog! Get a cool picture to represent you and write up a decent description of your blog.
3) Start dropping cards! Don’t do that as an extreme sport. I have never dropped 300 cards a day. If I would have, maybe I would be way higher. Those who receive your card will return and drop their card to you too.
4) Accept everyone! People will be trying to advertise on your site/blog through this system. There’s nothing that says trustworthy more than having a 0% denial rate. I am more likely to adve
rtise with you than with someone that has a denial history.
5) Don’t pile up those Entrecredits you get! Start advertising as soon as possible. Start low. Choose lots of blogs with lower prices and as you go up, you will advertise on better and better blogs. Do some research and check their traffic flow if you have the time. It doesn’t mean that if today they have a low price they won’t spike tomorrow. After all so many blogs join Entrecard and you can find some decent priced blogs with lots of good traffic.
6) Be active in the forums and the community! You have a lot to learn, or to teach others. You will get noticed and you will get traffic. Introduce yourself and write recommendations when you encounter a blog that made an impression on you. Check out what the Forum offers. Sure it still needs improvements, as it’s not a regular forum yet, but Entrecard members are really active and they can either help you or be helped.
7) Post about Entrecard! Let others know what you are doing on Entrecard and how you are doing it. Let them find out why Entrecard should be the first traffic enhancer for a new blogger.
8) Get a seller token! If you think you have anything interesting to share with others go for the seller’s token. Once you get approved you will earn more credits which in turn can get you more advertising. Start selling original stuff. I have lots of items out in the shop. They sell really fast and they get spam copies from other bloggers, which can only be good!
9) Stay tuned on Entrecard for news! You should know what the rules are, what changes are about to be made, what are the people’s thoughts about Entrecard.
10) Don’t play the system! Don’t invent ways to get you more Entrecredits. Don’t devise a plan to drop 300 cards a day in less than 300 seconds. Don’t be only a chain dropper. Stop and read. Listen and comment. You don’t want to be The Flash when dropping. Sure you need the credits to advertise but you have a lot of time to earn them.
11) Do your blogging constantly and seriously! If your blog is about to die, so is your traffic and so is the number of drops others will make on you. After all you joined Entrecard to get more traffic. That traffic needs to be entertained and motivated to return.
I did all these things mainly to increase my blog’s traffic. I did some of them without even being aware this will increase my Entrecard price. More and more people are dropping cards on me and I am trying to keep up and return them. I have more and more sh
op items and I am providing all these services as fast as humanly possible. And I found myself one morning on the third position on that first campaign page. Since then I haven’t lost my spot and I don’t think I will. I don’t want to be first either. I am just happy I am in a place I wasn’t expecting to be.
Sure that might change as Entrecard will change the ranking system. Apparently big blogs don’t appreciate the fact that other smaller blogs are better priced than them. This is the number 1 reason I am recommending Entrecard. It has great growth potential for small blogs. Unlike BlogRush which only benefited bigger blogs Entrecard will do it for you.
And you PR and Alexa Ranking will increase. Your RSS subscribers will grow steadily and you will be closer to your goal for your blog. If you have one that is! Mine is the same. Get 1 Million in 365 Days. And you will read all about that here!
Blog Review - SiteHoppin Blog – The Web 2.5 Drunken Blog
Blog Name: SiteHoppin Blog – The Web 2.5 Drunken Blog
What I have seen: Here’s possibly the new Stumble growing under the influence! This a blog where you will find lots of tips on site hopping but with a twist. Grab your beer or whatever your drink is and go site hopping. Check out what sites you like, find interesting blogs, take a sip and go further. I don’t know if that much liquor is good for quality blogging but apparently it can do the trick. There’s also the application created for drunk blog hopping. It apparently works like any other social networking. Register an account and then manage your favorites. Add, rate, hop some more and then of course, go to the next bear.
I am interested in more sources of free traffic and Ill give this one a try too. I’ll let you know how that worked o
ut later!
The blog itself is pretty simple with a mostly black and white theme. Most of the articles of the current front page have videos or descriptive pictures and you might be able to learn a thing or two from the drunken developers. There are no ads to bother you when reading and the about page is currently being created. I mean it’s waiting for sober times to be fully updated. So come back later for more.
My favorite: If you want to drop Entrecards faster and if you want to do it from your own toilet with your very own iPhone, then watch this video. It can modify your dropping habits right?
Entrecard widget: You will find the widget up on the left sidebar. I don’t think you can miss it. If you are thinking about advertising here, this blog doesn’t yet have a PR and the Alexa rank is 79,790. Not that these numbers should influence you in any way expecially if you are going site hopping.
Are You Looking for Small Business Funding?
Well if my blog would be a small business I know I would be looking for some small business funding ideas. I mean decent publicity up and running smoothly is only available if you have the decent funds.
But in the mean time my blog is a hobby with a goal. I know that getting that 1 million visitors is not easy, but I am trying and that’s what counts. While surfing the net I came across companies that will help promote your business and of course companies that will help you get the money you need right away. One of these companies is AfsLoans Online. What will make you check it out is some simple facts like their no application fee policy and no hidden charges. I am not in the market to know what their competition is up to, but they’d better watch out. This small business funding solution offers among other things $10K- $150K with 24 - 48 hour approvals and a fast and free 30 second pre-application. And while you are there, you can check their interest rates to see if they are indeed the lowest rates for unsecure loans in the USA.
I know if I will ever need some small business funding this is the place where I will be heading first. Who knows what they could eventually do for me?
Friday, February 1, 2008
How Not to Use Google Maps
Well this is a quick movie which shows us all how Google is surely taking over the internet, the whole planet... our lives!
Watch out what you are Googling for online, you might not realize where it can lead to!
And Zoom Out. Let Google go!
Road to 1 Million - Post #100
I have been blogging now for almost 4 months with one "dead" month in between. I have 8 more months to get my 1 million visitors reading my posts here. My traffic is has been steadily rising, comments started coming in, more people are subscribing to my feed, things are moving on the right track.
And I have reached my 100th post. It's just another one of many more to follow. I've posted almost a post per day but this is increasing too, I've reached an average of 80 visits a day and this number is going up daily. I have questions coming in, and advertisement request.
I will not give you any more stats and numbers as I'll do that in about 9 days or so when I'll be posting my monthly achievements. I will however remind you that I started this blog following a question I asked myself. Would it be possible to reach 1 unique million people from all around the world to visit a blog in 365 days? What if I am talking about a new blog, with no visibility, no readers? What if I am talking about doing that without having a budget? No paid ads promoting it as long as it would support itself.
And on that long way of reaching my goal, I will be posting about whatever I find interesting and worthy to be blogged about. So here I am, after 100 posts, still going strong. I am counting on you reading these lines to come back for more and while you are at it bring a friend or two!
