First thing first, I’d like to apologize for lack of activity here as yours truly has been deprived of internet connection for the last 5 days.
It was during this period time I realized that life was pretty boring without internet and deep inside I knew that blogging had became a part of my life no one could ever take it away from me.
OK, let’s cut the crap now. Here are some of unfinished business that I need to take care of today.
Top Commentator of the Month
It doesn’t come as a surprise to me that Dennis Edell from Direct Sales Web Marketing comes out as the most active commenter here at thoushallblog.com. Until quiet recently, he is pretty much everywhere and if you have never crossed path with him, shame on you as it only proves that you have not done enough commenting. If you are still clueless, see for yourself the magic of commenting.
Though I don’t publicly shout about it, it’s a common practice that each month I’m giving away a free advertising (worth $15) to the most active reader commenter of the month. How’s that for being active? It’s the best chance to promote yourself to 300+ unique visitors each day for the next 30 days.
This is the least I could do to show my gratitude and appreciation for your continued support. In all sincerity, you are the reason why this blog exists in the first place and rest assured that your effort will never go unnoticed.
In all fairness, here are the other top 9 commentators of the month
- Kouji - Obama Mccain American Election Haiku Poem
- Mitch - A Point About Commenting On Blogs
- Joel - Great Blogs That I Read
- Freddie - 25 Blogger Motivations
- Peter - How Blog Commenting Got Me 1200 Backlinks in 5 Days
- Jeremy - Do What You Don’t Want To Do
- Ben ‘the frog’ - New Google Reader Feature
- Simon - Technorati Authority Is Manipulated Too Easily
- Sire - The Real Dos And Don’t Of Affiliate Marketing
If you missed the boat last month, jump on board now and I might have a little surprise for you at the end of the month.
Best Answer Suggestion of the Week
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank each one of you who has made a contribution on last week Ask My Readers #1.
A couple of really good suggestions were brought to the table and among them were
- To refrain from doing any sponsored reviews and focus more quality content – Thanks Jani for being the most critical.
- In disagreement, JR from Internet Marketing Strategies said it wasn’t unethical to use your writing skills to make money out of it. Thanks, JR - I wish I knew your name.
- Sire from WassupBlog suggested that I should have given the commenters the option to edit their comments for any typo errors. I’ve added it as per request but the typo remains..;(
- While Peter from Work At Home Idea was pushing me to embark on viral linkathon so did Jeremy from Insight Writer.
- Mitch from I’m Just Sharing suggested that I should show the entire post on my blog front page and not to worry too much about dupe contents. Food for thought.
- Also, Tara from Affiliate Marketing Prodigy highlighted the issue of readability on my blog by changing the font color.
- Lastly, Corey from Diligent Design thought I had a mismatch favicon that shouldn’t be there in the first place. Wouldn’t mind if you did one for me..;)
Thank you all for your honest and awesome feedback. I will make an effort to implement them progressively.
If you have something else to add, cross over to bloggingtips.com Weekly Reader Blog Critique where thoushallblog is being reviewed this week. Who knows you might win yourself $10 for being the best reviewer.
Cheers
Yan
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About Yan
Man, first Sire beats me in one place, and now Dennis. At least I’m in the game, but man, I’ve gotta step up. LOL
Mitch´s lastest post..How To Make Money By Blogging - A Recommendation
It may take awhile Mitch but you will get there. I don’t know anyone who tries as hard as you do, except me maybe lol
Thanks Yan for the linkluv, it is much appreciated.
Sire´s lastest post..The Real Dos And Don’t Of Affiliate Marketing
And you finished 8th, Sire; then again, you’ve been doing “real” work these past couple of weeks, so you’ve been distracted.
By the way, Yan, just as I asked you to consider putting the entire post on the main page, I’ve thought about possibly truncating some of my posts a little bit. Strange folks we all can be. :-)
Mitch´s lastest post..Feeling Good Tonight
Yep and that “real” work is certainly cramping my blogging style. My brother and I have decided, seeing how the world economy is in some strife at the moment, not to employ anyone else for awhile and save some cash.
Sire´s lastest post..Everything You Wanted To Know About Online Surveys
Mitch
Apart from the dupe content issue, I conclude that the reason I’ve chosen to use excerpt on the main page is to allow the first-time visitors to have a snapshot of what this blog is all about without the need to scroll down too much.
I’m not saying that I’m following the crowd but it has become the standard in most blog design. Well, if you can’t beat them, you’d better off joining them..;)
Yan
As you’ve probably noticed, Yan, I’m not much of a follower in that fashion. I’ll join from time to time, but I’m very much living to the beat of my own drum.
Mitch´s lastest post..LinkXL
I wasn’t active here lately. To atone for that… you are getting my brand super-tasty-detailed critique in at BloggingTips project. ;) I’ll get to that on weekend.
Rarst has cool feed´s lastest post..What makes web standard an actual standard
I’m excited to hear what you have to say, Rarst. I’ve seen how you go to the extra length to critique some of the blogs. I love your no-hold-barred style of review…;)
Hey Yan, I agree on the favicon now that I look at it, but to be honest, I hadn’t noticed it before.
As for reviews, I think if they’re honest (even if they’re paid), and what you’re reviewing is relevant to your readers, it’s perfectly fine. In fact, I look forward to reviews from bloggers I like and trust.
Anyway, keep up the good work Yan!
Cheers!
Jay
Yeah, come to think of it, the favicon looks out of place indeed. I didn’t not change it when I switched to this blog design. It’s one of those things you tend to overlook, isn’t it?
Thanks, Jay for your continued support. Hope everything is fine at SuiteJ.
Yan
hey Yan, why not use a version of your avatar as your favicon?
Sire´s lastest post..Everything You Wanted To Know About Online Surveys
I’ve tried that before but it didn’t turn out to be what I’ve expected. It couldn’t handle the image compression properly so the image became distorted.
Thanks for the suggestion, Sire.
Hi Yan, about the typo errors, I don’t see the option to edit them at all. The plugin I use gives the commentator x amount of time to edit their comments but I can’t see it working here as you moderate all comments, which is a good thing. Which plugin are you using?
Sire´s lastest post..The Real Dos And Don’t Of Affiliate Marketing
Oh my god, I didn’t realize that the comment will only appear after moderation. My bad!
Anyway, I’m using Ajax Edit Comment….what do you suggest, Sire?
Congrats to everyone that got some sweet link love. I will have to get back into my groove so that I can get in on this next time.
Adam
Adam´s lastest post..Free Up 15 Minutes To Become Rich!
Adam
We miss you! ;)
Yan
I’ll make you a favicon…for a million pesos! Totally kidding. Let me know what you want it to look like and I’ll hook you up. I can even generate you a cool web 2.0 one like on Diligent. Thanks for the link-up. :)
Corey Freeman´s lastest post..The Role of Definitions in Your Business
Corey
Thanks for the offer. I trust your professionalism to see what’s good for this blog that doesn’t vex you at all…;)
Yan
Hi Yan,
*Jeremy pats self on back. I made it to #6. That didnt seem so hard. ;-) Thanks again for the shout out. How did you decide which article of mine to use? Was it just your favorite?
Also, Joel’s links don’t seem to be working. I went to his main website and they still dont work, even his comment section. Hopefully he notices it soon. I wrote that hoping he would notice the comment on here. But dont worry Yan, as far as I can tell you have his permalink right.
Cheers,
Jeremy
Jeremy Day´s lastest post..11 Little Steps to Better Health
Hey Jeremy
Pat yourself the second time as you deserve it, buddy. I usually pick those articles that may interest my readers here and since I’m acknowledging all of you, why not “kill two birds with one stone”?
He could be experiencing hosting issue lately so I think it should be fine in a couple of days - hopefully.
Yan
I wonder if I ever get into your Readers’ Appreciation # list again, perhaps next moths it’ll be too hot over here for work outdoors and so the time for engagement and interactive communication.
Convert´s lastest post..Semolina amounts converter
….it’ll be too hot over here for work outdoors
I remember the last time I asked if you were Rado, you could have probably missed it….so are you by the way? This blog is not the same without you, buddy…..
Yan
Hi Yan,
So I did received your verbal appreciation after all also for this month! Yes it’s me Rado, but I had a thought you knew, it could be that I must have missed to mention it. Still working out and remotely at times but longer holidays (non outdoors jobs) are coming :)
Yan, I’ve been planing to ask you for one review written by you on convert-to dot com website. I am almost there with adding more content so this task could be viable but further still i intend to add in many more javascript converters/calculators … i’ll send you a note regarding this review, and detail$, either during the weekend or on Monday 17th. Hopefully you aren’t too busy these days to be able to put some time into this for me ?!
Convert´s lastest post..Wholemeal flour amounts converter
Hey Rado
I’m guessing it is YOU. You have a distinct style of writing I could easily recognize. I’m glad you stick around with me. You are one of the first readers of this blog and I reaaaaly appreciate your continued support.
THANK YOU AND THANK YOU SO MUCH
I’m having 2 reviews on my schedules right now so I could slot in yours sometimes 2 weeks from now. In fact, I need more time to study your site. Shoot me an email and we’ll talk about it.
I’ve wanting to ask this, why do you choose this particular niche?
Yan
Yan,
I feel so flattered Mate, thanks! But it’s -you are the person of the highest moral caliber who helps to many others by creating this real practical content. E.g. I implemented the php code for WP system you publish in one of your current articles. I read all of your posts.
My other TO site is complete for long, so I simply begun another subject as an addition because from the TO experience it’s very worthy. In my opinion, it’s all about the ‘need’, for any niche site. People searching for the particular subject enter a site, e.g. a camera or kitchen mixer review (a specific product targeted niche site.) They get the details on the described product and Google ads are perfectly serving these ads along the same terms found on the page content, and it is these ads people need to check prices of the product-s and to buy. So that’s the natural need, people aren’t blind to click cause they need at home what they originally searched for. It doesn’t matter what niche it is, best to go for the modest I reckon.
Yes thanks, 2 weeks will be okay, will send you email regarding the review. I will add some ‘main talking point’ converter in the site. I am glad to hear that you keep busy.
Convert´s lastest post..Wholemeal flour amounts converter
Thanks Yan for the mention and link love. I feel good to be in your list with so many great bloggers. Congrats Dennis it’s always hard to keep up with you, other blogs included.
Peter
Work At Home Ideas´s lastest post..Link Love-Links Round Up No. 11
You are welcome, Peter. You know it well that it’s always been my way of doing thing here. As for Dennis, I’m too having the hard time trying to keep up with him lately. He is going to be the next commenting celebrity soon…;)
I’ve never noticed the favicon before but it does look out of place. How about a big Y for Yan instead?
Personally I like that the front page isn’t full posts, I wish more blogs were like that (mine included) but full posts does seem to be the way most people go.
5 days without Internet? That sucks, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself!
Dot Com Dud´s lastest post..Win 1,000 EC Every Week
…full posts does seem to be the way most people go.
I hate to disagree with you on this. The opposite is true on most top bloggers. As I said, if you can’t beat them, you join them..and that’s the safest bet.
Anyway, thanks for your suggestion. A big Y is definitely good. It’s time for a change, huh?
Yan
Argh! For some reason my comments don’t go through half the time! (if this post is a double up, please delete it)
Anyway, maybe you could change the favicon to a big Y for Yan or something, the current one looks a bit out of place.
I like the fact that you don’t have full posts on the front page but it does seem like most other blogs use full posts, I’m not sure why though. I think the partial posts suit your theme really well.
Anyway, 5 days without Internet would be tough but it’s good to see you are back posting again!
Dot Com Dud´s lastest post..Win 1,000 EC Every Week
How about incorporating a recent post and recent comments plugin on the blog? Reason being is a good way to stick around. Usually when i visit a blog from a search or another blog and have finished reading original entry post, i then look for more.
And i almost always look to the sidebar for addt’l content, other recent posts, etc. The best example i can give on this would be Problogger. Whenever i visit his blog, after reading one post i go straight to the sidebar to see QUICKLY what else he has written and if there is anything else that catches my fancy.
Just my 5 cent tip.
Hey Missy
I know what you are saying. I might even implement that into my single page. Just in case you miss it, the most popular posts are right at the footer. Not a strategic placement I know but change is imminent. Thanks for your input, it’s worth more than 5 cents to me.
Yan
PS: I left something on Max’s blog for you.
I’d be happy to do a favicon…for a million dollars! Totally kidding. Let me know what kind of image you want and I’ll toss one your way. Thanks for the linkage. :)
Great recap Yan. I was born in Russian and my name is so hard to pronounce that when I came here from Russia and went to Middle School I was so badly teased and it was so badly mangled that after high school I just began to use my initials and have always gone by JR, so that is my name, only my family uses the full original version.
That’s good enough reason for me to stick with JR then. I’m sorry… I just thought that it will be more sincere to address anyone with his/her name. Hmmm, maybe YS would be better for me too…;)
Yan
LOL, no Yan is cool very easy to pronounce and remember.
JR @ Internet Marketing Strategies´s lastest post..God Bless America
Oh, BTW I like the favicon, it’s so important everyone should have one.
My apologies for dropping in my activeness on your blog, Yan! A lot of great content from the top commentators of the month! I can’t wait to see who is the most active next month.
You were once in the top spot. Don’t you miss being there again? ;) Anyway, good to see you, gal. Hope everything is fine with you..
Yan
Of course I have missed being around here! Hopefully this month I can stay active :)
It is really nice to hear some complements to the things that you do. I think that you’re a great blogger because you appreciate and give credits to those who give time commenting on your writings and giving their piece of your mind
lawyer makati´s lastest post..Nine Tenths of the Law
this is great, it’s give me great idea how to appreciate you readers (when my blog is grow bigger) nice, keep a good work Yan
newbiesblogger´s lastest post..Discover Entrecard Advantages
I understand how you feel when you lost your internet connection. It happened to me just 1 month ago and I felt very lost without looking at my blog for just 2 days. Should be worst for you in this case. Ok back to the topic.
You really appreciate your readers from the way you handle your blog, replying to every comment and even asking for feedbacks. These traits are not easily seen in many other blogs especially when they have a certain authority built up. But not for your case, Yan.
Wei Liang
Wei Liang | ABloggerBlog´s lastest post..Lesson 16: Comment Marketing
Hey Wei Liang,
I couldn’t think of anything else I could do to keep my readers engaged apart from responding to their comments, visiting their sites and reciprocating the same. That’s the least I think any blogger should do.
Anyway, I’ll keep doing it for as long as I could still handle it but I’m not too sure if I’d still be able to do the same when this blog becomes as popular as John Chow’s…;). Hopefully, thing will remains the same.
Thanks for your continued support. I do value your comments as always.
Yan
I am in the top commentators list for this month…..looking forward to your regular postings
Thanks for the banner love buddy! And congrats to the others as well! :-)
And to my two dear friends, Mitch and Sire; I feel so bad and just need to say…
HAHAHAHAHA ;)
Dennis Edell´s lastest post..8 Effective Viral Marketing Techniques
My day will come, Dennis; just you wait! lol
Mitch´s lastest post..The CommentLuv Contest
LOL Dennis, I almost sprayed my screen with beer. Lucky I was quick enough to turn my head and I got the wife instead. Is she ever mad at you!
Sire´s lastest post..Everything You Wanted To Know About Online Surveys
I’m still waiting for your banner, buddy. Let’s see who has the last laugh…;)
Yan
Man, I was sure I posted a comment here! You know, I always appeciate love and first to comment when that happen…
Anyway, thanks yan for the love I really appreciate it. I don’t even try to be a top commentator, it just happen ;)
Thanks buddy!
Ben Tremblay´s lastest post..Offline marketing: I see huge potential
I am sure and ready to post out my comment here and I’m not saying that I’m following the crowd but it has become the standard in most blog design. Well, if you can’t beat them, you’d better off joining them..;)
hendricius2
Hendrik´s lastest post..Adsense Smart pricing
This was really my first time to read your articles. And they are really interesting. I hope you can help me to some things that I don’t know yet.
Thank you in advance! :)
Diana Rupert´s lastest post..7 Secret Tips to Rapidly Lose Weight
My brother and I have decided, seeing how the world economy is in some strife at the moment, not to employ anyone else for awhile and save some cash.’real’ work is certainly cramping my blogging style.
Allen´s lastest post..Advertisement programs for blogs
So is Hendrik your brother? ;p
Don’t push yourself too much, Allen. If you have a day-job, don’t let blogging take priority over it. Blogging should be approached in a more relaxed state of mind. Otherwise, it takes away all the fun.
It is a good way to appreciate the readers…
Also good that you are mentioning one post of the top commentators…
Nihar´s lastest post..Friday Night Links Party - 14 November 2008