Here is a screenshot listing the clicks (total at the bottom). You can click it for a full screen version!

Now you go find me another blogger who will show you there advertisers clicks! I bet you won’t find any, know why? Because they don’t get clicked!

My blogs advertisers do get clicks and I encourage you to take part in this and get clicks yourself! Just go here to buy a slot!

Tags: making money online, learn, money

You can buy one on the advertise page but enough of that, lets get right into the review!

NSpeaks.com is a great looking blog but after looking deeper into the site I have found a few things that should be sorted IMO. I am by no means telling them they have to change these but I had to make a review out of something so this is it!

Design Wrong

The design is a generic WP Magazine Style Template that I am sure I have seen on other blogs before. There is nothing wrong with a premium theme as long as you code it up a little bit and make it different then everyone else out there.

With that said the first thing I noticed on the site was the fact that the “Yahoo” and “Flickr” images right below his subscribe section are missing. I am not sure how he could have missed this but he did and it makes the whole site look bad. Granted people are going to have missing images on there websites and blogs but the front page is one place things should be right!

The second thing I noticed is that NSpeaks doesn’t list any of his full posts on the front page either. While many opt not to do this “Why?” you should at least have your latest full length post on the homepage. I went the old-school method and list my last 5 but its really a matter of preference!

Thirdly I really dislike the color blue he picked for the site, its like he tried to match the hideous blue feedburner chicklet or something? Come on dude use a nice light color if your going to use blue…

Design Right

While there are obviously some things I would do differently on the site there are a few things they are doing right and after tearing the blog apart above I thought it was only fair to give it some praise as well!

The first thing I am glad he did was put the Top Commenters widget on the blog. People fail to realize just how many people get a kick at being #1 on that list, its exactly why I put it on my blog and ever since I did I have averaged around 10-15 comments per post where I was not getting any before.

Another thing NSpeaks.com got right is the fact that they put there sponsors at a very prominent spot on the right side. This makes advertisers feel more comfortable when going to a site for advertising.

Lastly I like how he has a featured post / product section on the site. It lets his readers know that hey this is what you should be looking at right now! It encourages clicks which gives more page views and in my book its a winner! GREAT JOB

Subscription Section

I don’t think I have ever covered this in a review before? However this is the perfect opportunity!

Over the last few weeks I have come to realize just how vital a good subscription section can be. As you can see my subscription section is quite different from the norm, I actually got my idea from SuzanneFranco.com but I took it a step further by including a product for subscribers.

This is my point exactly, if you want people to subscribe you have to give them something they want, if its not something they want your wasting time. The best way I have found to ask people what they want is in forums like Bzimage and DP.

Summing it Up!

Well last but not least I wanted to thank you all for reading this review, be sure and comment below to let me know what you think. Remember the above is just my opinion but I believe if you do what I suggest your blog will flourish to new levels.

God Bless and have a great day guys!

Tags: html, seo, seo blog

I want to go on record by saying that Suzanne Franco did not pay me to review her site. I decided to do it because we have become friends and that’s just what friends do!

On with the review we go…

In this review I have several things I want to cover such as design, content and of course my thoughts. However before I get into that I think you all should know a little bit about Suzanne and her blog! Here is a small snippet I grabbed from her site.

I am mom to 3 awesome kids ~ Austin 12, Nathan 10 and Emily 9 and soon-to-be stepmom to yet 2 more ~ Alyssa 8 and Cobey 6. We live in the Texas Hill Country where I work from home and enjoy running several online businesses.

I have a true passion for helping others live their dream of working from home too. If you currently work from home and could use some pointers on promoting your business online or if you would like to be working from home but do not really know where to start, just take a look at the pages on the top left or browse by category and I am certain I can help in some way.

I am happy to say that Suzanne not only does this well but she goes over and above to help people who frankly… I might not give the time of day to.

I think the fact that she is a mother of 3 she has tons of patience and is able to help people even when they don’t get it! What else can I say, Suzanne simply put is “A Great Gal To Know, Work With And Have As A Friend”. I for one am honored to be in the friend class with her as she stated on her blog in this post (at the bottom).

Blog Design

When I first saw Suzanne’s blog I actually had a bad taste in my mouth. I always critique websites that don’t display right (she still has not fixed that problem) but I do believe she will soon enough.

However after reading a couple of her posts and her about page I realized that she lived in Texas like I do. I thought it would be great to connect to another blogger who lived in the same state as someday I would like to start a Texas bloggers meet up where bloggers from Texas meet up for a weekend or something.

So anyways, I decided to email her I went to her contact page and sure enough she makes it simple to contact her and she is more then willing to answer questions and help people out. So I sent my email off to her and waited (a couple hrs tops) before I received a reply from her.

I emailed back and forth with her a couple of times and before I knew it we just seemed to hit it off. We both love blogging, making money and our families. I have not told her much about my family yet (been busy like crazy) but that will come in time I suppose.

I guess the moral of the story here is “Don’t judge a book or blog by its cover. Just because it has some messed up elements does not mean the blogger behind it does not have there act together. Its quite often the other way around”.

Anyways about her design…

Its a very sleek and good looking blog (aside from the ie6 display issue I have “yes I still use ie6 and I always will”). I quite like the green color she chose to use throughout her blog and her header is simply awesome.

In case for some odd reason her blog won’t load for you here is a screenshot of it.

 I also really like the looks of her subscribe section, its actually what gave me the idea to tweak mine. Its something different, it stands out and I for one am a huge fan of it! I can see this starting a chain re-action!

Blog Content

So Suzanne’s blog is up-to par but hows her content? Well I’ll tell you, its amazing! I don’t see many bloggers taking the time to really write great content these days in the mmo niche. I think that’s why most of the blogs fail within the first few months.

In my opinion you can tell a blog is going to make it or break it within 3-4 months of being up. Suzanne’s outlook on blogging is perfect for the mmo niche and I would bet that is why she is doing so well. Don’t let her fool you though, she only provides great content so you will subscribe!

Her content is always good and its easy to read because she writes it so well. Here are a couple of my most favorite posts that she has written on her blog that I have had time to read!

• 21 Ways to Increase Your RSS Subscribers
• Guru Roundup Update … Wow! This Is Fun!
• Top 7 Home Business Ideas
• Video Blogging, Vblog, Vlog … New on the Blog!

This is just a taste of what she offers at her blog on SuzanneFranco.com be sure to check it out and subscribe to show your support for her awesomeness!

Seriously though, her content is always unique, well written and very professionally done. Its quite often some of my favorite content to read and I am a daily reader to her content now. I suggest you sign up to her RSS as well if you want to be “In The Know”. 

My Final Thoughts

I have said it before and I will say it again… Suzanne Franco is a great blogger and I look up to her ability to help people with the up-most regard. Not only is she a great blogger, mom and business woman but she is also a great person right down to her soul.

I encourage you to visit www.suzannefranco.com today and be sure to let her know you found her blog through IBB. I bet all of you become readers of her blog because she can really help you just as I try to do myself.

Oh and one last thing, here is a small video Suzanne made for all of you!

God Bless and enjoy!

- Bug Man, Shannon Lilly

Tags: making money online, blog advertising, wordpress

VIPWebTraffic.com CubeCart Skin = $250
Apparel Store CubeCart Skin = $350 (Half Sent) = $175
Natural-practices.co.uk CubeCart Skin = $170
SkinCubeCart.com Sales (2) = $20.00
Shop.UrbanAstrologyShop.com CubeCart Color Changes = $60.00
Tss-Radio.com Review = $15.00
ItBrandy.com Website Coding = $20.00
CubeCart Work = $50.00
PayPer Click Mangament Services = $400.00
ColdGaming.com CubeCart Skin = $250.00 (Half Sent) = $125
NetFlix Banner Renewal = $20.00
PublishSpace.com Vendor Signups (1) = $25.00
PhotoImageArt CubeCart Skin = ($200)
Tbs-Tz Reviews (5) = $75.00

As you can see I had a decent month but a few customers have not paid in full yet. While I wait for them to do that I have only added the amount they actually sent me (half) to my report and the other half will go to next month

So the grand total for this month comes to $1605 which is not bad! If the customers had paid in full then I would have nearly hit the $2,000.00 mark which would be really good considering we are so close to the holidays and such.

Hope you enjoyed your TD day and God Bless!

Tags: technology, blog, monetizing blogs

Today I am doing something a bit different, while this is primarily a mmo / blogtips blog I like to throw a little bit of inspirational posts in to get you guys thinking further then just blogging.

I want to ask all my readers what your thoughts and dreams are about? Do you think, dream and live blogging or do you have a bigger picture in mind?

Before we go any further I have another question for you. Do you think Bill Gates is satisfied being the richest man in the world or does he still want more out of life? It has always puzzled me how some people can have so much and still be so un-happy in life.

Just look at nearly any singer or movie star, do you know any of them that are actually happy with there lives? From what I have seen they don’t live like they are happy, maybe its because we all have missed something through our fast paced world?

Whatever the reason may be its a fact that people are un-happy with life, what they have and they always want more! I am not going to preach at you and tell you its wrong to want more because there is nothing wrong with wealth and pleasure in life but I do believe a balance is key!

Rather I want to talk about how some people seem to get the breaks, make it big and leave you in the dust like you don’t exist!

Sure I would love to be a multi billionaire but to be honest I would not want that at the risk of hurting my family or friends in anyway. People are much more important to me then money, im perfectly content living a normal life and going out to eat and seeing a couple movies every now and again.

However for some including myself at times it doesnt seem to be enough does it?

Well lets get right down to it, I have one thought to leave you with. This thought is what will make you successful and you will make it big if that’s your wish. Ready for it? Here we go…

If you want success no matter what type it is you only need to do 2 things.

1. Decide what you want as your ultimate goal, there will be smaller goals to accomplish along the way but what is your Ultimate Goal for success? Perhaps you want to be your own boss, own a shopping mall, run a candy shop?

2. Once you decide what you want you simply need to think and dream about it. Come up with a plan (even if its a terrible one) to get to your goal. Set savings goals do whatever it takes till your thoughts and dreams become reality. It will be tough work don’t get me wrong but I have done this myself many times and it pushes me to the limit and I always get there!

Here is my motto for life!

Work Hard, Play Hard, Live Hard- Shannon Lilly

Tags: money, blog, blog advertising

Today I want to talk about one great way to get more readers for your blog. I just recently re-did my subscribe section. It now draws a lot of attention and that’s a good thing. However I am also offering a ebook to everyone that signs up to my rss.

This is one of the ways I have gained nearly 50 new subscribers in just a few short days. People are always looking for what they get out of something.

I am still learning how this all works myself but from what I have seen giving away something gets people to subscribe more. You can give away anything really, ebooks, products, services, trades, really whatever you can think of.

However here is where most people mess up with this technique. They believe if they put up a free ebook they will instantly grab attention and get people to subscribe. While that is a great thought it doesn’t have anything to back it up.

Remember, even if you stick the ebook subscription up you still won’t get any subs, why? Because people still don’t know about your blog. This brings me to my next point, when you are going to give something to your readers make sure its useful.

I have seen many blogs give away trash ebooks to those that subscribe. Remember it only takes 1 bad apple to spoil the whole bunch! Make sure the thing your giving away has some value to it, if you can give them something they need and something they know other people need they will tell others about it and bamb you just started a chain re-action of signups.

Didn’t you always wonder why every top blogger gives away a free ebook to people who sign up? Its to keep them growing, if growth halts there is a problem. The internet grows constantly so why shouldn’t your blog and website?

Tags: seo, seo blog, seo

Its the first contest ive actually lost but its ok!

Here is my video, spread it around guys!

Tags: seo, learn, seo

Well today I want to list my top 5 social websites that I like on the net. Granted these are not all the biggest but I love them because they work and don’t have a ton of spam in them which devalues each submission!

Here we go….

Digg.com - Although your not supposed to submit your own site the Digg people do it anyhow. However if you can get your readers to submit your posts to Digg regularly your well on your way to massive traffic and visitors that will signup!

Blurpalicious.com - My buddy owns this one and at PR4 its a great way to get power from the search engines! Try it out and see your site get indexed in about 1 hr from this social site!

Propeller - This is one of my favorites because its PR7 and I have gotten sites to pr5 and even a pr6 using this one site alone! Its all about how you and when you hit this one to get page rank benefits!

StumbleUpon - When it comes to getting traffic from a younger generation community you really cannot get any better then StumbleUpon!

YouTube - Although this is a video site its one of the easiest ways to get traffic from people because everyone loves videos! Try it out and see for yourself!

Here is a small video to seal the deal on this post! Be sure to comment!

Tags: blog, seo, making money online

As you know I often add pictures into my posts hoping that it will catch readers attention and encourage them to read the post more! To my surprise it actually did work so I continued on, I believe it works because its natural for the human eyes and brain to see colors and shapes so it instantly goes to whatever is on the screen.

My idea would be to put the CPA ads within the actual post content instead of on the sidebar like a lot of blogs do. What do you think of this idea? I have seen some blogs do it but not really with a CPA ad mainly just 250 x 250 banners.

I would love to hear your thoughts and you can comment below about it and also about the awesome Clickbooth Blog be sure to check it out as its a great help for advertisers and publishers!

Tags: work from home, blog, blogging

However I see some key elements many bloggers are missing for them to accomplish all three goals. Some of you are doing great while others are barely sneaking through.

Today I want to share with you some of my secrets to getting readers, keeping them and of course making money off of them!

Once you know these secrets and understand how important it is to carry each one out you should have no problem building a blog, website or business into a money maker.

Just remember that money comes last so make sure you lay down the ground work or road to money making success first!

As you can see I have found this awesome Coyote image from Cartoon Network! He was always getting blown up in the cartoon so it seemed to make sense that I use him at some time on my blog!

Anyways, back on topic…

1. First I want to ask you to do something with me, load up your blog in a new browser window. When you do, what is it that you see? Do you see anything that will make readers or people want to come back? Don’t just say Yes! Really think about this one, its the key to everything online.

If you don’t have something to snag the readers attention and draw them in, how can you expect them to ever come back? The main element for any business or website is offering something that people want but can’t get anywhere. If you offer it to them you get the business, plain and simple!

2. Secondly we have all heard that great content is the key to getting traffic and in turn that generates sales. While this is generally true to some degree the one thing people seem to miss entirely is the fact that return customers are more likely to buy more the second time then they did the first time.

Why is that? They have come to trust your website and believe you can satisfiy them a second time.

Never forget that although new traffic is great, the key to business is return traffic. If you can get one person to come back to your site every day for a full year thats an extra 30 visits per month from a visitor that is willing to buy and buy and buy again!

3. Thirdly its probably best to do a test run on your blog / site before going live with any new features or a new blog all together. There is nothing more frustrating then a visitor who has checked out your blog, likes it and wants to subscribe but can’t because your subscribe section is not functioning correctly.

I find it best to do a test-run before going live with anything whether its a new product, new website design etc. It doesn’t matter what it is, if you can test it before the public does, you should!

With that said I believe you all can make money from your sites and blogs. I hope that this post has proved useful to someone, it has been on my mind to write this post and I never got around to it! Remember to comment below and let me know what you think so we can continue to grow this Infected By Bugs blog community!

Tags: html, seo, blogging