Bloggy Things
Stuff I don't hate June 7th, 2008Today’s post covers a series of topics that don’t qualify for posts of their own. Kind of a mish-mash of things that don’t have anywhere else to go. You know, like stuff you throw in a junk drawer. Fitting, eh?
HUMOR-BLOGS.COM ROCKS
I’ve been a member of Humor-Blogs.com since I started this blog and have been ranked in the Top 20 blogs (out of 940 blogs) for the last six months or so. If you’re a humor blogger, I highly recommend joining up. Not only will you see increased traffic, you’ll find other great humor blogs to get to know and love.
I’d like to publicly thank Diesel, who started the Humor-Blogs site, for giving me a place to showcase The Junk Drawer. I don’t know where I’d be without it.
And for a bit of shameless self-promotion, you may not know that clicking the green Humor-Blogs button in my sidebar earns me referral credits that keep me in the Top 20.
If you want to check out other humor sites, click through to Humor-Blogs that way, and you’ll be doing your part to help me achieve fame and fortune. Well, not the fortune part. I haven’t quite figured that out yet.
WHAT’S THIS ENTRECARD THING?
You might have noticed the “Today’s Featured Blog” widget in my sidebar. These sites come from Entrecard, a service that gives bloggers a way to promote themselves by “dropping” their cards on sites as they browse other blogs.
You earn credits for dropping your card and having cards dropped on yours, as well as through other bloggers advertising on your site. Then you use your own credits to buy spots on other blogs.
In the month since I joined, I’ve seen a twofold increase in my daily visitors. Some people pooh-pooh Entrecard because it takes time to drop cards while visiting other sites. But I’ve found it to be a worthwhile effort so far. My stats program tells me that about 10% of droppers stay longer than five minutes on my site, and some also subscribe to my feed.
If you use Entrecard, try not to “drop and run.” Spend time on the blogs you visit, and most importantly, comment on the blogs you really like. In my opinion, commenting on other people’s blogs is the best way to gain traffic in the long run. If you use Entrecard, drop a comment in the drawer and share your experience with it.
YES, THE BAG IS STILL IN THE TREE
Just a quick update: The plastic bag is still stuck in the tree outside my building at work. You may have noticed the Plastic Bag Tracker displayed in my sidebar, updated daily. There it will sit until the bag falls out of the tree, or Jeff comes to take it out his damn self (I know it’s driving him insane that it’s still there).
I’LL HATE MYSELF IN THE MORNING
It kills me to beg, but I’m doing it anyway. I’m currently running a Top Spots widget in my sidebar, where bloggers can buy a spot in the list for $3 to showcase a link to their sites. Consider it my tip jar.
Right now, the list is full, but I would appreciate if a few more bloggers would buy a spot — and here’s the begging part — so that I can reach the payment threshold. Because Top Spots won’t pay out until $25 is reached, and I’m stuck at the $23 mark, I haven’t seen one red cent from running the widget.
To encourage new Top Spotters, I’ll drop the cost down to $2. A link to your site will appear on the list for one month, after which I’ll remove the widget and collect my 25 bucks. Thanks to those who’ve bought a spot and to those who will consider buying one now. I’m not sure how much traffic the people currently in the list have seen, but I hope it’s been enough to consider your $3 investment worthwhile!
That’s it for today’s mish-mash post. Have a great weekend everybody!
Stumble it!
June 7th, 2008 at 8:34 am
I can’t afford to advertise on your blog yet ! If 2048 EntreCard credits for 24 hours were real money, your ad spot would be the most expensive on the internet. TechCrunch charges a minimum $10000 a month.
If some one buys a new ad in your TopSpots, does number 10 get kicked off the list ?
I did see many visits from your blog when I bought the ad, but these days almost all traffic comes from the comments I make.
Jaffer’s last blog post..Lister Block
June 7th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Jaffer — You bring up an interesting point. The cost to advertise on my blog keeps fluctuating between 512 and 2048 credits. I have no idea why it changes so much, so quick. Do you? Wait a day or so and it might drop again.
Yes, if someone buys a Top Spot, the last entry will fall off the list. But I’ll tell you what. I’ll expand the list to 15 spots. That way, everyone can stay on while I try to get my 25 bucks. Win-win!
If Content is King, Commenting is Queen. It’s a sure-fire way to draw in new readers. Good for you!
June 7th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Jaffer — OK, I found the formula used to calculate the price in Entrecard credits to advertise on my blog:
The formula to calculate a members’ advertising price is 2 to the power of your queue. What this means is that your ad price doubles for every ad in your queue, both Pending and Approved.
Eleven people are waiting in my queue, so that’s 2 to the 11th power, or 2,048 credits.
June 7th, 2008 at 9:33 am
OH ! I thought it was based on the number of drops on you per week.
I am very picky about who advertises. Marketeers, Wannabe blog experts, and Blogs about making money from blogging are always rejected.
But then, a low price does help the little guys get some exposure.
🙂
June 7th, 2008 at 10:07 am
I also think Entrecard is a good thing and have seen lots of new traffic from it. Also, that’s how I found your site and I have since subscribed!
Daisy the Curly Cat’s last blog post..Photo Hunters: Bad Hair
June 7th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Clicked on your ‘Humor-Blogs’. I’m still finding my feet with Entrecard. I’m not rushing it as I’m not sure of where I’m going with my Beetle blog yet. I need to focus more, and that’s not easy for a menopausal muppet ;O)
Babs – beetle’s last blog post..Junk or not junk? That is the question
June 7th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Lots of new traffic is only any good if you have great content. You have that (along with daisy) and that’s what keeps them coming back.
Babs – beetle’s last blog post..Junk or not junk? That is the question
June 7th, 2008 at 11:04 am
And this is why I recommend BlogHer ads for all bloggers interested in making money. There is no clicking on ads, there is no fee to pay. They also pay out after $25.00 but some bloggers are making hundreds this way, based on their readership. If you have a big following, go to BlogHer. They were closed to newcomers the last time I looked (so the rest of us can rake in the bucks) but they periodically open it up now and then so if it’s still closed, check back and join the money makers!
I’ve been with Humor-blogs for over a year and was the first woman asked to be main page, so I owe Diesel a LOT. I also used to be in the top 30 for my entire run until recently. I kind of think it’s weird to be voted on other than for my writing merit so now I don’t care since it doesn’t get me anything. Send cash Diesel!!! and I’ll beg my readers to click on it for me again. I also write for scrivel.com and he had a star system which he just removed for the same reason.
Suzy’s last blog post..It’s Everyone Can Bite Me Friday!
June 7th, 2008 at 11:04 am
I don’t think I entered the plastic bag contest, because I remember thinking that it wouldn’t be up there for a week. I also think we were expecting heavy rain right after that post, so I figured that would surely get it out. The way it’s looking now, I’m thinking it will be there until all of the leaves fall. If I could still enter I’d pick October 31, 2008.
Susan’s last blog post..Dog Day at the Park
June 7th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Thank you to the two new Top Spotters who joined today! Really, really appreciate it! Check ’em out!
Jaffer — Yes, that’s what I figured, too. So far, I haven’t had to reject anyone yet. I’ve had a nice mix of blogs who bought space, none of whom gave me reason to reject them.
Daisy the Curly Cat — That’s how we found each other then! What a lucky find for me. Your blog is one of my favorites.
Babs — I’m still new to EC, as well. I guess unless it gives me a reason to stop, I’ll stick with it. As with all the new blog networking sites, you have to decide if it works for you. Thank you for the complement. Good content will always bring people back, no matter how they got there.
Suzy — I’ve thought about BlogHer, and I think the last time I looked, it wasn’t open. Will check it out. It’s awesome bloggers can do so well there. I haven’t figured out how to make some spare change. I have said in the past I wouldn’t put AdSense on this blog, so my options are more limited. Humor-Blogs is truly the best place to see and be seen if you’re a humor blogger. I’m indebted to Diesel.
Susan — I’m telling you, that bag will be there forever. If I announce that the bag is out of the tree within a day of your guess, make sure you remind me. Your guess may get lost in the shuffle!
June 7th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Wow! I am sooo glad my sister knows the good blog sites! lol I found you from her blog and I’m sooo glad I did… read all the way down to your post about the blog thief and I gotta say you’re a nicer person than me lol I woulda had the sheriff round up a posse to go after that woman! Great site cant wait to see more…thx for the tip on the humorblog.com also!
Lis
Lisa’s last blog post..WELL HELLS BELLS!!
June 7th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Huh, I thought your TopSpots campaign was something you made up. I didn’t realize it was part of an official service that paid out. I guess I’m not getting it yet. What’s the benefit of using a service if you can accomplish the same thing independently?
Jeff’s last blog post..Annoyances Anonymous
June 7th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Lisa — Welcome aboard! I still get mad from time to time about the blog thief. GRRR! Stop back sometime. There’s always a party in the Junk Drawer.
Jeff — You’re way ahead of me. I haven’t figured out how to make a buck independently. You know I’m opposed to AdSense for this place, but that doesn’t mean I won’t advertise or try to find sponsors. I’m actually working on an interesting ad idea, but I need to tweak my theme first. It’s an concept I can live with, one where there’s no 3rd party involvement.
June 7th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
And I thought I was good at shameless self promotion! 😀 I’ve been guilty of some click-throughs for EntreCard, but I’ve also spent a considerable amount of time exploring new blogs. Sadly, some of them are not hardly even worthy of the click-through.
Thanks for bringing us up to date on your widget-ware, Kathy. I’m always interested in what people are doing with the “backoffice” portion of their blogs.
June 7th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Great idea for a post. I love EntreCard (and now you’ve got 12 ads in your queue!) Also much love to Humor Blogs. I’ve gotten a lot of traffic from both. And by traffice I mean some really great people and awesome blogs I might not have ever heard of (like Daisy!)
JD at I Do Things’s last blog post..I Got a Kitten so you don’t have to
June 7th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Glad to see entrecard is working out for you! You’ll love what we have in store for everyone next. Congrats on your success with Humor-blogs too!
Graham’s last blog post..What to do when your Blog is Destroyed & All the Posts are Lost
June 7th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Lee — Hey, your promotion worked for me! I’m a happy owner of your beautiful photography calendar as a result. I find with clicking around EC blogs that I can tell pretty quickly if I like a blog or not. I do read into whatever post is up at the moment, and dig further if something strikes me. That’s the thing about EC. It makes me remember how quickly people come and go. Yet another reason to write strong openings for posts. We have just a second to grab people.
JD at I Do Things — Thanks for your EC buy! I tried to buy another one of yours, but I’m already in your queue and they don’t let you have more than one at a time. Daisy is the best. Loved her post from today. A cat in a wig. That’s something you don’t see every day.
June 7th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Graham — This is the Graham who conceived of Entrecard?! Wow, what a pleasure to have you drop by. Yep, EC is working well for me. A friend of mine turned me onto it and I’m glad I signed up!
June 7th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Dear Kathy,
Your appeal for the last $2 to reach the $25 ScratchBack payment threshold really touched my heart. I would have helped earlier had I known of your troubles. But times are tough what with the price of gasoline and all, so I’m really glad to see that you reduced your price from $3 to $2. I can afford it now. I’ll have to skip lunch though.
Hungrily yours,
Ferd.
June 7th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Maybe I don’t know how to work the system, but I joined humour blogs long ago, but don’t see any traffic from them. But then again, I’m not one for clicking anything like that, or the fuel my blog link either after reading a post. So perhaps that’s why.
As for entrecard, I ditched it too. I still have it on my photoblog, but I find that people just come and stay for 2 seconds, long enough to click the ‘drop yours’ button. At least at the photo blog they’re seeing something in those few seconds … and they may stay 4 seconds. But it was a lot of work to keep everything updated, so I just stopped.
Glad it’s all working for you tho…I should probably put more effort into it.
DrowseyMonkey’s last blog post..Deconstructing Buffy
June 7th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
You’re welcome, Kathy. The thing about Humor-Blogs is that what you get out of it is proportional to what you put into it. The sites that are in the top 30 (and that get a lot of traffic from H-B) tend to be the ones who link to H-B prominently and frequently. You might send 5 visitors to H-B, but you’ll probably get 10 as a result, so it can really help you if you work the system a little. 🙂
diesel’s last blog post..The Mystery Switch Climax!
June 7th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I’m clueless about all of this stuff! Story of my life. I do like your blog, Kathy … but unfortunately I can no longer remember how I found it so I don’t know who to blame … uhm, I mean thank!!! How do I get in your top spots? In other words where do I send the cash, sisterwoman?
Jenny’s last blog post..HEY HEY! HOLY COW!
June 8th, 2008 at 1:31 am
Wow! It’s nice to have my choices validated by the Junk Drawer-er herself! I just joined both HB and Entrecard, and am finding it pretttttty dern fuhn, actually. Oh no. I have outed myself as a nascent addict! I’m ever thankful for this new obsession, though, because that’s how I found this blog!
I’ve eaten rubber bands, too.
June 8th, 2008 at 6:09 am
FerdC — Thank you ever so much for the ScratchBack Luv! I’m sorry you will go hungry now. But doesn’t The Junk Drawer nourish you? No? OK, how ’bout a candy bar?
DrowseyMonkey — For H-B.com, you’d do well to add a link to it from your blog, as prominently as you can. In fact, I moved my graphic up a little higher for a better view. As for EC, you’re right, there is a time investment. I guess as long as it doesn’t keep me from writing, I’ll stick with it. I know we’re all stretched so thin.
diesel — In addition to adding your graphic to my sidebar, I add a link in some posts that are worthy of the front page. That always helps. Hey, it seems H-B has grown significantly the last 6 months, by about 300 blogs, no? I’m glad for your success with this, and grateful you give humor bloggers another place to be discovered.
Jenny — I don’t get it all, either. Especially Twitter, which I didn’t mention I’ve started using. So much out there. Never know what’s going to work. I’ve reached my Top Spots pay out amount, thanks to the three who bought spots, so no need anymore. Thank you for the thought!
Kate Savage — It is obsession, isn’t it? I’m always reaching for the magic 300 number, the amount of cards you can drop in a day. I’m glad you made your way here!
June 8th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Wow. The bag is STILL there? And I have a little story of my own.
Me and my dad were at the grocery store today. In the front of the store is where the corn is. I just found it amusing how people peeled the corn. Pick up corn. Peel. Put in bag. It was so mindless… like a bunch of robots. Pick of corn. Peel. Put in bag.
June 8th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Kathy:
So that old bag is still hanging in the tree. What a drag. What do you suppose is taking her so long to get the hint?
Happy trails.
Swubird’s last blog post..VANISHED!
June 8th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Very interesting stuff! Good luck with your top blogger payout. And will look for more reports on the bag in the tree.
Lauren’s last blog post..I Told My Mother About Sadie
June 8th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I will have to try that, thanks for the tip. I always enjoy your blog.
april’s last blog post..Things NOT to do the first time mowing a lawn.
June 8th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
I had the same experience with Entrecard. My visitors increased more than two folds since I joined. But you’re right. Its leaving a share of thought to other’s blog that can really create the traffic.
Have a great day and hope to see your drop frequent. Thanks!
Strider’s last blog post..The Power of Our Inner Glow
June 8th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
I have a question. What do you have to write to be considered a humor blog? Because a lot of my posts are funny but some days I don’t write anything hilarious. Would I have to write something that induces laughter every day if I wanted to belong? Just curious.
Thanks for the heads up about all the other stuff even though I hardly understood a word of it! I am not so good at the whole networking, promoting my blog thing…
June 8th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Regan — I know exactly what you’re talking about. Wegman’s, right? I walk slowly by them whenever I see the corn peeling frenzy going on. Makes me chuckle. It’s like there’s a competition or something.
Swubird — And it looks as good as the day it got there… er, she looks as good. I almost missed that.
Lauren — The amount was reached, thankfully, but now I still have to wait, as they pay only once a month. Boy, this would be easier if I stood outside my house with a cup. “Brother, can you spare a dime?”
April — Thanks for stopping by! I’m so glad you like it here. Let’s hope my husband doesn’t follow me over to your blog. I just left a confession about lawn mowers on your latest entry.
Strider — Welcome! Dropping does take time, but so far it’s not impacted my ability to get a post up every other day. If it starts to eat into my writing time, I’ll have to reconsider. For now, it’s working out great.
Vegas Princess — I don’t always write hilarious stuff, either. My best advice is to pop over to Humor-Blogs.com and browse the selections. If you find your blog fits in with what you find, by all means, join up! If nothing else, it’s a great repository of funny blogs on the web. You’re bound to find some great new blogs to read.
June 12th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Thanks for the tips!