Comment Friday for September 28th
- 20 Comment
Friday already, I think I will take the time each friday to mention whats going on with me personally. I’ve been really overwhelmed and stressed, mostly about money. I should be getting into that later next week. My son is turning two tomorrow (Saturday) so the stress runs through that as well. With so much to do, and blogging my main source of income I haven’t been able to devote enough time to it. Now onto Comment Friday!
If this is your first comment friday, the idea is pretty simple. Leave us a comment about anything you want. I will select one lucky commenter that really stands out, and I will be giving out a free link to that person. In addition to that that, I will be giving them a free blogroll spot.
I have been really experimenting with ad placement on this site and It’s All Free Online. Along with putting up new ads, I’ve also removed the “Recent Comments” and “Recent Posts”. Have you noticed? If so what do you think? If you don’t regularly visit the blog, do those two things on the sidebar really matter to you?
I will be choosing a winner for the contest soon, I have all the entries together (40 entries!), I just have to film myself drawing the winner. Don’t forget we still have a free promo code for the newest thing in website promotion, Adspheres.
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20 Comments on this post
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rodaniel said:
I keep up with your posts via RSS feed quite often, but only visit the actual site once or twice every week or two, so some of the formatting changes weren’t that apparent to me.
I did notice that the ad on the sidebar is awkwardly falling off the bottom of the page. Kinda messes with the “ch’i” of your otherwise well-organized & tidy layout…
September 28th, 2007 at 1:46 am -
homemom3 said:
Happy Friday! Oh and of course Happy Birthday to your little one. 🙂 I must say I know what ya mean about money stress. We were suppose to find out some info on the 15th and now it has been moved to the 7th, so I’m on the edge of my seat now just waiting. Okay off to post a link to your site.
As far as the recent comments, that would be the only one that matters to me as I check to see if anyone has posted. But I must say your sidebar looks GREAT. Wait, one thing that is off, your last ad in your sidebar goes way past your page. Thought you should know.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:14 am -
Brooke said:
Like rodaniel I read your site through RSS so do not visit often. But the side bar looks clean – I like that. Here are two things I noticed:
1. The ad runs off the bottom like they said.
2. The search box is touching the picture that is at the top.Happy Bday to your little one. Mine just turned two a few weeks ago!
September 28th, 2007 at 5:27 am -
K-IntheHouse said:
Happy Friday! Happy birthday to your boy!
Good points by everyone. I am sure you have your reasons for removing those. Depending on how much search traffic you get, Recent Posts could a tool to make those recent visitors to stick around longer. It really wouldn’t be a biggie for RSS subscribers or those who visit the home page.
Now, Recent Comments help me guage the discussions going on currently in a site. For the ones I get notified of follow up comments it doesn’t matter. But, if I see a recent comment on a post I might have missed that little thing actually encourages me to jump in to the discussion. 🙂
Good luck with your money making effort, Matt!
September 28th, 2007 at 5:55 am -
K-IntheHouse said:
Oh just remembered, how about maybe using a Dropdown categories plugin. That should give you some considerable space saving. Also for authors if there is one.
I am thinking of doing mine as well!
September 28th, 2007 at 5:57 am -
Laura @ Laura Williams' Musings said:
Ok, not sure if I’m eligible to enter this week since I won last week, but here’s my 2 cents (which is probably what they are really worth. lol)
I never really pay attention to the recent comments on someone’s sidebar that much. However, I do look for recent posts… easier to go back through a blog to see where something is and click than rather going past 10 posts to find something. I know Archives is there, but having the most recent posts showing is more apt to get me to click on a post title I may have not otherwise.
Hope that made sense.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:08 am -
Laura @ Laura Williams' Musings said:
Forgot to add… Happy birthday to your son! I have a little guy that is turning one year old on Wednesday.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:10 am -
Ed the Editor said:
Sometimes less is more and the sidebar is quite tidy. Perhaps though, with recent comments and posts, which I think are important, you could just display a title with a drop down list.
Hope your money stress dissipates. I know how you feel, but one day i decided not to worry about money, and I am no worse off for it!
cheers
September 28th, 2007 at 6:31 am -
Windy said:
Happy birthday to your son! Hope you guys would have a nice day tomorrow.
I don’t pay much attention to the recent comments on your sidebar to be honest. I always think that less things on the side bar would be clearer.
Have a great weekend everybody. 🙂
September 28th, 2007 at 7:46 am -
Jennifer said:
WordPress above 2.2 has drop down categories included in it, so no need for a plug in.
I really like your new layout. It looks nice. I like the It’s All Free Online site. I have gotten a few of your offered deals.
Ad placement is complicated because you want them to be seen, but you don’t want to detract from your sites appearance. I think you are doing well.
Happy Birthday.
September 28th, 2007 at 9:24 am -
AntiBarbie said:
Happy Birthday to your little boy. My eldest just turned two not that long ago and man does she have a ‘tude! I’m kind of missing the non talking phase! 😉
September 28th, 2007 at 11:18 am -
Cheapgirl said:
So many different browsers so many different views. I don’t see the ad running off the bottom of the page but I do see the search bar touching the top. I was going to say that you have a lot of room on the side so why remove anything but I must see more space then others. You’re never going to make everyone happy who views your blog so the most important thing should be making yourself happy.
Happy Birthday to your son. Don’t worry about the terrible two’s. I thought the age of three was way worse 😀
Melissa
September 28th, 2007 at 12:21 pm -
Lynne said:
This is a question I’ve been asking myself as well, so I’m glad to hear so many responses here. I recently placed an ad bar in one of my sidebars and it is very difficult to decide on placement. I don’t want readers to feel inundated with an ad, but at the same time, the higher up they are on your site, the more likely they are to be clicked on. You just have to decide on what is important to you. If your site has a balanced appearance and good content (which it does), your readers will find it appealing (which we do!).
September 28th, 2007 at 1:41 pm -
mercutiom said:
I read your posts via RSS and only visit the site through internal links to old posts, and for Comment Friday of course. I have always been a little annoyed that the sidebar fell off the side of the page, but figured you’d get around to correcting it when you had a chance, I know you’re busy.
Anyway, I didn’t really notice that you changed formats, but I have to say, it does look more solid and professional now.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:35 pm -
Mom Knows Everything said:
Happy Birthday to your son. Mine will be three on January 1. I think toddlers are hilarious, they do the silliest things.
As for your sidebar. I think it looks better this way. It gives a little more privacy to those whom comment.
Have a great weekend with your family!
September 28th, 2007 at 5:10 pm -
Susan Mellott said:
I know it is after Friday, but I’m not writing about Comment Friday, just to wish your son a Happy Birthday and to sympathize with being stressed out and especially about money. But wanted to let you know that your blog is great and very informative and that you are very helpful to a lot of people, which doesn’t necessarily pay the bills, but is at least work that you can be proud of.
Susie
September 29th, 2007 at 6:45 pm -
Donald Mckenzie Jr said:
I really hope things work out for you. The thing I find with blogs is that if you leave them alone for too long, the money will slip lower too. Keep up to date with your blog as much as possible.
September 30th, 2007 at 1:37 pm -
Matt said:
thanks for all the comments, he had a good birthday. Not a big turnout like we expected but I think he will get over it 😉 lol
Tough choice for a winner this week
September 30th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
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