I recently turned down an opportunity to publicize and receive reviews from Bloggers Showroom, because they require putting a widget on your blog. They require putting a widget on your blog. I respectfully declined, widgets just aren’t for me. Too many widgets scare me, I don’t even use the MyBlogLog Recent Readers widget anymore.

Too Many Widgets is Like…

A generic blogspot blog.

A widget overload may be okay for a personal blog or new blogspot user, but not for “established blogs”. You don’t see A-listers displaying badges or widgets saying their blog rank or directory links. The only time a widget is needed is if it offers something very beneficial for you as a blogger.

For example, entrecard sent about 400+ unique visitors this month already. MyBlogLog used to send 100-200 visitors. Scratchback earns about $20per month. These widgets, at least for me, are quality and beneficial enough to keep on the sidebar.

Once a widget no longer offers value for your blog it should be removed. Once MyBlogLog stopped delivering the traffic it used to, it was gone. Sidebar space is prime real estate for important features on your blog.

Benefits of Widgets

Depending on the widget there are several benefits to display widgets.

• Referral traffic
• Networking
• Value for your readers
• Publicity for displaying the widget (similar to referral traffic)

Negatives of Widgets

There are also several negatives of displaying widgets.

• Sidebar clutter
• Slower loading page
• “Free” advertising
• Unprofessional look
• Design clash

“Over Widgetizing”

By “over-widgetizing” you can be ‘just another blog’. Surfing the blogosphere I often find 3 column blogs with very slow loading pages that turn me off on the first visit.

Widgets are definitely addicting to bloggers. They generally provide free or “cheap” traffic. By simply adding a widget you could get visitors to your blog. As bloggers we sometimes get lazy and give into widgets, but at what price?

Are you addicted to widgets or guilty of “over widgetizing”?

Welcome back to BAYB Contest Roundup! Your blog needs a blog contest: this week you have the chance to win an iPod Touch 16Gb, free music for it and free cash! Plus Entrecard Credits. Let’s go:

Apple Ipod Touch 16GB

Titan Poker Bonus Code, a site about Titan Poker where you can read an extensive Titan Poker Review, is giving away one iPod Touch (16GB, $400). Write a post about this contest with all these 3 links and you are in!
Ends on March 15th.

Free iTunes Music

Ok, you have won (I hope so…) your brand new iPod Touch. Now you need music. And what about free music? Subscribe to Free iTunes Music and you could win a $10 gift certificate for iTunes Music every week!

Cash and Entrecard Credits

DatMoney.com is running his first blog contest! Rules are simple. There is a virtual pot: for each new subscriber he will add $0.50 and 20 Entrecard Credits. So, the more subscribers, the more money you win. 1st place will receive 75% of the pot, 2nd place 25% of the pot and 3d place will receive a custom made banner (and Entrecard Credits too). To enter you can subscribe, write a post about the contest linking to the contest post and then leave a comment.
Ends on February 29th.

Stay update with the latest blog contests on the net! Visit About Blog Contests and get your daily source of prizes!

Katy from I’m Blogging That wrote an interesting post about Ted Murphy of PPP/Izea. The covered several aspects of PPP and Ted Murphy, which inspired me to write this post. Ted Murphy is one of the only ones who has been able to evolve sponsored posting to what it is today. Several services have failed at what PPP has accomplished.

With that said, PPP has failed to find a solution for their bloggers who have suffered a Google PR slap. I wrote that RealRank Won’t Work with Google PR. Guess what? It hasn’t. The PayPerPost Forum is filled with unhappy bloggers. They have a reason to be. Some went from making $1,000 per month, to nothing.

PayPerPost Solution? Recruit new bloggers.

On February 14th, that will go down in PPP history (exaggerating much?), PPP changed their TOS dramatically. For new blogs to be accepted they only require 10 posts and to be 30 days old. The previous rule was 20 posts and 90 days old. With such a dramatic change I was surprised to find that the blogpost had no comments. You can find the discussion at the PPP forum.

As a PPP blogger, I had to wait several times for my blogs to be approved. This allowed me to have more content without ANY sponsored posts until I was accepted. I thought that was both good for my blog, PPP, and the advertisers.

Now, PPP can be filled with even more splogs and lower quality blogs, if it wasn’t already. Instead of helping bloggers who have been loyal, they are basically sending a loud message by trying to get new bloggers.

What do you think about PPP and this move? I don’t think it’s out of desperation, but a move needed for them, not bloggers.

I’m updating this late on Valentines Night. I hope everyone had a safe and fun V-day. I’ve been trying to take care of everyone because we are all sick. Everything else has been going pretty well and I hope the same for you.

If this is your first Comment Friday we give one lucky person a free weekly blogroll spot as our “blog of the week“. Along with that we are also giving that winner 200 entrecard points.

This week I am just wondering how your Valentines Day was. I also wanted to know how much contests and contest blogs impact your blog and blogging. We just updated our Top 20 Contest Blogs list. I feel its a great resource to any blogging contest. After promoting the Kontera Video Testimonial Contest I thought our list needed an update.

I first posted the Top 20 Contest Blogs list on November 19th. I felt that the contest blog niche was up and coming and very deserving of a list like this.

Since I published the list I have reformatted the formula of which I previously used. I noticed about 5 blogs on the list no longer posted or were not in service so it was in need of an update.

There has been a lot of movement on the list. Contest Beat has taken the #1 spot. It’s too bad that it has been sold, I’ve tried to reach out to the new owner, which no luck. It still deserves to be the top blog though.

Several blogs lost a few spots, but two other blogs have really emerged. The first is Laura Williams Musings which has jumped from 5 to 2. She has a great blog, with tons of contests, giveaways and freebies.

The second blog is About Blog Contests. I recently asked GLF, the owner of ABC, to be our contest blogger for our weekend contest round ups. I think he has one of the better contest blogs, so I’m happy to see his blog jump all the way from 17 to #7!

If you feel your contest blog belongs on the Top 20 Contest Blogs list, please contact me and I’ll add it. I strongly suggest using our list as a resource when you are running your own contest. These bloggers are great and generally post about any contest as long as you let them know about it.

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day.

I know I don’t post many pictures of myself, but this is my girlfriend and I. She’s yelling at me for posting the picture of her, but I think she looks great, doesn’t she?

Anyway, it’s going to be a pretty laid back Valentines Day for us. We got to go out for dinner last night for a friends birthday party at PF Changs. Not the best place for a 21st birthday but we had fun nonetheless.

I didn’t have to run around today for a gift, I bought Emma a nice little purse she wanted. Lucky me, because it’s been nasty and raining all day here in San Diego.

We’ll probably stay in tonight, make some Salmon and Crab for dinner and enjoy our nice meal. I am the best cook in the house, so it’s always good!

What are your Valentines Day plans?

Bloggers who blog about blogging have been told throughout the blogosphere that it isn’t a real niche. That it’s pointless, as well as not profitable. Or so I’ve read…

It Won’t Die

Blogs about blogging are a useful resource for all bloggers no matter what niche they blog in. As long as there is blogging there will be blogs about it. It’s very similar to the make money online niche. As long as there are people who want to make money online there will be blogs about it.

Not Profitable?

Some bloggers have said that blogs about blogging aren’t profitable. With the low cost of maintaining a blog, it’s hard for them not to be profitable. If you break down the cost of hosting and a domain it’s under 10$. For this blog, it runs to be about 6.58$ per month. 6$ per month for hosting, .58 cents per month for the domain (7$ divided by 12 months).

I wouldn’t say that it’s been easy or I’m making a ton of money on this blog, you can see January’s earning report, but I am definitely making a profit. If you can offer good content that people want to read and really be honest, you can easily make that few bucks a month spent on the blog.

Pointless?

Blogging has grown exponentially over the years. Huge numbers of blogs are created daily. New bloggers are born everyday. Who’s going to teach them our ways? Someone has to. That’s why we have the uber bloggers that we do. They offered the content people wanted and needed. Not only did they help bloggers grow, bloggers made them grow. You can earn quick money on a “fad” niche like Webkinz or Hannah Montana, but that only lasts so long.

What is your opinion on blogs about blogging?