We’ve written about scratchback several times. One because we like it. Two because we are still making money with it. At first I thought scratchback would only last so long, but it continues to surprise me.

Earnings from Scratchback

Yesterday I received another payment from scratchback totaling almost $27. I thought that was pretty good, considering I run scratchback on two of my blogs. The tips are for $2 and $1. That means quite a few people are leaving me tips.

My overall total tips (that I’ve been paid) are at $91.35.

How To Get More Tips

I’ve given out my tips for scratchback before, but in case you missed them here they are again.

Post about Scratchback. This one is a given an easy to do. This alerts your regular readers and new visitors about the widget.

Register to the Scratchback Directory. The directory is a great tool for scratchback. A lot of people search the directory for blogs to ‘tip’.

Ask For a Plug on the Scratchback Blog. It couldn’t hurt, the post about our blog definitely helped with tips.

Offer Incentive to Tippers. One of our authors is offering a button for tippers. Some are giving t-shirts etc.

Promote Your Widget. I’m not sure how much this has helped, but I’ve included a mention about our widget on our rss feed.

Also, remember when leaving tips, to be careful advertising, literally!

Buy Our Links

Don’t forget to leave us a tip. It’s only $2 per tip! Our scratchback widget has been viewed over 80,000 times!

Linkbait has become a popular way for bloggers to increase their readers and traffic.

What is Linkbait?

Linkbait is basically a piece of content placed on a web page that is designed for the specific intention of gathering links from as many different sources as possible. Many linkbaits are also designed to go viral or go be popular on social media sites.

Good linkbait can be gold for any blogger or webmaster.

My Linkbait

Recently I tried my own linkbait, 8 reasons to link to our blog today. I wouldn’t say it failed because we did get some links (which I definitely appreciate). However it wasn’t as many as I had hoped.

It was a simple idea that I thought might spark some interest, especially to our regular readers. We did gain several rss subscribers along with a few links.

Why Did Your Linkbait Fail?

There could be several reasons why your linkbait failed.

Not Interesting Enough. The post just didn’t serve it’s purpose as linkbait. Whether it was simply boring or not eye-catching, the post or image just didn’t work.

Couldn’t Go Viral. For whatever reason your post couldn’t go viral. Maybe it wasn’t the right topic or submitted to the wrong websites. It’s important to put it on the best sites possible depending on the category.

No Promotion. Most linkbait definitely needs promotion, at least to get going. You need those votes and views for people to actually SEE the linkbait. This would be a good method for all I’ve written about on Social Media like Sending Stumble Requests to your Friends.

Viral but No Links. Sometimes posts go viral and go popular on digg and more, but you don’t get people writing about it. Another linkbait I’ve written, Top 10 Reasons to Sleep Through New Years Eve, went popular on digg and others, but didn’t get people linking to it.

Social Media Didn’t Like It. You can have a great posts, a few votes, but not enough. Sometimes I’ve had over a dozen stumbles on an article, but only a small trickle of traffic. It often depends on WHO votes for it, instead of how many.

It’s Been Done Before. It’s hard for people to be into something that they’ve actually just seen, or seen before. It’s almost like “copying” to people. Digg’ers are the hardest to please when it comes to that sense. If you do anything even similar to what they’ve seen before you post will likely get buried.

Have you ever written linkbait? What were the results?

Hey ya’ll! Delores Defacto, here. I wanted to contribute my blogging plight:

Apparently I’ve been blacklisted from Sphinn.

I set up an account, after seeing that sites such as Blog About Your Blog used it as an alternative for Digg. I added only a few links that I can remember, some for other websites, some of my own but after a few weeks I could no longer log into my account.

I tried the “forgot your password” option at the login page but no emails were ever sent back. Sphinn never, I repeat, never, contacted me regarding my account. I just couldn’t log in.

I had gotten emails from a couple other link networking sites such as Newsvine and Simpy saying that I can’t add my own links as favorites. Fine. No problem. I deleted my own blog links and replied to each email with, “Sorry about that. I didn’t know.”

With Sphinn, after time after unsuccessful time to retrieve my password, I set up a new account that worked fine for a day. Then I couldn’t log into that account either. I finally used the contact form to email my direct question, “I can’t log into my account. Can you send me a reset password?”

Here’s the response I got:

Hi, Your account was terminated for submitting off-top spam. Sphinn is an internet marketing website and only accepts on-topic and high quality news.
Regards, Rob Kerry, Sphinn Editor

I then replied to this email asking:

Interesting. I’ve never submitted any kind of spam. What exactly are you considering spam? I’m very confused about this.
Thanks for the help.

That was five days ago. I still haven’t received any response back from him, or anyone else at Sphinn

I’m writing this article because I’m really curious as to how often this happens with their service. Matthew, our well known Blog About Your Blog resident, said that he has never had any problems with the system, nor has heard of anyone else coming into such account shut down and dismissal.

I am in no way a spammer and, honestly, I wouldn’t even know how to fill any link network with spam ads. I don’t know if they’re considering my own blog post links as spam but a simple explanation and contact about the situation, so that I can remove these links (if that is what they’re basing this problem on) can be removed so I can continue using their service.

I even went as far as to add Sociable to my site so I could add a Sphinn button to each of my posts and look what kind of thanks I get.

Delores

Since this post I have been compensated by Neverblue and have continued using them. You can view my follow-up post. Overall earnings for me in their network is now close to $1,000!

If you are not a Neverblue affiliate yet, make sure to join now.

I have been a NeverBlueAds affiliate for a few months now. I have earned just under $100 and have been generally happy with it. That was up until about a month ago.

My NeverBlueAds Experience

Neverblueads has a lot of freebie offers, which is perfect for my freebie blog. Getting conversions for certain offers has been nice. Most pay about $1.50.

I’ve promoted, referred, and encouraged people to join NeverblueAds. I’ve referred 14 members. We even had a huge contest with NeverBlueAds as the sponsor…

Where NeverBlueAds Went Wrong

The problems started when I referred someone to NeverblueAds, or so I thought. He started earning money (I was supposed to get 2%), but my referral earnings stayed the same. By the time we got it straightened out, he had made $400, which would of been $8 for me. They told me there was nothing they could do, no compensation.

Total lost $8

That was a little irritating, but it went on.

When I finally received my first check, what they were supposed to send was $2 off. After wasting an hour talking to my affiliate manager about it, they didn’t fix anything. She was supposed to email me why this happened, but never did. The extra $2 they didn’t pay me was from my affiliate earnings.

Total lost $10

Then maybe a week ago, my affiliate earnings were cut in half, resulting in me losing another $6. I emailed my affiliate manager with no luck. She wrote a long email basically saying nothing, never mentioning why my account was $6 less.

Total lost $16

Instead of NeverBlueAds handling it, my affiliate manager is no longer my affiliate manager. Usually when you log in, it says their name and picture. I currently have no one. How convenient, I wonder why? I’ve tried to be polite as I could, there isn’t a point in being rude. But really, enough is enough.

I’ve also referred people using my $2 referral link and never seen a dime from it. I was using two referral links together (one for $2 per referral, one for 2% of earnings). So if I referred 14 on the 2%, the other had to be close. That would of been about $20.

Total lost $36

Now $36 isn’t going to break my bank, but it’s significant enough. I was never offered any compensation to basically say, hey we are sorry let’s make it better. Any real effort at all would of made me happy. That they actually care.

Instead I have been ignored. I made sure to mention I haven’t even made $100 through them. I am by no means a big affiliate, but I should count regardless. I did refer someone who made them $100’s of dollars, shouldn’t that count for something? They got paid, he got paid, but being the referral, I got nothing.

I understand this is a long story and maybe some complaining, but I am very disappointed with how I was basically a lost voice. It may be that I don’t earn enough or that they don’t care. I took time to write this post so I was fair and not out of line. I didn’t want to write it still a little angry.

So, not only did this cost me approximately $36+ but also a lot of time disputing it. I don’t want to have to constantly watch my earnings, or make sure I am getting paid the correct amount. If you are going to alter my earnings, at least tell me, not ignore me.

I hope this is the last time I have to mention NeverBlueAds.

I first found Jason Crew’s blog from the contest he had in February. Sadly we didn’t win, but that’s okay. There is always this month!

March Contests and Promotions

I’m always for helping out a good cause. At Jason’s Blog he is dedicating March to give back. All the advertising from his ad space is going to charity. The charity will be selected from a public poll. I started the bidding at $1 so get your bids in.

The other part of his March Promotions is the March Contest, Blog Scavenger Hunt. The prize will be anywhere from $5 to $100 (amazon gift card) depending on the number of entrants. Answer easy questions to be eligible. Hope there is a question about BAYB coming up!

The Amatureist Financial Journey in Review

What is it about?

“I started this blog with the idea to keep all of my research on financial issues in one place, and to facilitate the sharing of that information with others.

I am not a financial expert. What you see is what you get with this site. That said, I hope you find some or all of the information I have compiled useful and interesting.”

I thought I would also add what I like and dislike about the blog.

I dislike the theme, its pretty busy and simple. He might want to go with a two column theme in the future. It just needs to be cleaned up a bit. Of course a nice custom header would be a nice addition. I’d also like to see more updates and maybe the number of posts on the front page condensed.

I like that everything is pretty easy to navigate through. The categories and archives as well as lots of tabs are prominent. The feed and advertising is right there, not overdone with it. I haven’t gotten deep in the content yet, but I have a few favorite posts already.

A huge thing with his blog is that it needs more of a direction. There are many different categories and things involved. Tons of contest updates. Spend more time updating and marketing your contests, but not on your own blog.

Favorite Posts

Pay Per Post Nightmare – Any avid user seems to have had some problem or another with PPP. I can only imagine that they are losing more of their regular users due to these problems.

Share In a Frame – This is an interesting concept. Basically giving stock certificates as a gift. I would imagine this be great for grandparents for grandkids.

Top 5 Hardcore Investing Blogs – These type of posts are what the audience want. I think its a great type of post with great viral potential. I stumbled it, give it a look.

Wrap-Up

Make sure to give Jason a read and subscribe to his rss feed for more updates. Don’t forget to bid for charity and get a little advertising in the process.

It’s Sunday and new blog contests are ready for you all… Give to your blog the chance to make you happy!

Win $100 from Blogetition

Blogetition, another interesting blog about online contests where you can submit your contest for FREE (like About Blog Contests, of course), is running an easy competition where you can win $100 (via Paypal). Several ways to enter: subscribe to Blogetition feed by mail (+2), write a post about this contest with link to the contest post and to the homepage, write about the site using specific anchor texts. For the last two options the number of your entries depends on your site Page Rank.
Ends on April 16th

Tons of stuff from the WWW Observer

The WWW Observer has launched his new contest. There are a lot of interesting prizes for three winners: cash, Entrecard credits, T-shirts, WordPress themes. Check out the contest post for details. To earn points simply leave a comment on the contest post (+5), subscribe to his RSS feed via e-mail (+50), leave a comment during the contest on any post (+1 each), write a post about the contest (+20), and answer the weekly riddle (+15).
Ends on March 31st

1500 Entrecard Credits

A monthly giveaway from Detector: the winner of 1500 entrecard credits will be selected random every last day of each month (until the end of 2008). To enter do the following things. Drop off your EntreCard on his blog, subscribe to his RSS feed, leave a comment on the contest post and write a post about this contest on your site including the following code: “Find out new ideas for new era by reading Detector“.

And don’t forget to visit About Blog Contests, your daily source for the latest, simplest and greatest blog contests around the net!

Welcome to another edition of Blogger Interviews. Last week we interviewed Karthik.

It was another easy decision to select this weeks interview due to their dedication to BAYB.

I’d like to introduce Mark Sierra from Me and My Drum.

I asked Mark several questions about blogging in general. Here is his answers

What is your age? Where do you live?

I’m over 40 and live in North Texas.

What do you do when your not blogging?

My day job is to implement web-based software applications for clients. These applications are meant to help in their recruiting and managing talent within their companies.

A hobby of mine is that I enjoy baking desserts and breads on occasion. I used to do it as a side business for a few years, but other interests and demands on my time have caused it to take a back seat, which I’m fine with. Cookies and brownies are something I usually bake for my family most often to satisfy our sweet tooth. Birthday cakes were the usual things I’d bake for people back in the day. One-, two-, or even three-layer cakes in all shapes and designs were quite common. It’s something I still enjoy doing when I have the time.

What are your favorite blogs? What type of blogs do you usually read?

That’s tough because there are so many I enjoy. First, I’ll start with the types. The topics vary greatly: technology, blogging, personal, make money online tips, and so on. The blogs I look for first in GoogleReader are Brown Thoughts, ThingsByMike, and Garry Conn dot com.

What do you enjoy most about blogging?

The interaction I have with my readers and authors of blogs. When my posts go comment-less I feel slightly disappointed, but then there are times that the responses I get are overwhelming and they make up for it.

How many blogs do you have?

I currently have 10. Three of those I would categorize as social blogs. The rest are niche blogs whose primary purpose are to be found by search engines and for people to click on the ads.

What is the best feature on your blog?

I’d have to say the layout is clean and attractive. But equally as important (and evident) is the interaction I have with readers. I try to reply to every comment that readers leave. I never want them to think that their words have gone unnoticed or that they’re unappreciated.

Why do you blog?

A variety of reasons. The topics that my three social blogs focus on are parts of me that want to speak out. For example, MeAndMyDrum, allows me to voice my interests in technology and blogging as well as concerns over current events.

Another blog, Family WebWatch, which was my first blog, is centered around my interest in family and helping parents be more aware of the darker side of the Web. But it’s also about providing educational and entertaining things I find so that they and their children can have a more fulfilling online experience.

When you add it all up, it comes down to helping out others and learning from them.

Do you have any upcoming projects?

I think my primary focus for the short term is to get organized and not spread myself so thin. As I mentioned earlier, I have 10 blogs, but some of those I’ve neglected because I have allowed myself to be spread so thin. So I want to polish them up a bit. I’m also a contributing author on other blogs, so I’d like to get back into those (especially BAYB) once I feel I’ve got a firm handle on things.

Why did you start blogging?

Family WebWatch first started out as a website. I wanted to help educate parents on a topic that their kids were already experts in. Then I saw the benefit of transitioning to a blogging platform, which allowed me greater flexibility and a better way to communicate.

What are your goals?

To market my flagship blog, MeAndMyDrum, to a broader audience and increase my subscriptions. Get my niche blogs to a point where they generate a steady stream of income. And maybe some day, I can make blogging my full-time job.

Where do you get the majority of your traffic?

StumbleUpon, direct, Google, and Entrecard, in that order.

We’d love your opinions of BAYB, anything you’d like to share.

I think BAYB is doing a fine job of providing useful information to its readers. You have developed a strong following here and that’s something to be proud of. It’s also great that you offer it as a platform for bloggers like me to have another voice.

As mentioned in the interview we hope to have Mark more involved here again. Keep on the lookout from great posts from Mark Sierra.

Do you think you should be interviewed? Contact us and tell us why! Next weeks interview will be with Forest Parks.