BlogRush is of absolutely not use to my blog and I would not recommend using it. I have had the widget up for quite a few days now and guess how many visits it has sent me… 0!

So, basically I’m giving away free advertising on my site to others for nothing in return. Honestly, I’m not impressed with that, but its an example of trying to tweak a site. I thought it may work, it didn’t and as a result, I’m dropping it.

I know others have experienced success with the website but it just isn’t working for me. I think the principal is decent but I do not feel that the system is worth taking the space on your blog to display. This is a perfect example of finding out what fits for your blog. Although BlogRush may work well on others blogs, for me it isn’t.

As a result I would like to say, “Bon voyage BlogRush…”

On an unrelated note, I hope you guys are all having a great weekend!

Seriously, what is the Top Affiliate Challenge garbage! Here I was thinking that a decent internet show about affiliate marketing might have been created, then this disappointment shows up. Don’t get me wrong, I admire the idea behind the show, I just feel that the execution isn’t there.

Before I go into all the negatives, there are a few positives. One is that Thor actually got this thing going. It takes a lot of work to do something like this and kudos to him for doing it. Secondly, I think it is great that so many sponsors have put their faith into this project. Community involvement is key and I really like how the affiliate companies are supporting this show. I also think the idea for the show is cool and like the way a new episode comes out every day. I also think that there is a lot of heart in the show. The producers do want it to succeed they just have to resolve some issues. I think as the show goes on a lot of the issues I talk about below may be resolved. With any project there are bumps at the begging and I hope they can be fixed.

That being said, I do have quite a few problems with the show at the moment. The quality of the film is horrible. Seriously, the show looks like it edited it in windows movie maker. The show is roughly cut together with frames just fading in and out.

The show is poorly put together. The host is reading off a script and not doing a good job of it. Although it is a reality show, it seems horribly scripted. Like when Jason came into the room in episode 2 (yes I actually watched it), I just groaned and rolled over. A scripted reality show, doesn’t that sort of defeat some of the purpose of the show?

While the intentions for a great show may be there, it simply is not put together well. Also, you want an internet reality show, yet you don’t want to make it look good. The Next Internet Millionare looked good. Thor you were on that show, maybe you should take a few pointers from how Joel Comm produced it.

I have also not learned one thing about affiliate marketing in the first two episodes. All I saw were some companies come up talk about their offers, a bunch of people talk smack and then a few peoples thoughts. Honestly, it can only get better from here… (I sincerely hope it does)

Finally, Wes from Tracking202 pointed out, whoever runs their site forgot to .htacess the video folder. If you want to see episode 3 before it comes out and every next episode (unless they fix it), just follow the link: http://208.87.32.10/ (EDIT: They’ve now fixed this, but I’ve already watched an episode that wasn’t supposed to be out, and so have a lot of other people…). C’mon that is just sloppy. Also, if you say episodes will be up at 1 PM CST, they should be up at 1 PM CST not like 3 or 4 PM CST. If you can’t keep the promise, don’t publish it.

To leave you off with some video, my buddy Ian Fernando (a contestant on the show) made a video that I am posting below. I think other contestants may catch on to what he thinks and the show will go from internet reality to internet comedy.

What do YOU think of the Top Affiliate Challenge

- end rant -

Carl - BeABetterBlogger.com - What would you say the single most hardest thing is being a blogger?

Well Carl, I’d say the single hardest thing is finding enough time for it all. There is so much to do with a blog and so little time, you just have to keep working at it!

Rajaie AlKorani - What do you usually with the money you make online?

I honestly re-invest about 75% of it, I take out enough that I can have money for life, but money makes more money, so investing is always a good option. You want to maintain your online earnings.

Nick Throlson – Are There Any Side Projects You Are Working On ?

A affiliate marketing campaign comes to mind as well as a few websites I’ve been meaning to develop for a while but life keeps me pretty busy! I do make money online in any way I know how to, so new ideas are always popping into my head, there is just not enough time for them all…

How to DIY - I want to know if you can share some hints, tips, methods, or voodoo tricks for link generation. In the very near future I am trying to hit this hard and drive more traffic to my site.

I can but this will be a bit short (might need to elaborate in a post soonish). Firstly, there is a great Do-Follow blogs list, that is definitely worth checking out! Next, I’d recommend internal linking. Many pass over its benefits, build depth to your site that search engines can follow. Thirdly, I would also write content that is “linkbait”, write content that is fresh and provocative and promote it. You’d be surprised at what can happen!

Jay - iBlogtoBlog.com - Would you be willing to show us one of your landing pages? Also, how much do you earn from affiliate marketing on a monthly basis?

Unfortunately, those will have to stay with me for now…

Mr. Javo - I would like to know what do you think to do, to win the blogging contest idol

I am going to do what I’ve done so far, write great content. I will be promoting my content a bit more this month but honestly, I’m taking a passive approach to the whole contest. I will not cheat or fake any stats, I figure growth is good and this contest is a great incentive for many to grow their blogs (including myself).

Forest - How many times a week do you recommend you write on a new blog?

As many as you have time for. The reason I say this is you want to start to build a consistent post schedule. So pick a number you think you can hit, and start posting that, be consistent. It’s not about who can churn out the most content in the first 2 weeks, its about who can maintain their flow of quality, new content.

Big Ben Patton - What is the most effective tactic for a pre sale in an email marketing campaign for information products?

Ben, I haven’t done much email marketing, but I would have to say that I’m a big fan of “free”. Nothing sells like something that is “free”. What I mean by that is throw in some bonuses or a free e book/product at the purchase point that would be bundled along with your offer (signup for this offer and get a free book, or whatever), I am assuming at this point that you own the product you are selling… This will increase conversions and make the consumer feel like they are getting a “deal”.

With so many new readers, I want to give you all a chance to speak your mind. Ask anything you want and I shall do my best to answer. Come on guys, lay it on me

Stats

Monthly Unique Visitors: 6,406 Unique Visitors
Old numbers: 10,708 Unique Visitors
RSS: 123 readers
Old numbers: 106 readers
Technorati Rank: 56,385
Old rank: 45,762
Alexa Rank: 191,934
Old rank: 232,526
Monthly Revenue for this blog: $187.86
Ad and review sales: $75
Affiliate commission: $112.86

Traffic and RSS

As you can see our unique visitors dropped over 4,000 this month. This is because I cut out a lot of my StumbleUpon traffic as well as a bit of the Mixx traffic in order to bring the average time on the website as well as the pages/view up. As a result there are less people per day coming to the site but the quality of the visitor is up. Our Alexa is also finally climbing back up. I hope it will break 125k by the end of this month (July). Our Technorati fell slightly for some reason but I expect to see it bounce back shortly. RSS wise there was slow positive growth that will hopefully continue throughout this month as well.

Earnings

This month the blogs earnings skyrocketed. Private ad sales stayed the same but the ral difference was the affiliate commissions. There were a few miscellaneous affiliate commissions that totalled $48 earnings for this blog. The other source was the MarketLeverage affiliate program. My affiliates made me a whopping $64.86 this month. Hopefully you guys can keep it up in July and keep earning! Next month I will hopefully build on this income and bring it up to $200 for the month.

Wrap-Up

Although the month was slightly slower than I would have liked in traffic terms, the earnings made up for it. The blog is turning a profit and that is always a good thing. Thank you to everyone for being a Moneybites reader and I will continue to enjoy hearing from you guys as I publish more content