Are You Kidding Me?

Two weeks ago, I registered with a new paid to post program that is actually a bidding marketplace. This has got to be the worst marketplace for me. Since the day my blogs were approved, I have yet to write even one post through them.

For one, when we submit our blogs, we have to set a value to our blogs. How high could I go with the STILL incorrect Technorati rankings?

Upon approval, we have to bid for the opportunity to review a product or website. From my experience, the advertisers who do not want you to post for them will decline you straightaway but those who are of two minds and would like to wait for a better offer will leave your bid pending for ages with no decision made to approve, reject or to make a counter offer.

There was this opportunity where the advertiser offered $10 per post. At a commission of 35% to be paid to the host, the blogger only gets $6.50. As the product was suitable for my blog and I was agreeable to the rate, I made a bid for it.

The advertiser made a counter offer for $4 and since I am only getting 65% of that price, I will only be getting $2.60. Are you kidding me? $2.60 for a 200 word review!?! No way, man.

I have written a 10-word post for $2.50 and 100-word posts for $2.80 but $2.60 for a 200-word post is a new low I do not wish to dip down to, even if the product is 101% relevant to my blog.

I did not even bother to make a re-offer to such an unreasonable advertiser. I know my blog’s value, although not much, is definitely worth more than $2.60 for a lifetime live link on a Google Page Rank 3 that will only go higher as time goes by.

Passion Blogs

I believe many of us have multiple blogs. A guy once told me that it is a bad idea to keep multiple blogs as I will have my attention divided and I will not be able to build my blog as well as I could if I only concentrate on a single blog.

Many people have even wondered WHY in the world one needs that many blogs when we could just clump everything into a blog and separate the various topics with something called Categories.

I guess this is not something that could be easily explained. I call these blogs my passion blogs. I write on specific topics on each blog and I write them because I am passionate about the subjects.

Many people think that we are keeping multiple blogs so that we can accept more offers of sponsored post. Personally, none of my passion blogs have sponsored posts, and I do not intend to publish any there.

These passion blogs are kept solely for my writing pleasure and I have no plans to monetize them save for the couple of Google AdSense codes, which I am so used to, I treat them like blog decoration.

Blogging In Advance

I write so many original posts per day on my blogs that I keep as drafts and set them to publish on specific dates on my WordPress powered blog while on my ** An Anonymous Journal ** I keep them as drafts and shaft them in between sponsored posts as and when required.

As a result, I do not actually remember what post is published and what are still in Draft.

Therefore, when I chat with my friends, I cannot even ask them to go and read my blog lah because what I have written does not equal to what I have published. Even I myself get confused by blogging in advance.

My train of thoughts is running faster than my fingers can type.

Meeting The Minimum Requirements Only

Last week, Ted of PPP tore a postie’s blog apart publicly on the PPP blog. Well, some thought it was bad taste, some said this is a good way for us posties to learn what to do and do them right, and what not to do lest we garner more bans from advertisers.

Anyway, the posties decided that it would be better to volunteer their blogs to be  dissected publicly instead of being targeted at like the first blogger.

From the first few blogs that were reviewed by the head himself, he was saying that their sponsored posts were meeting the minimum requirements ONLY. In the first place, I had thought that these advertisers are not really seeking advertisement on blogs, but rather buying links. The more popular a blog is, the higher the advertiser offers.

And the fact that we have to write a few paragraphs of words is because the search engines pick up text better if it was surrounded by text of similar subject. When I joined PPP, I understood that I am not writing and publishing sponsored posts to persuade my readers to click on the links of the advertisers. If they click on them due to genuine interest, then well and good, but if they did not, the value is still there on a Google Page Rank 3 blog.

However, does that mean that my blog will remain a three forever? No, the posts will still be there even if I managed to achieve a Google Page Rank of 5, for example. So what does it mean that most posts only meet the minimum requirement?

Writing sponsored posts reminds me of an old story. There was once when I was still in school and we were required to write an essay. My classmate wrote an essay, inserting “You are a jerk” right in the middle of the essay and the teacher gave her a large tick at the bottom of the page.

Where is the relevance? I don’t know. Writing sponsored posts just reminds me of that very funny episode.

AuctionAds

A few days ago, I received an invitation from Text Link Ads to implement AuctionAds on my blog. While this is another opportunity to monetize the blog, I wonder how relevant the ads will be.

Take for example my buddy, Cyberpartygal. She is an eBayer herself. Do you think that she will want to drive people to another eBay auction? I would think that for blogs like hers, it would be more logical to run her own product ad, using the free services of Auctiva Store and Slide.com, for example.

Even for my non-commercial blog, I would rather have visitors STAY on my blog and not go to a third party site even if I may be getting paid for that. How many people do you think will actually “take an action” at the eBay auction, which I take it to mean, “place a bid”.

I’m not known as a pessimist for nothing, though I rather think of myself as a realist.

Lost in CSS-ville

As you can see, my problems with WordPress plug-ins have finally been resolved. I asked so many people for help but none did. In the end, it was my blog host who helped me. I hate asking for help but boy, am so glad that the problems are over. I swear I am not going to add anything else to the blog. I would hate to keep asking for help. I realize since young that nobody will extend his help if there is no personal benefit. I am sad to say this but it is true.

I can understand if the people I asked have next to nothing knowledge on WordPress or Cascading Style Sheets but no, they even WORK in this line.

I know that people are busy with their own work but aren’t friends supposed to help a friend out? To my logic, if you snub me, then you do not treat me as a friend and hence you are not worthy of my friendship.

Recent Posts & Previous/Next Post

My head is getting bigger and bigger due to these two WordPress issues. I have been trying for the past two weeks to implement a column for Recent Posts on my sidebar and also Previous/Next Post links on my single post page.

Ah.. headache. I just wish there is somebody, anybody, who could help me with these issues once and for all. I am a user and not a creator. I only know how to use. Please help me with this!

Since last month, I have been rather disappointed with some people. Before that, there have been people who told me to go ahead and host my own blogs, they will help me with everything. Host I did, but where have those people gone to? They even brushed me aside brusquely.

I guess I have only myself to depend on. This is going to be one long lonely road to travel. I hate it but I am forced to do it. What stupidity.

Random Thoughts Off My Mind