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BlogRush - The Mighty “Phase 2″ | ||
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 UPDATE: Tuesday, October 16th: We’re experiencing a delay with some minor server issues. We are working on them and will start releasing Phase 2 piece-by-piece very soon. Thanks for your patience. BlogRush will soon unleash PHASE 2 of its network. This is a MAJOR update. The service is not even 30 days old, yet we’re about to release more changes than most Internet startups do in their first 6 months. Here Are Some Of The Changes - New User Interface More options, more reporting, more features. Here’s a “spy photo” of what the new Dashboard looks like:  - Per Post Statistics & Addition Of “Buzz Meter” Now you’ll be able to see how many times each of your posts is syndicated across the network and how many people clicked to read that individual post. Next to the statistics for each post you’ll see a “Buzz Meter.” This new meter will tell you if that post is HOT, COLD, or somewhere in between. The meter ‘temperature’ is calculated based on the average click-rates per headline for your blog’s category. This data, if used properly, can be extremely valuable for your blog — you’ll be able to know what types of posts are getting the most attention in your blog’s niche. - Custom Reports You’ll be able to run custom reports and view your account activity by specific date ranges. - Bonus Syndication For All Users, But Weighted Towards Low-Traffic Members All members of our network will be receiving bonus syndication but we’ll be giving more bonus credits to our members that need it most — ones with low-traffic. - More Categories! (A lot more) We’re introducing tons of new categories to our network. You asked, we listened. We’ll be adding a lot more sub-categories and niche topics; this will help our users’ widgets serve more relevant headlines for their own blog readers as well as increase the click activity on their own headlines shown across the network. - Improved Security & Abuse Measures (We’ve already squashed 95% of the cheaters!) We’ll be rolling out improved security measures, but we’re happy to report that we’ve eliminated about 95% of the cheaters in our network. We’re sure to continue to get a few new ones ‘trying’ from time to time, but we’ll work hard to zap them as quickly as possible. - 100% Manual Review & New Quality Guidelines We’ve already launched our Manual Review process… all new users as of today (and for good) will have their blogs manually reviewed BEFORE the widget will even load on their pages. Their posts will not be syndicated across the network until they are APPROVED and meet our Quality Guidelines. If they are not approved the widget will not load on their pages and none of their content will ever be syndicated on the network. We’re almost finished with manually reviewing all the existing blogs in our network. We should be done with this massive ‘audit’ within about 7 days. As soon as we complete this full audit there will be a MAJOR SWEEP of our entire network. All the blogs that don’t meet our quality criteria will be REMOVED from our network. Say goodbye to all the non-English blogs, junk blogs, and any low-quality blogs you may have seen from time-to-time in the widget. We are committed to maintaining the highest level of INTEGRITY and QUALITY for our network. We know that you only want great blog posts and resource links showing up inside the widget you serve on your blog and we’ll do everything we can to maintain that. It will now be a PRIVILEDGE for a blog to be accepted into our network. - Widget Performance Monitoring One of the biggest contributors to some of our low, average click-through rates (i.e. less traffic for our members) is due to some of our members giving the widget POOR PLACEMENT on their blogs. Some of our members have placed the BlogRush widget at the very bottom of their blog templates, or very low where most of their visitors don’t even see it. THIS IS ABOUT TO COME TO AN END. The BlogRush system is based on TWO things: QUALITY and FAIRNESS. On the “quality” side of things we have it covered — manually reviewing all blogs against quality guidelines, and continuing to improve headline relevance; through more categories and better technology. But the “fairness” element is one that we haven’t really had to address… until now. We are adding Widget Performance Monitoring to our network. If a member’s natural widget performance (the rate at which visitors click headlines and other factors we aren’t making public) falls far below the average activity of other members in their category… THIS MEMBER WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE BLOGRUSH NETWORK. We are working on something that might give members with poor widget performance a “warning” to let them know they are in danger of being removed from the network; which will give them a chance to give the widget better placement on their blog so they can, hopefully, rectify the situation and remain a member of the network. We are not going to require our members to place the widget at the very top of their blogs or put it in any specific location. However, it’s common sense that if someone places the widget where normal visitors aren’t going to see it much, that they will achieve poor widget performance — and will most likely be removed from the network. DO YOU HAVE THE WIDGET PLACED REALLY LOW ON YOUR BLOG? If so, you need to move it higher on your blog to give it better placement. Don’t want to do that? THEN PLEASE REMOVE IT COMPLETELY. As I said, BlogRush was designed as a FAIR system. There’s a reason it was created as a COOPERATIVE network. It’s so its members can work together to generate more targeted readers for their blogs. But this system doesn’t work if all members aren’t contributing at least somewhat equally. Why should any member give the widget high placement if other members are not going to? And yet those other members stand to receive the SAME REWARDS? It’s just not fair and, therefore, we have no choice but to make this change. So any member that’s only willing to put the BlogRush widget at the very bottom of their blog isn’t a member we want in our network — and our network will deliver more traffic, per member, without them. UPDATE: We’ve heard from several members that are unable to give the widget higher placement because of their narrow blog design. We’re trying to create a solution. OTHER THINGS WE’RE WORKING ON… We’ll be adding more features and additions beyond this giant Phase 2 roll-out. More customization options for the widget. New syndication methods and features for generating even more traffic. And much, much more. And, oh yeah, there’s also the upcoming release of TrafficJam.com that instantly benefits all members of BlogRush — but we’re not quite ready to let the cat out of the bag on that one. Stay tuned. SPECIAL NOTE: This major Phase 2 roll-out is taking a bit longer than we originally expected, but we hope to have it completely released within 7 days. Thanks to everyone for their patience — I told you it would be worth the wait.
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« I Must Be The Next Britney Spears | Phase 2 Feedback » |
October 8th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Wow John..this was totally worth the wait. I am especially excited about the Buzz Meter and Bonus Syndication. The Buzz Meter will basically be free marketing research to see what posts are viewed as the most informative to my target market. I am a pretty low traffic blog as well so the Bonus Syndication to us lower-traffic blogs is much appreciated by me and I’m sure by all the small blogs out there. I also appreciate the addition of more categories, but was wondering if it was possible to be listed under two categories? My blog provides content relating to both sports and music. Because of this, I filed myself under entertainment so I wouldn’t have to chose one or the other. Having the ability to be listed under both would be a huge help for me. Thanks.
October 8th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
I’m looking forward to seeing the changes as they come. I’m still getting my trickle of
visitors via Blogrush, who are all welcome, and I’m looking forward to this increasing
as the changes come about.
I have one question. I’m setting up a new blog at the moment. I put my first post
on it yesterday. One of the first things I did after that was to add the blog to my
blogrush account and insert a widget. I see that you now have a verification process
set up. Once the widget code is placed on the site you click the verify button. Anyway
when I added the widget and clicked on verify the result came back that my blog
was rejected.
Was this because the blog was too new or didn’t have enough posts, or was it just
some malfunction where it didn’t read the code on my blog? I’m just curious really.
October 8th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Cool beans.
October 8th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Will be looking forward to waiting another 7 days
This whole fairness thing, does it mean your widget does need to appear above the fold, or just somewhere that it is like to be seen, and clicked (so can be under the fold too) ?
Good luck rolling things out!
October 8th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
SEAN - it means your new blog was reviewed and didn’t meet the quality guidelines. Not enough posts is one of the new guidelines. So you’ll want to resubmit it after 30 days and when you have at least 10-12 posts.
KOEN - no, it doesn’t necessarily mean your widget must appear above the fold.
October 8th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Nice dashboard layout–very spiffy!
October 8th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
John,
It all looks GREAT to me, but one
small question for the woefully
ignorant, but climbing (climbing
due to my membership to the
Reece Report which is a STEAL
for what you charge vs what
you get) -
I still don’t know
how to get the widget into
the sidebar and the original
tuturial said another tutorial
would be available to show
how to put the widget in via
‘themes’ on wordpress.
Without this I have the widget in the only
place I could get it, so although
I know in the big scheme of things
a small thing like this is not a priority,
but without that info my widget would
be removed per the new and GOOD
guidelines…
Is there a new tuturial coming out for
the newbie and ignorant, but willing
such as me?
Thanks!
Thad Winston
October 8th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
[…] won’t get into all of the details of the new release because you can take a look at Phase 2 of Blog Rush on the income.com blog where everything is laid out for all to see. I did however want to touch on all the new things we […]
October 8th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
[…] Reese has announced Phase 2 of BlogRush at his Income.com […]
October 8th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
[…] we have some great news from John Reese regarding BlogRush. We must be patient another 7 days, but it worth. I list below […]
October 8th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
I kicked it up a notch — the widget, that is.
October 8th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
[…] Share This […]
October 8th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Wow, what great news! I’ve verified every day if BlogRush is back. And now I’m very glad about your announcements. So glad, that I write quickly a post about this
October 8th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Good job JR !
October 8th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
John Help Please? My Credits Earned Today arnt showing up as of today?
Credits Earned Today: -
Credits Earned Last 7 Days: 4,909
Your Traffic Today: -
Your Traffic Last 7 Days 1,809
Total Referrals In Your Network: 22
Referral Traffic Today: -
Referral Traffic Last 7 Days: 3,100
October 8th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
My blog is on my own domain, but I use a Wordpress theme. My BlogRush widget is down close to the bottom because that was the only area it would work when I entered the code into my sidebar template. Any suggestions? I don’t want to get deleted because of this. Thanks!
October 8th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
[…] Reese has posted another update regarding the status of his Blog Rush widget. It is long and talks about all the great features and I’m pretty excited about the […]
October 8th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
I know that some people arn’t getting their blog to show up. But people you cant just crap on there. Just so you know John. I have visited some of the blog from the widget and they are hopeless.
Some people just realize that you cant put cr@p up and expect blogrush to accept it. If you want to get noticed build a big blog with great content, not some piddly lil advertising place full of advertising spam and adsense.
I can see now why John is getting fed up with some of these people. The cheats and spammers think that they will overun the place, But think again. Just build a nice loooking blog and you will get noticed…the others can leave.
October 8th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Wow, looks nice. My BlogRush widget was almost near the top, but I was wondering if you could have two or more widgets, or are you only allowed one? Two or more widgets would allow more blogs to be advertised, or at least, a variable widget that allowed you to specify more than 5 blogs to be featured would be nice.
October 8th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
[…] my BlogRush dashboard, for what could be the last time; lo and behold, there’s an update! The update post has some teaser screenshots of the “new and improved” BlogRush dashboard. Mind you, […]
October 8th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
I figured out the Widgets on my theme editor and I was able to move my BlogRush widget up further on the sidebar!
October 8th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
we’re getting some good quality traffic. My members signup asks how people found us and several now have said “blogrush”.
Also one new client — that’s $10,000 baby!
Considering I only invested about $400 to advertise the widget to get affiliates originally, I’d say I did pretty damn good!
thanks Mr. Reese!
Victory ( http://www.WorldVisionEntrepreneurs.org)
October 8th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Excellent!
October 8th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
only needs changes cos its so fucking useless.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
ah my last bit didnt get through
“less than sign” 0.5 ctr - ffs!
October 8th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
I’m looking forward to the changes. Blogrush have been running smoothe on my blog, I noticed in my stats I have been getting quite some clicks, compared to the page impression, it could be higher but that’s what testing is all about…
Terrance Charles
http://www.terrancecharles.com/blog
October 8th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
I’ll be looking forward to this.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
ooo… it will really look nice
hope to finish it ASAP
October 8th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
It would be a LOT EASIER TO GIVE GOOD PLACEMENT to the blogrush widget if you followed common sizing guidelines like the ones google ads use. Most layouts are designed for a 160 wide side column, NOT 175.
So until you give your users what they need . . .
byebye Blogrush.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Wow! Great tools John but you should release it soon. I cant access my dashboard. I think the wait is too long.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
I have to put the widget lower on the page bcase it breaks the layout if I try to put it in the sidebar. I’m sure I’m not alone. How about making the widget resizable before you throw out everybody with narrow sidebars?
October 8th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
[…] of useless pages filled with their widget, John Reese is sending out emails to Blog Rush users to tell them “if you’re not promoting us…you’re […]
October 8th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Hey John,
This is great news! Thanks for this wonderful service. Currently I have my widget above the fold on the right hand side. I think it’s decent placement. You’re welcome to check it out if you want. I’m hoping that it can drive some traffic to my marketing blog (I could really use it). Thanks again, and I’m happy to be a member of BlogRush!
October 8th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Naturalhealthwellness is the natural way to health and wellness and is Scripturally based.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Thanks, John! Congrats to the dev team.
2xKnight: I put mine on top. It depends on your css layout. How did you do yours?
October 8th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
I’ve written an email about this, but you have to understand that the widget is really big right now. The reason it’s low on some of my sites is that it just won’t fit into the ui. Most of my nav columns are about 120 px wide. The widget is 180 px wide. Give me the option to resize it and I’ll put it right there in a prominent spot. Leave it as big as it is and I don’t have much of a choice. A choice between prominent placement and screwing up my navigation is no choice at all.
Thanks for the custom color addition. That helped. But this is even more important.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Let me know when you work out a deal with wordpress.com.
i signed up for your service then discovered that WP.com doesn’t allow widgets with java for security reasons and now I
can’t use BlogRush.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
Healthy Nerd: We shouldn’t have to redesign our entire template around this tool. It’s only an iframe. Allowing different sizes would be easy. Until that’s done, it will remain on the bottom of my pages. Make a 125px wide version, and I’ll put it above the fold on every one of my sites.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
I think you need to rethink your placement theory. I purposely placed my
widget towards the bottom so it would come up with individuals posts that are
search results. By placing it this way, my widget is seen by many more thousands of
page viewers than if I put it as far up toward the top of my blog as I would like it.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
I’d really like to know if we’ll get penalized or banned for clicking on our own widgets? I don’t know how many of my visitors have clicked on my blogrush widget, but I have clicked on it everytime I’ve seen an interesting headline. I’ve added quite a few new blogs because of this, to my reader.
I ask, because other traffic and marketing solutions WILL penalize you if you click on your own widget or even refresh too many times.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
this looks like a great innovation, I am waiting for you to get this up and running.
bazpas.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Just thought I’d weigh in as well so you’d know…
I’m having issues fitting it into my UI as well… too large for my columns…
other sizes would be nice…
gregw
October 8th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
JACK - I just updated the post with a little note in RED. We’re going to see what we can do about users like you with narrow designs.
BRONWEN - if that placement ends up giving the widget high visibility then your widget’s individual performance should be high; thus you have nothing to worry about. Like I said, it’s not necessarily about a specific placement.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
what do you mean by “this week”?
October 8th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Are you tired of “opportunities” that sound too good to be true, cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, or turn out to be just another SCAM? I am too…SO I did something about it by spending months 10/7 researching Internet Biz-Ops to write my blog. “Do not be to quick to spend money and don’t be pressured into it.” Everything you see here, in my blog, I did for FREE and now you can too. NO HYPE, JUST FACTS. If you are a newbie, frustrated, burned out or just broke this is where you belong.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
The standard sizing is a really good point. You should relaly make the widget fit standard sizes, and/or offer a range of sizes.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
Wow… that’s good news… Have been going to the members page everyday for updates. Finally… the long awaited information…
Thumbs up to John
October 8th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
I am not getting the widget to show up properly, although the title is showing up, near the page top and anywhere else.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Awesome updates John. After the first week of usage with BlogRush I wasn’t holding out much hope for it, it seemed like such an awesome idea that just wasn’t working. But these updates look fantastic and I think BlogRush should become a very lucrative thing. Thank You.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
this new changes look great. I hope to see more traffic to my blog soon
October 8th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Yahooooooooooooo!
I’m really looking forward to
seeing all the enhancements.
Thanks for all your hard work
to bring the best BlogRush
forth!! It’s appreciated.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
This sounds awesome all around…I can’t wait!
Bradley
The Egel Nest
October 8th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
looking forward to the narrower blogrush widget - can’t wait to get started!
kathryn
http://www.homereporter.co.uk
October 8th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Cool, I am looking forward to see better changes from BlogRush; thanks for sending some great traffic to my blog. Keep it up!
October 8th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
I have joined it.But I can not login in.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
John,
Seems like kicking out members is the wrong way to go. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have a function that weights the number of clicks due to placement. Then using this function to determine how many times the advertisement is displayed on the network.
I.E. IF the placement is less than average, it should count against them for incoming traffic, but I think kicking them off the network is going to be frowned upon.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Wow! I love changes especially to the better one.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Thanks John for the hard work for the new features!
October 8th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Greetings all, well cool to that we say, we are happy with the network so far and now that we have eyes again more the better.
I can say I will be blogging the efforts later on my blog and showing the great results we have seen so far over at managedspaces.
launch beta 2.0 good luck John.
have a B L O G G I N G good day!
October 8th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
Hi John,
That is some crazy amount of development in such a short time. Great job! It really shows your commitment to this project and to the blogging community.
Take care and I know you won’t need good luck because you make your own,
Rod
October 8th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Good job John. Keep the pace.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
Fantastic! Congratulations on the changes and THANKS!
October 8th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
widgets with different sizes and dimensions will be a great feature.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
To Quote:
“The service is not even 30 days old, yet we’re about to release more changes than most Internet startups do in their first 6 months.”
However true that is, many come more prepared and with a longer testing period, I dont know SEO and/or blogging much but to me, it appears things we’re rushed on the basis of “net buzz” thus the system was not even close to ready - my opinion
On the flip side, nice to see progression continue.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
I really like the manual review feature It’ll defintely save people’s time
Thanks John
October 9th, 2007 at 12:01 am
Given the comments made about displaying the widget in a more prominent position. I shifted it up the page.
Not QUITE above the fold, but I managed to get JR’s name visible!
Steve
October 9th, 2007 at 12:02 am
Wow, the new dashboard sure is useful, and it looks good!
October 9th, 2007 at 12:04 am
I would gladly place the widget higher on my blog, but there are two problems:
1) I have a 3 column template and the widget is too wide to place in the sidebar where it would best go.
2) The colors look awful with my blog.
If only there was fundamental customization available… as has been asked for since Day 1.
Telling me where to place the widget is a pretty ballsy move for a product that’s been basically broken since day 1.
Good luck with your project, I wish you sincere success. But I’ll be joining the cadre of people removing Blog Rush.
October 9th, 2007 at 12:07 am
Thanks for the hard work.
I would like to suggest that we have several designs on the widget, such as thinner borders, different border designs, and a Flash version.
It will be good if you can also include a way to sell or give credit between members.
Thanks!
October 9th, 2007 at 12:11 am
More power to BlogRush. Keep the creative juices flowing. BlogRush PHASE 2 is good news to new blogger like me.
October 9th, 2007 at 12:13 am
I know what all of us are thinking. Why couldn’t I have been this smart about 5 years ago?
You guys are the sh!t.
Great concept and great help to my websites. I hope you all die buried in unmarked 1$ bills.
You guys rock.
Thanks.
October 9th, 2007 at 12:14 am
Keep Up The Good Work! BlogRush Rocks!
Regards,
Jack Lan
http://www.lanzijun.com ( Add me as your friend)
October 9th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Hi John,
I know Blogrush has increased my viewings considerably.
I’m one of those people who tend to meander a bit with my blogs
and quite honestly have not enjoyed the benefit of ‘natural’ traffic
until recently.
This HAS to be down to Blogrush so I thank you for this amazing
concept, and the fact that it’s free.
I do surf quite a bit using solely the blogrush template on my blogs,
(refreshing constantly). It’s a shame that there are still quite a few
who think the system is designed purely to promote their affiliate
links etc.
Good luck, and thanks again,
Pete
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
October 9th, 2007 at 12:24 am
O_o This is starting to smell like burning
October 9th, 2007 at 12:32 am
But I still cant install the widget!
Where did I go wrong?
I do hope I’m not going to be removed because this blog is really about tips and hints for writing websites - not all people are born journalists, and know-how is helpful
October 9th, 2007 at 12:33 am
Hey, this seems super!
Good work - keep it up!
October 9th, 2007 at 12:33 am
[…] more here. 09 Oct 07 | Web Building « Mind […]
October 9th, 2007 at 12:37 am
Hmm… this will be a little unfair. There are blogs whose lower position is more attractable than being in the middle (if not the top).
There are also blogs where the visitors scroll down and thus the lower portion gets more frequent attention. In reality, these blogs actually gave BlogRush a good position. Removing these blogs from the network is very unfair if they gave BlogRush a very good spot.
The notion of “lowest position = less viewed” is half-a-decade old. It doesn’t work for blogs, as these blogs are meant to be read, to be browsed, to scroll-down. That’s what a blog is for, so the lowest position gets more attention than the middle.
This is just my view, but as someone who reads more blogs than websites, I notice more of the lower portion than the middle. In fact, I don’t even care about the middle part of the sidebars. It’s the TOP and BOTTOM that I look at.
It is sad if us who actually are giving fair treatment to the widget will be removed. In any case, it is still unclear how you can all “manually” check the “quality” of the thousands or millions of blogs in your network. Also, “quality” judgment is impossible to be perfect or be even “fair” at all. It is “human” judgment. That will be very bias towards the reviewer.
I’ve seen services like that before, and almost all of the time, the same site is accepted - removed - accepted - removed - accepted depending on who is reviewing the site.
Please clear your “manual” review and clear this “bottom positioning” problem.
October 9th, 2007 at 12:37 am
I’m looking forward to these changes! I’ll see what I can do to get the blog at the top of the fold, but we may be limited. Maybe you can submit your widget to typepad’s widgetbox? http://www.sixapart.com/typepad/widgets/
October 9th, 2007 at 12:42 am
I LOVE Blogrush!!!
Its the best thing EVER that iv come across to do with increasing blog traffic!!!!!
And love it how they are going to treat everyone the same, not treating others better with higher traffic !!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.CashHints.blogspot.com
October 9th, 2007 at 12:44 am
John ty for fixing my stats much appreciated. I think your right and I moved my widget to top . Its now under my recent posts and it blends in perfectly. I think google is going to buy your widget idea. Looks way better than a blog roll. In fact I spent allot of time now reading blogs that show up on my widget. You guys are visionarys rock on bro!
October 9th, 2007 at 12:46 am
Yah! A way to reach BlogRush - hope someone reads this.. found no contact on your site..
I want to add the widget but it is TOO WIDE for my blog. I have narrow columns and it
screws up the whole symmetry
Can you please offer a narrower widget?
Thanks!
October 9th, 2007 at 12:59 am
Excellent work..this is one thing that i’m sure people are expected…
October 9th, 2007 at 1:06 am
Wow, I had no idea you guys are this young. When I signed up it already felt like it was well-established and super popular. And now this massive upgrade. You guys are awesome! Hope to benefit even more as you guys keep getting better and better.
October 9th, 2007 at 1:09 am
http://www.freehotvideos.blogspot.com
http://www.friendsforevernews.blogspot.com
http://www.sexyocean.blogspot.com
open this all latest newss.
October 9th, 2007 at 1:10 am
@Andrea; The Contact form is at the button of this page called “Contact Income.com”
October 9th, 2007 at 1:22 am
[…] when it came to town, and I’m not going to start promoting it now, but I feel like this announcement might be worth a […]
October 9th, 2007 at 1:23 am
Hi,
This is good news John…
Please take me as a reviewer, kevin…
Anish
October 9th, 2007 at 1:25 am
As amtog said, I also want your system to work with the many quality blogs hosted at Wordpress.com. Please make it happen.
October 9th, 2007 at 1:26 am
Hey John, Any chance of an Extreme sports category & a Surfing Category?
Many thanks, PP……..
October 9th, 2007 at 1:28 am
[…] here is BlogRush - The Mighty “Phase 2″ Filed under Internet Marketing by Anita Permalink • Print • Email […]
October 9th, 2007 at 1:28 am
John - about widget placement:
My blog income is dependent on my few product sales and AdSense clicks (diddly though those amounts are). You aren’t taking into account that probably most of us bloggers would prefer that visitors clicked on OUR product links or AdSense links, and not depart from our blogs by clicking on some other blog link. While most of us legitimate bloggers write about stuff we are interested in, most of us probably aren’t doing it “just for our health”, and want some income. That is why the low placement positions of the widgets.
Are you just looking for blogs that are just for “ego-boo”, saying look at me and my babies or drunken friends?
Now, with BlogRush, maybe we will get more visitors, but what good is that if they click away to some other blog? How would we determine the tradeoff between more visitors, but less value per visitor with BlogRush, vs. fewer visitors, but more likely to provide some income by us not having BlogRush?
There has to be some sort of tradeoff between putting the widget where it will be the first thing someone sees and so clicks away (at the top), or where a visitor is more likely to see our product or AdSense ads first and clicks away giving us some income.
Regards,
David Bean
October 9th, 2007 at 1:33 am
I must say I have had the widget up for a week or two now and cannot identify one single verifiable visit to my blog(s) that I can attribute to Blogrush. OK, maybe I have small traffic and maybe I need to think about headlines etc. But still… How do I actually know I am getting traffic from Blogrush - does Blogrush allow the http referrer? Should we see Blogrush appearing as the referrer in our stats? Or the referring site? Either way, until we get comprehensive stats I am totally in the dark.
October 9th, 2007 at 1:34 am
Wow!! Can’t wait for it! Really looks great and as the others say - will be well worth the wait!
October 9th, 2007 at 1:35 am
Remember when you launched flavours? You didn’t really. Everybody got an email saying blogrush new color schemes, but they wouldn’t be available for a few more days. Same thing now. You have a huge list of updates and features that will be available in 7 days or so. Why do you keep teasing us? Most companies only announce changes when they are ready to be used.
These premature announcements are annoying. Fix your problems and then let me know about it… you guys have been under construction since you ‘launched’.
October 9th, 2007 at 1:39 am
I use wordpress and therefore can’t use your blogrush service…looking forward to doing so once you get WP on board…
October 9th, 2007 at 1:43 am
[…] http://www.income.com/blog/2007/10/08/blogrush-phase-2/ […]
October 9th, 2007 at 1:45 am
But for the not english user?
October 9th, 2007 at 1:52 am
A little over a week ago, a similar German-only service has started: Blogfever.de. Within DAYS, they added color customization for every item, and after ONE WEEK users have an optional “professional mode” with almost full control using their own CSS. No Iframe, no width constraints. Now how about that?
(You can see its widget on my blog if you switch to “deutsch” (top blue bar), then it’s on the right below the RSS icons as “Themenverwandter Linktausch”.)
October 9th, 2007 at 1:57 am
http://bagyam1953.googlemp.hop.clickbank.net
I wish to promote the above site and would like others to follow to lucarative potential.
October 9th, 2007 at 2:11 am
[b]UPDATE: We’ve heard from several members that are unable to give the widget higher placement because of their narrow blog design. We’re trying to create a solution.[/b]
I’ll be waiting for that; I can’t place the widget other than on the bottom because of that.
Maybe customizable sizes for the widget (for example like AdSense) ?
October 9th, 2007 at 2:19 am
I was a bit concerned to read that you would not approve a blog if it didn’t have a lot of posts. I’m just now in the process of setting up a new blog and I added the widget precisely to help me start getting traffic.
In fact, I’ve loaded the blog up with about 20 posts datestamped to appear at intervals over the next month or so. When your checkers check my blog and it’s only showing 3-4 posts, will they remove my widget?
October 9th, 2007 at 2:20 am
Will be well worth the wait!
October 9th, 2007 at 2:31 am
the new Dashboard looks interesting…can’t wait!
October 9th, 2007 at 2:31 am
I have up loaded blogrush to all my blogs and it doesn’t show up and I’ve dne everything right.???
October 9th, 2007 at 2:32 am
“UPDATE: We’ve heard from several members that are unable to give the widget higher placement because of their narrow blog design. We’re trying to create a solution.”
Variable height would be good too. For example, we could specify a width and choose how many articles are exposed (perhaps 3 to 10) .
October 9th, 2007 at 2:43 am
Oh BlogRush, if I had a fair skin, I would probably be blushing. No, am black, am Nigerian, am proud to be on BlogRush.
Ok, back to serious business.
October 9th, 2007 at 2:43 am
It is nice to know that BlogRush team is working hard and introduce improvements for the benefit of the members, but I do not quite agree with the widget performance monitoring. It says that if the click through rate is low compared to others in the same categories, the widget will be removed. This is not fair to those who are new to blogging. Their click through rate will definitely be lower compared to the old timers. Talking about fairness. This is definitely not fair.
October 9th, 2007 at 2:49 am
Is there somewhere we can see the blog requirements for acceptance. Like the 10-12 articles etc?
Thanks
October 9th, 2007 at 2:57 am
[…] some of the changes: -New User Interface from Blog Rush Official the new dashboard will be look like […]
October 9th, 2007 at 2:58 am
I posted on the last update topic about people putting the widget at the bottome of a blog page. it is a slap in the face to other BR users. So it is great to know that your finding away to fix this issue. great job as always.
October 9th, 2007 at 3:12 am
Very excited about the new developments!!
October 9th, 2007 at 3:20 am
Bob Meyer, blogrush work fine on wordpress blog
Blogrush shd introduce, 120px width widget. This fits most of the sites. Present size is
too big to fit on sidebars… also u can look for scrolling wigdet options
October 9th, 2007 at 3:20 am
Great idea kicking out all the users whose blog referral rate is below the average. Keep going and there’ll be one user left.
October 9th, 2007 at 3:21 am
I know wishing doesn’t do anything but I wish I had your brains/money. I have never seen so much ‘good stuff’ come out of a free service launch ever! Keep going, its all good.
Phill
October 9th, 2007 at 3:24 am
Question : WHEN!?!?!
And probably it’ll be good if we can customize text size and widget height/width. hrmm……. too much to ask for i guess.
Again, this upgrade exercise is damaging to BlogRush. I found it interesting when it was launched but after that………. -_-
So John, do you have an ETA?
October 9th, 2007 at 3:29 am
I dont get much traffic yet as my blog is very new. If you penalise those with below average blogrush clicks are you not penalising those who need your help the most?
October 9th, 2007 at 3:31 am
I do not get much traffic either, my blog being new and not well advertised.
Maybe with this new system even small publisher like us can make us of the beta version of the widget.
October 9th, 2007 at 3:35 am
[…] I got an email from Blog Rush… Informing me of John Reese’s Post on Blog Rush The Mighty “Phase 2″ […]
October 9th, 2007 at 3:40 am
While your upgrades sound promising, I have some issues with your decision to police where I decide to place the widget on my site.
Why don’t you take a little time and prove that the updates and added categories will actually generate some traffic for me before you decide to tell me where it should go. As of yet, I haven’t seen a single click, so why should I bump it up and replace my proven revenue and traffic generating links with your obnoxious looking widget? Show me some stats and results, then maybe you can get an attitude about it. This isn’t pay per click…
October 9th, 2007 at 3:53 am
Yeah…the new user interface looks great, but it’s really not important about the placement of the widget! At least the widget’s getting put on the blog…or your going to find that you’ll soon see a decline and people just removing their blog.
And the fact that you have to have at least 10 posts now! Does that mean me with 3 posts on my blog is suddendly going to have it removed? I think if thats the case then I might just remove my blog myself…it will save your guys the trouble!
And that’s well said IM Junkie! Goldfires…your absolutely right there!
That’a all I’ve got to say on the subject at this point and time John…but I thought income.com was setup to help everyone…
October 9th, 2007 at 3:58 am
Another good point Sean!
As you can see John…if you look at my blog. The widget is in a place that I’m happy with. I’m still not having a go…but go easy on us.
October 9th, 2007 at 4:00 am
very good changes and hope that it will benefit all of us.
October 9th, 2007 at 4:10 am
I was wondering if you are going to delete blogs that are quite new and don’t really have a lot of content yet. I have a new blog and am always looking for new content and I am now worried that it may not be good enough to meet your criteria. Will we be warned first or just lose our account. I have referred several people and my account goes up by several thousand visitors a day from referrals although I myself am only getting a small number of hits to my new blog. I assume we will also lose our referres as well, which may be taken as traffic theft if you delete my account but keep my referrers…
Please clarify if we get a chance to improve or just lose?
Warmest Regards
Mark
October 9th, 2007 at 4:13 am
Healthy Nerd: I have a narrow sidebar that’s floated left so that my posts can be first in the code. The widget is just too wide, even if I put it in the sidebar template under the actual sidebar code it winds up in the footer. If I try to put it at the top the height is a problem. It pushes my content down too far.
I’m glad to see the size problem is finally being looked into.
I’d like to see some banner and leader board sizes too. Those could be placed at the top of the page and we wouldn’t have to worry about a broken layout. I wouldn’t mind replacing the adsense leader board because I don’t really make anything off of it anyway.
A selection of sizes would really help. If the bloggers have a few options they’re more likely to use one of ‘em instead of dropping it all together.
October 9th, 2007 at 4:18 am
Ok … I’ve moved the BlogRush widget up a couple of notches on all my blogs. Looking forward to the release of Phase 2!
Bring on the flood of traffic!
October 9th, 2007 at 4:24 am
I do however love what you are doing and think it is a great idea. I also love the bit about helping the people with less traffic instaead of it all going to the big guys. Us small guys need help :o)
Thanks and keep up the good work.
Warmest Regards
Mark
October 9th, 2007 at 4:34 am
I hope you keep inspecting compliance with quality requirements on a regular basis for already enrolled and approved blogs, too. Otherwise people sign up with clean blogs, and start to game the system later again. It makes sense that you are asking for TOP placement of the widget, but every widget supplier does that. Though you seem to be really hard working on making it worthwhile for us. Thanks.
October 9th, 2007 at 4:49 am
The changes look mostly great. I would like to join with other commenters and ask for a bit more about what you mean by poor widget performance.
My blog has good quality posts that I think would appeal to decent-sized audience in my particular niche. However, my readership is very small at the moment - about a dozen visitors/day. BlogRush is one of the things that I am doing to try to build my audience.
I think it would be a shame if is was kicked out of the network simply because I don’t yet have enough readers. More information would be greatly appreciated. Can you either set my mind at ease or let me know how big a readership one needs to be cool enough for BlogRush.
Thanks.
October 9th, 2007 at 4:50 am
Looking forward to all the new categories. Hope you have one for homeschoolers.
October 9th, 2007 at 4:51 am
The changes sound good. I’ve moved the Blogrush bar up the page in anticipation of New categories. Looking for something like “Writing and Literature - Bookselling - Rare Books”
October 9th, 2007 at 4:56 am
Looking forward to the new dashboard features.
October 9th, 2007 at 4:56 am
Wow that looks really cool keep up the great work BLOG RUSH
October 9th, 2007 at 5:06 am
this is one of the best internet marketing strategies i have come across on the web so far, and its good work.
Keep up the good work
Muna wa Wanjiru
October 9th, 2007 at 5:10 am
Hallo
October 9th, 2007 at 5:27 am
[…] have announced some sweeping changes to their traffic generation widget. The most important changes for me are the addition of a lot […]
October 9th, 2007 at 5:33 am
Well, I’m really excited to see the new changes ! Hope they come out sooner
October 9th, 2007 at 5:44 am
Since two days ago I am not earning ANY credis from my own blogs or from my referrals and my two blogs that have been on the network since the beginning are marked as Pending Review.
What does this mean? I there anything I need to do? I think it’s unfair that I display the widget but get no credits in return. Is it the report system that is broken?
Hope you get the new reporting system up soon.
Simon
October 9th, 2007 at 5:45 am
This is all very exciting, and I’m anxious to see what you have up your sleeve. Congrats on a job well done, so far!
October 9th, 2007 at 6:00 am
Not sure I can wait for this one! I am very exciting for this major upgrade.
October 9th, 2007 at 6:08 am
I have to say that I agree with David Bean and Sean. I have two blogs, one a few months old and the other about a month old. I post on each of them daily — quality, on-topic content.
I put the Blogrush widget on both of them several weeks ago to help give them the jumpstart that they needed. While my traffic has seen dramatic increases, to date I have had ONE clickthrough thanks to Blogrush. Not one visitor on each site — ONE CLICKTHROUGH IN TOTAL.
David Bean said it quite nicely. Why in heaven’s name would I then go and promote the Blogrush widget whose sole intent is to send visitors away from my blog when I have no verifiable data that this widget will help my blog?
I hear your comments that you will give “extra help” to us newbies that need it. Well, I’m still waiting. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Start sending me some traffic and I’ll be happy to post your widget not only higher on my blogs, but also on my forehead while I stand in the middle of Broadway singing the Star Spangled Banner.
October 9th, 2007 at 6:11 am
How low on your blog is to low? If we have to have it above the fold, my widget is leaving. That space is to valuable!
October 9th, 2007 at 6:12 am
just release it already, this is a “Long” rollout
October 9th, 2007 at 6:13 am
One other comment: The blogrush widget would naturally fall higher on my blogs if someone could tell me how to create an automatic drop down list for my Blogger category post labels. For both of my blogs (food related), it is essential that my site visitors are able to quickly scroll down the list of labels (categories) to see what’s available. Since I cannot find a way (other than manual) to put them in a dropdown or scrollbox, they take up quite a bit of room.
Any Blogger experts out there that can help with this?
October 9th, 2007 at 6:18 am
Already loving it!
October 9th, 2007 at 6:22 am
It’s great that you’re keeping us informed of what’s going on, and that you all have been honest about being caught with your pants down, lol. It must have been embarrassing to have been caught unprepared, but you all appear to be going all out to roll out a working system. Props for that.
I’m expecting good things.
*Lisa*
There are tons of Javascript drop down menu sources and tutorials out there on the webs, and I think you can point to your individual categories by linking to http://yourblog.blogspot.com/search/yourcategory
So you could use a sample Javascript menu (or even just a standard blogger link list) with a link for each category.
Automating it wouldn’t be so easy, but once you have a comprehensive list of categories, you shouldn’t need to edit it again other than to add new or remove existing categories. Hope that helps
October 9th, 2007 at 6:31 am
Slippy - I’ve been trying out many of the different scrolling menus and drop-down boxes and haven’t been able to find one yet that I can make work. I hear ya though. I’ll keep looking.
October 9th, 2007 at 6:46 am
I’m one of the people with a narrow blog design. When I added the widget, I had to make it hidden, so someone has to click another link to see it at all. If I didn’t do that, it would cover some content. Please come up with a solution for this!
October 9th, 2007 at 7:04 am
Will wait for update. Hope this helps for your CTR.
October 9th, 2007 at 7:07 am
Whoo…
You guys need a break!
I’m VERY happy to hear that BlogRush is taking such brave steps. I CANNOT fail.
Although I am worried about one of my blogs meeting your quality standards
October 9th, 2007 at 7:07 am
Hello John Reese,
How active you are, congratulations.
Expecting something very useful and good for my webcashmotor and for the
new Economy 4G3W.
Regards/Filipe Alves Ferreira (1942)
October 9th, 2007 at 7:11 am
Hey John;
I would love to provide better placement of the widget, (we get almost 10,000 impressions per day) but the problem is THE WIDGET SIZE!!!!!!!!!!!!! How can I put it in better placement if it breaks my design template (which was designed before BlogRush came along)… I mean, come on…. offer people options before you start making threats to remove them because of YOUR issues.
Also, I have sent you a few emails about how I would like to contribute many of our impressions to lower traffic blogs in exchange for a link - but no response??? Is this a bad idea - or is it that you just don’t have the time or resources to respond to the concerns of those who are doing their best to promote you??
October 9th, 2007 at 7:13 am
Hey Kelly,
You need to go into the Template and adjust the margin settings to enable the widget’s appearance on your blog and get it up onscreen. Though since I can’t see your blog to give more detailed advice.
I had to make the adjustment on my blog site to accomodate the widget in the left hand section as it was being “clipped” by the main body area.
If you have any other questions just skype me on flyingscot54
October 9th, 2007 at 7:17 am
Great news, except for the “Performance Monitoring” idea. If a small blog managed to make a great hit on eg. digg.com then later its performance level went down to its normal (eg. 1-5 hits a day), you would ban them? You’re not really giving the small blogs a chance then are you?
October 9th, 2007 at 7:20 am
Good news!
Thanks for continuing to make it even better
October 9th, 2007 at 7:44 am
I like where you’re heading with this service but am a little concerned about the low performing standard. Widget placement may not be the issue. Those with brand new blogs that receive little traffic need some time to get things established. They should not be expected to produce the clicks of the blogs that have been around for a long time. In addition, there are benefits to BlogRush from low performing blogs on the system - they are advertising BlogRush! If someone visits a blog and sees the BlogRush widget, even though they may not click on a headline, it is helping to spread the word and visibility about BlogRush. That viewer may later type in the URL of BlogRush into his browser to go see what it is all about. I hope you’ll take these points into consideration and not kick all the newbies out of the system.
Steve
October 9th, 2007 at 7:53 am
It’s great to hear that sites will be manually reviewed for quality. Many of the other great blog services are doing this, and it really makes a huge difference. It’s too easy to throw up a spam site to try to get free and easy traffic.
But I’m not sure I would completely ban sites for underperformance. I would think higher referrals would lead to increased exposure for a blog, and fewer would lead to a reduction until referrals increased. Rather than banning a site completely, the blog’s traffic would take care of the results. Bloggers would have the chance to make improvements to increase traffic without needing to be concerned about being dumped.
I realize you have limited space on your widget, and you want to be sure to provide the best material to viewers. But you have to be careful. Most tools that become too exclusive usually end up extinct within a short time period. I would prefer to see you let the user community make those decisions.
October 9th, 2007 at 8:03 am
I HAVE TO TUNE IN WHAT IS BEING SAID ABOVE:…
“The notion of “lowest position = less viewed†is half-a-decade old. It doesn’t work for blogs, as these blogs are meant to be read, to be browsed, to scroll-down. That’s what a blog is for, so the lowest position gets more attention than the middle.”
1. I don’t know why it takes you guys so long to offer a narrow widget design, if you want to have people put the widget in a “higher position”.
2. I will drop blogrush if I get dictacted to have the widget moved above the fold,
or in that matter getting forced to have it displayed on top of the site or else…
3. Blogrush for god sake is a TOOL, a WIDGET. For you John it is another business venture to analyze and control part of the Internet trends. But I will not make ANY of my blogs or sites revolve around Blogrush. My sites are about what I have to say and what I have to offer for my audience.
Gosh, so many people here don´t get it: Yes, it is a free tool, and it is not even bad, but John Reese is not a philanthropist in regards of this project.
If it looks like that this whole thing turn out just to be another branding machine to give some Internet marketer names even more exposure, blogrush will be gone for my personal and business websites.
October 9th, 2007 at 8:04 am
One thing that really has to be controlled is: blogs are in wrong categories all the time. What is under “marketing” is often anything else, but Marketing related!
October 9th, 2007 at 8:09 am
I agree with Steve above. You should allow newer bloggers more time to build up their contents. I like the fact that you are all about quality which is hard to come by in this crazy internet world. The cream always rises to the top. And I have to say this has to be the cream!
One more thing, will there be a script that works for wordpress? I tried doing it with the current version and it doesn’t allow javascript, only HTML.
Thanks for all the hard work you are doing!
Michael
October 9th, 2007 at 8:13 am
John, you’re definitely one of the white hat dudes. I really admire your dedication to excellence. So things aren’t perfect out of the gate…doesn’t bug you. You just tweak and improve.
Like you say, when you put something up on the Internet, it’s the WORST it will ever be. From then on, it just gets better and better because you improve and tweak it.
Your diligence to quality is rare in a get-rich-quick society.
Just a pep talk. I know you get haters. But you totally ROCK.
With respect,
Lorrie
October 9th, 2007 at 8:18 am
I love the positive attitude here. Things may not be perfect all around but with improvements like these, things will look up for sure. Thanks John for your patience and hard work.
October 9th, 2007 at 8:20 am
i feel it sounds very interesting
October 9th, 2007 at 8:29 am
I’ve written my request here because I’ve sent two e-mails to support and never receiveded a response. I’ve watched the tutorials on inserting the code on my blogspot blog, which I understand, however I still don’t understand how to get the code itself. Thanks
October 9th, 2007 at 8:32 am
The traffic that Blogrush says I’m getting is MORE than the traffic that my Performics stats say I’m getting. That’s ridiculous.
Nice try, Blogrush.
This little rant by Mr. Reese tipped the scales. His elitist attitude toward the importance of the widget shows that he has no regard for the webmasters that would like to use this tool. I should have the right to dictate where everything on my site goes, NOT YOU. I know what’s best for my blog, YOU DON’T. You can try to manipulate your user’s websites, but don’t be surprised when people push back.
Many well respected bloggers and professional affiliate marketers have already decided that Blogrush isn’t going to be used on their blogs. I’ve just joined them.
Inaccurate reporting + elitist attitude = loss of customers.
October 9th, 2007 at 8:39 am
I sent a help desk ticket in ages ago. I am very new to all of this, even thought I know how to create blogs. I just do NOT know what an RSS URL is???? I couldn’t even get my account set up without that. So can someone please tell me what an RSS URL is?
Thanks for any assistance.
October 9th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Hi,
My blog is about digital scrapbooking and I wish you had a category only for scrapbooks or digital scrapbooks. There is so
many sites outthere and it would be fun to only see digital scrapbook sites
on my “blog rush” window.
I would like to know if you would consider this.
Thanks!
Norma Aguilera
Scrapbooks gone Digital! Founder.
October 9th, 2007 at 8:47 am
I hope you do not become over zealous when it comes to judging the amount of traffic you receive from member web sites.
October 9th, 2007 at 8:57 am
Hey,
I signed up, but have wordpress and it won’t allow javascript on the sidebar. Will that be changed?
October 9th, 2007 at 8:57 am
Dear John,
In response to people like Daniel M. Clarke - it’s kinda sad you have to develop a tougher skin. I know you get a TON of criticism (and it’s simply human nature to pay more attention to the bad than the good - I know firsthand, unfortunately.)
But your friends and colleagues KNOW you’re doing something bigger that will change the Internet forever. We GET IT.
So don’t let small-minded thinkers bring you down. I know what’s in your heart. And I really admire what you are doing. So do many, many entrepreneurs who truly have an abundance mindset rather than one of scarcity.
xo
October 9th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Pam, maybe this plugin can help you.
http://www.dagondesign.com/articles/interstitial-ads-plugin-for-wordpress/
I quote “This plugin allows you to automatically add javascript (or anything else) to all links on your WordPress site.”
October 9th, 2007 at 9:19 am
John,
Everything sounds wonderful! But, I’m having trouble placing the widget to start with. The wordpress blog I had absolutley will not take it in the text box and there is no place in my dada.net photo blog except as a blog entry. Also, I have started three new pages on blogger which I have not made public yet, but the widget will not show on blogger except as a blank box. I’m really at my wit’s end here. A little help please, I don’t want the others to suffer because of these issues. Thank you.
Tracey
October 9th, 2007 at 9:24 am
[…] with their referral links trying to get a leg up on the referrals (nothing wrong with that!). You can read about the improvements in their blog. A few of the big ones are copied below. - Per Post Statistics & Addition Of “Buzz […]
October 9th, 2007 at 9:25 am
I love BlogRush, except the widget is to wide for my blog, that’s why it’s at the bottom..for now. When you guys make it adjustable, then I will put it higher.
October 9th, 2007 at 9:26 am
I know you guys have heard it a hundred time already, but just to reinforce. We really need that narrow widget design soon.
Am glad to see all the effort on your part to improve this service and wish your entire team success.
Thanks,
Anmol
October 9th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Sorry to post here!
Please feel free to delete it!
Who should I contact to give my name to help BlogRush to review manually blog’s? I suspect that in the very very near future you will need to hire more people, even part time to start with!!
Thanks
Roger Pilon
October 9th, 2007 at 9:37 am
BlogRush is a must-have widget for your fine blog.
This will definitely be worth the wait !
Post great content.
Give the widget fair placement on your A-List blog.
Don’t even think about trying to game the system.
October 9th, 2007 at 10:11 am
[…] John Reese, I read your you plan to kick out bloggers who place widgets in the footer because you think we are […]
October 9th, 2007 at 10:31 am
I’m looking forward to the changes. Blogrush have been running smoothe on my blog, I noticed in my stats I have been getting quite some clicks, compared to the page impression, it could be higher but that’s what testing is all about…
Very excited about the new developments!!
Dennis
http://www.forex-gurus.blogspot.com
( get the latest information in the world of forex)
October 9th, 2007 at 10:37 am
While BlogRush is a great idea, I have to agree with some of the criticisms here that the tone and language used in this post by John Reese was unfortunate. I understand that you have to scare away the cheaters and such, but along the way you may scare away people you want to be using your service.
And from a strategic point of view, it’s not a good idea to use this type of language when a product is in the middle of an upgrade. You want people to give you the benefit of the doubt, not the the other way around
Having said all that, I still like BlogRush and I will continue to use it and promote it.
October 9th, 2007 at 10:38 am
I’m with Lorrie: “Your diligence to quality is rare in a get-rich-quick society.” This is a great tool, an awesome concept, and I applaud John for his principles. Although I’ve heard of John before, this is my first experience with one of his products. I’m impressed — and shocked at the amount of negative comments I’ve read here about a totally free tool!
I do have one question/clarification. I *think* the performance monitoring is measuring click-thru rates…meaning not total clicks, but the ratio between views and clicks. ***John is that right?*** If so, low-volume blogs needn’t be so worried
I also have some words for the *whiners* out there:
1. If your blog is new, why in the world would you *expect* (much less demand!) that John or anyone else (us) to do all your promotion for you free of charge??? I run a similar cooperative venture (not related to blogs) and I expect my participants to have at least two established marketing channels besides the coop. It’s unreasonable to ask others to help you and give nothing in return.
2. This is a free tool, folks. And it’s new. It’s not perfect, but I’m certainly seeing a strong commitment to improvement. And that development takes time — although compared to other software I use, BlogRush is raising the bar on rolling out upgrades. So be patient — the thinner widgets, new categories, and probably loads more is coming.
3. If you have products and you wait until they are perfect to release them, well then you are missing a lot of opportunities. I signed up for BlogRush knowing fully well that as an early adopter I’m a sort of beta tester. If you want a marketing tool that works perfectly and meets all your needs NOW…pay your own programmers and see how long it takes.
4. For those concerned that their visitors will click away from their site — so do you not have links elsewhere on your site? Exchange links? Recommendations? Blogrush clicks open to a new page — so your site is still there for the visitor to come back to. Certainly there will be some folks for whom the cost/benefit doesn’t work out; then BlogRush isn’t for you. And I don’t recall any guarantees that it would.
5. For those worried about being kicked out because their widget isn’t above the fold…John clearly states: “We are not going to require our members to place the widget at the very top of their blogs or put it in any specific location.” If you get better clickthrus with the widget at the bottom of your blog, go for it!
And if anything I’ve said above offends you…don’t bother clicking to my name. You won’t be interested in my site — we don’t have a “get rich quick” category.
October 9th, 2007 at 10:40 am
i am just waiting on the widget size changes.
October 9th, 2007 at 11:03 am
I’d love top move it higher, especially since the traffic has increased about 10-fold since adding the widget, BUT….
In order to add my Blogger blog to my webpage, I had to go back to the original template, which give you precious little versatility as far as placing add-ons. I can’t even get Google Analytics to work right.
If anybody can lend their expertise on this, I’d be grateful!!
Melissa
October 9th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Much more detailed categories are needed for niche writers.. Everything will be better I am sure
October 9th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Hi John,
I understand that you are a guru for blog marketing. Maybe you can give me some
advise, and let me know if your Blog Rush would be a smart way to go.
My 7 year old son wanted to start an internet business, and he decided he wanted
to do a site about legos. I thought it would be a good learning experience, so I’m
going with the flow on this.
The main theme of the site is that he is doing video lego reviews, showing off his
lego creations, and giving lego tips. It’s actually pretty cute…
but of course I’m his mom so I naturally think it’s cute.
I’ve been fortunate to get some great tips from people, such as monetizing it through
creating an Amazon store, putting it on technorati, putting up adsense, and
joining some affiliate programs.
He’s coming up with all the ideas for his videos himself, and I’m basically the one
posting it. I’m also the one who is collecting all the information from experts such as
yourself on what to do next.
If you have suggestions for us, we’d appreciate it.
The mom of a lego kid
http://www.LegoAdventures.com
October 9th, 2007 at 11:35 am
[…] I’ve had BlogRush operating on my website for about a week now. I’m not sure that I’ve noticed a significant increase in the number of people visiting my site, but then again, it has only been a week. The new news is that BlogRush is about to receive a major upgrade! […]
October 9th, 2007 at 11:49 am
Would be nice if I could actually access my Dashboard. It’s been “currently unavailable” for quite a long time. Looking forward to the new changes. Hopefully they will improve the BR experience for everyone.
Shine on,
Aaron
October 9th, 2007 at 11:58 am
“If a member’s natural widget performance (the rate at which visitors click headlines and other factors we aren’t making public) falls far below the average activity of other members in their category…
THIS MEMBER WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE BLOGRUSH NETWORK.”
It sounds like I could place it at the top center of my blog with big flashing lights, and still get removed if readers don’t click enough to make Blogrush happy.
Thanks, I feel really valued.
October 9th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Good news on the major update. I’ve had BlogRush on my blog since day 1 and I think its helped my traffic. Kind of hard to tell though since BlogRush stats aren’t working.
Anyway good to hear about the new features and look forward to seeing them in action.
-Rick
http://www.daelectronics.com
October 9th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
i would love to use your service, but i simply cant until i get my blog