I’m a member of quite a few affiliates and what really pisses me off is those emails that state that one affiliate or another that I have been advertising has terminated their account and could I please remove their ad and replace it with another. The problem is, unless I have it on the home page or something, I don’t remember where the hell I’ve put the damn thing, and I’m not going to waste a day just looking for it.

That got the old brain a whirring as I just had to work out a way of being able to display ads but not having to worry about them folding on me. Then I remembered a feature of ClixGalore, one that until just before this post I was not making use of. The feature that I am talking about isn’t unique to them as there are a lot of other sites that utilize it, it’s just that I wasn’t taking advantage of it. I am talking about rotating ads. This is where you select those affiliates that you are interested in, you then enter the code into your blog with the knowledge that a new ad is shown every time the page is refreshed. Example below.

I’ve moved Amazon over to the right sidebar so that I can now display ClixGalore in a more prominent position. I’ve also chosen a variety of sizes, from skyscraper ads to the 125×125 ads to mix things up a bit. I like the fact that they have a selection of PPC ads available so that I know I will at least make something when someone clicks on an them. The best hing about it is that if an advertiser decides to pull out I needn’t worry anymore about those annoying emails as they are automatically removed from the rotation.

I’ve even decided to start up a comment profile so I can occasionally put one in a comment. When I get time I will set up different profiles so I can have one to promote different products for different occasions such as Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas and even Thanksgiving for my mates in the States.

Cool Blog Links came to life on December 12th 2008. I did a post about it called Cool Blog Links Now Live, and although it hasn’t got a huge membership I’m still quite happy with it knowing that I haven’t really promoted it. This post is partly an update but mainly I want to reward the top ten members of my blog links site.

1. Lolly Bolly Holly Feet: Now I knew that there were a lot of people who may have a feet fetish, but not to the degree that it has given this site the No.1 position ever since they joined. As you can guess the site centers on the bare feet of beautiful women, but it’s not the beauty of the woman that’s important as the emphasis is all on the bare feet.
2. Brad’s Tiny World: Isn’t all that tiny as it packs quite a punch and is all about Celebrity Rumors and Local News and Newspapers. Those of you interested in American Idol may be interested in the American Idol Results, 10 Go To 9.
3. Work From Home Business Blog: This is Peter Lee’s blog and if I’m not mistaken, he’s moved up a few spots in the last couple of days and you can find the explanation for this sudden surge in Latest Case Study On Twitter. Way to go Peter.
4. So You Want To Be A Banquet Manager: This is a very interesting blog and not that long ago was fighting Brad’s Tiny World for second spot. His post about his newest waiter just goes to show how sometimes the cuteness factor is all you need to help you keep a job that little bit longer.
5. What A Load Of Bullshit: This is one of mine and it’s doing consider it’s Google Slap. Just goes to show that PR isn’t everything. Speacking of Google and PR, have a gander at the 10 Reasons Why Google Took My PR!
6. I’m Just Sharing: My mate Mitch owns this blog, and just like our chess games we are in a constant battle to keep in the lead. Mitch, you may be in front of Wassup now, but you know it ain’t going to last! His posts are usually a lot longer than mine, Product Vs Advertising Ads being no exception, and have a lot of information, but they lack the Aussie flavor and that ain’t his fault at all, being a Yank and all.
7. WassupBlog: Yep, that one is mine, and as you can see I’m just behind Mitch, but not for long.
8. Scenic Adelaide: Wow, what do you know, another of my blogs. Hey, what do you expect. after all I do run Cool Blog Links, and I will have you know that my blogs make it to the top ten on their own merits.  This is one of my Photo Blogs, and the photos, just like this one of the Adelaide Convention Center, are all about Adelaide and the surrounding districts.
9. The Prompt Writer: This blog is run by Christine Senter, a cool blogging mate, who is very talented and has just made it In The Top 100 non design blogs. Other bloggers listed include Mashable, Copyblogger, and Matt Cutts. She’s so modest she hasn’t even told me about it yet. You just wait until I see you babe.
10. 21st Century Affiliate Marketing: The tenth spot goes to John Dillbeck’s blog which is all about ‘News and views about affiliate marketing in the 21st century’. I reckon that John must be one of the most verbose bloggers I know but only because his posts, just like Are Traffic Exchanges Worth Your Time?, are chocker block full of information.

Well, it just goes to show that being a member of Cool Blog Links can get you some unexpected, highly prized one way links to your blog, as I will be doing another update post at a later date to see whos in the top 10; It could be you. Membership is free, all you have to do is implement a small code on your blog which allows the site to keep track of visits and such, giving you another way of seeing how your blog stacks up against other members.

Cool Blog Links is hosted on Web Hosting Pad and once I get time I will be adding another site there to keep it company, as at the moment it’s all on its own.

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Ages ago I remember reading a post by Darren Rowse  about how resurrecting old posts could be a good thing. It took me awhile to find it, as it was buried in the archives, but I finally managed to dig it out. It was called The Why And How Of Repeating Content On Your Blog, and he wrote it in response to a question from one of his readers. It’s a pretty good read and I suggest you go on over and take a look at it.

One of the methods that Darren uses is to revisit an old post, update the information and then change the date so that it appears as a new post. This is all well and good but I much prefer to find a post from one of my other blogs and then migrate it another blog of my choice, one of the many benefits of having multiple blogs. In this way I can see what sort of effect it would have on a completely different audience.

The following is a post I did on my What A Load Of Bullshit Blog, and naturally enough I called it, It’s Bullshit The Way Women Treat Men. I must say that it did create a bit of a stir and I am waiting with bated breath to see the reaction it will have with a new target audience. So, without further ado I present to my WassupBlog Audience the reposted version, ‘There Is No Way In Hell That A Man Can Please A Woman‘.

Let’s face it guys, us poor blokes have definitely got to be the underdogs when it comes to the way we are treated by the so called ‘weaker sex’! Sorry girls, but I don’t care what you say, its damn hard being a man. Shit, what chance have we got when women have it all over us?

Men all through the the ages have been seen as being the protectors of women, yet ever since the burning of the bras we have to be extremely careful of what we do or even say. If we put a woman on a pedestal and try to protect her from the rat race, we’re considered a male chauvinist pig. If we stay at home and do the housework, we’re a bloody pansy. If we work too hard trying to give them the lifestyle they have come to expect then we are selfish and uncaring because we don’t have any time for her and the kids. Hell I would rather spend time with them but then I would get my arse kicked because I am not providing for their every need.

If, on the other hand, we don’t work hard enough, we’re a good for nothing layabout. If we have a boring repetitive job with low pay, we should get off our asses and find something better. If a man gets a promotion ahead of her, then that is favoritism, but if she gets promotion ahead of a man, that is equal opportunity.

Tthe workplace is a minefield ready to explode in regards to the way we handle ourselves around women. If we mention how nice she looks, that is sexual harassment, if we keep quiet, that is typical male indifference. Shit it doesn’t get any better when we get home either, as we still have to take care of what we say or do. If we cry, we’re a sheila, if we don’t, we’re an insensitive bastard. If a man thumps her, that’s wife bashing. If she thumps him, that’s self defense. If he makes a decision without consulting her, he’s a chauvinist, if she makes a decision without regard for his feelings, then she’s a liberated woman. If he asks her to do something she doesn’t enjoy that is domination, if she asks him, its a favour.

If we appreciate the female form and sexy underwear, we’re sexual perverts, if we don’t notice, we’re poofters. If we like a woman to keep in shape and shave her legs, that is sexist, if we don’t care that is unromantic. If we try to keep ourselves in shape, that is vanity, if we don’t we’re slobs. If we buy flowers, we’re after something, if we don’t we’re forgetful. If we are proud of our achievements, we’re up ourselves, if we aren’t we’re not ambitious. If we ask for a cuddle we never think of anything else but sex. If we’re totally whacked after a bad day at the office, then we never give a stuff about other people’s needs.

If she has a headache, its because she is tired. If he has a headache, its because he doesn’t love her anymore. If we want it too often, we’re oversexed, if we can’t perform on cue there must be someone else. If we tell the truth, “Honey does this dress make my ass look big?”, we’re bastards, if we don’t then we will get it in the end after the party and some so called girl friend commented on her poor choice of clothes.

I tell you gals, its bloody hard being a man.

That was it, and it apparently offended some of the gals out there who couldn’t see it for what it truly was, a poor bloke’s attempt at satire.

It’s not that I usually spend a lot of time checking my stats, but I figured that just for the hell of it I would take a look at a couple of my more active affiliates to see how they were tracking. I chose Commission Junction and ClixGalore and what I found wasn’t really all that surprising. So far this month Commission Junction reported 27,280 impressions which resulted in 55 clicks and ClixGalore reported 10,456 which resulted in 172 clicks.

It wasn’t the fact that ClixGalore resulted in more clicks per impression that intrigued me as much as not one of those clicks resulted in a sale. While I don’t spend a whole lot of time marketing my affiliates I know that there are a lot of bloggers out there that do and I was wondering what their conversion rates were. I figured that I could expect at least a 10% conversion rate which should have resulted in at least 22 sales or leads but to come up with an empty slate lead me to wondering why.

You would think that a person would only click on a link that was of some interest to them and that by doing so the person that sent them there virtually had their foot in the door. So, all the hard work has been done to lead the prospective buyer to a product and yet no sale is made. There seems to be one of three reasons for the lack of a sale.

1. He hasn’t quite made up his mind to a purchase so he may actually do so at a later date.
2. He was never really interested and only clicked out of curiosity.
3. The landing page was not good enough to convert to a sale.

I know when I choose an affiliate I usually pick one that I find interesting or one that I believe would be of interest to others. I usually don’t actively promote them unless, like the FlexSqueeze Theme, it’s one that I truly believe in. The thing is, should we, as part of our marketing regime, also be looking at the landing page of the affiliate? After all, what is the point of doing all that work if it’s going to be wasted because the landing page is of such poor quality that no-one in their right mind would buy from it? I suppose it’s akin to a shopper that walks into a dark, dingy dirty shop and then turns right around and walks out.

Anyway, I was wondering what you guys think. Do you ever look at the landing page to see if it’s worth the effort of all that hard work?

I did a post a little while back called My First Impression Of The Thesis Theme in which I outlined my disappointment in the theme itself. Whilst is was better than the majority of themes around it didn’t live up to expectations for one simple reason, that reason being, as far as I was concerned, it didn’t do what it said it would.

Not a coder? Not a problem. The Thesis option panels allow you to command your site with ease, while Thesis does all of the heavy lifting behind the scenes. You’ve never had this much control over your site before, and this is precisely what makes Thesis indispensable to critical webmasters all over the globe

After reading that I bought the theme thinking that now I would finally have complete control over how my blog would look. Now don’t get me wrong it did give me a lot more control than a lot of other themes, but as far as being a complete ‘plug and play’ package I found it sorely lacking. Naturally if you are a bit of a geek and like playing around with codes and things you can do a lot more with Thesis than other themes, but I, like a lot of other bloggers out there, am completely clueless when it comes to coding and I need a theme that is almost completely mouse driven. I need a truly flexible theme.

Well, I searched far and wide until finally I found what I consider to be the ultimate theme, the FlexSqueeze Theme! Once installed you simply go to the Theme  Option page and follow all the instructions. You can change almost every facet of the theme from the width of the theme to the width of your post content to your sidebars. The following is just some of the things that you can do with this theme. Read the rest of this entry

The FlexSqueeze Theme gives my blog that professional look. I loved it so much that I bought the developers license. It's the easiest most customizable theme I've come across. See how easy it is to change your theme's appearance! Compare it to Thesis to see how much better it is! Check out some of the latest Latest Updates

I highly recommend you to get your FlexSqueeze copy today!