Looking Back at the First 90 Days
News and Updates at Site Sketch 101
Today marks 3 months from the launch of Site Sketch 101.
This month I stopped advertising the site through Google Adwords and I began promoting it through genuine connections on Twitter and throughout the blogosphere. At first I watched the traffic quickly drop off as their were no longer links for it randomly being scattered throughout the internet but today my traffic levels are even higher!
Our third month saw this site racing forward. RSS and email subscribers have grown steadily. Comments have gone through the roof. I’ve even begun growing my income from the site. I’m so thrilled about the progress that’s being made here. Let me share with you some stats from my third month online.
Rapid Growth of Email & RSS Subscribers
At the end of our second month, I had right at 300 subscribers. I now have 448 subscribers. Thank you to all of you who have subscribed.
Alexa Rank is now 50,000!
Last month I bragged about my Alexa being 93,200. It’s been my goal since the inception of this website to get it into the top 100,000 sites as ranked by Alexa. Now, only three months into the race, my rank has far exceeded that goal and it continues ta gain every day.
I’m averaging between 20,000 and 50,000 daily and I’m steadily seeing growth in those numbers.
Trending Growth in Feedback & Comments
On the first of September, I announced a contest whereby you could win $75 dollars if you left more comments on the site than anyone else at the end of this month. For more information about that just check out this article: Crazy for Comments $150 Cash Giveaway.
Last month this site had over 1,050 comments. This month it’s much higher. We now have over 
3,100 comments. That’s over 2,000 comments in the past 30 days. That is absolutely amazing!
Since the beginning I have been preaching that comments are the life-blood of a successful blog. They are the evidence of a solid line of communication between the author and the readers. I’m very grateful to say that I have a great relationship with every one of my readers. I love getting and answering questions. I love feedback. I love checking the sites that my commentators operate.
I’ve also added a top commentators box in the bottom of the sidebar. So if you are one of the top commentators each month you can have a do-follow link back to your website listed on my homepage. And if you make it to the top of that box then you will also get to pocket some cash at the end of the month.
A Great Increase Advertising Income
It seems lately that every blogger’s dream is to make big money on their site. That’s certainly one of my dreams. I want to make as much as I can and I want to help those around me to make as much as they can. It’s fun and it’s a great reward.
As you can clearly see, I sell ads around the site. I have some in the sidebar and I have one banner ad right below the main article. Let me share will you how much I’ve made from each one in the past 30 days.
- $36.33 – Google Adsense
- $30.00 – Online Profits Now
- $29.94 – Elegant Themes
- $20.00 – Freelance Home Writers
- $15.00 – Article Buff
- $15.00 – Blog Mastermind
- $146.27 – Total
I want to thank everyone who has sponsored Site Sketch 101. Thanks for making this site so much fun to operate.
Fresh Content Nearly Every Day
I worked very hard over the past 30 days to provide new articles and fresh content nearly every single day. Here’s a recap of 10 of my favorites from the past month. If you haven’t already read these and left some feedback on them then I invite you to do so.
- 15 Incredible WordPress Plugins You Need
- Display Your Feedburner Counter As Text
- 10 Elements of Highly Effective Articles
- You Get To Interview A Blogging Mastermind
- 10 Elegant Reasons to Join Elegant Themes
- Great Tools To Grade Your Online Presence
- 5 Reasons to Pay Attention to the Little Guys
- 4 Ways to Show Appreciation At Your Site
- 4 Blogging Tips From The Dark Knight
- Display Your Twitter Followers As Text
Conclusion: Let me end the same way that I did last month. As a blogger, I want to make it to the top. I want to achieve the traffic and income that men like Darren Rowse and John Chow have achieved. I know those are lofty goals but that is the direction that I’m headed.
The best part? I want to take as many people with me as I possibly can as I climb the ladder.
You wanna join me on the climb? Ask me any question you have about blogging. Subscribe to my RSS or Email updates. Follow great bloggers. And together let’s keep on having a great time!
Arisu said:
Looks like I am the first this morning.
Congratulations on all your achievements, Nick! I think you´re having a very solid start in the road towards becoming a legendary blogger – now, it´s just a matter of time and keep improving every day – don´t stop learning, keep pushing yourself, keep being awesome
And thanks for the great articles and the advice. I hope that very soon, I´ll be rocking the blogging world too.
Mukund said:
Hmmm!! May be just a fraction of second you are earlier! Any way, I think we both will have a great fight in the table! I am happy that you generate genuine comments! May I know if you have got a blog? Would like to visit your blog? Can you send me the URL?
Arisu said:
Hahaha, maybe
Anyway, yeah, what would be the case of winning by being an spammer? And I want to know and learn all I can of all the bloggers reading sitesketch101.
Right now, I´m preparing my first serious blog, and as soon as it´s done I´ll be sending you all the URL ^^
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> If it were spam, I would delete anyway and it wouldn’t count. Do you see any spam comments on the posts right now?
ZXT said:
Hwy don’t count out Ron Boracay. He’s knocking on the door and clearly its going to be a 3 way fight.
Arisu said:
ZXT>>
Maybe, maybe not. At least you seem to be looking for one of those 3 places, right?
Anyway, it´s not even half of the month, the competition is barely beginning ^^ And I guess more commentators will come.
ZXT said:
I can see you are running away from the rest of us Arisu. Contest or not, you are always the top commenter on this site.
Sat Chen said:
ZXT you are also knocking on the door. This going to be a close competition.
Arisu said:
I really enjoy being around and on the low-season I have plenty of time at work, so I guess I´ll be commenting a lot on sitesketch101… I´ve found some other blogs I like from all the commentators here, but not as alive as this one, yet
I really hope to see you all improving your blogs.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> I hope to see that too. I’m not in this just to build Site Sketch 101. I’m in this to get as many people as possible to improve their sites. We can all work together and each of us can grow in our online pursuits.
Bruce Teague said:
Watch out. I’m looking to pull off the greatest come from behind victory in the blogosphere.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Bruce Teague –> Good luck. That would absolutely awesome.
Seth W said:
That would be awesome… but I think there might be a bunch of potential come from behind victories! May the best commentator win!
Arisu said:
Seth W>>
You can bet on that! It´s just half of the month and people with even one comment can catch on with top commentators.
Andrew said:
With some guest posts, and all the comment replies that will go along with that, you should keep an eye on me too.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Andrew –> That’s right. Andrew and his blog are about to shoot to the top of the blogosphere and he is going to shoot to the top of the contest. He’s going to win all around this month!
Arisu said:
Andrew>>
I even got away to celebrat Independence Day and you haven´t catch up, you need to do it a lot better to win
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Seth W –> Come from behind victories? Are you referring to yourself here?
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> Thanks, Arisu. I appreciate it. I just hope to keep learning and growing and helping others to do the same. I hope that you make a huge splash in the blogging world. I’m looking forward to what is to come from you!
Arisu said:
Nick>>
You´re welcome, and yeah, I´m very excited too. I hope to have a blog as alive and useful as sitesketch101. And since I´m learning from you, I have no doubt I will
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> I have no doubt that you will either. I get more excited about it every time I chat with you on here.
Seth W said:
At the minimum, can you tell us what the blog is about? I am pretty excited to be able to click on your link and get your site live!
Arisu said:
Seth W>>
I did already XD But it´s hard to keep track to all the comments, I´m gonna write about Graphic Design and Blogging – me being a Graphic Designer and such an adict to blogs. Also, I want people to know the importance of the corporate image when doing business and that they can get in touch with great designers all around the world to get theirs done – and that a professional work can be very cheap thanks to the internet
Mukund said:
Yipee!! I am the first to comment in this post! Hey Nicholas!! You are on the right track and I am very sure you will reach great heights just like you wish(Darren Rowse,John Chow,etc…) Time will answer your questions! All the very best!!
ZXT said:
If you only cut a word or two inyour comment maybe you beat Arisu for the first comment.
Arisu said:
ZXT:
Not really, I was checking your comments by the time Mukund commented… now, you should go check wich ones I answered ^^ And maybe some of the posts on the first pages, they have good content and info on trackbacks and keywords you may find useful or maybe you have advice on that subject.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Mukund –> Ha ha. It looks like you missed it by just a few seconds. That’s alright though!
Seth W said:
Commenting here goes quick. I think you have to be right on top of it to get the first comment here.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Seth W –> Almost all of my articles go live right at midnight Eastern Standard Time. So if you are trying to get in here first just refresh the home page at midnight and jump right in there. Once in a while it doesn’t follow that pattern but about 95% of the articles do.
Andrew said:
That’s good to know. Isn’t it funny. Us Aussies (the smart ones at least) schedule posts to come out at midnight local time to coincide with early morning in the US.
And here you are posting at midnight US time which means I am about to have lunch when your posts come out.
Lets see if I can be the first to comment some time soon.
Sat Chen said:
Not if I can help it
JK. By the way nicholas why do have post come out at 12 pm. I find it strange because most blogs try to keep the us early morning time.
Andrew said:
LOL that sounds like a challenge.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Andrew –> Here’s my reasoning for launching them at midnight. I want people to always know that there is fresh content at this site. I want people to understand that it is updated regularly and so I want people to find a new article on here every day that they visit…even if they visit at 2 in the morning, I want them to be able to find a brand new article with today’s date on it.
Andrew said:
That makes sense. But don’t forget it’s always 2am somewhere.
I send mine out at midnight my time because that coincides with about 8am US EST so I get the best of both worlds.
Although, I get a lot of international particularly EU traffic so there’s no easy solution for me.
Midnight seems to be working well so far.
However tonight I’ll be posting early as I am just uploading an interview I did today with Yaro Starak (plug).
I think you and your readers would actually get a lot of benefit out of it. We cover a ton of great topics.
Eric B. said:
Wow. It’s only been 90 days? This site feels like it’s been around for about a year!
I hope that this continues to be an awseome site, and that it will grow over the next years.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Eric B. –> Thanks, Eric. And thanks for all the positive feedback that you constantly provide on here. I appreciate you.
Seth W said:
I completely agree. This blog has the feeling of age and depth. Congrats on a great landmark. Perhaps Blogussion and your blog could collaborate on something soon.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Seth W –> You just name the idea and I would be very excited to work with you on something.
Krishna said:
Hello NICHOLAS,
It is surprised to hear that this blog is only 90 days old. Your writing looks very much experienced and well organised. I could see a good future for your blogging career.
I become fan of your blog. I am following many thing from your blogging tips. I hope i too can improve my blogging like you.
Thank you for the great articles.
Thanks,
Krishna
King Sidharth said:
I totally agree with you.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Krishna –> You’re welcome and thanks for the positive reinforcement. I’m glad that you’ve been able to learn from the site here. I hope it helps you to achieve new heights in life.
Andrew said:
That’s some great progress Nick and congratulations to you. I’ll bet it’s a nice feeling when you felt confident enough to drop PPC advertising.
My blog started out on a very different path so for me PPC advertising was not an option. But I’m still quite happy with the amount of traffic I’ve built. More comments would be great but it will happen when the time is right.
If you hadn’t used paid advertising at all, do you think you would have still made such quick progress? Certainly the guest posts at places like ProBlogger helped.
Perhaps there’s a great post right there. How did you manage to get published on such a prominent site in such a short space of time?
HelpfulAdvisor said:
+1 to Andrew’s suggestion!
James Rose said:
I’d really love to see an article on how you got on ProBlogger as well.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Andrew –> Actually I’ve never guest posted at ProBlogger.net. I sent Darren a post once and it got shot down. I have guest posted at Daily Blog Tips though. I want to start guest posting more but work has just been restricting my ability to put out as many articles as I would really like.
Andrew said:
OK I just made a fool of myself LOL. For some strange reason I was certain that I’d read about you or a post from you at ProBlogger.
Obviously I’ve confused you with someone else. I wonder where on earth I got the idea it was you then.
Either way I don’t think it will be too long before you up there.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Andrew –> That’s alright. I thought maybe Darren reconsidered the post I sent him and it got published without me knowing about it. You had me wondering.
Andrew said:
I’m just making sure you stay on your toes.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Andrew –> That’s good. I always need that.
Seth W said:
Guest posting is great and I think your ppc definitely helped. I would be very interested in knowing how effective you thought the campaign was for traffic. And how much you spent.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Seth W –> I’ll put together a post on it because I’ll have to look back through my records. I spent a lot. But I believe in it so I don’t feel that it was a waste for me.
Andrew said:
I’ll be looking out for that post. PPC advertising for a blog is something I’ve often wondered about but not actually invested in or tested.
Judith said:
Congrats, Nicholas! Your goals are not lofty — why? Because you are doing the hard work that so many underestimate is necessary! To accomplish the goals you have in such a short time was not luck or by mistake — you made it happen!!
Having on-target great articles is key — and you’ve nailed that too!
Keep up the good work — here’s to your ongoing success!
At your service,
Judith
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Judith –> Thanks. I really appreciate that. I just hope that as I continue to grow and learn that many others like you will grow and learn with me.
HelpfulAdvisor said:
Nicholas, a very sincere congratulations to you! That is an incredible leap with both feet into the pool of professional blogging.
Your success is much deserved. It’s a formula that works because you are giving freely first, and receiving reward second.
So many “gurus” have taught us this, but you are a shining example of it working so very well.
Keep up the great work, and I do hope we can trade articles or ideas very soon. Thanks for being both giving and accessible. I am truly a fan of your work.
-Jay
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
HelpfulAdvisor –> I’m looking forward to trading articles and ideas with you and I’m glad that you took the time to connect with me on GTalk. I’ve enjoyed our conversations and I hope that others will follow your example.
Note: My GTalk name is holas84. Everyone feel free to contact me.
Seth W said:
that’s awesome that you are so available… I am going to have to look you up.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Seth W –> Jay connected with me and we’ve been chatting off and on throughout the day. Anyone can certainly feel free to contact me.
HelpfulAdvisor said:
The feeling is totally mutual, Nick. I would look forward to working with you on some killer content for both our sites.
Your passion and your ability to connect with others is simply inspiring.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
HelpfulAdvisor –> Thanks Jay. I’m glad I can inspire you to do great things!
Angie (Losing It and Loving It) said:
Congrats on your success so far with this blog. I just found it last week and I’m enjoying reading everything you have to offer.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Angie (Losing It and Loving It) –> Good. I’m glad you enjoy it. If you think of something that would make it even better then please let me know.
King Sidharth said:
Woah! Man that is great! Can’t believe that this blog is just 90 days old. This all is wonderful!
Why don’t you promote yourself on Facebook? C’mon make a fanpage! I will be the first one to join.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
King Sidharth –> Maybe I’ll do that. Or maybe I’ll find someone to help start one for me. I think that is definitely a good idea.
Arisu said:
Nick>>
If you do, I´ll be a fan too ^^ Or I´ll set up the page for you, if you want to.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> If you did that, it would be awesome. Can you set it up and allow me to make changes to it and we can work together on it? Is that an option? I understand if you don’t have the time or don’t want to though.
ZXT said:
First off I would like to congratulate you Nick for a job well done.
I can’t imagine you have a full time day job as a soldier. Seems like you are online and working on your blog 10 hours a day.
Secondly, I also think you are headed to blog stardom. And even tho you might fellshort of Jon Chow, for sure you will be more love than him.
Third, keep it up, we are behind you all the time.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
ZXT –> I wish that I had 10 hours a day to throw at this site. Just imagine how awesome it would be then! Thanks for getting behind me and supporting me on this.
Seth W said:
We are all behind you having success. It is great to see your blog really working and taking off.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Seth W –> Thanks Seth. I appreciate it.
Andrew said:
Let’s not forget John Chow has had a 10+ year head start. His very first project online started way back in 1998.
If you can make even half the numbers he has over the course of a year, you’ll be well out in front IMO.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Andrew –> That’s true. I’m racing against time because these other guys have a huge headstart on me and I’m trying very hard to catch up with them and get out in the front against the odds.
Andrew said:
Nick, honestly, judging from your passion and you dedication and persistence your not behind at all.
Add to the your genuine approach without the sales hype or the arrogance of some of the prominent IM’ers and in my view you’re already out in front with the odds in your favor for great and continued success.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Andrew –> Thanks for that. I certainly hope so. I think people end up hurting their own credibility when they turn themselves into the hyper salesman. What better thing can you do to connect with your readers than to be honest and to display genuine passion?
Sat Chen said:
Congrats nick, you have done an impressive job. keep up content and comments and you will increase even more
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Sat Chen –> Thanks. I hope that we can all keep growing together!
Bruce Teague said:
You know I’ve always been a fan. Good job bro.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Bruce Teague –> Thanks! I appreciate your support and all the support of everyone here.
James Rose said:
My first comment on your site.
I started following your site around the start of this month, it has proven really useful to me in terms of coming up with ideas and improvement for my site- we have been around for about a year now and don’t have stats like yours, although we are a small niche.
Well done.
James.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
James Rose –> Well thanks for stepping out and leaving a comment with us. I’m glad that you enjoy the content here and I hope that you’ll continue to interact with us here and to learn from us. I hope that we can help you get your stats to go through the roof.
Ron Boracay said:
Nicholas, congratulations, you did it! better to be ready because, I have the feeling that, in the following more months those stats will be tripled!
By the way, thanks to your blog because, some visitors of this blog of yours also take their time to check my blog!
Great success!
Sat Chen said:
The stats will keep on increasing. Its also a win win situation for everyone as some visitors from this blog will go to others blog so we will be helping each other
.
ZXT said:
Sat cehn thats whats actually happening here. I like your Anime (Dragon Ball Z, NAruot, etc) site.
Andrew said:
This is one of the things I love most about blogging. Not only do I see new visitors from the places I comment, I’ll also check the blogs of commentators that I find have interesting comments.
*hint*
In fact a few months back I wrote 2 opinion posts about John Chow and I got a flood of traffic because of it. There is still a dribble of traffic that comes in 2 months down the track.
ZXT said:
*wink
I just visited your site and its well design with very good content. I cansee you also put Nick article there.
Andrew said:
Thanks for dropping and I appreciate the kind words.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
ZXT –> I saw that article also. That’s really cool of him to put that there and I’m highly appreciative of him.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Ron Boracay –> I’m glad that you’re getting visitors from here. I’m hearing a lot of people saying that and I’m really excited about that.
Seth W said:
Yes by your blog growing and by being apart of it, the entire community grows and expands. Thanks.
Reza Winandar said:
Your blog is younger than mine but the traffic is so high, congratulations!
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Reza Winandar –> Thanks. I hope that you can learn with me and we can both grow together.
George Serradinho said:
Well done
From your stats and income, you can see that hard work does pay off and that you are on the right path.
ZXT said:
I’m pretty sure those stats and income will be rising for the next few months.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
ZXT –> I sure hope so. I’m looking forward to the future of this site.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
George Serradinho –> It sure does. I’m going to make it my goal to get $200 dollars this month. Hopefully I can achieve that and I hope that others will follow the same path and growth their own sites as well.
ZXT said:
With the increase in traffic, I’m sure with Adsense alone you’ll get maybe 50 percent increase. $200 is pretty attainable.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
ZXT –> I hope so. I think it’s good to set goals and that is mine for this coming month.
Andrew said:
I think you might be selling yourself short but you’ve certainly ensured an achievable goal. And goals must be achievable otherwise they are simply pipe dreams. You should be able to make $200 with your eyes closed this month.
*click*
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Andrew –> I honestly think that I might need some advice on how to maximize this website’s revenue potential because my traffic trends keep getting stronger and stronger but I’m not necessarily seeing the growth in revenue to match it. I’m not really that worried about it because that’s not main thrust of this site, but I would still like to learn more about it. I think I’ll do a group discussion post about site income on Friday and we can all discuss it.
Andrew said:
Visit my site and listen to the interview I just posted featuring Yaro Starak. I’m certain you’ll get some ideas from the content later in the interview when we talk about monetizing.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Andrew –> I’ll definitely do that. I’ll see you over there in just a little bit.
Andrew said:
..and if you like it, tweet, stumble, bookmark, or whatever it.
Arisu said:
Nick>>
Why don´t you start selling your own eBook, theme or something like that? I´m sure a lot of people would be interested and would buy it
-I know I would … depending on the price it may take me a while, but I would-
And also -click- I´ll try to click those adds more often ^^
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> Ha ha. Well don’t click on them if your not really interested. I certainly want the people who advertise on here to really get there money’s worth.
Also, let me reveal a secret. I’m writing an ebook. I basically finished with the first two chapters out of 17 that I have outlined. I would like to launch it near the beginning of next year. I’ll probably release the first two chapters for free as a teaser and then sell the whole thing for maybe 10 dollars or something. I’m not sure on a price yet. I deliberate on that with all my friends…you.
Arisu said:
Nick>>
Well, of course I click in the most appealing
The one down the poll is just plain weird -so I don´t go near it… maybe in Halloween – XD
About the eBook… woah! I can´t wait to read it! And as your first eBook you can´t put the price to high, but not too low either – after all is quality content and not some cheap report- so I´d say more than $10 for sure… and don´t know, maybe around $10 and $20? (after all nice book editions are between $20 and $50, but they have to pay for the paper).
Anyway, can´t wait to see it, but I want to have a nice surprise when you launch those free chapters!
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> I hope so. I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves though because it will likely not be until January or February that I launch anything like that.
ZXT said:
Just like Arisu I clicked more than a couple of interesting ads here which I find helpful in what I’m looking for.
I only click those made me curious to think either by there logo, one liner or domain name.
We don’t want you to get in trouble of course.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
ZXT –> Please don’t ever click on them just to help me out. Only click if you are really interested. Like you mentioned, I certainly don’t want to get into any trouble.
RAGordon said:
Thanks for sharing and being so open about your site and its growth. I’ve only just come across the site today and this is the first article that I looked at.
Your style is fantastic and the design of the site is very nice. I will certainly be returning on a regular basis!
Congrats!
RAGordon
FutureConscience.com
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
RAGordon –> That’s good to hear. I hope to see more of you and look forward to your continued input in the future.
Ana said:
*High Five*
Congragulations on all the hard work that you have put into this most amazing site of yours. It is truly a delight to visit, and to hear about your experiences on it.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Ana –> Thanks, Ana. *High Five* right back at you. Thanks for all the great support.
akira07 said:
Ok i wanna ask one question :
How many % contest is contribute comment in this blog? I fear after contest end, many people stop commenting. How you prevent it?
Anyway congratz for the 90 days achievement. You’re so great, friend.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
akira07 –> You just try to engage with as many people as possible so that they want to keep connecting with you after the contest is over. Then you just hope for the best.
Sat Chen said:
Yea, I am also curious how many comments you get after the contest is over. Good luck
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Sat Chen –> I guess only time will tell.
Arisu said:
Nick>>
I´m sure you´ll be getting at least 100 comments after the contest is done
A lot of people are usual readers now, and your blog is so awesome I doubt many will leave, also we´re getitng to know each other and chat.
So even if comments slow down after the contest, there will be more than after the contest.
Arisu said:
P.S. And I hope to bring some traffic from my blog when I´m done… sadly I´m not on schedule thanks to all those Independence Day parties… damn you pozole and tequila!
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> Ha ha. That’s too funny. You better get back on track! LOL.
akira07 said:
Yes, and i think it’s more fit to say that this blog already become one community. How about make facebook fans group then
? So, between nick and the reader, or the reader with other reader, will be more closer.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
akira07 –> We’ve got a facebook page in the works. Probably in a week or two we will have one put up.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> That’s exactly what I’m hoping for. I wonder how many comments I’ve posted this month. Seeing all of your totals makes me curious. hmmmm
Arisu said:
Nick>>
I´m just gonna say… I´m surprised your fingers ain´t sore
after all I´m close to 200 comments… and you have responded to mine and everyone elses!
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> Well actually, my finger tips have been used to typing for years now. My college job was data entry.
Arisu said:
Nick>> So– do you have hacker fingers? With callosities on the tips? Is it true that you can get away with robbery cause you don´t have finger tips anymore? o.0 I´ve never met a real hacker so I´m always wondered about it.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> I’m definitely not a hacker. LOL. My fingers aren’t THAT worn out. I just know my way around a keyboard.
Arisu said:
Nick>>
Ha ha ha, just wondering ^^ I spend a lot of time in the computer, but all I have are sore fingers
But designers work more with the mouse than the keyboard, so I don´t think I´ll get hacker fingers myself.
ZXT said:
Now that’s new. Hacker fingers
Have you guys watched Swordfish? Hugh Jackman was like typing 100 wpm!!! Pretty neat movie.
Sat Chen said:
By the way where do you get all the cool pictures for your post flickr or others.
ZXT said:
I’ve the same question a few days back but with almost a hundred comments everyday Nick prolly missed it.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
ZXT –> I just search through flickr.com until I find ones that I like.
ZXT said:
Those are free to use right? I mean those pictures from flickr are free to use by anyone.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
ZXT –> Some of them are and some aren’t. If you click on a picture you will be taken to full size of that picture and at the bottom the copyright information will be listed. A lot of them have a creative commons license which means that they are free to use. Some of them do not. You just have to browse around and find good ones that are available.
ZXT said:
Thanks for explaining Nick, I will look into that as I seldom visit Flickr.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
ZXT –> You’re welcome. I find a lot of cool images there.
Arisu said:
ZXT>>
If you´re looking for cool pictures I recommend Stock Exchange: http://www.sxc.hu/
I actually use some of their photos for professional work, and all have a creative commons license -some authors may ask you to give them credit for the picture, but that´s not a problem, right? ^^
ZXT said:
Thanks for sharing Arisu. This might prove useful for my blog in the future.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> That sounds like a great resource. We’ll have to put a post together discussing great places to find pictures for articles and illustration purposes. You all seem to have great input and we all need that.
Arisu said:
Nick>> It is! And I have some more, but I don´t wanna look like a spammer putting to many links
And Stock Exchange has nice photos at a more than good size for internet – some are large enough to use in printed work.
Ron Boracay said:
Nick, it seems like the comment section of your every article posted here is now becoming a chatroom. Hehe. I think, that is really great. I wish, somehow, someday, I can experience this kind of warm appreciation of my visitors.
ZXT said:
Hey why not. Who knows you might hit it big after learning all tips here at Sitesketch101. Next thing you know people are visiting your blog for vacation tips and suggestions.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Ron Boracay –> Just continue to foster a warm and inviting environment on every post. Show that you value people’s input and reach out to every person that you can.
Arisu said:
Ron Boracay>>
Just start chatting with your readers, and they´ll get the confidence to start chatting with you
akira07 said:
About chat room, it’s no problem since we’re trying to relate our chat topic to the article topic.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> I agree. When you engage people with more than just “Thanks.” You can get whole conversations started.
Arisu said:
Nick>>
Yeah, if you just say “Thanks” the more you´ll get is a “You´re welcome” and that will be it.
Asking a question or go to the readers blog to chat some more is a good way of engage with readers.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> That’s exactly right. You have to engage them in a genuine way if you expect them to engage you in return.
Ron Boracay said:
Thanks guys for the encouragement. I wish it can be soon!. I will be buying my own branded domain. Its going to be my name domain.
Ron Boracay said:
Nicholas, seems like the top commentators plugin doesn’t show your name. I have seen many blogs that even the blog owners themselves shows up on the list, and of course, they are always on top of it.
ZXT said:
Maybe he turned it off. On most blogs I visit, the blog owners name also doesn’t show up on the list. I think it is better that way.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Ron Boracay –> I just want to focus on the readers on that list I don’t really care to show off my post count.
Ron Boracay said:
At least you did it well, I mean, you did the right thing.
ZXT said:
Nick, how long is the comments before it goes to another page? I think its a little bit too long as people’s reply are getting longer.
If the replies are all one or two sentences then I think its alright. But commenters here let it all out so some comments are very long and that makes your blog page very long too.
Just my 2 cents.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
ZXT –> I have it set on 20 comments but the thing is that it doesn’t break up replies to other comments. It only breaks up actual original comments. So after 20 original comments then it starts a new page. However, on 20 comments there may be 100 replies.
ZXT said:
Thats what I’m thinking too. The original 20 comments can have like 5 replies each so that will make it a hundred or more per page.
Volksphone said:
This looks nice. I am looing forward to the next 90 days or more!;)
cheers,
Volksphone!
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Volksphone –> So am I, my friend! I’m very excited about it.
Rish said:
You really did a great job as shown in the first three months of this site. You already acquired about 6000 comments, great traffic and money, plus loyal readers including me.
Your efforts were all paid in return, right? As always, I am inspired by this site. Honestly, I envy you. Haha
akira07 said:
Ency is good, treat is as a motivation to try to become more best than nick
.
I just know 6000 comment is already reached. So shocking for a blog with young-age
akira07 said:
I’m believe when you write about “Looking back at the first 120 days”, there will many info and good news. Start from the comment count, the running comment contest, article, blog revenue, etc…And i’m sure there will be info about increasement of PR. So, i’m waiting for it