Blog Reviews by Bloggeries

Bloggeries is going to look at another money making blog today, and this one is called Minty Money – Online Money Making Help Source. The blog does not have an author profile or about page, but it does appear to be a money making blog. The blogger uses standard money making services to make money on the Internet, and offers information and advice on these services. You can get a feel for how this blogger makes money on the Internet by reviewing any of his recent bloggeries: Website Name and Feed Changed, Referral News, Use MyBlogLog, Please Don’t Blog, and The Clickbot Fraud.

The blog is fairly young so there is really not much to it at this point. This normally makes it somewhat easy to navigate, but the blog does have some navigation concerns. Currently the formatting is set for only one post at a time appearing on the main page, and I do suggest the blogger change this setting to allow for a more blog-like look with at least a few more bloggeries on the page. If readers are looking for older posts, it will take them a long time to do so, and they will not likely stick around to keep clicking until they find them. The other navigation concern right now is that the Home link in the Header navigation bar does not work. It clicks back to the former website for the blogger with a ‘Page Not Found’ error. The blogger definitely wants to fix this as unworkable links are never good for the success of a website.

Bloggeries are left marginalized and are in black text on white background with links highlighted in blue. There is a right navigation system that contains subscription information, Content List (Archives Menu), Recent Posts Menu, and a menu for step-by-step signups for services such as Feedburner, Gmail, and blogroll. There is currently no categories menu which I attribute to the youth of the blog, but there are labels attached to posts. Currently labels look like ‘Feed Address Changed’ or ‘Website name changed’ and I recommend the blogger change these labels to searchable terms that the search engines would pick up. I also recommend the blogger add an About page or profile as this will enable the readers to connect purpose and vision to his blog a little bit better. Again, due to the youth of the blog, it is a little difficult to get a real grasp on what the blogger is looking for.

This blog definitely needs some growth and some work, and thus I am going with a 2/5 at this point. The blog does well for content and appearance, and at this point these seem to be its saving graces as the rest of the blog needs some cleaning up. There have been some issues the blogger needs to work on already discussed, so I would suggest the blogger start there. I also think if the blogger updates a little more frequently than he may see some additional traffic as well. Overall, I think this blog has a great running start, and with some advice out of a review, it may be just what the blogger needs to get his site rolling with some good readership.

Bloggeries is going to look at a business blog today, and this is one that attendees of trade shows will be able to appreciate. The blog is called Chicago Trade Show Displays. The blog is exactly what its domain says it is, a trade shows displays blog for the Chicago area, and a trade shows tips blog that just about anyone who frequents trade shows will be able to enjoy. Have a look at any of their recent bloggeries to get an idea for exactly what the blog is about: Trade Show Leads – Make Them Count, Post Trade Show Evaluation and Follow-Up, Unhappy is as Unhappy Does – Dealing with an Unhappy Client, Effective Use of Banner Stands for your Next Event, Trade Show “Chotchkies”, Create a Winning Booth, Shipping May be Ripping you Off!, and What the Heck Does Drayage Mean?

The blog is cleanly laid out with a business style format and this makes it very easy to navigate. Bloggeries are right marginalized and there is a left navigation system as well as a top navigation system. Bloggeries are in black text on white background and there are blue accents and bordering. In the top navigation bar you will find links for Home, Contact Us, Trade Show Program Management, and Tradetec Skyline Displays. In the left navigation system you will find blogroll links menu, Editors Menu, Event Calendars, Trade Show Resources, Pages Menu, and Categories Menu. The Categories menu contains items such as Exhibit Services, New Products Announcement, Trade Show Tips, Trade Show News, and a category called Uncategorized. At present there are no accompanying pictures with the bloggeries as the blog is an information blog.

I will give this blog a 3/5 for now, but I suspect it is new and with some growth the blog should improve. It is difficult to tell at this point how old the blog is as there are no archives listed. The blog needs work in a few areas, but it does show some strength in some as well, so it has a good foundation at this point. Navigation is easy on the blog as there is not much to move around at this point. I would recommend removing the ‘Uncategorized’ category from the category menu, or changing the name of it to something less miscellaneous (such as Trade Show Information) as it makes the blog look a little disorganized. Appearance scores are very good as the blog has a nice clean template that gives it a true business feel. The content is well written and would be readable by an audience seeking this type of information, so as the blog grows, this may be its greatest asset. Activity however is lacking somewhat, with no strong consistency in activity. The last bloggery was run on January 2 and there is a range of one week to a month in between bloggeries. I also recommend adding an about page to the blog so that the bloggers and editors can establish a rapport with their readership by a small information page about the blog. Overall however, the blog has a good start and if it maintains the consistency of its quality content, it should do quite well in serving its niche as it grows.

-Chrissie