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Posted by Bloggeries in Shopping
Bloggeries is going to look at another blog that is a product review site. The women will really enjoy stopping into Doryn’s Dish as this site reviews products with the woman consumer in mind. Doryn’ Dish is written by a blogger that loves sharing her favorite things with people when she finds something she really loves. She will never endorse anything she doesn’t herself truly believe in, so you know these reviews are coming from the heart. For a look at any of the many product reviews she offers on her site, check out the latest bloggeries on Doryn’s Dish: Hanky Panky, Take the Time to Thank Our Advertisers, Paint vs. Paint, Bottles Stay Up, Psychic to the Stars, Flipping for Flip Video, Incredibly Soft and Snuggly Robe, and Fast Makeup for Busy Women.
The site is fairly new, so there is not a lot of meat to it *yet* though the blogger is working very hard on this. The newness of the blog makes it very easy to navigate. Bloggeries are centralized and there is both a left and right navigation bar. Bloggeries are in black text on white background and links and headlines are highlighted in pink adding a very feminine, but not too much so, touch to the overall theme of the blog. In the left navigation bar you will find an About Page, Categories Menu, Archives Menu, and Recent Comments Menu. The categories menu is comprehensive and covers all of the essentials a woman may be looking for in terms of product review – Accessories, As Seen on TV, Beauty/Health, Clothing, Doryn’s Notes, Food, Stationery, and Technology. The one thing I would suggest about the categories at this point would be for the blogger to separate the Beauty and Health categories into two different categories. Both are relevant keywords and tags that will be picked up easier by the search engines if she has separate categories or labels for her posts. In the right navigation bar you will find links to subscribe, sponsors, Love from my Readers Menu, and more subscriber links. Each bloggery is accompanied by relevant pictures for each product review, and this makes the site very aesthetically pleasing.
Overall I will go with a 4/5 for this blog. I enjoyed the blog on just about every aspect of the blog scoring criteria and have only a few suggestions that would benefit this blog’s growth. The appearance of the blog is clean and organized, and the ads are incorporated well without being distracting, so the blog does well on this count. I also like the feminine appeal of the blog theme which again, is pink but without being overbearing and will definitely appeal to the female readership. The content is well done with a strong personal voice which gives credibility to the product reviews which will serve the blogger well when it comes to monetization. Organization and navigation are excellent as well with this nice, clean template. The only suggestion I have with this is that while the blog is still new, that the blogger move all content from one navigation bar into the other to sustain one full navigation bar until the blog has more meat to it. Doing so will eliminate some of the white space that is bound to be there on a new blog, and will add to the blog’s appeal. Activity wise is great as this dedicated blogger is posting daily, and never seems to run out of content. The suggestion I do have for the activity and content is that the blogger begin to use keyword terms in her headlines. As she is conducting product reviews, naming the product specifically in her headlines will give this blogger a chance to feed the search engines the keyword food they need, and she will likely see more targetted traffic as a result. Otherwise, overall I enjoyed this blog and think as this blog grows it will do very well and sustain a healthy readership as it serves a wide demographic on a multi-purpose level. Well done!
-Chrissie
Posted by Bloggeries in Shopping, Art
This year’s fashion trends are all about the bohemian look and finding pieces that complement your wardrobe that are one of a kind. If you are having some problems procuring these one of a kinders, you can stop looking and take a minute to check out some pretty funky pieces that Knot Gypsy has created. Her collection can be found at KnotGypsy’s Journey of Creation. Knot Gypsy works out of Texas in pursuit of her dream – to live a creative life and make a living at it. She specializes in beaded micro macramé jewelry and often branches out to other techniques such as beaded crochet. Having been in this business for 10 years, she wants her collection to be both durable and beautiful. Take a look at any of her recent bloggeries to get a feel for what kind of wearable art she has created: Look what Someone Did with the Waves Bracelet Pattern, Knot News – Weekly Update, Update Re: New Websites, Fans Bracelet Pattern Finished, Yin Yang, Fans On the Way, and a Poll.
Navigation on this blog is very straightforward. Posts are right marginalized with black text on a pretty mauve background with headlines in a darker mauve accent. Each post is accompanied by relevant pictures to the piece on topic, and they are excellent representations of the jewelry. There is a left navigation system with you will find to be very simple and easy to move through towards finding all that you want in Knot Gypsy’s world. In the left navigation bar you will see the About Page, a featured piece which is currently a beautiful bracelet designed to look like tapestry. You will also find more information about her designs, updates for the site, Blog Entries of Note, and a Categories Menu. A few interesting categories include bead shopping, patterns and kits, and Knotgypsy’s beaded jewelry showcase. Scroll down to look through the archives and as well check out some of Knot Gypsy’s other links where she features more pieces on her Squidoo Lens, Workshop Forum, read her FAQ, and check out her Guestbook. The categories menu is extremely comprehensive and covers everything from catfood to inspiration and so much more. You will also find in this navigation bar related links, some of her favorite blogs, and many other cool links.
I am going to go with a 4.3 for this blog. The content is excellent and very well written. Each post appropriately describes every piece and the pictures speak for themselves. You can see a lot of love in every piece, and her account of that is evident through her writing. The description of the Yin Yang piece is the best example of that thus far. The blog is very unique and easily stands out amongst other jewelry blogs, and the navigation and overall appearance of the site is very appealing to the reader. I think the amount of information that she has added on this blog for such a young blog is very impressive. I also really like the personal voice that the blog conveys through the posting. I think this blog could use with some more activity, even daily posting if possible, and there is a teensy typo on the About page that should be looked at. Daily posting would definitely improve the readership of the blog, and I also think this blog would not be hurt by a little advertising, and this would easily be accomplished through some AdSense or other forms of advertising. This would definitely monetize the blog nicely, and add to her income. I think the only thing missing from this blog is a pricing menu for the pieces she features. Overall, this blog is very impressive given that it is so young, and I look forward to seeing Knot Gypsy’s success grow from this blog.
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- Chrissie
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Posted by Bloggeries in Recycling Bin, Shopping
Here we have a blog that is branching into the classified niche and is a blog dedicated specifically for the purpose of classified ads. The blog is called Carollo Classified - Why post anywhere else? and is a giant classified ads site with daily postings of new ads. The blog does not restrict itself to one market, so here you will find ads on everything from job openings to parrots for sale. The most recent ads posted here are Bargain – Well Maintained Aluminum Backyard Set $999, Asking just $200 for my Baby Yorkie, Part Time Receptionist Wanted for Real Estate, Boxer Puppy $300, Loan Offer, and Large Parrot Birds for Adoptions $250. I don’t find too much information about the author as there is no About Me page, and this blog looks like it is strictly being used for advertising and monetizing.
Navigation on the site is easy if you know what you are looking for, and it will be a little cumbersome if you don’t. The blog is full of advertising in both left and right navigation bars and even in the header of the blog as well. The header itself is a giant AdSense ad that has been incorporated into the header. The left navigation bar contains a host of google banner ads, link exchange ads, useful links, and a set as home page link. In the right navigation bar you will find some job openings, more google AdSense, and categories menu, and a link where you can make your own post to the blog. This seems to be the crux of the blog, as the owner is relying on others that use the blog to post the content and use the posts as a means of displaying their classified ads. From what I could tell there is no fee for this service, so this may be a good chance to advertise what you are selling for free. The categories menu is fairly comprehensive, if you are buying or selling something there is a spot for you. Some of the categories include Art and Collectibles, Automotive, Boats, Business Services, Electronics, Employment, Furniture and Appliances, Miscellaneous, Pets, Real Estate, and Tools.
I am going with a 2 on this one, the excessive advertising just really took this mark down. The advertising is located in every section of the blog, and the posts themselves are ads. The content can not be scored properly here since the author is relying on others to make his posts for him. The blog does do well with regular activity and ease of navigation to a certain extent. I think the blog could use some regular content that is not advertising that would still reach his readers and this could include things like how to get that job interview, how to determine a fake from a real antique, and articles of that nature. This way the blog does not only provide the service of where to find these things, but also on how to find them properly. I am not sure what the readership is, as there is regular posting from advertisers, so this readership could be used to the owners advantage by some formatting and cleaning up and adding informative content.
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- Chrissie
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Posted by Bloggeries in Reviews, Shopping, Personal Finance
If you are looking for a site that is geared towards simplifying your life and making it less expensive you may want to have a look at Apples 2 Apples Blog. Here the author welcomes you to gain more out of your life by simplifying it. The author says if you wish to live simple AND large, share your world with Apples 2 Apples to find cheaper ways to be both stylish and simple. The site covers a broad range of ‘simplifying’ methods, all geared towards finding you the lowest prices on products you already purchase. Included in the blog are also tips on how to make things easier in your daily living, for example renovating at cost or spending less time getting ready in the morning. You can get a true feel for the blogger’s objectives through any of the recent posts: Give your Furniture a Quick Make Over, More Coupons, How much Time do You Spend in the Morning, Six Tips to Help You Save Money on Makeup, Stock up on Swimwear, Atlantic Reviews, and LV 07 Fall.
The site is very colorful and extremely easy to navigate. Posts are left marginalized with black text on white background and an array of relevant pictures with each post. There is a right navigation bar that includes a welcome note, blog poll, categories menu, ads, search bar, and a link me button. Missing from the right navigation bar are a recent posts menu and an archives menu, so I am not too sure how old this blog is. The categories section is very comprehensive so if you are a coupon grabber or professional discount shopper, there should be something here for you. You can search through the Apples Café, Apples2Apple news, Cool find – Hunting for Stylish Products, Getting to Know Brands, Simple and Fabulous – Beauty and Fashion, Simple Home Style – Home Sweet Home, and there are so many other categories for simplifying your life here as the list is extremely comprehensive.
The site scores well on activity, as posting is every couple of days at most, and navigation scores well also. The site is easy to navigate but I would like to see some additional navigation features to make blog browsing more simple, such as the recent posts menu and the archives menu. The uniqueness marks are average, I do not find this niche to be one that is extremely different from others in its category, so it garners average points here. The content is well written for the most part, though I do wonder if English is a second language here just through some syntax issues and contextual comments. However, this does not take away from the readability of the blog and the posts are extremely easy to read and follow. Appearance is where the blog suffers the most, I find there to be more advertising than posts, and in facet a few posts are advertising in themselves. While at first glance the purpose of the blog is geared as such towards this kind of writing, I would still like to see more of the authors personal voice and less advertising in the specific posts that are marketing a product. Having AdSense in every post also distracts from the readability of the blog, at least for me it does, so that has affected appearance marks as well. Overall however, this blog rates a 3 from me and I wish it continued success.
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- Chrissie
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