Feedback on StuffRichPeopleLove.com

[StuffRichPeopleLove.com]

Hi Gang, I would love feedback on how to make StuffRichPeopleLove.com better. Traffic is pretty decent and I really enjoy writing. I fluctuate between 500 and 2,000 pageviews per day and host the blog on WordPress' free hosting service. Questions I have...

1) Should I host on a paid service?
2) Is it time to update the template to a catchier template
3) What do you think of the content (i.e., length, funny, etc)

Thanks a lot!

[Melody]

Is your Google Analytics telling you really 500 to 2000 page view per day? You have almost no visible traffic in the form of comments. Your blog is clean and pretty. It feels like reading a cheap drugstore color picture magazine in a blog format.

I'm surprised about your numbers though. How many visitors does that really mean? Absolute unique visitors each day?

[StuffRichPeopleLove.com]

Is a cheap, drugstore color magazine good or bad because it doesn't sound very positive

I am going by the Wordpress analytics. I am also surprised by minimal comments. I don't really know how accurate the stats are but I know when I have been featured by the likes of Guy Kawasaki, Irish Times or corporate newsletters featuring my site there have been big jumps in traffic so I can only assume it is accurate in pageviews.

Is there a way to embed Google Analytics in a WordPress.com rather than a .org blog?

[Melody]

A magazine with lots of pictures and not a lot of difficult words has its market.

Speaking of comments, I was a little unhappy with the comment you left on my blog. That was pretty much spam. I nearly did not approve it, and still might go delete it. I can tell by what you wrote, you didn't read my blog post, and you left a link and a spammy sentence about your blog.

As for your being "featured" - I get that can cause spikes. On November 1, 2009, a link to my blog appeared in the Seattle Times in a business section article about Starbucks, and I had this huge jump in visitors - and then it died back down to my normal loyal small core readers. As for comments, I guess you just need a core group of repeat readers??

[Rookie27]

Yup, could use a template update.

Your content is kinda interesting and funny

[stacylee]

I found the content interesting, and the theme IS relevant. However, certainly a classier theme would be a little more catchy. I always find blogs on white backgrounds to be boring to look at. There are so many templates out there to chose from, I would keep up the search.

[Chrisg]

Yeah, I quite liked it. Interesting posts. I know when I see that sort of information, facts and figures that you are writing about I often laugh and gasp. Good luck with it.

[ChickenFreak]

I want to preface my remark with the fact that it annoys when people say, "They sound so _angry_..." when referring to a story or a movie or a TV show or a blog or whatever. What's wrong with angry? Angry can be entertaining, it can be funny, it's often appropriate. I want to tell those people to stop being such Pollyannas and enjoy a little darkness, or at least a little shade.

That said, um... your blog feels a little too angry to me. Angry and contemptuous.

Or maybe it's not angry _enough_? It seems to be teetering on the fence between "Rich people are scum of the earth" and "Aren't rich people cute and entertaining?" and not quite committing to either side.

Now, if you're getting lots of visits a day, I may just be totally wrong. Changing to be either less or more angry/contemptuous might lose you those visitors.

Or it might get you more. I don't know. But it isn't quite working for me. Your writing is _very_ good, but there's something about the "voice" or the mood that keeps me from enthusiastically jumping in. Maybe it's not that you're angry, but that there isn't enough about you, so I feel that I don't know the guy who's writing these interesting things? I don't think that's quite it, but maybe it's a small part of it.

The look, on the other hand, I like just fine. It's clean, uncluttered, attractive, and readable. I don't greatly like the boat picture in the header - I'd probably make it an old-fashioned fabulous wooden sailboat, if it were me; that's my idea of luxury in a boat, and that would be a more beautiful object to admire every time a person loads the blog - but that's a minor quibble.

[StuffRichPeopleLove.com]

Thanks so much for your thoughtful feedback ChickenFreak; lots to think about! I like your take on the voice I write with and agree. Some posts are edgier than others and nailing funny is a tough balance. It is certainly not intended to be a 'rich people are the scum of the earth' but I am not trying to make them out to be Elmo either. It actually started as a 'look at how people spend their money...my goodness!' blog and transitioned to more of a satirical take so your feedback is appreciated!

Points all well taken and it is very kind of you to take the time to reply with constructive criticism!

[Betsyanne]

I think your blog is really funny. I like the look of it, as others have said, it is clean and neat. You have a lot of room for new ideas there too, like certain restaurants, kinds of hotel rooms, friends, hats, socks, ties, toys, vacation spots, cruises, hobbies, etc. You have a lot to pick from. You could add a Google Friends section if you wanted too.

I wish you the best of luck with this blog. It is really original and (to me, at least!) humorous. I like it!