When You approach a company with the offer of advertising space, a question that may arise and one that you need an answer for is - “Who designs the Ad?”. This is where preparation for these questions is key. If you have no graphical skills and you have never worked with a designer then your answer needs to be “You do”.

If, however, you have design skills, and by that I mean you have actually made money with your designs, then you have just found another revenue source. If you have worked with partners, designers or outsourced work before and know how to write a briefing document and are willing to undertake the project management piece again you have found a revenue source. You can partner with a designer or find one on a site like eLance. You should be aware though that this type of work does take time.

Who do you know that could help you gain more revenue?

What is the first thing visitors to your blog notice? Whilst you would probably like it to be the amazing quality of your writing, its actually the design of your blog. If you are using a default layout or a generic theme for your blog then how will you make your readers remember you?

Like any other business, a blog takes investment if you really want to see return. Not just time but money.  Choosing a reliable hosting company, having a logo/branding image designed (or doing it yourself) and choosing an attractive and compelling theme.

Its important to realize that part that the visual elements of your blog play in the reader experience.  Making your design memorable is one way to separate yourself from the millions of other blogs out there.  If you are using Wordpress, there are hundreds of themes to choose from - but choosing a free theme is not going to make you distinctive. In addition to the hundreds of themes there are also hundreds of theme designers, its not hard to find them.  Have one of theme design a theme specifically for your blog and watch the difference it makes to your readers.

Finally, after a long long wait, the Sly Guy is back!

For those of you that don’t know, the Sly Guy is the SlyVisions cartoon mascot. When I first introduced him, he was simpler and in 2D, created by a promotional tool by Burger King called Simpsonize Me. The results were good, but it was too simple. He needed more interactivity.

So for only under $100, I got the Sly Guy redesigned by a freelance designer. The first thing we worked on was adding some interactivity to the mascot. We kept the sunglasses because…well, it made him sly (no pun intended). Also, you will see that he is now holding a laptop (SlyVisions branded) with some cash coming out of the screen. Why is there cash coming out of it? Well, just think about the slogan of SlyVisions:

The Internet Through An Entrepreneur’s Eyes

Put together a guy with a suit and sunglusses, a laptop + cash to compliment it, and you get a perfectly interactive cartoon mascot.

So what do you guys think of the new Sly Guy?

By the way, I’d like to thank Jay for helping me getting the Sly Guy up at the header. After struggling on doing it myself, Jay had offered to help me out. The cartoon would still be behind the curtains right now if it wasn’t for Jay. Thanks man!

Welcome to the new and improved SlyVisions dot Com… version 3! Oh, and I’m not trying to copy John Chow by the way by using the term “version 3″. This really is the third time that I’ve changed themes ever since I moved this blog to WordPress. I thought the second time was going to be the “last time for a long time”, but according to some of my readers and readers from another blog, it was time for a change.

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There’s something Fresh in the air…

Get ready to see the new SlyVisions! There isn’t a specific date or time of when the new design will be up and running, so make sure you subscribe if you haven’t yet! I’m sure most of you can’t wait to see it (and I myself can’t wait to see it live), but don’t worry. I’m almost there!

Last week, BloggingTips had featured SlyVisions in its weekly issue of “Reader Blog Critique“. If you don’t know what it is, it’s basically something new that BloggingTips has started doing in which they feature blogs every week to get critiqued by their readers. And because SlyVisions was critiqued in the past week, I have finally decide that it’s time for another SlyVisions theme update.

So what’s going to be in the new change? Well, I’m not sure yet whether I will be keeping this theme and just tweaking it a bit, or getting a whole new theme/design. But as of right now, I’m leaning towards purchasing a premium theme or even a unique theme from either UBD or WooThemes. What I do know is that I need to make some changes as soon as possible. Remember, first impressions are important when it comes to blog design. And according to my critiquers, there needs to be a lot of changes made here.

Anyway, if you want to read the whole post and the critiques, go ahead and visit here. If you have something to say about anything at all in terms of critiquing this blog, go ahead and leave a comment(s) below! The critiquing is technically over at BloggingTips, but it will always be open here!

Link: Reader Blog Critique : SlyVisions.com

If you’re reading this, it’s most likely that you’re a blogger or webmaster trying to make money online. It’s also most likely that you have a blog… a make-money-online blog. But do you actually think that people make money online just from blogs or niche sites? Meet Digital Point.

Digital Point is the mother of all webmaster forums. If you don’t know what it is, you are missing out on a lot of things (and a lot of money). Bloggers like John Cow and Jason from TUK are already reputable members of the community. Let me tell you a little secret. Ready? I make hundreds of $$$ from DP almost every month. So along with this blog that I already make money from, Digital Point gives me another source of income.

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Just face it. Your blog sucks and you know it. If any of these reasons below reflect you and your blog, then you might as well stop blogging. Oh, and if you do suck at blogging because of any of the reasons below, well, do something about it!

Your Blog Sucks When…

1. You have more ads, banners, and/or widgets than you have words that you have written.
2. Your blog’s color scheme hurts the eyes. Literally.
3. Your last post was written 3 weeks ago.
4. Your blog only has one reader everyday: yourself.
5. Your blog does not offer RSS or email subscriptions.
6. You blog about making money online, but you have never made a cent.
7. You waste hours putting random ads everywhere instead of writing content.
8. Your content is poorly written with bad grammar and spelling.
9. Your blog has no visuals that appeals to the readers.
10. Your blog is not usable at all.
11. Your blog does not link out to any other.
12. Your blog and its content is not search engine optimized.
13. Your blog has no information about how to contact you (or who you even are).
14. You do not have a statistic/analysis meter.
15. You don’t network with other bloggers.
16. Your blog is not using permalinks.
17. Your blog has no focal point whatsoever.
18. Your blog’s home page has no comments in any of the posts.
19. You don’t do anything to promote you and your blog.
20. You put no effort into blogging.

From the Readers:

Maki from Dosh Dosh says -

A blog sucks when its content is simply boring.

Jake from Jatecblog says -

Your blog sucks if you write sponsored content regularly.

Glenn A from Write for Blogs says -

Your blog hasn’t evolved/changed in the past year.

Did I miss anything? I know 20 reasons is not much, but I’ve basically summed it all up in there. Anyway, go ahead and leave your own tip in the comments below. If I like it, I might add yours to the From the Readers list above. I’ve already got one from Maki to start you off.