Your opinion needed!!!

[AfteraDream]

Hi Warriors,

I've been working at creating a blog. A blog that I want to become the best of it's niche! I had problems setting it up and making it work but I did it... I posted some content (original content) and need some outside opinion on how I did now.

Go and visit 36Pounds.com - get The Body of Your Dreams

I'd really appreciate your opinion

Cheers

[BloomerBeak]

It's clean and simple. I like how you organize it, and putting images to it. Is this a blog for health tips? It's good to have these images as to emphasize your points...^_^

OT: I might recommend this site to my husband...hope this site will last...

**wait, is this supposed to be here? There is a section for this kind of thread. But I don't know...

[Kevin Riley]

Originally Posted by AfteraDream

Hi Warriors,

I've been working at creating a blog. A blog that I want to become the best of it's niche! I had problems setting it up and making it work but I did it... I posted some content (original content) and need some outside opinion on how I did now.

Go and visit 36Pounds.com - get The Body of Your Dreams

I'd really appreciate your opinion

Cheers

I like the look of your blog, and here's a few suggestions to help it get better.

1. Make it easier to read. You've got a very large chunk of text. Break it up into paragraphs.

2. Instead of "36Poinds.com - A True Story" how about "A True Story Of Bodybuilding" or something that let's the visitor know the focus of the blog in that first instance they land on it.

3. Fix up your grammar. There were a few disconnects. Like "If you don’t know you to squat properly then they might". If you want to be the best, you need to polish it.

[Warriorcoach1]

Personally, I think your blog is really a first class effort. It looks smart and your content is very good - and I say that as someone regularly coaches people on fitness and health.

And about your opion of squats... amen brother!

You have some typos/spelling/grammar issues that hurt readability, so you might want to find someone to proof your posts for you.

You'll probably want to find an angle that sets you apart from other generic fitness sites. Your quest to gain those 36 pounds might be just that, since there are lots of guys who can identify with you.

You may also want to set up an opt-in for people to get something of value. That way you can build your following and start making some money

Best of luck!

[cmbwealth]

I agree, have someone proof for you. It will make it an easier read.
For credibility have you considered a photo of yourself.

Otherwise it looks great.
Mark

[JEL0221]

I was wondering what your doing through this blog?(probably an ignorant question but I am a newbie)

Just wondering because I have a blog in wordpress that I have used as a "product review" page that I direct traffic to for affiliate marketing.

Just curious.

J

[edhan]

Yes. I do agree with the comments made. I also like to suggest you increase the text size as I find it rather hard to read being long-sighted. Overall, the design looks good. This site has its potential! Great work!

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by BloomerBeak

It's clean and simple. I like how you organize it, and putting images to it. Is this a blog for health tips? It's good to have these images as to emphasize your points...^_^

OT: I might recommend this site to my husband...hope this site will last...

**wait, is this supposed to be here? There is a section for this kind of thread. But I don't know...

It's a blog for those guys who want ot gain muscle Have you read About page on it? I ope it communicates tat it's ablog for skinny guys

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by Kevin Riley

I like the look of your blog, and here's a few suggestions to help it get better.

1. Make it easier to read. You've got a very large chunk of text. Break it up into paragraphs.

2. Instead of "36Poinds.com - A True Story" how about "A True Story Of Bodybuilding" or something that let's the visitor know the focus of the blog in that first instance they land on it.

3. Fix up your grammar. There were a few disconnects. Like "If you don’t know you to squat properly then they might". If you want to be the best, you need to polish it.

1. Got that. Definitely need to pay attention to it.
2. I'll think about something better than "Based on a true story"...
3. Damn.. shame on me.. will be fixed.

[thesuccesscoach]

think it looks great a few tips:
keep it updated on a regular basis, depending on the version of word press you have you can auto schedule content - so load it up and leave it to drip out the content.

check out affiliate products you can review and promote.

think of good adsense to help increase revenue

keep up the good work

richard

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by Warriorcoach1

Personally, I think your blog is really a first class effort. It looks smart and your content is very good - and I say that as someone regularly coaches people on fitness and health.

And about your opion of squats... amen brother!

You have some typos/spelling/grammar issues that hurt readability, so you might want to find someone to proof your posts for you.

You'll probably want to find an angle that sets you apart from other generic fitness sites. Your quest to gain those 36 pounds might be just that, since there are lots of guys who can identify with you.

You may also want to set up an opt-in for people to get something of value. That way you can build your following and start making some money

Best of luck!

I am thinking of building a list in future but now I'm mostly concerned with creating great content

Grammar will be fixed.

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by JEL0221

I was wondering what your doing through this blog?(probably an ignorant question but I am a newbie)

Just wondering because I have a blog in wordpress that I have used as a "product review" page that I direct traffic to for affiliate marketing.

Just curious.

J

I want it to be a No.1 resource for skinny guys on information of how to gain muscle and create a community around it. Also to build a great Brand.

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by thesuccesscoach

think it looks great a few tips:
keep it updated on a regular basis, depending on the version of word press you have you can auto schedule content - so load it up and leave it to drip out the content.

check out affiliate products you can review and promote.

think of good adsense to help increase revenue

keep up the good work

richard

I use the latest version (2.7 I believe) and I'd really like to get some auto schedule content. I will be monetizing this blog but in future, not now

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by sedna888

How you insert the rest of the icon into your blog? like facebook, Sphinn, netvibes etc?

It's a plugin. It's called Sociable

[reynald2790]

You need more posts so that it will be listed first in Google you have simple theme and simple design and can capture anyone's mind and heart. Keep it up.

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by reynald2790

You need more posts so that it will be listed first in Google you have simple theme and simple design and can capture anyone's mind and heart. Keep it up.

Yup, my main concern now is creating lots of great original content. Thanx

[WinsonYeung]

I just out the site, it's clean and simple for me and I like the simplicity.
But it look too empty on the right sidebar, maybe you can add something to make it look better

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by WinsonYeung

I just out the site, it's clean and simple for me and I like the simplicity.
But it look too empty on the right sidebar, maybe you can add something to make it look better

Oh.. nice, that's why I love construct criticism. I'll work on it

[peter gibson]

The template is great. I dunno if it's one of yours or something you acquired but it is very nice. Colors are easy on the eyes and it looks pro.

For the rest, here's my take;
1. Add stuff in the Sidebar - either 125 ads, some skyscraper banners, or some sort of youtube/flickr plugin with before and after pix. Add a blog roll or favorite links, some stuff to have there when people scroll down.
2. Think about an affiliate offer to promote on the top of the sidebar (or a free report). There are tons of affiliates in your niche.
3. Break up your writing into smaller paragraphs, people like reading smaller chunks of data and large ones intimidate some.
4. Change your subtitle, it's grammatically incorrect. "A Place for the skinny guy Who Want To gain Muscle". Could be "A Place for Skinny Guys Who Want to Gain Muscle", or "A Place for The Skinny Guy in Search of Muscle Gains", e.t.c...
5. If you're not planning on adding a contextual picture in your header, make sure every post has some graphic representation of your theme - somewhere within every post.

In your niche I would seriously consider acquiring an ebook for "hard gainers" and start selling it on the blog as quickly as possible. Either a "proper hard gainer diet" ebook, or a "proper hard gainer workouts", kinda thing. It will give you a good idea of how your traffic converts as your traffic improves. If you can't write one on your own there are many ghost writers who could do for you, for a small price. In my own health niche blog I just gathered a bunch of articles I had written for article marketing, reworked them, and made a PDF Ebook - and sold it @ 39.95. It makes me a decent bit of cash, but then I have a crap load of traffic since the blog is a few years old.

Oh, and DO NOT put adsense on this if it's new. Wait until you've got a consistent 75 - 100 unique visitors before adding it, if at all. With my health niche blog adsense hurts my own affiliate and product sales.

Hope that helps

[steven5]

I think your blog looks professional!

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by peter gibson

The template is great. I dunno if it's one of yours or something you acquired but it is very nice. Colors are easy on the eyes and it looks pro.

For the rest, here's my take;
1. Add stuff in the Sidebar - either 125 ads, some skyscraper banners, or some sort of youtube/flickr plugin with before and after pix. Add a blog roll or favorite links, some stuff to have there when people scroll down.
2. Think about an affiliate offer to promote on the top of the sidebar (or a free report). There are tons of affiliates in your niche.
3. Break up your writing into smaller paragraphs, people like reading smaller chunks of data and large ones intimidate some.
4. Change your subtitle, it's grammatically incorrect. "A Place for the skinny guy Who Want To gain Muscle". Could be "A Place for Skinny Guys Who Want to Gain Muscle", or "A Place for The Skinny Guy in Search of Muscle Gains", e.t.c...
5. If you're not planning on adding a contextual picture in your header, make sure every post has some graphic representation of your theme - somewhere within every post.

In your niche I would seriously consider acquiring an ebook for "hard gainers" and start selling it on the blog as quickly as possible. Either a "proper hard gainer diet" ebook, or a "proper hard gainer workouts", kinda thing. It will give you a good idea of how your traffic converts as your traffic improves. If you can't write one on your own there are many ghost writers who could do for you, for a small price. In my own health niche blog I just gathered a bunch of articles I had written for article marketing, reworked them, and made a PDF Ebook - and sold it @ 39.95. It makes me a decent bit of cash, but then I have a crap load of traffic since the blog is a few years old.

Oh, and DO NOT put adsense on this if it's new. Wait until you've got a consistent 75 - 100 unique visitors before adding it, if at all. With my health niche blog adsense hurts my own affiliate and product sales.

Hope that helps

1. Added.
2. Not sure if it's good to sell things when you just started a blog. Don't want it to communicate wrong message.
3. Trying to improve that.
4. Fixed.
5. Yup, I have at least one picture in each post

Thanx for huge helpful post!

[peter gibson]

"2. Not sure if it's good to sell things when you just started a blog. Don't want it to communicate wrong message."

True true. You will want to get some decent traffic before monetizing. Having said that, if it's not blatant - as in, off in the sidebar as a 125 ad or perhaps just a link in your link section, it's a start. The trick to a blog is knowing what phrases will monetize easily and what is useless to go after. Starting early is the key.

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by peter gibson

"2. Not sure if it's good to sell things when you just started a blog. Don't want it to communicate wrong message."

True true. You will want to get some decent traffic before monetizing. Having said that, if it's not blatant - as in, off in the sidebar as a 125 ad or perhaps just a link in your link section, it's a start. The trick to a blog is knowing what phrases will monetize easily and what is useless to go after. Starting early is the key.

I have a theme with 6 125x125 size ads in the sidebar. But I'm saving it for future :P They'd be just empty right now for long time probably.

[gussie789]

Really nice. Looks professional.

[peter gibson]

Originally Posted by AfteraDream

I have a theme with 6 125x125 size ads in the sidebar. But I'm saving it for future :P They'd be just empty right now for long time probably.

Just throw up 6 125 pix now to start. Doesn't have to be ads, just jpg or a GIF that show some sort of contextually based images. This will get your returning readers used to the ads, and it will also add some eye candy to the blog right away.

In fact I normally throw up some sort of image where I will eventually place an ad, just to see when and how much people click on it. God for testing imho.

[Do-My-Research]

Takes forever to load on my computer. I'd definitely not wait around for it to load if I would click on it on google. Maybe it's just my connection but if not, I'd change the host.

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by peter gibson

Just throw up 6 125 pix now to start. Doesn't have to be ads, just jpg or a GIF that show some sort of contextually based images. This will get your returning readers used to the ads, and it will also add some eye candy to the blog right away.

In fact I normally throw up some sort of image where I will eventually place an ad, just to see when and how much people click on it. God for testing imho.

I will give it some thought for sure

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by Do-My-Research

Takes forever to load on my computer. I'd definitely not wait around for it to load if I would click on it on google. Maybe it's just my connection but if not, I'd change the host.

Hope you are using dial up connection If more people complain about it I will have to do something about it.