I can barely hold my excitement in as I’ve been looking forward to this for quite some time now. For about the last week or so, I’ve been playing around with a new blog theme, completely in the background and undetectable to anyone.

Thanks to the plug-in Theme Test Drive, I’ve been able to install a new theme and customize a good portion of it behind the scenes. You’ve all been seeing the current theme while this was going on.

Missing the old theme already? Here’s a farewell snapshot…

In my excitement to roll out the new theme, I forgot to get the snapshot before enabling the new theme, so I had to find a cached version with the old theme… LOL.

As you may notice with the new theme, there is still a lot that needs to be done, most notably the footer area. I’ll get to that in a minute.

This new theme is a customized version of the FlexSqueeze Wordpress Theme, which is a completely customizable theme that allows you to create your own unique blog theme. I bought this theme on a recommendation from Dennis Edell, and I couldn’t be happier.

This theme had everything I wanted, and then some. The main thing I wanted was better navigation, and if you’ll notice, the page links are now below the header and to the left, rather than above the header and to the right.

The next thing I wanted was a feature area, which is right below the navigation. I can add whatever I want here, and I may be changing some of the offers over time. The newsletter opt-in will most likely be permanent.

You’ll also notice I now only have one sidebar (a big one at that) on the right-hand side. I also have two sub-sidebars below the main sidebar to add additional content.

Within the next week you’ll see changes being made to the sidebar. I already have plans for it, and once I get everything finalized and the way I want it, it shouldn’t change much after that. So, don’t be alarmed if you see random stuff disappear or appear over the course of this week.

At some point, I’ll be adding a custom header to replace the plain, boring one you currently see. It’s okay as-is, but I think I can make something that stands out a little better.

I’ll also be adding additional pages to the blog as well. Not sure when this will happen, but I know for sure that I’ll be adding a Comment Policy, Disclaimer of some kind, a Write For Us page, and a Resources page that contains tools that I use and recommend.

I Need Your Help

As with any new theme installation, etc., there is always the chance for some bugs/errors to occur. I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary yet, but if you come across anything, please make me aware of it so that I can get it fixed.

And lastly, as mentioned above, there is a feature section at the footer. I had played around with this, but I couldn’t come to a conclusion as to exactly what I wanted there.

So, I’m asking for you to recommend what I should do with that space.

What should I include in the footer area? Should I remove it altogether? Should I add the newsletter opt-in form there also?

I’m open to any and all suggestions.

I’m very excited about the new theme, and I think it looks more professional than the old one. I look forward to the new changes to come, as I hope you are too.

I appreciate and thank you for sticking with me and helping to make this blog what it is. I couldn’t have done it without all of you!

June is underway, and I’m excited to announce the first ever comment contest on this blog.

It’s been a long time coming, and I believe it’s time to start rewarding my faithful readers who take the time to comment and leave their feedback on my posts. Of course, I hope to bring in new readers as well and keep them coming back.

Contest Prizes

Prize winnings include (in no particular order):

1. $25 cash prize offered by Dennis Edell.

2. One-month banner ad (125X125) provided by Peter Lee, plus 10 free .edu backlinks package.

3 & 4. One-month free membership to David Hurley’s Internet Marketing Articles PLR site, offered by David Hurley and myself.

2 separate winners will each get one month free membership access. The membership fee will be refunded to you in full through PayPal by myself after your purchase. More details will be provided to the winners.

5. One-month link or banner ad on the home page of ReplaceYourSalary.com. Link will be “do follow.”

Contest Rundown

Winning is very easy and only requires that you comment regularly on this blog to have a chance to win.

Simply put, be on the “Top Readers” list at the end of June, and you’ll win one of the prizes mentioned above. The first-place winner will get to choose his/her prize. The rest of the winners will be awarded the remaining prizes in the order listed, as well as the order in which you won.

To know if you’re on the “Top Readers” list, you can find it on the right side-bar between NetworkedBlogs and Useful Links. It lists the top 5 commentators throughout the entire month, so as long as you’re on the list when I check it on June 30th, you’ll win.

Don’t quite understand how it works? Leave a comment below.

BONUS:

Now, here’s where it gets really fun. Everyone has a chance to win the bonus, so listen up.

Since this is my very first comment contest, I’d really like to get the word out about it, and I need your help.

Anyone that spreads the word about the contest and provides proof of doing so, you will receive a permanent link with your chosen anchor text on the winning results post that will follow the end of the contest.

It doesn’t matter how you go about spreading the word, just make sure that any and all links point back to this post.

Comment Rules

Unfortunately, my blog gets quite a bit of spam and useless comments. Many never see the light of day.

I don’t quite have a comment policy in place yet; although, I’ve been implementing it since the beginning, and I’m going to be cracking down even more now that the contest is underway.

In order for your comments to count, you’ll need to follow these 2 simple rules:

1. Use a REAL name. I have KeywordLuv installed so that you can use your “name @ keywords” in the name field when leaving a comment (first name is fine). I ask that you please respect this.

Or…

You can leave your name at the bottom of your comment. Either way is fine, but you must include your real name. If I don’t see your real name, your comment will be deleted without thinking twice. Sorry, but like I said, I get a lot of comment spam.

2. Provide value. Along the lines of comment spam, if your comment provides absolutely no value whatsoever, then poof, your comment will be deleted without warning. This will be heavily enforced, maybe even more so than rule #1.

I can’t stand stupid little “hey, nice post” type comments. Most of you will know what I mean by this. What I’m looking for are comments that add to the discussion in some way, provide your own thoughts on the issue, etc. Actually taking the time to leave a meaningful comment will go along way and only benefit you.

OK, that’s it! You have the details, now start commenting.

Note: if you want to make sure you never miss an update on my blog, you may want to subscribe to my RSS Feed. Just sayin’.

Thanks!

If you’ve been following along this past week, you’ll know that I had to pay $450 to Getty Images for a copyright infringement. I explain everything in full detail in this post, so check it out and leave your comments.

Dennis Edell was very kind to donate to my cause. He has been a great friend and a true example of paying it forward. That’s what community is all about, and I feel blessed to have the online friends that I do. I suggest you check out his blog as he’s got some great stuff going on over there.

If you’ve ever been in my situation, or just want to avoid it at all costs, then this post is for you. It’s actually for me, too, as I wanted to find quality sites where I could get images, photos and clip art free to use for my site and blog.

I hope you’ll benefit from this as well as images should be a part of every blogger’s arsenal. They add character and flavor to blog posts. They keep them from being plain and boring, not that the content alone is boring (at least it shouldn’t be).

Every now and then I just like to add an image that corresponds with what I’m talking about. The problem is that there are so many places and avenues in which you can get photos and images.

What I used to do was go to Google Images and search by keyword or topic in relation to my post. From there, I would browse the images, and if I found a suitable one, I would just open it and save it to my computer.

While that’s a very simple and easy way to get images to use, it’s also not the very smartest way. As I found out the hard way, the images can contain a copyright, and without obtaining a proper license or giving proper recognition, you’re breaking the law.

However, there are websites that offer free images and photos for personal and commercial use. Some require a link back to the author or source, while others don’t require anything. Most provide a higher resolution photo for a small price, but this isn’t necessary.

Here are some of the Photo and Image sites I’ve found to be reliable and easy to navigate and offer free to use images:

SXC.HU – Stock.Xchng requires a free account to download images to your computer, but you’re able to use them for personal and commercial use. Most come with royalty-free rights, meaning you can use the standard images however you like, but certain restrictions apply. Make sure to read the usage rights for each image before you download them.

PDClipart.org – Public Domain Clip Art offers 25,000+ clip art images. Since these images are in the public domain, anyone can use these free of charge with no limitations or restrictions. Sometimes clip art is more ideal than using a high-resolution photo, depending on the situation.

PlublicDomainPictures.net – This is similar to PDClipart, but this site offers high quality photos that are in the public domain. You’re free to use these however you like. They encourage you to link back to the source, but it’s completely up to you.

FreeDigitalPhotos.net – This site offers a wide variety of images that are free to use. The only restriction is that you HAVE to link back to the image author.

FreeByte.com – There is a clip art, images, photos, fonts, icons and backgrounds section, which is basically a big directory of sites that offer all of the above. I didn’t take the time to check out all the sites listed (there are a lot of them), but I’m sure you’ll find this useful to find sites that offer what you’re looking for.

Last but not least, Flickr.com allows for photo sharing and usage. I’m not a member of Flickr, but from what I know you have to link back to the source and give credit to the user that posted the image. Correct me if I’m wrong.

So there you have it, those are the sites I’ll be using from now on to use for my site and blog.

Make sure to read the Terms and Usage Rights for each site and also for each picture you’d like to use. They are all different and can change for each picture. Some of the sites I listed have premium photos which require a small fee.

Where do you get your images from? Know of any other good image sites you’d like to share? Add your comments below…

In my recent post about Guest Blogging Tips, I had mentioned that getting a guest post on a high authority blog can bring you massive exposure because the blog owner is essentially endorsing you, your blog, your business, etc. This is true, whether that blog owner realizes it or not.

I didn’t touch on this subject in that post, but I wanted to expand on that more and bring up some strong points and tips that blog owners should be aware of. Thanks to Dennis Edell for bringing up the subject in his comment on that post.

Now, say you own a high authority blog, and you have thousands of readers. You’re well-liked, people trust you, and they enjoy the killer content you give them and have no problem spreading the word about you to their friends.

You’re in your glory, as you have a loyal readership and you’re on top of the world. However, the top can come crumbling to the ground if you’re not very careful.

And here’s why…

We know that guest posting not only benefits the guest poster, but it also benefits you. If you didn’t know that, you do now. Allowing guest posts on your blog is healthy, for both you and your readers. You may think you’re inviting the competition in to steal away your readers, but that’s not the case. You’ve already won them over; they’re there to stay.

BUT…

They’ll be running for the exits if you “endorse” a guest poster that has a bad reputation and is known for misleading readers and shady marketing tactics. There are plenty of other examples I could give, but I think you get the point here.

Basically, use some common sense (which I know is hard for some people, so if that’s you, see below).

You have to be careful about who you let guest post on your blog. I don’t want to tell you to be picky, but there are some guidelines that should be met before you ever publish someone else’s article on your blog.

5 Things to Consider Before Publishing a Guest Post on Your Blog

1. The Person Submitting the Guest Post – If you don’t know the person who’s submitting the guest post, then do some research about them. At the very least, visit their blog, read some of their posts and get an idea of what they normally blog about. Get a better understanding of the person behind the guest post.

2. Quality of the Writing – Is there post written in fluent English? Or, is it hard to understand because their English is obviously not their first language. If the substance of their article is good, then perhaps you could correct their grammar a little for them. If it’s way off the deep-end, then kindly reject it.

3. Subject of the Writing – Did the guest poster do their part and write on a subject that will appeal to YOUR readers? Or, is the post way off-base and has nothing to do with the topic of your blog? This will be very obvious and should be a factor in whether you accept or deny the submission.

4. Style of the Writing – For most people this won’t matter. Everyone has their own style of writing. What I’m getting at here are those people who come across cocky or arrogent in their post. Not sure why anyone would, but if you come across, just hit delete. I don’t think your readers would appreciate it too much.

5. The Website the Post Links To – This is critical, and goes hand-in-hand with tip #1. Take a look around their website/blog. See who they link out to, as well as see what kind of Page Rank their site has. If it doesn’t have a Page Rank, Google “site:http://www.theirsite.com” without quotes. If nothing comes up, you may want to stay away.

Do you have any other tips or suggestions for blog owners that accept guest posts? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below…

P.S. If you like this blog and would like to submit a Guest Post for possible inclusion, simply Contact Me.

March is gone, and April is here. It came fast! I’m sure loving the beautiful weather we’ve been having. Definitely can’t complain about that. Seems as though we completely skipped Spring and went straight to Summer, already hitting over 80 degrees! Crazy, I know.

Anyway, here are my blog posts from last month worth reading (again maybe?). If you found them helpful you’re welcome to post a comment letting me know, or if you have a question then ask away. Seriously, don’t be shy here.

Without further ado, here they are:

A Complete Step-By-Step Guide to Setup a Money Making Website

Blog Commenting Contest – Win $10 from Dennis Edell (The commenting contest has been restarted for this month, so head on over and leave a comment for Dennis. Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite ).

Why I Chose Affiliate Marketing and Why You Should Too

Finding Your Perfect and Profitable Niche on the Internet

Write Online Product Reviews to Make Money Online

Again, feel free to comment on my posts, and if you’re feeling really nice, hit that little green ReTweet button. I’d appreciate the love. And, you may want to follow me on Twitter so you don’t miss any updates.

Stay cool, and have a Happy Easter tomorrow.

Okay, here’s a quick and easy way to earn $10. My good friend Dennis Edell is giving away $10 to ten people. One of those people can be you.

Simply head over to his blog at DennisEdell.com and leave intelligent, thought provoking comments on any of his blog posts. If you’re in his top ten commentator list at the end of March, you’ll win $10.

Easy enough, right?

Well… better head to this post to read the rules first.

I’ll warn you now that the competition will be a bit fierce. I’ll also mention that I’ll be participating as well.

Comment if you dare!

Seriously, making money online doesn’t get much easier than this right here.