WARNING: This is a long assed post!
I’m nearly there!
I am just a week or 2 (or 3) away from finishing the immensely intense project that I started on 1st December to create a brand new ePoS system for our family Chinese Takeout & Delivery shop in Lancaster, UK (and yes I know the site needs a redesign!).
It was supposed to be over by the end of December but, it has turned out to be a behemoth of a project. I never expected to become so involved with it. It’s been a series of surprises and each one has made me appreciate the old system more and more!
To bring us into the 21st century, I decided to create a new system completely from scratch using PHP and MySQL and take advantage of the WordPress plugin system so it’ll be easy(er) to update and perhaps be turned into a commercial product. To make things easier, I am coding it in conjunction with the Genesis theme framework. by golly, Genesis is good! it makes things an awful lot easier to deal with and the advantage is that I can change themes and all the hooks and widgets still work! woot!
The good news is that it can handle everything that the old system did and a bazillion things more like integrated google maps so when a customer calls (and my custom Windows 7 caller id app opens a browser) I can see a street map, satellite view and even the google streetview image of their front door as soon as they call. Oh, and also the time it takes to drive there and the exact route.
I could go on for hours and hours what else it’s got but I’m afraid I’ll bore the hell out of you! enough said that it’s frickin brilliant and no Chinese delivery shop anywhere else in this country will have something as powerful or easy to use. Sweet (and sour :p).
It’s not done though so I’m still working hard at it. I’ll be done soon (lol, who am I kidding? hehe, it’ll be tweaked and tortured for months to come!)
Over half a million characters and counting
Click the image above and you’ll see the results of a word count on the plugin directory, there’s plenty lines, words and characters that have gone into this so far, I hope it doesn’t have to go to 1 MILLION characters before it’s done.
Shelving an external project
Some of you know that previous to December, I was working every single hour before work on an external project in a ‘work for free but get a cut of the profits’ kind of deal. Well, it evolved into something that I would have never have got involved in if I had known beforehand how much time and effort it would take just to even get it to the ready to test stage.
Rather than lose more sleep over the fact that I am going to lose the opportunity to work on CommentLuv and bring out a new version before someone else does, I have decided to shelve the project for now and concentrate on my first love. That’s CommentLuv!! hurray! There’ll be a series of video blog posts and question and answer sessions coming soon about the new CommentLuv, I’d love it if you got involved and gave me your feedback.
New contest
The good news for you is that there’s an awesome new contest for you to enter! yup, following on the massive success of the last contest, we’re doing another one. I mentioned a little about it in the last newsletter and I’m mentioning it a little bit now, it’s already got over a thousand dollars in prize money (the cash kind) and a few thousand in digital prizes.
Thanks goes to Brian our regular godaddy coupon guy who also runs Coupon Swapper for being the latest top level sponsor!
Stay tuned next week where I’ll be giving you a lot more information about it and how you can enter.
Back to blogging (soon)
It’s been a real boon to have so many awesome guest posts to have kept the blog alive while I was away on the project, thanks to all those who contributed! We have over 100 guest bloggers here now, most have written just one post but there are a few repeat posters who have really stood out.
I’m talking about Mitz Pantic from WordPress Website Builder who has had some of the busiest posts out of all the guest bloggers. I’m also talking about Reiter331 who has a knack for writing things that generate a lot of comments like he does on his site Reiter Thinks and not forgetting Satrap who writes articles that can help you make money online.
Every week, I add the top performing guest post to the CommentLuv facebook page so it gets even more exposure and there’s still plenty of room for more guest posts! Be sure to come by and apply to be a guest blogger by submitting a support ticket in the dashboard and I’ll give you the nod when you’re approved. Guest posters get an excerpt of their article included in the newsletter and the author box uses dofollow links with your registered site details used as the anchor text.
When my shop order system project has finished (or at least, ready to be used) then I’ll be full on back to blogging, developing for CommentLuv (oooh I have some big news about that, let me tell you!) and organising the contest.
New adsense
There are a few new adsense blocks around the site thanks to a wonderfully useful call from a pretty (well, she sounded pretty) girl called Sophie from Google who went over some things that she thinks can make a difference to the adsense earnings here. If you’re interested, I can add a few posts about what I did and how, there’s some pretty cool things you can do and most of them are pretty easy to add to your own site by adding a few lines of code to your functions.php file. Let me know in the comments if you’re interested in seeing posts about that.
New advertisers
Welcome to Directory Journal who has sponsored the site this month with a big fat banner designed by the inhouse design team especially for displaying on Comluv. Hasan runs Directory Journal which is a directory site with a difference, register your site and get it reviewed by experts within 48 hours (on some packages). There are a number of options that can help get your site noticed like getting 5 deep links or a manual human review. His prices are very reasonable and if you have ever seen the amount of directory sites that turn up in search results when you’re searching for something you need then you’ll know how useful they can be for businesses with new sites. Click to register your site.
Thanks to you and the other advertisers, the site can stay up for another month! hehe, things have gotten a bit trim with regards to ad income over the past few months due to me not having time to source new companies to take advantage of the ads.
To get the ball rolling with the text link ads, I’ve got a nice coupon for you. This one will roll back the prices to last years level and allow you to buy a PR6 text link ad for 40% off! and unlike the Christmas offer, you can subscribe with this one and it’ll stay at that price for as long as the subscription remains active! Get the 90 day subscription and you could save over 80 dollars on the regular price!
This offer only runs until next Tuesday 8th Feb 2011 and there are only a few available spots so be quick! they ran out within a day last time I made a crazy offer like this!
Use comluv-ad-offer as the coupon code on the checkout page for the text link ads to take advantage. See the text link page to purchase text link ads
If you need a custom advertising solution, feel free to contact me!
More about the contest
Come back often to check on the status of the contest and if you’re interested in becoming a sponsor then please let me know! there are 3 levels to the cash sponsorship 300,200 and 100 . There are also opportunities for cash + products so if you have some useful blogger tools/courses/books/videos/memberships that you would like to get some extra exposure for then shoot me an email!
Hi Andy, I’d like to see some Adsense posts! Always looking for ways to tweak my revenue.
Debbie L´s recent blog post ..Kindle Tutorial
Twitter: commentluv
says:
I shall definitely get some up as soon as my shop project is completed, you have to be a little bit technical but most of it will be copy/paste.
Twitter: Bytefulcom
says:
It’s great to hear from you, Andy!
I’m glad you’re alive and kickin’
I’d definitely like to read about the advice Google gave you!
Did they call you or did you call them?
Byteful Traveller´s recent blog post ..The Radical Act of Kindness that Floored Me when I visited a Seattle Farmer’s Market
Twitter: commentluv
says:
I’m still alive!! just tired from working non stop for 6 months!
They called me up after making an appointment with me, they saw my traffic and wondered why I wasn’t earning as much as they expected so they arranged a chat with one of their people to sort me out!
I’m not sure it’s made much difference yet, I’ll let it go for a week and see what it does to my earnings and share what was done.
thanks for coming by!
Andy Bailey´s recent blog post ..Guest posters. It is ready for you! PR6 and HIGH traffic
Twitter: Bytefulcom
says:
I suspect that it will make a significant difference. They are The Google, after all. ^^
And they know their stuff.
Looking forward to hearing your insights on what they told you.
And remember, don’t forget to take a breather from time to time as you work. No one benefits if you wear yourself out, least of all you.
Byteful Traveller´s recent blog post ..Seattle Quintet Singing “Blue Skies” a-cappella is the Perfect Antidote to Winter
Twitter: commentluv
says:
don’t worry, every thing mentioned will be switch off and onable according to preference. even the commentluv functionality which some people might do because just by installing the plugin, it will mean you ALWAYS get a response when you comment on blogs that have it installed because i will add some voodoo that will allow you to use your own premium plugin to set your additional urls and default links. no more paying me credits to get that!! (well, you pay dollars for the premium so it doesn’t seem fair to charge twice!)
Andy Bailey´s recent blog post ..How CommentLuv was born and raised
wow this is def long – but filled with GREAT info!!
Im looking forward to everything – especially the contests!
this has become a great community of people and I am very happy that you allow guest posts!
it def helped me with traffic
zoopco´s recent blog post ..FREE Superbowl Domain Advertising
Twitter: commentluv
says:
yep, I was kinda skiving off from doing the shop project so I did this post instead!
check out the Godaddy coupons page for money of .co domains, Brian has just added some!
Twitter: webduck
says:
Andy, you are an amazing person. Your dedication to everything you’re involved in is “beyond”.
Twitter: commentluv
says:
thanks! I feel a bit ‘beyond’ sometimes
Twitter: shaxx
says:
keep it up Andy and looking forward to the new contest!
papabear´s recent blog post ..Top Commenters January 2011
Twitter: commentluv
says:
it shouldn’t be much longer before I can release full details, I hope you can enter.. (hint.. you can enter today by visiting the dashboard on this site and clicking on the contest toolbar and writing an article about traffic generation.. the sooner you submit your article, the easier it is to get points)
This is embarrassing Andy. I could not locate the dashboard and the said toolbar… any hint
shaxx´s recent blog post ..Top Commenters January 2011
Twitter: commentluv
says:
look on the sidebar to the right, the black square there lets you log in. once you’re logged in you will see a link to the dashboard, click that and it takes you there.
Andy Bailey´s recent blog post ..Guest posters. It is ready for you! PR6 and HIGH traffic
Managed to log in but the dashboard link gave me this one: http://wp-admin/ and when I clicked on that, it just gave me the “Oops! Google Chrome could not find wp-admin” message… something wrong?
shaxx´s recent blog post ..Yogi Bear from Cik Peah
Twitter: commentluv
says:
visit http://comluv.com/wp-admin/ , that is the dashboard link that every single wordpress blog (including yours) uses.
Andy Bailey´s recent blog post ..Guest posters. It is ready for you! PR6 and HIGH traffic
managed to go in via the link that you gave me. but the link on teh sidebar still not working for me since it still gives me just wp-admin/ and not the whole link as given. could it be because I am using Chrome?
shaxx´s recent blog post ..Yogi Bear from Cik Peah
Twitter: commentluv
says:
I managed to find out what the problem was and fix it, sorry it took so long. It was working fine for me so I didn’t see it as a regular user would. let me know if all is ok now
Andy Bailey´s recent blog post ..Destruction of the Twitterverse
Hi Andy, you sound a very busy man! Your Chinese Takeout system sounds awesome! If I had that in my area (Lincolnshire) I would most certainly use it, as long as the food was up to scratch of course!
Must get the priorities right, right? lol
Yes Id love to see what details the big G shared with you, that would be very interesting! Anyway, wish you all the success with all your projects!
Regards
Angus
angusfinlayson´s recent blog post ..Why Feeling Hatred Is Okay
Twitter: commentluv
says:
yup, I’m always busy! I’ll be sure to write up what the G girl said and how I implemented it on this blog.
Andy Bailey´s recent blog post ..Guest posters. It is ready for you! PR6 and HIGH traffic
祝福博主兔年快乐。
Twitter: commentluv
says:
新年快乐给你！
Hello,
Great article, congratulations! As Debbie said, we would really love some AdSense articles to help us raise our earnings, I work really hard for the content but AdSense isn’t helping me as much as I would’ve liked. Thank you for sharing this and I’m looking forward to reading some AdSense tweaking articles.
Best regards,
Maria
Maria Pavel´s recent blog post ..How To Become A CNA Instructor
Twitter: commentluv
says:
Just give me a couple of weeks to finish my order system and then I’ll get right on writing some adsense how-to’s
Andy Bailey´s recent blog post ..Guest posters. It is ready for you! PR6 and HIGH traffic
The dashboard link is working fine now. Thanks for the fix. Cheers!
shaxx´s recent blog post ..Emails from Dato’ Sri Najib and LHDN
Twitter: Ileane
says:
Hey Andy, this is all very exciting stuff. The Google street view function sounds really valuable and I’m sure it will be a cinch to market. OMG, there’s a new version of CommentLuv coming!! And I can’t wait for the details about the contest. I’m not sure if I’m going to enter or sponsor…..Keep up the great work my friend!!
(btw – I’m really glad the CommentLuv plugin for Intense Debate and Blogger is working again.)
Ileane´s recent blog post ..Blogger News and Reviews for January 2011
Twitter: commentluv
says:
yup, it IS exciting!! new contest, new commentluv, new order system.. it’s all coming together and making my head spin!
Check out my last blog post link for details on the new contest
Andy Bailey´s recent blog post ..The BIG contest of 2011
Twitter: marketsecrets
says:
WARNING: long assed post equals long assed comment
You definitely said a lot in this post so lets see where I’ll start:
1 – The first thing I noticed before even reading the post was two big ads side by side at the top of the post so you absolutely have to make it a priority to share with us what the Google rep advised you on as far as Adsense placements and codings!
2 –
Changing themes has been a sore spot for me especially when the hooks and widgets do not mesh well so this one statement alone makes a convincing argument for using Genesis..
3 – I usually skip paying for a listing in a directory because I do not personally know anyone who actually uses them, but as you said it is their listings which get picked up by search engines not necessarily the directory itself! And after viewing through some its pages, the DirJournal you mentioned has a very Official feel to it perhaps having something to do with the design looking like it has been wrapped around a certificate or award..plus it is PR6 so I may just have to pay for this one
4 – Speaking of PR6 since you mention buying a text link for it, an idea for experimentation came to mind: do you or anybody else reading this think buying 20 to 50 PR6 links would be better than doing ppc, ppv, or article marketing
5 – And c’mon Andy at least give us a few hints as to what will be in the new commentluv service. Although one idea could be the ability of CL automatically adding a thumbnail post image along with the post link
infopage´s recent blog post ..Removing Sidebars In WordPress
Twitter: commentluv
says:
haha thanks for your long assed comment, here’s my long assed response
1. I at first thought that paid ads were going to have to be skirted around when I talked to the google girl but she didn’t even mention about the paid ad I have there.
2. I should mention I mean change child themes and all the hooks work. Genesis has some really beautiful child themes and I can switch between them at will and know that the system will still work and if it doesn’t, I am familiar with how the whole thing works so adding in changes is a snip to do.
3. DirJournal does look very proffessional, I vet all my advertisers and wont accept one if they are hocking a half assed product and I’ve dealt with them before so I know they are on the level.
4. I think that with all methods of advertising, it’s better to have a few of many different things than many of one thing. diversity is what spreads your web (in my opinion)
5. ok, the new plugin will be different, the premium version will allow the blog owner to take advantage of the power of user registration. Instead of sending them to comluv to register, they can do it from their own blog and build their list and encourage loyalty at the same time! Having the user needing to register here to get 10 last posts to show was able to collect more than 35,000 users who agreed to receive updates by email, imagine having that power on your own site?
more things like,
add an anti spambot function so auto bots don’t kill your comments
integrated twitter link comments so users can add their twitter username and perhaps get a @ on your twitter feed when their comment gets a reply. that should generate a bit more traffic
keyword name to allow users who register to your site to use keywords in their name (like keywordluv) so that would encourage users to subscribe to your site
dofollow with rules like lucia linkylove so you can encourage people to comment more often and when they have made 5 comments, their links become dofollow
integrated affiliate link so if your users click on the commentluv link and buy it, you get 50% of the money! woot!
integrated top commentator widget with template code and shortcode so you can add it to your sidebar or even within your post.
that good enough to get you started?
Andy Bailey´s recent blog post ..The BIG contest of 2011
Twitter: marketsecrets
says:
O.K. I’m ready!
I’d definitely like to see how that registration part is hooked in there along with everything else you mentioned because there’s only so much space underneath the comment box..
infopage´s recent blog post ..How To Send up to 250-000 Visitors to Your Website in 30 Days
Twitter: Bytefulcom
says:
All of those ideas sound AWESOME, Andy…
Except for the spambot idea.
That’s a huge undertaking in and of itself, and honestly I think the blog ecosystem has that need covered already. I use a combination of SI Captcha and Spam Karma 2, and spam isn’t a problem anymore.
Spam is a whole separate thing. I would focus on some of the other things on that list instead.
Byteful Traveller´s recent blog post ..What is the Most Incredible Aspect of Seattle’s Space Needle A Photo Essay
Twitter: commentluv
says:
actually, the anti spam bot thing is already done with GASP plugin, it wont take much to put it in to the new commentluv when it’s ready. I think I should put it in due to the increased attraction that all the other things will bring to the comment form.
Kind of like providing a free fire extinguisher with a souped up car
I will start work on it around april and expect the free version to be ready in may.
the final premium is pencilled in to be complete around august with a launch in september. there, I’ve committed to a date now :-z
Andy Bailey´s recent blog post ..Guest posters. It is ready for you! PR6 and HIGH traffic
Twitter: Bytefulcom
says:
Well if it’s more along the lines of a fire extinguisher and not a militia, then that’s okay. It’s true, with dofollow you’ve got to be a lot more careful.
As long as it doesn’t conflict with my captcha or spam karma plugins.
Byteful Traveller´s recent blog post ..What is the Most Incredible Aspect of Seattle’s Space Needle A Photo Essay
Twitter: coopetitions
says:
Hi Andy,
It’s really nice meeting you and the new adsense article would be great, thanks a lot…
reinier from make money´s recent blog post ..Becoming an Amazon affiliate
Hello,
Wow Andy, you really like to put a lot of passion in all your work, you do a great job, it’s amazing you can keep up with everything. You really like to dedicate yourself to your work, that’s great, that means you are a pro. I’m looking forward to the next contest. Thank you for sharing this great article! Keep up the good work, you’re doing great !
Best regards,
Maria
Maria Pavel´s recent blog post ..Red Cross CNA Training
Twitter: commentluv
says:
well, thanks so much for saying so! I work so hard so that I wont have to later on in life, oh god I hope it works out that way anyway haha
Andy Bailey´s recent blog post ..Guest posters. It is ready for you! PR6 and HIGH traffic
Hi Andy, all my appreciation for your work! Can you hear the everyday chorus of bloggers and commenters sending all their love to the guy who put out ComLuv
? Hehe, pun intended.
Since you mentioned, I would love to see a post on adsense tips. And looking forward to other posts of yours!
Aloys Jacobs´s recent blog post ..Symptoms of Yeast Infection In Men
Twitter: commentluv
says:
thanks. I’m not sure it’s a chorus of love, more like a steady stream of support tickets
I will give it another couple of weeks on the adsense changes before I write about them so that they have a chance to show some results either way. No point recommending a thing if it didn’t work eh? !
Andy Bailey´s recent blog post ..Guest posters. It is ready for you! PR6 and HIGH traffic
I’m looking forward to your Adsense post. About a year ago I made some changes in my ads and my income doubled, so I know that fine-tuning things a little can make a huge difference.
I’ve gotten emails from Google that allowing ads to be either text or graphics can increase the value of the ads as well. I mostly use text ads, but am testing out this latest advice on some ads.
cheers2wine´s recent blog post ..Central Valley Wineries