Why You Should Introduce Others to Entrecard

Spend one hour creating a post explaining how to use Entrecard and you will be rewarded immensely in the long-term for this little act.

People who visit your blog, either from search engines or natural discovery using the search box on your site or browsing the archives will likely land upon this post and see the advantages of using the service. Then, when you "refer" them to it, they will likely (although not always) come back to your site for further updates, new tips, information, or even to ask a question (as you're the one who has been using the service for a longer period of time).

However, you have to be aware that not everyone visiting your site will take advantage of the review (or they will use you their advantage), so you have to keep the review as basic, sticking to the fundamentals of the program. In my opinion, a large percentage of people with "inside" information never expose the fine details, or everyone else will be able to replicate those results on their own end, possibly becoming more successful than the person(s) who leaded those secrets.

When you employ this basic approach on your website, people will discover how to use Entrecard and may even continue visiting your blog repeatedly in the upcoming period.

After all, it's worth a try and there is little to lose.

Entrecard Reviews and Tutorials

Below you'll find some videos that have been posted on YouTube as well as introduction videos from the Entrecard team. There may be others, so feel free to suggest them. If you have become familiar with how Entrecard works, these videos aren't necessarily for you, but provide new readers some tips on how to use the site.

Traffic with Entrecard


Entrecard Review


Entrecard (Introduction)


Free Traffic and Advertising Using Entrecard


Promotional Video

A Losing Fight on Spam, Addressed

As you may be aware, Entrecard has had a long history, having to battle the spam blogs on the site and members who don't follow the rules of the site. However, some of that is expected to be cut down, as more volunteers, five specifically, are being asked to join the site.

This action may help cut down on the time between someone marks a blog as spam and action is taken against that blog, whether issuing a warning to comply with the terms or deleting and/or suspending their account(s). Generally, the main purpose is to draw in more higher quality blogs by removing those that a) don't have the widget installed, b) aren't really blogs, c) were simply added for promotion, or d) haven't updated or don't follow any of the other terms, quality standards.

Here's a brief look at the requirements and prerequisites.

First, you need to have some knowledge of the terms, fill out a form answering questions provided on the blog post, at least three hours to devote to answering questions, moderating blogs, and be able to get in contact with the owners/higher-up members to address issues that may arise.

Because this is ultimately a volunteering job, you aren't expected to be able to work the full time, but you should at least focus on some of the core issues that plague the system.

You can apply through the blog post through January 4th, 2009.

Entrecard Revokes Transfer Limits

You are now able to transfer 25,000 credits per week, previously set at just 1,000, as contests were extremely limited in how many credits you were able to give out.

Huge Entrecard Contest at Cheth Studios

A huge contest is being held for Entrecard members through January 1, 2009 to mark the Christmas and New Year holiday season, at 11PM GMT. There are several easy ways to enter the contest, including blogging about the contest, referring a friend, adding the site to your Technorati Favorites, sharing the post through social media sites, reviewing any of the sponsors' blogs, subscribing/commenting on the post itself, or placing the contest banner in your sidebar. At least two of the preceding tasks must be completed in order to be entered.

More than 50,000 credits are being given away, along with ad spots and other miscellaneous prizes.

Share Your Twitter Tips and Follow Each Other

Over the next few days, the Entrecard blog will be swarming with new Entrecard tips and suggestions from other members.  You can share your tips right now or make suggestions in the specific forum.

At this time, you are also suggested to share your Twitter profile in order to have others follow you.  Nearly two hundred people have already done this, so you should too!

You can do that at this blog post.  However, you are also suggested to "follow" other members, in order to make the whole experiment work the way it is supposed to - allowing more people to become familiar with one another through other social networking sites.

Using Entrecard: How to Build Your Social Profile

Now, let's get this straight: You cannot directly link your Entrecard link to your Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter profile/page, but you can still use it to promote these services and gain new followers.

Let's assume that you have a few followers, but nowhere near the same following that the well-known people of the well-established sites have.  This means you still have room to grow, but aren't so unknown that you don't have any people subscribed to your "activities."  Everyone wants more friends - this is how to do add more using Entrecard.

Ideally, you should have a "personal" blog in which it would normally be customary to blog about your other social media profiles on the Internet.  Otherwise, you shouldn't be using such a large marketing ploy simply to promote a single profile or two on your blog.

The first step in promoting your social media profile (using Entrecard as a sub-method) is by directly calling attention to the people who have found your site through Entrecard.  There are plugins that allow you to do this, which detect the referring site, otherwise you should simply be using standard, static text promotes your social profile to these users.

Other ways of promoting your blog (with traffic from Entrecard) would be through the all-in-one plugins/widgets like the one currently in use, that make it easier to share your blog/individual posts, creating a more uniform connection and interaction base between your site and other profiles.  In addition, you could try promoting a separate feed or newsletter only for members of Entrecard (if enough of your readership is through the service), providing them with information related to updates elsewhere.

By directly promoting your product to Entrecard visitors, you will be able to increase your "following" on these sites, while also increasing your freed readership.

What are your thoughts?
Have you seen any increase in Twitter/Facebook/etc. subscribers/friends with the increase in Entrecard traffic or has growth remained natural?

Entrecard Introduces Twitter Widget

Entrecard has released a widget that has been placed on the Entrecard blog, which displays peoples' thoughts on Entrecard.


Here are the benefits:

1. Entrecard and Twitter are both social networks, so it makes sense to have them linked together.  You can meet new members by clicking the link in their profile.
2. You will be able to increase your Twitter following by connecting to all the other Entrecarders.
3. Help other members who may not have as much experience with the system.

Terms: You may not defame any member of Entrecard or its staff.

Thoughts: It is a good idea, but at at this point, I don't know how much of an effect this will have on the amount of traffic/growth you see on your blog or online profile.  It makes sense, as you will be able to quickly see all thoughts on Entrecard in addition to receiving tips on how to use the system more effectively/efficiently.

Your Thoughts: What do you think of the pair or the new widget?

Top Droppers in November '08

Thank you to the top droppers in November 2008.  It is greatly appreciated that you can continue to drop nearly every day.

Site Name - Number of Drops

1. The Junk Drawer - 31
   
2. Computer Aid - 31
   
3. HRM Business Practices and Notes - 31
   
4. MJG's Rambling Thoughts - 31
   
5. Earn Blogger - 31
6. My gypsygoods - 31
7. Septagon Studios Inc. News Blog - 30
8. My Thai Friend - 30
9. More Than Sew So - 30
10. Kuerdas! - 29

New Customer Support at Entrecard

Entrecard has hired a new staff member - Stuart of Secluded Habitat.  He will be helping throughout the Entrecard blog and across the entire site.

Secondly, the support is now through a Ticket System, which will allow them to better manage and track your support inquiries.  You will also be able to login and track your tickets that have been created.  This will allow more people to have their questions answered quickly - the administrators/support will know if a question hasn't been answered and eventually, enough questions will be accumulated that you will be able to read other members' questions.

Note: Graham wrote this line: "Not the last upgrade we’re making in the near term." in the comments, so there will be more to look forward to in the upcoming weeks.

Use or Accumulate Credits?

There are some people using Entrecard that use the system faithfully, day in and day out, who are able to quickly accumulate their credits, saving them until they have a few thousand.  At this point, some of them go on a spending spree (if they already haven't), or continue saving their credits.

Which direction is best for you?

Depending on your site or the features that Entrecard might roll out in the future (it is planned that the Marketplace will re-open with the option of selling credits for cash or other goods), you can choose multiple directions, which will be outlined below.  Now, I can only suggest general directions, as it is important to balance this depending on the critical factors put into place with your blog.  In other words, it's the ways that you save and manage your credits.

1. No Dropping/Direct Earning - You will only be using credits that you have earned through advertisers on your widget, creating new posts, etc.  
2. Drop, then Use Credits - You will earn credits through dropping and all other sources, but then use them nearly immediately to purchase advertising spots on other sites.  In some cases, you will save a few hundred to purchase higher-priced ad slots.
3. Saving Credits - All (or nearly all) credits that you have earned will be saved into your account, possibly for future use.

Which of these methods do you employ on your blog/site to achieve the best results?

Using Entrecard: How to Market an eBook

Note: Please make sure that the following tips are not against the terms of Entrecard before using them, or you may see your account suspended.  As long as the widget is on a page that contains text, linking to a 'quality' blog, you shouldn't have any major problems.

There have been a number of people on Entrecard that have been using their widget to promote services that they have created - in this case, we'll review how to market eBooks and other forms of digital good (specifically textual) through Entrecard.

Because Entrecard allows you to link to individual pages (be sure the widget and quality adheres to this page as well as the rest of your blog), you will be able to promote your eBook directly through Entrecard.

In short, here's how it's done:

1. Create an eBook or other product that focuses on a subject oriented around your blog.
2. Create an image that represents the product, such as an image of a book with the cover representing the book's main topic.  Keep in mind that it has to scale to 125x125 pixels.
3. Upload the image to Entrecard, linking to the page.  You may also change the title of your blog and/or description to suit the change in where your link directs readers.
4. Be sure that the page you have linked to works.  In other words, it must be a "landing page" for readers to find out how to download/view the book, not simply a link in the sidebar.
5. Let the readers flow in to download and view your product.

Some other tips:

• Don't use someone else's product or an affiliate offer on your promotion page.  This is strictly against the terms of Entrecard.
• Be sure that everything is complete before you transition your blog over to the "marketing" stage.  You don't want any 404 errors and the like.
• Be sure that readers notice your ad - advertise throughout Entrecard - so, you'll want to accumulate quite a lot of credits before you begin.
• You shouldn't try selling your eBook (charging people to download it) through Entrecard - sales will be quite limited compared to other advertising methods.

Conclusion

If you don't receive at least some return on your eBook in terms of downloads, it might be time to take a different approach to marketing your product.  It is to be a product that is unique, so readers will find value in it.  Otherwise, you are simply promoting something that people already know how to do or have already downloaded/purchased before.

While these are some general tips on how to begin marketing your new eBook through Entrecard, there are many different avenues that you can explore in terms of how to use the powerful system, with more to be exposed in the near future.

What are your thoughts on marketing a single product (i.e. an eBook through Entrecard)?  Have you ever tried it — what were your results?

Entrecard Encourages You to Use Mixx

Graham, the owner and creator of Entrecard is promoting another service, Mixx, which has seen exponential growth since it launched just a year ago.  The service is similar to Digg in that it will help you increase traffic, while promoting your favorite posts.

To get started in posting content to Mixx, you'll need an account, and you will then be able to recommend your content to others.

The main issue being addressed is Bounce Rate.  When you look at sites like Mixx or Digg, you will rarely ever see high click through rates and any additional income from people clicking on ads, although any additional page views will lead to at least some subscribers, new comments, etc.  The entire purpose is getting your brand and domain name out there to as many people as possible.

Mixx has about 1/28th the total unique visitors of Digg, but it'll be that much easier to have content reach the homepage, which serves more than 60,000 visitors daily. Full traffic details here.

Start by registering for Mixx or going to the Marketing Forum where you can post your recommended stories.

We Want Your Thoughts!

I'd like to open this blog up to further feedback from the dedicated Entrecard readers.  We have come to a point where I want additional thoughts from readers about this blog.

Therefore, if you would like to take a short questionnaire about "how we're doing," feel free to do so through this form (Google Docs).  It is less than five questions.

We don't want any biased opinions, so comments and backlinks have been turned off/closed for this post.  All your responses will be kept private within the document and no one will have access to your responses other than me.

Remember, I am doing this to determine the direction of the blog - it will help you in the long-term as I'll focus on the responses provided.

One of Most Popular Entrecard Blogs was 99% Copied

In another turn of unfortunate events, Monkey Tales, one of the most popular blogs on Entrecard for the entire time that the service was existent was uncovered to be nearly 100% copied, other than a few comments and rearranging of words in the posts.

Most of the posts were copied from this blog: Where the Hell Was I?

I won't get into much detail on it here - you can view a longer discussion at Turnip of Power.

However, it isn't the fault of Entrecard in any way.  Other services, no matter how many precautions they put in place, have blogs that filter through that have copied material.  In this case, it was nearly impossible to tell that the content wasn't original unless you happened to past a line or two into a search engine - even then, it would have been hard to uncover.

A Review of the Blog Quality Standards

I'd like to take the time again to review the Blog Quality Standards, which were set forth to create the best, highest quality network of blogs - in the long run, they'll help improve the overall experience of all members.

It is important to remember them, or you run the risk of having your account deleted.

Warnings

A warning will be sent to blogs if your blog doesn't meet the Blog Quality Standards and is only a minor offense.  At this stage, you'll be given 3 days (72 hours) before your entire account will be permanently deleted.

For all other, "major" offenses, your account will be immediately deleted and you won't have permission to "reactivate" it.

When Your Account is Deleted

If your blog fails to meet the standards and is deleted for whatever reason, you will receive an email from deleted@entrecard.com, which will state the reason why your account was deleted.  Once you have addressed the problem (whether the deletion was in error or not), you can send a reply to the message and they will review your site/account again.  If the moderators find that it has been "fixed," your account will be reopened.

At no point will they ever discuss a deleted site with other members of the site.

Main Rules

These are the main rules that you must follow in order to remain a member of the site.  While not all rules are watched, many are reported by moderators/members of the site.

1. No Nudity - Because Entrecard is a (generally) friendly-family site, any blogs with images containing nudity in the posts or ads are not permitted.
2. English Only - To maintain a "readability," your blog must be in English, otherwise use a translation plugin or write it in a different language.
3. 5 Posts Minimum - To become a member, you need to have at least five posts at all times on your blog.  They must have been written within the past three months.
4. Original Content - You can't replicate content from other sources, which includes "free articles," from the public domain or other illegal sources, such as stolen content or scraped feeds.
5. No Full-Screen Ads or Popups - Bogs that contain these will be removed as it is annoying to readers who visit your blog through the service.
6. No Illegal File Downloads - You may not link to or host files that are illegal - such as music, movies, or software.  You may distribute content that you have created, as long as the user opts-in to the download.
7. Present Entrecard Widget - The widget is required to be on your site at all times.
8. No Redirects - Your URL cannot contain redirects to any other site.
9. No Duplicate Accounts - No duplicate accounts for the same blog.
10. URLs Must be Valid - In other words, don't use someone else's site or a URL that directs to a non-existent site.
11. No Automatically Playing Audio - People don't want to hear your music or advertisements when they visit your site.  You can have video and audio, but it can't be set to automatically play.
12. Recent Content - You can't have content on the main page that hasn't been updated within the past 90 days (3 months).

Additional

• No non-blogs, including directories, indexes, forums, or stores.  They can be attached to your blog, but can't be used as a site connected with your widget.
• Sites cannot contain more than 50% paid content - paid posts, posts with links to online stores, or affiliate links (to keep down on spam and people who want to build dozens of sites to market through the system illegally).

Illegal Activities

These activities pertain to generating credits, spamming, and "gaming" the system.

• Using an automated program or script that does the dropping for you.
• Drops done through means in which you are not visiting the blog.
• Using the message system to send unsolicited spam to members you have had no interaction with previously.
• Using the message system to ask for recommendations or to ask for participation in a recommendation exchange.
• Harassing other members, using profanity, etc.
• Uploading a card that contains nudity, illegal activities, or is offensive to other members.

Link: Blog Quality Standards

All of these standards, rules, and procedures have been set forth to ensure that the integrity of the site remains as high as possible, as well as to keep the site growing strong.

A Quick Review of Dropaholics.com

I recently found a new site related to Entrecard.  Appropriate with the last post, along with the fact that this blog covers nearly everything Entreard, I figured I would write a quick review of it here (if you haven't already heard about it).

The site monitors the people who are able to drop the most cards per day, with a listing of the Top 100.  You will then be able to visit their blogs, which serves as a little reward to get on the list.

The one negative: You need to submit your blog to the site in order to even be considered.  Otherwise, you'll go unnoticed with the other top droppers who haven't visited the site.

When you visit the list of top droppers, you'll find that when you hover over a site, a hover box will appear, showing the sites that this person drops on everyday.  However, it appears that the lists are rather small (less than 60), so it might only check against the sites listed on the site and not the entire network of sites.

You can add your site to the list by visiting this page.  Then, you'll need to input your Top Card Droppers RSS link into the submission form provided on that page.

Although the site is rather basic and serves a single purpose, it may be useful to see who are the top droppers/keep track of them.

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of this site.

How Much Time Do You Spend Using Entrecard?

A common complaint by people leaving Entrecard (for various reasons) is that it takes too much time to use to its full potential.  Some claim that "dropping" three hundred cards/credits on other sites is a waste of time and isn't effective in building your site - you could instead be writing a few posts on your blog.

However, there are a few reasons why this myth can be proven as false.  Now, these aren't anyone else's opinions, but my own findings through the use of the site.

First of all, there is no "requirement" of the number of sites you need to visit within the system, only a limit of 300.  People that strive to reach the maximum amount often become exhausted and call the task a chore. You can cut down the number of drops daily to under 50, or any other amount, depending on the amount of time you have.  If you encounter "dropping fatigue," then rest for a while.

The main problem with the current limit is the "need" to achieve that level day in and day out to get the most results.  The truth is, the popularity of your blog also weighs in on that as well as the date you joined the site.  Alone, dropping on all 300 sites won't get you as far as the previous two tasks, which should be put first.

Another suggestion is to network with a few blogs and promise that you will only drop on a select twenty or so blogs.  This alleviates some of the hassle of dropping on so many sites, while still being able to take advantage of what Entrecard offers.

Finally, you have to look at the system in perspective.  If you took the time to visit three hundred random sites on the Internet, it would take you the same amount of time, if not longer.  You get something out of dropping on Entrecard - more experience as a blogger, an idea of what is happening in the world through non-media eyes, personal thoughts of other bloggers, and traffic returning to your site everyday (along with subscribers, comments, and more).

So, the question of the post is: How much time do you spend using Entrecard?  Is it worth it to drop on 300 sites daily, or do you find that it is best to use an approach that balances drops with comments and other promotion methods?

Get in Early, Leave Late

This post, titled "Get in Early, Leave Late" is meant to help you judge when the best time is to join Entrecard if you haven't already.

I was a little late in joining the system, although I have taken advantage of it heavily primarily in the past few months, as it has been an enormous help in growing a community while growing traffic.

There are still quite a few people who actively participate in the site, who were there when it first launched, and they have been able to use the system to its full intentions - gaining subscribers and traffic along the way.

Following the mindset of the post, there is little to lose in joining the site right now.  This is not a paid advertisement, as this blog reflects on Entrecard news and announcements, but simply a call out to those of you who haven't signed up for the service.  There is little to lose except the time you spend commenting, visiting others' blogs, and connecting with other bloggers who share your passions.

What Else Will You Gain?

• Subscribers from people who find your blog and find it interesting.
• New visitors - people who would never have visited your blog otherwise.
• An increase in comments from people who want to share their thoughts on your posts.
• Tips and tutorials on blogging from their blog.
• Tools to help market your blog to the world.
• Ways to earn money (in the future).

Entrecard Marks One-Year Anniversary

As the first year of Entrecard has passed, the entire community behind the system and its owner are eagerly looking onto year two of the powerful system.

In this post, Graham (the owner/creator) outlined what is to be expected from year two of the site.

Statistic - Five million visits per month are generated through the system to the members that are a part of the site.  Assuming that all blogs are as active as one another, that means (according to the number of blogs in the network, which also includes new blogs, 'spam' blogs, and inactive blogs) that the average site receives 189 visits referred through the site by placing ads or dropping credits on other sites.  Not too shabby for a site that was started just a year ago.  Again the main purpose was reiterated - that is, to help bloggers succeed.

In Year Two

1. The shop will be re-released with a feedback system.  Within this area, you will be able to sell anything for credits.  It appears at this point the vision is for it to be somewhat like eBay, where you will be able to purchase items with credits, helping improve the economy and give you opportunities to use credits for other purposes other than advertising on other blogs.
2. A credit exchange will be added, so you can buy and sell credits from your dashboard.  This will allow people to generate a little side cash from their efforts using the system.
3. Partnerships with other services and more features as the site grows.
4. More feedback/personalized touches from members: You can now use the username Blogger and the password entrecard to blog on their blog by logging in at: http://entrecard.com/blog/wp-admin.   Your article must be related to blog industry news, making money with your blog, tips and tricks to improve your blog, and Entrecard news and announcements (by Entrecard administrators).  You will be able to post a link/image at the top of the most directing readers to your site, which should further help you build your blog over time.
5. For the past month or so, contests were posted on the blog, but with the change of direction, they will be moved to a separate forum with new contest announcements and updates.

Your Thoughts

What do you think needs to be "fixed" in the system?  Which of these features do you want the most or will benefit the community the most?  Weigh in with your thoughts and ideas.

Turnip of Power also remarked on the results of the first year in a "grade" format.

The Concept Behind "Top Monthly Droppers"

Browsing through the Entrecard directory, you'll find that many people feature a list of ten or so blogs each month, which either have produced the most number of consecutive returns to their blog (top droppers) or have produced the greatest return rate for advertising on other blogs.

While the concept is simple — you are linking to another blog within the network, rewarding them for visiting your blog and supporting your blogging efforts — more happens "behind the scenes" than you might initially think.

Let's assume that just 1% of the entire network of Entrecard was to create a list of their Top Droppers. This would mean that anywhere between 200 and 300 blogs were to add this list somewhere to their blog, whether on a dedicated page, in a post, or within the sidebar.  If you are listed on just a few of them, it could amount to a few hundred additional visits, or at the very least, a few more links back to your site.

Linking to people who visit your site helps further build a relationship beyond the rather close relationship you may have developed with other blogs on the network.  If you are able to continue dropping on the same, "favorite" blogs each day, you will help them build their blog and online presence as a blogger - more rewarding down the road than anyone might realize.

In addition, linking to other blogs will reward the groups of people you have linked to - you are helping them build PageRank, or Google's ranking of a site's popularity - which will help them across the board when it comes to selling advertisements on their site, ranking in various search engines, and other purposes.  Visitors not a part of Entrecard may see additional value in this, despite the fact that they haven't even become a member of the tool/service yet.

Other Points:

• Linking back to your "Top Droppers" shows your commitment to building a community and further rewarding people who have helped grow your blog.
• You are able to connect to people who may not have ever visited your blog before, because you are providing links to sites that they normally would never have visited.
• In the long-term, every site that links to your blog/you link out will benefit from the additional links with a few additional readers/subscribers/visits.

All in all, it is important to reward your frequent visitors and commentators on your site - Entrecard has proven that.  You can read more on this tip and comments from other members on this Entrecard post .

10 Steps to Choosing the Best Blog to Advertise On

Most of what Entrecard has been built upon is directing people to blogs that may interest, allowing them to further grow their own blog and connect to people who may want to subscribe or visit it daily.

Why It is Important to Choose the Right Site.
When you place your 125x125 image on another blog, you are essentially spreading word about your blog - in more ways than one.  First of all, you are placing an image, which represents your blog and yourself.  Secondly, you want to target sites that will offer you the best return for their cost.  Similar to traditional advertising models in which you pay per click (PPC), a set monthly rate, or per 1,000 impression (CPM), you'll need to find sites that offer a mix between a good traffic level, number of readers, and return rate (people who will be interested in your site).

The 10 Steps to Choosing the Right Site.

1. Analyze Alexa statistics to compare your site's traffic and ranking against other sites.  Although the graphs don't represent the true traffic levels of sites (higher ranking sites display lower on their rankings than they should be and vice versa), it can still be used as a separate tool in analyzing traffic other than specific traffic levels.
2. Next, use Compete.com traffic statistics, which present fairly (yet again, not always accurate) levels of United States-specific traffic.  The levels of this site are generally in line with what you'll see if you looked at their Google Analytics or other metrics.  You can compare growth of the site along with several other key factors.
3. Directly contact the blogger with their mission and what type of content is on their site, if it isn't already obvious.  Ask them if they can provide screenshots of traffic information, derived from tracking cookies and codes installed on their site.  This will provide the most accurate information relating to analytics that anyone can offer (unless they provide false information).
4. Look at their contact page, number of comments, and type of content published on the site.  This will allow you to see whether the site holds any value.  Now, personal sites have different factors that must be put into play (those sites that aren't commercial - without advertisements).  Often, the person(s) that run the blog will provide statistics on their "About" or "Advertisement" pages.
5. View their feed growth and statistics by using this Blog Perfume Tool.  If there is little to no growth or a downward slope, that means that the blogger in charge of the site isn't adding value to their readers, thus the negative trend.
6. Be sure that the site is legitimate (it has been open for quite some time) and has developed a following, not just because it is reposting content from other sites (scraping feeds).  If you find this, it should first be reported to Entrecard as a low-quality blog.  You will get the least amount of value out of this site than any other sites you advertise on.
7. View the advertisements that are already on their site (if there are any).  Judge them, see what categories/types of services those advertisers have chosen to place on the site.  There is a reason they chose to advertise on the site vs. other sites that cover similar topics.  Is the site unique in the way the owner presents information, is there a unique design, is there a large subscriber base?
8. What is the cost of the ad?  Is the ad cost influenced by people who are 'friends' of the blog in mention, or is it a sincerely popular blog, with hundreds/thousands of daily visitors and value for readers/visitors?  Unless the blog follows some of the 'qualifications' outlined above, you won't find as much value in advertising there for the price.
9. Does the site allow OIO Publisher ads?  If it does (not only did the owner invest money in the site), you'll find that the site is easier to advertise on (you'll be able to advertise for around 166 credits per day), making it more valuable than many blogs that run at more than 2,000-4,000 credits per day, especially as 1,000 credits is roughly equal to $6.
10. Finally, you have to judge the ad location, sidebar text, and widgets installed on the blog.  If the Entrecard widget is placed amongst other widgets and advertisements, it is less likely that people will visit your site (avoiding it due to clutter), meaning you've just wasted your credits to advertise on the site.

While this is an incomplete roundup of ways to choose the site you'll advertise on, what other methods do you personally use to determine the best value for your time?

Entrecard Updates Homepage

 The Entrecard team has updated its homepage with a more professional "about" image and more clearly defined message to new members.

Main blog categories have changed, listing the number of blogs in the category (whether or not it was present before).
Preview of New Homepage
The sidebar no longer features recent posts from the members, but offers the same advertisements listed from the blog page, which is okay, as Entrecard is like any other service or business and needs to generate a revenue to continue operation.  This may present a better value fort he blogs and services that want to advertise on the site (the homepage sees more than a million unique visitors each month compared to numbers in the thousands on the blog page).

Feedback is welcomed in the forum post.

Top Droppers for October 2008

I'd like to thank the following people, who each visited this blog on an almost daily basis.  If you want to appear on this list next month, you'll need to "drop" on over to this site nearly each day (at least 25 times), and appear in the list provided on the Statistics page of Entrecard.

Dropper	# of drops
Realm of Prosperity	30
Septagon Studios Inc News Blog	29
Kitchen Retro	29
MJG's Rambling Thoughts	29
Earn Blogger	28
The Virtual Dime Museum	27
AdsenseAddict	27
Beethoven Midi	26
Internet Marketing Blog	26
Ben Barden | Top 10 Blogging Tips	26

You can find the Top Droppers feed by clicking here.

New Contest: Momma Wannabe's Thanksgiving Contest

A new contest has been announced on the Entrecard blog, with full details available at Momma Wannabe.com.

There are dozens of prizes available, with simple ways to enter the contest, such as writing about it, subscribing to the feed, and leaving a comment on her blog.

Go over to either post to enter the contest today.  You don't want to be left out of this one - there are multiple chances to win one of the prizes.

The contest runs from October 26 to December 01, 2008.

Account Warnings Now in Place

Members that have had their blog marked as "deleted" will now be given a three-day grace period before their blog and account are fully suspended and deleted.  It is of utmost importance to keep the system as free of spam and inappropriate blogs as possible.  When these "blogs" enter the system, nearly everyone suffers as the quality of your traffic goes down, value of credits goes down, and other factors result in a less-than-ideal system for members to use.

From now on, if your blog is flagged for minor violations of the Blog Quality Standards, you will be given this one warning, until you update to adhere to the standards set forth by the Entrecard team.

New Contests this Week

On this Entrecard post, a number of new contests have been announced.  There is a great chance that you'll win at least one of them if you enter, so check them out.  A few of them need sponsors and all of them need participants.

Entrecard is the prime source for launching your blog contest as you will be able to promote your contest through their blog and main page, with thousands of targeted blog readers viewing your blog/contest.

Major SezWho Upgrade

A major upgrade of SezWho, the tool Entrecard uses to help bloggers earn additional credits by commenting and rating on other blogs, has been released.

There were dozens of new additions and performance upgrades in Version 2.2, so I'll be outlining them below.

1. Support for Local CSS and JavaScript (for WordPress).  These files will now be served from your local server, not from SezWho.
2. JavaScript has become more compact, meaning faster loading blogs for WordPress and Blogger users.  Take a look at the comparison: Uncompressed - 90K (Old), 35K (New); Compressed - 19K (Old), 14.3K (New), meaning your page will load 25%+ faster.
3. Support for both new and classic blog templates.  This will also improve the performance of Blogger by preloading the SezWho user interface.
4. Support for templates for comments, so you can have threaded comments and using four different looks and feels (provided) for the comment templates.
5. Thumbs up and down for ratings - this will be the new default setting.
6. Support for configurable popups (popup on hover or not).
7. Support for WP-MU and multiple installs in the same WP database.
8. Easy upgrade - just update your SezWho folder with the latest code and configure the new settings from the plugins > SezWho configuration page.
9. Improved support for filtering.

On the Entrecard side, the algorithm has changed.  A credit will be given to people who leave comments that get rated 2.5 or better, once per day per blog.

You can read the announcement post at Entrecard.

My Opinion: It looks like these changes are for the better, as the previous system didn't contain a whole lot of flexibility when it came to how your comments are threaded/displayed.  Plus, the performance is another key issue addressed - making the plugin even more valuable for the people who have it installed.

In addition, SezWho is holding a performance upgrade giveaway, in which you can win a "SezWho" polo t-shirt, by telling them the improvements in load times (leave a comment on their blog post).

Let's Win this Contest Together, Part II

A new contest is being held by Shanker Bakshi, and he needs sponsors for his contest.  The new contest runs from November 1st and ends on December 1st, with participants selected by randomizing the entries.

He is looking for the following prizes:

• Entrecard Credits
• Theme/Logo Design/Header Design
• Blogging Tool/Your Product
• Site Review
• Advertising on Your Site in the form of a Banner, Text Link, Membership Subscription
• eBook
• Hard Cash

You can contact Rose (the contest coordinator) from the Entrecard blog post.

Save $17 on OIO Publisher

Entrecard has once again partnered with OIO Publisher to get you a coupon for more than 1/3 off the plugin.  If you are already a member of Entrecard, you'll know that the plugin can serve as an important link between you and advertisers (both cash and Entrecard payments accepted), eliminating the middleman.

In addition, you can browse through Entrecard sites on the marketplace at the OIO Publisher website.  [Link]

For those of you who held off on the purchase the first time around, you can now purchase the plugin for just $30, which is $17 off its original price of $47.  You can purchase the plugin by visiting the post using the discount code entrecard2.  New features and upgrades have been added since the initial release.

2 New Entrecard Contests

If you head on over to the Entrecard blog, two new contests have been announced, held by fellow Entrecard bloggers.

The first contest is titled BadEvan's Halloween Costume Contest, in which you have to send a picture of you posing (preferably in a costume) by November 3rd.  You can read the full details at Entrecard or his blog .

The second one is from Mr. Javo, who is planning to launch his first eBook with a bang.  Thousands of dollars of prizes are up for grabs.  Full details are listed below, as well as prizes and how to enter (this post counts as an entry, for example).  You can read the post at Entrecard here.

What is this all about?

Mr Javo had improve his blog, adding new features including a Newsletter. This contest will help him to promote his enhanced Blog, as well as his eBook The Affiliate's Start Guide.

The Prizes

Until now I have over $1800 $2000 in prizes, which I will distribute among 10 lucky winners!

1st Place

• $200 filled into an advertiser account on Bidvertiser - Value $200
• A custom blog design courtesy of Canadian Web Design - Value $195
• One hour consultation with Mattaw of MoneyBites - Value $50
• One copy of OIOpublisher - Value $47
• One copy of the Traffic Rush Course, courtesy of Caroline MiddleBrook - Value $47
• One copy of the SEO eBook Don't Get Banned by The Search Engines - Value $40 NEW!
• One year VIP membership on CreateBanner.com, courtesy of Xavier Media - Value $35
• One copy of the eBook Work Smart, Get Rich!, courtesy of The Net Fool - Value $15

2nd Place

• No Compromise Logo Design Package, courtesy of Logo Design Team - Value $229 NEW!
• A professional audio Intro / Outro for your Podcast or an Audio Introduction for your Blog by Mary-Lynn at Bigg Studio - Value $150
• A copy of the UBD Citrus Theme, by UniqueBlogDesigns - Value $79
• One hour consultation with Benjamin of Big Ben Patton's Place - Value $50 NEW!
• One copy of OIOpublisher - Value $47
• One copy of the Traffic Rush Course, courtesy of Caroline MiddleBrook - Value $47
• One year VIP membership on CreateBanner.com, courtesy of Xavier Media - Value $35
• One copy of the eBook Work Smart, Get Rich!, courtesy of The Net Fool - Value $15

3th Place

• One Wordpress theme from PremiumThemesNow.com, courtesy of Daniel Scocco - Value $50
• One hour consultation with Benjamin of Big Ben Patton's Place - Value $50 NEW!
• One copy of OIOpublisher - Value $47
• One copy of the Traffic Rush Course, courtesy of Caroline MiddleBrook - Value $47
• One year VIP membership on CreateBanner.com, courtesy of Xavier Media - Value $35
• One month of 468x60px advertising on Big Ben Patton's Place - Value $20 NEW!
• One copy of the eBook Work Smart, Get Rich!, courtesy of The Net Fool - Value $15

4th Place

• One Wordpress theme from PremiumThemesNow.com, courtesy of Daniel Scocco - Value $50
• A blog review on Shanker Bakshi dot Com - Value $50 NEW!
  
• One copy of OIOpublisher - Value $47
• One copy of the Traffic Rush Course, courtesy of Caroline MiddleBrook - Value $47
• One year VIP membership on CreateBanner.com, courtesy of Xavier Media - Value $35
• One month of 125x125px advertising on Big Ben Patton's Place - Value $20 NEW!
• One copy of the eBook Work Smart, Get Rich!, courtesy of The Net Fool - Value $15

5th Place

• A pre-made toon, which is a guy with a laptop "making money" while on the beach, courtesy of Vic Ocampo - Value $50
• One copy of OIOpublisher - Value $47
• One copy of the Traffic Rush Course, courtesy of Caroline MiddleBrook - Value $47
• One year VIP membership on CreateBanner.com, courtesy of Xavier Media - Value $35
• One blog review by Benjamin of Big Ben Patton's Place - Value $30 NEW!
• One month of 125x125px advertising on iDesignStudios.com - Value $20 NEW!

6th Place

• A paid review on Balkhis, courtesy of Syed - Value $80
• Two months of 125x125px advertising on Direct Sales Web Marketing, courtesy by Dennis Edell - Value $50
• Thirty-minutes of blog consultations with Jim from The Net Fool - Value $30
• One blog review by Benjamin of Big Ben Patton's Place - Value $30 NEW!
• One month of 125x125px advertising on WebTrafficROI.com - Value $20 NEW!
• A link after every post during one month on Piggy Bank Pie - Value $10

7th Place

• Thirty-minutes of blog consultations with Jim from The Net Fool - Value $30
• A blog review, a 125x125px advertising for a month and 1000 EC by Louis Liem - Value $30
• One month of 125x125px advertising On Mr Javo dot Com, courtesy of Revvenue.com - Value $25
• One blog review on Niessuh.com - Value $20
• One month of text-link advertising on WebTrafficROI.com - Value $10 NEW!

8th Place

• A Blog review on SponsoReview.com - Value $30
• One month of 125x125px advertising on IndoContest, 2500 EC - Value $20
• 1000 EC from Give Away City
• 1000 EC from Danandmash In Oz

9th Place

• One month of 125X125px advertising on Work From Home Business Blog - Value $10
• One month of 125X125px advertising on Blogging From Scratch - Value $3
• 1000 EC from KisahberuanG.com

10th Place

• 1000 EC from ThemeLib
• 1000 EC from Cash In Style

As you can see, if you are among the top 5 winners you will have everything to start a blog and make money online!

How To Participate

The winners will be chosen of a drawing using the service provided by Random.org. To take part in this drawing you need to sign up for Mr Javo's newsletter.

By signing up and confirming your email , you will get 3 tickets!

You can also get TWO additional entries by writing about this contest in your blog, using the script provided here. Notice that you won't get this 2 additional entries if you don't sign up for the newsletter!

And if you don't have a blog but you want to get additional entries, there is a solution for you. You can get ONE additional entry for subscribing to Mr Javo's RSS feed by email. Notice that you won't get this additional entry if you don't sign up for my newsletter!

To claim the 1st prize you need to have an Advertiser's account on Bidvertiser. Get your account now!

Deadline

This contest ends on Nov 16th at 22:00 GMT -4. Mr Javo will make a screencast of the drawing to guarantee the transparency of the process! So go back to his blog in a month and check if you are a winner!

PS: I recommend you to periodically check the contest's page because could be more sponsored prizes for you!

Good Luck!

Turnip of Power's Thoughts on Improving Entrecard

Recently, "Turnip of Power" shared his thoughts on how to improve the Entrecard system, citing that Entrecard needs to switch to a monthly/yearly subscription service, like many other services.

I disagree with some of the points that have been addressed, but I, too, do not have a clear solution to improving Entrecard.

1. If Entrecard switches to a "pay for subscription" model, I likely won't pay, unless a set of powerful new tools to add value to my blog and build a further community around my blog are released.
2. The whole point of Entrecard is to help your blog grow, first through more traffic, then through building a community/readership base on your blog.  Decreasing the amount of drops, say below 100 per day, would decrease the amount of traffic you could potentially receive by dropping on other  sites and other members "dropping" on your site.
3. More high-trafficked sites, or blogs that are a part of networks need to join.  Entrecard would be able to increase their traffic to some degree, but the main benefit would be fore sites with less traffic - the return rates would be higher than many sites that don't receive as much traffic.  However, I don't see this as a viable solution either, as long-term results wouldn't be as great.

Share your thoughts on what Entrecard can do to get the "quick drop" mindset out of the people who use the system.

Miscelleanous Entrecard News

The two contests that were recently on Entrecard have concluded and the winners have been announced on this post.

You should check out the entries about others' opinions on the "traffic quality" debate.

In addition, a reiteration of the Entrecard Blog Quality Standards were posted here , which makes it harder for "spam" blogs to be kept in the system and approved.

New Entrecard Contest - Giveaway Bash

There is a new contest available on the Entrecard blog, with a total of more than 100,000 credits being given away.

Simply write a review of your favorite Entrecard blogger, publish it on your blog, link back to the post on the Entrecard blog, and the entries will receive, as follows:

• 1st Prize - 30,000 credits
• 2nd Prize - 20,000 credits
• 3 Runner-up Prizes - 10,000 credits

Entries will be judged on creativity, quality of the review, quality of constructive criticism/feedback, and quality of the blog you are writing on.  

The winner will be announced Tuesday.

Entrecard U Drop, I Follow Plugin Released

A plugin for WordPress, which adds a link to your blog to support the movement created by Lee Doyle is now available.

Today Stuart and I have released the U Drop I Follow plugin. This plugin will display your Entrecard widget along with one of the U Drop I Follow badges.

[...]

I also hope to soon have a system in place in which the U Drop I Follow system really does give real droppers a reward fr dropping back. With Entrecards new API I will soon have a system where the top droppers get added to the top of the drop list and the lesser droppers get put further down.

This system is still new and may be awhile away from being used… But I do hope to have a new sign up form that will help build this.

You can also find it on the WordPress.org Plugins repository or on the author's blog.

View and Purchase Ads Directly from OIO Publisher

A great new feature was added to the OIO Publisher Marketplace - the ability to browse and search for blogs that have the OIO Plugin installed on their blog.

It is rather basic at this point, but you can sort blogs by Name, Alexa, PageRank, and User Rating, making it easier to spend your Entrecard credits on blogs that accept them.

Link to Marketplace .

Quality of Entrecard Traffic

All traffic from Entrecard is human.  A large percentage of it is targeted in the sense that you can browse blogs that you are interested in, search for topics that may interest you, and choose not to visit those that are not up to your standards.

With these main aspects in place, the traffic from Entrecard is quite good, especially on this blog.  This blog is a mini-experiment to determine just how successful you can be using Entrecard.  Since April, I only used Entrecard to promote this blog, writing tips and covering news about the system.

To date, I've received more than 10,000 visitors, averaging 61 visitors per day, now averaging over 100-150/day - all from Entrecard (search engines is approximately 1.42%; direct traffic is 28.47%).  In these numbers, it is ranked within the top 150,000 blogs worldwide  and under 50,000 in the United States (in approx. 5 months time) - a figure that many bloggers can't attain after more than a year of blogging.

For those of you who think Entrecard traffic isn't that great - a huge boost in your blog's ranking alone can help advertisers decide whether your blog is the right place to advertise on, even if you aren't making the conversion rates that "normal" traffic would bring.   Myself, I would rather build a community with recurring visitors than quick traffic that never returns and brings in sales simply because your site is the first one that they happen to visit.  A community is more likely to stick together and support you than using any similar method, which won't contribute to your wants.

Now, when you take a look at the bounce rate (93.13%), it is obvious that people aren't interested in visiting multiple pages, but this can hold true for nearly all sites on the Internet, especially sites like blogs, with new content featured on the homepage (without displaying excerpts of content).  From this perspective, the traffic isn't that good, but had this blog not been promoted at all, through no other method could you attain levels this high in a relatively short period of time (with less than 50 posts to date).

People in the Entrecard network want to share their thoughts with one another, unlike the people you "pay" to visit your blog through AdWords.  Unlike AdWords, Entrecard is and can be completely free to use.  You never have to pay a cent to receive traffic, often targeted, with people who have spending power.  The traffic may not be as great as you want it to be — but that means that you aren't putting the time required into the system to see the return that it is promising you.

Think of it this way: You want to harness 1,000 new visitors to your blog.  However, you have a very limited budget, and you are only blogging on Blogger with a blog in the 'personal' category.  You are extremely limited as to how to do advertising, but Entrecard is the best way to promote your blog for the least amount of cash - who is able to pass by the opportunity for free advertising?  Within a month, it isn't that difficult to assess the savings by using Entrecard vs. PPC or CPM advertising methods.  It may take more time, but the long-term results are definitely more than running a short-term (monthly) ad on another site.

I don't know how most people feel about this, but advertising on other sites for free (minus time) using credits vs. $10+ each blog - there is an enormous savings there.

The 'Competing' Sites
I don't want to directly criticize MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog, but their services haven't accomplished what they were meant to do, despite "similar"goals to Entrecard.  Despite being members of these services, I cannot say the traffic is on par with that of Entrecard, and neither is the community backing or discussion - which are both kept on their sites rather than brought back to your site.

The core aspects of network sites: traffic and a strong backing.  Without these, the service can't grow unless it receives funding from another source.  While I don't know who backs BlogCatalog, I am sure they receive funding through advertisers/sponsors and some sort of developer program.  MyBlogLog is largely funded by Yahoo!, providing new features and support for the service.

Entrecard's traffic first started to display on Compete in October of 2007, versus pre-August for the other services.  If Entercard continues to grow at its current rate (between 60-110,000 new visitors each month), it will outpace MyBlogLog within the next month or two.  In total U.S. visits, it is only 40,000 away from becoming the leading network.  Unlike the other services, with growth at only slight increases month-over-month, Entrecard is seeing growth at between 6-35% or higher.

- Pages/Visit: 15 vs. 5.5 (MyBlogLog) and 5.3 (BlogCatalog)
- Attention: Up 21.7% over the past month, overall: 35.4% (only site in this category, total time spent on site as a percentage of the total time spent online by all U.S. Internet users.
- Unique Visitors: 1,063,725; up 6.1% (Entrecard) vs. 1,178,966 (MyBlogLog) and 680,192 (BlogCatalog)
- Rank: 1,480 in United States, growth of ~100 each month.
- Attention (Monthly): 8.3% vs. 0.0% and -26.5% by other services.
- Average Stay: 03:05 vs 02:45 (MyBlogLog) and 04:00 (BlogCatalog)

Simply from this raw data, you can see why you want to align yourself with the traffic and community around Entrecard rather than the others services - if the referring site doesn't have the traffic, there won't be any to "distribute" with your site.

Other Reasons Why Entrecard Traffic is the Best

• People who visit your site directly through search engines are less likely to know about 'social networking' websites like Facebook, MySpace, and other tools, such as StumbleUpon and Digg than people using Entrecard.  After all, the owner and members of Entrecard heavily promote alternative methods of spreading word about your blog and have provided different ways to do this, including tips to integrate the Yahoo! Buzz/Digg button, SezWho for commenting, and more.
• As a result of the first reason, I have had a high rate of people from Entrecard who have liked my content, thus deciding to StumbleUpon my posts.  Alone, this is one of the best values of Entrecard.  While the traffic isn't directly from Entrecard, it means that the members have "connected" with me, and sent thousands upon thousands of new, referred members to my site, for which I would not have received without the support of its members.
• There is a "community" behind Entrecard.  Unlike other systems, Graham has made it easy to connect with others.  Although some have called it another "directory" or "traffic exchange widget", it is more than this.  People that have joined Entrecard are dedicated in their pursuit to create a blog that is better than others', but are also willing to help other bloggers achieve their goals, by subscribing, commenting, rating, or joining other blog's discussions.  These people will visit your blog each and every day, subscribe to your blog, and spread word about it, writing and linking to it on their blog.

There are many success stories with Entrecard, and no other system has yet to receive the same level that Entrecard has.

It is encouraged that you share your ideas on this topic.  What levels of

You can read more follow-up on the blog post.

Top Droppers in September

This is a post to thank those of you who faithfully "dropped" on this site over the past month.  While this post won't be as in-depth as last month, I'll post links to the members that should be rewarded.

Quick Stats: Visits were up 6.13%, Pageviews were up 3%, Pages/Visit were down, Bounce Rate and Time on Site were also negative.  However, New Visits were up nearly 2%, so depending on ow you look at it, September saw an increase in many aspects of traffic levels.

You can also find the list by viewing the feed.

Dropper	# of drops
Smart Bloggerz	31
Realm of Prosperity	29
PaulsHealthBlog.com	28
What About Blog	27
FOOTBALL: Just Love The Game	27
Enfotainer - Enfotain Your Mind	27
My Tramping View	26
Entertain Me	26
Beethoven Midi	24
Earn Blogger	24

Entrecard Cleaning up Contests

In an effort to make contests more "standard" and less through sites that are simply hosting them in hopes of generating a large number of backlinks, a volunteer job at Entrecard as contest correspondent can now be had.

Requirements: You must be an active member of the community, have good organizational skills, want to help Entrecard a better place to take contests to the next level, and never have sold credits before.

By doing this, there will be added legitimacy behind the Entrecard contests, as they will be "moderated," so to speak.  The transfer fees will be waived if you go through Entrecard, and links throughout the site will be placed to help you promote it.

Entrecard Teams up with OIO Publisher

OIO Publisher, a plugin that allows bloggers and website owners to sell ads on their site with little or no cost (normally $47, but $30 with coupon "entrecard") has now partnered with Entrecard, to allow users of the system to purchase advertisements, reviews, text links, inline ads, RSS inserted ads, monthly 125x125 ads, and more.

You can find the post here or the direct purchase link (not ours!) here.

The new version, 2.0, allows more bloggers, using either Blogger or WordPress (must have a hosting account) to use the tool.  It does much more than simply help you sell ads - you are able to track the number of clicks, click through rate, number of clicks, impressions, plus other features.

In the near future (within 2 days), you will be able to browse their Marketplace to find sites that are using the tool and Entrecard.

What this means for bloggers:

• You will be able to purchase advertising on other blogs.
• You will be able to earn Entrecards through both the Entrecard system, selling ads through the widget.
• It will be easier to earn Entrecards and cash through the system, as $1 is roughly equal to 166 credits.
• Advertisers are more likely to continue advertising on your site, with the reports that they are given.
• It is easier to manage ads with the plugin.
• Google doesn't (as far as most people know) penalize sites selling links, banners, etc. through OIO, as tracking links are used instead.

Other Details:

- Entrecard makes a small commission on each sale, so this helps support the rollout of new Entrecard features.

- 12.5% of the Entrecards you spend go back to Entrecard to maintain inflation, sell back to members, etc.  As far as I know, no fees beyond what PayPal takes will go to Entrecard.

My Thoughts:

This is a great addition to Entrecard, although many people will need to implement it before you can use it to its full advantage.  However, I believe that purchasing ads on blogs through the Entrecard widget will become less of value, until the new marketplace/credit trade-in system is put in place.  For example, if a blog costs 512 credits/day to advertise on with the Entrecard widget, but only 166/day with OIO Publisher/private ad sales, wouldn't you want to go with OIO Publisher?

There have been quite a number of people commenting on the price of the plugin.  In a sense, it is high for someone who doesn't have much money they may never see again, but on the other hand, the price is the same as a 3-year domain, or 3 months of website hosting, not an extremely high price.  Set the price at ~2,500 for a month, and you'll (theoretically) make the fee back within two sales.

Secondly, another issue that I see is with the decrease in prices and high availability of credits for sale - over 300,000 on the "Buy Credits" page - wouldn't this create higher inflation - something that everyone wanted to prevent before?

You can check out the full details of the money-saving offer or go directly to the OIO Publisher website (Entrecard affiliate link).

Note: Spend a few moments to vote on the Entrecard blog about the recent changes in the sidebar - length before a blog is removed with no updates, daily number of drops, etc.

Major Changes at Entrecard

In this blog post, there were a number of changes addressed, which should be shared with others who use the system.

Quote:
In order to continue operating in the long-term, Entrecard needs to make some significant changes. The changes are summarized below:

• Buy credits for less: Entrecard is now selling 1,000 credits for $6.00.
• More pricing increments: Instead of prices doubling every time, there are now a few more steps. The new price points can be found on the Advertising page in the wiki.
• Members are not allowed to sell credits: This goes for ebay sales, posts in the Marketing forum, and posts on other forums. If you have references on your site to the sale of credits, please remove them immediately, as it is now against our terms.
• Credit transfer limits: Members are allowed to make a maximum of 14 credit transfers a week, up to a maximum of 1,000 credits, whichever comes first. This means you can still run contests where you give credits away for free, and under 1k per week. Note: This does not affect linked blogs, you can transfer unlimited credits between linked blogs.
• Transfer tax: From now on, all transfers, including transfers made with our new payments API, will be taxed at a rate of 12.5%. The taxed credits will be sold to members (see #1).
• Blogs cannot be unlinked: Once you link a blog, it’s there for good unless you ask us to delete the blog from your account. This prevents linking/unlinking to get around the credit transfer limits, and it also stops you losing access to a blog if you unlink it in error, which happens a lot.
• No more coupons: You are no longer allowed to send coupons.
• Shop closed: Except for Entrecard upgrades (Featured Status, Fast Pass) the Entrecard Shop is now offline until further notice. Please do not request a seller token until the shop returns. When it comes back, it will be bigger and better. We’ll communicate more details nearer the time.

We really do believe that an economy with plenty of 3rd parties involved is a stronger economy overall, unfortunately just right now we’re unable to support that given the need to keep everything running. We hope that, by taking the steps we have, we will be able to reach a good balance between maximizing the overall benefits for our users and getting the revenue we need to pay the bills and expand the service.

Hopefully, in the future, we’ll be in a stronger position with a more diverse income and we’ll be able to reintroduce independent credit sales.

We appreciate all the feedback we’ve had over the past few days on this topic, please let us know what you think by leaving a comment.

---

My Thoughts
Many of these steps were in the right direction.  There will be a sharp decline in the people who simply went to the system to make a quick buck, trying to sell the credits through third party methods, like eBay.  Eventually, a new system will be put into place (likely including the 12% tax), allowing bloggers to sell their credits to other members.

As stated in the enormous list of comments, privacy should be added when linking blogs, as it is the main reason I have not linked my blogs together.  Until this happens, I have to manage multiple accounts.

A manual review process of new members, in which blogs that have been "approved" will not have to go through the review process, and their blogs will be automatically added - similar to other sites and advertising programs.

On Entrecard (Advertising) Prices: The new intervals will likely help, but a combination of true daily page views and visits should be factored in, or at least displayed, to help (encourage) members to advertise on other blogs.  Currently, the prices are based primarily on the number of clicks and popularity (ultimately pricing) of the site.

The main goal of these changes, in my opinion, is to find the balance between profit and quality - in multiple ways.  First of all, if the price of credits is dropped, say to 200, it will prevent credit farmers from using the system, once again, from reaping a profit, but at the same time, it will limit the number of blogs you can visit to earn credits.  In the end, it will create more return visits (readers) for blogs, rather than "quick droppers," while ensuring that there are never too many "artificially" created credits.

Once these measures are put into place, the price of credits will slowly rise, to the point they once were headed — allowing the team behind Entrecard to grow, with more features, support, and financial backing (without the need of VCs).

Finally, sites that do not have a lot of content, or content that is created with little purpose, should be warned when they infringe on the terms of the site, then deleted if no response is given within a period of time, such as a month.  This allows bloggers that may not have updated their blog in three months to "reactivate" their account, while presenting warning, through email and on the site, that they need to do something or their site/account will be banned/deleted.  However, this will likely be one of the hardest decisions, as some bloggers neglect their blog for four months only to begin posting again later.

Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below, sharing what you think of the new changes, as well as what should be done.

Or, you can view the full blog post and comments on the Official Entrecard Blog .