I mentioned I was getting a new design a few days ago, as one of the things I was doing to boost subscriber count… the design is shown below.
What do you guys think?
It’s clean, Web 2.0 ish, was done by a friend. The blank space at the top is room for a mascot – the little guy you see currently is getting redrawn. 
More about who did it and the process when it goes live, but would love to hear your opinions.
Some updates…
If you squint (or click through to make the image full size) you’ll notice the topic of the 55+ page free report. I can promise you that it’s insanely high quality and i’ll be adding to it as we go on – hopefully it’ll become the ultimate resource about that topic. A couple people have looked at it / proofread for me and they liked it, but we’ll see what you guys think when it’s out (if you want to help proofread and get an early sneak peek, hit me up on MSN/Skype).
Quality matters less than I think
Although I don’t mind putting out 400 word generic articles on my niche sites to build backlinks, the silly thing I’ve done is that I have a way too high expectation of what quality should be, especially on this blog.
For example, although I think “how to install a wordpress theme” might be useless information for me to put out, a lot of people need to know stuff like that. Or, an article on how to make money writing articles – most of you would think that’s way too basic but there are people out there that would kill for that kind of information.
So I’m going to be putting out a lot more information on here, generic, but helpful stuff. For example stuff like 9 ways for teens to make money, 10 things you should do to get more blog comments etc. Both a mix for SEO and for social traffic from places like Digg, Stumble Upon etc.
The bonus for you guys is that I’ve disabled blog broadcast and will only use it to send out the elite articles, so if you subscribe to the Aweber list you’ll be getting only the top stuff (and some other info that won’t even be displayed on this blog). I’ll be pre launching the free report through Aweber, so if you’re signed up you’ll automatically get it.
Monetization
Unfortunately, I’m a bit of a weak person when it comes to promoting in this niche. I can sell a $10 report like the best of them… however I didn’t do it enough when I previously owned this blog.
My problem is that on this blog I interacted with people, and when I did that they became friends. I find it almost impossible to ’sell’ to friends, even if the information is useful – I’d rather spend an hour helping someone out than telling them to go buy a $47 product.
However, although I still love you guys I’m going to try and get over this irrational fear – I’ll be recommending stuff on here from time to time, although as always I maintain that a) you don’t need anything I recommend b) I won’t promote stuff too often and c) I won’t promote shite products.
This blog has a Marketing Team
As I mentioned, I’m currently in India training my employees – one of their tasks is to promote this blog. I’m teaching them about things like article marketing, blog commenting and forums… now you may notice a couple comments on your own blogs from them.
They’re still getting the hang of everything, including comment etiquette etc – they are real people, they are taught to try and add value, and they are passionate about marketing. So if you notice a comment on your blog that doesn’t sound like me… it’s from one of them and hopefully it’ll add to the discussion on your website.
Make Money Dynamo
A couple people have asked me about MMD – I’ve moved all posts to this site, although I didn’t do 301 redirects or anything too technical, just stuck up a maintenance page with a link to this blog.
MMD still has 200~ subscribers and I’ll be getting my employees to share their experiences on it, what they’re learning in internet marketing and so on in the next week or so. I’ll introduce them on this blog as well – but just wanted to let everyone know what was up.
Of course, they’ll be promoting that, this as well as a few niche websites so that’s quite a bit of work, but I see a lot of potential in all this.
Link Juice And Stuff
Due to the requests of a few spammers (or blogging friends ) I’ve decided to add dofollow and KeywordLuv to this blog (along with the already existing CommentLuv). Now I’ve added another plugin called Lucia’s Linky Love (I think) which makes comments dofollow only after 7 of them – this prevents people coming by, dropping a link and never coming back. CommentLuv is nofollow, your anchor text comment keyword will be dofollow after you’ve made 7 total (it shows your number I think although I’m not sure what it bases it on, either email/name/URL – any one of those I’m guessing 
).
That’s it for now. If you’ve got any suggestions (re the theme, the blog itself or anything else), feel free to share em. I’m pretty proud that I managed to keep this post under 1,000 words, although it was a close ish one.
March 10th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
The new design seems pretty nice jason. I would definitely keep the old header/mascotte image/ in the blank space, but i think that was probably what you we’re going for? Again though, looks nice.
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:16 am
The mascot is getting redesigned mate, I’m waiting on it to be done. When it is I’ll show you guys a preview.
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Sjoerd (22 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
aii, end of an era mate
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March 10th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
this new design is neat and appealing
infopediaonlinehere´s last blog ..Google App Engine technologies, Google App Engine SDK, Google cloud computing google app engine
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March 10th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
I like the new design. It’s not too cluttered, a thing I look at with redesigns. The featured box is a great idea too. Also, I think the change from the WSO guide will increase your subscribers by 100% at least.
P.S. I actually really like your current logo/mascot, so the next one better be really good!
Patrick Toerner´s last blog ..5 Business Lessons You Can Learn From Zombie Movies
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:17 am
Agreed on the WSO thing, it was too niche. I’ll have it as a follow up email in the series so it won’t go to waste, but as you said Adsense is a topic that will interest others a lot more.
This designer has loads of experience and when he’s done I’ll post up the sketch… so you guys can give me your views.
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March 10th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Woohoo! We can spam once again!
Hey, where are you getting your mascot redesigned at? I’ve been looking for a few people but not for the right price.
Jay
Jay – DatMoney.com´s last blog ..Why Working With Family Sucks
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:38 am
We’ll talk on Yahoo mate – my guy is awesome. I also want to ask you about the full feed thing but we’re never online at the same time.
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March 10th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
I want to wait and see how the header ends up looking before I give my opinion on the theme. I like the rest of it though.
Can’t wait for everything to fully kick back into action here Jason, and would love to have staff like you
Are they full-time and if so, how many do you have?
Tom@Market Samurai Discount´s last blog ..The One Top Affiliate Product For Your Blog!
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:40 am
Glad you like the rest of it – I’ll be posting a preview of the mascot so if you guys hate it he can redo it. My design sense is awfully bad so I’ll def need some help.
Yes, three full time employees, 9-6 Mon-Fri and sometimes Saturday if needed. Won’t go into too much detail – will introduce them in a future post.
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March 10th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
I like the new theme. But I also like the current theme. So either one is fine with me. I don’t get too hung up on themes as far as blogs go. I judge them based on content. And since I am a regular here I am happy that you made it dofollow.
Trent Brownrigg @ Make Money Online´s last blog ..The Boring Way to Make Money Online
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:44 am
A lot of people have said they like this theme, although I think it looks plain it’s probably fine… I wanted to promote the optin more which is why I got the redesign.
Will see how it goes, can always switch back.
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Trent Brownrigg (17 comments) Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
This is totally unrelated to the post but I just wanted to let you know that I replied to your email that you sent me yesterday. I’ve had a heck of a time with people not getting my emails lately for some reason so I figured posting this would at least let you know I sent one.
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Got it, just replied mate.
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March 10th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
I like new theme, but also like and this one. Maybe I’m use to it
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March 10th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
The theme is pretty poor IMO – and I really wanted to be optimistic about it! It’s stuck in 2008 – things have moved on a long way in design. You’d be better off picking up a wootheme and customizing it. This preview looks the same as almost every other blog design (in the MMO niche) from the last few years.
Good luck!
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:35 am
David,
Thanks for your views. Although I actually wanted a magazine theme (think it keeps people around longer and looks more professional which is always good) until I find a competent designer that can do them that’s unlikely to happen.
My employees are slowly learning Photoshop blog design so once they’re well versed maybe we can arrange something new.
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March 11th, 2010 at 1:17 am
It’s time for a new mascot, Jason. You’ve grown older (read:more mature) by now. (kidding….)
Anyway, good placement on the subscription box. It’s certainly there for a reason, is it not?
Yan
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:47 am
Agree on the older comment, not sure about the maturity one
One of my online partners (Swastik – he designed the theme too) is a huge fan of stuff like this so I talked to him in depth about the theme. What we realised is that if you have the theme to the right of the mascot, no one would see it as the colourful mascot would overshadow – which is why we put it to the left.
Of course when I find a decent plugin there will be a popup for first time users so it should convert well.
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March 11th, 2010 at 2:04 am
I’ve got to say the theme is pretty ugly in this post BUT when I actually clicked the entire link to view the full-res image, I was wrong.
I’m pretty excited to see your new mascot as its been your mascot for like since you started.
Good luck
Melvin´s last blog ..Automatically getting Subscribed to Comments, Good or Bad?
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:51 am
Glad you liked it mate!
I’m pretty excited too, he should have a draft in a couple days so will see what he comes up with.
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March 11th, 2010 at 4:02 am
I think it is better than old one.
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March 11th, 2010 at 4:02 am
Getting indians to go around making posts in your name?
, within the right parameters that could work well, or it could crash and burn.
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Yan from Wii Fit Accessories (2 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:05 am
That’s what I call “working smart” and not hard. Outsourcing is the way to go now.
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:36 am
Jim –
You’re definitely right. I’ve seen comments on this blog by some of my countrymen – at times broken English, irrelevant spammy rubbish just to get the link.
I’ll be training them though, so although they’ll be raw at start they’ll get better (hopefully!)
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March 11th, 2010 at 7:37 am
Personally Jason, I *wouldn’t* want to see the more generic style of post such as installing a Wordpress theme. This is the type focontent that is available on hundreds of other MMO blogs and I unsubscribe from blogs like this because 99% of these blogs all publish the same old stuff.,
The reason I subscribe to yours and a small handful of others is that you offer quality, unique content. I personally would rather you only posted every week or two, but posted something great. Than posted daily and posted the type of cr*p that everyone else posts. Just a thought – your uniqueness is what makes this blog one of the best around.
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Richard,
Although I hate that kind of content, I haven’t really done a lot of SEO on this site and I’ll like to start (in the IM niche). Starting by going after a few keywords like ways to make quick money, how to make money, how can teens make money, after school jobs… things like that.
Unfortunately by those of us with a little experience in this niche these kinds of posts would be considered ‘generic’.
I’ll try and look into a way to see that they don’t show up in feeds – maybe publishing them as old posts could help.
My plan is split this blog between SEO (which brings in targeted traffic and the revenue) and social (which brings the community and insight about IM). I’ll look into a way to make this benefit both parties with as little detriment to the other as possible.
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March 11th, 2010 at 8:06 am
Hi Jason, I found the comment about you hiring people in India to do work for you interesting. I’d be interested in hearing more details about how that works. Are you employing them directly, or are there companies in India which will outsource people to you for the purposes of promoting your site?
reviewmylife´s last blog ..Virgin Trains standard vs 1st class
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 10:41 am
RML,
I employed them directly using a job site here. They’re college students, no past experience of IM but I wanted people I could work with and train.
A few people have asked me about this… if others are interested in hiring here and have someone manage them I could look into something like that.
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reviewmylife (3 comments) Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Hi Jason, this isn’t something I’d be ready to consider yet, but it is something that sounds interesting for the future.
Have you thought about writing a post about this? You could talk about how you got the idea, how you found the people, what you are paying them, how you trained them, and whether the reality of outsourcing to them worked out in the end.
reviewmylife´s last blog ..Virgin Trains standard vs 1st class
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
I did a post about some experiences agesss ago on another blog that should explain a few things, although this is before I found the current three employees
http://www.theuniversitykid.com/what-ive-learned-hiring-people-offline/
Will do another one in the upcoming weeks.
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March 11th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
The new design looks great…..looking forward to it!
Ray´s last blog ..Flawless Windows 7 upgrade
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March 11th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Hello Jason
New design is killer. Liked it. Can’t wait to see it live on TUK.
Also am happy to hear about your business expansion.
So do whats your setup? I mean do your employees work in your office or you coordinate with them through internet?
I have started to hire ppl on same approach and it requires good efforts to teach them task like submissions and promotion. I hope I will grow in a complete company type model in few months.
Can you please write some post about your approach to hire ppl in India and work on a company model?
Arpit´s last blog ..Track your Google Adsense Payment in India
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 13th, 2010 at 6:02 am
They work from my office, 5/6 days a week. Although I got offers for freelancers here, I really hate dealing with most freelancers so wanted people physically present.
Yes, it requires a lot of work but made things easier but getting them eBooks / videos they could learn from, plus preparing instruction manuals (for things like registering a domain, building backlinks etc).
Will put out a post or two in the upcoming weeks.
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March 11th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
I definitely like this one ..and the logo you have live on the site now is already tite, no need for change..
As for monetization, experiment with a few Clickbank recommends either using an infolinks type plugin, Clinkbanks hoplink builder options, or even show them as Related Products at the end of your posts..just some suggestions
Caleb@make money blog´s last blog ..7 Critical Steps-To Launch A Successful Internet Home Based Business
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March 12th, 2010 at 6:34 am
I suppose that the final look will be the one that matters. As it appears now it is quite attractive except that the print of the content is of too light a colour. A little darker shade will make reading a bit less strenuous.
Nicole Price´s last blog ..Great Gift Ideas for the Elderly
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 13th, 2010 at 6:03 am
Nicole,
Will make it a bit darker when it is coded.
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Nicole Price (80 comments) Reply:
March 21st, 2010 at 1:41 pm
It is much better now thank you.
Nicole Price´s last blog ..Great Gift Ideas for the Elderly
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March 12th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
I like the layout of the new theme. The optin box at the top will increase your conversions drastically.
What about the mascot? Will you make changes to the current one or it will be done from scratch?
cashpacks´s last blog ..Make Money Online By Flipping Domains
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
It’ll be done from scratch mate, wanted a completely new look.
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March 12th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
You actually went to India to train them? Was that just an excuse to take a trip
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 13th, 2010 at 6:03 am
I will not confirm or deny this comment
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March 12th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
I think the new layout looks perfect. Everything from the arrangement of top menus and tabs looks well in place. Go for it Jason!
Faiz Suberi´s last blog ..Affiliate Blogging: Worth a Start
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March 14th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Hey Jason…I was curious…will the new theme have categories or archives. TUK is unsearchable as it stands. I really want to go back and read some older posts that I remember, but have no way of finding them. Otherwise, I like the new design as this one just doesn’t fit the dynamic TUK I know….or the author behind it.
Ava´s last blog ..RocketDock
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Jason (702 comments) Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Ava,
Yes, it will have categories that will make looking for things a tad easier (as easy as it can be to go through 400~ posts..
) as well as a tabber that will list some of the best
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March 15th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
i really like your desing! poorly i dont know what it looked before
but i´m sure it wasnt as good as this one!
Quantenphysiker´s last blog ..Warum die Earth Hour doch nicht sinnlos ist
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March 16th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
New design is killer. Liked it. thanks for this post mate
Dev | Technshare´s last blog ..SEO – Your Basic Fundamentals
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March 19th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Based on the screenshot you posted I don’t really like it. I’m waiting until you show us the new mascot until I make any serious judgements.
Justin @ JavaScript Tutorial´s last blog ..How To Validate An Email Address With JavaScript
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March 31st, 2010 at 1:33 pm
So when is this site going live
Valtorc´s last blog ..Valves, Acutators & Automation Packages
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April 21st, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Why am I seeing a different theme now?
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July 14th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
I have to say that I really like the new design and who would have known about all the little extras and benefits of it you mentioned….so basically it’s pretty and smart, too!
Beyonce Posters´s last blog ..Beyonce Posters
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July 25th, 2010 at 2:33 am
The new design to me looks like it will be better not as much going on (clutter wize)
Surfer Boi´s last blog ..Getting into Surfing
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