Can’t Get Rich

Jason, more commonly known as The University Kid, has purchased the second paid ReviewU ever. Surely, this is an event which will go down in the annals of history. The subject of this review, Blog Premiere, is certainly worthy of such an honor. You see, this new site isn’t just a blog, it’s a blogging magazine. Jason has high hopes for this site, and I do too. Let’s take a look at where it is now and where it’s going.

The site so far

I just have to get this out of the way: The theme is gorgeous. You simply can’t go wrong with a theme by Adii (he made the one I use on this site too). To me, this site doesn’t look like a plain, ordinary blog. It looks like a professionally done news site (which is a big plus). Even in this super-futuristic year of 2008, some people still refuse to see the blog as legitimate media form. Blog Premiere won’t have that problem, as the theme positively screams MAGAZINE instead of ANGSTY LIVEJOURNAL.

Looking past the theme, you’ll see a standard blogging-blog. Topics include how to monetize your blog, what to look for in a web host, how to find motivation, etc. There isn’t that much content yet, but that’s understandable considering the site is less than a week old. Speaking of content, it looks like Jason is accepting submissions. If you’d like your content to be seen by potentially thousands of readers, read this post for details. Speaking of content, there’s one thing that confuses me…

Article updates

Here’s one thing I’m not really clear on yet: Update frequency. If you take a look at the articles that are currently up, you’ll see that they’ve been added over the past few days. If you check out the About page, however, you’ll see that it says that the site will be a monthly publication. Which way is it going to be? I’m not able to figure it out at this point.

Personally, I’d go with weekly updates. Monthly is too infrequent for my tastes. Get a list of writers, have them submit their articles for review two days before the next update, and publish them all on the same day every week. That way, it’ll seem less like a blog and more like a weekly magazine.

Monetization

Ah, they key component of every ReviewU: Monetization. So far, I’m seeing a large banner in the header, a 300×250 square just below that, and a couple of 125×125 spots halfway down the page. Nothing excessive, which is good. Focusing on content at such an early stage is the key. There’s just one problem though: The 125×125s don’t work! Clicking on them leads to a 404 page. Nothing major to worry about though, as all new sites have bugs.

In addition to the ad spots, I’m seeing some affiliate offers worked into a few of the articles. That’s always a good technique, as it doesn’t take up any re-occurring space.

As much as I’m going to hate myself for saying this, this site could actually benefit by expanding it’s ad spaces a bit (after it gets some content going, of course). Two more 125×125 spots and a page-peel ad wouldn’t hurt.

A lot of potential

I’ll be watching this site with great interest. Maybe I’ll even submit an article or two. I think it has the potential to be very, very big. Just think: One weekly (monthy? daily?) publication where you can read interviews with the pros, what’s hot in the industry, and tips for making it big. I can’t think of any other site like it. Consider me subscribed.

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