Archive for March, 2009

First Ever BuddyPress Theme Contest

// March 5th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Buddypress, Contests

FreeBuddyPressThemes.com is proud to announce the first ever BuddyPress theme contest! In order to encourage theme designers to start developing BuddyPress themes, we thought we would give you the chance to design either a home or member theme and win a great prize.

Thanks to WPMU DEV Premium, we are offering you the chance win 12 months premium membership valued at US$250. All you have to do is submit your original theme and let our visitors decide which theme deserves this fantastic prize offered by the guys at WPMU DEV Premium.

Here is how the contest will be run:

  • There are 2 categories in which you can submit a theme for; Home theme and Member theme
  • Submissions will be open from March 7 – April 7, 2009
  • All submitted themes will be uploaded to FreeBuddyPressThemes.com on April 11, 2009 for public voting
  • Voting will commence April 11 – April 25, 2009
  • The winners will be announced April 26, 2009
  • 12 months FREE WPMU DEV Premium membership (valued at US$250) will be awarded to the theme with the most votes in each category.

How to Enter:

  • Design an original Home or Member BuddyPress theme
  • Submit your theme to FreeBuddyPressThemes.com using our online form by April 7, 2009

It is as simple as that!

Terms & Conditions
The contest is open to anyone to enter. Themes must be original. All themes will be verified by FreeBuddyPressThemes.com. All themes must be submitted via our online submission form. We reserve the right to disallow any theme for any reason. We reserve the right to end this contest before the scheduled end date without notice. FreeBuddyPressThemes.com, sponsors and associates cannot enter the contest. All submissions will remain on FreeBuddyPressThemes.com. All voting decisions are final.

Something Big Is Coming..

// March 3rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Buddypress, Contests

Stay tuned for more details…

Don’t Be Shy

// March 3rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Making Money, The Internet

Promoting a new blog can be a frustrating experience. There are plenty of free ways to market your new site, but unless it is ground breaking, it is very hard to get solid traffic fast.

There is no magic way to bring in the numbers, however there is something that I figured out recently that can help you on your way to increasing traffic and giving your blog exposure to a wider audience.

So you have tried forums, posted comments on other blogs, added your posts to StumpleUpon and Digg, joined Entrecard, and created a contest, but you still are not getting the amount of traffic that you are hoping for.

Have you thought about approaching other sites and asking to exchange links or write a guest post? I have – but at the time I thought that my blog wasn’t “worthy” enough to be featured on someone else’s website. I didn’t think that other bloggers would think that my posts were good enough, or that my theme wasn’t professional enough looking, or that I didn’t have a clue what I was talking about – so I didn’t.

In the past month or so, I have had a few other bloggers come to me and ask for links to be exchanged, and I even had one blogger ask me to write a guest post on their blog, so I thought that I must be at the point where I can start asking other bloggers to  swap links with. If other bloggers are asking me to assist them, then I must be at that point where I can start asking people for some help in driving traffic to this blog, and my other sites.

I have learnt that it is much easier than I first thought it would be. Of all the people I have asked for links and a mention on their blog, no one has yet turned me down. It only takes a few minutes to write an email and send it, and it in those few minutes you can attract possibility hundreds of new visitors to your blog.

So don’t be shy, meet some new bloggers and just ask! All they can say is no! Try to remember one thing – every blogger was new once, and they went through exactly the same frustration that you are going through now, so most of the time they understand what you are trying to achieve and will offer their knowledge and help – all you have to do is ask.

People to Follow on Twitter

// March 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // The Internet

I am addicted to Twitter! There, I said it. Initially I thought it was going to be another waste of time and something else to throw into the “sign up to and never use” bin. How wrong I was. I joined in June 2008 and then didn’t use it for a while, but in the last few months I have been using it more and more, and now I am addicted.

I have compiled a small list, in no particular order, of bloggers that I think everyone interested in blogging and social networking should follow!

  • @photomatt – Otherwise known as Matt Mullenweg, developer of WordPress.
  • @problogger – Problogger, Darren Rowse has the most comprehensive guide, tips and tricks to making money blogging on the internet.
  • @apeatling – Creator of BuddyPress and social engineer for Automattic.
  • @chrisbrogan – Chris Brogan, social media guru.
  • @wordpressjob – Looking for freelance WordPress work? Follow and receive the latest jobs posted on freelance sites such as scriptlance.com
  • @MrSocial – Marketing guru turned social media expert and entrepreneur.
  • @danielfelice – Me!

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