In early January of this year I stumbled across Entrecard, a site where you can network and advertise your blog for free. You could earn credits by visiting other blogs also displaying the Entrecard widget - one credit for each widget that you clicked on (one per day per blog) up to 300 drops in a day. You also received one credit for each click on the widget displayed on your blog with no limit to the number of credits you could earn daily this way. You use these credits to advertise your blog on other EC blogs and advertising pricing is determined by the number of ads in that blog's EC queue. I worked very hard to drop as many cards as I could daily so I could earn enough credits to start advertising on more popular blogs. I was dropping 300 cards daily without fail for many weeks. I started adding my favorite blogs to my blog roll, whether those blogs reciprocated my drop or not - because I enjoyed visiting their blog. I tried to reciprocate dropping on those who dropped on my blog but some sites I just didn't care to visit or they had numerous blogs and I would then just drop on one of their blogs daily, not all their blogs. Lately I have found that dropping cards has become less and less enjoyable and my daily drop numbers dwindled until it was to the point that I was only dropping several cards a day - those blogs I was advertising on that day and the blog that was advertising on my blog.
On September 1, 2009, Entrecard decided that there were too many credits in EC world and they changed the rules so that now you do not receive any credits for anyone who visits your blog and clicks on the EC widget. You still get credit for up to 300 drops daily for every blog you visit and click. I was okay with this - I was willing to see how this adjusted the pricing on the cost to advertise on blogs.
Awhile back, Entrecard introduced paid advertising - these ads would usurp whatever credit paid ad was currently running on your blog. This I disagreed with because I felt that those people who had faithfully visited my blog, left comments and spent their hard earned credits on advertising space should NOT be bumped by someone who decided to use cash paid ads. So, I declined all paid ads. After a lot of complaints by the Entrecard users, Entrecard decided to phase out paid ads. Now they are going to re-introduce paid ads and I'm told that you won't have any control over which ads run on your blog.
Therefore, I have regretfully made the decision to cancel all the ads in my queue (you should all receive your credits back into your Entrecard account) and I cancelled all the ads I had placed over the next week or so. There are three of my ads running at this time that will end by late today so I won't cancel those ads.
I have almost 18,000 credits in my account on Entrecard that I will gladly give away to anyone who wants them. I would prefer that the blog I give these credits away to is a follower of my blog who makes regular visits and comments at least occasionally. If several people want these credits I will either 1) use Radom Generator to select a "winner" or 2) split the credits up equally amongst the people who leave a comment on this post by 10 PM MDT tonight.
Please leave a comment and let me know whether or not you'd like option 1 or 2 - majority rules. I will try to transfer the credits on Saturday 9/26/09 and will then cancel my Entrecard account.
I am going to investigate Adgitize and Project Wonderful for advertising opportunities on this blog. Anyone with any experience, comments, hints, etc. please leave a comment with your suggestions.
Thank you to all of you who visit frequently and leave comments at least occasionally. I treasure each and every one of my blog buddies and will still visit your blog when I get the chance. If you'd like to be placed on my blog roll, leave a comment to that effect, too.
Parting is such sweet sorrow...but this will give me more time to work with my fibers, take photos, work with the llamas and horses, play with my dogs and cats, etc. I'm looking forward to all of it!
Living, working and creating fiber art on a fiber animal ranch in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado
46 comments:
So sorry to see you go but I can't say that I'm surpirsed. I've been wondering how many blogs would be leaving with the new changes. EC or not I will keep coming back and visiting.
I've been trying to add my favorite finds from EC onto my blog roll and yours is certainly one of them. I'll stick with EC for a little while to see what happens and will certainly continue to visit you EC or not! I'd like to throw my hat out there for some of your credits! Either option is fine with me!
I'll add you to my blogroll, so I don't forget to visit!
I have both project wonderful and adgitize, I have no problem with either. Not sure how to use adgitize though.
I'd like some credits! THANKS!!
I think many, many blogs will be leaving EC.
I've been bookmarking my favorites, including your site, something I should have done, long ago!
sewingmom
I don't know what I am going to do yet. Entrecard got Pricilla on the map so to speak. And I found so many great people through it.
I have project wonderful on 'Cilla's blog and it has worked fine for me.
I haven't gotten the hang of adgitize yet.
I will happily take some credits. I have never had enough to advertise on your site :/
If I decide to move on, I will pass them along too.
Hey, so sorry about the EC, however I do agree with your sentiments on the issue.
I use adgitize and project wonderful and think they are a great resource to advertising.
I would hate for you to give away your hard earn credits, I know how dropping credits is a time consuming manner and all that time and hard work, that is a very nice gesture to split the credits among another ec users. Bless!
I love your blog!
Like you, I have decided to leave Entrecard as well. I have had less and less time to drop cards and then the new paid advertising doesn't work for me either. I hope to see you stop by my blog from time to time and I will do the same. :)
you are in my blogroll. Don't forget to visit. I don't know about EC so it confuses me, but do visit my blog. Love to be on your blogroll.
Kay
http://twistedintexas-cordovasstudios.blogspot.com
I just added you my follow list so I don't lose you. I'm on the fence too, so don't send your credits my way (thanks anyway!). I've got 10000 to figure out what to do with too. I'm not happy because I've met some really great blogs through EC.
Most of my followers have come via EC so I can't complain I guess. I only have time to drop 20-50 a day now though. If you would like to share some credits with me, bless you! :)
I hate to see you go. I will try to visit. I wish you had the option to put in my email to get your posts. I forget to read my Google reader.
hi, I am sorry to see you go as well, but I have to say that I will not be far behind. As soon as my Etsy shop series is completed, I will be shutting down Entrcard and leaving. I use CMF ads and get a pretty good response. You can advertise from $0.01 per month on up. If you are interested in them, there is a link to them just below the CMF ads on the right sidebar of my site (yes, it is a referral link, something they just started). Anyway, there are a lot of ex-Entrcard users there, so you probably see some familiar faces. I get your updates through Google Friend Connect, so I get your updates and I WILL be by to visit.
Hope you have a great weekend:)
I am fairly new to EC. I'm just going to hang in here for now and see what happens. I follow your blog and will continue to stop by.
Hi Brenda and I understand right where you are coming from! I also cancelled everything EC come Monday EXCEPT for now, I decided that when the paid ad changes start, I will move the EC widget down to the bottom of the page--reactivate my account, and mostly ignore it except to keep visiting my favorites. Meanwhile, my blogroll is growing and growing, which is wonderful AND was the whole point of the "EC exercise" right?? I posted a similar post today...I will link to yours, too, because you explained it all very well!! I'll keep dropping by the Ranch...no question!!
Hi Brenda,
I too am leaving as well. but, as I was in the middle of an Entrecard contest I am stuck until at least the end of October.
But, my dropping is almost down to nothing now and I stopped accepting ads last week.
I have you on my list to add to my blog roll. I simply have to keep up with Baby Dee!!
I must say I do feel a sadness. That is strange but it feels as if they are tearing apart a bunch of old friends.
But, I have no missed the dropping one bit. It is down to just those blog i am visiting anyway.
I do so hope you won;t foget me either.
Jackie
I'm sorry to see you leaving but just happy I found your blog there before you left.
I am fairly new to entrecard and will be leaving too as not long after I started I had a rather unnecessary nasty message left for me and to be honest no one needs that.
So of course I just stopped dropping at all.
I do wish you luck and hope some of the others work out well.
I find EC to be a waste of time lately. I've had an earring give away going on for the last 2 weeks and per my stats have been visited about 50 times a day from EC yet only 4 people (from other venues) have left a comment. I think most just drop and never read your blog.
I'd rather promote elsewhere...
Beautiful Blog!!
After reading of your experience, Brenda, I think I'll drop Entrecard also. It is kind of a pain, but I am so glad I met you through it! Looking forward to seeing more of your photos and fibers! Nancy
Hi Brenda
With the new people owning EC I thought it would be better. I am however going to wait a while to see what happens. I would love to share some of your hard earned EC's with you.My household is kind of split. I love the animals and my wife loves the yarn and etsy aspect.I am going to start a leaving EC Blogroll.You ,Shinade,and Wild Oaks are first.
Well have a very good weekend.
I am back again. Sorry but I forgot to mention about Adgitize. I find it to be fantastic. You can bounce around like EC and find new blogs and make money at the same time. I suggest Adgitize to get started if you are planning to leave EC.
You don't have to put me in your list to get the credits, but I am going to miss you! I am sad with all the changes that are negatively affecting my favorite blogs. I, too, may be leaving soon. What we need is someone like mama ASID to make a system like EC...I've hinted this to her in the past. I will have to really start taking a look at the Adgitize program.
I understand your decision completely. Even though I haven't been 'most popular' at EC, I have discovered some really amazing friends and love visiting their blogs. I'm saving my favs in case I decide to leave EC. Thank you for explaining your view and for frequent visits to my site :)
hugs!!
Vickie
i totally understand where you are coming from. i have extended my blog roll and will continue to do so. i love your blog and am back now, so i will continue to stop by. i don't have a decision yet on entrecard. i have found that facebooks network is another great place to find good blogs. that along with blog catalog, blog log, and a couple of other ones, maybe entrecard will no longer be needed. have a wonderful day my friend...much love to you!
Hello,
i just came across the many EntreCard-Good byes from Karen's blog.
It's really bad that EC doesn't give us the decision whether we want to display the paid ads or not. Even when they said something about a small monthly fee for a ad-free widget.
I can only suggest you to use Adgitize. It's the best network out there even when you don't get anymore 300 visitors daily but with 80+ you should be in good company!
In case you want to earn a little bit more with Adgitize, you could read my how to earn more money with Adgitize on The ONE MINUTE Guide.
CMF Ads is also a nice program but you don't get much clicks monthly, it's more for presenting your logo and branding yourself on the other blogs.
Hope this is helpful information for you!
See you, in Adgitize!
I am also getting mighty sick of EC. I'm thinking of leaving as well, and i think once the current ads on my blogs are done, I'll probably discontinue.
I do, however, LOVE Project Wonderful - the different ad sizes and variety of advertisers is great.
Best luck in whatever direction you choose to go :)
I love your blog and will still keep visiting you.
I hear you! I have the c
same concerns, and like Lin I am on the fence. I cannot drop 300 cards a a day, I prefer going to my favorite 30 or so blogs, reading the post and dropping. Therefor I never got a lot of credits anyway, and now even less! It doesn't seem to be worth my time, and like you, time is precious and can be spent in much better ways. I will probably make a decision in the next month or so. I would still visit your blog tho, no matter what!
Susan
I am going to wait and see what happens before I make any decision about Entrecard.
I am already subscribed to your blog, so I will still visit!
I'm keeping you in my faves, widget or no widget! I don't think I ever had enough credits to advertise on your blog but I do love it, all the pictures of your animals and Etsy stuff and other things have been great fun. As long as you're sharing I'd love some extra credits. I use mainly acrylics in my Etsy products but if I would ever want to try natural fibers I'd love to get some of your yarn sometime.
I tried getting on Project Wonderful once, they didn't approve my blog and I have no idea why. I don't have any experience with CMF or Adjitize but I've heard good things about both.
Entrecard is becoming a pain. I subscribed to your blog and hopefully we can keep in touch. I love to see your llamas!
I've cut back significantly on my advertising and watching with disappointment as other sites leave EntreCard. It cuts back on my motivation to drop.
I have written two blog posts about this. Yesterday, I wrote EntreCard Updates where I look at this, as well as compare this to Adgitize, CMF Ads and other sites. Right now, I like Adgitize best, and use that as a starting point for much of my blog surfing.
Today, as I thought more about it, I set up a survey asking where people place their ads.
I hope you and your readers will stop by and fill out the survey. I look forward to seeing what everyone does over the coming days.
I am sorry to see you go. Please stop by and visit once in a while. I have had my frustrations with Entrecard too, and am only doing it limited, and on sites I trust.
I think I may leave EC soon too. Takes up so much time. Of course I've been thinking about leaving for weeks now and still haven't done anything about it! I can't believe you have so many credits! I think I'm rich when I have 200:)
I hope to keep up with your blog!
I'm fairly new to EC. I haven't even started to advertise. I have just been dropping like mad! I made a great effort to be allowed to join. I split my bilingual blog in two in order to do it. If the changes in EC that you mention are true it makes me feel that I did that for no good reason. I could have left my blog as it was.
I like your blog, and I will still visit you.
Best wishes
Christina Wigren (a.k.a. Anna, SaraKatt & Tina)
I agree with you that this is one change too many and I will leave when I get the first paid ad on my blog. I'm not going to place any more ads as I am sure it will 30 Setember the paid ads hit my blog...then I'm gone.
I'll keep coming back though to check how the fibres..and you of course, are doing.
It's sad for sure. Especially so since the original purpose of EC was so wonderful. The have so many affiliated blogs just because of the fact that it's so ingenious to offer free advertising in exchange for effort and networking. Loved it. I haven't decided if I'm leaving yet, but haven't been dropping, and am seriously considering removing the widget as I'm sure may others will follow suit.
I do PW and have found that it's alright. It's nice in that you put initial money in and really never have to again if you take enough ads on your site to balance your spending. The amount of traffic is more difficult to track though, and I know it's not as high as ec which has been my number 1 source as long as I've been tracking it. So that will be sad. But what can you do?
I am so new to Entrecard and was just beginning to get some momentum. I am not sure what I will do. I CERTAINLY do not want ads on my blog that I do not approve. Is that the was it would be?
I have been doing PW for a long while. You might find my post on my blog helpful. But it does not bring the immediate traffic / readers that Entrecard has. http://indieceo.blogspot.com/search/label/project%20wonderful
I too will be checking out adgetize.
I marvel at business models that change, giving less benefit to their customers. It blows my mind.
I hate to see you go, but I can understand! The last few days I've been wondering where my traffic has gone, as I've watched my ranking go up instead of down for no real reason I can think of.
I don't know if we (the whole-hog-blogs network) are going to stay with EC or not. Seems like it is turning out to be a waste of time.
I have added you to my blogroll and stop in and visit often, and always will. I would like a few of your credits if possible. Hope you still stop in on me when you can.
Well I would say it's sad to see you go but I'll still be stopping by no matter what since I love your blog!! I may not comment all the time but it doesn't mean I'm not reading and learning about your llamas and your craft. I was happy when a fellow blogger suggested EC and it has served me well in that I have people who stop by my blog and enjoy it (I hope) and I have found many blogs such as yours which I enjoy.
I'll definitely continue to visit you too. You have a great blog :) I hope you'll keep visiting me too.
It's so mess up in regards to what is happening at Entrecard.
I am sorry that you are leaving. I didn't realize it when I tried to advertise. Good luck to you, I will still come by, with or without Entrecard. Ya gotta love llamas!
Brenda, you and I both have joined the deathmarch away from what is left of entrecard. I have subscribed to your rss and addedyou as a blogspot friend, so I'll be seeing you alot still.
it's so sad to see it end this way.
but they wanted it and now they're gonna get it - entrecard that is.
I've got you in my reader. I hope you'll stop in and visit me and the band.
Thank you very much for the credits. I have bookmarked your site and hope to continue visiting to see what you're up to!
Hi Brenda, it's sad to see that Entrecard still doesn't care about bloggers. I can understand why so many people are leaving. There's absolutely no way I'll pay $50 for the service, but before I make a decision I'm going to see what happens on 05 October.
I'm with ya, hon. I'm sticking it out through the end of my ads in rotation (both running on my site and my ad on other sites) - which end about the same time...then it's see ya, EC. I've had it. You put it much more eloquently than I did - but EC irritated me in a serious way when they announced you can get out of the paid ads by paying them a fee each month.
NOT!
I will always visit you...I love your blog - and besides, we're neighbors. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out. xx
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