You might have noticed my new little peel in the corner; when you hover over it you can see a few examples of some starter blogs I’ve recently designed. I feel strongly that everyone should get their blogging career off to a good start with professional designs; I’m on a mission here to stamp out ugly blogs!

Before the real estate market went belly up, I used to flip houses for some extra income. I’d search and find houses that had been foreclosed, or wouldn’t sell because they were in bad shape, and most of them were in neighborhoods that had seen better days, but were trying to make a comeback. So I’d buy a little run down house, and go in and do a major overhaul; I’d replace bad wiring, bad plumbing, give it a new roof, new heating and a/c unit, whatever it needed to get the bones back in shape. Then I’d tackle all the cosmetic issues; I’d tear out old ugly bathroom fixtures and put in brand new ones, put in new drywall where it needed it, put in new flooring, install new cabinetry and shiny new appliances, and I’d get out there and make the outside look nice too. A new coat of paint (most of the houses were stucco) and head over to Home Depot and buy some plants and do a little landscaping.

I had a group of lenders I worked with who would help people with less than desirable credit get the loan so that they could move into a nice home; something they could be proud of. Then I’d move on to rehab another house; I did this for several years, and over a five year period I saw neighborhoods changing; the crime rate was going down, and people were taking pride in their homes. Of course, other flippers were doing the same thing; together we were making a difference. We all felt that no matter what a person’s income level was, they deserved to live in a nice, safe home.

I’m applying the same philosophy now to how I’m running this business; if you’re new to IM, you can’t afford to pay someone a ton of money just to get a blog set up properly, and have it look nice. But $97? I think anyone who’s serious about blogging for income can afford that. For a few weeks I’ve been offering $50 niche blogs all set up, and now I’m extending the offer to set up a starter blog for you in your niche for just $97. This includes keyword research and domain choices!

You’ll receive a quality blog that you can be proud of, it will have all the plugins that you need to make things easier for you, and you won’t have to try to figure out how to set it up – it will all be done for you!

To Your Success!

I’m starting a new contest of sorts – I’m going to choose one client each month and name them “Awesome Client of the Month”. When you’re selected, you’ll receive an article submission through my UAW account with your links and keywords! Nothing like some extra links, huh?

So what do you need to do to qualify? All you have to do is leave a positive comment about your experience working with me, whether you’ve purchased something from me, had me design a site for you, or even just received some good advice from me.

You can leave the comment here on my site, on your own site, or on WF, and each and every month I’ll select at least one person to receive a free article submission through UAW – pretty cool!

You’ll see a new category over on the right side – Awesome Client of the Month – and you’ll be featured then when you’re selected! So get those comments out there – it’s a win-win!

Terri

Have you ever gone to a blog or website looking for either information, the best prices, or reviews on products?  What happens when you get there and you’re looking at a disorganized, ugly site that’s full of ads, poorly laid out and with either an ugly or even no header?  I bet you leave, don’t you?

If you want to decrease your bounce rates, keeps visitors on your site, then you owe it to them and to your business to have a well laid out design and a professionally designed set of graphics.  Right now, I’m seeing lots of people advertising “gorgeous, professional designs” that are, to be blunt, crap.  Anyone can toss together a free theme, or even create a custom theme with with a program, but are they really professional looking?  Personally, I don’t think so, and neither does my husband.

My husband Jim has been a professional graphic designer for over 20 years.  He has the latest software available at his fingertips, and frankly, his designs are amazing.  He was one of the very top designers at the World’s Largest Entertainment Company until he decided to become a freelance graphic designer, and now I’m the lucky one who gets to benefit.  He has artistic visions that I would never dream of, but he creates some truly stunning designs.  I take his headers, and design the site around them – quite the opposite of the way most designers work, but that’s one of the things that makes our sites stand out from the crowd.

Right now we’re offering $50 niche sites that are great starter blogs for you, and of course you can order custom sites from us in your niche.  On those sites he certainly kicks the graphics up a notch; stunning designs, magazine quality graphics that you will be proud of.

Don’t settle for less than the best!