Hey Ozbargainers, I decided I would start a blog all about ways to save money and iv'e been working on it full time for nearly 2 weeks now. Looking for some feedback on any aspect of it really.
Tell me what you think :)
What do you think of my blog? HowSaver.com
inxie on 03/12/2012 - 17:12
Comments
Wow thanks for pointing that out. I have viewed this on 2 different laptops and it looks fine. Are you referring to the floating social icons? Also, what browser are you using?
+1 on floating social, I'm using chrome,IE, Firefox on Windows 7.
position: fixed; causing this problem. Try to re-size the browser to smaller size to see the problem. If it full-screened it looks fine.
Thanks. I moved it further left and changed it to a % so hopefully that works a little better. Working on a more permanent solution…
Nope, still broken.
Just get rid of them, people don't need to see that sort of thing every time they hit your page. It detracts from the content. If you must have them, put them in the footer.
Not so happy with the articles. Read two and made some comments.
Commented back. You have a very strong opinion but that does not make you right. Always appreciate feedback but I get the impression your on a mission.
Nope, just that I get frustrated when people post facts that are not backed up and are often personal opinions (even if people don't realise that when they write it).
Thank you for allowing the posts. My main point is that you should be very careful not to write in absolutes. Don't say 'product X does harm and no good', say 'product x may be useful to some, but is generally not worth it'. If you must be absolute, back up your claims.
Read back the section on sun screen again as an impartial reader (if you have this skill). You will see that it does not at all agree with the suggestion you make in the comments.
Your absolutely right about the sunscreen issue I did not realize the vagueness of the statement. I'l take your other comments as constructive criticism.
That correction is better, thanks.
It seems to me that the purpose of this is to get people to come back because there are useful informative articles. To do this people must appreciate that your articles are well researched and you have done the work for them, otherwise I could just google 'office alternatives' and read opinions on any forum.
If for example I try Open Office, and find that my printing service gets the layout all wrong because of the compatibility issues, I'm not likely to take your advice from then on.
I can't speak for your target audience, but well rounded and considered information is what I would look for something like this.
Just trying to help, no person attacks.
Understood. I really am giving it my all to provide high quality information, perhaps I should make it more factual than opinion based as you suggested. This is my first ever blog and there's a whole lot to learn in a short space of time, getting there though ;)
I believe I have fixed the floating social box, if anyone could confirm that :)
Yep, only thing is you don't get it at all at lower res (I don't mind, but I take it that isn't the ideal).
Excellent. It's not ideal but certainly not a cause for concern at this stage. Thanks Bruce.
Thanks for all the advice guys. Anyone have any opinions about the design/layout of the blog?
So i just read over some things and i guess a blog is all about voicing your opinion but a lot of stuff people already know. Also you seem to be giving off your opinion and backing it up with "facts" that are false. Premium fuel for example…some cars can only run on premium fuel. There is also plenty of tests to show that premium fuels actually do something but usually the price difference isn't justified. Lottery tickets…it's not a waste of money everyone know what they are getting into when they buy there ticket. Find me one division 1 or 2 winner who said buying there lottery ticket was a waste of money. Anyways, good luck with your site.
Okay, would you mind showing me a car that only runs on premium fuel? Sorry, I just never heard of that in my life.
Every single motorbike I've owned has had a sticker saying use at least 95 octane. Higher revving engines require it. I can take a pic and post it here if you like.. That's if you wanna use it
completely correct on the premium fuel front…
Pinging is a very very real issue which is avoided by using HIGHER OCTANE fuel (among other things)
I drive a Ralliart Colt, which is turbo charged, my car runs like crap on regular fuel and pings like nuts if I don't use at least 95 octane fuel.
Most european cars require 95, and high performance honda will require it, anything that uses an actual high tech engine will require it.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/autos/aut12.shtm
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100211163839AA…
Here is a possibly more useful passage from wikipedia:
Many high-performance engines are designed to operate with a high maximum compression, and thus demand fuels of higher octane. A common misconception is that power output or fuel efficiency can be improved by burning fuel of higher octane than that specified by the engine manufacturer. The power output of an engine depends in part on the energy density of the fuel being burnt. Fuels of different octane ratings may have similar densities, but because switching to a higher octane fuel does not add more hydrocarbon content or oxygen, the engine cannot develop more power.
However, burning fuel with a lower octane rating than that for which the engine is designed often results in a reduction of power output and efficiency. Many modern engines are equipped with a knock sensor (a small piezoelectric microphone), which sends a signal to the engine control unit, which in turn retards the ignition timing when detonation is detected. Retarding the ignition timing reduces the tendency of the fuel-air mixture to detonate, but also reduces power output and fuel efficiency. Because of this, under conditions of high load and high temperature, a given engine may have a more consistent power output with a higher octane fuel, as such fuels are less prone to detonation. Some modern high performance engines are actually optimized for higher than pump premium (93 AKI in the US).
My last car (Audi 80) said only use 95+, presumably for the knocking reason. My current car (Volvo XC70) recommends 95, but indicates it will run on lower, but poorly, so I suppose this is due to having a knock sensor. I have not attempted to run 91.
Know the difference between your and you're.
need more posts
Lewis, great effort with the blog. Design-wise, looks fine to me.
One thing I did notice is that you appear to be allowing spam bots to comment on your blog. The wordpress comment spammers are always complimentary in a generic way and then link a random gold trading/fake sneaker/SEO site. We clear loads of these off our blog daily. It's better to delete the SPAM rather than respond to it.
Keep up the good work.
LOL , probably I need a reality check regarding #4 bottled water. Water is not always water unless it is a distilled water. Tapped water smells differently and taste differently even after boiling and even after adding tee or coffee. Did you think why it is suggested to water the plants with other than tapped water? There is no much saving, you just choose what you need.
Remove the how I made $44 in … makes the site look like a spam site.
Also remove the opinionated posts like "5 things you shouldn't buy", and the post on "eBay." There are often cheaper things on eBay as a buyer then there are in stores. Take for example Apple USB Charges - yes even in Australia.
I guess the main posts are mostly common sense to people.
I don't think they must be removed but you can either:
1: Rework them with research and data so they are more useful/correct. Ideally treat them as living documents and improve them over time.
2: Make it very clear that they are opinion peices and not general advice.
What you do depends on what you see the purpose of all this as.
I was about to edit my post to say - let Bruce write your posts for you! Just read some of your comments on the blog, and I would say the content needs a lot more work! That is what I was meaning by opinionated posts - just posts that have no evidence in them. Some blogs can do this because they have xxx background, so people can trust them, but they still list resources down the bottom of each article and sources.
Basically to sum up what I thought:
- Don't base your posts on claims - use evidence
Well I couldn't more down to earth of advice than this. Will be taking every word into account for current and future posts :)
For someone that is trying to write an informative blog, you don't seem to be very well informed yourself…..
I guess it might have some useful information for mums and dads, but its really not that good.
An ozbargain wiki relating to this would be a lot better.
I'm sorry you feel that way I have put many many hours into this :(
A blog for what you are doing isn't the best way to do it anyway.
Blogs are for up to date information, you are posting general information, more suited to a wiki.
It wasn't a waste of time because you are learning things, you can't expect to have a perfect idea from the start.
While the OP still has a few things to improve on, saying "its really not that good" is not constructive. The fact that it's useful for mums and dads justifies it's existence and makes it in fact… useful. Not everyone, especially mums and dads, are as savvy as you think you are.
I'm a counselor and 95% of my clients will not know the difference between the different mobile phone carriers. Nor did I know I could just go online and find the cheapest booze from a single website.
A few kinks, but good work OP. Hopefully over time traffic will pick up.
I thought one of the tips should be to go to OzBargain, strange it's not there.
Wow deja vu…but ozbargain is more spending then saving lol.
I do have ozBargain on my resource page. The problem is my traffic is not all Australian traffic and I don't want to alienate the US and UK visitors. I mention websites like ozBargain where appropriate.
Looks fine, now hang on for a year keeping the pace
Thank you, I am determined to keep going at a pace of 1 article a day.
I just looked at.the top 5 money savers and I do all of them and I am not saving.. Also why is #1 not stop looking at cheap deals on ozbargain ;P
You're doing all of them but you're not saving?
If you don't buy a lottery ticket for $2, then you've saved $2…In that sense saving money that doesn't exist lol. Should include market places and fresh food wholesales or meats!
Care to tell us how you made $44 in 10 minutes? I don't wanna give out my email.
I find it very amusing, ie you bag smoking and then tell people how to find cheap alcohol.
As another poster suggested, you need facts, or references, I'll go into the sun with the spf30+ knowing well, that I won't/shouldn't get burnt.
Also every lotto winner has something in common, they all bought tickets.
In regards to mobile, you need to compare apples with apples, if you buy an iphone5 outright and then go prepaid with amaysim, you will pay more than someone who gets the phone on a contract. You also don't have to shell out $800 on day 1. maybe have scenarios to back up your comment, also realistically, you can't compare any other network to Telstra, it's not fair.
Also on premium fuel, I have experienced and heard from others you get better mileage.
Don't be afraid, to post obvious ideas, ie when you see a bargain ie omo at less than 1/2 price, stock up as it could be 4-6 months away from being as cheap.
Maybe post some articles in regards to banks.
Good Luck with it.
Layout and navigation is good - easy to read and pleasing on the eye.
From a content point if view, take note of a lot of the comments here.
In general, check, then re-check, then get someone ELSE to check your grammar and spelling. I read a few articles and there are quite a few mistakes.
As a teacher (albeit IT and Phys Ed) I tend to notice that kind of stuff! Don't worry though, teacher's will make simple mistakes when writing reports - it is easy enough to do when writing lots and often takes a different eye to pick them up, as we tend to read our own stuff differently, as we know what we intended to say.
Thanks for the great comments. I have been in the process of checking over my grammar. I've found an online tool called "page rater", it works pretty well on finding common mistakes.
*teachers
Just added "How to get a domain for 50 cents". Is that the kind of stuff people like to see?
Free video guide has a picture of a book?
I guess you're right - silly me :/
I've changed that now, all fixed.
This is invaluable advice, any other errors guys?
I have fixed many grammatical errors within my content. Hopefully there's no more scrutiny :)
I thought it was ok until your site popped up an ad. What benifit is it to be part of your mailing list, how can I make $82 straight off the bat in 10 minutes online?
The floating menu on the left hand side comes up horribly on my work laptop screen - covers half of the posts. Made navigation enough of a pain that I didn't go into anything.