Pimp My Sidebar

BTW, apologies go out to anyone that surfed on over here only to find a bunch of server errors and blank pages. I code live – for better or worse.

I got pretty clear about the scope and purpose of this site over the past few weeks. I use it to:

Test out things like monetization and code.

Make enough money to pay for itself and some fun stuff for my business.

Document the rewards and pitfalls of working from home.

Network with other geeks like me. And highlight bloggers I enjoy.

Recommend things I like, things that work for me.

Offer my Business Coaching and Freelance Writing services to potential clients.

Share articles and tips about writing motivation, home based businesses and small businesses.

Highlight causes and charities that I believe in.

Help inspire those that really want to create a profitable career out of what they already love to do.

Overall, Center of Muse, currently is more about the words to read, than it is about a bunch of flashy advertisements. I do post links to the strategies I’m testing and resources I like and I’m stoked when I see a new affiliate sign up. But overall, the text has higher importance than the ads.

However, should an advertiser want to purchase above the fold space, it’s quite available and not diluted by a bunch of surrounding ads.

The benefit to the reader is, they aren’t bombarded by a bunch of distractions, but if they want to see what I’m promoting, they can. Advertisers who wish to purchase space aren’t lost in a sea of competition. And the benefit to me is fewer unmotivated clicks off the site. If you don’t really want info about something I’m promoting, stick around and read more.

Win-Win-Win is the best way to profit.

So, my current Sidebar experiment is stacked like this:

Links to internal articles, posts, and things I wrote.

Links to things other people have written, including the Blog Rush widget.

Affiliate links and banners to help you make money online, and those that monetize this site.

Other Affiliate Links.

Site Stats.

I organized this way based on what is most helpful to the readers. Articles and such up top, and Site Stats, which are mainly for me, at the bottom. And once a gain, with three other website clients, and about ten new business coaching clients, my own designs are taking a back seat. But I’m learning so much about coding for WP from optimizing other people’s code, that my originals are going to be fabulous!