If there's one thing that can never be said about me, it's that I don't follow my own advice.  I've written on numerous occassions about the importance of testing and user feedback.  I've posted close to a dozen case study reviews that highlight what other companies have done based on testing and feedback.  So for the past few weeks, I've been trying to figure out ways to test the Internet Marketing Monitor and solicit some feedback.

One solution I came up with is PayPerPost.  PayPerPost is a service that allows content providers to sponsor blog posts.  After setting a price per post you're willing to pay, PayPerPost's network of bloggers look over the offer and, if they accept it, write a post.  In a nutshell:  I paid 10 people $7.50 a post to review the Internet Marketing Monitor in at least 200 words.

The PayPerPost description I provided was simple: 

The Internet Marketing Monitor is looking for a few people to write reviews of its content. We'd like a few people to spend some time browsing the site to get a feel for the content we offer. Those people would then be free to write what they honestly thought about the site. We will be reviewing the service and letting our readers know what we think.  What better way to find out than to try it out?

We want the reviews to be as unbiased as possible. If you think it's great, say it's great. If you think it's terrible, say it's terrible.

The only requirement for the review is that the post has to specifically state that we requested unbiased, honest opinions.

The Internet Marketing Monitor is a blog specializing in internet marketing news, opinion, and techniques. We feature tips on search engine optimization, industry happenings, and internet marketing strategies. 

The first thing about the experience that surprised me was the speed of acceptance of my offer.  At 11:07 PM last night I received an automated message from PayPerPost saying my offer had been approved and was available for bloggers to look over.  By the time I checked this morning, all 10 reviews had been written.  That's a really fast turn around.

I know what you're wondering:  what about the reviews that had been written?  Some were pretty good.  Some were decent.  And some were basically worthless.  And a review of the PayPerPost service wouldn't be complete without examples of the kind of content you're likely to generate from it.  So without further ado, here is what my $97.50 investment ($75 for the 10 posts + PayPerPost's 30% fee) got me:

My 1-Stop Information Website by Cyberpartygal

Cyberpartygal runs a WebStore so her review was written from the perspective of someone who could use some internet marketing tips to help boost sales.  I think she generally liked the site and said "I have implemented what I learned from Internet Marketing Monitor from their SEO tips".  I'm not sure that it'd be possible to implement everything we've talked about here in the few hours between 11:07 PM and when her post was written, but hopefully she learned something.  She was able to fix a glitch with her Google Analytics account after reading a post here as well.

Internet Marketing Monitor Review by Terri @ Musings

I think Terri is a good representation of our target audience: 

I will start by saying that I am new to the internet marketing game. Like so many things in which I am interested, I know just enough to be dangerous. I would love to know much more about internet marketing, but the variety of sources out there is daunting for someone like me with not a whole lot of research time. 

Terri was surprised by the amount of content available and how easy it was to read (thanks, Terri).  She was also a fan of the Directory Report Cards and Affiliate Report Cards that we're currently working on.  However, she was less impressed with the look of the site and had this to say about the theme in use here at the IMM:

It's a pretty basic WordPress theme, I think. It clearly states "all business", which may be what they were going for, but it also says to me, "business is kinda ugly".

Thanks for the honesty, Terri (and the humor).  That's exactly what we were looking for.  And to answer your question, yes… your review was one of the better reviews and was very helpful.

A Boring Blog with Contents by Ah Pek @ An Amateur Blogger

To start with, Ah Pek passes overall judgment of the site as "terrible" because a link didn't show up in the listing.  I'm not sure who's at fault for that, Ah Pek, but even an honest and unbiased review needs to be sensible.  The fact that your first impression was "terrible" is fine, because I wanted honest reviews.  But to base that impression on a technical glitch in another website's product throws the usefulness of the rest of your review into question.  That being said, Ah Pek continues to review the content of the site.  Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I think the next part of his review actually includes a jab at the my motivation for writing long articles:

The articles are all quite lengthy which shows the author has perfect grasp of his English, but I personally don't like lengthy articles.

To clear up any confusion, the articles here are long enough to say what needs to be said.  My motivation for writing "quite lengthy" articles has nothing to do with showing my grasp of English.  I want readers to have all the information they need to be able to find value in whatever is being covered.  If that means a long post, so be it.

Ah Pek's overall impression of the Internet Marketing Monitor is that "the content might be great but it is a boring blog".  It may come as a surprise to Ah Pek and others, but that's actually a great compliment and the type of feedback I was looking for.  Great content is what makes a website worth visiting again.  You can have the flashiest graphics and all the latest technological bells and whistles.  But if the "meat" of the site is lacking, it's worthless.

Internet Marketing Monitor by RyeUrn

RyeUrn's review is pretty standard.  He specifically mentioned the Marketing Conference & Shows Calendar and the IMM Glossary (which is created by a free plugin available for download here).  While RyeUrn's review primarily dealt with the "extra" stuff we offer, he did have this to say about the content:

I find that Internet Marketing Monitor (IMM) encompasses more comprehensive data and information on internet marketing.

Website Review: Internet Marketing Monitor by JE @ Reviews and More

JE's review had a lot of great feedback in it.  Instead of a review of the features of the site, JE looked at the actual content, and had this to say:

I think the article content is fantastic. There are tons of articles available that address all the different aspects of internet marketing, and they’re very informative. For the most part, yes, this is information that you can get on other marketing sites. But I did see a couple of new promotional tips that I’d personally never read before.

I think JE will be happy to know that providing more information not available elsewhere has become one of our primary focuses.  From day one the idea behind the Internet Marketing Monitor was two-fold:  1) cover the important happenings of the internet marketing world and 2) share Matt's marketing strategy with the rest of the world.  Objective number 1 is well under control and we're starting to push further ahead with number 2.

JE also made a point that we were very happy to hear: 

I like how the articles have a personal feel to them. They might be written by a professional Internet marketer, but they sound like they’re coming from a friend or acquaintance rather than from an impersonal website. The writer doesn't use fancy terms that I’ve never heard of before or tell me about strategies that I can’t figure out how to employ, which increases my chances of successfully using these strategies. That’s more than I can say about a lot of the other marketing sites I’ve been to recently!

You're exactly right, too!  It doesn't do any readers a bit of good to use terminology and lingo that's difficult to understand.  Presenting a good idea or tip is pointless unless people can understand it.  Thanks for noticing, JE!

JE wasn't a fan of the AdSense placement on the blog.  The AdSense ads have moved a total of 3 times since we first launched IMM.  There's a good chance they'll move again.  In part of our continual effort to balance form and function, AdSense placement is an evolving element of the site.  Thanks for your honesty and we'll definitely take your feedback to heart.

Internet Marketing Monitor Review by Matthew W. Grant @ Someone Else's Kids

Matthew's review of the look of the site echoed some of the others.  The look of the site isn't so hot:

My first impression of the site was that it was rather plain, especially for a marketing site.

This is why I wanted to get some feedback.  These are the things that any website owner should want to know and show go out of their way to find out.  First impressions are hard to overcome and if someone thinks the first impression of your site is "plain", it might be time for a refresh.  So thanks for your honesty, Matthew.  It's very helpful.

The majority of the rest of Matthew's review focused on the ways to find information at IMM.  This was great feedback because it was something that none of the other reviews went into much detail about.  Matthew's thinking was right on par with ours:  give different people different ways to find the information they're looking for.

Review of Internet Marketing Monitor blog by Brian Reilly

Brian gave us a lot of good feedback as well.  One of his first impressions was the lack of comments on the blog.  You noticed that, huh?  Haha.  Luckily, commenting has actually picked up in the last couple of weeks.  Here's to hoping it continues to climb!  Another suggestion from Brian dealt with the front page and the display of posts.  Brian thinks we should post more articles on the front page with "read more" links to the full blog post.  What do you think?  The reason we've avoided that so far is because a lot of readers tend to follow the "read more" link and then never come back to the front page.  But it's a suggestion we'll definitely consider.  And as for the spacing around pictures, it should be there.  I'm not sure why images would overlap text for you?  It's something I'll have to look into.

The two other points Brian makes that I'd like to address are the two empty pages and the lack of community.  The empty pages are regrettable, I agree.  For one, I thought we'd have those things ready sooner rather than later.  But the other reason they're there is because, without them, the navigation menu at the top breaks.  I do agree, though.  It's better to hold off on adding pages until there's content there.  And as for the community, it's a work in progress.  We've been live for less than 2 months, but I'm already pleased with some of the feedback we've received.  I think that once the content is securely in place, the community will follow.  Time shall tell.  Thanks for the excellent feedback, Brian!

They Want My Opinion! by Kristi @ Kristi's Road to Romance

Kristi's review was a nice reassurance that we're doing something right here.  She was pleased with the easy navigation and available content.  She hit the nail on the head when she suggested the site for people new to the world of internet marketing.  As one of our primary audiences, we feel that the things Kristi liked about the site are the very things that will help make our site more accessible than some of the others.  Thanks Kristi.

Internet Marketing Monitor by azdana @ MySpace

Azdana echoed the sentiment of several of the other reviews:  the content is clear and easy to understand.  We love to hear that!  Matt recognized that a lot of the information available on internet marketing was difficult to understand and less than simple for new folks to implement.  That's why one of the goals of the Internet Marketing Monitor has always been to provide the information in an easy to swallow pill.  One correction in regard to azdana's post needs to made, though.  The Internet Marketing Monitor does not provide training, free or paid.  We do provide readers with a list of some of the training available elsewhere on the internet.  But none of that training is provided by, sponsored by, or affiliated with IMM.

Azdana was another of the reviewers who didn't care for the look much.  If you hear it once you think it might just be that person.  You hear it twice and you start to wonder.  You hear it three times and you can pretty much bet it needs some attention.  Haha.  Thanks azdana!

Review of marketing blog by Community Thought

Community Thought mentions the easy to navigate site, as many of the other reviews did.  They also noticed that we pull a variety of information from a variety of sources.  Trying to monitor all of the individual sources of information in this field is a full-time job, hence the name Internet Marketing Monitor.  We monitor the news and the multitude of sources so you don't have to.  Thanks for noticing, Community Thought.

They also took the time to highlight an individual post that they found interesting.  I'm happy to see that in the short amount of time spent at the site they were able to find something of interest.

Conclusions & Final Thoughts

I really like the PayPerPost service.  It's a good way to get feedback from real users, especially for new sites like the Internet Marketing Monitor.  As Brian pointed out in his review, there's not much of a community here yet.  We're working on it, slowly but surely.  But it's sometimes difficult to get feedback without a user base from which to pull from.  PayPerPost gives you opportunity to give people an incentive for visiting your site or trying your product.

I'll most likely use the service again and I can recommend it to others for the same purpose.  There are a lot of other uses that I could see PayPerPost employed for, so be creative if you're thinking of giving them a spin.

And finally, thanks to the reviewers for their honest feedback.  We've taken what you said to heart.  Based on the feedback we've received, we're already planning a 'sprucing' of the site's look (to use the words of one of the reviewers).  In addition, we're working on a logo, favicon, and some other visual touches to make the site a little less "business ugly".  Again, thanks for the feedback.