So I bet everyone’s been wandering why Sentences hasn’t been updated. And then I know you’re scratching your head saying, “Damn, this site is dieing already?” Well fear not my fellow warriors of the digital millennium. We’re still very alive, and kicking. Anthony has been working on a few articles which he will be releasing shortly. Me on the other hand, I’m working on some other, bigger things.

Sentences will be launching a new design soon. It’s based off of Quommunication’s Wordpress Theme and will be implemented into Sentences soon enough. If you’re a night bird like me, you may have done some snooping and seen the theme up late at night while I do fixes and changes and customize the theme so it feels like home. Furthermore, we’ll be implementing a real forum system soon (after the redesign). Finally, everything is finally coming together.

So in the mean time, here’s some other articles to hold you down. I’m sorry to keep you all short on updates, and I really do as if I’m cheating you all out of an experience, but keep in mind that we’re working on things, and we aren’t just sitting dormant.

Finger Linkin’ Good 2/21/08:

• Our good friends at FreelanceSwitch posted: Freelancers Beware of Receiving Payments via Credit Card through PayPal
• I stumbled across a funny little Web 2.0 Business Plan Generator.
• Smashing Magazine posted: Drunken Monkey Photoshop Tutorial
• Zac Johnson made $860,538.38 PROFIT in 4 months. Find out how (no, it’s not an eBook).
• One of our favorite companies, 37Signals posted an article On Writing.
• Bittbox found 16 really useful Dingbat fonts.
• You The Designer posted: 30 Photos that inspired me to learn Photography
• Fresh Home posted: The Worlds Most Inspiring and Creative Hotel Rooms (Like Threadless? You’ll love this).
• Turbo Milk posted a great article titled: 10 Mistakes in Icon Design (VERY HANDY!)

Anyways, that’s it for now. Keep checking back to see the new site and forum launching. It should be in a couple of days (pending if I can find the right person to do it. Which reminds me, if you’re interested in customizing the News theme from Quocommunication, please contact me).

Regards,
Bryan

One of my closest colleagues, Anthony Bullock who I interviewed last month has decided to write for Sentences alongside me. Anthony’s been a close friend of mine pretty much since my professional freelance career started. Our backgrounds were eerily similar, and we both continued down our paths parallel to each other. And to this day, we continue to pursue freelancing as our main hobby and occupation.

Running a website, especially one such as Sentences as a one man operation isn’t easy! So it was great timing when Anthony and I began to toy around with the idea of having him hop on board. It was an easy decision for the both of us, and since we’ve worked together on previous projects before and have been through a lot together, it was a no brainer to have Anthony Bullock as the first true co-author of Sentences.

Anthony is the founder of his own identity and studio, Fantasy Creative.  He excels at freelancing and his expertise and knowledge will definitely be tapped into.  I dare you, the readership, to challenge the both of us with ideas and questions as we all attempt to bring Sentences into the upper echelon of freelance websites.

So, without further adieu, give Anthony a big warm welcome, and let him know how much you look forward to reading his first Sentences!

My alarm is blaring in my ear. I can feel the drool down the side of my lips, and suddenly it creeps on me. The heat. It’s that incredibly sticky and sweaty heat. I’m burning up. Which is ironic because it’s about 36 degrees outside. I can hardly breathe and my eyes feel swollen. My legs are weak and my hands are trembling.

I sit up in my bed, struggling to toss my blanket to the side. I feel weak. The blanket weighs a ton I thought. It was drenched in sweat. Then the cold hit me. It came fast and hard, immediately icing the sweat beads streaming down from my hairline. I was dizzy. Nauseated, I tried to muster what strength I had left and created enough momentum to swing them to the floor. They plopped on the floor like dead weights. I let out a roar for a cough that was followed by violent hacking.

I tried to stand up, but I could feel my knees beginning to buckle, and it suddenly felt as if I was standing on a water bed…my knees, swaying from side to side fighting to keep me standing. I wobbled to the door and down the hall to my bathroom where I fell to my knees, hugging the toilet. And after a few minutes, there it was…my dinner from last night.

I’ve been sick for the past few days and it’s been incredibly difficult and frustrating. I haven’t had time to really concentrate on school, and more importantly, my application to Fantasy Interactive. And now I’m also behind on school. I hate to keep you guys waiting on the updates, but until I can find some reliable help around here, we’re all going to go through the slow days, and the fast days.

I know a lot of you are coming from the kind words of my buddy Collis over from FSw, and if that’s the case, I welcome you. This is Sentences, and I’m Bryan, the only one running the site. Make sure you take a minute to read what this is about, and hopefully you’ll find it in your hearts to subscribe and support me. I usually update the site much more often, but I’m a tad bit preoccupied.

Anyways, I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m not quite dead, and that I apologize for the lack of updates. I’ve got to finish some things up while I try to fend off the flu. Which is spreading all over Maryland if you guys haven’t read or heard about it on the news yet.

I’ll be back on track shortly, just be patient. Oh, and now would be a great time for someone to offer some help and write a guest post. If you’re interested in that, why don’t you drop me a note. Hopefully the Nyquil won’t have me knocked out.

Oh yea. 18-1. Guess Boston isn’t dominating every sport (soccer, baseball, basketball, and even hockey).

As much as you guys love me, I think it’s probably better you stay away from me.
Bry

Sentences is now approaching the three month old mark and the growth has been explosive. Though we’ve failed to reach the Digg home page several times (Darn that new algorithm!) we’ve been able to hit the StumbleUpon pages, and Mixx front page and have really accelerated our traffic through those means.

Though Advertising was simply an after thought for Sentences (content came first), I’ve come to realize that it is almost essential. Not necessarily to make money, but to be able to have money to spend on Sentences. I think one of the key reasons why the forum is failing, isn’t because it’s not accessible - it’s because of the software. With money to spend, I can begin to get Sentences recognized, and be able to really turn it into what I think it can be (or hope it can be) - a world community of freelance designers and marketers. Yes, I know that’s an ambitious goal, but ambitious goals are what dreams are made of. And dreams are something I like to realize.

With all of this being said, I wanted to thank the current sponsors for Sentences. They took the chance to advertise with a relatively new site, and hopefully at this point, they are starting to realize what sort of potential and readership Sentences has. At the moment, February is 80% booked, and there has already been one reservation in March. I wanted to not only thank the sponsors who’ve worked with Sentences thus far, but also for you - the reader. Thank you so much for allowing Sentences to taste the success it has so far. Because of you’re interest in what we write, we’ve been able to grow and accelerate.

Eat Fruit Please:
Eat Fruit Please is the personal blog of designer James McDonald. “Aftermath” as he is better known to the design community, he is known for his flashy designs and sharp graphics. He’s a good friend of mine, and supported me when Sentences first launched, giving me vital feedback and suggestions.

FreshBooks:
FreshBooks is a vital took for Freelancers who want to send their clients professional invoices. FB has a sleek design and interface that’s simple to use. It’s no wonder why FB is considered the top invoicing tool in the industry. I’ve talked with one of the staff for FreshBooks, Sunir (Who’s also a reader of Sentences) and he is helpful and supportive. When Sentences launched, Sunir helped get FreshBooks to sponsor and support us in our infancy.

Conrad Barrett:
Conrad is a young and aspiring internet entrepreneur and marketer. This is his personal blog. He’s only just a teenager, but he is has a wealth of experiences and ideas, and his personality is refreshing. He runs a video blog which is updated pretty much daily, and is one of the friendlier people I’ve had the pleasure of associating with.

BizStudent:
BizStudent is owned by Jack Morrison, a frequent reader and contributer to Sentences. He’s a great friend of mine, and immediately offered to help Sentences grow, an offer anyone would be silly to reject. He runs a blog over at BizStudent that is frequently updated and read. I’d suggest everyone to read his blog as well if you like Sentences.

There are huge plans for Sentences over the next few months including a new, unique theme. I’m very excited as a new theme will give me the opportunity to really focus on the community aspect of Sentences. Writers are beginning to take notice of the site and I’ve gotten an increase in job queries (which I’m slowly getting to). Visitors are slowly turning into readers (a constant challenge that ALL bloggers face), and subscription levels are growing daily.

I’m very excited and thankful for everyone who has contributed to Sentences, and that includes you - the anonymous casual reader who hasn’t yet taken any action on this site (commenting, registering, subscribing… *hint hint*). No problem. I’ll take anyone who wants to listen to me (and I can talk a dead horse to sleep).

Thanks everyone,
B - ry

PS - Check out my personal blog if you haven’t done so already.

Hellooooo!

It’s been a hectic week over here. I’ve been running back and forth, finishing up client projects, and writing new articles (or at least trying to) and trying to develop some relationships with other people in the industry. With that said, I’m a little late on announcing the winners of the “Tell us what YOU think!” survey.

The response was great, almost 100% was positive. That’s very encouraging to hear from my readers. Furthermore, I’ve learned some valuable things about my readership, and what you guys like the most. It seems that it was a close race between Interviews and Articles, so I’ll try and get more of those to you guys soon. Surprisingly, “regular blog posts” scored well, meaning you guys want more personal stuff! Okay, so I’ll try my best to update as often as I can, even if it’s only a few (important) things I must say. I do have a personal blog though, so if your interested, check out The Last Ronin.

So, without further adieu, here are the winners picked randomly from those who left comments.

$5 CRAZY PAYPAL SHOPPING SPREE!!!! (lol):

• Taiyab Raja
• Andrew Yates
• Josh Buckley
• Neoraw
• Prateek Malhotra

AWESOME TEXT LINK AD MADNESS!:
Please note, the winners of the text link ads will run next week once the current campaigns finish.

• Tom Howell
• Aarom Fishbein
• Sahil
• Amaresh ray
• Andrew

Because I didn’t get enough responses on the survey (I got 23, but only 10 or 11 left comments), I’ll be rewarding pretty much everyone. Please contact me on Sentences to claim your prize. Please note that it must be the same email address that you left the comment with. I know it’s nothing special, but hopefully I can continue to keep handing some small prizes to the more loyal readerships. Surveys are a great way for me to learn about you guys, and to know what you want and expect out of Sentences, so I think each month I’ll be having a survey with similar prizes (and increasing them based on the readership).

Keep on Keepin’ On.

Regards,
Bryan

Sentences was launched a little more then a month ago and the response and feedback have been overwhelming! People are constantly coming to the site, traffic is slowly building naturally (just the way I wanted), and subscriptions are continuing to break its previous records. I just wanted to take the time out and thank everyone for making Sentences such a success so far! I’ve got a lot in store for the site including a complete redesign and some awesome new article features.

With that said, I really want to hear what you guys have to say about the site. Honest opinions only please. The feedback that you guys give me will help me improve Sentences so that you can enjoy the experience as well. Keep in mind that this is a one-man-show and I’m doing everything in my power to make sure that Sentences reaches its potential, and that the readers are entertained and educated.

So, I am asking everyone to please take five minutes out of their day to complete the following survey. Your five minutes will help me out for a life time. It’s a little to give, that means a lot. Hopefully you’ll find a few minutes out of your day to put down your thoughts. I know that some of you still won’t do anything if you don’t have any incentive, so, here’s what I am doing…

• 5x Random Winners will win $5.00 each (sorry, I’m broke)
• 5x Random Winners will win a free bi-weekly text link (worth $10.00)
• 2x Random Winners will win a free domain of their choice

So, that’s 12 lucky winners that may win a prize. They are cheap and small, but hopefully you’ll find it in your hearts to fill out the survey not just for the incentive, but to help me out. I am asking nicely aren’t I? Anyways, without further adieu, please click the following link to take the survey! Remember to answer as honestly as possible because these answers will shape the future of Sentences!

http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB227BN8XB5NU

After you’ve completed the survey, please leave a comment with your name and your contact email entered into the correct field. After all said and done, I’ll pick the names from a hat, and voila!

Thanks!
B to the R to the Y

Whew!

It’s now been over a month since Sentences has launched and you’d be amazed at how fast a few weeks can pass (and I thought 2007 went by quickly!). Nevertheless, it’s been a real challenge keeping the content fresh and up-to-date. Though I’d rank the soft-launch of Sentences as some what successful, I look forward to 2008 and the future of Sentences, Marketing, Design, and most of all, the Internet as a whole.

What will happen in 2008?

2007 saw an amazing improvement of the internet. And what happened? We happened. Though Time had the right idea when they named “You” Person of the Year, I think that award should have been saved for 2007 as we saw social interaction jump to an entirely new level and plateau. With the improvement of technology, we’re bound to see endless possibilities with new levels of interaction becoming the inevitable. We are already seeing a mix of social media into our every day lives as Virgin American Airlines launches their new “Red Interactive” platform for all of their US Flights.

Unfortunately for many internet users though as I feel 2008 will also bring back spam in a new form. With social media drawing millions of new internet users, I think Spam will take off once again and we’ll see it thrive before being squashed in the latter portion of the year. Not to be forgotten however is our advancement into internet technology as eCommerce becomes more friendly, versatile, and reliable. 2008 will be a huge year for internet marketers as Affiliate program are sure to hit new peaks and user generated shops become a new fad.

Freelancers grip yourselves for an intense year filled with prosperous opportunities. The internet is growing at a rapid pace that we can hardly handle today. The skills of a freelancer will be in high demand as companies make their way onto the internet, and developers continue to pump out applications. There will be an endless amount of projects for all freelancers to feast on. Veterans who were able to master 2007’s graphic design trends will prosper in 2008 as the last batch of entrepreneurs make it there. Look for simplicity to rule design appeal in 2008 as CSS heavy websites continue to become the norm.

And lastly, 2008 will also bring many challenges. Our entire country will come under the power of a newly elected President with tons of national and international issues at hand. I don’t envy whoever our newest President will be as I’m sure his term will be a difficult one…considering our country is currently on a downward spiral. The internet as we know it will continue to evolve and mature further diminishing the rumors of a new internet bubble. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m excited!

Here’s our 2008 New Years Resolution:

• Complete and Custom Redesign
• Achieve 500+ RSS Subscriptions
• Have over 1,000 forum members
• Have over 25,000 forum posts
• Have at least 365 Entries or Posts
  • at least 12 interviews
  • at least 12 “Through the Wire” segments
• At least three dedicated staff writers
• Become an influential and helpful brand in the industry

That’s pretty much it! The goals seems ambitious but definitely obtainable. Challenging, but not impossible. I’m really excited to take Sentences into the long run and now that 2007 has come and gone, I’ll be much more prepared for the speed of time. However, we obviously can’t obtain our goals unless we earn your support. With that being said, we’d love for you to help Sentences become something.

Here’s what you can do:

• Subscribe to our RSS Feed
• Register for the Community and introduce yourself!
• Submit our stories to Digg, Mixx, Reddit, etc.!
• Help spread the word of Sentences We’d love it if you found a minute or two to write a quick and short blurb about us on your next blog entry! One easy plug that takes approximately ten seconds would mean more to us then you’d think.

It seems that I’ve got my hands full with Sentences and I’m really excited to see that the community is growing…slowly, but surely. I’m pleased with the feedback that it’s been getting and I hope to continue that consistency throughout the New Year. Make sure you guys continue to follow me through the journey and watch as Sentences evolves and matures through the coming months.

Best wishes,
B

Here I am sitting at my desk writing the next few articles that are to be posted for Sentences. It seems that I’ve been running this site for ages now as I continue to watch the stats and continue to write pieces of each article until they are completed and ready for publishing. However, the truth of the matter is that the site is only 72 hours young, and I’ve still got a long road ahead of me if I plan on making Sentences into what I think and hope it can become.

So far, there have been Five public articles published. Of the Five, two were submitted to Digg with only moderate success (meaning some Diggs, but not enough to get on the front page). This could simply be because Sentences doesn’t have the exposure or reader base needed yet to reach the front page. Hopefully in time we’ll get there.

Out of the five articles, there have been 22 comments made. That’s a great number (even though a majority of the comments are my responses). It definitely shows that the readers are interested in what Sentences has to say, and they are beginning to interact with the community. This is exactly the direction I wanted it headed in.

However, after the first 72 hours of launch, there has been only one additional sign up on the Forums. This is a bit disappointing, but is definitely because of me. I haven’t had much time to really spotlight the forums yet, so they are inactive and are bare. If you’d like to take a few minutes to sign up for it, I greatly encourage it so that when the Forums do become active, you’re set and ready to go.

There have been 5 RSS Feed Subscribers since the site has started. Not much, but definitely better then zero. I had only added Feedburner the second day I launched (since I’m an idiot, and in my over-eagerness to launch the site, I completely forgot to put in an RSS tab). If you haven’t done so already, I’d encourage you to subscribe to the RSS Feed to get up to date content whenever it’s posted.

Over the next 72 hours, I hope to get the following articles up and ready to go on Sentences:

• Getting Creative with Anthony Bullock (An interview with the man behind Fantasy Creative)
• 5 Surefire ways to build Buzz
• Tips for Building your Reputation
• 5 Simple Steps to Starting a Marketing Campaign
• 5 Common Marketing Mistakes

I’m really looking forward to releasing these articles. I’m still writing most of them, but a couple are done and are ready for publishing. I’m just waiting for the right time to do so, so check back later tonight and you should have a fresh, new article to read.

Now that I’ve got a small readership and some solid content, now is the time for me to start advertising Sentences and really get this ship sailing. I’ve got some guest blog posts lined up with Anthony Bullock’s WebMediaBlogger. I am also eying a few sites to start advertising on, though my budget is small (since Sentences isn’t intended for revenue).

I have a few tricks up my sleeve, but I’m still planning all of them to make sure they’ll work before I set myself up for some sort of failure. Either way, I do plan on outlining most of my plan for everyone to see since I do want everyone to learn from example.

Already, Sentences is pulling in some decent traffic simply by word of mouth, Digg, and just some forum advertising. The traffic is minimal, but I expected nothing less since I haven’t even really started advertising the site. However, I have gotten a few contact emails regarding advertising information, and I just wanted to reinerate that Sentences is NOT ready to accept advertising yet. It will be in the very near future, but right now I want to focus on building some sort of reputation before I start charging for advertising.

Things to Focus On:

• Strengthening the Sentences Brand
• Creating additional Exposure using Affordable Methods
• Bring more attention to the Community/Forums
• Encourage additional interaction between the community

Anyways, I just wanted to give everyone an update and to say Thank You for all the support that everyone has given me in the last 72 hours. It’s been really fun messing around with Sentences and I look forward to continuing the journey. If you haven’t done so already, please register for the Forums. It’ll only take you a couple minutes, but would mean the world to me.

Best regards,
Bryan

It’s been several months since I had the idea to start Sentences. But, being your average college student, I was tied down with other priorities and never really got around to launching it. Fast forward to today, and it’s with great pleasure that I announce the launch of Sentences, a site which focuses on internet marketing. From the get go, I want to explain that this site was NOT created to be flipped. I have no intentions on selling this. I plan on dedicating a significant amount of my time into turning this into something real. With that being said, Sentences isn’t about making me any money…it’s about making you rich instead.

I want everyone to realize that this site will in itself be a case study. I will be using the strategies and tactics that I write about to improve this site. After all, what good is the advice if the author doesn’t follow it?

The internet is becoming an increasingly popular avenue to make money. Thousands of businesses launch, thousands more fail. It’s without question that only the strong will survive and to be among the elite you must think like them. Hopefully, we will all succeed together. I have big plans for Sentences and I’d like your help. Give me honest feedback. Interact with other members. Submit your own articles. Sentences will be about sharing knowledge and building a community, as opposed to reading what you need and not contributing.

You’ll definitely be back to visit if you’re interested in:

• Learning how to strengthen a brand
• How to interact with clients
• How to annihilate the competition
• Improving your self reputation
• Entering and and dominating an industry
• Making money online
• How to generate buzz
• Analyzing business models and marketing campaigns
• Learning from industry leaders through interviews and articles
• And more (the obligatory phrase)

I have high hopes for Sentences. However, at the end of the day, it’s up to you to help me with that. If you don’t know me, you should read a little bit about me. You’ll realize that my passion for business is virtually unmatched. I live, eat, and breathe it. If you’d like to help, please get in contact with me. I’m not ready to open advertising on this site yet, but if you are interested in reserving a spot in the future, also get in contact with me.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me launch Sentences - which includes you, because you’re here, reading the grand opening post, and supporting me by visiting.