I have been pretty fascinated with the concept of blogging since it was first suggested to me. We had seen an increase in the percentage of submissions in blog format beginning mid-2004. We got involved in the space, when a few of our staff members got personal blogs, and we launched our first collaborative blog on Dec 1, 2004 (happy first birthday to the Jurgle Search Blog !!!)

So now, as the end of 2005 draws near, we are pleased to launch BOTW Media, which shall serve as the central hub of our blog network. Over the course of the last five months we have assembled a team of subject experts to author our blog network and provide commentary, analysis, reviews, opinion, and the occasional pearl of wisdom. There are currently 20+ blogs that are live and in production. All of the blogs will be converted over to a format similar to that of BOTW Media. We have been launching them at a pace of a few a month, and chances are that the pace will quicken.

If you are interested in participating in the BOTW Media network of blogs, read more about it at the author’s page. I know that we are looking for active bloggers, and in keeping with BOTW tradition, the pay is God-awful So, if you are interested in blogging, not interested in making a ton of money for it, and can follow some basic guidelines, let us know.

Today the debate rages – price integrity v. increased exposure. How do you deal with maintaing a standard price for your product or service while trying to increase exposure and sales via price based discounts? In today’s digital age, the mass distribution of a promotional code is only a few keystrokes away. Blessing or curse?

Take for example the PubCon promotion we had this month. At our booth at WMW Vegas, we handed out some glossy cards telling people how great we are, and why they should check us out. For attendees of the conference, we provided a discount code good for new submissions at 50% for the month of November. One of the conference attendees posted about the promotion at his blog – Marketing Fan. See BOTW Promo – 50% off. Coupled with some additional business development deals we have going, and an uptick in the buzz around the forums, and we run a pretty decent number (close to 20%) of our month at discounted rates.

Now of course offering our submission review at 50% off cuts into the margins. We expect x number of submissions at that level, and with word of mouth receive x+y. So, for the month our margins run at a lower rate, but the number of new submissions improves dramatically.

We try to limit our exposure to the rogue posting of discount codes, but with just about anything online there are loopholes. For the savvy there are typically many ways to skin a cat. We do believe that our promotions are good for our members, and are beneficial to BOTW as well.

And for those interested, the code from WMW Vegas – good for submissions at 50% off – is HPWR5H. Good only until the end of the month, so submit your site soon.

We had a short week at headquarters, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. While the main office was closed, luckily BOTW is a 21st century workplace. For our editors outside of the US, it was just another Thursday and Friday. Our new additions were a little light the last couple of days (see 11/24 and 11/25), but Monday approaches quickly, and with it another opportunity to shine.

We have already surpassed most of our goals for the year – a full six weeks before the end of the year. Now that the US holiday season has officially launched, the remainder of the year will speed by. Hopefully the Snow Gods will be kind, and we can get a couple of BOTW snowboarding days in. Coupled with vacation days and holiday closings, there are maybe 20 days of work left for they year. Before the end of the quarter, we will be examining goals and objectives for 2006, as well as establishing roles and assigning responsibilities for staff.

Here’s to a strong finish…

What is your favorite type of food? One thing that Americans have more than enough of is food. Cooking (and eating) has long been a favorite past time of many an American. Be it food from anywhere on earth, there is an audience willing to consume.

We have recently filled out our International Cuisine category. Some of the more robust resources include categories for the following types of cuisine:

As the International Cuisine branch is just the tip of the food iceberg, look for more build out throught the Cooking category in the days and weeks to come. Bon apetit!

Last week Brian, Greg and Jared spent the week in Las Vegas, exhibiting at PubCon 10. The conference marked our first appearance as an exhibitor, and we were excited to be there. We happily report that the time spent away from the office was well worth it.

It was nice to see industry friends, as well as make new contacts. The biggest splash for BOTW was the launch of the BOTW Blog Directory – definitely a crowd favorite. As we all stood watch at the booth, we were not able to attend any of the classes, so no pearls of wisdom to pass along for the webmasters.

Look for awesome things to come from some of the agreements we have in the works. For more pictures from the event, check our Flickr photos.