Unique looking free sites

[Mr Exotic]

Well here's a recap of what I have done in about the 3 weeks since I started my free site empire. I have built I think 62 sites and have been submitting roughly around 2 and a ahlf weeks now. I am making more than I can actually submit, but I fugure whatever doesnt get submitted the SE's can pick up later. I have been working like I have never worked before on anything in this biz and I have been in it for over 6 years now guess I am pretty excited over the possibilities I can see this project leading

So here is what I am starting to get kinda worried about. I am worried that my sites are starting to look too similar, I try and try to make them look as different as possible, but I was just going back thru looking at the sites I have made and there is one "style" I have been doing that I just ralized I have been doing too much. I mean they all have totally different text, totally different colors, different graphics, different ads, but I guess they have kind of a sameness to them. Maybe it is just my design "style". Of all the free sites I have been surfing I guess there isnt really a lot of sites that look like mine, and basically every free site I have submitted has been listed at just about every link list I have submitted to, so I am hoping all is well.

At what point do you consider sites looking templated and too similar to list?

[natalie]

Well some people think if they just change the colour, text etc its not a template but its more about layout. When I started on free sites I made these tables with nice corners and each template had different types of corners I made uniquely in photoshop but the way I layed the tables out was almost always the same. I started to get rejected for templates.
We do all have our own style but as long as you change how you arrange things you should be okay. However a couple of samples of your sites might assist comments on this.
For example do you always lay your galleries out with 2 rows of 5 thumbs with a banner in between?

[Mr Exotic]

The link in my sig gas all my sites.

[MadMax]

Those sites do have quite a bit of "sameness" to them. One big thing you can do is start varying your fonts. The fonts on all the sites are pretty much the same. Start adding background colors to your table cells that are different from the background color but work with it. Also, quite a few of your background/text color combos are hard on the eyes. Light backgrounds work best with dark text, dark with light text. If the shades of text are similar to the background colors it makes the text very hard to read and thus makes the site very difficult to review

Also, find a few more sponsor sites to promote and rotate niches. That will help both your conversions as well as your ability to get listed. Submitting to Tranny day after day after day will start getting your sites declined simply because no LL owner will fill up an entire category with one submitter's sites

[natalie]

Yeah I think they do look much the same, at a quick browse through the enter pages it looks like 3 or 4 templates. Not saying I would reject them, but because they are all one niche (and an overpopulated one now) I would probably start accepting only one every couple of days.
Mind you when you look at a group like that its easy to pick the sameness as opposed to seeing one a day among 80 others.

[Mr Exotic]

Originally Posted by MadMax

Those sites do have quite a bit of "sameness" to them. One big thing you can do is start varying your fonts. The fonts on all the sites are pretty much the same. Start adding background colors to your table cells that are different from the background color but work with it. Also, quite a few of your background/text color combos are hard on the eyes. Light backgrounds work best with dark text, dark with light text. If the shades of text are similar to the background colors it makes the text very hard to read and thus makes the site very difficult to review

Also, find a few more sponsor sites to promote and rotate niches. That will help both your conversions as well as your ability to get listed. Submitting to Tranny day after day after day will start getting your sites declined simply because no LL owner will fill up an entire category with one submitter's sites

Thanks alot man, thats some good advice about changing up the designs, just seems there are only so many ways you can put 2 sponsor links, a hub link, and recips on a webpage Ya you are right about changing niches, what my orginal plan was is to spend about a month or so of submitting on a domain (niche), and then moving on to the next and so on and so on. Do you think submitting a month straight in a niche would be doing too much? I did plan on submitting about 13 or 14 more days of tranny sites. Then when I had about 7 domains (niches) then do a different niche a day, but that would be in about 7 months. Maybe I would be better off when I start a domain to only do it for a couple weeks before starting another.

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by Mr Exotic

Do you think submitting a month straight in a niche would be doing too much?

Yes. 15 days straight is too much IMO. Think about it this way: If you submit 15 sites in a row they get listed in a lump and move down the list in a lump. I recommend promoting 2-4 niches with 4-8 paysites and rotating, so you'd be submitting to each niche every 2-4 days. That will keep reviewers from getting sick of seeing your sites pounding one category, and also show them that you're diversified (which will only help your listings). Also, as a group we're not as hard-assed about templates when they're being submitted to multiple niches.

[MrYum]

Originally Posted by MadMax

Yes. 15 days straight is too much IMO. Think about it this way: If you submit 15 sites in a row they get listed in a lump and move down the list in a lump. I recommend promoting 2-4 niches with 4-8 paysites and rotating, so you'd be submitting to each niche every 2-4 days. That will keep reviewers from getting sick of seeing your sites pounding one category, and also show them that you're diversified (which will only help your listings). Also, as a group we're not as hard-assed about templates when they're being submitted to multiple niches.

Excellent advice Max

I have a few submitters that USED to get approved consistently. That was until they continued to submit the same damn sponsor day after day after day...slight variations in the layouts, but as you said...it gets real old after a while.

Two of the best pieces of advice you'll get in free sites are...one, of course actually read and comply with the rules...duh. And TWO, keep your sites FRESH! Colors, layouts, text, fonts AND the sites you promote. Give that reviewer something fresh to look at. Even if it does have a certain sameness quality due to it still being built by you...changing the items above will help dilute that sameness and get your sites accepted more consistently

A side benefit to not promoting the same paysite/sponsor too much...you never want too many eggs in one basket in this business (don't ask how I know ) The paysite/sponsor that's hot this month may very well tank next month. Don't be afraid to spread things around a bit...good for listings...and good for sales

[Mr Exotic]

Thanks for the input guys, it is very much appreciated. I would have just clulessly kept submitting tranny/shemale sites and wondering why I wasn't getting added anymore. I just bought some more domains to submit off of in 3 other niches so that will give 4 niches for now. Oughta be ready to start submitting tomorrow or the next day for interracial. Thanks again for steering me in the right direction

[Wazza]

Domains!

Vary your domains!

I'm not too concerned if one quality builder dominates a cat - but subbing a site a day on the same domain for six months is taking the piss...

[dekaz]

I'm submitting to 80-90 LL's but it's mostly going to drop to 24 very soon after reading this thread.