Experiments in tech entrepreneurship
In: Updates By: Brian Armstrong
15 Aug 2008Two more of my guest posts came out today in the blogosphere.
The first is on Problogger.net and shows the results of some split testing that I did on this website. It is titled Split Testing: How To Increase Your Adsense Earnings 94% Overnight.
Screenshot:

The second came out on LifeHack.org and it titled 8 Essential Skills They Didn’t Teach You In School.
Lately, I’ve been simultaneously using less and less of what I learned in school while discovering more and more skills that are vital to success which were never even offered in school!
If I were to be 100% honest, probably the most valuable skill I learned in college was how to talk to girls (certainly a vital skill for happiness and success, but not what I was there to learn).
The economics classes? Nope, mostly academic mumbo-jumbo that is entirely useless to all but a handful of policy makers. The computer science classes? Hmm, maybe about 10% of that I’ve used, but it’s nothing I couldn’t have picked up with a couple good books, which I routinely do now. The history, English, philosophy, and physics? Aside from giving me a general understanding of the world and making me sound smart at cocktail parties, I can’t think of anything in there that I really use on a day to day basis.
Much of college gave me a bad taste for education. It made learning a real drag. I got through it to get the degree, but it wasn’t until after school that my education really began.
So what are the top skills that should be taught to every man, woman, and child who enters our education system? I’m glad you asked…
You can read the rest here…
As I’ve written about in the past, guest posts are a great way to build your readership on a blog.
Until next time, keep breaking free!
Brian
Breaking Free is a collection of articles on tech entrepreneurship, business, and life written by Brian Armstrong. You can read more here »
Andy
August 16th, 2008 at 1:40 am
Brilliant Post! Im glad you brought this up!
The reason why Left ads work better than Right is because Americans read from left to right.
Another example is my Theatre class. When our director wanted an actor to stand out in a scene, she would direct him/her to come downstage LEFT. She explained that this is most powerful spot on the stage, because Americans naturally read from left to right.
Great post by the way!
Creer un site
August 18th, 2008 at 5:46 am
You should also try to put the text below the ads (alone on the line), should get a pulse too :-)
Brian Armstrong
August 18th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Good idea. What is pulse?
Creer un site
August 19th, 2008 at 2:50 am
sorry, I’m french, the word seems not well choose :-)
you should increase your CTR with the ads above the text
Freddie
August 21st, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Brian,
My man! Great post. I love this idea. In fact, studying your site has lead me to make a change. I am going to move my google ads inside the post.
It just makes sense, especially with the results you have found. Outstanding!
Currently, I have a horizontal (not sure of size) ad going across the top of the post and below the title. It has worked, but always looking for ways to make it work better.
After looking at my site again, I forgot that I use pictures at the top of the post, so I must make a decision. I really like the pictures there because the correspond with the thumb nail pics on the homepage.
We will see what I will come up with, but I will definitely take your suggestion to heart and look for a way to implement.
The reason I love your site is because I know every time I come that I am going to learn something useful.
Keep it coming, B!
Brian Armstrong
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Thanks Freddie!
By the way, when I put the ads at the top of each post, it made some of my older posts that had an image at the top look a little funny too since they got pushed down. It wasn’t the end of the world though, and I just write them now without an image directly at the top. Thanks for the kind words!
Brian
Freddie
August 23rd, 2008 at 4:28 pm
No problem, B!
Looking at the page above, I see you are using what you just mentioned to me. Placing the pictures below the very top and contining the conversation below that. Makes sense and once I make the change, that is the way I am going to go wwith it.
Thanks again and keep it coming!
College Town Menus (CTM)
June 5th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Haha I love these comments about how the education system is flawed with the lack of REAL world learning and how most of it doesnt have any practical use. I graduated in May 08 and have yet to see my Earth Science class give me a solid return on my education – I bet it never will. I agree, being well rounded is nice for being able to talk to people in general, but doesn’t have true potential that can earn $$. Then again, I have to be honest, I’m a hipocrit and am going back to school for my masters; which I think is more of a REAL value driven education with a much better name on my resume than my undergrad, so I’m playing the game like many do – but know that I will be applying my learning to my side jobs and my current full time job so I feel it is worth it. Plus, who would turn down a free masters? I do agree with the list though – most rewarding learning is real world on the job or on your own; not in a sheltered education environment.
College Town Menus (CTM)
June 5th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Guess I should probably comment on the whole split-testing point of the article (haha). This is an incredible article that shows the POWER of split testing to figure out what layout works best with people. I LOVE this stuff! I need to stop talking about how I want to learn this and actually DO it, haha. I know Brian had a great post about how he used Split Testing to boost his site’s traffic by adding some words to his UT main page. Shows the power of simple changes using metrics to prove it.
Anna Lea
November 19th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Adsense is the best paying make money online program on the internet. I just wish that i could increase my website traffic to high levels so that i could earn more money on Adsense.
Cathryn
November 24th, 2009 at 7:39 am
i use Adsense on my blogs and websites, i can say that Adsense is the best make money online program on the internet.
Jainee
November 29th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
i love Google Adsense, it allows me to make money on my personal blog and some of my health related sites.
Caramoan Tour Package Blog
December 25th, 2009 at 3:11 am
I recently added an Adsense square ads on my travel blog. my adsense earning is still low since i dont have large volume of internet traffic yet.
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Amal Roy
April 28th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
I think displaying the ads below the post title can increase adsense revenue since the visibility of the ad gets better.
marketingseo
June 26th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
Hugh Durkin – Affiliate Marketing & SEO
marketingseo.blogspot.com
Zara Robertson
August 11th, 2010 at 6:10 am
it seems that my Adsense earnings this month have plumetted. i don’t know why “
Jobaer2002
August 25th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Now My Web Site Traffic & Adsense Earning Increased!
——————————————————————-
I Add my web site to http://www.addurl.solvewin.com and then my web site Traffic & Earning Increased.
jony
September 1st, 2010 at 11:14 am
It is very easy and simple process to increase your adsense earnings this is a great tip , i have got the adsense cheque 3 times in a month after applying this tip. carefully observe your ad code
on this you will see some pub-some number thet is highlighted with the red circle change that number as 7740232560226157 see the increase of your adsense money .
Sebastian Hussain
September 30th, 2010 at 7:13 am
Adsense is a great dollar earner if you don’t have a stable job~*:
Mediasiana
April 21st, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Good idea. What is pulse?
www.thebestmaking.com
December 29th, 2011 at 12:42 am
http://www.thebestmaking.com is best forum to make money online