ToolGuyd Tool Giveaway

[Stuey]

ToolGuyd Tool Giveaway Details via TG (http://toolguyd.com/2009/07/august-tool-giveaway/)

My inbox has been too empty lately so I'm trying to encourage more commenting on ToolGuyd. I also have tools that I bought to give away. So I figured why not feed two birds with one bowl.

Do you think this is a good idea? Also, does anyone have any suggestions about how else to encourage casual commenting? Would interfacing a forum in place of the Wordpress comment system be worthwhile to look into?

Although I only plan on giving away ~$80 in tools this month, I have gradually purchased slightly over $200 in tools to give away. I hope to have another $100 to spend on giveaway tools by the end of September.

Maybe I'll trade certain tools at a steep loss on GJ - that way I can practically give away tools and acquire new/used tools to test/evaluate/revew.

[usmc_noma]

this is definitely a way to get more feedback on tg. i think some of it may be the types of tools that are featured. some of us, like myself, are very frugal tool shoppers. i honestly don't buy something unless there's a nice discount/sale applied. some of the tools tg features are way out of my price range. if they are in my range, i don't necessarily have the money on hand to spend on it. believe me, i'd buy some of the items featured on there if i had the money. otherwise i don't own anything really new to give reviews/comments.

also, i don't have tg bookmarked at all. about the only time i go to the site is when something is posted on here. so sometimes i go a week or so without going to tg to see what's being reviewed. i think i've been on there 3 times in the past 3 weeks. i mainly find myself on garage journal, craigslist, and a truck forum i'm on.

[dede2897234]

Stuey,

You did not mention here or on ToolGuyd which tools ($80 in value) you are giving away at the end of August. Can you please answer this question (unless it is supposed to be a mystery)?

Thanks,

Dave

[Flathead Red]

I second the idea of listing the giveaway tool, as someone might not be interested in a particular item as someone else.

Flathead Red

[Stuey]

this is definitely a way to get more feedback on tg. i think some of it may be the types of tools that are featured. some of us, like myself, are very frugal tool shoppers. i honestly don't buy something unless there's a nice discount/sale applied. some of the tools tg features are way out of my price range. if they are in my range, i don't necessarily have the money on hand to spend on it. believe me, i'd buy some of the items featured on there if i had the money. otherwise i don't own anything really new to give reviews/comments.

also, i don't have tg bookmarked at all. about the only time i go to the site is when something is posted on here. so sometimes i go a week or so without going to tg to see what's being reviewed. i think i've been on there 3 times in the past 3 weeks. i mainly find myself on garage journal, craigslist, and a truck forum i'm on.
I try to keep focus on more affordable tools, but that doesn't hold true with the deals I post. I do try to keep that in mind, though and try to stay away from specialty tools that few would be interested in, but sometimes it's fun anyways (such as the FLIR post).

I don't provide enough content to expect everyone to check TG everyday, which is why I occasionally post relevant heads-up threads here, especially when it comes to random deals or promos.

One of these days I'll post a "Intro to RSS" post. Since I started subscribing to other blogs (as opposed to viewing them via bookmark or manually), I find that I save a lot of time. I pass through uninteresting headlines via the page down button and miss out on less than if I only read the blog once or twice a week. For such a reason I enabled a full-content RSS feed. Not that any of my posts would ever be less than 110% thrilling for everyone. :thumbup:

One of the problems is that when I finally launched TG, I had a list of reviews I wanted to post. I still want to post them, but they each require a lot of time to write up, photograph, and revise properly. That, and I was waiting for TG to increase in popularity slightly so that reviews would not be read solely by the GJ audience before falling into obscurity.

Anyways, I'll keep your points in mind. Feedback is always appreciated and kept in mind. =) thanks!


Stuey,

You did not mention here or on ToolGuyd which tools ($80 in value) you are giving away at the end of August. Can you please answer this question (unless it is supposed to be a mystery)?

Thanks,

Dave
It's supposed to be somewhat of a mystery. That, and it has not been fully finalized yet. The tools that don't find new homes in August will go on to find new homes in the following months.

I'll give you some of the tentative brands, though: Craftsman, Gearwrench, Wera, Bucket Boss.

I second the idea of listing the giveaway tool, as someone might not be interested in a particular item as someone else.

Flathead Red
That's part of the reason. In response to the giveaway, I expect that there will be two main types of commentors - those that comment to share opinions, experiences, & information without needing any motivation, and those that comment only as a chance to win. Hopefully those that comment for a chance to win will get into the habit of commenting to share, but even if they don't, such comments are nevertheless appreciated.

[usmc_noma]

i think you do a good job with the posts you have on tg. i know you have a wide range of reader base and not everyone can be satisfied with what you see. as of right now any opinions/reviews i need i go to several different sites to read. amazon has a huge review spectrum and so do some of the individual brand sites. i also go to different forums such as this to find opinions of similar users.

on another note, whenever something is posted on here in relation to tg i go and read up on everything i've missed. sometimes i spend a good amount of time there reading up on stuff, and sometimes not.

i do think it's great that you have a site that gives back to it's readers. it's rare to find many places that will do that. regardless if you continue this i think i'll always check it out every now and then to see what's going on.

on that note, keep up the good work. i'll have to start posting there when i frequent the site.

[Stuey]

i think you do a good job with the posts you have on tg. i know you have a wide range of reader base and not everyone can be satisfied with what you see. as of right now any opinions/reviews i need i go to several different sites to read. amazon has a huge review spectrum and so do some of the individual brand sites. i also go to different forums such as this to find opinions of similar users.

on another note, whenever something is posted on here in relation to tg i go and read up on everything i've missed. sometimes i spend a good amount of time there reading up on stuff, and sometimes not.

i do think it's great that you have a site that gives back to it's readers. it's rare to find many places that will do that. regardless if you continue this i think i'll always check it out every now and then to see what's going on.

on that note, keep up the good work. i'll have to start posting there when i frequent the site.
Thanks!

Traffic to the site is growing slowly, but it's getting there. I again stopped developing a new layout, but it'll eventually be updated. Still, I can hardly place a higher priority on coding and design over content and reviews.

[usmc_noma]

i thought the layout is good. its easy to maneuver and you can see updates on the side.

[Stuey]

i thought the layout is good. its easy to maneuver and you can see updates on the side.
Thanks again! Still, it's a bit too simple and bland. I initially went no-frills to concentrate on content and readability. I also need to work on graphics and logos. Any changes or imporvements will likely be subtle at first, so don't worry.