I think your theme looks fine, Ryan. I wasn’t necessarily meaning that everyone should go out and buy a premium theme, a free theme can be a good looking one with a few tweaks to make it stand out from the crowd. While it certainly doesn’t hurt to buy a premium theme, I don’t think that’s what is causing your bounce rate issues.

Something you might try is using the tag so that it creates a teaser for your post. It forces people to click the link to read the rest of the post, and in doing so… lowers your bounce rate because it forces more than one pageview out of the people that actually read your posts.

Hey,

I just started blogging so don’t have much insight but I would suggest checking out this site: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/08/100-excellent-free-high-quality-wordpress-themes/
The free themes they have their are awsome and may suit your needs! Then again, $250 is not that much if it reduces your bounce rate and allows you to promote your eBook more efficiently.

Ryan - As I said before, I don’t think a theme is your problem, but if you decide to do one… think about the wordpress dream theme that my friend Ben Cope created. Their is an affiliate banner on my page if you are interested. The best part about his theme is that he’ll customize it for you for free. It looks great out of the box, but it’s nice to get a designer to tweak it to your liking without having to worry about it.

Also, as far as the “more” tag is concerned… there was a poll on some blog (problogger maybe?), and people actually didn’t mind the “more” tag as much as you might think. It was about 50/50, and most people said that they actually like the “more” tag because they don’t have to scroll through posts they don’t want to read. It de-clutters the page. Just some food for thought

Hey Ryan,

Be careful of what you consider a “bounce rate” while using Wordpress.

Here’s why…

Most people notice their Analytics Software say “0:00″ time spent on their site, etc… they also notice their Bounce Rate is extremely high.

The problem with this is that your Analytics Software can’t track a user if they do not get past the first page.

This means that if I were to go to your site - spend 5 minutes reading through the first page - then leave - you’re Bounce Rate is high, and your “visitor time” is 0:00 (for me).

The software only tracks time based on a user going from 1 page to another… meaning that the timer doesn’t actually start until a link to a new page has been clicked.

Now, obviously the Bounce Rate differs… but this can be based on having “too much content” that is irrelevant to the visitor, colors, titles (definitely huge), etc.

I rarely base my own browsing experience and bail rate on the layout of a Blog, UNLESS it’s just completely hideous or too bright. But there’s also the fact that you need to test and tweak, too.

Try some Link Bait titles for your Blog posts, post more relevant content and keep spreading the word. If I’m not mistaken, you’re a part of SPL, right? I think you’re a member of WA, too…?

Well, on SPL - this is where too many people fail to get GREAT traffic. Working on your Blog Titles are, in my opinion, the most important aspects of your site. Obviously, the content HAS to be what the title claims, though…

Anyway, this is becoming way too long. Hope this helps!

Clint

Great comment Clint! Yes, I’m part of WA…have been since 9/07. But not SPL.

Good suggestion on post titles…I’m going to try to make my post titles more exciting. All bloggers should.

The post I did on TrafficJam.com. Well, I should also add that it’s a good source of successful headlines. I’m going to see if I can get some ideas from it.

And I’ll also study some of the more successful Internet Marketing blogs to see what style of post titles they use.

Thanks again Clint.

Cheers,
Ryan

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this theme, but if you were to change it I’d suggest looking around at some free themes first.

Some free themes are ugly, but the majority are quite nice and professional looking.

Fair enough if you want that extra snazzyness that comes with a paid theme, but free themes can be just as rewarding

Since you opened this up for advice, before buying a theme the first thing I would do is get a logo. A good logo will make everything look better, and a lot more professional. If you serious about this, that would be the first step that I take. When I go to a site and see a good logo, it makes me feel like I’m with someone who is legitimate. This is especially important for someone who is passing on advice. You need to look like an authority. I think that’s all this place needs, a good theme is also important, but it seems kind of pointless to have a 250 theme when you’ll still have just have some letters typed out at the top. No offense, please don’t take this that way.

If you are looking to do this, I’d go to the digital point forums, open up a contest for $50-100 whatever you want, and you’ll get at least 20 people making mock-ups of a logo for you. I think it’s the best way. If you click on my name you’ll see a logo I got made there for $45. I really couldn’t ask for more. This way you aren’t locked in with one designer, you don’t have to take what they are making. I’d check it out if I were you.

Hi Ryan I think it depends on your objectives whether you go for a paid or free theme. If you are trying to create an identity or brand awareness for your affiliate marketing eBook then a logo is an effective marketing tool and well worth the money. It’s also nice to have a site that’s instantly recognisable and some continuity between the eBook brand and the blog you are using to promote it. If on the other hand you are just looking to freshen up the site and haven’t considered branding or a logo for your eBook promotion, then save your money and form a design for the 2 at some point in the future.