Also brought online is the How to Start Movie Website Resources page. The Resources page is crammed with utilities, programs, and information on (to name a few of the sections) Website Building, Content Delivery Networks, Affiliation Automation, Traffic Monitoring, and Communication.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

The page was built so that an aspiring webmaster or even one that has been in the game for years has a reference guide of tools that will make their lives a little easier. Of course there are other tools and resources not listed on this page but these are the ones we have used, have heard about, or were given personal recommendations on.

The pages are both works-in-progress (la lotta continua) and will be updated frequently. If you have any comments and suggestions on the pages or the items listed on them, please let us know in an email, a Tweet, or on our Facebook page.

Underneath The Cover

The reason for this series is to inform through my experiences, to educate on what to look for in a web host and web hosting for your website. As the little guy, as a person starting out, this is very important as there are wolves ready to pounce on you if they catch the scent of a ripe and maiden pigeon. Through this series you will bear witness to nightmare web hosting conduct at the hands of my former website host and myself (“Call me [Pigeon]. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely”), the unawares punching bag and victim of highly dubious business practices. Through this series you will learn how to pick the right host so that what happened to me will never happen to you or others thinking of acquiring a web host for their website.

There are many words I could use to describe my experience with BlueFur, my first web hosting company, but I will not. I will keep a civil tongue lest it be ripped out by the root by lawyers over libelous accusations and stretchers. Here you will find the truth of what happened to me at their (expletive deleted) hands by their own hand (I saved Every. Single. Email.).

BlueFur Logo

In the Beginning 

My introduction into the webmaster world started with John Chow. I read an article showcasing John Chow in Entrepreneur Magazine (the February 2008 issue) and decided to start my first movie website soon after.  I started it on February 7, 2008. I read John Chow’s eBook. It had many useful tips, especially for someone new to the field like I was (the inspiration for my own how to guide: Start A Movie Website: WordPress Edition). Under “Domains” in John Chow’s eBook was a suggestion for a hosting company called BlueFur.com. I looked at their website. I looked at the offerings and decided to go with a service entitled Managed Blog Hosting. Since I was new to websites, I figured I needed all the help I could get. I automated my payments so that I would always be on time with them and my BlueFur services would never be interrupted. Everything went well for almost a year. When I needed help with a plug-in or was having some issue with the movie website, I emailed BlueFur (submitted a ticket) and within a reasonable amount of time, the issue was ironed out for me or I was given instructions on how to do so myself.

I had learned many things from January 2008 to November 30, 2008. I made many contacts through the medium, some of which I would even consider friends. I was about to celebrate my one year anniversary in January 2009 with over 400 posts published during the aforementioned timeframe. Our movie website was being spidered by 12-16 bots per day and it was getting nice hits from Google (what I thought were nice hits at the time). The movie website had a Page Rank of 4, had over 658 modified images in 404 posts, 78 (400-1700 word) Film Reviews, a fair amount of comments (in my opinion), and there were some cool links pointing to the site as well. I had put in countless hours modifying the php files of the site, social networking, you name it. I poured everything I had learned and was learning about webmastering, publishing articles online, search engine optimization, and running a business into that movie website. It was not the best or most high-tech movie website on the Internet but it was mine. It was my baby. I had given birth to it.

All of that ended on November 30, 2008 because of BlueFur, my web hosting company at the time.

Coming Up

The next segments of this web hosting series can easily be heralded as: “Here comes the pain baby! Here comes the pain!” – Brian De Palma, Snake Eyes, but first a question:

• Have you every had trouble with your web hosting company before?

Please feel free to share that story below.

What sparked the idea for Reel Talk?

I’ve always been really passionate about movies and, after several extended movieanalyses with people I know, I decided to expand my thoughts and ideas into a blog. I figured I could meet like-minded individuals, and debate with those who disagreed.

How did you choose the name Reel Talk? Was it an afterthought when you had already chosen ticketstubz?

TicketStubz was actually chosen afterwards. I really liked the pun of Reel Talk (but little did I know it was already popular!). The URL Reel Talk was already taken, so I settled with another clever title–ticketstubz.

When was Reel Talk launched?

December 2008.

Was your experience or lack of experience an issue when you launched Reel Talk?

I never owned a blog, but I have several years of journalism experience so I just thought it was an extension of that.

Reel Talk is a Blogger blog. Where are you on the Blogger vs. WordPress debate?

Blogger has undergone quite a few changes lately, but when I first joined WordPress, I was told, had better templates. But I’ve gotten kind of used to the blogger quirkiness.

How does Reel Talk generate revenue?

From ads. I’m still looking to get more prominent ads featured on the site.

Do you have a separate bank account exclusively for Reel Talk, a business account? If so, with what bank?

No.

How many people work at Reel Talk?

Just me, but I am always looking for guest bloggers!

Do you have assigned work shifts at Reel Talk?

N/A.

How many page views does Reel Talk get per month?

5,000.

What do you use to measure site traffic?

Google Analytics.

What mistakes (if any) did you make in the beginning with Reel Talk?

I think I was too informal in my writing in the beginning. I like to think I’ve made it more formal, more stylistic, and more polished.

When and how did you join the National Association of Black Journalists?

When I was a writer/editor for Essence Magazine, a few of my articles were nominated, and awarded, by the NABJ. I’m not a member, but I am an honoree.

Did you go to school for journalism? If so, what school?

Yes, St. John’s University.

Do you find that a background in journalism helps when you write about film?

I do, actually. I think it helped me come up with new ways to write about similar subjects and really create a convincing picture in my writing.

How did you become a contributing film critic to CNN?

I met one of the producers of CNN Newsroom online and she followed by blog and twitter feed and she said she was a fan and offered me a few stints as a guest critic. It was nerve-racking at first, but I really enjoyed it.

How did you become a contributing film critic to BBC radio?

One of the producers had followed by twitter feed and read a few of my comments and thought I’d be a great guest for a segment on kids films. It was a very fun experience.

You co-host a film radio show called Cinema in Noir. Is that on terrestrial radio or satellite radio?

It’s a multicultural movie discussion show on Blog Talk Radioonline.

Were you approached for that film radio job or did you approach someone?

I was approached by one of my former co host, Rocky, on twitter. We had like-minded goals–diversifying film discussion–and she offered me a spot on her soon to be radio show.

Are you paid for your CNN, BBC, and Cinema in Noir contributions?

No.

What advice do you have for a person wanting to break into radio regarding film?

First and foremost, you have to have passion. You also have to be able to express your thoughts about film and be able to argue a point with equally passionate critics. Start your own show online, which can lead to bigger and grander things. It gets your voice heard as you essentially carve out your own brand as a go-to critic who is knowledgeable and confident. Others will see that and want to book you.

What advice do you have for a person wanting to contribute (regarding film) to CNN or the BBC?

A lot of it is who you know. Chat with the CNN folks on your various social media links. Follow them, comment on their posts. If they see your passion and your knowledge of the subject, they’ll become interested.

What is the best advice you can give to an aspiring movie website master?

One of the most important things I’ve learned as a journalist is having your own voice. Not just someone who has an opinion, as you already do. But, rather, a writer who’s writing is distinctly theirs, whose writing style is incomparable to any others. That distinguishes you from the pack. Also, stay up on the latest movie news, and follow other bloggers to see what they’re doing and just acquaint yourself with the process. A lot about getting your name out there is getting other people in the blogging community to know about you too. I’d also recommend learning website formatting, or teaching yourself how to do it (like I did). Research traffic analyses websites to find you how you can record traffic. Come up with a an eye-catching design template and a catchy title for your blog. The rest is gravy.

If someone wants to read more about you, where can they find you?

Reel Talk is a great way to find me, or you can find me on Twitter (Profile: Reeltalker) or LinkedIn.

Here are the steps, from the beginning for the uninitiated:

1. Make sure you have oodles of film or TV show reviews published and easily found on your website (or wherever you had them published) before contacting IMDb.

2. Go here: IMDb/Help Desk.

3. Contact IMDb and ask to be allowed to submit External Reviews.

4. After you have been approved, log into IMDb with the log-in information supplied to you.

5. Go to a film or TV show page on IMDb where you want to submit a review.

6. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where it says “Contribute to this page”. Click “Edit Page”.

IMDb, Contribute to the Page, External Reviews

 
7. Scroll down to where it says “Links to Other Sites”. The sixth entry down you will see “External Reviews”. Click “No Change”, scroll down and select “Add 1 item”.

IMDb, Links to other SItes, External Reviews

8. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click “Continue >>”.

9. Under “Action” then “URL” paste in the URL for your review. Under “Description”, type in your website, your handle, whatever you want to use to identify yourself on IMDb. If you need help, there are instructions above this section in yellow with all the information you need.

IMDb, External Reviews, Submission Page

10. Once your information has been input, click “Check these updates >>”.

11. Now you will be on a screen that tells you that “Your updates are ready to submit to our data-editors.”

IMDb, Submitting Updates, External Reviews

If the information you entered is correct, click “Submit these updates”. You will now see a message containing this:

Your updates have been sent to the IMDb data editors for review. If they’re approved, they will normally appear on the site within the next few weeks. For specific details about this and a more current estimate of processing times, check the processing times page. For questions on the submission process we recommend visiting the Contributors Help message board. There are also a number of helpful resources at our Contributors Zone.

12. An email will be sent to the email address you used to sign up for External Reviews informing you of your submission. The email will also contain a submission reference number.

That’s it. You’re done. Now you just have to wait for your review to appear.

Did you find this post helpful?

It is also a tremendous marketing tool for your website, a new way to build your brand, and a entreatment to a constantly expanding user base.

Next Time

Hopefully some of the strategies presented in this series will help you with driving traffic to your website. There are many out there, many. I only spoke about the ones that I had personally used thus I could give you my impression on them.

The others I did not touch on I hope to grow proficient in. When that happens, I will discuss them in another post or series.

If you already use other YouTube methods to drive traffic to your website not discussed in this series, please share them with everyone in the comments section below. It would be appreciated.

Did you know

George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

 
ProMovieBlogger has its own YouTube Channel, written about in this post. Here is ProMovieBlogger’s YouTube Channel for our viewing pleasure and here is where you can subscribe to ProMovieBlogger’s YouTube Channel.