I had a few posts featured in some blog carnivals over the past 2 weeks, and I wanted to send a big thanks out the organizers of the four carnivals listed below.

These people worked hard to organize these carnivals, so if you have some time, do them a favor and check ‘em out.

The Guru’s Movie Review Carnival # 15 - May 3 Edition

Movie Monday / Trivia Edition #52

Carnival of Cinema: Episode 71 – The Wild Blogs

Carnival Of Tips - April 19, 2008

Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to check them out. So if you find something great let me know!

And thanks again to the bloggers who organized these carnivals.

Popularity: 73% [?]

Quick question: What do Frosted Flakes, Geico, and McDonald’s all have in common? Answer: They all have memorable company mascots.

Company characters are cool, and they aren’t just for big corporations anymore. You want a way to easily increase your traffic and your blog’s appeal? Consider getting a unique character designed to represent your blog. Getting a cartoon character designed for your blog will increase your traffic, subscriptions, and ultimately make you more money.

In a post yesterday I plugged the company that did the character design for Pimp Your Grades, but I realized I didn’t give any good reasons why I decided to have a character designed. I really did have some good reasons for it, besides the fact that I thought it would be friggin’ cool!

So in this post I’m going to give you 4 good reasons why I got a cartoon mascot designed for my blog and why you should too.

1) It will be memorable. We remember unique and novel things. And a well designed cartoon character will definitely add a degree of novelty to your blog. When I was creating my college study tips blog, Pimp Your Grades, I knew I needed a way to ensure people will remember it. Paying a few bucks for the character design was well worth it.

2) Adds tons of perceived value to your blog. This goes for logos too. It’s easy to set up a free blog on blogger.com. And with how cheap domains have gotten, it’s easy to have your own domain too. Assuming you have good content that you want people to read, how are you gonna set your blog apart from all the cheap ones out there?A professional looking design will make your blog look more valuable. It shows that you care enough to put some money into it (or that you are making enough money from your blog to afford it.) When you can’t afford an entire custom made layout, paying for a character design can spruce up your blog without breaking the bank.

3) It’s better than a logo. Why? Because it’s more recognizable than a logo. No one sits around with their buddies saying, “Man, that little AT&T logo really cracks me up!” But what about the Geico Gecko, or the Burger King guy, or the Michelin Man?

4) It puts a “face” on your blog. Putting a face on your brand is important. It adds a level of friendliness that wasn’t there before.

Many experts suggest putting an author photo on your blog. But if you don’t wanna put a pic of your own mug up on your site, a unique cartoon character is a great alternative.

So there are a couple reasons for you. If you can think of more, please leave a comment!

Popularity: 77% [?]

Alright, I’m going to brag about a couple of things in this post. First, have you seen the new blog mascot on Pimp Your Grades? Go take a look. It’s friggin’ awesome.

Second, I have to give a little plug for the company who designed the character, Designfxpro, because they were so great to work with.

Like I said, they did the mascot for my study skills blog over at Pimp Your Grades, and I gotta say, they did a totally awesome job. Especially for the price.

When I first decided I wanted a blog mascot, I knew I wanted the style to resemble the mascots from John Cow dot com and Tyler Cruz’s website.

But the $350+ price tag at the company they used was way to steep for this college kid’s budget. So after looking high and low for a cheaper company, I found Designfxpro on the Digital Point forums. I’m totally glad I did, because they did the design for half the price the other company wanted.

The head of the company, Melencio, is a fantastic artist and easy to work with. I told him wanted I wanted and he pretty much nailed it on the first draft!

They do logo and header design as well.

So check them out. And if you decide to use them, let them know who sent ya.

Popularity: 80% [?]