9rules Blog Network

A friend recently suggested I take a look at the 9rules Network of blogs run by Paul Scrivens. Paul, like many bloggers, didn’t set out to create a blog network, but rather found himself creating more and more site, out of which a network emerged. He bases his blogging on 9 Rules – (hence the name). These rules got my attention as being simple, to the point, well thought out and a great set of values to base a network upon:

1. Love what you do

2. Never stop learning

3. Form works with function, not against it

4. Simple can be beautiful

5. Work hard, play hard

6. You get what you pay for

7. When others talk, listen

8. Always improve

9. Respect your inspiration

The sites in the 9Rules network are:

• Big Money Tips

• Bet Fest

• CSS Vault

• Forever Geek

• Lame Ass Job

• The Roe

• Version 2

• Whitespace

• Web Drug Database

Some of them seem a little out of action to me at the moment – but you’ll get a feel for his work. Paul is a great web designer – I love his clean, simple and well laid out sites. His content is similarly uncluttered and lacks the hype of many of the other blog networks that have launched over the last few years.

The income streams that Paul uses on 9Rules are varied – he is seeking private advertisers, runs Amazon Affiliate Stores (he’s posted his Amazon earnings on a monthly basis here – wow, if only I could get mine that high!), has experimented with other affiliate programs and has Adsense ads on some of his pages.