Written on August 10th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 11:08 am by Darren Rowse
Blogging for Money By Self Publishing a Book
Marti Lawrence from Enter the Laughter has emailed me to tell me of a new money making venture he’s been experimenting with - self publishing a book.
The book - Queen Klutz - is a collection of humorous and inspirational stories which fits pretty well with Marti’s blog.
She’s chosen to publish it through Lulu where it’s available either for download or print.
I’ll be interested to follow how sales go as its a good example of someone attempting to find indirect ways of making money from blogging.
I think the key for success with the blog/book approach is to build a readership on your blog first and then to do some clever cross promotion. I’ve seen a few people attempt to launch books and blogs at the same time and I’m not sure that it’s worked too well.
Written on August 10th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 03:08 am by Darren Rowse
Random Reflections on The 24 Minute Documentary
I’m watching the new Techcrunch 24 Minute Documentary on Web 2.0 at the moment and find myself reacting in a whole heap of ways (most of them conflicting). Let me spit them all out and see what we get (warning - no guarantees that this is going to make any sense):
- There’s that green color again….
- American males everywhere - is Web 2.0 just a boys and their toys thing???
- Nice to see and hear some faces and voices to names….
- Bubble Schmubble - I think there could be a bubble of people talking about whether there’s a bubble….
- Video definitely adds something to blogs….
- What is that music? For a while there it sounded slightly porno (from what I’ve heard about porn music) and then I thought it got slightly trance/meditative like. By the end I was just annoyed by it….
- Web 2.0 certainly has a lot of jargony words and cliches….
- Lots of sensible stuff was said….Lots of what was said contradicted what else was said - is Web 2.0 definable???
- I’m not really sure I care what Web 2.0 is - I just care about good useable products that make my life better….
- If when you finish watching it you drag the slider backwards and forwards the guys all merge into one and you notice just how much of them speak with their hands and how most of them are wearing plain colored button up shirts (quite a clean cut looking bunch)…..
Written on August 10th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 01:08 am by Darren Rowse
10 Tips on How to Be Interviewed
Yesterday I wrote a series of tips on how to ask for an interview for your blog. Today I want to focus on how to handle being interviewed as a blogger.
Over the past few years I’ve been interviewed in numerous ways as a result of my blog including on TV, for newspapers, for other blogs, for private newsletter groups and for books and other e-resources. Most of the following tips will cross most of these types of interviews but I’m mainly focussing here on tips for being interviewed by another blogger for their blog.
1. Decide Upon an Objective
One of the biggest lessons I learned from my one TV interview was that unless you go into an interview (of any kind) with some sort of objective to achieve - it’s very easy to come out of them with little or no benefit.
The person doing the interview will have their own set of reasons for wanting to interview you (perhaps its just to get free content, perhaps they want to ride on your coattails or perhaps they are hoping you’ll link to them - but it’s worth considering what your own hopes are for the interview also.
Ask yourself some of the following questions before you tackle the interviewers ones.
- What will your main message be?
- What action do you want people to take as a result of reading your interview?
- What parts of your blog do you want to drive them to?
Once you’ve determined these things you’ll be much better prepared to answer the interview question in a way that not only meets the objectives of the interviewer but that also meets some of your own.
2. Research Your Audience
I mentioned in yesterday’s post that an interviewer should research their interviewee - but I think as an interviewee that it’s well worth doing a little research also.
Spend a little time looking at the blog or site where your interview will be published.
- What is it’s topic?
- What style is it written in?
- What do readers seem to respond well to?
- What questions do they have?
- What connecting points might there between them and what you can offer?
3. Find New Angles
One of the traps of being interviewed regularly is that you can end up saying the same things over and over again to different people.
While the blogosphere is a big place you’ll find that the same people will see your different interviews and that they will quickly become bored if you use the same answers in each case.
The challenge is to find new ways of answering old questions (and believe me you’ll get asked the same questions over and over again).
4. Suggest a Question
If the interviewer hasn’t asked you a question that you’d like an opportunity to answer (flowing out of your objectives for the interview) I’ve found that they are often quite open to you suggesting questions to them. In fact I’ve found quite a few interviewers actually ask you if you want to be asked anything. While that might sound lazy of them (and it probably is) it’s an opportunity that you should seize upon.
5. Avoid Hype, Jargon, In Jokes and Arrogance
While it can give your ego a bit of a boost to be asked to do an interview, don’t get carried away.
There’s nothing that will turn off someone faster than hype, jargon, in jokes or arrogance (in humble my opinion). The only exception I can think to this tip is if you and your blog are filled with hype, jargon, in jokes and arrogance - at least then you’re being consistent.
6. Make it Personal
The alternative to the above negative things is to inject a personal touch into your interview. Be yourself, be relaxed and attempt to weave your story (and stories of others) into your interview.
I find that people respond very well to other people sharing personal experiences and you’re much more likely to reach your objectives if you take this approach.
This doesn’t mean you need to give up a position of expertise - but it means you give yourself a human face as well. In fact - speaking of human faces - I find sending a photo along to be featured with the interview can also help with this.
7. Promote Yourself
Don’t be shy or afraid of a little self promotion in your interview. I generally will reference posts that I’ve written on subjects that I’m asked about (often as suggested further reading). This way people are not only given a link to your main page but are driven deep into your blog as a result of your interview (a very powerful way of making your blog sticky).
Weave into your interview ways for readers or listeners to connect with you and/or your blog. Don’t completely rely upon your interviewer to do this for you as there are times (especially in live interviews) where they won’t give you the plug you’re hoping for.
Don’t go over the top with the self promotion - but definitely don’t avoid it.
8. Don’t Overwhelm the Reader
One of the fine lines that I know I struggle with when it comes to interviews is determining how much to give as an answer to a question.
I like to be comprehensive and feel like I’m short changing both the interviewer and the reader if I don’t give decent answers - but I know if I go on as long as I could that I’ll either overwhelm the reader (or bore them) or I’ll answer questions so comprehensively that they don’t need to come over and look at my blog.
The happy medium to aim for is that point where readers gain something useful from the interview but are left thirsting for more.
9. Live Interviews - Prepare
IF the interview is a live one (either to be recorded as a podcast, on radio, over the phone, via instant messaging, in person etc) then you should spend some time preparing (whether the interview is big or small). The danger in not being prepared is that in a live interview your weaknesses, lack of knowledge, nervousness or inconsistencies can (and will) be exposed.
If possible ask to see the questions before hand or at least be clear on what the scope of the interview is. Practice your answers, make a few notes if appropriate and consider what other questions you might be asked. If there is an area of what you do that is tricky to explain consider ahead of time how you’ll do it in everyday non technical language.
Remember in live interviews (especially ones being recorded in some format that will be played in public) that presentation is important. If you’ll be seen dress appropriately, if you’ll be heard speak clearly and most of all - remember to breath (it does wonders).
10. Followup
Make sure you keep the contact details of the person who interviews you. Where possible keep in touch with them at least semi-regularly.
If you do the chances are that if they interview you once that they’ll call on you again next time they want a quote or interview on a related topic.
Other Suggestions
By no means am I an expert in conducting interviews or being interviewed so I’d like to open up the microphone and do a little interview of you as readers…. What would you add? Feel free to add your tips on being interviewed below or on getting others to agree to interviews or conducting interviews on the previous post.
Written on August 9th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 11:08 am by Darren Rowse
Building Blog Community by Setting Homework For Readers
A month back I finished a post on how to increase your blog’s page views with the tip of ‘give your readers a homework assignment’.
I included it as a tip based on what I’d been experimenting with for just one week - it was really an unproven tip based largely upon a hunch.
I thought it was time to expand the tip as I’ve continued to set homework for readers, especially on my digital photography school blog and in the last couple of weeks have been quite amazed by the results. Below I outline the benefits of setting homework for readers.
Firstly here’s how I’ve been doing it:
- Each of my assignments is based upon a ‘tips post’ I’ve written on DPS.
- At the end of each tip I point to an assignment thread over at the DPS Flickr Group.
- The Assignment thread links back to the tips post that the idea for the assignment came from.
- Assignments are simply an invitation for readers to take the concepts in the post and practice them - sharing the results of their photos in the Flickr group (it’s not rocket science).
Benefits of Reader Assignments:
- Reader’s Improving Technique - I’m getting a lot of emails back from readers thanking me for the assignment threads and asking for more. They are telling me that having a practical space to do what I’m teaching and to see how others are using the information is helping them to improve their technique.
- Participation levels are on the rise - the DPS Flickr group is increasing in numbers of members (just under 1000) but also in the participation rate of members. The latest assignments have hundreds of responses and users are beginning to start their own threads of discussion in the group (a new thing). Of course when you get your readers to take a step towards doing something with what you write you’re a step closer to a loyal reader. A community of users is slowly developing around assignments.
- Assignments are Driving Traffic to the blog - I’ve started to notice that the discussion forum is actually starting to drive traffic back to the blog via the links in the introduction to each forum. Other Flickr forums are linking to our assignments which draws new Flickr users to our forum and then the blog and weekly newsletter.
- Users are creating content - In the last week a number of the Flickr group members have been posting content to the forums that would be suitable to be used as blog posts. With their permission I’ll begin to use this on the main blog - once again interlinking the forum and the blog to drive traffic in both directions.
All in all I’m feeling like I’m onto a winner with Assignments.
One word of caution
Assignments do take a little work. First you need to write in such a way that engages with and motivates people to participate, secondly you need to come up with quality assignments and thirdly you do need to monitor/moderate the results as well as be prepared to engage with those who submit things. Unless you’re willing to do these things the results won’t be quite live up to their potential.
Lastly - a word about why I’m using Flickr Groups
To be perfectly honest I initially set it up because it was easy and I had limited time to throw at it. My ideal at the time would have been to set up a forum using forum software.
However since setting it up I’ve realized that one of the reasons it’s had the success that it has is because Flickr is a natural gathering point for photographers and the ease of use factor has come into play. As part of their normal Flickr rhythm many are participating in the discussions and assignments.
Having said that, I’m not completely happy with it. Flickr Groups give you little control over look, feel and format for discussions. You also have restrictions on what you can and can’t promote in the forums (you’re not supposed to do anything for financial gain). Once I’ve got a little more time and if the membership will go with me I’d eventually like to transition to a forum over on my own domain (unless Flickr add some features that keep me with them).
Written on August 9th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 12:08 am by Darren Rowse
How to Get and Conduct Interviews for Your Blog
Yesterday I began a short series of post on ‘Blog Interviews’ that started off by looking at some of the benefits of using interviews on your blog and why it’s good to be interviewed on other people’s blogs.
Today I want to swing my attention to the topic of how to get people to agree to be interviewed on your blog. I’ll also include a few tips on how to conduct them.
1. Introduce Yourself
One of the dangers of reading another person’s blog everyday over time is that you can easily become overly familiar with them, to the point where you feel that you know them very well when in reality they have no idea who you are. Don’t assume that the person you wish to interview will know who you are unless you’re sure that they do.
Get in touch with your potential interviewee with a friendly, polite and brief (see below) email that outlines your request but which also gives them a brief introduction to who you are and how you know of them. If you’re a reader of their blog mention this (don’t lie - I’ve caught people out), if someone else recommended them mention that etc.
Don’t get into false flattery but if you genuinely admire them or something that they’ve done mention that briefly. All of this puts your request into some sort of context.
2. Outline How and When the Interview Will be Used
One of my most frustrating interviewee experiences was when I put numerous hours into being interviewed by another blogger (who asked too many questions and was very demanding along the way) only to find that he never published my interview until 9 months later.
Tell the person who you wish to interview where it will be used (give them a URL to check out) and an approximation of when you’ll publish it. This gives them an idea of what type of site you run, the style that the interview might happen in and what type of deadline they’ll be under.
If you’ve done interviews with others you might like to point them to an example as this can help them see what you’re asking of them.
3. Give Incentive
While you might get an interview out of sympathy or because the interviewee is feeling in a good mood - you’ll probably find that most interviewees have some self interest when it comes to the motivation for doing interviews.
Tell them what’s in it for them. Often with interviews it will be largely about publicity and exposure but there could be other reasons for them to give you their time. However - don’t use false incentives or build it up to be bigger than it really is.
4. Don’t Overwhelm With Questions
I was asked to do an interview recently by a fellow blogger and in the email that they sent asking me to consider it they included 42 questions that they had for me. Yes - 42!
Now some of those questions I could have answered in a word or two - but when I’m interviewed I like to give something of myself to the process and make it worthwhile for those reading the interview. That takes time and when you’re confronted with a long list of questions it’s just easier to say no - especially when you’re already under the pump in terms of your schedule.
My approach to asking for interviews is to send a quick introductory email to the potential interviewee that includes no actual questions. I generally outline the scope of the topic I wish to cover and tell them how many questions I’ll try to keep it to. I mention that there may be one or two follow up questions if I need clarification.
This way the interviewee knows whether they can handle what you’re going to give them but is not overwhelmed by it all coming to them at once.
5. Give Different Options for Medium
Another strategy that I often use is to give interviewees a choice of the medium for the interview to take place in. I generally offer email or Instant Messaging but if you’re up for it you might also offer to do it as an audio interview.
You’ll find that each interviewee will have preferences for different medium. Some like the idea of having time to mull over the answers with an email interview while others like a more conversational style of IM or audio. Some like to prepare while others like to do it on the run. Let them decide what form it will take and you’re giving them a little more control over the process.
6. Do some research First
Before you do an interview you should have done some research into the person you’re questioning (in fact I’d do it before you even ask them). This will help you to ask intelligent questions that are in the scope of their expertise.
If they are a blogger, build on ideas that they’ve been exploring recently in their posts (referencing them in the interview with links to their posts is a good idea). If they’ve been interviewed before make note of what they’ve been asked previously, what they answered well, what they were passionate about etc and try to build on these areas. Don’t just ask the same old questions they are always asked but attempt to take it into new ground. This will not only give your readers something fresh but will also give the interview energy and will hopefully inspire your interviewee a little also.
7. Don’t be Offended if ‘Rejected’
The fact is that a certain percentage of those you ask for interviews will say no. Another percentage will not even respond to your request.
The reasons for the knock-backs will be many and varied but don’t let it get you down.
The main advice I can give if you’re rejected is to not take it personally, to politely thank them for considering it and moving on. You might ask them if they mind you asking them again in a few months time (if you sense it is because they are busy) but don’t push too hard or you’ll just end up ruining future chances for interaction.
8 Notify them When You Hit Publish
If you get an interview and all goes well and you come to the point of publishing it, always give your interviewee the courtesy of letting them know when and where the interview is published. Send them a URL and thank them again for their time and insights.
You might find they link to the interview on their own blog as a result and you might even find they are happy to interact with your readers if they leave comments on the interview (in a sense the interview can continue for some time in your comments if they do).
Written on August 8th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 10:08 pm by Darren Rowse
Huffington Post Secures $5m VC Funding
The New York Post is reporting that The Huffington Post has just raised $5 million investment to help take it to the next level.
Written on August 8th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 09:08 pm by Darren Rowse
Find Out if You’re a REAL enternetusers
Are You a enternetusers?
Here’s a Quiz to Find out for Sure!
What did you score?
PS: In actual fact it’s me testing the wbquiz plugin - don’t take it too seriously :-)
Written on August 8th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 12:08 pm by Darren Rowse
How to Leave a Positive Impression on Other Bloggers Through Comments
Lorelle has been doing some great blogging recently and her latest titled How NOT to Comment on Comments has a lot of wisdom in it. She outlines 5 main ways to make your comment count when you leave it on someone else’s blog:
1. Say Something Intelligent
2. Ask Something Intelligent
3. Write Something Intelligent
4. Add to the Conversation
5. Your Comment is a Mini Resume
I particularly like her last point where she writes:
“Your comments on this blog, and many others, are published with your name and blog URL on them, if you include them. When people click your name, they visit your blog. Your comments are little representatives of you and your blog.”
I’ve written previously about how every post on your blog has the potential to add to or take from your goals and objectives as a blogger - the same is true for the comments you leave on other people’s blogs also.
I suspect a lot of people leave pretty random comments without much thought to what they’re saying and the impact that their words might have on their own reputation.
Don’t just leave comment for the sake of it or because you’ve heard it will help you promote your blog.
A lot of people say leaving comments is a great way to raise your profile. There is truth in this, however they can also hurt you if you don’t put some thought into them and use make them intelligently.
I know both as a blogger and a comment leaver that comments can be a very powerful tool - their impact can leave a lasting impression on others both in a positive and negative way. Use them carefully!
Update: for a related post see Liz’s on 10 Reasons Readers Don’t Leave Comments on Your Blog
Written on August 8th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 03:08 am by Darren Rowse
How to Use Interviews On Your Blog
It’s time for another reader question…
Eric Allam from 52 Reviews asks:
Hey Darren… I’ve read many an interview from enternetusers, and I was wondering if you had any tips for getting people to agree for the interview?”
Thanks for the question Eric - it’s a good one and something I’d been meaning to touch on for a while now. I’ll attempt to answer it from my experience both as someone who conducts interviews on my blogs but also as someone who is interviewed from time to time.
I actually want to break the topic of interviews on blogs into a three part series over then next few days. The three posts will cover:
- Why interviews are a good idea for blogs
- How to approach others for interviews for your blog
- How to be interviewed as a blogger
Let’s briefly tackle the first one now.
Why are interviews good for blogs?
I’ve used interviews at numerous times on a variety of my blogs and have found them to be really useful on a number of fronts:
‘Free’ Content - one of the reasons I’m sure many bloggers use them is that they are relatively ‘easy’ (once you’ve actually secured the interview). While you do need to put some effort into thinking up good questions - the interviewee actually does a lot of the hard work.
Give a Perception of Connectedness - I can think of a number of occasions where new bloggers came on my radar as a result of an interview that they did with someone that I respected or admired. Getting a high profile person to agree to an interview can lend a degree of legitimacy to your blog.
Added Expertise - a benefit of interviewing someone who knows what they are talking about on a given topic is that they added a certain level of perceived expertise to your blog (and you). I’ve seen a number of interviews over the years where the interviewer came off very well by demonstrating their knowledge of a topic by the type of questions that they asked and by the two way conversation that resulted.
Impress Your Interviewee - demonstrating your own expertise (see last point) and being a pleasure to work with as an interviewer can win you a lot of brownie points with your interviewee. If they are someone who is well connected this can open up a lot of opportunities for you. I remember listening to some of the early interviews that Mick and Cameron did on the G’Day World Podcast and marveling at the doors that seemed to open up to them just through the relationships that they formed with key people in the time that they interviewed them.
Why are Interviews good for Interviewees?
Of course it’s not just a one way street. Interviewees also benefit from the exchange:
New Readers - the most obvious benefit of being interviewed is that you have the opportunity to be exposed to new potential readers for your blog.
Perception of Being in Demand - you can make a little too much of this but there is something about being featured in an interview on another blog that adds a perception of you being in demand. Like I say - don’t pump yourself up too much about this or someone will knock you right down - but it doesn’t hurt to mention it from time to time on your blogs.
Perceived Expertise - similarly, when you’re interviewed on a topic it can add to your own credibility and legitimacy as an expert on the topic. Of course if you’ve got nothing to say on the topic it can also expose you as being a fool!
Tomorrow I’ll looks at answering the meat of Eric’s question in a post on How to approach others for interviews for your blog.
Written on August 8th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 12:08 am by Darren Rowse
The Eternal Quest for Uniqueness
What makes your Blog Different?
This is a question I think that most bloggers would do well to ask.
We’re living in a time when ‘content’ is being produced in vast quantities by large numbers of individuals and organizations.
I heard recently on the radio that the internet now contains over 800 billion documents. Whether that number has any truth to it or not I don’t know (I suspect it’s a gross underestimate) - but I do know that there is ALOT of content circulating out there and that while blogging does give individuals a voice - in reality each post is just one in several hundred billion.
So the question is - what makes your blog unique?
I’ve written about this before so won’t go into great depth about it - however it struck me today that this question is not just a one off question - it’s one that should be asked on an ongoing basis.
The problem with producing content on the web is that it’s an ever changing environment with low barriers to entry where your idea can be unique one day and just another page of a genre the next.
One last thought….
Bloggers should probably ask this same question on two levels.
- What makes my BLOG unique? - A question to be asked every month or two
- What makes this POST unique? - A daily question that focusses upon the micro task of producing a single article.
What makes your blog unique? How do you differentiate it from the masses? What other examples of unique blogs are there?
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