Written on July 29th, 2007 at 01:07 pm by Darren Rowse
Are You An Ungrateful Link Getter?
45n5 has a post that has got me thinking - Are You An Ungrateful Link Getter?
In it Mark asks his readers whether they say thanks when another blogger links up to them. He also wonders out loud how a blogger who gets quite a few links each day copes with it.
I left a number of comments over at his post so I won’t regurgitate them all - but here’s a few of the main thoughts that come to mind for me:
- saying thanks with a comment on the post that you get the link on can be really worthwhile
- realistically it can be difficult to do when you do get quite a few links each day
- commenting with more than ‘thanks for the link’ is worthwhile to do. Add to the conversation in some way.
- commenting not only on the post that linked to you but other recent posts can also have an impact and grow the relationship
- returning a day later to see if the blogger has responded to your comment is extra good
- emailing the blogger to say a more personal thank you can also have an impact
- all of these suggestions can make it even more time consuming and difficult to keep track of - however it can be worth it
- I fail dismally on all of the above. I try to keep track of incoming links and be grateful - however it could become a full time job in itself
Do you say thank you for links? How do you do it? Head over to 45n5 to have your say.
Written on July 29th, 2007 at 07:07 am by Darren Rowse
Speedlinking - 29 July 2007
- Digital Inspiration reports that Blogger have added a new feature that allows their users to add comment policies to their blogs. Excellent idea.
- BlogHer is currently running. This is one of my favorite Blog conferences to watch (from the other side of the world). If you’re there and blogging the event feel free to let us know about it in comments below. Wendy from eMoms is and has a couple of good recaps of sessions here and here.
- Nate analyses his RSS subscriber growth (he’s up over 400 now in six months) - I love reading these types of posts - it shows the power of interacting on others blogs, running competitions, getting links from other blogs and posting consistently. Nate’s been doing some good blogging of late - my guess is he’ll break 1000 in a shorter time than it took to get to 400.
- SEOMoz have another good Whiteboard Friday video - this one on what to do when someone breaks your copyright - the process that they go through.
Written on July 29th, 2007 at 12:07 am by Darren Rowse
Generate Multiple streams of blogging income
This guest post has been submitted by Brad Isaac - software programmer and blogger at Achieve-IT!
You are probably losing more money than you think…
One common beginning blogger question I hear is “what is the best ad or affiliate program that will make me the most money? ”
Unfortunately, this question is flawed because there is no right answer. In fact, after you have read this, I hope you will see that there are several right answers instead of just one.
What you’ll learn in this article is how creating multiple streams of income is the smart and safe way to increase the amount of money you make from your blog.
First the problem: You may have tried Adsense, or a different pay per click product and found that you only make a few dollars a day. It is easy to become discouraged when you see just a little amount.
But with a multiple stream philosophy, you are always looking at the forest - not the individual trees. So when the tree is small you don’t cut it down. You simply plant more trees so you can build a forest.
In blogging terms, you’d earn a little from Adsense, a little from Text-Link ads, a little from affiliates, a little from your own product and before you know it, you are earning a lot. The whole is much greater than the individual parts.
Here’s how it works on my site:
Pay per click - $150-$600/mo
Text Links network - $100/mo
Affiliates - $375/mo
My own products - $1200 - $4000/month
As you can see when you add it all up it’s not a bad part-time income. Some of you might think, “hey drop the others and focus only on your software!” When you do the math, it appears that by dropping the others, the software sales would increase. But the reality is software sales are seasonal for many of us. The other streams on my blog compensate for the down times.
In fact, all of the streams are ’seasonal’ in some aspect or another. Some weeks Adsense performs better than others. Some weeks, my affiliate promotions outperform everything else.
Why it’s deadly to put all your eggs in one basket
Here’s why focusing in on only one income stream is a bad idea. What happens if that stream fails? Then what?
Many blogs are all Adsense focused as their only source of revenue. But how many times have you heard of a blog being banned by Google rightly or wrongly for invalid clicks? If that happened to you, you would have to scramble to find another revenue source and pray that once you’ve found it, it doesn’t go away too.
Therefore, putting all your effort into only one income source can be deadly for your business.
It’s the same with investing money. Normally you don’t put all of your capital into one stock. You diversify your investments so if one fails the others are there to take their place.
Seeking multiple streams optimizes your earnings
Another reason for coming up with multiple streams is you get a benefit of discovery. Let me explain with an example.
Suppose you have all your time, energy and site dedicated to doing Adsense but after reading this article, you diversify and find you earn 3x as much by placing affiliate promotions. A blog focused on only one revenue stream will never discover additional revenue streams. Having 4, 5, or 6 streams all propping up one another gives you freedom to experiment.
So ultimately, by not approaching the multiple stream technique, you are losing money.
How to set up multiple streams?
Arguably, if you are just starting out, you may have started with only one source. I keep going back to Adsense because it’s so popular. If you started with Adsense, you’ve likely optimized your site so that you get the most clicks and make the most money.
Once your first stream is earning, it’s time to add another. Instead of swapping out, leave Adsense where it is and add in another revenue stream. You might choose affiliate promotions, Chitika ads, or the most profitable option - your own product.
Some people pop up Adsense and then switch it for a different promotion. If you are getting some results from Adsense, leave it there until something else proves superior. Similar to fishing, you want to get many different lines out there with different enticing “bait”.
To summarize, even if you are earning a hefty income from one income stream, there’s no guarantee it will be there forever. Protecting yourself with multiple streams is just smart business. You’ll make more money and avoid business breaking accidents.
Brad Isaac is a lead software programmer and blogger. You can read his motivational strategies every day on his goal setting blog, Achieve-IT!
PS from Darren - Brad also put me onto my new favorite pen with his review of the Fisher Space Pen.
Written on July 28th, 2007 at 10:07 pm by Darren Rowse
Media Whiz Aquires AuctionAds
Congratulations to the team behind AuctionAds who today announced that they’ve been acquired by Media Whiz. Well done Jeremy and Dave - don’t spend it all at once!
Written on July 28th, 2007 at 09:07 am by Darren Rowse
Using Local Newspapers to Promote Your Blog Offline
This mini guest post is from Harry Maugans the co-founder and lead developer for Desktop Nexus.
One of the biggest problems for local newspapers is finding things to write about.
Email or call 5-10 of your closest local newspapers and explain you have an explosive new website that will revolutionize the industry you’re in. Make sure you emphasize you’re local, and build it in or near their coverage area. In my case, I’m touting my wallpaper site as the next YouTube- the next huge community oriented around desktop backgrounds, and while that might be a bit extreme, it catches the newspapers attention.
Nine times out of ten, local papers will run this story: “Local Hometown Internet Entrepreneur Ignites Revolution in Wallpapers.” (of course different for your particular situation). Also, a surprising number of local papers are considered authority sites by Google, so a backlink from them would give your SEO rankings a nice boost.
Written on July 28th, 2007 at 06:07 am by Darren Rowse
How Many Blogs Do You Post to Each Week
Time for a Reader Poll - the question is - ‘How Many Different Blogs Do You Personally Post to Each Week’.
Note - this isn’t about how many you own, or how many blogs you have that are inActive - I’m looking for how many you Actively are a blogger on.
Looking forward to your responses.
Written on July 27th, 2007 at 07:07 am by Darren Rowse
Differentiate Your Blog
One of the pieces of feedback that a number of readers left when I recently asked for suggestions on how I could improve enternetusers was ‘more video posts’.
I did a number of them a year or so back but didn’t keep it up. So today I thought I’d give video another go.
By no means is this polished - but I’m going to try to keep these quick and basic.
Let me know what you think.
PS: If you can’t view this video I’ve also put it up on Youtube (although it’s not as good quality).
Written on July 27th, 2007 at 12:07 am by Darren Rowse
Gala’s Lessons in Blogging
Yesterday I introduced you to Gala Darling and talked about her transition from having a blog with a niche topic to having a blog more with a niche demographic. Today I want to hand enternetusers over to Gala for a post and have asked her to share a few of the lessons she’s been learning of late about blogging. I’ve also included a few of the pictures that make her blog so distinct.
Gala’s 9 Lessons Learned from Blogging
I haven’t been running my fashion website, iCiNG, for very long — I started it in December 2006. However, since then, I have written 400 articles & I’m now in the top 10,000 blogs on Technorati. I was also recently approached by Cosmopolitan magazine to write a monthly fashion column for them! I absolutely love what I do, but there is more to blogging than just writing a lot of content & optimising your website for search engines!
Here’s what I’ve learned in the past 8 months.
1. An original angle is essential.
There are thousands of fashion websites online, but the reason people like mine is because it’s different! Anyone can give their opinion on the latest runway collection, but it’s not very interesting & everyone else has already done it anyway. Add some value! Teach something; “how to” articles are the most popular thing online, & what the internet does best. Don’t be afraid to write in an unusual or different voice: while I (& many others) use humour, Manolo the shoeblogger writes in a faux accent & it works extremely well for his purposes. Differentiate yourself in any way you can!
2. If you’re not a ‘people person’, don’t bother!
Blogging isn’t about shouting the loudest or being really important, it’s about connecting & engaging in a dialogue with other people. If you’re not actually interested in interacting with anyone else or hearing other people’s opinions, you might as well be keeping a diary for yourself. Like it or lump it, having a blog is like being in retail. If people don’t like you, they will go (& spend their money) elsewhere.
3. Engage with your readers!
Odds are, if people are visiting your website regularly, they’re pretty keen on you as a person. When people take time out of their day to comment on your posts or send you email, for god’s sake, respond! If you’re wondering why you never get a lot of comments, perhaps it’s because your audience feel that their opinion doesn’t matter to you… & unless they are masochists, they won’t keep trying to make themselves heard. Let your readers know that they matter — develop relationships with all of them. They are your customers, & they will make or break you — so treat them well.
4. Listen to your readers!
iCiNG was initially going to be a fashion blog — straight up & down. But I started receiving email asking all sorts of questions, from how to be genuine with people you dislike, to dealing with homesickness & buying presents for teenage girls. You only need to look at my advice tag for proof! You might be crazy about interior design but end up fielding a lot of questions regarding carpet. Go with the flow, see what works & what doesn’t. A lot of companies make their money doing something COMPLETELY different to what they started in, so don’t let your rigidity stop you from making a million.
5. Set a good example
Your readers & potential community will be as charming as you are. If you hurl abuse at everyone who disagrees with you, you’ll end up with a fairly surly, unpleasant set of regular commenters. If, however, you ensure that everything you write is positive, helpful & enthusiastic, everyone else will follow your lead.
6. Have a commenting policy
I have had very, very few (grand total: 3) negative or unwelcome comments at iCiNG. When I got my first one, I wrote up a commenting policy & put a link to it beneath the comment form on every article. This way, no one can claim ignorance. The text says, “Not sure if your comment belongs here? Check the commenting policy!” My policy is very simple. I am more than happy to hear constructive criticism & people’s opinions, but anyone being rude, nasty or cruel (to me, my readers, celebrities or anyone else) will be banned without warning. Really, the way I see it is that nasty comments only reflect on the person who wrote it, not who they’re aimed at. Don’t take it personally, don’t overreact, just prevent it from happening again!
7. Before you start blogging, give serious thought to what your likely future plans may be.
When I started, the blogging platform I installed was chosen because it was something my friend was using. Now that I want to do grand things, I’ve realised that Textpattern (which has served me very well) is really not powerful enough. Thus, my geeky genius (*coughbeloved boyfriend *cough*) & I are faced with the daunting task of converting everything to Drupal — something it appears no one has ever done before, & to say we’re dreading it is the understatement of the century.
8. Be brave & bold & positive.
Be yourself — your glorious, imperfect, passionate, contradictory self. People will love you for your honesty & natural raucousness. The world is so full of boring, sanitised, mediocrity that anything different will have your readers crying with joy. Write about things which make you smile, things which make you happy, & invite your readers to contribute. Create something which inspires others & makes them feel good.
9. Remember Jack Kerouac.
His “Belief & Technique for Modern Prose” is relevant to blogging, too. Submissive to everything, open, listening … Be in love with yr life … No fear or shame in the dignity of yr experience, language & knowledge … You’re a Genius all the time.
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala Darling
Note from Darren: thanks for your thoughts Gala. One of the things that I appreciate about Gala’s approach is her positivity and philosophy of setting the tone on her blog. Her point of ’setting a good example’ above is something that I think has real wisdom to it - as bloggers we need to understand that readers more often than not take their cues on how they interact on our blogs from the way in which we behave.
If you’d like to check out more of Gala’s work at her blog you can do so at iCiNG.
Written on July 26th, 2007 at 04:07 pm by Darren Rowse
Speedlinking - 26 July 2007
- Read WriteWeb points to the relaunch of one of my favorite organizational tools - Backpack.
- Anne shares some ways that Writers (and I guess that means us bloggers) can help stop global warming.
- b5media is currently hiring for 5 new positions including server ninja, junior tech support, editorial director, executive assistant and WP developer.
- Enkay points to a new Yahoo firefox/firebug release called YSlow which grades components of the design of your site based upon Yahoo’s Performance Rules - handy.
- Andy Beard writes about why some paid comments on a blog can actually be an ethical thing. I agree - but would still think that paying someone to comment in the ways he suggests would be best if the comment leaver identified themselves as themselves and did so in a genuine way that added to the conversation. When the main goal of the leaving of the comment is for SEO I’m not so sure in it’s value.
- Brian shares 10 Tips on becoming a better writer. Of course the temptation could be to apply it to blogging by substituting ‘write’ for ‘blog’ - but I don’t think that would be wise. There’s a difference between ‘writing’ and ‘blogging’. I think part of the skill in being a good blogger is knowing which parts of your writing to publish and which bits to leave unpublished.
Written on July 26th, 2007 at 08:07 am by Darren Rowse
Does Your Blog Focus Upon a Niche Topic or a Niche Demographic? - a Mini Case Study with Gala Darling
Last week I had a coffee with Melbourne blogger Gala Darling (pictured) to talk blogging. Gala blogs at iCiNG).
We had a great chat that covered a lot of topics - from how to make money from blogs, to adding features to blogs to take them to new levels, to where we should hold the next Melbourne Blogger Meetup.
While we covered a lot of ground in the conversation there is one topic that I’ve been pondering since our chat:
focusing upon a niche topic vs focusing upon a niche demographic
I thought her blog might make an interesting case study of sorts (since that’s one of the main things readers asked me for this week in the reader feedback post).
Gala started out blogging with a niche topic - fashion. She gave fashion tips, documented her own fashion decisions and covered fashion news. A few months ago when we first met, Gala described her blog to me as a ‘fashion blog’.
Last week over coffee as Gala described her blog to me I noticed that she’d made a subtle shift in the way in which she described it.
Instead of describing it as a ‘fashion blog’ she spoke about it as a ‘blog for youthful alternative (unconventional, individual, eccentric) women‘.
The way she talked about her blog changed from being one that revolved around a single topic to one that revolved around a certain type of reader or audience.
When I asked Gala about this she told me that she’d intentionally broadened her topic in this way - but that it had been a reasonably organic sort of shift that had been the result of interactions with her audience.
Fashion still made up a significant proportion of her posts but so did other aspects of the life of her loyal readership. In a sense Gala is moving towards providing a one stop shop for her readers rather than just a smaller destination that focuses upon one aspect of life.
Making a shift from being a niche topic blog to a niche demographic blog is not something that would be advisable for every blogger but is definitely an option for some. Here are a few observations that I make about this shift - speaking as an outsider to Gala’s blog (ie I’m far from being part of her target audience - although in my younger years I was a Goth…. but that’s a whole other story):
1. Establish Niche Demographic Traffic First - one of the reasons that Gala has been able to make this gentle transition from niche topic blog to niche demographic blog is that she already had built up a strong loyal readership around her niche topic (fashion). In doing so she developed credibility, trust and a voice that connects with her audience. As a result when she started to expand she was able to take her audience with her. I suspect that if Gala had started up her blog with a wider focus that it would have been more difficult to establish an audience. Doing a small thing well first and then growing into other areas seems like a smart way to do this.
2. Let Readers Lead the Way - as mentioned above, the transition was largely a response to where readers seemed to be taking the blog. Gala didn’t force her non fashion posts on anyone - but as a result of her readers questions and comments she was able to provide content for their needs that was good for them and her.
3. Warning, don’t Spread Yourself too Thin - one of the possible dangers of moving to a demographic based blog is that the temptation could be to focus upon a range of topics that spread the blogger (and their audience too thinly). Don’t dilute your focus too much too quickly or you may end up burning yourself out and frustrating readers. Gala’s done this pretty well but keeping her ‘fashion’ oriented posts at around the 40% mark and making the transition reasonably slowly.
4. Trapped by Brand - one of the reasons that many bloggers would not be advised to make this transition is that their branding, blog name etc ‘trap’ them to some extent. Gala’s lucky in this regard that she started her blog around her own name (galadarling.com) rather than a name with a topic focus (something like fashionblogger.com). A more generic or personal name would be better suited to a demographic focussed blog.
Tomorrow we’ll hear from Gala herself
As I’ve been writing this post I thought that rather than just having me talk about Gala’s blog as an outsider that it might be a worthwhile thing to get her in for a guest post - so tomorrow I’ll hand enternetusers over to Gala to share a few of the lessons that she’s been learning about blogging. Gala’s got a lot of worthwhile things to say about blogging - I think you’ll enjoy her post.
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