Written on August 27th, 2005 at 04:08 pm by David Shawver
9rules and Weblogs Inc - Contracts and Agreements
After the leaks of Weblogs Inc’s blogger contract Paul Scrivens has published the members agreement that members of 9Rules sign.
Having seen both Weblogs Inc’s and 9Rules contracts/agreements I will say that they are like chalk and cheese. This of course reflects the massive differences between the two blog networks.
9Rules is a network where the content, money and power stays very much in the hands of the bloggers themselves who are ‘members’ of the network. It is more about building community and improving the quality of the members blogs. In a sense there is something of a ‘collective’ feel to it - or a ‘network’ in its truest sense.
Weblogs Inc on the other hand places the content, money and power in the hands of the owners. Bloggers are engaged as contractors and earn money from the central body. It is still a ‘network’ but a very different one than 9Rules - it is a network all under the one body’s control.
As a result the contracts/agreements are very different. Weblogs Inc’s is and needs to be in much more of a legal language. The relationships between the central body and bloggers needs to be spelt out in real detail. 9Rules on the other hand has a more relational document where promises are made between the central body and bloggers. Strangely it reminds me of a marriage ceremony.
Which is better? I’m not sure that that is a fair question. If it is to be answered it can only really be done from an individual looking at the options from his or her context. Each ‘network’ serves a different purpose and will meet the needs of different people.
Written on August 27th, 2005 at 03:08 pm by David Shawver
Blogger Sued for Comments on Blog
Aaron has just been sued for content in comments left on his blog. This could be a precedent setting case that could have massive ramifications upon bloggers.
Written on August 27th, 2005 at 05:08 am by David Shawver
Weblogs Inc Pays $4 per Post to Bloggers
Duncan has an interesting post that sheds some light on the rate that Weblogs Inc pay some of their writers. The information was gleaned from a blogger who was given a Weblogs Inc contract but who decided not to sign up (see their account of events here). Duncan writes:
‘According to the contract, writers for Slashfood are paid $500 USD per month and are expected to write “125 monthly blog posts, along with monitoring of comments, responding to readers in comments, and deleting offensive comments. Posts under the goal of 125 will be pro-rated at $4.00 per post”’
I’ve seen the contract previously (or a different version of it) from another disgruntled but wasn’t going to publish anything about it because it’s not a public document - but I guess it’s all out in the open now after a link at metafilter.
Update: I’ve just spoken with another blogger who has had contact with Weblogs Inc and they told me that they’d been offered $5 per post to blog for them. I suspect the amount depends on a number of factors including the bloggers profile, the topic of the blog, the traffic levels already established on the blogs etc.
Written on August 26th, 2005 at 11:08 pm by David Shawver
10 Tips for Using Affiliate Programs on your Blog
We’ve now looked at a number of popular affiliate programs for bloggers and today I’d like to finish off this series by giving a few tips that should help bloggers get the best results out of any affiliate program that they choose to run with.
1. Consider your Audience
It almost goes without saying - but it’s worth putting yourself in your readers shoes and consider what they might be looking for as they surf by your blog. Are they shopping for specific products? Might they be looking for related products or accessories? What would trigger them to purchase? Start with your reader in mind rather than the product. If you take this approach you could end up doing your reader a favor as well as making a few dollars on the side.
2. Genuine Recommendations and personal endorsements always work best
There are literally hundreds of thousands of products and services for you to choose from to recommend to your blog’s readers but making money from them is not as simple as randomly adding links to them from your blog. Your blog’s readers come back to your blog day after day because something about you resonates with them - they have at least some level of trust and respect for you and perhaps the quickest way to destroy this is to recommend that they buy something that you don’t fully believe will benefit them.
The best results I’ve had from affiliate programs are where I give an open and honest appraisal of the product - including both it’s strengths and weaknesses. The most successful affiliate program I’m involved with here at enternetusers is Joel Comm’s e-book which I reviewed here. If you read the review you’ll see that I not only tell readers who I believe the book is for but I also mention those it is NOT for. In a sense I critique it. On a surface level one might think that this wasn’t a wise move and that I should have given a glowing review - however the sales that I’ve had through the program have proven otherwise. People want to know what they are buying first and even if they know a product has limitations they will buy it if it meets their particular need.
3. Link to Quality Products
We all like to make sure we’re buying the best products money can buy - your readers are no different to this and are more likely to make a purchase if you’ve found them the best product for them. Choose products and companies with good reputations and quality sales pages. There is nothing worse than giving a glowing review of a product only to send your reader to a page that looks cheap and nasty.
4. Contextual Deep Links work Best
When I started using the Amazon Associate Program I naively thought that all I had to do was put an Amazon banner ad (that linked to Amazon’s front page) at the top of my blog. I thought that my readers would see it and surf over to Amazon and buy up big - thereby making me a rich man. Nothing could have been further from reality - I was deluding myself.
I always says to bloggers that I’m consulting with that they should learn something from contextual advertising when it comes to affiliate programs. The secret of contextual ads like Adsense is that a reader is reading a post on a particular topic on your blog and when they see an advertisement for that same product they are more likely to click it than if they saw an ad for something else. The same is true for affiliate programs. A banner to a general page on every page on your site won’t be anywhere near as effective as multiple links throughout your blog that advertiser products that are relevant for readers reading particular parts of your blog.
So if you’re writing a blog about MP3 players and have a review for a particular product - the most effectively affiliate program that you could link to from within the content of that page would be one that links directly to a page selling that specific model of MP3 player. This is how I use the Amazon program today. It is more work than contextual advertising because you’re not just putting one piece of code into a template but rather need to place individual links on many pages - but I find that it’s been worth the effort.
5. Consider positioning of links
One of the things I go on and on about with Adsense optimization is the positioning of ads. I tell bloggers to position their ads in the hotspots on pages (like the top of a left hand side bar - or inside content - or at the end of posts above comments etc). The same principles are true for affiliate advertising.
6. Traffic levels are Important
While it’s not the only factor - traffic levels are obviously key when it comes to making money from almost any online activity. The more people that see your well placed, relevant and well designed affiliate links the more likely it is that one of them will make a purchase. So don’t just work on your links - work on building a readership. Not only this, consider how you might direct traffic on your blog toward pages where they are more likely to see your affiliate links.
7. Diversify
without Clutter
Don’t put all your affiliate efforts into one basket. There are plenty of products out there to link to so there is no need to just work on one. At the same time you shouldn’t clutter your blog up with too many affiliate program links. If you do so you run the risk of diluting the effectiveness of your links and could disillusion your readership.
8. Be Transparent
Don’t try to fool your readers into clicking links that could make you money. While it may not always feasible to label all affiliate links I think some attempt should be made to let people know what type of link they are clicking on. I also think consistency is important with this so readers of your blog know what to expect. For example here at enternetusers usually put a note beside or under affiliate links to simply let readers know that that is what they are. On my Digital Camera Blog I don’t do this because of the large number of such links make it clear by the text around the link that clicking on it will take them to some sort of shop or information where a purchase is possible (ie a link my say ‘buy the XXX product’ or ‘get the latest product on XXX’.
9. Combine with other Revenue Streams
Affiliate programs and advertising programs are not mutually exclusive things. I’ve come across a few people recently who have said they don’t want to do affiliate linking because it will take the focus off their Adsense ads. While there is potential for one to take the focus off the other - there is also real potential for both to work hand in hand as different readers will respond to different approaches. You should consider the impact that your affiliate links have on other revenue streams - but don’t let one stop the other.
10. Track results
Most affiliate programs have at least some type of tracking or statistics package which will allow you to watch which links are effective. Some of these packages are better than others but most will at least allow you to see what is selling and what isn’t. Watching your results can help you plan future affiliate efforts. Keep track of what positions for links work well, which products sell, what wording around links works well etc and use the information that you collect as you work plan future affiliate strategies.
What tips would you give someone getting into affiliate programs? What has worked well for you? What hasn’t? Share you experience and ideas on affiliate programs below.
Written on August 26th, 2005 at 11:08 pm by David Shawver
31 Days to Building a Better Blog - Day 26
We’re getting close to the end of the 31 Day Project and today I have three reader submitted links for your reading pleasure:
- Yzabel submitted Trackbacks Unveiled
- Tony writes Content Management Systems - not for me
- Steve let us know about The Medium vs. the Message
Write your blog tip on your own blog and let me know of the URL and I’ll link up to it in one of the last five days of this project.
Written on August 26th, 2005 at 01:08 pm by David Shawver
Blogads Logo Contest
Ok budding designers - its time to Design Blogads a new Logo. If you are the winning designer you’ll earn yourself $1000 and if you tell them I told you to do it you’ll win me $300!
Go on - get designing!
Written on August 26th, 2005 at 01:08 pm by David Shawver
Movable Type 3.2 Goes Live
Movable Type 3.2 is out of Beta and ready for downloading.
I’m seriously considering upgrading a few of my older blogs to it to give it a go and compare it to WordPress (which runs all my new blogs).
MT 3.2 is a free update if you’re updating from 3.X versions. Personal editions now have unlimited blogs. Get a list of the features of this version at 32 Favorite Features.
Written on August 26th, 2005 at 04:08 am by David Shawver
Dashes vs. underscores in SEO
I regularly get asked whether dashes or underscores in URLs are better for search engine optimization.
ie which of the following is best - www.enternetusers.net/is-this-better or www.enternetusers.net/is_this_better ?
For the past six or so months I’ve leant towards dashes instead of underscores - but it’s always been a ‘best guess’. Today in reading Matt Cutt’s blog I think I’ve made a good decision as he writes - ‘I often get asked whether I’d recommend dashes or underscores for words in urls. For urls in Google, I would recommend using dashes.’
He goes on to explain why - but I think you’ve already got the answer. For Google Dashes are best.
Written on August 26th, 2005 at 02:08 am by David Shawver
Blogging Strategy - Be a Maven
Paul Chaney has a good post on ‘Mavens’ - a term used in Malcolm Gladwell’s book - Get the Latest Price on the The Tipping Point (an absolute must read):
‘The Maven is a person who knows everything about something. Ask them a question about that topic and they’ll give you more information that you care to know. They are, according to Gladwell, information brokers who have the knowledge and social skills to start epidemics.’
Paul points out a few Maven bloggers and how being one (or becoming one) is a great blogging strategy and an excellent way to build blogging traffic. He’s spot on the money with this observation.
The great thing is that because blogging is so global you don’t necessarily have to be a maven of some mega popular topic in order to be successful. Recently I’ve had contact with a number of bloggers that have come to dominate (in a nice way) the tiny niches that they write in and in doing so have become quite prominent.
A number of them are readers of this blog so I thought it might be interesting to open up the comments in this post for people to talk about either:
1. Blogging Mavens that we know of (ie people who are becoming or who have become experts in a niche through their blogging on it)
2. The Niches that we are trying to become mavens in - tell us about your journey to become an expert in your field. How are you doing it, how’s it going, what has worked and what hasn’t? What have been the benefits of this approach? Don’t be shy or modest - feel free to just share it like it is….
Written on August 25th, 2005 at 10:08 pm by David Shawver
US Blog/Web Conferences - Which one is best for enternetusers?
I might be in a position to be able to get over to the US in October or November and am wondering which conference to get to. So far I know of two that might be worth while and would love to get your opinion on them. Which should I attend?
1. BlogOn 2005 - Social Media Summit - October 17 -18. This conference has a growing list of pretty cool speakers, many of whom I’d love to hear speak and learn from. The planned sessions look interesting but my worry is that it will be a conference for businesses that blog rather than blogs that ARE a business which is perhaps more my field of interest. As it is a conference focussed upon blogging it would probably be good for networking but I’m not sure how much I’d learn about entrepreneurial blogging.
The location is attrActive as there are a number of bloggers that I know in New York that I’d love to catch up with during, after and/or before the conference.
The cost is a big downer of this option with early bird registration for the two days of $1095 or normal registration of $1495 (in $1AUD = $1.30USD). On top of a return airfare (add another $1500AUD) and accomodation - this could be a bit of a killer.
2. WebmasterWorld Pub Conference Search and Marketing Conference 2005 - November 15 - 17. There are less details of this conference on the site so far but they do have a good reputation and I know of people who strongly recommend it from personal experience. This conference is not blog specific but rather focusses on a wider spectrum of online activities. I’d probably find I learn quite a bit in this conference but wouldn’t perhaps meet as many bloggers.
The cost of this conference is a more affordable $375 for the three days. I’m not sure the location is quite as good in terms of meeting other bloggers before or after the conference.
I’m interested to hear from people who have attended either of these conferences in the past. How did you find them? What would you recommend knowing what you know about me? Are you going to either of them this year?
Ideally I’d love to get to both but they are probably one week too far apart to get to them both.
I’m also interested to hear from anyone near either of these conferences who would like to catch up if I make it over there.
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