Written on February 2nd, 2005 at 10:02 pm by Darren Rowse
Google Referral Program
It looks like Google Adsense are now using a referral affiliate type program whereby if you refer an advertiser that spends at least $20 to Adwords or a publisher that earns $75 with Adsense that you earn a commission ($20). They describe the program as follows:
‘The Google referral program is designed to help businesses make money by referring small to medium-sized businesses to Google. You simply apply and once you’re approved, place links (or graphics) on your site, and then every time you refer a company that spends at least $20 with Google AdWords or earns $75 with AdSense, you earn a commission.’
They say in their FAQ that they are currently only accepting US bases sites in this program (doh!).
This program will probably suit sites that have an audience of readers who have websites that are commercial in nature.
Learn more at:
Google Referral Program Home Page
Google Referral Program: More information
Google Referral Program: Sign up Form
Google Referral Program: FAQ
Written on February 2nd, 2005 at 05:02 pm by Darren Rowse
Sony Pays $25,000 a month for Gawker Blog Sponsorship
A couple of days ago we mentioned that Gawker had launched two new blogs including Lifehacker - a blog about downloading software and time saving that has been sponsored by Sony. Today Adage (subscription required) announced that that sponsorship is worth around $25,000 per month! Now that is some serious sponsorship which is a lot higher than most blog sponsorship deals that I’ve been privy to the details of. The article goes on to say that the deal includes some exposure on Gizmodo and will run for around 3 months.
$25,000 a month is pretty good for an untested new blog - although it being a Gawker blog almost guarantees some pretty serious readership.
I’ve recently been negotiating with an Ad Agency for one of my blogs. They have a client interested in a sponsorship deal for a month long test period. I’m keen to give it a go - not just because its potentially worth a few thousand dollars (I’m not in Gawker’s league but a guy has to start somewhere) but also because I’m interested in testing the effectiveness of this type of campaign. I will of course keep you updated here.
The article from Adage is worth the read. Here is a snippet:
‘And Gawker blog readers, even if there’s only a million who flock to a site, are considered “prime influencers” in the niche they frequent. “They are connectors — people who are into technology and are influencing people about the technology they are into,” said Brad Bowers, co-founder of BlackInc. Ventures, an agency that provides outsourced business development and revenue generation to small- and mid-size Internet companies.
When he approached Sony for his client Gawker, he told executives, “The people on blogs are talking about your products and are early adopters.” With the deal Sony comes across as a company that’s forward-thinking and learning how blogging works, he added.
Not everyone is convinced that traditional online ads are suitable for blogs. “They can cheapen and compromise a blog,” said John Cate, vice president and national media director in the San Francisco office of Carat InterActive, part of Aegis Group. At this stage, he favors encouraging his client to “counter-blog” if the information on a blog goes against his marketer. But, he admitted, “if it’s a good piece of content and the audience is there, then it’s worthy of advertising.”’
Read more at SONY PAYS $25,000 A MONTH FOR GAWKER BLOG
Written on February 2nd, 2005 at 05:02 pm by Darren Rowse
Yahoo! Blogs
It looks like Yahoo! have been getting into the blogging thing with the launch of Yahoo! Japan’s Blogs beta. I wonder if we’ll see this rolled out world wide at some point from Yahoo!? The features of what they are offering look pretty comprehensive with them coming complete with RSS feeds, accepting trackbacks, statistics, a favorites system, guest book etc.
Found via Susan Mernit’s Blog and Blog Count
Written on February 2nd, 2005 at 04:02 pm by Darren Rowse
How to Find Money Making Blog Ideas - Part 3
Coming up with creative and profitable Ideas for blogs sometimes feels more about luck than anything else. But in my experience there is a number of steps you can do to better your chances. This is the third and final part of a series on finding Money making blog ideas. Also see part 1 and part 2 for the full picture.
5. Collaborate - Blogging doesn’t have to be a lonely introspective task - in fact I’ve found that when you share your ideas and passions with other bloggers it can come alive. Pick a few trusted bloggers to run your ideas past. You may just use them as a sounding board to critique and give ideas or you may actually open your idea up and invite them to become a partner in your blog project. This is especially worthwhile if you’ve picked a topic that is big or outside of your expertise. The wonderful thing about collaboration is that if you choose your partners carefully you’ll end up with a blog that is so much better than what you could have done alone. I’ve seen this happen on a number of occasions in the past year, starting mainly with the Olympics Blog which I involved a number of others in. Had I kept the idea to myself I doubt it would have been anything near the success that it was - the topic was just too big and my technical expertise with databases and other aspects of that blog were well beyond me.
So grab a partner and see what comes together when you put your heads together.
6. Respond (quickly) - It is all very well to have an idea, to predict a trend or to know what every man and his dog is going to be searching for on the internet in a month’s time - but getting the idea up and into a blog quickly and looking professional is another thing. At Breaking News Blogs we now have the ability to have a basic, well designed and optimized blog up and running in less than 15 minutes. I know that if an idea hits or a news story breaks that I wish to cover with a completely new blog that I can have a professional and unique looking blog up and running within minutes.
This is crucial in many instances because if you don’t do it someone else will and the space that existed for a blog or two to cover the niche will be gone. This was illustrated by the many blogs that rose up overnight to cover the Tsunami story a month or two ago. The niche to cover that tragedy was filled within hours of the event by a few quick thinking bloggers.
So think ahead about how you’ll respond quickly if you need to. Will you start a blogger blog? (they take minutes too - but won’t be as uniquely designed unless you have some templates ready) - will you start a Typepad blog? (quick to start but cost a few dollars) - will you have some templates ready to go on your own domain? Of course responding quickly is not always important - with some blogs (non breaking story ones) its better to take your time and think it all through - but its good to have the option of a quick launch blog.
7. Blog - This is where the starting point of this series began with the main thrust of my post on Researching a Profitable Blog Topic. Just do it! Of course having read all the above you might be too worn out to start a blog, seeing it all written out like that is a little overwhelming - however its not a specific process that I follow - rather it is a way of blogging, a rhythm that I’ve gotten myself into over a couple of years of blogging this way. I don’t put set time aside to ‘observe’ and then have a period of ‘predicting’ etc - it has just become a part of who I am as a blogger and a part of my daily rhythm of life.
I could (and probably will) write much more on the topic - this series has only scratched the surface and I’m aware could be expanded in many directions (many of which I’ve covered in the 500 or so posts in my archives). If you have any ideas or suggestions to add to please do so in comments below so we can learn together.
Written on February 2nd, 2005 at 08:02 am by Darren Rowse
Blogkits Announce 7 new Banner Ad Sizes
Blog Kits have just released 7 new sizes of banner advertising - designed specifically for bloggers. Whilst I’m surprised that they haven’t gone for some more standard sizes (eg 468 x 60) which would allow them to be used as alternative ads for Adsense, there are a few nice sized buttons there for sidebars.
I might just have to give some of them a go in the weeks ahead.
Written on February 2nd, 2005 at 08:02 am by Darren Rowse
How to Find Money Making Blog Ideas - Part 2
More and more people are finding ways to make money from blogging but few pro bloggers are making their money from their personal, general themed blogs. In most cases it takes a blog either with a tight niche or fresh idea to make it big in the blogosphere - but how do you find those ideas? Before reading on you might like to read Part 1 of this series.
3. Dream - Most mornings you can find me at a local cafe for at least for 30 - 60 minutes. The reasons I go there are numerous. For one coffee is an essential ingredient in me thinking creatively (that should almost be a point in and of itself) but secondly I do it to intentionally get out of my ‘Blog HQ’ (my office) and into a different space. I usually leave my laptop at the office and just take a pen and my journal and use the time to dream.
You see I find it easy to fill my head up with wonderful information, observations, predictions and knowledge but unless I put time aside to dream about how blogging could fit with the information I’m gathering the dots may never be joined. Get out that journal again and add to your list of potential topics - what would you love to write about? What would be an outrageous topic to blog on? What type of person would you like to write a blog for? Think outside the box you’ve been living in - open your mind and come up with as many creative ideas as possible. Nothing is too stupid - not until the next stage anyway.
4. Strategize - Get your journal full of Observations, Predictions and Dreams and start doing a bit of realistic thinking on the ideas you’ve got. Ask yourself a few grounding questions and put aside your ‘anything is possible’ attitude for a while (anything IS possible, but sometimes it worth being realistic about the barriers to success). Here are some questions to ask:
• What (how many) other sites/blogs are covering this topic already? Can I compete?
• Is there a niche within the niche that these other sites are not covering that I could concentrate upon?
• How many people are currently searching for this topic (or will be)?
• Who are searching for information on this topic?
• How might I monetize this blog?
• How much would ads pay for this topic using contextual advertising?
• What affiliate programs might work well with this topic?
• Do I have the expertise to cover this topic?
• Do I have the time (and energy) to adequately cover this topic? Will I have enough time and energy in 6 months time?
• Do I know anyone else who might be better at writing this blog that I could partner with?
• Would it be a better idea to submit this topic to an established blog network than to do it on my own?
• Could I generate enough content to comprehensively cover the topic? What sources would I use?
Of course there are many more questions you could and should ask yourself going into a new blog. Don’t get bogged down in strategy but be realistic about it.
Written on February 2nd, 2005 at 12:02 am by Darren Rowse
How to Find Money Making Blog Ideas - Part 1
Susannah linked up to my How to Research a Profitable Blog Topic post and writes:
‘What Darren doesn’t say is just how to come up with those money-making ideas. He’s clearly got the knack of latching onto current issues appropriate for blogs, but not everyone does.’
That got me wondering - how do the ideas come? I started jotting down a few ideas this afternoon about how I coax ideas for new blogs and posts out of my mind and soon found I had more than a single post on my hands. So here is the first part in my mini series on how to find money making blog ideas:
1. Observe - I am an information junkie. I watch too much TV, read too many books (I never make it to the end though), spend way too much time on the internet, squander hours in the news agents flicking through magazines, spend more time at cafes watching people than eating food and am a sucker for any article, website or conversation that is about ‘trends or predictions‘.
If you want to create a blog that is going to be read by as many people as possible you must be in touch with where as many people are at (or will be at). What are they eating, drinking, doing with spare time, watching on TV, thinking about, lusting after, obsessing about etc. Don’t only observe what others are doing - take a look at your own life, look at your spending paterns, TV watching habits, interests and passions and you might just find a great topic in your own life! I also find that stimulating myself with new sights, sounds, tastes, places, people can also help get the creative juices flowing. Keep a journal (I use a whiteboard and a spreadsheet) of your observations which you can come back to later.
2. Predict - I’ve written about this before but it is a lesson worth repeating. Think ahead. Ask yourself the question - ‘what will people be searching on the internet for next week, next month or next year?’ This is connected to your observe task. As you read the paper/internet/magazine - keep an eye open for upcoming product developments, events, trends etc. If you see one start writing about it. It isn’t really a mind blowing suggestion - but I’m amazed at how many bloggers begin blogging about movies and events the day they start rather than two weeks before when the search engines have time to pick them up and index their posts.
So look ahead, write your predictions and hunches about what people will be searching for in your journal and better still start writing some posts (or even start a new blog) on those topics to test how they do in the Search Engines. Be as specific with your posts as possible - for example last year in the lead up to the final show of American Idol 3 I wrote a post titled American Idol 3 Winner. The day the winner was announced guess who was (and still is) number 1 on Google for that term. It was a good day and showed me the power of thinking ahead.
Written on February 1st, 2005 at 01:02 pm by Darren Rowse
Interview with a link spammer
The Register has an interesting article today titled Interview with a link spammer that gives an insight into the mind and methods of one of the growing number of people that seek to use yours and my blogs for their own gain:
‘So how and why do “link spammers” - as they generically call themselves - do it? Are they the same as the email spammers? What do they think of what they do, ethically? And what can stop them? If you’re affected by this spam, say because you run a blog, or a website, or like the other 99.9 per cent of Net users just come across the stuff, Sam explain the important thing to remember is it’s nothing personal. They’re not targeting you personally. They’re just exploiting a weakness in a system which blossomed just at the time that Google cracked down on the previous method that spammers used, where huge “link farms” of their own web sites pointed circularly to each other to boost each others’ ranking.’
Written on February 1st, 2005 at 11:02 am by Darren Rowse
The Rise of Business Blogging - ‘Listening’
Steve’s got a good article on The Rise of Business Blogging which ends with three good solid pieces of advice for those wanting to get into business blogging:
‘Step One – Listen: The best way to become acquainted with the power of blogs is to read them and see what they’re talking about. Using tools like Google, PubSub and Feedster, you can find easily blogs that are already discussing your company/brand and its industry. Also be sure to check out sites like BusinessBlogConsulting.com and Adrants.com, which include examples of blogs done right and wrong.
Step Two – Reach Out: Once you have identified influential blogs, reach out to them by carefully posting comments on their sites. Let them know you’re listening. Some may invite you to sponsor their blog, which also can often offer a high ROI. Blogs can help your company build awareness among influencers who will talk about you to others. Marqui, a telecommunications company, recently began experimenting paying bloggers $800 per week if they mentioned their product. While the results aren’t known, blog advertising is certainly going to become a lot more prevalent in the years ahead.
Step Three – Launch Your Own Blogs: Finally, once you feel you have a firm grasp on the medium, roll your own weblogs. This can range from everything from a CEO blog to a product team site and more. Figure out first who you’re trying to reach, who will have the most time and what people in your organization are willing to be the most transparent. ‘
I really appreciate Steve’s advice - whilst a couple of posts back I advised the ‘just do it’ method of researching a new blog topic - I was writing more for the experienced blogger wanting to start new entrepreneurial blogs. There is a danger when blogging of rushing into a niche topic without really thinking ahead. I know that if I’d just spent a little more time thinking about some of the blogs that I’ve started that I would have done one or two of them quite differently. I needed to spend a bit more time in the ‘Listen’ phase. Of course there is only so much listening that one should do - there comes a time when you have to move past that and actually bite the bullet and start that blog you’ve always wondered about.
Written on January 31st, 2005 at 10:01 pm by Darren Rowse
New Gawker Media Blogs Launch
Gawker Media today are releasing two new blogs (currently password protected but about to go live). They are Gridskipper, a travel related blog, and Lifehacker, a blog about software downloading and time saving.
Both of these new blogs already have corporate sponsorship (Sony for Lifehacker and Cheaptickets for Gridskipper).
MediaDailyNews writes: ‘Lifehacker will include software download recommendations and content about spam filters, virus killers, spyware, search engines, e-mail applications, Internet phones, and general productivity tips. It’s a counterpart to Gizmodo, Gawker Media’s blog that reviews consumer electronics, but will be written in a less snarky style than sister blogs Gawker, Defamer, and Wonkette, said Gawker Media Publisher Nick Denton….
‘In a statement on its Web site, Gridskipper proclaims itself “the decadent travel guide,” and describes its mission as: “Scouring the world for discount flights, chic hotels–and pretty people.” Andrew Krucoff, a former guest writer on Gawker and Fleshbot, will edit the site, which will focus on urban travel.’
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