Written on September 8th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 04:09 pm by Darren Rowse
Prizes Needed - Sponsor enternetusers’s Next Group Writing Project
The week after next I’ll be holding the next enternetusers Group Writing Project. I’ll keep the topic a secret until then but after the success of offering prizes for the last project I’d like to do the same again.
If you have a prize you’d like to offer the project in return for some pretty nice exposure I’d like to hear from you (read on to find out what I’m looking for).
Last time we offered five great gifts to five random participants and this time I’d like to do the same. I’ve toyed with the idea of increasing the numbers of prizes but in the hope of keeping the exposure that sponsors get from their offers I’m going to keep it to five this time around.
So I’d like to hear from those wishing to sponsor this group project.
What Type of Prizes?
Last time the prizes included a new PC/LCD combo ($500), digital cash ($500), an eye/brain massager, a premium service to a blog related tool and an Amazon voucher ($100).
That’s the range of prizes that people are offering and I’d like us to hit that type of level (or above) again. Ideally I’d like the prizes to be of some sort of use to bloggers (feel free to be creative - last time the massager wasn’t the most valuable prize offered but it was interesting).
What do you get as a Sponsor?
- Sponsors will receive links in every post on the project during the week that it runs (last time I think this was on about 7 posts).
- Last project 300 bloggers participated and many more read the pages associated with the project.
- enternetusers is read by 5000 daily readers via the blog and another 8000 via it’s feeds.
Requirements of Sponsors
- Possible winners are from around the globe and the prize needs to be able to be received internationally (for example one of the prizes above was converted to cash due to it not being able to be sent overseas).
- Prizes are awarded to random participants in the project.
- The companies/individuals offering the gift need to take responsibility to getting it to winners.
I choose which prizes to use based on a number of factors including value, usefulness to bloggers, variety (between prizes) and the suitability of the sponsor to my readership (ie I’m not going to offer prizes from adult or gambling sites).
Last time we had offers for prizes from quite a few people - please don’t be offended if your prize isn’t selected.
Submit Your Idea
If you’d like to offer a prize I’ll need to hear from you by Monday at 5pm (Melbourne Time). Submit your pitch including prize value, description and where you want your promotional link to point (and the words you’d want the link to say) via my contact form.
Any questions? Shoot me an email via my contact form.
Written on September 8th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 01:09 pm by Darren Rowse
Interview with Text Link Ads President - Patrick Gavin
Jamsi has a nice interview with the chief of Text Link Ads (aff), Patrick Gavin. In it Patrick answers some FAQs about TLA and hints at a new product launch in the coming weeks (keep an eye on enternetusers for more details on that one).
A few of the highlights of the interview:
On why people get rejected from TLA - “it is a combination of: traffic (derived from Alexa data), back links (from Yahoo’s site explorer), and the theme of your website.”
Is Page Rank a factor in TLA prices? - “No. The days of pricing by PR are long gone in my opinion. Buyers pay premiums for quality placement on niche sites. Theme plays the biggest factor with many of the finance, travel, real estate, and law sites drawing the highest prices. Link popularity is a factor but it is not taken from PR.”
On the difference between having 6 and 10 ads - “This is not exact but it would change about 15% up if you dropped to 6 so in many cases it is best for the publisher to use the maximum 10 link spots for sale.”
Read the full interview.
Written on September 8th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 12:09 am by Darren Rowse
CPC Ads Vs Affiliate Programs
Robyn writes a thought provoking post with the title of Why Use Affiliate Ads Rather Than AdSense or YPN?
In it she points out the benefits of going with affiliate programs that pay larger amounts when people purchase a product in comparison to CPC (cost per click) ad programs like AdSense which generally pay a smaller amount for a click on the ad.
She writes:
“One advertiser recently sent me an email reminding me of their current affiliate promotion. It was roughly (details changed to protect my hide):
1. 10 Subscriptions - Get $50 Home Depot or Best Buy Gift Card
2. 50 Subscriptions - 2G iPod Nano
3. 150 Subscriptions - XBox 360
4. 275 - Home Theater System ($1000 value)
5. 500 - Tickets to the Affiliate Summit, $500 airfare and 3 days lodging
6. 1000 - Serious renumerationNow, this was for a service that costs between $10 and $20 dollars, depending on plan, and it’s a really popular service at that. And, remember, this is, in addition to the $15 lead spiff. So, in essence, for option #6 you would make around $5K for the above bonus and $15K for the lead spiff.”
It’s an interesting topic and one that I’ve seen fans of both CPC and Affiliate programs argue over many times.
While the above argument is logical and seems to make sense I would argue that while 1000 subscribers to a service seems like an easy enough thing - I’ve never managed to get that type of hit rate in my three years of blogging (despite using affiliate programs on many of my blogs).
My own opinion on there is no clear winner in the CPC/Affiliate program debate on a big picture level and it’s a question that needs to be asked on a topic by topic basis.
Some blogs are naturally suited to CPC whereas others do much better with affiliate programs. This depends on many factors including the topic (ie my gadget blogs tend to do better with CPC and blogs like enternetusers do better with affiliate programs), the voice/style of the blogger, the type of readers (ie loyal readers seem to respond better to affiliate programs where as search traffic does better with CPC) and other factors.
Where do you focus most of you online money making attention? CPC ads, Affiliate programs or a combination of both?
Written on September 7th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 08:09 am by Darren Rowse
Blog Security - Tips on Keeping Your Blog from being Hacked
Quite a few people have asked me questions about enternetusers being hacked last week. Questions have ranged from ‘do you know who did it?’ to ‘have you found out how they did it?’ to ‘how can we protect ourselves from being hacked?’
By the way - my blogging buddy Andy Wibbels has had his blog hacked in the last couple of days also and his blog is currently down. This is unfortunately becoming more common.
I’m not going to go into great detail of what happened, how or who it was (I’m not sure how wise it is to get into those details for a variety of reasons) but I will make a few general comments and give a few pieces of advice when it comes to blog security and protection.
Disclaimer - I am not (and never will be) an expert in web security. Don’t take my advice as gospel for all systems/set ups and seek professional advice if in doubt.
1. Update your Blog Software - blog platforms periodically update their versions for a variety of reasons one of which is security. Old versions of some platforms expose your blog and server to being hacked.
2. Keep an Eye on Dead Blogs - I suspect that of the 50 million or so blogs that technorati are tracking that many of them are non Active blogs on old blogging platforms. One of the dangers of retiring a blog and not updating it is that you can have old and un-updated blogging platforms sitting on your server which could prove to be a vulnerability in your set up. Even if you’re not Actively updating a ‘dead blog’ you should consider updating it’s version.
3. Backup your Blog - being hacked does happen, even to the smartest bloggers from time to time. When it does happen you need to have some way of getting your blog back up and running and a backup is an essential part of this.
4. Protect Your Passwords - this goes without saying but I’m constantly surprised by the stories I hear of people using obvious passwords or giving them out. Basic password protection strategies and common sense should prevail.
5. Choose Your Host Carefully - I am in the fortunate position of having a quality host who offers me personal and comprehensive help in those times when things go wrong. Without this I don’t know what I’d have done.
As I say above, I’m no blog security expert and I would invite those that have expertise and experience in this area to comment below for the benefit of the wider blogging community.
If you’ve written or know of posts on this topic with good solid advice please feel free to give us links to them below as it’d be helpful to have a bit of a collection of advice on the topic.
Written on September 7th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 12:09 am by Darren Rowse
reddit buttons
reddit have released reddit buttons for webmasters and bloggers to put on their sites to help spread the word about their posts.
They come in three styles. Give them a go and let us know how you find them. Do you Actively promote social bookmarking options to your readers? Do you find they work or are readers becoming blind to them?
Written on September 6th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 01:09 pm by Darren Rowse
Tubetorial Launches - First Impression Review
I’ve been waiting the launch of tubetorial for the past few weeks since hearing about it from Brian from Copyblogger (one of the gang behind tubetorial).
Tubetorial is a video based tutorial site which will focus upon web development and internet marketing.
It’s launched with three videos:
- What Bloggers Need to Know about the Law (part of a series on Blogger Law 101)
- Why Sell Information (part of a series on 7 Steps to Creating and Selling a Niche Information Product)
- Be the Master of Your Own Domain! (part of a series on How to Build a Profitable Home on the Web)
The topics are excellent and I’m looking forward to future episodes of each series.
First Impressions
I’m not sure what I was expecting from tubetorial but here are a few first impressions:
- Helpful Topics - as a blogger I obviously found the topics appealing. They’re obviously starting with some fairly basic level topics, but they are all practical and helpful.
- Well Designed - Chris is a great designer and it’s reflected in the layout and design of the site.
- Good Presentation - the first three presentations are all well thought through and scripted. I did feel at times like I was listening to someone reading a script (I’m much more used to presentations that are free flowing and spontaneous - its just my personal preference. I’m sure they’ll get a little more natural over time though as they become more used to making the videos). The visual elements provided interest. I liked that it was more than just a dull screencast and incorporated talking heads (in one of them), flowcharts, pictures, screen grabs etc.
- Usefulness - the actual content is useful. It’s early days of course as they are only 3 videos in, but so far I can see that a lot of bloggers (especially those towards the beginning of their journey) will find tubetorial helpful.
I’m no video making expert but the videos are of a good quality. I’m sure they could be a lot better polished with time, but if they want to keep pumping them out they obviously need to find a balance between quality and quantity.
Video is hot right now and it’s a smart move to be exploring it - but if blogging has an advantage it’s that it has lower barriers to entry in terms of bandwidth (and cost) and time/expertise needed in putting together content.
In my own miniscule dabbling with video I know just how much work it can be to put together - it’ll be interesting to watch how tubetorial does in finding this balance and remaining a profitable venture.
It looks like they’ve already found some sponsors which will help get things off the ground - ads are both in the site but also at the end of each tutorial.
Some key questions for whether tubetorial will catch on:
• Will the demands of producing video cost more than the income it generates?
• Does the medium of video lend itself to the audience they’re after (ie web users are notoriously known for being lazy scanners of content)
• Can they keep the quality of content up?
My feeling is that all three questions can be answered with a yes - but it will be a challenge and something I’m hoping tubetorial will succeed with.
All in all it’s a nice launch for tubetorial and I’ll be watching on to see things progress for them. All the best Chris, Brian and Samantha!
Martin from ePublishingDaily has written a review of tubetorial also.
Written on September 6th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 12:09 pm by Darren Rowse
Technorati Tag Link Generator
Blake writes a post on Technorati Tags and has developed a little Technorati Tag Link Generator tool that may be of some use to some of you who don’t have the functionality built into your blogging tools already (like some blog desktop publishers do).
Here’s some tags I just used with the tool:
Written on September 6th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 03:09 am by Darren Rowse
Lessons from Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter
A few readers have emailed me today to ask if I’m going to post about the tragic death of Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter.
While I’m a proud Australian and have been saddened by his passing, I’d not really seen the need for a post here to mark the occasion as it’s not really relevant to the topic at hand (even though I did once blog about why the Crocodile Hunter Needs a Blog)
However today as I’ve watched the news reports of Steve’s death and have watched the reaction of my fellow Australians (it’s been quite remarkable) I’ve been asking myself why the reaction has been so strong to his death?
It’s obviously in watching the reports that this was a guy who was not only very successful at what he did - but that he was someone who was influential and that had a lasting impact on those he met (and those beyond that).
As bloggers perhaps there are some lessons that we can learn from Steve Irwin.
A number of things spring to mind:
1. Passion - perhaps the biggest observation that virtually every person interviewed about Steve is making is that he was an incredibly passionate man. Passionate about animals, Australia, conservation and people.
While I’m sure a lot of us laughed at many of his over the top antics, there’s something about watching someone who so obviously loves what he’s doing and who throws himself into it (quite literally) that is very attrActive.
2. Focused on Others - of course I don’t really know what Steve was like as I never met the guy myself but I saw a number of interviews with people today that left me with the impression that he had a way of making others feel incredibly valued and empowered.
One interview particularly stood out - it was with the cameraman who was with him at his death who told the story of how hours before dying Steve had seen the cameraman on the phone to his son. He grabbed the phone and talked to the guy’s son for 45 minutes, encouraging him and giving him a real thrill. After the call the cameraman thanked Steve for what he’d done and Steve turned things around and genuinely thanked the cameraman for sharing his life with Steve. The camera guy was obviously impacted by Steve in just the few days that he’d known him.
3. Individuality - the footage that is being played on news today highlights again and again just what an individual he was. His ‘Crikey’ catch cry, his khaki clothes, his vivacious energy, his exaggerated Aussie mannerisms etc - all of these things added together to create something quite unique - something that people latched onto and were drawn to.
4. Optimism - while some conservationists use fear and negativity to guilt trip us into looking after the environment, Steve Irwin came across as a very optimistic person who had a way painting a positive picture of the way things could be if we looked after the world we lived in. This had a way of drawing people to him and his causes that was incredibly influential.
A quote from Steve Irwin to wrap this up:
“I believe that education is all about being excited about something. Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message.”
Passion, Individuality, Optimism and the ability to genuinely enter the lives of those around him and make them feel valued and important is something that Steve shares with a lot of other successful and influential people. I suspect that they’d both be worthwhile characteristics to build into one’s blogging practices (and lives) also.
Written on September 6th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 12:09 am by Darren Rowse
Relational Blogging
Today I spent a little more time reading Darby Checkett’s ‘Leverage‘ (aff) and was drawn to a chapter titled ‘The Best Investment You’ll Ever Make’.
Darby’s book is about how to achieve ‘tipping points’ through different leverages and this chapter focusses upon Relationships as one of those leverages.
Early in this chapter he refers to all the other leverages that he’s talked about as being ‘personal power factors’ and goes on to identify relationships as having ‘the multiplier effect’ (sounds like something out of a bad Si-Fi movie or something). Let me hand over to Darby for a quote (from page 97):
‘The minute you involve others in your vision, the minute your desire impact others, all your personal power factors will benefit from the multiplier effect. This is real leverage. it is obvious that, when you alone hold a visioin, you speak with one small voice. When you recruit others to the cause, you speak with a high fidelity, mega-watt sound system.’
Ultimately Darby isn’t saying anything new in this quote (or chapter) but he does put his finger on an incredibly powerful factor that I think most successful bloggers have stumbled upon (sometimes intentionally and something by accident).
Relational Blogging
One of the reasons for the viral like growth of the whole blogosphere is that it’s relational in its very nature (having comments, interlinking, conversational style) - but if you look at many individual successful blogs you’ll find that they often take this relational focus to the next level with significant impact (the more voices spreading the ‘message’ the further it will go).
They do this through many techniques including:
- Adding Authors - quite a few of the bigger emerging blogs going around at the moment have been adding new bloggers and moving to a group blog approach.
- Networks/Rings/Cooperatives - there are many examples of bloggers drawing together different types of networks of blogs.
- Memes - involving other bloggers in projects and memes builds the interaction and relationships between both the blogger and their readers - but also between readers (creating some level of community - or perceived community)
- Comments - some bloggers seem to use comments (and other tools like chat, forums, polls etc) especially effectively and draw readers into a very Active interaction with their blogs
A Word of Warning
There is a flip side to relationships that should also be considered.
While being in relationship with lots of people and drawing them into your blog can help to multiply the messages you wish to spread, this is only a good thing if you’re able to maintain the relationships. If you’re not able to maintain them you actually run the risk of the same network of relationships working against you.
Relationship Principles
There are many books written solely upon how to build relationships but Darby’s 4 suggestions are a nice starting point and I think apply quite well to relational blogging:
1. Give it Time - relationships of all types take time to grow and don’t just happen. I find this applies on two levels - firstly the longevity of relationships can impact their depth but secondly the amount of time you regularly put into building relationships has a massive impact upon them.
This is a massive challenge for many of us who are busy people. If there was one thing I wish I had more time to do it would be for building relationships with bloggers. I find that the longer I blog and the bigger readerships that my blogs have the harder this is.
2. Show Flexibility - in this Darby talks about ‘reserving judgement’ and getting past the first impressions that others give you (because they can be very inaccurate). This is very true and I can think of numerous instances when my first impression of another blogger was not good but where I found through persisting with them that they were actually wonderful people.
Once again - this is a challenge, especially in a medium like blogging where it is very easy to make a snap judgement on another person based upon a single idea that they have without looking deeper into who they are and what they stand for. I get frustrated when others do this to me but know it’s something I’m guilty of also.
3. Gain Knowledge - this extends the ’show flexibility’ principle really and encourages us to look deeper into who the other person is and where they are coming from.
‘Walk a mile in their shoes…’
I’m very challenged by this not only in blogging but in life in general at the moment. People deserve respect. They are more than their latest post. People change and should be allowed to do so. People are more than just a name on a screen somewhere.
4. Communicate - I doubt there is a book written on relationships that doesn’t talk about communication skills. I know when I do pre-marriage counseling with couples that the two main things we tend to focus upon are communication skills and conflict resolution skills - if you’ve got those in place you can get through most things.
Ironically, I think this is something we as bloggers could learn a thing or two about. I say it’s ironic because blogging is all about communication. The problem is that despite us spending so much time into thinking about how we communicate via our blog posts that so many of us are really bad at communicating with each other one on one, especially when we disagree (just check the latest flaming comment thread that you saw for proof of this).
Written on September 5th, surf Active Apparel website 1cecilia392 zone.at 11:09 am by Darren Rowse
How much money is a blog Worth?
Simon at Bloggasm has been asking himself a question that I hear increasing debate over ‘how much money is a blog worth?’
Simon’s seen attempt to put values at blogs which seem overblown (for example the one that Dane came up with at Business Opportunities which was based upon the WeblogsInc sale to AOL and how many inbound links they had. Simon rightly points out that the values that system gives are somewhat inaccurate (enternetusers is currently worth $2.45M!). I don’t think anyone ever took the Business Opportunities measure as a seriously accurate measure (for many reasons) - however Simon’s pushed on to see if he could come up with a formulae for calculating a blog’s worth.
You can read his methodology and calculations here (enternetusers is worth $151,457 under this system).
Of course, no formulae will ever be able to give you an accurate figure for what a blog is worth because there are so many factors to consider. Simon’s methodology breaks down because it is based upon Adbrite and BlogAds (ad systems that work well in some niches but terribly in others). To show it’s inaccuracy I look at my own blogs and can see that while enternetusers is worth $151K in this measure I have a blog that earns 10 times as much that is worth just around $10K.
Having said that - it’s nice to see someone attempting to get their head around the question and I think Simon’s done some reasonable work.
Ultimately a blog is worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it - a figure that is based upon many things including it’s income (current and projected), it’s influence, it’s dependancy upon the blogger (and whether they’ll continue once it’s sold), it’s incoming links and SE ranking, it’s longevity, type of readership (ie search engine, loyal readers, RSS) the blog’s growth curve, domain name value, traffic, the topic etc.
Some of these factors can be measured but many can not.
Would you sell your blog? How would you value it?
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