Written on February 27th, 2005 at 01:02 am by Darren Rowse
How to Keep First Time Readers to your Blog - Part I
This is a 4 part series on how to keep first time readers on your blog (or how to make your blog sticky). This series of posts continues at part II, part III and part IV.
Wayne has a good post titled Previous posts still bring visitors which picks up on the importance of your old posts in blogging. He writes:
‘Blog posting on a regular and long term basis pays off in visitor traffic.
Older posts are like a good gift that keeps on giving.
Like a beautiful flowering apple tree, a blog continues to grow and bear fruit. It also provides sustenance from the past, like apples frozen for pies at a later date….’
How true Wayne’s words are. The way I like to think of it is that my blog’s archives are perhaps my blogs greatest asset. Each post I write has the potential not only to reach current readers - but readers for many years that surf in after finding it on search engines.
Of course writing witty, up to date, regular content each day is something that you’ll want to work on if you want to build a loyal readership - but in the case of most blogs the real activity in terms of traffic levels happens in the back end on your previously written posts.
Take for example my Digital Photography Blog - A quick look at it’s statistics reveal that at the time of writing this post - only 4 of the last 100 hits to that blog have come through the front page (click adjoining screen cap to see the breakdown of where people enter). Of course this doesn’t take into count 13% of entry pages which were unable to be tracked. But even at its highest - only 17% of visitors to my blog came through the front page - the rest hit either individual pages (single old posts) or category pages. This is the story on almost all of my blogs - individual, old pages are incredibly valuable entry points to your blog.
Ok - interesting information to know you might say - but so what? Well in my opinion this is not just an interesting fact to know - but rather something you should consider capitalizing upon. As Wayne writes:
‘Each new reader is a potential regular visitor, and perhaps someone who will link to your blog.’
How do you tap into this wonderful source of traffic and encourage these one off readers to your old posts to become regular, loyal visitors to your site? Of course the first step is to be writing useful, insightful, well written and engaging posts - if your reader likes what they read the first time they find your site they are more likely to come back. But how else can you hook them in?
Over the next few posts I’m going to give you 10 tips to help you keep first time readers to your blog. Stay tuned.
This series of posts continues at part II, part III and part IV - enjoy.
Written on February 26th, 2005 at 10:02 pm by Darren Rowse
When the blogging stops…
It looks like a number of my blogging tools are making the most of the weekend to do maintenance. Bloglines hasn’t been accessible for me for a while and Adsense has also been out of action for the last few hours. I’m not sure I’ll make my 25 post target today - maybe I’ll have to go find something non blog related to do! Hmmmm - I wonder if I remember how?
Written on February 26th, 2005 at 01:02 pm by Darren Rowse
Contextless enternetusers Links
- Internal Blogs And Wikis At The BBC
- Oscar Producer is blogging the Academy Awards
- Podcasting business idea - from NY Times
- Podcast Directory: PodCast Marketing - How Effectively Are You Deploying This Definitive Marketing Solution?
Written on February 26th, 2005 at 09:02 am by Darren Rowse
$100,000 to Blog on Dukes of Hazzard
Ok - here’s a dream job for bloggers who love the Dukes of Hazzard who want to get paid ($100,000) for watching (and blogging) about it.
Job responsibilities include:
– watch The Dukes of Hazzard weeknight on CMT
– know the words to The Dukes of Hazzard theme song, Good Ol’ Boys
– write The Dukes of Hazzard Institute online blog for cmt.com
– serve as expert on all things The Dukes of Hazzard
– maybe take The General Lee for a spin now and then
Read more at LinkedIn: Vice President, CMT Dukes of Hazzard Institute at CMT Dukes of Hazzard Institute
found via Business Logs
Written on February 26th, 2005 at 08:02 am by Darren Rowse
Bloggers blend business with stuff they like
I didn’t spot this article in the Chicago Tribune til today on blogging and advertising. Its titled Bloggers blend business with stuff they like and has a few interesting tidbits and examples of blogs making an income from their work. One blog featured is The Movie Blog.
‘John Campea started The Movie Blog, a Web site for amateur movie critics, as a labor of love. Now he’s making up to $400 a month running ads on the site.It’s not enough cash for him to quit his job as a law clerk, but it shows the blog world’s potential as an advertising venue, a potential that big ad companies have noticed….
The 32-year-old Campea started The Movie Blog about 18 months ago. It averaged 200 hits per month then; nowadays, he gets more than 300,000 page views per month.
As traffic grew, Campea needed more computer server space to host the site. He started running ads to help pay the $10 to $15 a month in hosting costs.
Like many bloggers, he uses Google’s AdSense, a service that automatically matches advertisers with sites based on the content of each. Google splits ad revenue with sites like The Movie Blog, and revenue is based on the number of clicks each ad receives. Campea says he gets about 7 cents per click.
Campea, of Hamilton, Ontario, has no plans to make a living off his blog. Still, he said that would be tempting if traffic to the site–and ad revenue–keeps growing at a strong pace.’
The article also features some stats on phone scoop - another great example of a blog (focusing on mobile phone technology) making a decent income from blogging. It doesnt give details of actual earnings but talks of 20 million monthly page views (which should qualify them for Adsense premium publisher status) and the fact that they’ve just hired staff and a consultant.
Found via mmeiser.com
Written on February 25th, 2005 at 05:02 pm by Darren Rowse
Why the Crocodile Hunter needs a Blog
I was just chatting to Paul on Skype when the conversation wandered to Australia (my home) and the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin (as it tends to when I talk to friends from overseas). Paul suggested the Steve should start a blog. Of course this was the only invitation I needed to shoot over to the Crocodile Hunter’s web page to check out what they currently have as a web presence.
What I saw left me convinced that Steve really could do with a blog. In fact I think a blog would suit what he and many other high profile celebrities are doing down to the ground. Of course it would be called ‘CrikeyBlog.com’.
I can imagine categories for:
- News from the road - with photos and stories from his travels doing interviews with Oprah, recording stories with wildlife and even some short video clips.
- Upcoming appearances - details of where he and his family are appearing.
- Conservation news - Steve seems pretty keen on conservation and environmental issues - what better place to promote these causes on a blog.
- Merchandise - Steve has a swag of merchandise which could be featured on a blog with a connected online shop - as new products are added to the shop they could be featured on the blog.
- Crisis Management - it wouldn’t be called ‘crisis management’ but a blog would be ideal for dealing with controversies like Steve has experienced over the years. To be able to update in real time his side of the story, to deal with PR issues would be of major benefit.
- Zoo News - I could imagine sections of a blog on different animals (information on species - but also information on some of the Zoo’s stars).
I wouldn’t recommend that they scrap the current website - but rather feature a blog along side it which would summarize all the new news and site features and then feed people into the rest of the site. Instead of a front page like this that is fairly stagnant - it would be a dynamic and always changing environment that would funnel people in the right direction according to their interests.
A blog would give them a quick and easy way to make their site dynamic, give their readers not only the latest information, entertainment but a chance to interact via comments. I could also see some pretty imaginative posting. For instance what if you put a camera phone in the hands of Steve and his family and they started posting from on location as they filmed around the world. Steve with head in crocodile mouth, Steve and 8 foot long snake, Steve and Oprah Winfrey - a real behind the scenes look at the life of the crocodile hunter. I think it would be a blog that create a real buzz and enhance what they are doing.
That’s my pitch to the people behind Steve Irwin anyway! Of course they’ll need a Professional (Australian) Blogger to help them get it up - cough…look at me…. cough….
Update: When I told Paul about this post in IM he imagined a Crocodile Hunter’s Post going something like this:
“Hello, everyone, I’m Steve Irwin here with Darren Rowse, our blogger. He’s going to help me capture this vicious man-eating crocodile”
“Darren, you grab the head, and I’ll get the tail…”
On second thoughts maybe I don’t want a job with this kind of project
Written on February 25th, 2005 at 04:02 pm by Darren Rowse
Bloggeropoly - Blog Matchmaking Agency
Paul over at Radian Marketing Group is launching Bloggeropoly - the World’s First Blogger-for-hire Agency. It is pretty much what it sounds like. Paul wants to represent bloggers who are looking for work and help set them up with Networks, Businesses and blogs looking for quality writers.
Paul will act as match maker and I presume take a cut for his services. I like the concept and hope to use it myself (because what’s another few blogs to run?). I’m actually talking to a couple of people at the moment who are looking for people to hire for some writing - had Bloggeropoly been up and running it would have made their job a lot easier to find me. Watching on with interest at how this one goes.
Written on February 25th, 2005 at 03:02 pm by Darren Rowse
What you can learn about writing Blogs from Infomercials
Search Engine Guide has an interesting post on - what you can learn about writing web copy from Infomercials. Whilst I’m not really sure I’d want my blogs to look too much like the infomercials we get here in Australia (they tend to be a laughing stock and very tacky) perhaps there is something to be learned. Here are the main points written about in the article. What do you think?
- Define The Problem.
- Deliver Your Solution.
- Explain the Benefits, Not Just the Features.
- Have a USP, or a Reason Your Company is Different.
- Use Calls to Action Liberally Throughout the Copy.
- Repeat the Key Phrases Frequently.
- Target Your Audience for Best Results.
Read more at What You Can Learn About SEO Copywriting From Infomercials
Written on February 25th, 2005 at 10:02 am by Darren Rowse
Earning a Six Figure Income from Blogging?
There has been quite a bit of flow on interest from the Interview that I did a few days back with Susannah Gardner. Interestingly, despite the fact that I wrote thousands of words of wisdom (I like to think so) it was a line buried way down at the bottom of the first part of the interview that seems to have gotten everyone talking and emailing me. In response to the question of ‘how much do you earn’ I wrote:
‘This is the big question, isn’t it? Some of the systems I use don’t allow disclosure of actual figures so I won’t break it down or give specifics. It is actually difficult to put a figure on it because each month is different and overall my earnings are still on the rise from month to month. However based on how things are currently going I expect that this year my blogging (across all blogs and income streams) will generate a six figure income ($US).‘
To be honest I grappled with whether to include that detail in this interview. As I’ve said here before, I was brought up not to discuss money and to do so to me feels a little awkward - but i did it for a couple of reasons:
1. It is the question i get asked more than any other question. People are fascinated with a blogger earning money from their blogging. I thought I’d answer it once and for all so we could get past it and start talking about more important things.
2. I partly did it because people constantly write off the idea of Pro Blogging to me.They see what I and a growing list of other Pro Bloggers as a hobby and write it off as just a stage we’re going through. I want to legitimate what we do and show it is a significant earner and something worth putting some serious time into. Pro Blogging is here to stay.
3. I wanted to encourage my fellow Professional Bloggers(and those aspiring to be them) with a figure that would give them a bit of hope. If I can earn that kind of money then I know others can (and already are). Yes I’m working very hard on this (and have done so for a couple of years) but I’m just an ordinary guy following some hunches and dreams.
A couple of people have told me I shouldn’t have revealed how much I earn because it breaks confidentiality clauses with the ad programs that I use. Thanks for your concern but please don’t worry. In saying I earn a six figure income (in excess of $100,000 $US) I have not said how much over and I have made it clear that the figure is calculated on a number of income sources including private advertising deals, affiliate programs, impression based ad programs, Adsense, BlogAds, text ads and blog consulting revenues etc.
Lastly I’ve had a number of people write to me in the last 24 hours via email and I’m quite amazed by the diversity of responses that I’ve had. They range from utter rage and anger that I earn money from blogging through to people asking for lessons and consulting.
To those that are angry - I am sorry that you are offended by me earning money from blogging. A guy has to support his family somehow and I figure it might as well be by helping people on the net by providing them with the information that they are searching for.
To those that want help to do what I do- sure thing - I’d love to help. I’d suggest the first port of call is to take a few hours to wander through the archives of this site. Virtually everything I’ve learnt is here for free. Yes I am open to doing some consulting work to help people but I’d recommend you start with the free stuff that I offer here on this blog. If after you’ve had a read you would still like to engage me for some coaching or consultation I’d be more than happy to do that. I do charge for this service.
update: Since writing this post I’ve had many requests for help from people wanting to know more about how to blog for money. The requests are so many that I’m unable to respond to all individually or to give everyone the attention that they want. As a result I suggest two things for those wanting to know how to make money blogging.
Firstly I encourage you to read the archives of this blog. Everything I know about blogging professionally is on this blog. There are thousands of posts on the topic and I encourage you to put some time aside one day to have a read.
Secondly if you don’t have the time or patience to wade through my archives (there are a lot) I’ve developed a course in conjunction with Andy Wibbels to introduce people to the ways to make money from blogging. The course was inspired by this post and is called Six Figure Blogging. The course is made up of six one hour recordings of Andy and myself looking at different aspects of making money from blogs and includes over 200 pages of transcripts from the recordings. The course is not free but we believe it contains information that has the potential to earn bloggers money from blogging through hard work, putting in time and following some of the ideas we include in the course.
I hope that between the course and my archives you find the information you’re looking for on making money from blogging.
Written on February 24th, 2005 at 10:02 pm by Darren Rowse
Posting for profit
There is a well written article over at the Guardian Unlimited on Posting for profit (note - link seems to have been deleted over at Guardian Unlimited). It takes quite a broad look at a variety of ways that there are to make money from and around blogging - they examine everything from bloggers asking for donations, to the emerging blog networks to blog services etc. It’s a pretty typical ‘blogging for dollars’ type article but has a few pretty up to date examples.
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