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- Should You Even Be Blogging?!
This guest post is by Danny Iny of Firepole Marketing.
Blogging is dead.
In fact, if you ask some people, it was never really alive.
Sure, there are a gazillion blogs out there, and sure, some of them have tons of followers and make lots of money.
But let's face facts. Most of the blogosphere consists of ghost blogs with single-digit audiences, about topics that nobody really cares about. Most blogs make zero dollars, and even cost the owners money, as well as lots of time.
So really, it's just a matter of time before the world wakes up to the reality that blogging is dead, or was never really alive, and returns to the comfort and security of print newspapers. Right?
Umm … no, not really.
I don't think blogging is dead, and I'd like to think that I wouldn't make such blanket statements about anything (I'm not a big fan of Twitter, but I recognize that as being my opinion, rather than the gospel truth). The above was a quick caricature of the crotchety, ain't-never-getting-on-board-with-this-blogging-thing sort of naysayer.
And it's nonsense. Not just because this is ProBlogger, and if you're reading this, then you probably disagree with almost everything I wrote. But because you're a smart person, who knows that absolutes like "blogging is finished" or "Facebook doesn't work" may be right for some people in some contexts, but can't be right for everyone in every context.
So let's try another absolute on for size. Tell me how this one grabs you:
Blogging is awesome.
In fact, it's so awesome that I find it hard to believe people still waste money on anything else!
There are loads of blogs out there with tons of followers making lots of money—these aren't just hypotheticals, There are tons of easy examples that come to mind, like Problogger, Copyblogger, and Firepole Marketing (okay, so Firepole Marketing isn't in the same league, but watch this space!).
Sure, there are some ghost blogs out there, but that's just a testament to how incredibly accessible the world of blogging really is—there are practically no barriers to entry, which means that anyone can do it, and anyone can win big.
Blogging is the ultimate level playing field, and it's just a matter of time before the whole world wakes up and realizes that blogging is where it's at. Right?
Umm … no, not really.
Why blog?
There really are tons of great reasons to be blogging. Here are just a few, off the top of my head:
- Blogging is rewarding. It feels really great to write a post that you know is solid, and then have people read it and agree in the comments.
- Blogging is educational. To keep on putting out good content, you've got to be reading good content, and thinking about interesting things. This makes blogging a powerful learning experience.
- Blogging builds community. For your blog to do well, you need to connect with others like you. They will have experiences that you share, and that is the start of community. This isn't just a web 2.0 buzz word—community provides support and momentum, which are both critical resources.
- Blogging builds credibility. Creating solid, relevant content on a regular basis is a great way to communicate to your audience that you know your stuff.
These are good reasons, but they aren't the only ones—I'm sure that with a bit of time, you could come up with five or ten more to add to the list!
But rather than expanding that list for several pages, I want to discuss one terrible reason to blog: all the cool kids are doing it.
Too many people start "me too" blogs, because it seems to be the thing to do. Everyone and their sister has a blog, so you should, too. It's the magical path to freedom and riches, right?
Wrong!
Just because others are growing an audience and making lots of money doesn't mean that you will. At the same time, just because others aren't growing an audience and aren't making a penny doesn't mean that you won't.
Each person, blog, and situation is different, and you can't just copy-paste someone else's successes or failures onto your life.So … should you be blogging? Let's explore that in a slightly roundabout way.
Back to business school
I think it's safe to assume that if you're reading ProBlogger, then you're after an audience, money, or both.
Let's go back to business school for a moment, and talk about your business model. Fundamentally, your business model answers two questions:- What are people going to pay you for?
- What will you do to make them want to pay?
Now, whether they're paying you in eyeballs or dollars depends on what is important to you. Either way, getting them to do it depends on giving them something that they want.
And how do you know what they want? Well, first you have to know who they are—who are you writing for?
I read somewhere that when Stephen King writes a novel, he has a specific reader in mind—someone that he knows. When the novel is done, he gives it to that person to read, and if they like it, he knows he hit the mark.Now, if this were a post about writing, then I'd talk about how you should be thinking about a specific reader for each and every post—how to make sure you're writing what they want to read, using language that will resonate with them, and so forth. But this post isn't about writing (but leave a comment if you want me to write that post!).
Where does your tribe hang out?
This post is about whether you should be blogging. So here's what I want you to do. First, choose the person that you're writing for. See them clearly in your mind, and don't continue until you've got it.
Second, ask yourself this question: "Do they read blogs?"
If the answer is yes, then great. But for too many blogs (read: the ones who never hit the traffic numbers that they want), the answer is no. Like an organization for anarchists, they're targeting an audience in a way that the audience will never respond to—even if the audience would love all their stuff if only they read it.
It takes courage to admit it, but if that's you, you have two options: write for a different tribe, or write somewhere else (wherever it is that they do hang out).
Let's say that the answer is "yes"—they read blogs. The next question is: "What blogs do they read?"
That's the answer to where you should be commenting, engaging the community, and guest posting.
Who is that one person?
It all comes back to that one person that you're writing for. Take the time to think about who that person is, and what they want to read. No complicated tricks or frameworks—if you know them, then you know what they like, right?
So who are you writing for? Who is that one person? What are they like? Do you know who that one person is for you? Share it with me in a comment…
Danny Iny is an author, strategist, serial entrepreneur, and proud co-founder of Firepole Marketing, the definitive marketing training program for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and non-marketers. Visit his site today for a free cheat sheet about Why Guru Strategies for Blog Growth DON'T WORK… and What Does!
Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips
Переслать - 2 Blogging Myths: Traffic Measures Success and Content Is King
This guest post was written by Stephen Guise of Deep Existence.
Admit it. You think I’m crazy for dogging the two most commonly cited blogger goals—traffic and great content. Allow me to explain before you throw your mouse at the screen, please.
Busting the myths
Blog traffic is very important. With no traffic, how will anyone see your masterpiece on writing blindfolded for enhanced focus? Your blog needs traffic.
But traffic is not a valid measure of success. If traffic were a valid measure of success, every blogger starting out would be an instant failure for months, if not longer.
Success metrics must be applicable to people at all levels of experience. High traffic later on is a great indication that you have succeeded (like ProBlogger has), but it simply isn’t relevant to new bloggers who want to know how well they’re doing.
Traffic relative to experience and time online is also a moot statistic, because it has more to do with luck and/or marketing than anything else:
- The better marketers will have better traffic—especially in the beginning.
- I’ve seen horrendous blogs (messy layout, weak content, horrible grammar, etc.) with thousands of subscribers.
- I’ve seen great blogs that are practically invisible online because they don’t know how to, or care to, gain exposure.
- Time separates the wheat from the chaff (unless you never market your blog at all, in which case, good luck).
For a beginning blogger, it can be tough to see the big-time bloggers pull in thousands of visitors on a daily basis while you’re reaching for 50 on a good day. It takes time and effort to get your name out there so that you can get the chance to be fairly evaluated by web users. I know that many quality bloggers have simply quit because they equated low traffic with failure.
63,494 blogs were started in the last 24 hours (according to blogpulse.com at the time of writing) and many of those bloggers will quit in the first few months. The first few months are important.
We’ve all heard the classic “content is king” viewpoint as well as the opposing, “unseen content is useless” perspective. In reality, both have some truth—you need great content and you need to make sure people know about it.
However, saying that content is king gives the writer the wrong focus.
How to measure success at any level
So then, what is the best measure of success?
Success is measured by what readers think of your content.
I have only been blogging (on my website) for a month, and as such, my traffic is hilariously low. However, I am very hopeful for retaining and gaining new readers because of how I’ve been measuring my success.
When I read articles about content being king, I get the impression that we should write the best content we can create. The problem is that the writer’s opinion of “best content” doesn’t matter too much.
Content is not king, and neither is traffic: your readers are king!
Some might say that this is what “content is king” actually means, but that is up for interpretation. Saying that readers are king leaves no doubt.
Readers decide what they want to read, how much, and when. They determine which blogs soar to incredible popularity and which blogs bite the dust. They are king because they control the destiny of every blogger. So how do we cater to their interests? How do we know what they want?
- You want to shape your content to your readers. Okay, but how do you do that?
- You do that by listening to what your readers are telling you.
- You listen by measuring the number of tangible positive responses (Facebook likes, tweets, comments, new subscribers, etc.) relative to the number of people who viewed a post (individual post views can be seen with Google Analytics, but make sure you’re blocking your own IP address views to prevent skewing the stats).
This approach is primarily geared towards people starting out such as myself, but it is relevant to all bloggers.
When you’ve “made it” and are getting tons of traffic, the positive responses in relation to your traffic (and increased traffic itself via reader sharing) will be pretty obvious indicators of how your posts are received. You have a much bigger sample size in that case, and precise calculations aren’t necessary. But I’m sure you’ll do them anyways because of how much fun they are.
Low traffic … but high hopes
I believe that I am going to be a successful blogger. It isn’t because of my traffic—on Saturday I had a whopping six unique visitors (ouch, weekends).
My readers, not my traffic, have been foreshadowing my success by responding positively. In the first week, a couple I’m friends with told me my blog was changing their lives. I’ll take that over 1,000 visitors.
My last post was seen by only 22 unique visitors the day I posted it, but from that it received seven Facebook likes. My subscriber count doubled from seven to 14. About 32% of the readers liked it enough to share it with their Facebook friends.
If I were attracting 2,000 visitors a day and maintained that 32% sharing rate (unlikely, but interesting), it would translate to 640 Facebook likes on that post, which could obviously boost my traffic substantially.
I’ve had other posts that were seen by a much higher number of people with a much lower response—that is a huge statement by the readers. I would be a fool to ignore it and write whatever I want.
As a blogger, you need to have a willingness to adapt your vision and content to the marketplace. Let’s face it: blogging is a business. You have to promote your product (blog posts), network with other businesses (bloggers), and create value for your customers (readers).
Consider the variables
It is important to note that there are many other factors that come into play here—the time the post was published, the length of post, topic interest, marketing, statistical variations, the influential power of who shares your post, and so on.
It isn’t an exact science because of the variables involved, but it remains the best measure of success for a blogger at any level. This is why I recommend allowing comments on your posts, or at the very least adding social sharing options, to bloggers starting out. Disable comments because it looks bad to have no comments, and you’ll miss out on a chance to get valuable feedback.
Even at low traffic levels, I’ve found you can still get a good feel for your winners and losers. For example, the aforementioned post with fewer views had a much greater response than every other post with more views on my blog. The readers have spoken.
Keep in mind that different posts will have different reactions. The popular post I mentioned has zero comments, but people were sharing it and subscribing as a result of it.
Another post I wrote on deep thinking was shared less, but has more comments. Both posts were successful based on the number of views.
I’d love to hear from you about your experiences, and get your thoughts and feedback on this idea. After all, if you’re reading this, your feedback is king!
Written by Stephen Guise. See my website for more deep thoughts and follow me on twitter!
Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips
2 Blogging Myths: Traffic Measures Success and Content Is King
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