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It Is Always Easier To Criticize Than Create – Blogging Trolls

March 25, 2010 By 25 Comments

Yesterday, I was reading and commenting on an article by Nicholas Cardot at Site Sketch 101 titled “Are you crying about other’s success?” and it got me to thinking. At some point in your blogging career, you are going to make a dollar or find some other kind of success and there are going to be those other bloggers and people that want to shoot you down for it.

Lately, there has been a growing trend in the blogosphere of putting down other successful bloggers that are making money through their blogging efforts.

Lame.

One…we want successful bloggers in the industry in and outside of the blogging niche. Why? That means that you can be successful within that niche as well. I don’t know about you guys…but I don’t want to spin my wheels for nothing! I like making a living doing what a love. Anyone else that says any differently is just lying to you to make themselves feel better about their place in life.

Two…it is a cry for help. If you see other bloggers putting down the success a fellow blogger is seeing, they are trying to attract traffic to their blog using controversy. That is great for comments and a small bump in traffic, but this “controversy blogger” is missing a very key point in successful blogging. Controversy traffic converts at a rate that is almost unmeasurable. Unless you are Perez Hilton, your controversy traffic is going to make you zero cash so it is a wasted effort while you throw your own name through the mud.

My Experience With Blogging Trolls

In the beginning with Bike198.com, I got a lot of “internet superheros” that just wanted to beat down my blog until I gave up and quit. They would post about it on forums, try to comment on my blog and even say something on their own blog that their mom reads about my site. Eventually, they all go away. Why? Because I ignore them. These guys are more worried about padding their forum post count (which makes more money for those site owners and not them…funny how that works) than they are about actually getting their own bikes dirty.

After awhile, they move onto the next guy hoping to get a reaction because that is ultimately what they are after from the beginning.

When I released Ramped Reviews, I got another wave of spoiled milk with bloggers and other people thinking that I was only in blogging to get free stuff. Not only is that completely false, but if they would have taken the chance to read the ebook, they would see that it is about much more than just free product. Once again, these people eventually moved onto the next guy without making any real lasting impact.

What Can You Learn From These Situations?

Controversy blogging has its place, but that place is not in the realm of trying to bring down other people in your industry. Now…if they did something so despicable that it has to be told, that is different. But if you are just planning on shooting down their success because you don’t feel its right to make money, then you are barking up the wrong tree and almost insuring your failure.

So remember these 5 things.

  1. You want successful bloggers in your niche because that means you have the ability to be successful.
  2. It will always be easier to criticize than create, so remember that as you draft your articles and deal with Internet trolls.
  3. Ignoring is often the best form of dealing with Internet trolls as no one wins online arguments and you are giving them what they want…a reaction.
  4. You can delete comments when necessary. They don’t own your site…you do!
  5. If you are getting complaints about something you are doing well, congratulations…rinse and repeat!
Filed Under: Blogging, Content, Social Media, The Web Tagged With: , , , ,

Want To Succeed? Stop Being Afraid Of Competition!

March 11, 2010 By 20 Comments

I hear bloggers all the time make the excuse “there are already too many blogs about that…so I’m not going to start one”. That is a fear of competition and I am going to explain to you why that is an unhealthy fear that will keep you from success.

Before we jump straight into it…I want you to sit back for a second and think about all of the products and services you use on a daily basis that came into the market only in the last couple of years. Maybe it is your car, your favorite coffee, the computer you are staring at right now. Now, think of where you would be if that company decided that there was too much competition in that market to bring something new to the table. Doesn’t make much sense now does it? So let’s look at why competition in blogging is a good thing for you and future growth.

Want To Succeed In Blogging? Stop Being Afraid Of Competition!

Now that I have blown enough hot air, let’s get down to brass tax and take a look at why competition in blogging is a good thing for you…as the blogger looking to have a successful blog (did I say that blogging word enough times in that sentence?). Let’s assume for all of these points that we are referring to quality competition and not scraper sites or ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ blogs.

Competition Means There Is A Market

If there is a lot of competition within a give marketplace, that means there is a customer base large enough to support the ever growing offerings on the web. That’s right…that means there is still room for your blog to make its mark on the vast world wide web space. If there was not a big enough audience to support all of those blogs, they wouldn’t be there. Who wants to waste their time spinning their wheels for nothing? I don’t and neither do other successful bloggers.

Now…there is a flip side to this as well. If you find a niche were there is zero competition, do not go thinking you just found the holy grail of blogging. There is probably a reason that no one has entered that market so you will need to do some preliminary research before you go and throw everything you have at it. Is the niche too narrow? Is there not enough people online that want to read about this niche?

Beginning a new blog in a crowded market is all about finding a smaller sub-niche that has an audience, growing that blog and then expanding into other sub-niches until you have a giant monster of a resource. Find a competitive market and rock it out. There is an audience to support it because you can already see they are there!

Example: With Bike198.com, I started with mountain biking and that eventually grew into road biking, commuting by bike and an online forum. It is all about building on success and not being afraid to try.

Competition Makes You Work Harder and Smarter

There is no time to be lazy when you are working within a niche that has competition. The bar continues to rise with quality as more bloggers enter the market offering something new and exciting. While a lot of bloggers would use this as an excuse to throw in the towel or keep to their old ways, the successful bloggers use this as a challenge to continue to work harder and smarter to stay that one step in front of the competition.

Friendly competition among bloggers will force you to continue to look for ways to be more efficient in your blogging in all aspects (monetization, content production, etc.). While the other bloggers in low competition niches get to sit back and be lazy, you are forced into being a well oiled machine. Because if you aren’t…your competition will be. So welcome to the crash course in being a better blogger…having to compete with other better bloggers.

Competition Drives Innovation and Creativity

Cutthroat competition among competing brands drives innovation and creativity in the market and this is a great thing for everyone involved. It also produces more profitable blogs, products and services quality drives sales. This need to continually make more innovative content and products will drive you to make more money online and see faster blog growth.

Competition Brings Up The Entire Industry

Going hand in hand with every previous point, all of this competition brings that specific market up to a new level and…in the process…brings you up with it. Your blog becomes better faster and your competing blogs do the same. What happens when you go to expand into a new market? Your skills are already a well oiled machine ready to take on the world. So while you were fine tuning your skills in a high competition market, the others were just sitting around with old methods. You now get to come in and raise the bar.

Competing Markets = $$$

Larger audiences and a lot of competition means there is money being made. If you are looking for profitable niches, start looking where there are other blogs making money (not the MMO, blogging niche). It will take some research on your end to find them, but the payoff is huge in the long haul.

Bloggers: We Are All In This Together

Just remember, we are all in this together. Bloggers generally welcome friendly competition and we work to bring the quality of our niches up instead of try to discourage new ideas. The web is huge…and we can all have a part.

As you look at your market and where you want to head, remember that high competition also means that it might take a little bit longer to rise above the noise and make your mark. But…once you do…your mark is much more substantial than in low competing niches.

Find a way to bring something new to the table and rock it. You will be surprised at the result as readers really want to see something new and unique. Just because there are already a lot of blogs on a given subject, that does not mean you can’t make it your own and be highly successful. It just means you have to work a little bit harder for a bigger reward.

Filed Under: Blogging, Generating Cash, The Web, Tutorials/How To Tagged With: , , ,

Video, Blogging and Making Sense of It All

March 9, 2010 By 18 Comments

One of the questions I get asked a lot about successful blogging is about how crucial of a role video is going to play in blogging. There is no getting away from it…video is a large part of the future of blogging, but most bloggers are struggling to figure out where it will fit into their plan and future growth.

I used to work as a post production video editor in Atlanta, so here is my take on online video and its impact on the blogging world. Of course…these are just my opinions so you need to apply these how you see fit to your blogging, but…for the most part…these are pretty universal truths as things sit right now.

Video, Blogging and Making Sense of it All

As a blogger, video should be in your future if you are not doing it already. There are certain things that video does incredibly well that benefits a blog greatly in the long run. There is a reason that you even see bloggers just sitting in front of a camera talking. While some people might think, “wow…that is boring…there is not much going on there”, it does fill a necessary void in the social media atmosphere that can not be denied.

Now…there are also some things that blogging can not do in the current technological environment and we will take a quick look at those aspects as well.

Don’t Be Scared Of Video

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of blogging and video, if you are not utilizing video in your blogging now because you feel like it is too complicated or out of your reach…do not be scared of it.

  • It is not too expensive.
  • It is not too complicated.
  • And you can get started today.

One of the biggest barriers of entry in video production for bloggers is that they perceive it as too expensive. For under 200 bucks, you can be up and shooting in HD with a Kodak Zi8 (that is what I use for blogging) and the software that comes with it is fine for blogging! Video in blogging is actually better the simpler it is, so if you are worried about having to produce complicated Hollywood style productions…forget about that. Simple cuts and simple titles that anyone can do is perfect for producing video for blogging and actually converts better.

So if you are letting the fear of video keep you from integrating it into your blog…do not worry. It is far simpler than you have it laid out in your head, and the cost of entry is drastically lower than it used to be several years ago.

Note: As a reference…to get the same quality output online as we do today…we used to have to spend over 5 grand. Have to love the way technology progresses these days.

What Video Does Really Well and Why You Should Use It

Ok…now that your fear of video has all but escaped you (or you are already using it), let’s take a look at what video does really well in your blogging.

1 – Social Media Traffic and Spread

With video, you get in the eyes of a completely new audience with YouTube, Vimeo and the other video sharing sites. YouTube is one of the largest sites in the world, don’t you want to tap in on some of that action?! Of course you do…but the only way is by submitting some video. By putting a simple title screen at the front and back of your video with your blog name and url, you are able to pull more potential subscribers to your blog from an outside source. You are also giving them a preview of what to expect with a personal touch.

2 – It Gets You Up Close and Personal

As I hinted to in the last point, video brings the ‘real you’ into your blog. You can put up as many pictures as you want, but until you put up some video of you talking, that personal connection is never really there. You readers want to connect with you and video is one of the best ways to do that outside of knocking on their door and shaking their hand. Video brings you into their home through a computer screen. That is worth its weight in gold as you continue to try to get that connection.

3 – Video Stimulates The Senses

Every one of your readers is stimulated in a different way. Some love reading text, others kill to look at your pictures and some will fall in love with your videos. It is your job as the blogger to stimulate as many different kinds of readers as you possibly can. By introducing video into your offerings, you are guaranteeing that you are going to connect with the readers that want to engage with that kind of content.

Example: With my product reviews on Bike198, I am able to not only show my readers what the product looks like through pictures, but how it actually works! Can you see the power with that model? I am able to bring that product into their senses using every method possible outside of them touching it themselves. Video makes that possible.

What Video Does Not Do Well and Why It’s Not the End All

Video…just like text or pictures…is not perfect. While you might think, “wow! If it is that great, I’ll just switch completely over!”, but you do need to know several things about incorporating video into your blogging before you run off to change the world.

1 – Video and Google/Other Search Engines

While video can show up on the first page in organic search engine results for high competing keywords…remember this…that search engine visitor is getting sent to YouTube and not your site. As of this point in time, Google and other search engines do not directly spider your embedded content outside of pictures and text. So when you embed that YouTube video on your blog post, Google basically doesn’t see it. That means all of those video only posts you publish are going to have a hard time ranking well unless it is on really low competing keywords.

2 – Not Everyone Can View Your Videos

A lot of your readers digest your blog at work, so if you are just putting up video, you might lose a lot of readers who can see YouTube due to it being blocked or can’t hear it because they do not want everyone around them knowing they are not working on what they are supposed to. Just having video (or just audio for that matter) can heavily decrease your target audience because of this.

3 – Yes…There Are Still People On Dial Up

I find it hard to believe too, but there are still people that live on dial up and large video files are out of their reach unless they want to wait an hour to see what you have to say.

How To Get Around Videos Shortcomings

So…given these shortcomings of video on your blog, how can you get around them and still incorporate the latest in blog gold on your blog? It is pretty simple really.

Provide Your Readers With The Complete Package

When you post a video review, video content and other related video posts, provide your readers with the complete package. In that same blog post that you want to display video, also provide a text version of the blog post that either summarizes the points in the video or directly transcribes what you were saying. This allows people who do not want (or can’t) to watch the video to digest your content in another manner. It also provides you with the text necessary for search engine spiders to see what the hell you are talking about.

Much like I do with my interviews with transcriptions, you have to keep in mind every single one of your readers when you publish a blog article by providing multiple outlets for engaging with the content.

Video is in your future as a blogger, but utilizing it correctly is your key to success.

Are you using video in your blogging?

Image by fensterbme
Filed Under: Blogging, Content, The Web Tagged With: , , ,

WordPress SEO: Stupid Simple Tactics for Bloggers

November 9, 2009 By 14 Comments

SEO (search engine optimization) is a subject that keeps bloggers up at night…when it really shouldn’t. As Google and other popular search engines continue to tweak their algorithms to provide more accurate results for their searching public, there are still core SEO values that you need to adhere to as a blogger and – the rest – you need to forget. SEO can become an obsession for a blogger and also become the blogger’s downfall when search engine results are weighed heavier than unique and consistent content.

So…what do you need to do to make sure your WordPress blog is setup properly so you can forget about the little changes and still see fantastic search engine results?

The SEO Basics That Never Change

First, what are the aspects of SEO that have the greatest impact and never change? Pagerank? Keyword heavy articles? Some magic plugin?

Did you pick none of the above?

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Filed Under: Blogging, The Web Tagged With: , , ,

How To Grab Attention On Twitter Without The Auto DM

October 27, 2009 By 16 Comments

I love Twitter. In 140 characters or less, I am now able to interact with like minded people all over the globe. As with anything that grows in popularity as fast as this form of social media communication, there are going to be some headaches along the way.

Now…I like to search out other bloggers on Twitter and connect with them. I wish I had the time and resources to search and hand pick every single one of the several thousand Twitter users on my follow list, but the reality of the situation is that is not possible. So…I end up using a service called TwitSniper to find these interesting Twitter users for me.

Unfortunately, while this method makes my use of Twitter much more efficient, it has rendered my DM feature completely useless because of other users setting up an automatic DM for every new follower. Now…do not take this the wrong way. I am not saying you are a terrible person and I am going to unfollow you right away if you have an auto DM setup on Twitter. What I am saying is that the auto DM is a huge annoyance that needs to go away! There are other, more effective ways, to attract attention on Twitter and auto DM’s are not the way to do it.

When I sat back and thought about it, I have not seen one auto DM that actually made me want to click on their link or reply. 99% of them start with these exact words…”Thanks for the follow!”. If I see that line of words one more time, I think I am going to go insane. So…how can you attract attention on Twitter for your website/blog/brand/whatever you are spending all of your time on without annoying others with an impersonal auto direct message.

Attracting Attention On Twitter Without An Auto DM

Your Twitter Background – Your Twitter background is probably your biggest asset as a Twitter user. While none of the links will be click-able, you are able to grow awareness around your brand in a non-intrusive way to those that actually want to see it! This equals higher conversion rates and it makes you interesting. If you are still using a standard Twitter background and you want to actually grow a profile on Twitter, you are behind the 8 ball.

Need some ideas? Check out this post on Smashing Magazine on Effective Twitter Backgrounds.

Occasional Relevant Tweets – If you are wanting to get more exposure for your brand, ebook or blog, write occasional, interesting Tweets that are related to what you are trying to push with a link. The click through rates will be much higher and…thus…the conversion rate for new subscribers and ebook downloads will be much higher! Think about it this way…are you really putting your best foot forward with an auto DM or does it look like spam? Odds are…it looks like spam, so a better converting method would to actually provide worth as it is related to what you are trying to accomplish.

Be Interesting - By being different and interesting on Twitter, you are going to attract more Twitter users…plain and simple. This means that you are not on Twitter to solely push your goods on people. You are there to create a meaningful profile that portrays who you really are. If you expect to create an account, throw up a bunch of links promoting your brand and then sit back and watch the conversions roll in, you are going to fail miserably and become one of the naysayers preaching how worthless Twitter is. Guess what…just like anything else in life, you get out what you put in. If you put in crap…you are going to get even worse crap out of it.

Reply – Seems simple enough. Reply to other Twitter users tweets! This interaction is going to make the other users want to check out your profile and what you do. Instead of pushing everything you do on people that don’t really want it, attract them to your brand through interaction.

Have A Great Profile – Twitter gives you the ability to write a little bit about yourself and include a link to your website that can be seen on your homepage. If you want high converting Twitter click throughs, have a great, interesting summary of who you are and what you do. DO NOT use the words expert, guru or “I can show you how to gain 1,000 Twitter followers a day”. You should put how you are unique and what you do. Those are your couple of lines to convert that Twitter user into a click to your website and sounding like spam is going to get them to jump off your page.

Now…I can sit on my high horse an say, “if everyone took these tips, I could use my DM function again!”. In reality, this is not going to happen and we are going to continue to be flooded with “thanks for following” messages for the life of Twitter. The web is all about first impressions…have you thought about how people see you for the first time?

Filed Under: Social Media, The Web Tagged With: , , ,

Humbled, Grateful and Motivated

October 22, 2009 By 16 Comments

Yesterday morning, I got an email from an email newsletter I subscribe to over at IncomeDiary.com. The title of the email was “The 50 Most Influential Bloggers of 2009“. Now…being a blogger that is obsessed with blogging, you know I was going to check this list out. I headed over to the site to find an incredible list of bloggers in a variety of niches that have all carved out a great name for themselves.

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Using Online Forums To Drive Traffic To Your Blog

October 20, 2009 By 10 Comments

Online forums and bulletin boards related to your blog niche topic can be a great source of traffic and long term readers to your blog. For this reason, you have probably seen blog owners lurking around the boards throwing up links randomly looking for that massive wave of targeted traffic to hit their site. Most of the time, they are heckled or ignored as they approached online forums as a source of blog traffic in a manner that is completely wrong.

Online forums can be a fantastic source of traffic, but you need to understand the mentality of a forum member before you start jumping in head first promoting your new or established blog. [Read more...]

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Telling On Myself: Yesterday's Aweber Debacle #fail

October 15, 2009 By 2 Comments

Throughout my life, I have always subscribed to the notion that you are not allowed to laugh at anyone if you can’t laugh at yourself. We all know those people that can give it out like crazy, but say one joke back at them and they run like a whipped dog. What everyone doesn’t know is that I am actually much better at making fun of myself than you will ever be! I find humor in my mistakes and learn from them to prepare for the future. Well…I am going to use today to tell on myself a little bit and hopefully you don’t make the same mistake I did by learning from my experience (trying to make it sound serious…but in reality…I just wasn’t paying attention!). [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing, The Web Tagged With: , , ,

Interview with Robb Sutton on WPSwitch.com About Blogging

October 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

In the last couple of weeks, I have been in a string of interviews that have all included unique questions. This latest, posted yesterday, is from the crew over at WPSwitch.com. WPSwitch is a website/service that will help you install a WordPress blog and customize it. They have a range of different pricing options, so check them out when you get a chance.

Through this series of questions, the WPSwitch.com team asked me about my blogging and some specifics behind the monetization and how I actually feel about my projects. To see my answers to these questions…click the link below.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Generating Cash, The Web Tagged With: , ,

Taking Your Blog Mobile – iPhone and Cell Phone Browsing

October 5, 2009 By 9 Comments

If you have Google Analytics installed on your blog and you are keeping track of your traffic statistics, you are probably noticing that the amount of visitors you are getting from mobile devices is on the rise. As data plans get cheaper, people get busier and the iPhone continues to conquer the world, this traffic stat is going to continue to rise as time goes forward.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Technology, The Web Tagged With: , ,
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