Darren Rowse On Monetization, Community, And ProBlogging
When I see or hear the word ‘ProBlogger‘ I think Darren Rowse. Darren has been an established authority in the realm of ProBlogging for a few years now. In this interview we cover such topics such as monetization, the value of community, the problogging niche, the six-figure income, and Darren’s thoughts on the personal brands trend. On with the interview!
Jeff - It’s 2008. For those who are just now beginning to blog, what would be the best way to monetize their work?
Darren - 2008 already!? Wow – time is flying.
OK – there’s two main ways that I encourage bloggers to think about earning money from their blogs:
Directly – This is where your blog makes money directly through things like advertising and affiliate programs. You can start to make a little money from these avenues using programs like Google’s AdSense with just a little traffic and as a result it’s usually where a new blogger would start with monetizing their blog.
Indirectly – This is where a blogger makes money because of their blog – or they are able to ’sell themselves’ (or their business. For example they might offer consulting services, to speak at training events, they might write and sell a book etc. The blog itself doesn’t make money but they’re making money because of the profile that the blog brings.
For new bloggers the ‘direct’ methods are probably easier because indirect methods generally rely upon you having established trust and profile with reader – and this takes time!
Having said all that – if you’re just starting out – I’d probably spend more time thinking about developing rich and useful content for readers than thinking too much about how to monetize it. Yes you can make money from just a few readers but you’ll make more in the long run if you’ve got a blog filled with great content being read by lots of readers – so start there.
Jeff - As far as I’m concerned, you have the problogging niche covered. Is there still room for people to have a blog about blogging, or would having a site in this niche be like beating a dead horse?
Darren - The ‘blogging about blogging’ and the ‘making money online’ niches are very crowded. There must be hundreds (if not thousands) of blogs on these topics. As a result it’s difficult to break into these niches and establish a voice.
It’s not impossible by any means (there have been some great new blogs on the topics) but I suspect there are less crowded niches. I personally welcome more blogs on the topic as I learn from them – however if you’re looking to build a large readership it’s tough.
My advice to bloggers considering topics is to start with a topic that you know something about, something that you love and if possible – to choose a topic that has ’space’ for a new blogs to emerge (ie one where there are less established blogs).
Jeff - You are the exception, not the rule when it comes to successful bloggers. A six figure income is a dream rather than reality for most of us. Do you feel that in todays day in age, this dream can still become a reality? That is, a six-figure income through blogging?
Darren - ‘Six figures’ is not the place that bloggers should probably be thinking when they start blogging. Yes it is possible and I could reel off quite a few names of bloggers who earn that much – but it’s not the norm.
My advice to bloggers wanting to grow an income from blogging is to keep your eye on the next step or two ahead of yourself and build it into a part time income before you start quitting your job and ‘going pro’.
It’s like any ‘pro’ activity – take sports for example. The majority of people playing sport do it for fun, a smaller number make a little money when they win a competition, a smaller number are able to go ‘pro’ but don’t hit the big time and a smaller number become mega-stars (Tiger Woods for example). There is a similar spread of people making money from blogging.
Jeff - How much of an influence do you think a blogs community has on the overall value of a blog?
Darren -I think it varies from blog to blog. Blogs tend to draw different types of readers to them and as a result ‘community’ forms (or doesn’t form) differently.
For example – on Digital Photography School (www.digital-photography-school.com/blog) I seem to have attracted a community of readers that just want to learn together. It’s on a topic where they can show off their work (photos) in our forums and there’s a natural comradery there.
However, on other blogs people are just there to consume information and are not interested to hang around to ‘chat’ and build relationships.
While I’d encourage all bloggers to try to build community around their blog as it adds a lot – it’s not essential and sometimes it just doesn’t ‘click’.
Jeff - What are your thoughts on personal brands? Is this a trend worth being a part of?
Darren - I think it depends upon your goals as a blogger and upon the type of blog you’re building.
For example – on ProBlogger I promote myself as the blogger more heavily than I do on Digital Photography School. My reason for this is that on ProBlogger I want to align myself with the topic there because I want to build my perceived expertise on the topic. This has opened up opportunities to write books, speak at conferences, release products etc.
On the other hand on DPS I don’t want to tie my own ‘brand’ to the blog as much because I’m more interested in promoting the community of knowledge there. I don’t want to become seen as an expert in photography or create a blog that is reliant upon me – so I step back a little and let others be the face of the blog and forum there.
Jeff - What are your thoughts on the state of online advertising as it relates to bloggers?
Darren - It’s an interesting time.
On the one hand we’re seeing a slowing of the economy and talk of less money going into advertising.
On the other hand the online space is full of innovation and is taking a larger slice of the overall advertising spend of many companies because they can see it as an effective way of reaching their target audiences with real precision.
We’re also seeing more and more ad networks come onto the scene – offering lots of different options to bloggers.
All in all I think it’s an exciting time – although one that I think we need to approach with a little caution and smarts with the economy as it is. I advise not throwing all your eggs into the basket of one ad network, diversify income streams and develop multiple sites if possible to help spread the ups and downs of earnings.
Conclusion:
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Darren for taking the time out of his busy schedule and answering my questions. I’ve learned a few new things based off of his answers. What about you though? Do you agree or disagree with Darren’s responses?
Tip: Get more from the delicious.com a.k.a. del.icio.us RSS feeds
Reading the news on blog.delicious.com I discovered a valuable hint regarding the number of items in a delicious.com RSS feed.
We recently limited RSS feeds to 15 items, but you can change that by adding ?count=30 (or up to 100) to the URL.
As the RSS feeds are a very fast source to get an overview about certain topics this possibility will enhance the research experience a lot.
More items in a feed may also be interesting for people who import feed items into their blog.
More notes space coming soon too
Yes, we plan to increase the notes field to 1000 characters. This may not be in place right away after launch, but it’s in the works.
PS: You noticed that del.icio.us is delicious.com now? A great change. Congratulations to the delicious.com team!
Blog World Expo – Are You Going?
The Blog World Expo is just a few weeks away (September 20-21) and is being held in the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This expo is geared towards those who are producing their own media such as podcasters, video bloggers, bloggers, etc.
BlogWorld features the largest blogging conference in the world including more than 50 seminars, panel discussions and keynotes from iconic personalities on the leading-edge of online technology and internet-savvy business.
I know of a couple of Hive members who will also be attending the event. Those are:
David Peralty - Xfep
Deb - Freelance Writing Gigs (Deb will also be on a panel discussing the topic of integrating new media (images, video, podcasts, etc) into your blog.
Katy – Katy In Las Vegas
BlogWorldExpo looks like one hell of a good time. If anyone knows of any live video streams or audio streams which will be taken place from the event, be sure to link to them in the comments.
How to Increase Your Words Per Hour Without Sacrificing Quality
Here is my favorite method for increasing your writing speed without sacrificing quality. In fact, this method may actually help you create higher quality, more organized, better flowing posts.
Many bloggers don’t realize writing is a two step process.
- Creating
- Editing
Both are needed to create a quality piece of content. However, if you try to do both at the same time, you’ll get bogged down. Your mind is less efficient when it’s multitasking.
If you think about it, creating and editing are quite different tasks.
The creating process is where you come up with raw ideas. This often happens in the weirdest moments. You could be eating, driving, or taking a shower when you think of a blog post you think your audience would love.
In this step, the most important thing to aim for is quantity not quality. All the ideas you think of may not be that great. If you’ve ever thought of a good idea and then started writing and realized it wasn’t so good, you know what I’m talking about. Therefore, come up with a lot of ideas for your post before moving on.
You’ll evaluate and organize your ideas during the editing stage. For now, you just want a lot of raw content to work with. The more content, the better.
The editing process is where you prune, organize, and reword your ideas to create a quality post.
In this step, delete ideas that don’t support your main point. Prune sentences with unnecessary words. Rephrase unclear sentences. Spell and grammar check. Add other ideas as they come to mind. And organize the post so it flows logically.
Practical Ways of Separating the Two Steps
Write a sh**ty first draft. Here’s mine for this blog post. Read this classic essay by Anne Lamott. She destroys the myth that world class writers create perfect first drafts. She writes:
For me and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really sh**ty first drafts.
Separate yourself into two identities, one is the idea generator and one is the editor. Every time you feel like editing during the creating step, tell the editor not to interrupt the idea generator until he’s finished generating ideas.
Don’t hit the backspace or delete key until you write at least 400 words.
Close your eyes or cover the screen while you type. It’s hard to edit when you can’t see the words 
Write your blog post in list format. It doesn’t even need to have complete sentences. Just a list. Once you’ve got a lot of list items, then start fleshing out complete sentences and editing.
Brainstorm. Get a pen and paper and write down anything that comes to mind about your post – phrases, sentences, bullet points. Fill at least half the page before editing.
Why This Method Works
As with many things, the most important thing is to get started.
By putting the editing process off until you have some raw content, you force yourself to take that small step of writing the first couple of words. You may not even use those words but those words will give you momentum to write more words. And then, those words lead to more words.
Soon, you’re in the zone and the words are flowing more naturally. Most importantly, you’ll have enough content to make the editing step worthwhile.
Want To Add Life To Your Blog? Try Networking and Marketing Offline
A couple weeks ago, on a whim, I went to my local comic book store to play in a tournament. The blog I’m trying to build up is a gaming blog about a collectible card game. I thought it might be a good idea to meet people in my niche face to face.
The card game can be played online. I usually play online to save gas and time. However, I gained a lot from going to that tournament. Here are some benefits that I experienced from doing offline networking and marketing.
I discovered fresh topics to write about.
During the tournament, people conversed. Since I was new, I went there mostly to listen. As I listened to the conversations, I heard many topics being discussed. Many of these topics were things I had not thought about. I took a couple mental notes, which I’ll use as the basis of future blog posts.
I realized the potential of future blog posts.
I had two things I wanted to write about before I came to the tournament. Yet I wondered if my audience would be interested in them.
During lulls in the tournament, I brought up both topics. Based on the players’ reactions, I could tell that the first topic was not something they were interested in. However, the second topic generated a bunch of questions and they wanted to learn more about it.
Based on this information, I can tell the first topic probably won’t generate much traffic and interest if I write about it. However, the second topic should be a hit.
I made new friends and some turned into readers.
I met some great people including people that live closer to my place. We exchanged numbers, instant messaging info, and email addresses. I emailed them about my blog and some of them have started reading it. I’ve setup an appointment to practice with one of them. After our practice sessions, I have more to write about on my blog. I even sold cards to some of my new friends.
I had a lot of fun.
If you’re anything like many bloggers, you started blogging in your chosen niche because you love your niche. And nothing really beats the personal, face to face interaction with other people who also love your niche.
As humans, we are social creatures. Sure, we want to earn money through the internet. But nothing adds enjoyment to our experience as real life conversation with other people. It’s why people go to conventions and conferences on their own dime. Yes, they go to learn information, but most convention goers will tell you that the most enjoyable parts were networking and meeting other people.
Feedback
Have you ever tried networking and marketing offline? How was your experience?
Technorati’s 2008 State of the Blogosphere Study Needs Your Help!
If you are a blogger, you have likely heard of a company called Technorati. The company really has had its conundrums within the past, but it still represents an important part of the blogosphere. It is a well-known site for bloggers. Well, they have been doing some in-depth studies with the blogosphere, and they are now looking for some extra help.
Technorati has been conducting blogospheric studies for over the past few years to help the public have a better understanding of how this gigantic bubble of information operates. They now are asking bloggers to take a survey, which will likely allow them to publish more information in their reports.
This was the email that I just received:
Bloggers,
Technorati has been tracking the Blogosphere for the past several years through our State of the Blogosphere study. This year we have decided to expand our study beyond the sheer size and characteristics of the blogosphere in order to hear more from you, the bloggers. How, when and why are you blogging? Is this a side business, full time job or something you do for fun? Our goal is to analyze the growth of the field as well as understand the people who make the space tick. Help us and join the study of the ongoing global conversation!
Click here to take the survey! http://v2.decipherinc.com/survey/mmc/mmc08001
We hope you will find this survey enjoyable. It should take just 15-20 minutes of your time, and your responses are entirely confidential. Be sure to check back on Technorati in late September for a summary of the results.
Thank you,
The Technorati Team
Why not help out the folks over at Technorati. Spare a few minutes of your time and take the survey. We will have a better understanding of what we are all dealing with here.
ScribeFire Version 2.3 Released
The ScribeFire FireFox extension which enables you to blog from your browser has been updated to version 2.3.
New Features
- Added “Live Preview” feature: see how your post will look on your blog before you publish it.
- Added support for scheduling posts to Blogger
- New “Publish” dialog to remove some confusion about publishing as edit/draft/page/etc.
- Source editor now uses fixed-width font.
- Added a “Preview” button next to the “Publish” button.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed bug related to categories with commas in their names
- Fixed a bug related to categories with ampersands in their names
- Fixed bug where Quickblogging toolbar cannot be recovered
- Fixed bug in File Upload that was restricting upload to images only.
- Pressing “Tab” while in the source editor now inserts a tab.
Other
- Fixed an incorrect translation of “Post as edit” in the German locale
- Wrote new installations scripts for SeaMonkey to fix a bug related to upgrading.
You can install the new version by visiting the official ScribeFire website, downloading and then installing the new update or, if you have ScribeFire already installed, FireFox should notify you of the update and provide a method of automatically installing it.
If you are unsure as to what ScribeFire is, check out my screencast review as it provides a walkthrough of what this extension is capable of doing.
410 Niche Watering Holes Worth Knowing About
I remember Chris Garret mentioning in the Hive that if you want to add on to your social networks or get with the IN crowd, that it’s best to hang out at the watering holes where your audience is. Traffikd has published a great post which highlights 10 different niche social news sites that you should keep note of. These sites include:
Design Float – For Designers of course
Health Ranker – For health related content
Kritsy – A social site targeted towards women.
Be sure to check out their article for the rest of the list. As Traffikd mentions, don’t submit content to these sites if it’s not related. You are doing that social news site and yourself a dis-service.
Last but not least, I just discovered another gem where Traffikd has a list of 400 different Social Media/Networking sites all categorized for your submitting pleasure. If you happen to gain any measurable success using any of those sites listed, come back and let us know about them!
AdWords vs 125X125 Ad Block
Late last night, I sent out a random blogging poll to Twitter. The question I proposed was this: As a blogger, have you ever clicked on an AdSense ad or anyone’s 125X125 pixel ads? Thankfully, I received a number of responses on Twitter, most of which surprised me.
Here are the responses as they came in.
- chris24 @jeffr0: Not AdSense. I’ve clicked on 125×125px ones a few times, but I 9/10 times click on The Deck ads (they’re *too* relevant).
- jdevalk @jeffr0 yes.
- arickmann @jeffr0 I have clicked both adwords and 125 ads.
- hans_engel @jeffr0 Same as @chris24 – never on AdSense, but I usually always click on The Deck ads. Love ‘em!
When Joost gave me his answer, it rung a bell in my head. No wonder 125X125 pixel ads were clicked on more than the AdSense block, they were simply more relevant to that particular blogs readers than the AdSense blocks. This is weird, considering that AdSense uses the content on your site as a way to display relevant advertising.
When asked why 125X125 ads were clicked on more than the AdSense blocks, these are the responses I received.
- jdevalk @jeffr0 because those are usually actually targeted at blog X’s readers, instead of AdSense, where the targeting is crap.
- JanKarlsbjerg @jeffr0 Because the 125×125 are less descriptive/informative than the AdSense ads and you have to follow the link to see what it’s an ad for
- JanKarlsbjerg @jeffr0 The 125×125 may be relevant to the blog’s regular readers, but the point of adsense ads is that they’re tailored to each page
Now, I invite you to participate in the discussion. Based on your own experience, how have the 125X125 ads performed for you when compared with AdSense or AdWords? Is it all about relevancy? Maybe the 125X125 ads just look better?
