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Archives for August 2007

Motivation and Blogging

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It’s 2am in the morning, you’re tired and you can’t even look at your blog lest you find something else wrong with it. You give up and go to bed, only to find out that you can’t sleep because sleeping over it isn’t going to make things better – the problems will still be there tomorrow morning.

So you trudge back to your laptop and get down to work, except that you’re chatting on IM instead of working – and then someone tells you how cool your blog is, and it dawns on you: You have been too harsh on yourself and your blog, and instead of finding positive solutions and working on them, all you’ve been doing is focusing on what’s wrong and letting that eat you up inside.

Moral of the story: Whenever your blog or your blogging hits a dip (whether it’s a drop in motivation or traffic), don’t go Postal on your blog and everything that you’ve worked so hard to build up. Find out the reason why you’ve spent thousands of hours working on your blog, and why you got started in the first place. And then make sure you talk to the people who regularly read your blog and get their opinion on what they think of it.

Chances are, all you need is a supporting shoulder when you’re down, and nothing works better than your own readers telling you that your blog rocks and that you shouldn’t give up.

Thank you, dear reader 🙂

What do bloggers’ want in an ad nework?

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Here’s a quick poll that I’d like everyone to fill out in the comments. Is that cool? Would you do just this one favor for me?

Ok. So Performancing is about helping bloggers succeed. Whatever that means, right? Well, for most of us, success amounts to a combination of factors including 1) building a community 2) having created something good 3) making money for our efforts

This poll is designed to help with 3 (which we hope you’ll use to leverage for 1) and 2) !!!

Three Questions:

  1. Would you use an ad program that guaranteed a minimum monthly payout? If so, what would that minimum monthly payout have to be to catch your attention?
  2. What’s most important to you: A) making more money from less ads B) being paired with highly relevant advertisers C) having a new way to make money that doesn’t overlap with your current ads?
  3. Have you had any success with affiliate ads? Would you be interested in an affiliate program that guaranteed monthly payments?

Issues With Technorati: Could Be Hurting Your Blog’s Perceived Authority and Visibility

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So I’m just like the rest of you. I treat PageRank updates like a sporting event. I also monitor things like the Dirt 100 which uses an algorithm to rank the top 100 Celebrity blogs (aside from a few major anamolies, it does a good job).

The one thing that kept sticking out to me is how PopCrunch was sitting below other sites with far less traffic. Perhaps the most glaring issue was the low Technorati score that PopCrunch was assigned.

So I went over to the EatonWeb Celebrity category rankings to see if PopCrunch was getting a bad score there as well. Indeed it was.

At EatonWeb, I have database access, so I logged into see what was depressing the score. Turns out that the Technorati API was returning a big fat 0 for both total links and total blogs. Ouch. I knew that this was wrong.

Then I went over to Technorati and saw that the PopCrunch Authority score was something ridiculously low like 88. Crazy. Didn’t make sense.

So then I started contacting Technorati support. The same guy probably got all five of my requests;-)

I never got a response. But within 24 hours, PopCrunch was showing a more appropriate Authority score of 617 and had found its way into the Top 5K. Further, the total links and total blogs number started returning some accurate figures.

I have no idea what was wrong. But the take home lesson is this: BlogJuice, EatonWeb, SEOMoz Page Strength and a whole slew of ranking tools (probably even GOOG itself) use Technorati data to evaluate the strength and authority of websites. And the temptation is to assume that a massive company like Technorati gets everything right.

Well that’s wrong. Today I found out that Technorati wasn’t tracking or storing data properly for at least one blog. I wonder how many others are out there with the same problem. You’ll only know if you look;-)

September 2007 Theme Sponsorship Now Open For Bids

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Update: This theme is going to be the new theme on College Startup for at least 12 months. So the winning bidder not only gets a 12 month link on Performancing Themes but also on an established, authoritative blog like College Startup. Quite a perk in my opinion.

Since launching in June, we’ve had winning sponsorship bids on three great WordPress themes. Sponsorships are a win-win situation. They help Performancing continue to commission high quality themes and they help the sponsor get recognition for her production-level work in making the theme possible.

We’re excited to announce the September 2007 theme that’s now open for for sponsorship bids. Designed by Thord Hedengren, Estranged is a two-column theme that features large, standout headers, and easy-to read body and link text. The color scheme involves subtle shades of grey and red, with a bit of orange, and these add to that simple yet eye-catching look. The proportions of the columns and the headers are just right, making ample use of the rule of thirds popular among those in the visual arts. Contrast is just right–having adequate readability, but not at the cost of being too much of a glare. The theme also makes adequate use of white space, so the blog doesn’t look cramped.

Estranged is suitable for both personal and professional bloggers who prefer a clean looking theme with enough space for the essentials. The right sidebar is wide enough to accommodate square ad space (text links or images) up to 250 pixels in width. This is great for bloggers who would rather not stuff in too much information, but would rather present essential information in blocks. This is due to the fact that there is only one sidebar, and that the footer does not support lists or longer content than the copyright statement.

Estranged is set for release as this September’s Performancing theme for WordPress.

Bids can start in the comment section.

Planning a New Blog – Get Started Already!

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When planning for a new blog, you might take a few days to think over it, ask a few knowledgeable friends, research the industry, etc etc. The ‘planning’ phase for a new blog can take you time, right?

Bollocks.

I’m telling you right now that a blog launched based on 5 minutes of brainstorming will do just as well, if not better, than a blog that is started after a week’s worth of meticulous research.

How come? I say this because there is only one question you need to answer before you get to the LAUNCH phase, where you put your blog up and THEN start dealing with all the small issues that come up at the time. Sure, it’s nice to have all the answers before you start, but it’s not necessary. And if you’re already very busy with other work and have a limited period of time in which to start this new blog, you need to save time and with that, everything unnecessary (such as taking out time beforehand to answer a myriad of questions whose answers you won’t need till some time later) is a waste of time.

The ONLY question you need to answer at this point is:

Why do you want to blog?

In a previous blog post I talked about why people blog, and some might say I was cynical about it. However, that discussion brought out a variety of different views about why people blog. This is fascinating for me because for every blog that I’ve started or written at, my actions on it and surrounding it were guided by the answer to this question.

Why do you want to start this new blog? Is it:

  • To make money?
  • To share your knowledge?
  • To change people’s lives and opinions?
  • Just for fun?

Your answer – make sure it’s just one thing (if you’re split between sharing and fun, pick the one you want to do the most) – will be your guiding light for the lifetime of your blog (you’re free to change this midway, of course).

So how does knowing the answer help? Here’s a personal example:

There’s a blog that I want to start – a blog about social, economic, political and religious issues in Pakistan (it’s a given that when you’re ‘planning a new blog’, you already have a rough idea of what you want to talk about).

I’m starting this blog so that I can change the lives and views of people in Pakistan and build a platform through which I can build support for social projects in Pakistan. It’s a rough idea, but the key factors here are social mobilization, non-commercial and aiming to influence.

Right now these are very rough ideas in my head, but already this has given me direction in how / what I want my blog to be like.

For starters, while it’s a non-commercial project the blog has some big targets to achieve, and as such it’s a serious venture that will require a lot of personal time. Unless I have the money lying around, or I have an automated money-making solution already working for me (no to both of them), I have to either make a lot of money first so I can dedicate time to this project or (more likely) get help. For me, it’s a case of looking around in my circle of contacts and picking out those people who are passionate about this subject.

Also, we know by default who the audience is – the internet-savvy segment of the Pakistani population, especially those people who will be willing to participate in this venture. As well as taking out time to profile your audience, you should match your content to your audience’s needs and emotional triggers (if you want them to take action, you must tap their emotional wells and charge them up). In this case I can bank on personal experience but it always pays to do a good brainstorming session with one or two other friends and get your ideas clear.

But to be honest, you can ‘tune’ your content and your focus later on, once you’ve launched. As long as you have a basic idea of your audience, you are good to go.

The last point I want to raise is how important this blog is going to be to you personally and whether you can take time out for it. If you are starting a blog for fun or for sharing info, usually it’s understood that you’ll only spend your spare time on it and as a result it’s not a professional undertaking. On the other hand, if it’s a serious social project or a commercial venture, then you have to look at your time management and figure out if you have the time for it.

In most cases, the new blogs that we want to start take us away from the stuff we really should be doing – and while you might disagree, I tend to quash 90% or more of my ‘new blog’ ideas, simply because there’s not enough time for it and I’m not going to take on a new time commitment on a whimsical idea.

Sometimes though, you might have a project that you feel very passionately about, or you might be in a position where you are just starting out on pro-blogging for the first time and are going for a money-making blog. In these cases, accept that the site will only flourish if you work your ass off (Gerard explains this very well here). If you can’t do it, don’t have the time to do it or aren’t willing to commit, don’t bother starting.

What Next?

If you’re planning to start a new blog, I’d like you to take a couple of minutes out and share your answers to the following points in the comments section

  • What are you blogging about?
  • Why do you want to blog?
  • Who’s going to read it?
  • Who’s going to write it?
  • Do you have the time to work on it?

It doesn’t take a lot of time to figure this out – 5 minutes at best, because the truth is that usually you have already spent some time thinking about your blog and these ideas are already floating around in your head.

My approach at this point is – once I have the answers, I move to the launch phase. Get things out of the door fast and start applying your ideas, and as a result you’ll solve those pesky unforeseen problems early, and overall, get things done today as opposed to think about doing them tomorrow.

So what are you waiting for? If you have a blog that you want to start, and you have the time to work on it, get started.

News Theme

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News Theme for WordPress preview imageThe News Theme is one more classic Performancing WordPress theme. The theme intends to mimic the look and feel of a print magazine or newspaper, with paper-like upper and lower edges, which is quite suitable for blogs that want to put forth a newspaper-y type of image (aided by the display of the current date on the masthead).

The color scheme uses subtle shades of grey and blue, with the sidebar standing out with orange tints.

News Theme is a two-column theme with a horizontal navigation bar at the header, and space for details and links at the footer. This gives the site a clean look and feel, with a wide fixed-width main body and a sidebar wide enough to accommodate long link text or banners. The space on the header can also be used for horizontal banners.

The theme was authored by Design Disease in cooperation with Performancing. Support is available at the Performancing theme support forum.

You can see a live preview here.
You can download the theme here.

Update: News Theme has been updated for compatibility with WordPress 2.7 and up. Download the latest version here.

Announcing the News WordPress Theme from Performancing

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I’m proud to announce the latest WordPress theme from Performancing, the News Theme.

The theme intends to mimic the look and feel of a print magazine or newspaper, with paper-like upper and lower edges, which is quite suitable for blogs that want to put forth a newspaper-y type of image (aided by the display of the current date on the masthead).

The color scheme uses subtle shades of grey and blue, with the sidebar standing out with orange tints.

It’s a return to the traditional 2-column format with the header able to pack in plenty of links and information while looking clean and professional. The background color in the sidebar panels is a nice touch, although for the blog I’ve got planned for this theme, that’s the first thing I’d change.

The sidebar is wide enough to accommodate graphic ads or text links, and the 3-column footer gives it a very nice balance.

The News Theme also fits almost all the criteria I set out in the ‘what makes a WP Theme great’ post last month, and overall I’m thrilled to have this theme come out, and I’ll be launching a new site using this theme soon which I’ll announce here in this thread.

Hope you guys like the theme – let me know what you think about it and how (if) you think it can be improved.

Also see: Performancing WordPress Themes

Disclaimer: My website, Soccerlens.com, sponsors the News Theme.

Types of Subscription: Four Questions for the Performancing Community

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Most of you know that I’m lazy and that I don’t adopt new web apps and technology unless I’m convinced that it will be around 12 months from now. I usually just go with a minimalist approach to everything and it seems to work well (otherwise I’d be bogged down trying every new thing under the sun and wouldn’t accomplish any real work).

I figure that there are lots out there like me. You take your time before adopting new methods and new technologies. That’s why I created the weekly “Four Questions for the Performancing Community” series of posts. I figure that together we can probably come to a consensus about important issues more easily than on our own.

This week’s 4 questions surround reader subscription models.

1. What forms of subscription do you offer on your blog (RSS, Email Digest, Newsletter, etc) and how do you encourage subscription signups?

2. Do you, or do you plan, to monetize your subscription base?

3. If you offer multiple forms of subscription (RSS, Email Digest, Newsletter, etc.) do you worry about spreading your subscription base too thin for monetization?

4. Do you worry that RSS subscribers avoid your website and are thus less monetizable? How do you plan to rectify the situation?