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High End vs. Low End Content

In most topical niches, there is an “expertise range”. Some bloggers will try to appeal to the masses by making just about every post “n00b-friendly” (e.g., ProBlogger does this well). Other blogs seem to be written for other experts (e.g., Signal vs. Noise).

The issue as I see it is this: writing for the low-end is going to have a much wider appeal and usually get you more traffic, simply because most people aren’t experts. On the other hand, if you write for experts, you’re more likely to get links, since other experts are more likely to have blogs in the niche; it’s also usually better in terms of building your personal reputation and authority. Bloggers who try to do both (i.e., expert post today, n00b post tomorrow) will usually end up annoying both audience segments with the inconsitency.

Of course, the optimal kind of content is probably the type that appeals to both the masses and other experts; People like Copyblogger and Chartreuse seem to do the balancing act quite well.

Whom do you write for in your blog(s)? N00bs or experts? And why?

3 Reasons Why Delicious Bookmarks Beat Digg Traffic Hands Down

Which is better, del.icio.us bookmark traffic or the stampede that comes with a big Digg?

Well, I was fortunate enough to have a post make both the top of the de.licio.us popular page and the front page of Digg yesterday with my (formerly) private collection of link baiting resources entitled How to Attract Links and Increase Web Traffic – The Ultimate Guide. Of course both events were awesome, especially since they tend to reinforce one another, as well as lead to links from other bloggers.

But if you had to choose one over the other, I think there’s no real question.

Bookmarks beat Diggs. Here are 3 reasons why:

1. Bookmarks are Enduring.

While it’s true that sometimes someone will bookmark a page simply to come back when they have more time, more often than not the Delicious user views your page as a resource that they might return to again and again. A Digg is simply a one-time vote that may or may not result in big one-time traffic. A Digg is short-term event, while a bookmark endures.

2. Bookmarks Show Commitment.

Related to the idea above, a Delicious user has made a commitment to your resource by adding it to their collection of links, most likely because it provides a benefit to them. Other Delicious users notice that commitment, and therefore your resource gains in credibility thanks to that bit of social proof, which often leads to more bookmarks. I believe this is one of the key reasons why a big day on Delicious translates into subscribers and return readers, while the same exposure on Digg often doesn’t.

3. Each Bookmark is a Targeted Link.

Here’s the real power of social bookmarks. Each bookmark you receive is a separate link on a separate web page. Moreover, those links are classified by tags which define their overall relevance, much like normal link anchor text does. Not only does this help you in the search engines, it makes Delicious itself a search engine. Tagging will no doubt play a big role in the evolution of web search, and Digg’s model misses the boat here.

Ignore Digg? Nope.

Overall, you should continue to strive for both bookmarks and Diggs, since they do have a bit of synergy between them. If your resource is compelling, Diggers will bookmark you too.

But it’s important to realize that flash in the pan web traffic means very little other than high server load if they never come back. Diggers aren’t much for clicking ads, and they often don’t stick around long enough to decide to subscribe.

Creating content with the bookmark in mind tends to make you concentrate more on delivering truly useful resources, rather than just pulling stunts to pull traffic. Getting the right type of traffic (rather than just tons of traffic) is one of the main keys to a successful blog.

So, aim for getting a bookmark, and you just might get Dugg too.

OakFlickr4PFF – PFF Flickr Addon

While we have talked about the new features for the next version of PFF (1.4) including Image-Uploading capabilities , I know some of you really want support now.

So today I’m pleased to announce the OakFlickr4PFF performancing Addon by Chen Zhiyuan for PFF 1.2 and 1.3.

This is an awesome addon that gives direct image uploading to Flickr from PFF.

To use this addon:
Read More…

1) First install it, restart firefox, then enable it in the addons section under settings as shown below;

2) Make sure you are logged in to flickr, if not, go to flickr.com and login.

3) You can then use the normal Image Uploading dialog as you would an image url or ftp upload, and choose the new ‘Flickr’ tab.

4) Now click on the browse button, find the image you want to upload, then click the ‘Upload to Flickr’ Button.

Done, now you can insert your new image.

Another great thing about this add-on is that will also catch images dragged and droped into pff from your hard drive, or pasted in via the clipboard on publish.

Once again I want to give a huge hand to Zhiyuan for this awesome add-on.

For any problems or issues check out his Step-By-Step Tutorial or post in the forums and we’ll try and help you out.

Technorati Tags: performancing, flickr, blogging, blog editor

Why Professional Bloggers Should Choose Their Clients Carefully

There’s no doubt in my mind that blogging will be an important marketing communications profession going forward. When it comes to having a good presence in the social media universe, there are simply too many benefits for a business to ignore.

But most businesses will not have a clue how to actually create that effective presence. And that’s where the opportunities begin for you, the savvy business-minded blogger.

Having blogging skills that not only attract attention and traffic, but also translate into sales, is the key here. That’s why I advocate copywriting techniques as the ideal way to accomplish both with a blog.

Professional Business Blogging is a Business

Beyond those valuable skills you’ve been developing, you’re going to have to also market yourself to curious (but not yet convinced) business decision makers. And that’s where the typical freelance blogger will step into trouble.

Freelance writing communication professionals typically make three business errors that tend to hurt them in business:

They devalue their own work. If what you do creates sales, revenues and profits, then you are worth your weight in gold. But many people for various reasons don’t believe in themselves.
They take on lame projects that they not only don’t enjoy, but the work product itself does nothing to further the writer’s career.
They wait for work to find them, which puts them in the position of having to accept those lame projects just to create some income.

I’d like you to consider looking at professional business blogging in a different way. Why not view each business you work with as a partner, rather than a client?

Partnering for Profit

Let me share an example that I believe applies to the business blogging world as well.

When it comes to developing information products, I employ a joint venture model. I find a compelling demand that needs to be met, and then find a person with the right credentials to partner with and jointly develop the product with them, which I then sell online. If I do take on fee-based copywriting work, it’s because I see an opportunity to do bigger and better partner deals down the road, and I want to establish a relationship.

This same mentality can and should be applied to pro business blogging. Find someone who is doing exciting cool stuff offline, and approach them with your pitch to increase their revenues with a blog online.

Whether you seek a fee or a revenue share is up to you—it’s the mindset that’s important.

How to Become a Rich and Famous Professional Blogger

The way to become successful as a marketer is to be a successful marketer. In other words, what you sell is just as important as how you sell it.

If you take on blogging projects from any poor soul who happens by, who you know doesn’t have a chance of succeeding, why do it? Just for the quick money?

That’s incredibly short-sighted. You want to associate yourself with winning companies that have killer products and services, and a great story just waiting to be told with a blog that you produce.

That’s how you raise your profile as a pro business blogger. That’s how to have people banging down your door to get you on their team. And that’s how to make a lot of money in this type of business.

So, choose your clients carefully, and always be proactive. Only take on projects that you are genuinely excited about, and you’ll never feel like you’re working.

And if your choices are on the money, you’ll be in the money.

Why You’re Not Getting on the Digg Homepage

I stumbled across DiggBait 101: 8 Ways to Help You Get to Digg’s Front Page today. I appreciated both the helpful tips themselves, and also the picture-in-a-picture-ness of it all (How to get a blog post Dugg? Make it about Digg and include “8 Ways to…” in the title).

Most of the tips were standard how to link bait stuff, but two really stuck out, as I think they’re the ones that most bloggers miss.

4. Get a Few People To Digg for You:
Sending some emails and bugging some friends to Digg you is not gaming the system. It's just savvy marketing. Don't necessarily expect the momentum to build unless you put in some effort to make it so. It also affords you the ability to control the title and description for the Digg. You can count on your competition to do the same, making it even more necessary. If you're really against this, then send the article around anyway, but without explicitly asking them to digg it.

Didn’t Calacanis say something to the effect of, “it’s all about the IM list”? Stop being so dang high and mighty. You need to promote yourself a bit — others sure as heck aren’t going to, if you don’t!

6. Keep trying. Don't give up. Don't expect Instant Gratification:
I tried for awhile and posted lots of interesting stuff. I still didn't get Dugg. I never expected it with the aforementioned post either; but 100 or so posts later I finally got it. I didn't look for it; I just posted good stuff with a few of the above tips in mind and eventually got what I wanted.

Ya know what? Maybe I shouldn’t have written this post. I’ll be happy to let everyone else not ask their friends for bumps, and get frustrated after a few flops… meanwhile, my sites can continue get on the frontpage 😉

Call for Performancing Authors

As some of you will have noticed, we’re working like hell on Partners right now, and are not spending as much time as usual on putting out posts for the Performancing community.

We’ve had some great contributions over the last few weeks, but we could certainly use a hand right now. So, Performancing Authors past, present and yet to be, give us hand!

On the right, hit the ‘create content’ link or use PFF of course 🙂 If you know a little about blogging, or related pro blogging topics it would be great to hear from you, not to mention appreciated right now!

If you’re not happy just jumping in and submitting a topic, feel free to email me at [email protected] to run an idea post me or just discuss what you might like to write for the perf folks.

Thanks everyone! Normal service will be resumed in October with a bit of luck heh…

Know More Media Seeks Bloggers for Several Business Topics

Topics available:

Accounting – DoubleLedger.com
Lending and Loan Industry – LendingLeaves.com
Venture Capital Market – VCSmart.com
Doing Business in Japan (native Japanese writer wanted) – RisingSunofNihon.com
Doing Business in India (native Indian writer wanted) – IndianRaj.com
Construction News, Deals, and Information – ALicensetoBuild.com
Electronics Industry – TheElectronFiles.com
Banks and the Banking Industry – WithinTheVault.com

What we look for in an author:

*Passion. You must love the topic – possess a passion for it. You’ll be writing on it extensively; if you don’t have a love for it, you will never endure. Plus, this passion will shine through in your writing; it will be infectious.

*Business Expertise. You must be a personal expert in your topic or field. Know More Media is a place where information seekers come to find new information, new advice, and original opinions. If you can only re-hash what everyone else is saying on the topic, sorry, but you’re not a fit for us. We want expertise from its source – you.

*Writing Ability. Superior blogging is both what you say and how you say it. Great writing is the ability to transform your thoughts, feelings, and knowledge into the written word in a lucid, concise, and entertaining manner. Can you edit out your own typos? Do you use proper grammar? Can you express yourself clearly? We don’t edit your content for you – you must be able to do it yourself.

*A Voice. As we like to say, “It’s all about the voice.” Plain, boring, dry toast, just-tell-the-facts writing is not what we want. We want personality; we want uniqueness; we want you to have a singular, identifiable voice that people want to listen to.

How to Apply:

Email us at info (at) knowmoremedia.com with the following information:

1. Your name and desired blog URL.
2. 3 sample blog posts addressing your desired topic.
3. A paragraph explaining why you are specifically qualified in the topic.

Blogging Has Finally Grown Up

Old media vs. new media. Us vs. them. The plucky, indepedent blogger out-scooping the major news agency.

Sound about right? We (bloggers) hain’t get no respect.

Well, that paradigm is changing, if indeed it hasn’t already changed. I’m not sure bloggers can claim underdog status indefinitely. A glance at BlogAds shows that some bloggers are charging tens of thousands of dollars a month for an ad slot — and they’re getting it.

What’s more, prominent bloggers are gaining status as “media”. No, I don’t mean the 2-minute “let’s check in with the blogosphere!” segments on MSNBC. The people who matter are actually giving bloggers respect.

Two years ago, 15 media slots (out of 15,000) were given to bloggers at the Republican convention–a small, but notable, indicator that political candidates were beginning to realize the power that bloggers wield. Now, in the fashion industry, bloggers are getting press passes to shows, and PR firms are doing research on whose readership is the widest.

Alison Brod, a New York publicist who represents designer Jill Stuart, now has an employee focusing exclusively on blogs, tracking their impact on sales, among other things…

Fashion blogging’s coming of age is happening as U.S. online advertising revenue, a small percentage of which goes to blogs, topped $10 billion last year, and is expected to grow 22% annually, to reach $27.3 billion in 2010, according to Kelsey Group, a consulting firm.

BlogAds, which places ads on 1,300 blogs, 150 of which are fashion related, says that in the past six months it has inked deals with big fashion companies like Hennes & Mauritz AB’s H&M and Gap Inc.

When a MSM publication says blogging’s “come of age”, that means it probably happened about a year ago. The question is, where is it heading? And how many years until the size and power (and ad revenues) of independent media eclipse that of the mainstream?

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