So I asked my buddy Kim yesterday if she would ask her readers why only 4% of them subscribe to her RSS feed. She has a devoted following, so we know it wasn't because they weren't interested in her blog. Hers is also a largely non-technical demographic, too, so I knew it would be revealing if we could get some comments out of them. Well, the comments are rolling in. You can follow the dialogue and ... Keep reading »
Nate from Moller Marketing writes in a comment... What's the best and easiest way to teach new bloggers to come back to your blog? ShoeMoney is the only blog I go to directly on a regular basis. For everyone else, it's "out of site, out of mind." That's why I make sure to subscribe to any blog that I find interesting, so that I'll remember to go back. Because of that, I think the best way to keep ... Keep reading »
On Monday, Shawn Collins gave some advice to someone just entering the Internet publishing world. One portion of that in particular stood out to me because it was something that was on my list to talk about: After you've posted five to ten times to your blog, check out the affiliate networks for some relevant offers to promote. Don't fixate on the EPCs - rather look for what is most relevant to you. Pick two to three merchants that ... Keep reading »
Torie writes... i was just wondering if you had any cool free add ons that i could put on my blog to make it get more traffic. Hmmmm...free add-ons that lead to more traffic..let's talk that one through. "Widgets" (those cool little add-ons) are all the rage these days because they allow you to add some really cool functionality to your site with very little effort. Sites like Widgetbox list thousands of different widgets in a variety of categories, and ... Keep reading »
Hey, a big thanks to Adventures in Baby Fat who, as far as I know, was the first person I don't actually know to add me to their blogroll :) You've got an excellent blog going there. It looks great, and you're super funny too. Into my Google Reader list you go!
If a website promises you something in exchanging for doing "nothing more than" installing a toolbar, run far far away and don't look back. Toolbars are the devil's spawn and will cause you untold nightmares. You can't possibly have enough skepticism for someone who wants you to install their toolbar (or anything else, for that matter). Because of that, StumbleUpon was a very hard sell to me -- not only because they require you to install a toolbar ... Keep reading »
If you're interested in growing your blog, "Can I interview you?" is one of the best questions you can ask. Here's why. Think about how it would make you feel if someone asked you if they could interview you? That would be pretty cool, wouldn't it? It would make you feel pretty good, and you'd almost certainly agree. Plus, you'd meet someone interesting and build a connection with them. That's the first benefit. The second benefit is ... Keep reading »
What's the easiest way to get some traffic flowing to your blog? Be an active participant in the blogosphere! Start by reading and commenting on what others have written. Each time you leave a comment on someone else's blog entry, your name is linked to your site. And if you write something interesting, there's a good chance that visitors who come by later will click over to your site. The key here, though, is the quality of what ... Keep reading »
This is my blog, so from time to time, you'll have to put up with some off-topic stuff that I feel like posting for whatever reason. This is one of those times. A lawyer for The National Pork Board (did you know there was such a thing?) has sent a nastygram to Jennifer over at The Lactivist complaining about her pro-breastfeeding shirts that read, "The Other White Milk." Now Jennifer says that it's "certainly not the cleverest slogan [she's] ... Keep reading »