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Technorati launches blog ad network Posted: 18 Jun 2008 05:50 AM CDT Technorati has been beta testing a new CPM ad network, Technorati Media, featuring adverts from big-name companies like Honda, Sandisk, Microsoft, and Universal Pictures. Right now, they’ve been working with larger blogs, but say that they plan to open up the network to anyone (yes, even the “little guy”) in a few months. Read more at TechCrunch. Share This

10 Network Blogging Survival Tips Posted: 17 Jun 2008 03:24 PM CDT Do you blog at a blog network? If so this post from Deborah Ng from Freelance Writing Jobs might be worthwhile checking out. While the income from blogs I own is rising steadily, the bulk of the money I earn blogging comes from maintaining blogs for other networks and individuals. It's the network blogging thing I'd like to talk to you about today. Many people balk at the idea of writing for a network because they feel there are too many rules or the pay is too low. I'm here to tell you this doesn't have to be the case. Network blogging can be a great career boost – and very lucrative if you give it your all. What follows are a few network survival tips. 1. Don't balk at the base – Don't let a low base pay keep you from blogging for a network. For most networks that's just a starting point. The key to making money for a network are the traffic bonuses. With blogging, you get what you give. If you work hard to promote your blog and bring in traffic, those bonus bucks will add up. Trust me, I know. I've made four figures a month with my network blogs – mostly due to good traffic. 2. Don't Choose a Topic You Know Nothing About – Because you'll be blogging every day, you really do need to be passionate about your topic. If you choose a topic you don't really know or enjoy it will soon be clear to you – and your readers. The most unhappy bloggers are the ones who aren't blogging their passion. People who enjoy their topics never run out of things to write about. 3. Be a team player – When I worked in a corporate office I hated all mentions of teamwork. With network blogging it's a different story. When I worked with a team in an office, someone else took credit for my work and very rarely was I rewarded for my efforts. With blogging, you want to work with other bloggers to promote each other and raise awareness and bring traffic to your blogs. Do take advantage of channel wide promotions and be free with your link love. Other bloggers will appreciate your efforts and do the same. You'll also find yourself making some wonderful friends. 4. Stick to a schedule – The best way to meet your monthly quotas is to create a schedule and stick to it as best your can. When you're blogging for a network it's all about meeting your monthly quota. If you're juggling multiple blogs, this isn't so easy. I had a couple of bad months when I strayed from my routine. When you don't post on a regular basis, and meet your weekly or monthly obligations, your pay and traffic suffers. 5. Establish a relationship with other network bloggers – With blogging, it's definitely who you know. As mentioned above, successful bloggers scratch each others' backs. If you find yourself unable to meet your obligations due to illness or emergency, your fellow network bloggers are always happy to help out. 6. Take advantage of channel and network-wide promotions – Many networks or channels have particular theme days or promotions. Do take part. They're a lot of fun and can be a great way to introduce others to your blog. Usually those participating in the promotion will post links to all participating blogs. 7. Don't be afraid to take on a co blogger – If you constantly find yourself behind but don't want to give up your blog(s) consider taking on a co-blogger. I recently did so and found it to be a very positive experience. It brings a new voice to the blog and relieves some of the pressure of posting daily. 8. Take advantage of network training sessions and chats – If your network has regular chats or training sessions do yourself a favor and attend. They're a goldmine of information! You'll learn traffic tips, SEO tips, tips for writing content and more. Attendance isn't usually mandatory, but where else can you get free training from experts in the field? 9. Don't be afraid to have fun and inject a little personality – Many times bloggers feel that because they're an authority, they should sound…well…clinical. This is fine if you want to put your readers to sleep. By all means, be factual, but use your real voice to keep people interested. And don't be afraid to use humor, videos, cartoons, polls and quizzes to make things a little more interesting. 10. Speaking of video – Use it! I recently invested in a little Flip camera and use it to show product reviews and DIY updates. My readers respond to this because they get to hear my voice and also, I get to show them as well as tell them. I especially like video for product reviews as the reader can see what the product looks like, judge its size and also have a more honest review. Are you a network blogger? If so, what survival tips would you like to add? If you're not a network blogger, are there any questions you'd like to ask regarding blogging for a network? You might know Deborah Ng from her blogs Freelance Writing Jobs, which is the number one freelance writing community online, and Network Blogging Tips . For a peek at jus a few of her network blogs visit Deb at Simply Thrifty, The List Maven and News from the Glamorati. Share This

Getting Off Topic - How to Let Your Blog Go #2 Posted: 17 Jun 2008 09:03 AM CDT One way that I see some bloggers ‘letting their blog go‘ is to become distracted and move off topic more and more. When I asked readers why they unsubscribed from a blog’s RSS feed they told me that the forth highest reason was when blogs change focus or go off topic. There’s nothing wrong with a personal blog that covers many aspects of your life - but IF you’ve decided to start a blog with a niche focus that sets out to cover a particular topic - it can be quite frustrating for readers to suddenly be hearing about other aspects of your life in every second post. The problem isn’t that you post about a wide array of topics - but instead it’s about setting up reader expectations that you’re going to talk about one thing and then that you go off topic and keep talking about other things. This can happen for numerous reasons. For some it’s just that you get sick of writing on your chosen topic for others you run out of things to say on that topic while other interests come up for others it is tempting to write off topic content because it might bring in more traffic or make you more money (eg I saw one blog recently that was on business start writing about Britney Spears in every second post because they saw it as a fast way to get traffic). Solution: The ’solution’ really is to identify what you want to write about, to name it so your readers know what to expect and then to stick to that topic. Tips To Help Your Blog Stay ‘On Topic’: Implementing this solution can be more challenging than it sounds of course - but here are a few thoughts that come to mind on how to do it: Define Your Niche - it’s pretty hard to stay on topic if you don’t know what your topic is. I’m presuming that most ProBlogger readers have already done this stage so I won’t go over how to do it again (if you havn’t yet chosen a niche check out my post on choosing niche topics for your blog). Redefine Your Niche - most blogs start out targeting one niche and then at some point in their life need to make adjustments to it. This is perfectly natural as blogs are quite evolutionary. It may be that you need to change niches completely - but in most cases this will involve simply broadening or narrowing your focus. Some bloggers make the mistake of starting out with a niche that is so broad that they can’t keep up with it without burning out - in these cases I’d advise focusing down on one aspect of the topic. Some bloggers choose a niche that is so narrow that they can’t find enough to say on the topic - these bloggers need to broaden their focus. Occasionally I’ve seen bloggers successfully completely change their blog’s topic from one niche to another. This is possible - but if you have an established readership it’s going to mean you need to manage the process as readers can become very loyal to a blog and it’s focus. Communicate and Manage any Changes - making adjustments to the focus of your blog is fine - however some bloggers get into trouble with it in communicating it to their readers. It’s amazing how much ownership a blog reader takes over a blog. Readers invest time into reading a blog and participating in the conversations that go on in it - as a result when you make a change in something as fundamental as the topic of your blog they can find that process challenging and push back. If you are making a change you might like to: involve readers in the process (ask for their feedback and suggestions) share reasons for changes that you are making ask for their involvement in the transition (people are more likely to accept a change that they are actively participating in) Going Off Topic - once you have a niche defined you then need to make some decisions about if, when and how you will ever go ‘off topic’. Thinking about this before you do will help you to know if you’re doing it too much. Some might say you should never go off topic - but I think there are ways to do it that can add something to your blog. The question I always try to ask though is ‘does publishing this post add or take value from my blog’. Going off topic can help to show a different side of you, draw new readers to your blog, add interest to a blog and more… but it can also prove to be a distraction and the difference between people perceiving you as an expert in your field or not. Have Your Say Do you go off topic on your blog? What have you learned about how and when to do it? How tight is your niche? Do you mind when other blogs go off topic? Share This

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