Kommein » General

Why Your Negative Blog Posts Are Bringing Me Down

Deb Ng — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:46:54 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I made the unfortunate decision to use a sensational headline in the hopes of bringing in more people to take part in the discussion. The post wasn’t meant to be insulting, but it was and I removed it. It’s a lesson learned over and over again, and a good reminder of why I took a vow of positivity a couple of years ago.

Negativity creates hurt feelings and only contributes to more negativity. Every time I take a sensational approach someone takes my words the wrong way and hurt feelings ensue. I don’t know if that’s a worthwhile trade off for a day of traffic.

The thing is, I should know better. I cringe when I read blog posts with headlines telling me something sucks (i.e. “Why your blog posts suck”) or is dumb. Even if I’m someone with a sucky dumb blog, I don’t want to hear it. It’s sort of like someone saying, “You’re fat.” I know I’m overweight but I don’t want to anyone to say it to my face. To be told I’m fat by someone who seems angry about it is off putting, confusing, and, yes, hurtful.

Here’s what I learned about negative, angry blog posts

It brings in people, but they don’t stick around and can lead to negative or angry comments.
It brings in people, but not necessarily the right kind of people.
A headline is a first impression.

Here’s what I learned about positive blog posts

They don’t bring in as many people at first but the ensuing conversation is more positive.
Eventually my blog receives more repeat visitors rather than the one day spike from rubber neckers
A headline is a first impression.

How to create positive headlines from negative situations

I get it. The big headlines grab more eyeballs, but in my experience, they also keep a chunk of people away because they’re turned off by the negativity. However, a more positive headline will bring in all kinds of people.

Instead of saying: “Top 10 Reasons Your Blog Posts Suck” try saying, “10 Tips for Better Blog Readability.”
Instead of saying: “10 Reasons Your Headlines are Stupid” try saying, “How to Write Headlines that Bring Results.”
Instead of saying: “Why No One Wants to Follow You On Twitter” try saying “Top 10 Twitter Mistakes.”

Maybe door number two is more positive but it will bring in longer term results over a short term spike. Also, think about the way people search. They’re not searching for “Why My Headlines are Stupid” they search for “How to write headlines.”

I’m not claiming to be an expert, but I’ve been doing this for a little over a decade now and I can tell you that my positive headlines bring in more readers in the long run than negative headlines – even though negative headlines sometimes get more retweets.

The majority of readers don’t like it when you make it personal. We want to read a blog post and think, “Hmmm. I make that mistake too, I’ll go fix it.” But we don’t want to get all paranoid because we think you’re talking about us.

We don’t want to exit a post reeling from a smackdown.

Do positive headlines draw you in? Do they keep you coming back for more? How about the negative blog posts? What do they do for you?

Discuss….

Weekend Discussion: Who Are You Really Blogging For?

Deb Ng — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:59:41 +0000

Are bloggers preaching to the choir? Doesn’t it sometime seem as if we’re writing to impress our peers or the people who are considered influential, over bringing in new trafffic or a new demographic? Doesn’t it seem as if the same handful of people are stimulating discussion amongst each other, rather than bringing in people outside their immediate group of friends?

There’s nothing wrong with that, if that’s what we’re after, but let’s be honest about whose attention we’re really trying to capture.

I can tell you that I want to share and help others to be successful bloggers, but I’d also be lying if I denied I’m also writing in hopes of capturing the attention of my peers, and I know from my conversations with other bloggers that I’m not the only one. I mean, who wouldn’t want someone influential coming by to chat and reflect?

Disclaimer: My use of the word “influential” is for lack of a better term. I honestly have no idea what to call many of the experts in this space because we’re not allowed to call people experts, even if they really are, and we can’t call them gurus or ninjas or rockstars either. Even if they truly earned these titles we’re not allowed to use those words. Even if they themselves want to be seen as “influential” they’re not allowed to say so for fear of being called a douchebag. So I use influencer, but I honestly don’t know what to call them because I’m not allowed to use anything that will give my role models, or the people I admire, the credit they deserve.

Moving on…

I don’t mean any of this in a “Hey famous person!!! Look at me!!!” kind a way, but more in a way that we want to be taken seriously among the people who we look up to in this space. And I don’t mean that in an I want to be famous kind of way either, just that I wouldn’t mind a lot more thoughtful discussion around what I blog.

I don’t generally attract that kind of attention. The kind of people who turn a blog post viral don’t visit my blog, (which probably says a lot about my content) and most of the people I consider influential only come by to smack me down when I say something stupid, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants to get on the radar (the right way).

So I often have to question my motives. Am I really blogging to share, or am I blogging to gain attention or glory?

Who am I (we) blogging for?

The retweeters?
The “influencers?”
The famous bloggers?
The search engines?
Potential clients or employers?
The media?
People who want to learn?
Ourselves?

I can tell you in my heart of hearts that I hope to reach the people who are new to blogging and social media, that’s why my posts tend to err on the basic side. But I think all bloggers hope to capture the attention of all of the above. I don’t believe too many of us blog and don’t want as many people possible to read our posts. I don’t believe any of us don’t wish to catch the eye of someone we look up to. Sometimes, I think we pretend our blogging is more about helping than glory. That isn’t to say we don’t want to help, just that many bloggers have ulterior motives.

Who are you blogging for? And how do you get their attention?

Facebook v. Twitter: If You Had to Do Without One….

Deb Ng — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:22:15 +0000

Last week on the @blogworldexpo Twitter stream and the BlogWorld Facebook page I asked our community if they had to choose between Facebook and Twitter, who would win? For some it was a no brainer, for others it was a choice they’d rather not have to make. Most of us use Twitter and Facebook for a variety of reasons and appreciate the benefits of both. When pressed to give up one, many admitted that they would most likely give up Twitter because Facebook has allowed them to unite with old friends and relatives as well as new online friends. I agreed.

If you had asked me this question two years ago, my response would have been way different. I would have chosen Twitter without hesitation. Over the past year or so I’ve come to change my tune.

Facebook FTW?

After my little experiment, I decided to explore how I use Twitter and Facebook and which network was more beneficial, business -wise. I found that, for me, Facebook has more bennies both personally and professionally. That isn’t to say Twitter isn’t valuable, but I receive more blog traffic via Facebook. I also have more productive discussions on Facebook as we can go past the 140 character rule. The gravy in the boat, however, is that I have friends from back in the day in discussion with brand new social media friends, and that truly rocks.

Twitter v. Facebook: Breaking it Down

Friends and followers: There are merits to both social networks and the ways we choose friends and followers. With Twitter, unless we lock our Twitter stream and block followers, we pretty much have no control over who follows us and sees our Tweets. However, the more followers we have on Twitter, the higher our reach. That means someone with 20,000 followers can send a single Tweet and potentially reach hundreds of thousands of people.

With Facebook, no one can be your friend without your permission. We approve everyone who views our status and it’s 100% recipriocity. The friendships work two ways. Most of the people I interact with on Twitter are online or business friends. They’re the folks who are into blogging and social media like me, or else I meet them at conferences and networking events. My Facebook friends are social media friends, but also family members, old friends, and new, neighborhood friends.

Traffic: When I use Facebook and Twitter to drive traffic to my blog, Facebook wins hands down. Make no mistake, Twitter sends me the love and I’m ever so grateful for the members of my community and others who share my links and retweet my stuff. But I get more traffic bang for the buck from Facebook. Sometimes the difference is minimal, and sometimes it’s significant, it’s all dependent on the subject matter and who’s sharing.

Sharing: Both Twitter and Facebook allow for some glorious sharing. With Twitter you can share anything you like but you’ll want to shorten the URL because of that 140 character thing. If the sharer doesn’t offer a description, followers are less likely to click on the link for fear it will be spam. Most who Tweet links offer up a title or brief description, though some folks will retweet a friend’s tweet without knowing what’s on the other end of the link.

With Facebook, when a link is shared there’s a bit of a preview so I know what the article, blog post, video, audio or bit of spam are about before I commit to a click. One thing I noticed about sharing on Facebook is that a fun post is passed around by more than your immediate business circle, it’s also shared by friends and relatives. As most of us don’t have as many friends and relatives on Twitter, the same isn’t always true on this network.

Doing business: More consumers follow brands on Facebook because more consumers are on Facebook. That isn’t to say we don’t get it done on Twitter too, because we do. In fact, reps from many well known brands troll Twitter several times a day to see who is talking about them and why, and reaching out to those in need of assistance. Usually they’ll take the conversation offline rather than clog up a Twitter stream with shoptalk.

It’s my experience that most brand/consumer interaction on Facebook is lighthearted and promotional, and not of the troubleshooting variety. Fan pages allow readers to offer feedback, answer fun questions and receive discounts and coupons.

Interaction on both social networks is valuable and enlightening for brands.

Conversation: With Twitter, it’s about sharing and conversation, and make no mistake, I’ve had some wonderful, lengthy conversations on Twitter. The problem is, my followers don’t want their timelines filled with nothing but my conversations with other people. Facebook conversations are easier to follow because the discussion can continue along in one thread as opposed to many different Tweets.

Thanks to hashtags, we can follow some live, hosted Twitter chats such as the weekly #blogchat. Facebook moves beyond the conversations and allows us to challenge friends to a game of Scrabble or cards. We can also interact on like-minded community pages, again, in threaded discussions. So I’d like to offer that Facebook allows us to take a conversation more places.

What’s your choice?

Well, I just shared why, if pressed, I would choose Facebook over Twitter. However, I hope it never comes to that as I truly enjoy interacting on both networks. Now share your choice. If you had to pick between the two, would you choose Facebook or Twitter….and why?

Social Media Job of the Day: Community Manager Wanted for Get Satisfaction

Deb Ng — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 22:27:07 +0000

When David Peralty and I first started Kommein, it was meant to be a resource for Community Managers where we posted ideas, thoughts, commiseration, and even some social media jobs we come across from time to time. I don’t know what I stopped doing it, but anyway, maybe it’s time to get back to our roots.

Get Satisfaction is looking for a Community Manager.

From the site:

Responsibilities

Be the go-to person for community management best practices
Lead the community management efforts for our own public and private communities (hands-on), and participate as the best practices subject matter expert.
Participate in developing and implementing social media strategies for Get Satisfaction.
Clearly understand and able to articulate the varying business benefits of social media (including methods of measurement)
Ensure complete and effective internal knowledge transfer of best practices
Participate/Lead customer driven best practices services engagements
Advocate for customers within Get Satisfaction
Maintain accurate engagement records in Get Satisfaction’s internal data systems
Maintain an excellent level of customer satisfaction

For more details, please visit the original ad at GetSatisfaction.com

Protected Tweets: It’s What You’re Searching For

Deb Ng — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 19:00:28 +0000

I find stats to be quite revealing. They tell me who my readers are, where you come from and how many of you come back again. I also find them to be entertaining. For example, the search terms leading you here. My favorite search term yet is one received yesteday, “Deb Ng sells blog makes mistake.” Did the person think I made a mistake or that I think I made a mistake? In any event, I have no regrets.

Many of the people who land here via search engines are coming to see how they can see someone’s protected Tweets, thanks to my post “Protected Tweets: The Good and the Bad” Some fun “protected tweets” search terms include:

“Can I see protected tweets”
“I want to see protected tweets”
“How to break into protected tweets”
“Can I retweet protected tweets”
“How can I see if someone with protected tweets is talking about me?”
“Can you see @replies with protected tweets?”
“How to break in to protected tweets.”
“Twitter protected tweets”
“Read protected tweets”
“If tweets are still locked can someone still see your @?”

I think we may be getting a little paranoid, here. First of all, I’m not sure if the people who are protecting their tweets are doing so because they want to talk about one specific person. Second, why would you want access to someone who doesn’t want you to view their tweets? Move along and be with people who enjoy your company. Also, trying to read someone’s protected tweets strickes me as unethical or unsavory. Like reading someone else’s email or text messages. Still, a staggering amount of people are searching for ways to do just that.

There’s a lot more searches for protected tweets, but you get the picture. My post wasn’t at all about viewing someone else’s tweets, but it seems a lot of you want to do just that. Personally, I feel protected tweets defeat the purpose. However, there are people who feel more comfortable tweeting in this manner and I can respect that. I think they miss out on a lot, but it’s their decision. I’d rather be with the people who enjoy my company – and vice versa.

What are your thoughts? Are you just dying to know what a protected tweeter is talking about. Or, could you not care less?

P.S. Every time I do a “top searches” post a flurry of blogs publish posts with the same search terms, so let the games begin!

Weekend Sharing: Twitter Jewelry from Survival of the Hippest

Deb Ng — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:51:40 +0000

Last week I suggested a list of 21 Holiday Gifts for Bloggers. One option was for social media jewelry. How cool would it be for a prolific Tweeter (like me) to receive a bit of jewelry with her Twitter handle on it. Well, I don’t know that Mr. Ng would ever buy this for me, so I went and got my own. Isn’t it terrific? Now I have the perfect accessory for conferences and Tweetups , even if most of my neighbors won’t get it.

This necklace came from Survival of the Hippest and retails for less than $50 – though there are pricier options depending on the type of metal and how much bling you want. I did want to bejewel mine with diamonds but decided to control myself and get this simple model. (But maybe Mr. Ng will catch on and bejewel one for me).

I don’t have to do disclosure here, but I will. No one asked me to write about this. I didn’t get free product nor did I receive payment to suggest this item. I simply wondered, “how cool would it be if I could wear my Twitter name as jewelry?” So I did a search and low and behold, Survival of the Hippest.

If you’re looking for a gift for a hard core social media fan, this is the one. Trust me on this, she’ll be touched and thrilled and will wear it with pride.

Follow Survival of the Hippest at @thehippest.

Do you have any cool gifts like this to recommend for the holidays?

Weekend Sharing Ten/Ten/Ten Edition

Deb Ng — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 15:30:51 +0000

I just heard on the news this morning that a couple who are big into numerology were married at 10:10 this morning. Get it? 10/10/10 at 10:10? I love Mr. Ng, but I don’t know that he wants me waking at 4:00 a.m. to marry in the morning hours. By noon, that will be one cranky bride. Still, if it’s your thing and you’re into numbers, may today be your day.

Here’s what I’m reading this weekend:

Jonathan Fields has a Modest Proposal for Publishers and Authors. It’s time to come together in the digital age.
Your Career is Not Luck - Amber Naslund touches on one of my pet peeves. People who are successful, aren’t successful because they’re lucky, they’re successful because they work hard. If you work hard you can be successful too, stop writing it off as something so simple.
The Top 7 Technologies that Changed Journalism Forever at 10,000 Words. ‘ Aint technology grand?
In addition to sharing real, actionable tips in “What Makes Real Blogging Success,” this post is also worth a read for the “back in the day” geeky pic of Chris.
In “Stop Phoning it In” Chris Brogan offers an important reminder to put our all into everything, unless we want people to realize what a completely lame effort we’re putting forth.
Blogging made me fat. No really, it did. I was a lot thinner until ten years ago when two things happened, I became a professional blogger/freelance writer and I learned to drive. David Risley is also reminding us of the health hazards of blogging. Maybe he’d be interested in learning about how Cardio Trainer is holding me accountable…

Enjoy your reading!

Top 10 Reasons Blogging Rocks

Deb Ng — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:53:22 +0000

When it comes to blogging, I’m pretty old school. I’ve been into it for about ten years, and unlike many others who started at about the same time, I haven’t suffered from burnout or boredom. I may have a day here and there when I’m too busy or just not in the mood to blog, but my passion hasn’t wavered.

Blogging rocks…and here’s why it rocks for me.

10. Reading and learning

You know what I don’t get to do as often as I’d like? Take a couple of hours out to read blogs. Not just blogs in the social media niche, but funny blogs, crafty blogs, food blogs and business blogs. Blogging enables me to read a variety of perspectives and even learn a thing or two. It’s an extra kick knowing that people enjoy what I write as well. Blogging gives us a way to share a little of ourselves each day. It’s a great feeling.

9. You can earn a little money in the process

Blogging enables us to earn money, if we’re so inclined. There are dozens of ways to do this, so I won’t list them (again) here. However, it doesn’t matter if you’re a hobbyist or hardcore. You can still earn a substantial and lucrative income. It’s sort of the gravy on the proverbial potatoes, we can do what we love and share our passion and even rake in some coin doing so.

8. Showcase writing and expertise

Blogging allows us to share what we know. We get to show off our writing style and, hopefully, our readers respond. We can share our passion and teach others to enjoy and even profit from our passion, which may even become their passion. This is something that hasn’t always been possible in the non-virtual world.

7. Building community

When something we write causes a reaction, it means we did something right. We caused someone to think and to respond, there’s nothing better than that. Watching a community grow and interact is one of the best reasons to blog. Comments enable us to learn what people think about our blog posts, and perhaps even offer a different perspective. Plus it allows for all the commenters to meet and have a discussion as well. Win/win, really.

6 You may get a book deal out of it all

I’m not going to say this happens for everyone, but many bloggers have received a book deal as a result of having popular and well-written blogs. Who knows? It could happen to you too.

5. It can lead to many other things

Blogging can leads to other gigs. Bloggers have moved on to work as community managers, social media consultants, professional bloggers…and even the Director for the world’s largest social media conference.

4. Gives us the ability to share with others

Blogging isn’t necessarily teaching, it’s sharing. It allows us to tell stories about our past or relate a cool experience. We enjoy turning on others to blogs, books and ideas and look forward to presenting good stuff every time we log in to our dashboards.

3. I get to write every day…or not

I love to write. I don’t really do it for a living anymore, and I enjoy it more now that it’s not a job. Blogging lets me indulge in something I enjoy doing – and I can do it every day. And? If I don’t want to do it and I’m not contractually obligated? I don’t have to.

2. Its rewarding

When people write to us and tell us how much they enjoy our posts or when they retweet or share our posts on Facebook or link to us, there’s no better feeling. I can’t think of a bigger rush than watching something I wrote go viral.

1. Allows us to meet others in and outside of our niche

The number one perk of blogging? It’s the people, people! I have met so many incredible people as the result of blogging I can’t count them all. I met them online and offline at conferences, coffee or dinner meetings and tweetups.

Blogging did a lot more for me than all of the above. It encouraged me to break out of my comfort zone and do something new and different. Thanks to blogging, I walked off in a new career direction and met people I wouldn’t have gotten to know otherwise – truly good people. I could probably list about 100 ways blogging rocks, but instead I’ll leave it to you.

What are your reasons for loving blogging? Share in the comments…

Type A Mom: A Very Pleasant Surprise

Deb Ng — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:21:30 +0000

After writing my views on BlogHer last month, I wasn’t sure how most of the mom/product blogging community would react. While I don’t think I said anything unkind, my point of view wasn’t exactly going with the in crowd. So imagine my surprise when Type A Mom Conference Organizer, Kelby Carr, sent me an email saying, “why aren’t you speaking at Type A Mom?”

Am I ever glad she did.

To be honest, I thought the Type A Mom Conference would be another BlogHer. Big on parties, swag and drama, and short on useful content. And, people, I’m here to tell you I’m (glad I was) wrong. Dead wrong.

The Conference

Type A Mom is the type of empowering event I think all bloggers need, not only women, but it’s more than that. It’s small, but not too small. It’s big enough to warrant several tracks but small enough that I was able to get to know almost everyone in attendance. Kelby runs a tight but cozy ship. Dress ranged from professional to casual, as did the conversation. There were a few brand spokespeople in attendance, and even a little brand speed dating, but this conference isn’t for courting brands. It’s for advancing as a professional and creating a business from our blogs.

I think the “Mom” in the title might confuse some people into thinking this is only a conference for Moms. And though I know Kelby is the original “Type A Mom” I would like to encourage her to rethink the “Mom” part of the title because both men and women benefit from this conference, and I don’t think either has to be a parent to do so. Maybe “Type A Blogger?” However, I don’t want this conference to lose Kelby’s touch either.

I enjoyed chatting with the other attendees during meals and networking events and met so many people I don’t usually bump into at the usual social media events.

Kelby organized field trips and the town of Asheville, North Carolina provided restaurants and shops all within walking distance. It’s an artsy community, but cozy with a small town feel. Though the twenty minute cab ride from the airport is pricy, it’s well worth the effort. I do enjoy having a conference in an area that’s easy to walk around and shop or eat during downtime.

The Content and Speakers

I was most interested in the content, and this is where the Type A Conference shines! The sessions were informative and enlightening and with the exception of one, I walked away with useful information that I could put to action right away. Also? I’m always on the hunt to look for strong speakers (especially women) for BlogWorld and I came back from Asheville with a list of people who I will be inviting to submit a speaking proposal the next time BlogWorld rolls around.

Type A Mom features both male and female speakers and even a “Dad” track. However, the sessions weren’t really parent oriented. They offered tips and practices for earning money, protecting ourselves and our kids online, SEO and search tips, and more. I even participated in a keynote panel on respect and professionalism in blogging. Some of my standout speakers and sessions were Build a Bear CEO Maxine Clark’s keynote about building her business. She is inspiring and awesome. Also, Aliza Sherman‘s look back at women in tech showed an amazing journey – not only Aliza’s but some pioneers of tech, blogging and social media.

It’s impossible to attend the Type A Mom conference and not walk away armed and ready for action. I think that it’s so intimate adds to the learning experience – and I dare anyone to say it didn’t make a positive impact.

I guess if I have one nit to pick (I’m sorry Kelby, but it’s a very small nit and I think your conference is amazing) it’s the Bloggers Town Hall. Now, I think this is an awesome idea and an opportunity for bloggers to discuss the issues that affect them. However, it’s sort of a open mike/kumbaya sort of thing and I’m really not sure all the messages are being heard. I think rather than having everyone stand in line for a turn at the mike and talk about whatever it is that is on their minds, I’d throw out a single question or issue and let the discussion ensue, Phil Donahue style. (Please tell me you know who Phil Donahue s). Otherwise it becomes a bunch of affirmations, testimonies and testifying. I don’t know if there’s anything wrong with it, but I guess it just wasn’t my thing.

Some Interesting Takeaways

Gregory Ng and I aren’t married. OK, this really isn’t useful to you, but everywhere I turned someone would tell me how charming my husband is. At first I was wondering how everyone knew my husband and where I was when all this charm was taking place, but then it was explained to me that everyone thought that another speaker, Gregory Ng, was my husband. The truth is, we never even met until the conference and it was the first time I was in a room with another Ng and we weren’t related.
Despite the name, both men and women can benefit from this conference: There were only a handful of brave men at Type A Mom, but those who came fit in and enjoyed being in the company of a couple of hundred women. I hope more will come next year. Shout out to Jim Turner, Ron Mattocks, Gregory Ng, Mike Carnell, David Griner, Ryan Boyles, Clay Nichols and a couple of others who I am sorry to be forgetting.
Sometimes a small, intimate setting is more beneficial. At bigger conferences I only get a few minutes to chat with people I am just meeting and I don’t get to spend much time with people I already know. This small setting enabled me to truly get to know most attendees and I enjoyed talking to them all.
Mom bloggers want to learn how to earn: While many mom bloggers enjoy receiving free stuff, the majority of women in attendance at Type A Mom were truly interested in learning how to earn more with their blogs – beyond that of brand sponsorship. This was encouraging to learn as there are so many opportunities beyond being a brand advocate.
Conference sponsors don’t have to be “in your face” You know what I loved about this conference? The sponsors weren’t forced upon us. For example, Little Debbie isn’t your typical blog sponsor conference. But they sponsored the snack breaks (as did Laughing Cow) and provided some eats and it made sense. The Chick -Fil-A Cow was only there during lunch they provided rather than having the cow walk to the floor the whole time.
I’ll be back next year: Make no mistake.

Thanks to All!

I want to thank Kelby Carr and her team, plus everyone in attendance for making my experience one that was positive and beneficial. Thank you for inviting me to speak and to enjoy the entire conference. For those who have asked, I don’t think my panel was recorded, but here are some blog posts live blogging the keynote and also rounding up Type A Mom:

Type A Mom Conference: It’s About Respect – Professionalism in Blogging at Cutest Kid Ever
It’s About Respect: Professionalism in Blogging at Everyday Baby Steps
It’s About Respect: Professionalism in Blogging Kimberly D Coleman
A Type D Take on the Type A Conference at Butterscotch Sundae
Rainy Days and Mondays at All Things Fadra

If you haven’t attended in the past because you’re thinking it’s just a mommy blogging sorority party type conference, don’t let the name fool you. Focus on the “Type A” part and not so much on the “Mom” because this conference gets down to business and you return home ready to take your blogging to a whole new level.

25 Ways to Monetize Your Blog

Deb Ng — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:11:08 +0000

Blog monetization is a a funny thing. First it was taboo, bloggers were only supposed to do this for the feel good sharing vibe. Then it was widespread and accepted and everyone did it, now it’s back to being sort of taboo unless you do it in a way that no one knows you’re doing it.

My blog network (the one I just sold) was heavily monetized with advertising and earned several thousands dollars each month. This blog has a few ads at the bottom of the sidebar but is nothing like the aggressive effort from my past endeavor.

The thing is, it’s entirely possible to earn a living entire as a blogger on your own blog. There are so many ways to earn, that there’s something for every type of niche and genre. Some programs are bold, some are quiet and some are ambitious.

What follows are some of the ways you can earn money from your blog. If I use/d any of these methods, I noted my experience. However, be advised that everyone has a different experience with blogging and monetization. Take the time to get to know your community before making any decisions about earning from your blog. You’ll want to gauge their wants and needs to tell the types of products that will most interest them and whether or not they’re clickers or buyers.

25 Ways to Monetize Your Blog

Adsense and other click type ads: Yes, Adsense is ugly. Yes, it’s not fashionable to be seen wearing Adsense anymore. But you know what? Before I sold my writing blog I pulled in a few thousand dollars each month from Adsense, so I can’t complain too much.
Contextual link advertisers: Chitika and Kontera are two of the more popular Contextual link programs. When I used either one of these options I brought in $300 – $500 each month. However, my community didn’t like being confused by the different set of links, and it really slowed down the loading time. Still, not a bad way to go if you’re into it.
Become an Amazon affiliate: Amazon has a variety of programs for bloggers and webmasters. Sign on as an affiliate and earn every time someone buys a product through your site. I’ve had very good luck using Amazon as an affiliate. When I had the search box on my blog network, I brought in between $300 & $500 during the holidays, and upwards of $50 during the other times of the year. Selling individual projects, especially books, is also working for me.
Text Link Ads: Before all the Broohaha over whether or not Google penalized folks who sold text links, I earned a couple of hundred each month with text links. I have nothing against them, to be honest. I mostly removed them because the links provided weren’t relative to my blog.
Join an ad network: Buy Sell Ads, Performancing Ads, and iSocket are just a few of the options available. Simply sign up for the network, give them all your pertinent details and they will sell ads for a split of the commission. (Except iSocket – pay them a monthly fee and they’ll do all the work and they won’t take a commission.) Ad networks are hit and miss. I did awful with Buy Sell Ads – there were no sales made there at all. My tenure with Performancing ads and iSocket were both very successful. I’m not familiar with any of the other similar programs but reviews abound on the web, so read up if this is the route you want to go.
Sell ads privately: Here’s where I earned the bulk of my coin. It took a while for me to get the guts to contact potential advertisers directly but it worked very well. I simply contacted them, provided details regarding my stats and community and negotiated a price. When I sold ads this way, I earned more than via the networks.
Write an ebook: Surely you’re successful at something, otherwise, why are you blogging? What are you sharing? Take your expertise to a whole new level by writing an ebook.
Write a workbook: Instead of giving readers something to, well, read, give them something to do. Create a workbook that helps them put what they learn to use. Sell it on your blog and even offer an affiliate program so other bloggers can earn while they sell your stuff.
Write a course: Like a workbook, create courses to teach what you know. Offer up exercises for putting this knowledge to use.
Sell someone else’s products or services: Other bloggers have stuff to sell. Find the ones that work well in your niche and sell them on your blog.
Create a webinar: Webinar’s are another way to teach what you know, and you can even enlist the help of your friends. Most involve the use of a webinar tool such as GoToMeeting and a Power Point presentation. I haven’t created my own yet, but I’ve participated in several and giving my presentation couldn’t have been easier.
Become an affiliate for someone else’s webinar: Last year, I earned over $1000 as an affiliate for one of Mike Stelzner’s webinars. If you choose the right event for your community, you can sell enough tickets to make a one time post (about the webinar) well worth the effort. Really, it didn’t take more than that. I talked about the seminar once and placed and ad in the sidebar. My community did the rest.
Speak: Get paid to speak about your topic at conferences, seminars, lectures and local business and community events. Start small such as with a local group in your niche. Once you’re more polished, take it to larger events. Not all events pay, but just about all are good opportunities.
Put up a donation button: A few years ago plenty of bloggers (including some very big names) had PayPal and “buy me a cup of coffee” donation buttons and it worked out well for a while. Then someone decided it was tacky and everyone took down their donation buttons.
Cafe Press: Cafe Press allows you to design your own shirts, hats, mugs and more. It’s a way to get some branding going, for sure. However, it never worked for me. People wanted to visit my blog, not wear it.
Put up a job board: Jobamatic, Beyond.com and Indeed.com all offer bloggers and webmasters the ability to earn money every time someone clicks on a job ad. If a job search is relevant to your blog, consider adding one of these puppies. For the record, I brought in between $100 and $300 per month with the Indeed search engine on my blog. You can also use one of the several WordPress plugins that allow others to post jobs on your blog in exchange for a fee.
Consult: Do a little coaching and teach others how to be a success doing what you do.
RSS ads: Place Adsense or other clicky ads on your blog’s RSS feed. Feed ads weren’t my biggest money maker but they were good for about $50 per month.
Do paid reviews and sponsored posts: I did two sponsored posts in ten years. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan. I didn’t choose all the opportunities available and preferred to wait until they offered products or services I knew and believed in, then I had to jump through about 20 hoops to get those posts approved. They were lucrative though. One netted $500 and one netted $300.
Do sponsored tweets: Yes, there are those who will pay you to tweet. I don’t know how you work out the disclosure thing PLUS the ad in 140 characters. I’d also be worried about losing followers. Still, there are those who do it and do well.
Widget advertising: Pulse 360 and Chitika are just two of the advertisers who will give you widgets to install on your blog. Every time someone clicks on one of the links in the widget, you earn. They look busy and clunky and you can’t always blend in the colors like you can with Adsense. Also, not all ads are relevant to your community. When I used widgets I earned about $300 per month with Pulse 360 and maybe $30 per month with Chitika (which didn’t last long because they’re ugly). Not my favorite way to bring in money because they make the blog look too busy.
Make and sell products: If you have a talent, exploit it with a blog. For example, if you make jewelry, you can start a jewelry blog and sell your products there.
Kindle subscription: Allow your blog to be sold on Kindle. Amazon charges .99 to $1.99 for a monthly blog subscription and the blogger earns 30%.
Grow a private membership community: Third Tribe and the ProBlogger community are just two examples of successful private membership communities. People are willing to pay to receive good advice and have a troll/spam free environment. You can also become affiliates for these communities.
Sell your blog: If your blog is doing well, brings in money and has become a lucrative business – but has run its course – consider selling it. I did, and received a very nice amount of money in return.

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to profit from blogging.

What are some of the ways you’re monetizing your blog? How is it working out for you? Also, are you afraid to put ads on your blog because you’re worried you’ll be written off as some sort of money-grubbing amateur?

Discuss….