Subscribe to RSS FeedIs YOUR Blog Worth MY Time?
Have you ever asked yourself if you think that the content that you write on your blog is worth being talked about? I have several times and it is one of the reasons as to why I created the series on Google Webmaster Tools. I am just now starting to see some organic traffic from Google and while I haven’t received much feedback on the series, my goal is to inform those that are looking for information and to answer any questions that they may have.
I started my blog because I have an interest in affiliate marketing and it is something for me to chronicle and look back upon. I can use my blog to either vent my frustrations and make posts about me losing money and at the same time I can make posts about me making money (hopefully soon). Yet at the same time as you may have noticed, I use my blog to write about what peaks my interest during that present time. Whether it be creating a Google Alert, creating a custom 404 page or anything that deals with me and the progress of the sites that I am currently working on.
If people find my posts and it helps them or gives them a different way to look at something then I have accomplished my mission. If they haven’t found their answer it would be nice if they left a comment or sent me an email asking for further information. Currently I have had only one person actually email me asking about more information and I was glad to have helped him.
I try to make my blog worth anybody’s time that they spend here and hopefully I am doing that so far. For those of you that don’t know, all of the links on my blog pointing to other blogs or sites are NOT nofollowed. So whenever I post a keyword rich link to somebody’s site or blog, while I am passing very little PageRank if any, I still like to think that I am helping them even in a small way. That is what I believe to make a blog a worthwhile read and why I have my blog setup the way I do. (If you happen to find a link that IS nofollowed, LET ME KNOW!).
I think people worry way too much about their PageRank and fear passing even a tiny bit of it on to anybody that they link to. Are you one of those people that don’t want to pass out PageRank? You do realize that the PageRank that you do have is only because of people that have linked back to you right? And your readers of your blog contribute their time and information to your blog, yet you aren’t willing to help them out?
I’m not saying that I won’t comment on your blog or add to the conversations on your posts, but you can bet your ass that I would be doing a hell of a lot more commenting on your blog if you made it worth my time by helping me out with links. I recently updated my advertising page and those that have read it may have found that I will link to their site or product for free. I am not necessarily into doing a whole review post on my blog just yet, though it may happen in the very near future. But as I said on my advertising page, if you believe that your site or your product can help others and you are looking for a way to gather some precious ONE-WAY backlinks, get to know me and I WILL help you out. Ask me questions or leave comments if you don’t understand something about my posts, I will do what I can to assist you with your questions and if I can’t help you out, I can definitely get in touch with somebody that can.
Go through a few of my more recent posts, in fact some of my Week In Review posts and you will find that I have linked to Garry Conn multiple times. Why have I done this exactly? Because I have learned a lot from Garry’s blog and when I have always asked him a question about something he always responded to me. Maybe it wasn’t right away but he did eventually respond and that is why I am more then happy to give him a few backlinks here and there.
I was recently contacted by Spencer Haws who runs a paid surveys website. He read my Weekly Review post where I mentioned that I had gotten into site flipping and he wanted to know a little bit more about it. So I responded back to him with what I knew and judging from the email I got back from him he was happy with my answer. I appreciate that he contacted me instead of just forgetting about my blog and finding another blog so within this post and some in the future I will be sending him some links.
Let’s face it, when it comes to blogs we want traffic and more importantly we want readers. We want people who are willing to communicate with others through the comments and add value and diversity to our blogs. Would you seriously continue to post knowing that you would never receive any traffic? Hell no and you probably wouldn’t keep posting if all you got were visitors and not readers.
While I am nobody special I am willing to help out others. So going back to the title of this post, is your blog worth my time?
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September 5th, 2008 at 12:59 am
Hey, great post. If you always remain honest and humble, treating your visitors like “people”, and not “visitor stats”, then you will have no trouble gaining regular readers and traffic over time.
Looks like you have those things down, so you’re good to go. :)
Cheers!
Jay
SuiteJs last blog post..How To Find Inspiration For Customizing Your Wordpress Theme
September 5th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Hey dude…great post…I dropped some link luv in the past to your Webmaster Tools series, I’ll do some more soon…I’m going to try and do a bi-weekly update and link over to some readers blogs…It’s tuff for me to stick to a regime but I’ll put in the effort..
Again…great post…
September 5th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Hi Jay, thanks for checking out the blog and glad that you liked the post.
As you could tell from my post I am all about helping out us smaller guys in any way that I can and those that I have helped know that already.
You’ve got some great posts on your blog and I wouldn’t be surprised if you start seeing a lot more traffic and readers over the next few months if you keep up what you are doing. I will definitely be keeping an eye on your blog and you may very well see me leaving a lot more comments in the future ;)
September 5th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Yeah, thanks for the links in the past, I appreciate it :)
Sent you some in this post as well ;) Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
I think you should whip up a bi-weekly report, would be a good idea. You have some readers and it may get them a tad bit more interested in what you are up to. I know that I am interested in what you are up to ;)
September 5th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Jay hit it right on the button. As long as you are yourself, honest, and give your all on your blog - it will take off!
Show people you appreciate them, and always try to respond to comments and questions.. and people will be loyal.
One point I’d like to bring up though, is the increasing importance of personal branding on your blog - people want to know who’s thoughts they are reading, what they look like, and where they’re from. They want to know “who it is” that they are investing their time into and trusting their expertise.
Branding helps you stand out amongst the masses, and get the recognition you deserve much quicker than the rest of the “faceless” blogs out there.
Great post!
Elijahs last blog post..How The Rich Stay Rich: An Internet Marketing Reality Check
September 5th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Thanks Elijah, I agree with you as well about the comment from Jay.
As far as personal branding goes, this blog does lack it somewhat. Other then my about page there isn’t really much else of me on the blog except for my picture in the comments. I am all for gaining my readers and visitor’s trust and I want people that come here to feel comfortable enough to contribute to my posts.
You have me thinking now with what you said about personal branding. I may just have to come up with a redesign. I have always wanted to come up with an “identity” for myself. A logo of sorts that I can use around the web, on my blog and for my web design business. Having a logo for yourself, your website and your business I believe can add an extra bit of trust to strangers.
September 5th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Oh yeah, I didn’t notice the first time through…appreciate it man.
Keith James Locks last blog post..Great Earnings From My New phpBay Blog
September 6th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Bro, before any of you guys started dropping by our blog we had a different theme.. and it was vibrant and great, but it didn’t have style if you know what I mean.
The second we switched to this theme and started branding our ugly ass faces in videos and social networks the traffic started to really pick up.
I’m all behind you stepping up the personal branding aspect, and I can definitely help in that department if you need a brain to bounce thoughts off of.
Don’t hesitate to hit me up bro, you know where to find me!
September 6th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Yeah, I plan to redesign this blog in the near future, just not sure exactly when. Got quite a few things going on that deal with making money and those right now are a priority above the look of the blog.
I do want to get into videos though. I won a MarketLeverage contest a few months ago when they first came on scene and scored a Flip Mino. While it may not be the best thing, adding videos and a face to the content can really make a difference.
September 10th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I think people tend to overlook the readership compared to visitors a lot. I try to help out as much as I can, when I can and if I can. And yes, people are WAY to caught up with PR and just stats. I used to be like that but not anymore…
Great post, if my forgetful ass remembers, I’ll try to add this to my weekly link love.
Jay
Jays last blog post..Introducing the “Elite Ninja Flipping Unit” to the Site Flipping World
September 10th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Thanks for the comment.
Haha, yeah I will admit that I am caught up in stats, although I wouldn’t say in a bad way. Sure I am always checking them (working on that) but it isn’t like I need to see better stats. Sure it would be nice but I am just letting the traffic come in as it may right now and spending my time promoting other sites that will benefit me more.
While this blog is more of a personal site and allows me to share whatever interests I have with anybody out there who is willing to listen in :)
September 12th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Great post and good outlook on helping others! I love to help people, I love when folks email me, or ask questions. I’m not the most knowledgeable person, but I help when I can. Pagerank and all that…well, while it’s fun during the moment, I decided it’s really not a big deal, and thus, left all the comment links on my site “do follow”. Will it hurt me? Who knows…but I’m building a community and that’s all that really matters to me.
Normal Joes last blog post..How To Reach Success Through Teamwork And Having The Right Friends
September 12th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
You sure are making your rounds around the blog ;)
Yeah, I really enjoy helping others as well. As far as PageRank is concerned it isn’t too important to me. I mean sure it would be neat to have a PR 4 blog, but even if I never get there it won’t keep me from posting.