I’m not blogging as much as I used to, but I am still staying on top of what’s going on. I’m reading my Bloglines, my email subscriptions, visiting my favourite blogs to comment. One thing that is starting to get to me is what I’m going to ask you about:

Is anyone else tired of those how to be a better blogger / how to get readership posts?

I don’t mean every single one of them, but mainly those who focus on providing a list of “essentials” (!!), such as:

• Provide quality content
• Provide original content
• Provide value to the reader
• Post frequently, but not too frequently to wear yourself off
• Make lists
• Yada yada yada…

Even I, I admit, posted about couple of those issues, not in a list, but separately when beginning my blogging. But, since then I started seeing these posts popping up all around the blogosphere, and it makes stomach turn.

I mean, dear god, find something original to take up your blog’s space. Isn’t posting such a post contradicts the originality condition that the post itself mentions? And what about value? Very questionable…

- Alex

Happily posting useful content at Net-Entrepreneur.com
Current post was originally posted on:

What Happened to Quality Posts on This Niche?

It appears that web-design has the tendency to suck every available bit of time you have. Fueled by enthusiasm and good spirits I find myself designing and coding most of the time, being left with no time to blog.

I know, I should post regularly and be consistent with the quality, but the project I’m working on is quite serious, and has a potential to earn good money in the long run. I cannot rely on a free WordPress theme and had to start to completely overhaul a simple theme to fit our requirements. We’re doing everything in-house: the content, the graphics, the coding, and you can imagine what amount of energy and time this requires.

This is a blog about blogging and internet marketing (roll your eyes here), and obviously as a serious entrepreneur I’m going to undertake several projects once in a while. And a logical conclusion is that I’m going to have these sort of blogging breaks unless I outsource the time-consuming tasks. I am going to do this, but later on, when I will assemble a team of trustworthy freelancers and have a bit more money in my pocket.

Last three days we rented a bunch of movies and didn’t turn on anything with an Internet connection. This move allowed our heads to clear up and this post to see air.

Enjoy what you do, and see you around.

- Alex

Happily posting useful content at Net-Entrepreneur.com
Current post was originally posted on:

On Web-Design and Blogging

To Blog or Not to Blog… Every Day

You can write articles and post twice a day, but, even if you produce quality content for a while, the fact is that sometime you are going to have to slow down. I believe that posting frequently should not be your main concern. Posting consistently, however, should.

In your quest for readership you will see that some of that traffic you’re getting from your marketing efforts sticks around. This is seen as return visits, email and RSS subscribers. Those should be treated as VIP, for being new subscribers, they are very volatile in their decisions concerning your blog. It is easy to subscribe, and believe me, it is as easy to unsubscribe. And, since eventually you will get a small group of new subscribers every day, your whole blog should be treated as VIP blog.

The Tip…

The most important thing to do when thinking about your “regulars”, is to post consistently. If you post on Monday and Thursday, stick to it. You can, from time to time, post another article, but you cannot afford missing your usual post on Monday or Thursday.

Remember, your average reader is human. We are used to routines and schedules. It is most comforting to see that an article from your favorite blog has arrived when it was supposed to. The opposite is very annoying. Miss a post several times and the reader will think that your blog is dead.

Therefore, write consistently. Don’t worry about other bloggers posting once a day or several times a day. If your content is good, the readers will stick around.

- Alex

You might also want to read my Good Advice for a Bad Day article.

Technorati Tags: blogging, writing frequently, writing consistently, vip, rss, email, subscribe, frequently, consistently

Happily posting useful content at Net-Entrepreneur.com
Current post was originally posted on:

The Most Important Tip for Building a Readership

I know, it is labeled as “a journey through the online money-making land”, and indeed, I was sticking to the subject throughout my posts. But, who wants to read a personal diary of a make-money-online blogger anymore? There are so many of that kind out there that a certain antagonism could already be spotted among certain readers.

I am a dreamer. And, I do have a dream plans of monetizing this blog. Moreover, I have plans of doing it in the near future, for as stated in my first post and the ‘about’ page, my bank manager is not going to be a happy camper in a few months.

Monetizing demands sufficient readership, which is attained with time, and with good content. No point of slapping on your AdSense and your affiliate banners everywhere when there isn’t anyone to be interested, right?

You have to have your readers going home with something. I plan on trying to achieve this with my every article. During the last couple of days I was writing fairly usable advice articles, and I have to tell you, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I enjoyed introducing readers to potential problems and offering ways of solution, or ways to avoid the problems altogether. And, I enjoyed even more the fact that I got positive feedback from readers. Should I start an advice column?

So, I’m going get myself a cup of tea, listen to a favorite tune, and try to figure out what am I doing first thing tomorrow with my blog.

- Alex

Technorati Tags: blogging, online money, readers, advice, monetizing, blog, adsense

Happily posting useful content at Net-Entrepreneur.com
Current post was originally posted on:

Blogging about Blogging about Blogging