I thought it might be fun while I’m away for you to talk amongst yourselves for a bit. Why? Well I know many of you reasonably well because we chat on IM or have emailed – but I think a lot of you would quite like one another and could learn quite a bit from each other as fellow bloggers trying to earn an income from your blogging. I know enough to realise that I don’t have a monopoly on Pro Blogging truth – I’d like to see us learn from each other and the only way to do this is to put yourself out there an introduce yourself.
So I’m going to leave a number of questions designed to help you introduce yourself which I invite you to do one of two three things with. You can either:
- Ignore this post and go have an Easter Break like I am
- Answer these questions on your own blog and leave a link in comments below to your answers
- Answer these questions here in comments below so that we can have them all in the one place
Here are some questions (feel free to ask and answer more if you’d like – and to ignore some of these question if you’d rather not go there):
1. What is Your Name?
2. Where are you from?
3. What is/are your blog/s name/s – what are they about?
4. How many Blogs do you own/write for?
5. How long have your been blogging?
6. Why do you like blogs? What are the advantages of them in your mind?
7. How many readers does your blog have per day on average?
8. What are the main ways you’re trying to earn an income from your blog/s (feel free to give details of how successful they are)?
9. What is your favorite blog (that isn’t your own)?
10. What advice would you give a blogger just starting out who is trying to earn an income from blogging?
As I said above – feel free to answer them as you’d like – ignoring the ones that offend, scare, confuse or bore you and focusing on those that resonate, stimulate, get your motor running or ring your bell.
I’m looking forward to reading your answers when I return home on Monday night.
1. What is Your Name?
Matthew
2. Where are you from?
Yorkshire, England
3. What is/are your blog/s name/s – what are they about?
It is currently about SEO, PHP Tutorials and Google Adsense
4. How many Blogs do you own/write for?
1 (Hope to make more soon)
5. How long have your been blogging?
Since December
6. Why do you like blogs? What are the advantages of them in your mind?
Simple and can be informative.
7. How many readers does your blog have per day on average?
Not many :(
8. What are the main ways you’re trying to earn an income from your blog/s (feel free to give details of how successful they are)?
I am using Google Adsense, I am not doing too bad on my other non-blog sites but I want to learn more from this site.
9. What is your favorite blog (that isn’t your own)?
At the moment – This one!
10. What advice would you give a blogger just starting out who is trying to earn an income from blogging?
Plan what it is going to be about before you start it.
Danger Stevens
Seattle, WA
5 total – all started in the last month and a half
Ummm…. a month and a half.
Personal voice in writing, total freedom in publishing, instant communication through RSS, community between blogs, enhancing the quality of the web.
Very small still, between 30-100.
Eventually I want to have a supplementary income from adsense, but primary I’d like to have a network of high pagerank blogs for helping to launch other sites instantly.
Definitely this one.
Pick a very specific topic that you care about. If you don’t care, you’ll never make it past 30 posts.
1. What is Your Name?
Jim
2. Where are you from?
New York, but I live in Baltimore, Maryland.
3. What is/are your blog/s name/s – what are they about?
Blueprint for Financial Prosperity (personal finance), Democrapublican (politics, sorta), and New York Jets (sports)
4. How many Blogs do you own/write for?
3
5. How long have your been blogging?
Since about the start of February.
6. Why do you like blogs? What are the advantages of them in your mind?
I enjoy writing and teaching (I used to tutor in high school), blogs let you easily spread some knowledge around.
7. How many readers does your blog have per day on average?
Probably somewhere between 30 and 100. I’m not entirely sure. :)
8. What are the main ways you�re trying to earn an income from your blog/s (feel free to give details of how successful they are)?
Mainly Google Ads, some other affiliate programs, they’ve been alright in terms of generating income. It’s just for fun and a little weekend beer money.
9. What is your favorite blog (that isn�t your own)?
Not sure, I like a whole bunch of personal finance related blogs.
10. What advice would you give a blogger just starting out who is trying to earn an income from blogging?
You must be patient and enjoy it. If you want a job, go work. This isn’t a get rich quick scheme.
1. What is Your Name?
Rob
2. Where are you from?
Orlando, FL
3. What is/are your blog/s name/s – what are they about?
orangejack blog: my personal, random blog
RealityBlogs.com: a blog I co-write about Reality TV
effective web ministry notes: my blog I use for work exploring how to use the web effectively
4. How many Blogs do you own/write for?
3, though I have 2 others. One isn’t public and one is for a conference next week
5. How long have your been blogging?
Since July 2004. I’m a n00bie
6. Why do you like blogs? What are the advantages of them in your mind?
fast technology to get info out. using it for a conference has been an experiment. but what I like is the ability to bring up a website on the fly
7. How many readers does your blog have per day on average?
personal one is about 75, work one is about 25, reality tv one not sure…our stats are all messed up
8. What are the main ways you�re trying to earn an income from your blog/s (feel free to give details of how successful they are)?
none
9. What is your favorite blog (that isn�t your own)?
my wife’s, right? ;-)
10. What advice would you give a blogger just starting out who is trying to earn an income from blogging?
Have fun with it. You are your world’s local expert on something. Blog it!
1. What is Your Name?
Paul
2. Where are you from?
Johannesburg, South Africa
3. What is/are your blog/s name/s – what are they about?
My primary blog is called Neuvo and it is basically a collection of posts about stuff (most succinct description, really!) and my own musings and thoughts on a range of topics
4. How many Blogs do you own/write for?
Two, one is fairly new and is still finding its feet
5. How long have your been blogging?
Since December 2004
6. Why do you like blogs? What are the advantages of them in your mind?
They help me expand my knowledge of what works and what doesn’t work on the Web and give me an outlet for my creative and techie urges
7. How many readers does your blog have per day on average?
Around 400, I think
8. What are the main ways you�re trying to earn an income from your blog/s (feel free to give details of how successful they are)?
Google AdSense is the main one. Not too successful so far but then again, I don’t expect massive successes just yet
9. What is your favorite blog (that isn�t your own)?
Scobleizer/Problogger tie
10. What advice would you give a blogger just starting out who is trying to earn an income from blogging?
Focus on your content and write about what you are passionate about. Be patient.
1. Sean
2. Dallas, TX (Soon to be Seattle though!)
3. Wayward Puppy
4. One is more than enough for me to keep up with
5. About a year now
6 . Nice way to get ideas out of your head and for finding like minded people (also can be a nice way for people you know to keep tabs on you)
7. Somewhere around 150 people a day but recently got a big bump from lifehacker.com
8. Have no ads, find them distracting
9. Humm… RawBrick and Hindsight-2020
10. Would say it�s a bad idea � if you happen to earn some income from a blog you started out because you were really passionate about a topic that is one thing but starting a blog for the whole intent of earning money (also a good general golden rule of blogging is never publish anything you wouldn�t mind anyone you know reading)
1. What is Your Name?
John
2. Where are you from?
Hamilton, Ontario Canada
3. What is/are your blog/s name/s – what are they about?
The Movie Blog – I’ll let you guess what it’s about
4. How many Blogs do you own/write for?
One really
5. How long have your been blogging?
About 3 years now
6. Why do you like blogs? What are the advantages of them in your mind?
Contrary to conventional wisdom, I beleive we are actually interested in each others opinions
7. How many readers does your blog have per day on average?
11,000 – 12,000
8. What are the main ways you�re trying to earn an income from your blog/s (feel free to give details of how successful they are)?
9. What is your favorite blog (that isn�t your own)?
10. What advice would you give a blogger just starting out who is trying to earn an income from blogging?
Just Adsnese for now
1. Vic
2. Utah (recently moved from SoCal)
3. Screen Rant – SciFi, TV, movie news & commentary without the sugar coating.
4. Two.
5. About a year and a half.
6. Easily updateable and search engines LOVE them.
7. Up until last month it was slow and steady up to 250/day, but this month I got a huge bump from having the Star Wars Episode III trailer on my site (until Lucasfilm contacted me and made me yank it). But the exposure got me a lot more regular readers so for now I’m getting 10X as many visitors.
8. My main source of income is from affiliate programs. I really started the blog as just a goof… a way to let off steam and enjoy writing. I started out just making enough to pay for hosting (eventually) but I’ve since added amazon links and recently a DirecTV affiliate link. Adwords income has gone up quite a bit lately not only from the increased traffic, but tweaks to the format as well. Even so it only puts me in the 14% group above.
9. Filmrot, TrekWeb, Dark Horizons (not sure if that strictly qualifies), this site of course.
10. The same advice given here a couple of days ago: Don’t expect overnight success. It takes a LONG time to build a following and it takes a lot of time to maintain a blog… at least if you’re not just doing brain dumps but are basing it on current events or some other topic that requires some sort of research. I also agree with Sean, it’s gotta be something you love to write about because it can be a grind. I’m currently trying to get a blog-format site (not a blog, strictly speaking) off the ground and I’m not really into the topic (just for the money) and it’s like pulling teeth to get me to work on it/update it.
Vic
Hi Darren,
I thought it would be fun to spread the love so I’ve answered all of your questions over on my blog. If you google “Angela’s Right to Free Speech” you should have no trouble finding it.
I sure hope you will answer your questions so that I can learn a little bit more about you too, k?
Hope you had a nice Easter Weekend.
Angela :-)
1. What is Your Name?
Colbert
2. Where are you from?
Malaysia
3. What is/are your blog/s name/s – what are they about?
Not really a blog. More of a site with mobile technology stuff and ringtones
4. How many Blogs do you own/write for?
Not yet but considering
6. Why do you like blogs? What are the advantages of them in your mind? Fresh content and search engine friendly
7. How many readers does your blog have per day on average?
My site gets around 300 visitors daily
8. What are the main ways you�re trying to earn an income from your blog/s (feel free to give details of how successful they are)?
Adsense and Zanox
9. What is your favorite blog (that isn�t your own)?
Ringtonia at Textually
10. What advice would you give a blogger just starting out who is trying to earn an income from blogging?
Just add content daily and optimize your adsense codes
1. What is Your Name?
Gayla McCord
2. Where are you from?
East Central Indiana
3. What is/are your blog/s name/s – what are they about?
Gayla�s Place � Personal posting and odd/bizarre news topics.
Blogging for Bayh � A part of a small grassroots political team
STD�s for Dummies � Up to date news and information on STD�s
Single Again � Up to date news, information and reviews for singles
Stop Think & Decide � Advocating Teen Sex Education and STD Awareness
Work at Home Mom � Tips and Advice from my lessons learned for other moms to share.
Simply Indiana � Just a means to help fellow Hoosiers
My Second Million � What I would do if I were rich
4. How many Blogs do you own/write for?
8 and sometimes I write on my husbands gardening blog too.
5. How long have your been blogging?
just over a year
6. Why do you like blogs? What are the advantages of them in your mind?
It helps me keep track of things I find interesting. I tap in to whatever mood I wake up in, whether it�s advocating, gardening, political or just plain me.
7. How many readers does your blog have per day on average?
I�m guessing around 1,000 total. I�ve not done the math really. I focus more on the keywords that are getting folks there
8. What are the main ways you�re trying to earn an income from your blog/s (feel free to give details of how successful they are)?
Adsense and a few other affiliates
9. What is your favorite blog (that isn�t your own)?
I have to say Problogger and of course my close friends blogs. It�s how I keep up to date on what�s going on with them in between those long distance calls.
10. What advice would you give a blogger just starting out who is trying to earn an income from blogging?
Be passionate about what you are doing. I know that is the most common, but if you don�t enjoy writing about a topic, it�s going to be more a chore than anything. I developed the several different blogs so they span the many faces of �me� and regardless of what mood I am in, there�s always something to write about.
1. What is Your Name?
Mike Silver
2. Where are you from?
Oxford, United Kingdom
3. What is/are your blog/s name/s – what are they about?
Health and Fitness Thoughts – My thoughts, views and experiences on anything to do with health and fitness
4. How many Blogs do you own/write for?
Just the one
5. How long have your been blogging?
Since October 2004
6. Why do you like blogs? What are the advantages of them in your mind?
Because you can find out info that would take you too long to find elsewhere, you get unique views on subjects that are hard to find elsewhere. I think the advantages are that it enables every single person on the planet to offer their view on anything they want to, quickly, easily and for free most times!
7. How many readers does your blog have per day on average?
25 – 50
8. What are the main ways you�re trying to earn an income from your blog/s (feel free to give details of how successful they are)?
Adsense, Amazon, various other adverts,
9. What is your favorite blog (that isn�t your own)?
Problogger, yay! … oh and also Engadget!
10. What advice would you give a blogger just starting out who is trying to earn an income from blogging?
Keep posting, post some more, post even more, and make it look good!
1. What is Your Name?
Rob. ;-)
2. Where are you from?
Portland, Dorset.uk..
3. What is/are your blog/s name/s – what are they about?
This one is my marketing learning curve.. my biggest blog.
http://www.islandmarketer.blogspot.com
This is my “accountability” blog… making sure I get things done. ;-)
Sunday servings… :-) http://www.sundayservings.blogspot.com
This is my new viral blog, which I hope my locals will post to. :-) And OTHERS.. ;-)
Backing the bid…. 2012.. http://www.backthebid2012.com/blog/
4. How many Blogs do you own/write for?
I own 4 blogs, and write for them all. :-)
5. How long have your been blogging?
Um.. Toooo long to not be earning well from them…started.. Jan 2004 !!
6. Why do you like blogs? What are the advantages of them in your mind?
They are a great release, and I think that it has woken alot of writers who otherwise would’nt have thought they COULD write.. :-)
And I feel that blogs are the “easiest” way to get started online.
7. How many readers does your blog have per day on average?
Not enough by far.. This one averaged around 40 to 130 a day at its peak..but its dropped? :-(
Where ya gone??
8. What are the main ways you�re trying to earn an income from your blog/s (feel free to give details of how successful they are)?
Adsense, some affiliate links and recomendations.
9. What is your favorite blog (that isn�t your own)?
Your one is great.. and the other favourite is on my blog. ;-) > Allen Says blog. :-)
10. What advice would you give a blogger just starting out who is trying to earn an income from blogging?
Forget the money at first, just write, and enjoy it.. but write alot. :-)
The blogs will be built one word at a time however you write it….so the more ya write, the better. :-)
Write for YOURSELF at first, your natural flow will develop, write as is…cos you write best before editing. :-)
Good luck in all blogs you do / try. :-)
Darren.. nice blog. ;-) Any tips for me. . . ;-)
Rob.
1. What is Your Name?
James (aka “mediamelt”)…
2. Where are you from?
Originally California, now Florida…
3. What is/are your blog/s name/s – what are they about?
Film Rotation (http://www.filmrot.com) … Movie-geek centric group blog…
4. How many Blogs do you own/write for?
Uno…
5. How long have your been blogging?
About seven months…
6. Why do you like blogs? What are the advantages of them in your mind?
No set format, free flowing, no bullcrap politics, bloggers tend to have a more community minded attitude in our subject of choice than the “major” film sites…
7. How many readers does your blog have per day on average?
On Average = 4,000+. Last months unique’s = 124,181…
8. What are the main ways you�re trying to earn an income from your blog/s (feel free to give details of how successful they are)?
Adsense and affiliate programs. The aff. programs have paid off the biggest, but are erratic. Adsense is less, but relatively steady…
9. What is your favorite blog (that isn�t your own)?
Waxy, Kottke, BoingBoing, The Movie Blog, Tagline, Screen Rant, Twitch Film, Joystiq, Slashdot, Chromewaves and a few others I won’t bore you with…
10. What advice would you give a blogger just starting out who is trying to earn an income from blogging?
Don’t. Blog for the love. Money will be nice, if it happens – but don’t expect it.