Over the coming weeks I have lined up to record audio interviews with a number of bloggers who have been making a living from their blogging and related activities.
The first 3 are:
- Leo Babauta – from Zen Habits
- Gala Darling – from iCiNG
- Aaron Wall – from SEObook
Each has had success in their own niches and each has expertise in different areas of blogging and I’m really looking forward to exploring some practical tips with each.
Ask a Question Here
I have a lot of questions already lined up to ask them but would love to also include a few questions from readers in the interviews. This post is simply an invitation for you to submit a question to one or all of the bloggers.
If you have a question you’d like me to ask please leave it (with the name of the blogger you want me to ask it to) in comments below.
PS: I can’t guarantee to ask every question you submit – but I will try to get as many as I can included!
My Question To all the 3 Blogger will be or is :
What was the first time that made You Think That You Should Start Blogging and Did You Started Blogging For making a Living out of it???
What are up to 5 simple rules to use Twitter as a means of free introduction to a New Brand Name like Chana Systems?
Hi,
here’s my question:
I have been blogging for about 8 months now, consistently every day on a blog about personal development.
I now have more than 150 visitors a day visiting my blog, yet, I get very few comments – only about 2 or 3 per week.
Every once in a while I notice that some people tweet my blog posts or blog about them on their own blogs, and then I usually reciprocate, but somehow I feel like my blog isn’t really going on. What can I do to get more interaction and bigger traction? I have tried asking questions, etc. but still very little feedback.
Thanks,
Michael
Garla: Do you think youre blog is popular because you are a hot chick?
Great! I’m excited…
I’d love to know:
– How many people should you have on your “list” before trying to launch paid products/services or even a membership site?
– How long should someone expect to put into blogging daily in order to achieve good results?
– How many readers should a blog have per day before trying to land advertisers?
Chris, I was thinking that one too haha
Why do you think blogging is so popular and where do you think it will all end?
Are bloggers being sold an impossible dream? What percentage of bloggers can hope to make money out of their blogs?
Do you think that in order to succeed as an author these days marketing and technical skills are more important than writing ability?
What blogging niche is undeveloped and most likely to lead me to untold riches?
What question would you never answer for us?
What’s your favorite joke?
And, lastly, what color undies are you wearing?
There, I think that about covers it. Thanks Darren. I was going to do this myself but you’ve saved the day. I look forward to reading the answers:)
Sorry, I forgot to mention that I’d like to ask all of them these questions but I’ll leave it up to you to pick the most pertinent ones…
I want to ask all of the three great bloggers the same question. “how do you keep i.e. maintain your blog?”
As you know there has to be constant inputs in writeups, visitors have to come in and you have to get and give your blog links to make your blog visible on net and so on.
How do manage all this? Is it a team work or do you do all this singlehanded !
I want to start a blog but ‘this’ is the question which keeps me from starting one before I am sure what answer I have.
I have a question too!
How has blogging affected your life?
Hello Darren – Yet another great idea you have developed!
– I would like to ask Leo Babauta how many categories he recommends a blog contain. Is there a rough number or does it based upon the blog’s content?
– I want to insert some widgets but I’m not the web designer. I uploaded a couple into the WordPress backend Admin portion but am afraid to activate them. Should I just suck it up and pay the web designer? Or can I activate them then if they look back just delete them & the blog goes back to what it looks like before?
– And for either Leo Babauta or Aaron Wall. I LOVE Akismet as it catches absolutely every possible spam comment. Question: A lot of people leave comments that appear to really only be leaving comments to get links to their site. I decided that appears to be normal and started approving those that appear to be in the same industry as the post. My web designer said not to do this so I stopped. Yet virtually every person making a comment has a web link to their own site and leaves a “generic” comment. What do you recommend? I really need help on this as I’m really deleting almost every comment I get & it looks like I never get comments (although I understand that should not be the ultimate test).
I’d really appreciate help on these!
Thanks,
Jennifer Stalford
Is it possible to install blogger/blogspot blog at our website just like we do for WordPress?
eg, http://www.lovemyseo.com/blog this is the WordPress blog I installed on my domain but can we do the same for blogger/blogspot blog?
1. From where I can find the blog files like I found ffrom http://wordpress.org/download/ for wordpress and then uplaod it to root directory of my site FTP.
2. Please tell me the download link from where I can downlaod blogger/blogspot files and installation procedure?
Regards,
Muddabir
Hi Darren,
My Question to all:
What do you think is the One thing that propels your success?
Thank you for opening this up for your readers.
What was the biggest mental or habitual roadblock that you faced when starting a blog and reaching the threshold of unknown to relative success?
My question to Leo: (From one minimalist to another)
I am always fascinated with personal finance theory so I am wondering what you think is more important, an emergency fund or a retirement fund and why?
My question is to all three is
– Now that you are successful bloggers and have been for a number of years, do you think you will be as successful or more in 10 years time? In 15 years time? What does the future hold for your personal blogging careers and do you see yourself blogging for the rest of your lives?
Thanks for interviewing Gala, I’ve read her blog from her early days and simply adore her. I can honestly say her blog has had a direct impact on my career path. If possible would you be able to ask her: How she approached advertising and generating an income from her site and how she was able to freelance for differing publications, did she contact the publications and advertisers or did they?
Hello
My question to Leo Babauta
“How did you gain 149.100 Subscribers within 2 years 7 months
Thanks
My question goes to all three.
What are the main challenges to successful blogging.
All 3:
– Has your work attracted nutters and weirdos at any point, and how have you dealt with it?
– It’s got to always be a challenge to balance promoting what you do to the point that you don’t come across as self-promoting. What’s the key to getting this right?
What were the top three methods you used to drive traffic to your blog?
Question to all 3:
What is the most important/the best marketing strategy (in your opinion) to get your blog known out there.
Also, what are their opinions about blogging on free platforms like blogger.com or wordpress?
Is it profitable?
I don’t know all of them, but it seems like the bloggers with a huge following got started when blogging wasn’t popular & it was new. If they were starting now, what would they do to stand out from the crowd?
My Questions:
Does a Blog’s Theme affect the performance of adsense earnings?
How many posts to be posted per day to maintain a good relationship with the readers?
What Is the Best Theme Available For blogs that cover – Cars, Bikes, Gadgets and so on (Paid and Free Themes) ?
With Regards,
Kamalahasan TN – Managing Editor & Founder,
http://burnyourfuel.com
[email protected]
I’d say that my question is the same as Jodi Kaplan: “What were the top three methods you used to drive traffic to your blog?”
My second question would be about facebook: Do you use facebook to attract traffic to your blog and how?
The third question would be about youtube: Do you use videos to attract more readers or to promote paid products.
Thanks a lot Darren for such an incredible opportunity.
Krizia
What would you be doing for a living if blogging wasn’t a viable option?
Gala, why have you stopped publishing self-help type of entries and started moving toward nothing but materialistic content?
Me question is for Leo.
Here it is:
If you were a busy person who can only spare 30-60 min daily for promotion(apart from writing content), what strategy/steps would you use to get more readers?
Hope I get the answer! :)
My question to Leo Babauta
How many books did you read about your niche in your life ?
What Specif things are you doing when you are MOST HAPPY working on Your BLOG?
Leo: Do you think the personal development space is saturated? What are your thoughts on finding your voice that sets your blog apart?
This sounds like it’s going to be great! I’d like to know, if you could only pick one way to promote your blog, what would it be? In other words, what do you think has the biggest return on investment (social media? commenting? guest posts? ppc?).
Also, does luck play any part in your success, or is it really just 100% hard work?
Thanks, I’m looking forward to the answers on any or all of these questions people have asked!
How much harder do you think it is for a new blogger to make a living blogging given that the market is pretty saturated with blogs these days.
I blog about fence (products, installations, codes, etc…) and was a fence contractor (I blogged then too) up until this year. I recently started a site that sells fence products to DIYers and contractors and we ship out products nationwide.
My question(s) would be for all three:
Writing content that people want to link to is sometimes difficult in my niche, is it ok to broaden my writing into home improvement/construction in general? When I say this, I mean to occasionally write article that may cover other DIY type projects, or even write about other DIY type sites I read.
On my previous site, I wrote an article about the border fence being installed along the US/Mexican border. This article got huge traffic, comments, and links. Is it recommended that articles that may be controversial be published if you are trying to sell products?
If I write an article that gets more traffic than any other article, should I capitalize by continuing to write on that topic even if the traffic it gets doesn’t convert to sales and only increases traffic and links?
Can’t wait for this !! Great idea!
My question is best suited for whomever feels most knowledgable about advertising, I leave that in your hands:
I’m confused about how to launch advertising on a site of mine that will go up in 2010 – in other words, what are your suggestions for beginning advertising. I hate the look of adaense and from everything I’ve read revenue can often be very marginal. However, I’m having trouble deciding what my other options are at the launch phase – am I better off launching with no ads, build traffic for the first quarter, and then start a direct sales program (selling ad space directly to related businesses)? After all, I can’t imagine starting direct sales in the first quarter of the sites launch would result in much as we will have only just launched.
Hi, my questions is for all three bloggers.
How did you know when you had enough content and dedication to create a blog in the first place? (As silly as it sounds)
It would be awesome if you could shed some light :)
Thanks!
This question is for Leo:
When event or realization told you that you could make a living as a blogger?
My questions for any/all of your guests dovetails a little with Keith’s:
At what point did they strike the balance between creating content that they were passionate about vs. creating content that people would actually read and share? Can aspiring bloggers expect to remain committed to writing about their passions and interests, or do they always have to “sell out” at some point to see and bit of monetization?
My question is for whoever can best answer:
How/where does one get a unique product that isn’t rehash of others on the web and how/where to get good content if one is not a writer?
Thanks,
Bob
I was wondering if the bloggers could discuss finances, but organizing their personal finances. Do you live month by month? Do you have complex saving plans? How do you plan the route from salaried job to on your own?
Hi Darren,
Thanks for your fine article on having something to offer/sell. I’m brand new to blogging (2 weeks after much fear and struggle) but have been helped by your daily emails–clear and filled with lively anecdotes. I’m a poet/writer who’s self-published various books and marketed them, but this is my first venture into blog world. In May my partner and I republished a book I’d first self-published in 1975 titled MINNIE ROSE LOVGREEN’S RECIPE FOR RAISING CHICKENS. It’s practical and lively chicken-raising advice that I tape-recorded from an 86-year-old chicken-loving farmwoman–then handlettered, found an illustrator, & published. It sold 21,000 copies in the 70’s and 80’s, then was out of print over 20 years–until now, with this 3rd edition, which is doing well now with chicken-raisers all across the country. After a fine article in MARYJANESFARM Magazine, we’ve been getting phone calls from every state–great fun! But, for more publicity we’ve created this new blog. Not much action yet of course, but a great way to write about the book and my experience of creating it. Just wanted to let you know. The website above is our blog, but here’s our regular website: http://www.nwtrilliumpress.com If you send us an address, we’ll be glad to send a complimentary book (no obligation). hanks for your honesty, humor, and clarity. Nancy
I went through most of the comments here and found pretty good questions, i guess ill wait for the answers :)
What is the one primary factor you contribute to your success? Timing? Good content? Uniqueness? Design? Something else?
hi Garda
http://www.statspy.org said that you have 19580 visitors per day?
Counting visitors is a useful thing for a blogger or its less important than cool content?
For Leo: I love your blog. With such a simple, elegant design and without ads, affiliates, etc., how do you make money with your blog? Other than the fact that it leads readers to your books?
Darren: Thank you for all you do and share with us; and for allowing our participation on this project.
When you just don’t feel like you have it in you to type another word, what do you do? How do you move past blogging stumbling blocks?
I have a question for Gala Darling: Do you approach the clients you promote (MAC et al) or do they approach you?
If it’s the former, how did you first go about it? Just make a cold call, or something else?
Thanks! – love your site. :)
My question is… what do they make of the following post, by the head of SiteSell:
Where are All Those 200+ Million Blogs in the SERPS?
Ken’s Blog
A statement by an SBIer in the SBI! Forums got me thinking…
‘When I google for information, it is always a website where I find my information.’
This is a major concept. How come, with 200+ million blogs, bloggers don’t dominate the Search Engine Results Pages (“SERPS”)?
It’s interesting how everyone seems to overlook this “plain view evidence,” especially when we’ve written posts about how SBI!-built theme-based content sites have a disproportionately high % of Top 10 rankings.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s happening on the SERPS…
You are unlikely to find a blog because Google knows that you are likely searching for more comprehensive information, not just the latest few paragraphs that you write about the topic. If the search is more “timely/topical” in nature, Google may insert a blog post somewhere in the Top 10 of its search results.
To search blogs extensively, people must use blogsearch.google.com (Google’s blogging Search Engine). Only 0.2% of Google’s traffic does that (1 in 500 people — not ideal stats for starting a business).
In the same way that Google may insert a blog into its “regular” search results if a search was time-sensitive, it may insert a Twitter “tweet” into its search results if a search was particularly “now.” Tweet or blog post, these search results, few as they are, disappear over time because they lose their time-relevance.
When people search for information on the Net, they want evergreen theme-based content sites, not your latest post about their search (blogging) and not your latest 140-character tweet.
Gala, why do you claim you make a fabulous living from blogging, your podcast and freelancing for ONE website when you obviously don’t?
Sorry Darren, but bloggers have been raising serious doubts about Gala’s financial claims. We have asked her nicely since she is selling a podcast about making money online, so we think it is fair to have some general information about her sources of online income. Yet Gala refuses to address these questions. We hope you can ask her to come clean in the podcast.
The discussion about Gala Darling’s dubious claims about being a self sufficient pro blogger is here ——–
http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/snippets/issue16/gala_darling
If you measure galadarling.com on any web stats site you can see she doesn’t have nearly enough traffic to survive on Adsense and she doesn’t use affiliate programs etc ——- We really want to know the truth.
Wylie – we’ll be covering some monetization stuff but to be honest I don’t know what the problem is. She has a paid podcast but from what I can see it has nothing to do with making money online, it’s about life, fashion, relationships and all kinds of other stuff. Seems like she’ll touch on entrepreneurship but I personally I’m not sure why it’s relevant whether she proves that she’s making money from her blog or not?
I’d also add that when you have a very engaged audience (as Gala does) that you don’t need heaps of traffic for a blog to be profitable – particularly if you’re selling something of your own like Gala does.
Anyway – I’m sure she’ll be an illuminating interviewee :-)