Category Archives: Problogging

Great People Live Up to Their Word

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I have never tried to push my brand in order to get free things, and I probably never will, but I have always secretly hoped that all my hard work would be noticed by people, and in turn they would want to help me out, even in some small way. Most of the time, I am unfortunately disappointed as people say they are going to do something, but instead disappear off the face of the earth.

I have always found that online people over promise and under deliver, but recently, I have had two examples of people doing quite the opposite.

WordPress Wear

Back, earlier in the year, I attended Moosecamp and Northern Voice in beautiful British Columbia, and I met up with Matt Mullenweg and got to see Lloyd Budd once again. I mentioned how I would love to get a WordPress shirt at some point, but the cost of shipping made the whole thing prohibitively expensive. I had found it sort of ironic that I talked about WordPress all the time on various blogs, and podcasts, and didn’t have anything to show for it. I was honoured that Lloyd had me help out with his session about WordPress at Moosecamp, and he sweetened the deal by offering me a WordPress shirt.

He said that it might take a while, but I would get it, and since then, I had totally forgot about it. I never really expected to get a WordPress shirt, and amusingly enough, a week after my transition out of being a full time blogger, a package arrives and inside is a WordPress hooded sweatshirt.

Up to that point, I had been a little bummed out due to some personal life complications, but it felt like a sign that things were turning around for me in a very positive way. I also found it ironic that the only blog where I now had access to post about WordPress related content was here on Xfep, where I haven’t given WordPress as much focus as I have elsewhere.

Problogger Book

When I first heard about the Problogger book, it was already completed and Darren and Chris were already promoting it. I immediately signed up for their newsletter to get the sample chapter and was really impressed.

I contacted Chris, and jokingly pointed out that he should be handing out copies to all his buddies, and interestingly enough, he said that he would send me a copy. After hearing how other people were grabbing copies of the book, I almost went out and purchased a copy, thinking that Chris had forgotten. Promoting a book is much more important than spending the time to make sure I got a copy, and so I wasn’t frustrated or annoyed with him at all.

Today, a truck pulled up and handed me a small package. Sabine, my wife, looked at me and asked what it could be. I didn’t have any clue, and so before even signing for the package, I opened it up to reveal a small soft cover book including in large bold letters, Problogger.

I have been reading and re-reading the sample chapter and gaining a little more insight each time, and now I can’t say that I am not distracted by having the book in hand to pour through and review. I can’t explain how excited I am, and I still plan on buying a copy or two to give out to some blogging friends of mine, as well as maybe a few to give away here. Chris and Darren deserve all the support we can give them with regards to the success of the book.

Live Up to Your Word

Chris and Lloyd didn’t have to go above and beyond to fulfill the small mentions they made with regards to helping me out, and yet they did, and in doing so they made me feel very special, and appreciated, something that far too many people forget to do. I hope that they feel, in some small way, responsible for my happiness, and in turn feel happy themselves. They are great people, and deserve special recognition.

And now, to close out this post, here is me, with a goofy grin, excited about my WordPress shirt and my Problogger book.

WordPress Shirt and Problogger Book

Originally posted on May 16, 2008 @ 4:38 pm

ProBlogger Book Giveaway

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Darren Rowse has let everyone know that ScribeFire is giving away 50 copies of Problogger, the book that he and Chris Garrett penned, on their site. All you have to do is sign up for the ScribeFire newsletter, and you are entered.

They will be giving away ten books a day for five days next week, from May 19th through the 23rd.

I have read the sample chapter of this book, and I am hoping to get a copy because if the sample is any indication, this is the best blogging related book ever. Even someone like me, who has been a full time blogger for three years got some great pieces of advice from the sample chapter. Imagine what the full book can do.

Originally posted on May 13, 2008 @ 10:49 pm

Paying Bloggers

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One of the worst things about the end of the money for me right now is what happens to my bank account as I go around and pay all of the bloggers and other freelancers that I work with. I continue to spend inordinate amounts of money on slowly growing my business online, and the one thing I have learned is that Paypal, while great in some respects is such a huge rip-off sometimes. Not only does it use horrible currency conversion rates, but they also fee my freelancers to death.

I wish there were other popular services that I could use. Luckily, some of the people I work with live in the same country as I do, and as such, I can e-mail money to them through an e-mail money transfer system that all of the banks in Canada participate in.

Why not just use advertising revenue, and have companies pay the freelancers directly? Well, the sites I run outside of this one, don’t make enough to do that. Hopefully, at some point that will change, but for now, it is definitely helping me realize how much work I have to do on the ad sales side to make this business of mine break even.

Are there better services than Paypal? Are there better ways to pay bloggers? Let me know in the comments below.

Originally posted on April 30, 2008 @ 9:36 pm

Blog Network Blogger Lifestyle

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When people ask me how they should get into blogging as a part time or full time job, I think carefully before I answer as I have seen great success as a network backed blogger, while only receiving what I consider moderate success on my own outside of the network.

Being a blogger backed by a network can be a great experience, but sometimes it can also be very frustrating.

My days are filled with posting quotas that I didn’t set myself, with posting requirements on sites that I don’t particularly enjoy, writing content that I don’t control, and hoping that it does well enough that the company keeps me on.

All the while dealing with the fact that I don’t control how the site functions or the advertising that goes next to the words I write. I consider it to be very similar to working as a reporter for a newspaper.

Blogging for myself, I get to chose how often I post, and where I post. I get to chose how the sites function, and how they are monetized and promoted.

It is a very different feeling, but you can also see the advantages of blogging for a network. I never have to worry about servers, advertising, monetization, WordPress upgrades, design, branding, or promotion. My key focus is content, and everything else is someone else’s problem. It allows me to create more, and worry less, all the while knowing I will get paid for the effort I put in.

I don’t know many bloggers working for themselves that after a month can expect the type of pay checks that network backed bloggers will receive.

As the web gets more competitive, and more blogs are added, I feel like I can recommend blogging as a business on your own, less and less. While there are many sacrifices being made as a blog network backed blogger, I don’t know if I would be where I am today if it wasn’t for Darren Rowse, Paul Scrivens, Jacob Gower, and Mark Saunders.

If you want more details on what it is like to be a network backed blogger, I suggest you check out Jennifer Chait’s and Deborah Ng’s Network Blogging Tips.

Originally posted on April 9, 2008 @ 5:24 pm

Problogger Book

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Problogger BookChris Garrett and Darren Rowse, two people that I highly respect, and who are both directly responsible for my career and inspiring its continued growth have come together and published a book on blogging called simply enough Problogger.

From Chris Garrett:

The book is our combined experiences in professional blogging. Making a full time income either directly or indirectly by building effective blogs.

I haven’t had a chance to give it a once over yet, as neither Chris nor Darren have sent me the sample chapter which you can get by signing up for the e-mail list on the book’s site. (contact me guys) I do plan on purchasing the book to review it, as well as maybe learn a few more tricks on how to get myself closer to their level.

Here are some things that you will probably learn from the book:

  • How Bloggers Make Money
  • Direct Income Earning vs. Indirect Income Earning methods
  • Why Niches are Important
  • 20 Ingredients for a successful blog post
  • Optimizing advertising
  • Which advertising platforms work best
  • Expert analysis of Technorati’s Top Blogs – why they work

Some other details about the book include that it is 280 pages long, and will be published by Wiley on April 18th and should begin shipping on the 28th. All of the attendees at SOBCon are going to get a copy.

Will it be worth the money, or is this another book that’s a great idea, but gives information that most people can’t replicate due to the ever changing rules online? There is no such thing as timeless advice when it comes to making money online, but Chris Garrett and Darren Rowse are names that I know and trust, so if nothing else, this books should be inspirational.

Originally posted on April 12, 2008 @ 1:17 pm