Money Online

The story
Let me tell you a little story about an experiment conducted in the last century on a group of cimps. The experiment consisted in placing 4 cimps in a cage, a ladder in the middle and a banana hanging above the ladder. Every time a chimp tried to climb the ladder to get the banana, cold water was thrown on all of them. After several experiences like this, no monkey was trying to grab the banana anymore. Now comes the funny part… In the next stage, the conductors of the experiment replaced one of the chimps with another one (that obviously did not know about the cold water shower). When the new guy tried to climb the ladder, the others started beating him up.
One by one, all 3 remaining monkeys of the initial group were replaced with new ones. The result was a little surprising; even if all the subjects that knew about the cold water that was thrown on them if they tried to grab “the forbidden fruit” were gone, the others kept on beating any new guy that was trying to climb the ladder. However, the explanation for this behavior, is obvious: the monkeys have got the idea that climbing the ladder was wrong, even if they didn’t know why.

You have to “walk the walk” before you can “talk the talk”
Now how does all that monkey business relate to blogging? Well it seems like there are some bloggers that do nothing but replicate what some famous bloggers say. For example, if an A-list blogger says that a 120 x 90 adsense link unit will give you a low ctr, several others “smaller” bloggers will repeat this “advice” without actually experimenting to see if that could work for them or not. Another category of people would put it like this: “AAAA said …. I did not try it yet, but I will and let you know if it works for me”. Wrong again! If you just repeat what “AAAA” said, and have really nothing more to say about it, nobody wants to hear the same story again. However, if you have something more to add to the initial “story”, or better yet, if you don’t agree to it and bring arguments in favor of your statement, it becomes interesting. Further more, what did not work for them, may actually work for you. You never know unless you try it yourself, or at least giving it a serious thought.

A real example of “monkey blogging”
The first thing that comes in my mind as an eloquent example for what I am trying to say, is the controversy that was generated by the appearance on the market of the PayPerPost service. I remember that when it was launched a few well known bloggers where totally against it. This triggered an army of less popular bloggers that just kept repeating how evil PayPerPost was and how it “poluted” the blogosphere, without even brining their personal thoughts and obviously without actually trying the service themselfs. The funny thing is a lot of them nowadays use it a stream of income. Needless to say that their initial statement was worthless. It’s perfectly understandable that many of the A-list bloggers can’t benefit much from a service like the one mentioned above, but for others it may prove to be a considerable source of revenue (compared to what they are making overall).

The conclusion(s)

1)Filter every information that you read, no matter if it comes from Darren Rose, John Chow or any others. If something doesn’t work for them, it does not necessarily mean that it can’t work for you (especially if you don’t fit in the same category).

2)You don’t have to blindly agree with someone, no matter how famous he is. If you do agree with a certain statement, but don’t have nothing to add to it does not make an interesting post. Unless you have reasons to believe that your audience hasn’t already heard about it, it is better not to mention it again because it does not bring value to your blog. Remember that personal opions and solid arguments are the keys to content driven blogs. Be careful not to fall on the other side and disagree with everybody just for the fun of it.

3)If you have the chance, TRY IT YOURSELF, before talking about it.

Everybody says that you should have good quality content on your blog, but there is a lot of ambiguity regarding what exactly “quality content” is. The main purpose of it is to make your visitors spend some time on your blog, enjoy it and come back again to check for updates. There is no “recipe” for producing it, but there are some factors that you must keep in mind when writing.

Helpful content
Probably one of the most (if not the “absolute” most) important factor to determine if a blog content is valuable or not, is by judging how helpful it is to the targeted audience. Unfortunately there is no exact way of determining that and therefore, many tend to be very subjective about this issue. I think that every blogger out there should try to put himself in his reader’s “shoes” and be as objective as possible when analyzing how helpful an article is. If you find the inner strength not to post an article that you have just written because you think it is not good enough, you are on the right way (I know it may sound strange…).
From time to time, take a step back and have a look at other more successful blogs in your niche. Compare their content to what you have written until that point, and again, try to judge from a 3d person perspective and see if their content seems more helpful than yours. Ask yourself:
-what kind of information they are providing and you aren’t?
-do they write longer articles than you?
-up to what extent do they go when analyzing certain things?
-do they use a familiar or “academic” approach in their articles?
-do their articles target your affective or rational side?
-are their writing skills still better than yours?… and why?

Although there is also the chance that the content itself is not the reason why your blog is not as popular as theirs, but there is always room for improvement. However, don’t fall into the trap of searching for “the philosopher’s stone” for this and neglect some other aspects (promotion, design, accessibility, etc.

Last but not least, probably the only instrument that will give you some idea regarding this issue is your audience’s behavior. If the percentage of returning visitors is high and you receive lots of comments, than you are probably on the right way.

Original Content
Try not to use free articles from article directories. If you start a blog thinking that you will add content to it this way, it is better not start it at all. In some cases it might work but those cases are very rare. The explanation for this is very simple:

1) It does not work because it is basically impossible to build a loyal community of readers
2) It is practically impossible to rank higher in search engines than the authors’s website or the article directory.

Do you know any successful blogs that “suck their juice” from free articles directories? I personally don’t.

Are you among the first to blog about an issue?
If you can be the first, or among the first to blog about something it would be perfect. However, it is rarely possible nowadays for an average blogger that does not have the resources of a press agency to do it. Furthermore, subjects of general interest have been highly debated over time… so is there something left for you?
Sure it is… just don’t try to copy what others have said before. Instead, share your visions or opinions regarding those issues. Try to see if others have missed something on those and add your contribution.
If you don’t agree with something that has been said, don’t be afraid to say it but always make sure that you have some strong arguments to back you up. You could even turn out to do some linkbaiting with this approach.

Timeless content
If your blog is focused on providing “breaking news” you can skip this part. If not, try to write your articles in a manner that will be interesting to people for a longer period of time. If you are able to do this you will not only enjoy seeing new visitors coming to your blog because of “old” content, but you will also benefit from it in terms of website monetization (building timeless content is by definition a source of passive income).

The marketing hook
Accentuate the interesting and try to do it in a controversial way. An article without a marketing hook will be more similar to a school essay. The best example that comes to my mind now is a quite recent post written Cornwallseo. The post title was “How to get Darren Rose to read your blog”. Not only he got Darren to read his blog and post a comment, but he even managed to get a link from one of Darren’s “speed linking” posts. Even though the concept was in reality a little more general and not 100% original, the title and the way the author has put the pieces together resulted in a great marketing hook.

Step by step guide or general directions
The internet is full of content that doesn’t say much. An article that provides precise indications has more chances to be successful than one that is only pointing out general directions. People love step-by-step structured instructions on how they can achieve something, so if your niche permits it try to provide the information in this manner.

Make it easy to read
-Phrase structure
You may have already heard this several times before, but since it is an essential part of creating quality content I have to remind you again. Don’t use long and complicated phrases! This type of sentences are more difficult to be processed by the brain, and they can either become boring or even impossible to understand, so avoid them as much as you can. Just be careful not to end up doing exactly the opposite, because that is not a good idea either. One short sentence after another may end up in a very “rigid” article, without having any personal touch, which eventually will be boring and unpleasant to read.
-Use subtitles and paragraphs
Most people quickly scan the text before reading it, so you have less than 10 seconds to get their attention. Organize your text nicely with subtitles and paragraphs to make it appealing and easy to read.

Develop your unique style of writing
This is probably the most difficult part, especially for people that are not native English speakers. However, this is something that you should always keep in mind and strive to achieve. If you look carefully to the some of the “big boys” like Darren Rose, Steve Pavlina, Yaro, John Chow, etc. you will see that each and every one of them has developed a specific style in writing that their readers appreciate. If you are a loyal reader of these blogs (like me) you will most probably recognize an article written by them even if you see it someplace else. A unique style of “presenting your content” can actually make the difference (just like in any other writing-related profession)

The emotional factor
How do people actually feel after having read your articles? Do they say something like “this guy really knows what he is talking about!”, “This was very helpful… I will come back to check this again soon” or just “hmmm… nice”? Depending on the niche of your blog, you may want to trigger some emotions into the reader’s heart, that will make him come back. If you haven’t read the article about blogging language that I have written recently, you may want to check it out. It contains some ideas and general directions on how to target the affective side of your visitors through specific language.

If you think that there is more to add to the short list above, feel free to post your suggestions!

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Blog content, Quality content

Many agree that probably the most important ingredient of a blog is the content. There has been a lot of debate around how should this content be presented to the users. Some say that it is better to use an easy and familiar language to make it appealing to readers, while some others state that an academic approach would be the way to go. Who should you believe?
Well a blog is actually a mass communication instrument, so it should be treated accordingly. The way you should communicate with your readers, actually depends on some important factors.

1) The profile of the audience that you want to target
-what is the average age of your visitors?
-what level of education do they have?
-are you addressing mainly to male visitors or female visitors?

2) The niche that your blog is focused on

How do you “present” yourself?
Do you want to appear in the mind of your visitors as teacher, a specialist in your domain or just a simple guy that is blogging about something that interests you?
Some types of audiences respond better to a “specialist” attitude, while others are more likely to enjoy a friendly approach. Knowing the profile of the audience will help you understand what “tickles” them.
For example, if your visitors are teenagers, they will most probably be more receptive to a familiar language. At that age they have had enough of “teachers”, so the best idea would be to “present” yourself as one of them by using a specific language.
The niche of your blog may also be an important factor for determining this. If you are blogging about hardware components you will most probably have more success with a “specialist” image, so you have to use an adapted tech-savy language (assuming of course that you know your stuff well).

Formal or informal?
Depending mostly on the niche of your blog you have to consider going for a formal or informal manner of communication. It is important that you understand that this can have a great impact on your credibility in front of your readers. For example, if you use a formal approach in communication and your blog is focused on giving practical advices, in some situations you may seem that you are not 100% sure about what you blogging about. On the other hand, if your niche is about a sensible social issue, the best idea would be to write in a formal manner, otherwise people may consider you “square minded”.

Even though the cases when people draw their conclusions about you by consciously judging the formal or informal language that you have used in specific situations are rare, subconsciously an image is created, and they may think that another blog is better than yours, without being able to tell exactly why.

“We” or “I”?
Unless you represent an organization it is not recommended to use a “we” approach. Blogging has become a successful tool of communication due to it’s “personal” nature at it’s origins. Some bloggers tend to think that if they pose as a team instead of a one man show, they gain more credibility and may project an impression of professionalism to their users. This can’t be more wrong; it you are not really part of a team don’t try to pose for something you not because your readers will soon realize it and ultimately you will loose the audience.

Are you addressing to affective or rational side of your reader’s mind?
As a general idea, written language due to it’s nature targets the rational. This is because a message communicated with words must be processed by the brain in order to be understood. An image however addresses to the affective part of the brain. It’s goal is to trigger emotions, without necessarily explaining a precise message;

In order to target the affective side with written communication you just have to “compose” your language in such a way that will “project images” and trigger emotions in the minds and hearts of your readers and not limit it to providing information on a specific subject.

The decision to go for one way or another has to be made depending on the niche of your blog. Some specific topics (like tech stuff, for example) are suitable for a language that targets the rational side of the mind, while other topics (such as travel, gifts, etc) are more likely to ask for a language that addresses to the affective plan.

Speak their language!
Last but not least, you don’t want to look “under-educated” or superficial but at the same time you must make sure that your audience will understand what you are trying to say.

Adjust it along the way
Analyze how well people respond to the language type that you are using and fine tune it along the way until you are happy with the results. Some types of language may stimulate people to post comments while some others just makes them come back. Figure out the formula that works best for you. Also, don’t be afraid to opt for a slightly different type of language for each post (although it mustn’t be too different from the general manner of communication in the entire blog), depending on the nature of that subject.

Conclusion
If you are one of the bloggers that think that “content is the king” than you might want to dress your king with proper clothes

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Blog content, Blogging language