MelvinBlog

A blog that chronicles my journey on online marketing, blogging, social media, technology and life.

Social Media

How Long Can You Stay Nice to People

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Recently I was reading a post from Rob Sutton about dealing with people w/c gave me a good idea on this post. We, as bloggers are generally nice to people whoever they are and wherever they come from. That’s why we look into each other more as peers rather than competitors. But everything has its own limit and today I am going to discuss to my experience with dealing with different types of people.

Generally when we were just getting started, we were nice as much as we could. I mean, if someone sends us an email on something, we would always respond. If someone comments on our posts, we are nice enough to reply back. That’s how we are.

Fast-forward to the time we became a bit successful and known, we know don’t have time to respond to people all the time, we are not as approachable as we used to before and it seems like we’re not the same kind guy we used to be when we were just starting. Admit it, admit it people.

Cold Hard Fact

Here’s the fact: When a blogger gets more and more popular and established, he/she becomes less nice, less responsive and less approachable. Struggling with keeping your feet off the ground (like before) is ALWAYS a factor. But there are a lot more to consider.

When people become more successful, he/she switches from socializing to more of managing and administrating. Because of the success, the blogger tries to leverage what he has either by starting a new business or by taking the current one on the next level. As a result, the blogger’s interaction with people as friends becomes lesser.

And With Being Nice

Being nice is not really mandatory. I understood this nature and that’s why few bloggers aren’t generally nice to their readers. I am a frequent lurker of WickedFire forum and if you know that forum, you know what I’m talking about.

Some people on the other hand, seem to morph from a nice person to a complete asshole. Either because of the success that he/she tasted or whatever. Do take note that is normal in today’s world. Success comes with responsibility and as we become more successful (or just by making progress) we also change.

To be fair and have a more balanced outlook in this post, it’s really hard to be nice all the time. Of course when we are just getting started, we are into this mentality of being nice or else not get noticed thing. We try to be nice to rude people. But as I’ve said it’s impossible to be, all the time.

As we get more and more positive mentions online, we also tend to get a lot of negative criticisms from some unknown people. And oftentimes we engage ourselves in bad-mouthing against them. Some even use their blog to bash those people.

I don’t know. I am nice to people, all people who have contacted me using my contact form were replied (even those annoying ones), I try to be as accommodating as possible here in this blog and that’s because I am intrinsically that way. But at some point I wonder and ask myself, how long can I stay nice to people?

What is Problogging & A Look at Some Pro Bloggers

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Problogging is a word that’s not new. If it sounds new to you, then probably you are living under the cave. Pro blogging simply stands for professional blogging and today I would like to talk about it more from my own perspective. No worries as I’ll assure you that this is no generic article.

Each and everyone of us bloggers want to be called as professional bloggers but in reality we’re not. Professional bloggers are simply the ones who do blogging as a business, more specifically as a primary business. They usually allot 6+ hours per day with their blogs, mostly dealing with content and marketing. That being said even though I am spending a lot of time blogging, I cannot still call myself as a problogger because I am student.

It’s also a big misconception that you can look like a professional one by blogging with perfect grammar and great fluency. Again its a total misconception. Although I don’t want to imply the mentality of speaking like a moron/douchebag, you cannot just focus too much on how formal your way of speaking is. At the end it’s all about gaining popularity and capitalizing on it, not boasting your English degree.

So Im going to take a look at some probloggers today. Obviously, just earning a big amount of money doesn’t mean you’re a pro blogger. Anyhow, here are the great examples of bloggers who do professional blogging.

  • Darren Rowse – is the pioneer of professional blogging. I probably have never seen a guy who is as dedicated as Darren in this world. He blogs at ProBlogger.com and some other many sites. What’s amazing with this guy is that you can take a look at all his blogs and easily notice that they are all established in whatever niche they are. Although he’s a bit conservative in terms of making money, I still believe he makes a heck of cash with all of his assets in the internet
  • Yaro Starak – Yaro is my favorite blogger. Although he’s not the earliest person to do blogging, he probably is the first guy to leverage his audience best by offering a membership site called Blog Mastermind. Since then it really exploded his expertise on the subject matter where he gained a lot of reputation and trust. Look at Yaro as a blogger who got interested in internet marketing, studied it and mixed it with blogging superbly to achieve who he is today now.
  • John Chow – Ok it took me 5 minutes to decide whether I should include Chow in this list. After all he’s like Shoemoney. The only difference though is that Chow has no other big  business aside from blogging w/c is why he’s in this list. John is the best example of a pro blogger who doesn’t need to have perfect way of expressing things in word.
  • David Risley – It was only last year when I stumbled upon him and his blog. Some of you may not even know him yet. If not it’s your best chance to know him @ DavidRisley.com. He connects with his readers well by just blogging spontaneously. David is a problogger even before the term existed but he just started building his expertise couple of years back. If you’re looking to build a blogging business, then head on and grab his six figure blogger blueprint (Don’t just get afraid of his large voice!)

Okie dokie. As always I’d love to hear your opinions on this and your thoughts about problogging. Also do you have any other suggestions out there for professional bloggers? Or do you think someone in that list doesn’t deserve being included?

Your Guest Post was Rejected, What’s Next?

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By now you probably already have learned that guest posting is a powerful way to drive crazy high quality traffic to your site. I’m not just talking about the hits here, I’m talking about traffic that could easily become one of your subscribers, more importantly your customers. Guest Posting really is going to do the job for your blog in terms of getting more publicity.

So because a lot of people already knew it and learned it’s benefits, it seems that every blogger in every corner is sitting, focusing and writing a guest post for the big blogs in their niche. But the question is, are they getting success by actually getting their post/s qualified? Or is it the owner of the other blog think their guest post suck?

Ok I will talk from experience here. Probably you have seen me and my blog on some other blogs having a guest post so it’s pretty obvious guest posting is my blog project since late last year. But I am going to confess that for every 5 guest posts I write, less than 50% gets accepted. For every 10, it’s just 4 and yeah it’s painful especially thinking about the time I spent writing and writing only for the author to say it has not met the qualifications. *sucks*

So that was my experience early this year when I was just totally new to guest posting. Obviously I have improved a lot but the question is what to do next when you get rejected? (ok, no list in this post guys!)

The answer is just keep on going. I know other people would say try to analyze, learn and improve but I think it’s just all about keeping on writing. I’d tell you’d be surprised on how just writing alone could unknowingly improve your way of writing. I love reading my old posts and it always amazes me how many stupid mistakes I have done before even though I (think) have a good english grammar (for someone who lives outside the US).

It’s ok to feel bad but that should never keep you from trying. Bloggers have different styles, so they also have different requirements, different take on whether the article is good or crap. If you’re guest posts got rejected then go ahead and submit it others. If its still discarded then don’t delete it from your hard drive. Even if it piles up there it’s still going to do you wonder by letting you become a better writer.

What do you think guys? I would really love to get your opinion about this topic.



Shoemoney System, Manila Blog Workshop & Some Announcements

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So it’s been quite a long time since I’ve done a recap post about the blogosphere and some news. And I thought today is the best day to post for something like this.

And anyways, we’re all feeling the spirit of holidays, aren’t we? 😉

Blog Recap

The blog has been quite doing well both in terms of revenue and growing the community. The traffic for October up to December has grown up to like 125%. And thanks to the guest posting galore and some advertising campaigns. In few days I am going to publish a really great post about how guest posting has really increased not just my traffic but my overall branding overall, so stay tuned!

Shoemoney System and Manila Blogging Workshop

Jeremy Schoemaker, the ever famous Shoemoney has released the Shoemoney System. Seriously it looks like its a paid system (soon) but as for now you really got to check it out as Jeremy is handing out free videos with seriously superb qualities. Whether you’re new into this game or a seasoned one you might want to follow the system as there’s really so much to learn from it.

Meanwhile if you’re here locally (w/c means you’re a Filipino), then you must take a look at the Manila Blogging Workshop. It’s organized by KidBlogger Carl Ocab, who happens to be a good friend of mine too. Carl has been in this business of blogging for what, 4 years? So his experience definitely is something that you could gain a lot. Be sure to check out the video because Carl explained what the workshop is all about (seriously its not the seminar and workshop you’re used to).

Getting Sold and What Not

This past few week has also been surprising with the acquisition of some pretty big companies/dot com businesses online. If you’re a reader of TechCrunch then you probably have heard already that the popular Imeem music has been already sold to Myspace Music for $1 million in cash. There’s a ton of criticism with this acquisition since MySpace seemed to have shut down the API and yea Im a regular Imeem user so it sucks.

Old social network known as Friendster w/c is a very popular network here in Asia has been sold to a Malaysian Payment Company MOL Global. It’s really the last gasp of Friendster, a network which used to be real famous until MySpace and Facebook joined the scene. Friendster was acquired for just a mere value of $26 million (their valuation is like $100 million).

And yea, Im not selling mine and I hope you don’t sell yours as well even though if its just a small asset. I have a huge portfolio of websites and blogs that are just never utilized (because Im soooper busy) well but I swear to God I will KEEP them. Anything I forgot here?

Personal Branding with Your Name and Photo

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In this post,  Antti Kokkonen talks about the benefits of using your personal name and photo in boosting your own personal brand)

Personal branding is about building up trust and establishing yourself as an authority, a source of valuable information. By being honest, being yourself and branding yourself as an expert in your niche, you’ll have something that cannot be taken away from you, a personal brand you can be proud of.

And the first step is to put your name out, so make sure your name is visible on your blog, your social media profiles, etc. I know, it might be scary to use your real name online, but think of it this way — would you trust and buy something from someone whose name you don’t know? I certainly wouldn’t.

The next step is to get an image that your name can be connected to. Logos are important for branding. Having a logo means you can utilize that logo everywhere. So if you like, you can get a logo designed (or design it yourself) for your blog.

But more importantly, for yourself, you really don’t have to design a logo, as there’s a good chance you already have one. Your photo! Choose one great photo of yourself and use the same photo as your avatar and profile picture in all the social network sites, like Twitter and Facebook, and also your blog! Not having your own photo in your blog is something that’s ridiculous. Of course it’s debatable since guys like Maki of DoshDosh.com don’t use one yet is considered an authority.

When you use your real name and photo on your blog and social media, you’ll start building an audience and a following for yourself, not just your blog, business or service. Your personal brand stays with you, even if you sell your business, your blog or start providing a new kind of service.

Using Real Name and Photo Builds Trust

When I see a blog or website with someones face on it, it’s immediately more interesting than a blog without one. I’m much more likely to subscribe to a blog which has a “face on it”. I don’t know, maybe it makes it all feel more honest. If I can’t find who is keeping the blog, I immediately become suspicious. And even more so, if I’m in the process of buying something from that person, or something he/she recommends.

I don’t know about you, but I think seven times before I buy anything from someone who I haven’t met or seen. That’s seven opportunities to convince myself not to buy from this stranger. And that’s seven opportunities for you to lose that sale. If you’re planning on selling anything online, keep that in mind.

Also, if I find a blog filled with great posts, I want to know more about the author, I want to know who he or she is. If I can’t find anything about the blogger, I’m gone. And I’m not alone on this, as your readers want to know you and get connected. Don’t disappoint them and make sure the links to your primary social media profiles are clearly visible.

By seeing your name and photo, people on your blog or social networks will know who they’re interacting with. They will know that this certain guy right here is not just a “fly- by night person”.  Of course, there’s more to personal branding than just putting your name out there and using a real photo, but this is the first step you have to take.

Now it’s your turn! Are you in the process of building a personal brand? Do you use your real name and photo in your blog and in the social networks?

Antti Kokkonen has been hiding under an Internet alias “Zemalf” for many years, and you can find his not-always-so-focused blog about blogging, social media and Internet business at http://zemalf.com. To stay connected, go ahead follow Antti on Twitter.

Do You Appreciate Your Readers?

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It’s kinda sad that most bloggers (even popular ones) don’t seem to show they appreciate they readers/audience. There is a big imbalance between bloggers wanting to get too much traffic and bloggers showing their appreciation to their readers. One crucial factor I think why blogs get loyal readers is the fact that readers feel appreciated and therefore they keep returning because they know the author “care” for them.

Many people misunderstood my posts about not caring for PM’s on contact form and not replying on blog comments as a proof that I really don’t give much value to my readers. It’s understandable but it’s totally untrue. The value that I place to the blog readers is the highest (higher than advertisers). Because no readers literally means no money made at all and no fun.

Well today I am going to list ways on how you can show appreciation to your readers and I hope you guys like it.

  • Read and reply to their comments – It sure did take long for me to realize this one. Contrary to what I believed before, its not true that readers comment on blogs and don’t come back anymore. It surprises me a lot of times when I replied to a comment that the readers comes back and say thanks for replying. Replying to every comment may look silly but it builds readership and loyalty.
  • Link out to them – Although its impossible to link out to all your commenters, giving a link love to some of their best posts can be helpful. Believe me, bloggers feel appreciated when someone links out to them, may it be a big blog or a small blog. Most people are afraid to give links because they don’t want to dilute their pagerank w/c is a lame reason. Readers > Pagerank/Metrics.
  • Ask for their opinion – If you’re a long time reader of this blog, there is a customary question and answer thing here wherein a reader can ask a question and me hopefully me being able to answer it. The mistake that most blogs do is they stuff their readers so much that they are an expert in their niche that their readers won’t anymore do anything which is completely wrong. Ask out your readers for something, post a poll or just simply encourage them to do interactions with you.
  • Give out incentives – Ok, so here I have never had given an ipod or a flip (and I think it’s far-fetched). The blogosphere is a tight community that every incentive received is a big thing. I can’t stress this more. It doesn’t have to be a physical product or a cash prize but anything that can be useful to them is a nice thing.
  • Show Social Media Love – I always feel good when someone retweets my post or stumbles something here and stuffs. Another good way to show your appreciation is to actually do the same for them. If you’re into social media (who’s not?), a simple digg, or some buzz on their article can mean a lot to them. Remember it’s ALWAYS giving first then receiving second.
  • Network With Them! – The reason I put the little social bookmark/network icon on the sidebar is to network more with my readers. Everything we are doing online is marketing. Marketing is not business, but it’s a function of the business. It helps big when you connect to your readers via other social means like Facebook, Friendfeed or maybe Youtube and etc. The good thing with blogging is that it enables us to maximize networking with other people w/c at the end leads to bigger business relationships, joint ventures or just simple friendships. If you’re not doing this, then you’re missing out a lot!

Showing your audience that you appreciate them is a big factor on having a successful blog, successful business. Sad state is that most people don’t even pay attention to it. What do you think? I would love to have your own take about it and you can do so in the comment form.

Note: Interestingly, all people who are in my top commentators list (@ sidebar) would be able to get a free advertising for one month. Just comment here and I would hook you up on something. Thanks. 😉

The Real Gold In Entrecard

The Real Gold In Entrecard

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Update: This was posted two years ago and I don’t use Entrecard anymore so consider everything here in this post as outdated.

A lot of people really think using Entrecard is useless and they would rather just get rid of it than get frustrated with the way it brings traffic to their own blogs. Although I wouldn’t argue much on how sporadic the traffic from Entrecard can be, I can, however defend that Entrecard has other benefits way more than just a tool for blog promotion. Btw, here’s a screenshot of how Entrecard fared with this blog for a couple of months.

Entrecard Traffic

As you can see Entrecard wouldn’t really bring you much traffic and traction directly. In fact a lot of people don’t even reach with over 100 hits with their Entrecard!  The real gold within entrecard is on how you utilize the credits. If you look back on it a long time ago, it’s easy to notice that Entrecard has gotten so much better. They started having this ‘cashout’ thing where one can cash out his ec credits. They rebuilt their forums and marketplace w/c makes it more appealing to its users and more importantly they still managed to hold on despite all the critiques they have received the past year.

So how do you utilize your credits? Many, many things. Sponsor a contest with EC? Not possible?  You bet it is! How many blogs and sites can start linking to you in exchange for just a couple of thousands credits? How many people would start clicking your link by knowing you sponsored this amount? The truth is, there are endless possibilities. I had few blogs that I’ve seen jumped from 0 to PR3 just by sponsoring couple of contest using Entrecard.

And how about their marketplace? If you haven’t paid a visit in their for quite a while then make sure to do it know. The  new EC Market is just not about selling ad spots, reviews, stumbles and diggs or whatever (w/c is what it used to be before). The market also puts up good listings of actual goods that you maybe interested as well. And how about those talented designers who are willing to accept credits for their services? Yes  the sky is the limit.

To conclude this one, we can say that Entrecard didn’t really meet up the expectations most people had. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a look or useless. Like whatever asset, it’s use and value can depend on how one utilizes it. How bout you? What is your experience with entrecard?