I am sure you have heard of John Chow and Darren Rowse and the success they have achieved via blogging and I am sure each and every one of use would love to pull in thousands of dollars a month but in reality for most of use this is simply not easily obtained. With this being said, I am always looking for ways to increase my readership and I wanted to share the tips that I have begun collecting with others with the hope that you will also benefit or share your own tips and tricks.
Advertising
Ads is probably the most well known way to generate income and many individuals find ads acceptable especially if the ad is relevant to the content they are reading. For example, if you are blogging about PHP development many readers would never follow an ad on Java J2EE. Do not overwhelm the reader with ads but put yourself in their shoes when it comes to what you personally have seen while reading material on your favorite blogs. If you utilize Google Adsense then you should take the time to review Where should I place Google ads on my pages? Google provides a great deal of help when it comes to properly placing ads in an area when your reader will more likely follow the advertisement. In the event you are using other advertisements programs be sure to read and study what others have found to work and what does not work so you do not spend the time and effort reproducing the same mistakes.
Blogging Platform
I have tried a number of blogging platforms over the years. The list includes Community Server, Blog Engine .NET, Graffiti CMS and most recently I made the transition to WordPress after researching the pros and cons of each platform. I come from a .NET development background so I initially stayed away from WordPress since it was developed with PHP. What a mistake! Again, I m not advocating that you dump your current blogging platform rather I am saying take the time to look at your choice and determine what will work best for yourself long term.
In my case WordPress was the clear choice for me and the community support is unlike any other platform that I have previously used. If you settle on WordPress be sure to look at the wide range of plugins that will make you life so much easier. Here is just a handful that I use on a daily basis:
- Advertising Manager
- Google XML Sitemaps
- SEO Friendly Images
- SEO Slugs
- SEO Smart Links
Keep in mind there are so many plugins out there that it is easy to get carried away.
Content and Branding
In every case my research keeps coming back to what should I write about and the common answer is always to write what you are passionate about. For example, this blog while titled Radical Development may at first glance to those that know me may think I only write about software development but this is not the case. I will write about what is of interest of me or makes me to stop and think about any given issue. It all comes down to branding. If you brand your blog as software development you find readers with no interest in software will most likely never visit your blog.
Tools
Knowing your readers in the context of where they come from, landing pages, browser use, and other key topics will help you in your decision making process. The most common tool that most bloggers are aware of is Google Analytics and this tool is very informative and robust in the fact it provides a great deal of information which if you are not careful you may find yourself digging yourself in a hole if you try to make to much sense out of the data.
One tool that you also may find beneficial is CrazyEgg . This product provides a great deal of information and one of the features I find useful is the heatmap. This heatmap is a snapshot where the readers have clicked on your blog that allows you to reconfigure you site to what works best for you and at the same time engaging the reader in a proactive approach.
Conclusion
I hope that you have found this information to be informative and useful. Keep in mind that your blog is much like your own house. Why do I say this? It is simple, if a reader leaves a comment that is unacceptable in your point of view then there is no reason why you should approve that comment. Now, I am not saying to argue with your readers or only approve comments that you agree with rather I am saying exercise common sense when it comes to this matter.
If you have and tips and tricks that you have filed away that you are willing to share then why not leave a comment for others to consider. Good luck!
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