I have been blogging now for over 5 years, and built up a wealth of experience. Not only as a blog writer, but as a blog reader. The blogosphere is growing at a huge rate, still to this day, but the amount of blogs that are inactive is increasing too, with the amount of blogs that are actually active standing very, very still. So why is this? Well, bloggers come and bloggers go all the time, but I feel like new bloggers are not staying around as long as they should - they are expecting huge gains quickly, and usually fail miserably. Here are three things “noob” bloggers do, which I believe contribute to their downfall.
1. Doing a review of an Super Huge Mega Blogger
The theory behind it is simple. Super Huge Mega Blogger (SHMB from now on) either has a review scheme, or you just want to get your word out in the quickest and easiest way possible, so you blog about their blog. You hope that the SHMB reads it, falls in love with your blog, and subscribes after just 3 posts. I’m sorry, but that’s not likely to happen, not in my eyes anyway. That’s nothing against SHMB (well, it is if they ask for this and give nothing back, I talked more about it here), but I know new bloggers become disheartened and give up.
Alternative: Do a review on Fair Review. You’re not reviewing a SHMB, but you are reviewing a blog you may never heard of before. This is an important part of networking. You’re reviewing that blog because you want to, not for what it can achieve. The bloggers on there are good, but not unapproachable, and would probably return comments and subscribe to your feed. On top of that, you also will get the opportunity for bloggers to find you, passively increasing your readership.
2. Copy “The John Chow Theme”
Forgive me if I’m being Themeist, but if you are using MistyLook - or as I like to call it “The John Chow Theme” - on your blog, then you may have to work just a little bit harder to get me interested about your blog. I’ve got nothing against the theme - it is a good theme - but the problem with it is that it is everywhere within a certain section of the blogosphere. So much so that I look at blogs that use the theme and automatically think “Oh, somebody trying to make a quick buck online. This is worth reading”. There are some good blogs out there that use it (Bloggrrl and Blogduck stick out) but these two blogs are shining beacons of life amongst dead blog carcasses, that leave behind $0.52 Adsense earnings, being picked at by spammy comments.
Alternative: Find a unique theme (or make one). Look at this theme for one. It is unique. Sure, I took inspiration from a bunch of other bloggers, but this is my own theme, my own design, and the chances are it won’t be seen anywhere else.
It’s not that hard. Design - like my E at GCSE Art proves - is not my strongest point, and I can throw together something that looks okay. I’m sure you can do it, just draw it out in a graphics program, and follow this tutorial.
Can’t be arsed? Why not get a template from a variety of sources. Stand out from the crowd! Some good templates are located here and here.
EDIT: Since this was originally posted, John Chow has changed his theme. Should be interesting to see if the lemmings who used his theme originally change or not.
3. Set up a “Money Making Quest” blog
Eurgh, seemingly hugely popular, mostly rubbish. There are some good ones out there (Mike’s Money Making Mission), but I find that the ones who are the ones I like reading are people who have already made their fortune, and know what they are talking about.
There are good blogs that blog their quest to riches, but then they stop. Why? Because they don’t actually make much money. Truth be told, their interest in money is fleeting, and their arrogant blog titles such as “I WILL BE A MILLIONAIRE” (usually all in caps), leave me hovering over the back button.
Alternative: Blog Your Passion Instead Ask yourself this “Are you passionate about money, or are you passionate about what money brings to you”? How many of you look at a fiver and go into an orgasmic trance. I hope very few of you. My mates who work for banks rarely enjoy it, but they stay because the money’s good. Money in terms of finance and economics is rather boring to most of us.
So blog your passion instead. For one, you’ll enjoy it a lot more. Two, you’ll provide unique content rather than another “Make Money Online With Text Link Ads!”, and three you’re probably better at it.
I have mine: Sports, blogging (this is a passion, I’ve been blogging for over 5 years, and only really made decent - i.e. more than $1 - money over the last couple of years), internet, video games and a little bit of travelling (when I can go). Of course, none of which I am particularly an expert on, but unfortunately I cannot dedicate a whole blog to “History of the Street Fighter II video game within Llandudno amusement arcades between 1992 and 1994″.
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Rhys Wynne, the author of this blog, is a 20 something web designer from Colwyn Bay.
Or my method, which is don’t try to make money at all, and just write about whatever! I have few readers, few worries and few responsibilities hurrah!
I agree with the Rhys on top of me. Blogging is taken far too seriously. It’s just a bit of fun and ‘real’ life is far more important. I’d rather hardly update than sacrifice my social life and my blog is for me. I don’t write in it in the hope I’ll get comments or emails etc. As a reader I actually comment less if I feel like I’m being coerced into doing so.
I third Rhys and Celeste, I blog about crap which is hopefully sometimes entertaining and I only have a small number of readers but I like it that way.
I wouldn’t even have a clue about making money online and I suspect I am probably far to lazy to maintain it anyways.
I think patience is another thing for n00bs to remember, blog regularly and with luck a few people will stumble by and like what they read and gradually you will build up a good network of people. It just isn’t as instant as a lot of them would like.
I agree with you on all the points buddy especially the last one . The passion is what that drives you forward .
Its not the john chow theme its using kubrick!
I 4th everyone above Madhur - Blogging for me has always been about blogging, its the challenge of trying to capture someones interest. It shouldn’t be about making money, thats a nice bonus - but not the point of it!
I agree. Making money should just be a bonus!
Hmm, I don’t want to be critical because I do enjoy reading your blog still, but there is a lot of very serious posts about blogging. Yes, it is a passion of yours, but the beauty of your blog, and reading it, used to be your comic flair coming through in rants about student life, bad kebabs and Colwyn Bay’s latest new signing from Rhyl. Maybe it’s just that we’re all growing up, and serious stuff takes up more of our lives these days
I second Sibz - I like the funny stuff, that’s the reason I started reading your old blog (actually, Fingers telling me it was funny was the reason I started reading it)!
I know that I’m not a blogger myself (I tried, I had nothing to say, I gave up) but please hear me out.
The thing that puts me off some blogs you link to is the lack of basic spelling and grammar. I couldn’t really give a shit what template someone uses - provided it doesn’t make my eyeballs bleed - but if I see a post littered with bad spelling or confusion with things like where/we’re/were and I’m just not inclined to struggle through it.
In short, if a blogger wants to connect with a reader like me - and I’m sure I’m not the only one of my kind out there - sort out the very basics first… worry about how it looks when you have something readable.
P.S: I am not a grammar nazi, Rhys!
P.P.S: I deliberately refused to capitalise the word nazi.
P.P.P.S: I’m British, therefore I spell capitalise with an ’s’, not a ‘z’!
/rant
Spot the deliberate mistake in my last comment…
And n00bs don’t post nude photos. God, when are they gonna lose their inhibitions and just let go. That’s why no-one visits them and that’s why they fail as bloggers… because they don’t show their genitals. Simple as that.
Haha, ah I still like that “John Chow” theme! Just like the “Blixed” theme. They’re ‘timeless masterpieces’.
But yeah, like the others I think moneymaking should be a bonus. That PayPerPost stuff is absolute crap (I know from experience, for I was once one of those wankers).
Can’t really disagree with you - even about money making blogs!
When I started mine I genuinely hadn’t seen one of that style before. I thought, in a naive way, that I was doing something original(ish). It was also a ‘bit of fun’, nothing too serious, to see if it was possible to make money using only free blogs.
Now everywhere I look there are money making blogs.
Unless someone is doing it full time blogging should be enjoyable and not taken too seriously.
£5 orgasamic? No. But a million …
Thanks for the link,
Mike.
“Alternative: Blog Your Passion Instead” That’s a crazy thought! Ha ha. Nice post!
I strongly agree with all three of your points, especially the second one. I am sick of seeing the Misty Theme on each and every new blog and the theme for 99% of them is, you’ll never believe it: make money online. These bloggers need to learn to be unique, not just copy Chow, who seems to be an idol for many.
i miss the old days of ur blogging mainly becuase i don’t have the knowledge of the blogging world!
however i do appreciate, as sibz said, times - they are a changing! no longer do we get to waste our lifes in the pub wasting money, going to hardman pizza etc etc
dare i say it… are we growing up? cos that would suck! bloggings your passion so go for it, never change ur style for others…. but if you could add in a drunken blog at least once a week that would be great! i’d also like to see another drunken video/audio blog as that was still one of the funniest things i’ve ever seen
I know what you mean by the ‘John Chow Effect’ - I’ve seen that one around a few times. I also find it hard to read the blog if i’ve seen the design countless times before. Some of the most common themes i see are the wp themes by http://www.ndesign-studio.com/resources/wp-themes/
[...] from Welsh Wales (I know where it is,and I’m an Arsenal fan!) asks us to consider 3 rubbish things new bloggers do, and 3 better things to do instead. I’m with him on all three, especially anyone who uses the ‘Misty’ theme (John [...]
Perhaps I should launch ChrisLodge.com using the misty theme with a picture of my mountain bike in the header, and get people to review me using the anchor text ‘can’t make money online’.
That’d show ‘em
Top post.
I resemble that remark about the Misty theme!
Heh, seriously though, I do like the theme!
I think one of the main problems with everyone wanting to write a make money online blog is that everyone wants to make money online. Its thought to be easier than a day job. The problem sets in after a week or two, with little to no traffic, the new blogger realizes they don’t have anything else to write about, as they really DON’T know how to make money online.
Heh, if you were to actually look in the archives of Desty Online back in May, you’d see that we started out as a make money online blog. Slowly over time it morphed into a business blog.
It seems to me everyone is wanting to make money on the internet and an awful lot of blogs are dedicated to this. The only reason I might read some of them is the tips that have helped me improve my blog.
I have created my own theme, a really unique one I think and fitting with the subject of choice which is living in the north of Canada.
I was recently invited to join a link train although they did not call it that. I declined, it smacked too much of spam to me.
I have put you on my reader, this looks like a blog I would enjoy reading and since you have the Welsh touch that makes it more so. My family hail from south Wales.
[...] Sunday Speed linking for 19/08/07; Fair Review Friday – Batch 2; The North South Divide; Three Rubbish Things New Bloggers Do and Three Better Things to do Instead; What they Don’t Know Can’t Hurt Them; Football or [...]
[...] Three Rubbish Things New Bloggers Do, and Three Better Things To Do Instead by Rhys [...]
Dude, I’m sorry to say but the feed that you’ve provided, doesn’t work with Google Reader, as it is. I had to use the subscribe button of my firefox to be able to extract ur feedburner feed URL. I think this is one area u shud look into.
[...] Three Rubbish Things New Bloggers Do, and Three Better Things To Do Instead by Rhys [...]
[...] Three Rubbish Things New Bloggers Do, and Three Better Things To Do Instead by Rhys [...]
[...] Three Rubbish Things New Bloggers Do, and Three Better Things To Do Instead by Rhys [...]
I started my new blog as a blog about blogging and making money blog. But it’s really become an “observe the money making blogs about blogging.”
I’m having a surprising amount of fun in this niche while maintaining the knitting blog. Strangely, I think I can say more fresh things about blogging and/or making money blogging because I’m not desparate to make money.
I know my knitting blog makes money. If I get traffic with the second one, it will make money. Some tweaking is involved, but the main thing is: write a good blog. Publicize enough. Get traffic. Money trickles in.
[...] Three Rubbish Things New Bloggers Do, and Three Better Things To Do Instead by Rhys [...]
[...] Three Rubbish Things New Bloggers Do, and Three Better Things To Do Instead by Rhys [...]
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