The Death Of Blog Networks?
I saw this coming years ago and thankfully I made adjustments back then too.
If you watched my video on Conversion Blogging and the blog posts leading up to the release of the video, you know I was advocating a move away from the Page View Slave (PVS) model of blogging for money.
The PVS model relies on the raw number of page views you can deliver to advertisers in order to increase or maintain a level of income from blogging. Following the PVS model you set yourself up for hard work literally forever, plus you tend to put all your eggs in one basket, relying on traffic from Google to keep the page views up and in some cases, trading that traffic right back to Google in the form of AdSense click income.
Blog Networks In Turmoil
Today I had a chance, after supporting the new Blog Mastermind students and taking some time off, to catch up on the activities in the blogosphere.
One particular thread caught my attention, starting at Problogger with Darren’s short post on Talking Blog Networks, linking through to a post by Jeremy Wright, CEO of blog network b5media, on his feedback about the challenges of running a blog network and ending with Wendy Piersall’s thoughts on what the closure of a high profile blog network means to people in this industry.
I’ve never been a blog network owner per se, but I’ve owned multiple blogs and at one stage considered launching my own network after successfully branching into a second blog. Needless to say, I know the challenges you face coordinating bloggers, hiring good ones and monetizing the sites by selling the page views. It’s not easy for one person to do and I was stretching myself at times when trying to do it for just two blogs, so I can only imagine what Jeremy goes through at b5 with hundreds of blogs even with the support of a company team around him.
This is why years ago I decided to focus on long term asset creation and look for a means to get leveraged outcomes from what I do with blogs without wholly relying on the creative talents of other bloggers. I’ve never had intentions of trapping myself to a desk running a huge company as a busy CEO either, so I look for ways to keep things small, yet exponentially profitable, without giving up time and lifestyle freedoms.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made good money being in charge of blogs that I didn’t personally write to (leveraging other people’s talents, but always in a win-win relationship), but the job is taxing - people managing is always taxing. If that’s a role you are prepared to fulfill, perhaps for a short term period, you can make it work, just be aware of what you are signing yourself up to if you decide the blog network model is something you will pursue.
Is The Advertising Model Broken?
Sponsor Highlight - Who Is Jim Kukral?
You may have noticed that my blogs have been displaying banners promoting a service called Blog4999.com. Blog4999 is the business of professional blogger, Jim Kukral, and as usual I like to find out a bit about the people that sponsor my blogs so I decided to ask Jim a few questions.
First a quick rundown of who Jim is -
I’ve been blogging since 2001, and have written, created and/or participated in over 30 blogs since that time. Some personal, most professional, and more importantly, all blogs focused on promoting either my own career or the various businesses I have been part of.
I am currently the publisher of ReveNews.com, the industry’s most widely respected group-blog focusing on the billion dollar online marketing industry. I manage and interact with over 30 of today’s top CEO’s, web gurus, and general web-trepreneurs who are icons of the industry, covering topics such as affiliate marketing, blogging, search engine marketing and more.
What marketing techniques have worked best promote your business?
Blogs4999 is brand new, but I plan to strictly use AdWords and blogs to push this one because of the cost and specific niche reach.
How you came up with the idea for your business blog offering?
It’s really all about price. Small businesses can’t afford to lay out 3-5k for a blog, they have much more important things to spend money on. I understand two main things about successful blogging and small businesses. #1, I understand how a good blog CAN make a difference for your business or career, if it’s done right. And #2, I understand that most small businesses aren’t made of money.
What makes it different from all the other hosted blog solutions?
It’s completely unique for two reasons. 1. I actually strategize, plan, build and host your blog, and train you. You really have to do nothing more except answer some questions. My strategy will tell you all you need to know about how you’re going to do it successfully, then set you up, then point you on the way to success. #2 reason it’s different. The price is only $999. There is not a blog consultant out there who will even do just the strategy for you for less than 2-4k. I’m offering it all, for one low price.
How did you get into blogging?
I’ve been blogging since 2001. An employee of mine at the time told me about his blog. I was intrigued because of one major thing. I loved the fact you could instantly publish. It removed the gatekeepers. It allowed anyone to push their thoughts online and share them. After a few years, I realized you could use this medium as a business, so I wrote an ebook called ‘Blogs To Riches’ in 2003, but it was way ahead of it’s time.
Thanks Jim and good luck with your business!
Yaro Starak
Business Blog Fan
