Monetizing Your Blog in 2015: Getting Ready for the New Year

"How Do I Monetize My Blog?"

We've all seen this question a million times. And the people who answer it seem so confident - these easy steps are all they ever needed to monetize their blog.  It seems so easy, but why isn't it working for you?

Today's post include four steps, but each of these steps are pretty big ones. We're not talking fairytales - if you want to make money in 2015 with your blog, you need to do some real work on it right now. So let's get started!

Giving Your Blog a Winter Tune-Up

When cold weather comes around, you tune-up your car, recaulk the windows. When the weather warms up, you take to the garden to prettify your yard. Seasonally, you do maintenance on your house and yard.....

...so how long has that blog looked exactly the same?

As time changes, technology changes, and expected levels of technology use changes, as well. Layouts that were great in 1998 are embarrassingly painful now. It's time to shake that blog out and give it a look-over. Great big embedded files aren't important, what's important is that your blog is lithe enough to be shared and commented on. No wants dancing hamsters any more. What you want and need are a core audience of engaged, passionate readers.

Ask yourself,  Is My Blog Sociable?

Every corporate site has sharing links, but there's nothing sociable about them. You can share company news for years and no one from the company will thank you, unless you have a massive readership. If you have sharing tools on your blog, can you track the shares, know what people are saying and where they are saying it? Monitor who you top sharers are and be able to thank them where they spread the word. Being sociable will build a strong brand and a strong bond with your readers. Reward them with your time and attention when they engage and they'll be back for more.


Have Realistic Expectations

Whether you're writing about a niche topic or trends in technology, your audience size will be the key factor in what you can reasonably expect from monetization. The demographics of your audience will also be key. 250 readers everyday is significant to you, but even if each one clicks on those ads and affiliate links, it's not going to add up to much. The halcyon years of affiliate income is long gone, as retailers and ad networks are squeezing down hard on rates.

Audience size and readership demographics will affect potential income - but it's your readers engagement that will ultimately decide whether you succeed.  If your posts get high engagement - more than just a like, but actual conversation, people ready and willing to engage with your content by sharing their thoughts about it, you'll have a better chance to successfully monetize.


Don't Be Afraid to Talk About It

The very personal relationship you build with your audience is the real draw for your blog. Unless you're working with a major magazine site, readers are reading your blog because of you - your stories, your perspective.

When you launch your monetization campaign,don't slide it in when no one's looking, don't be subtle - tell folks about it! If you've done everything right, your readers will jump at the chance to be part of the team, and make your blog an income-generator for you. They want you to succeed, so help them to help you. 

Get your blog tuned up, ramp up on being Sociable, and come back next time for some good options for monetizing your blog in 2015!

Why People Unfollow/Unfriend/Disconnect Your Business and How to Re-Engage

When you're a small or medium business owner, there is both power and prestige in having a strong Social Media following. And it can hurt your bottom line if there's a mass exodus of those followers. There are any number of reasons why people stop following your business, and today we'll look at ehy people follow your business in the first place - and what keeps them engaged or drives them away.

Why People Like, Follow or Connect With Your Business

1) Immediate Need - the customer is looking for a product or service something your business offers.

2) Advocacy - The consumer could be a repeat customer looking to a) support a business they like or b) to get coupons/discounts for products or services they have enjoyed in the past and wish to get again.

3) Non-Business Loyalty - A friend owns, works for, or has some other allegiance to the business and the consumer is showing to public support.

Having gotten consumer interest in the first place, why do so few Businesses retain their interest? It's relatively easy to get someone to "Like" a page, and it is even easier to lose followers with a single misstep.

Why People Unlike, Unfollow or Disconnect With Your Business

Let's start with Non-business related Loyalty first. If a person's reason for following a business has no relation to the business itself, then their reasons for unfollowing/friending them are likely to to be the same. The friend has moved on, or gained enough traction, or they had a falling out.  Supporting their business is just not a high priority anymore. This is a problem mostly for extremely local-focus businesses, which rely heavily on word of mouth.

How to Re-engage: Turn your friends into valued customers and gain real loyalty for your business by reaching out with meaningful connection related to your business.

When Advocacy lapses, it is important to recognize interests and needs change over time. The company may no longer be relevant to me.  There's very little that can be done about this loss, except to be gracious and express a hope for future reconnection.

It's important to acknowledge that you company may have alienated the customer in some way with bad customer service or uncompetitive pricing, or poor product or services.  Consumers may become tired of self-promotion, poor response rate or dislike the fact that no one is curating the social accounts. At this level, there are *so* many reason a person might unfollow.


How to Re-engage: An advocate is almost always going to be a customer who wants relevant, authentic contact and content. Many companies seriously drop the ball with their customers at this level. Instead of thinking about what customers can do for you, consider how your business can make a difference for customers. Talk with them, as opposed to advertising at them, invite good customers and loyal customers to special events, offer "tell a friend deals." Invest time in your relationships and in your Social Media.

If the reason a person followed you was Immediate Need, thhey no longer need to be in contact with your company. Not every unfollow is a personal insult.

How to Re-engage: If you've done your job and created truly Social interaction, they'll be back when they need you. Acknowledge the Tare and move on, working with those people who want to stay connected.

Losing followers is inevitable. The best thing to do is make the trail back to you appealing and open. Build bridges, don't burn them and you'll find your following growing naturally.

You're Not the Pied Piper, Part 2: "One Too Many"

In Follow Me! Follow Me!, we discussed companies that ask you to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, sign up for their newsletter...all so they can give you the same press release in 5 fabulous formats!

Today, we're going to look at other side of this bad social media practice - the "One Too Many" syndrome.

Company A offers a reward: Like them on Facebook! (Okay, no prob!) Then follow them on Twitter. (Um, okay...) Now, tweet this canned response with a hashtag! (All right...) Now, take the code you receive as a DM to their website to get your reward! (Too late, I've moved on.)

Company B offers a contest: Like Us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, then scan this QR code, go to that website and register, to be entered into this contest for a free something worth about $10!

It's a classic case of "one too many."

Followers should have to do one thing. Either they scan in the QR code or they give a FB like or Twitter follow. Then give them the reward. Customers are not toddlers, they are not dogs. Ask them to do too much, they'll wander off, bored.

Every additional step a company requires from consumers, leeches their interest in whatever contest, or junky reward. No, they will not scan a QR code, then like your FB page to get...what? A few bucks off? A free soda when they spend $50?  A free sticker? The "reward" is rarely worth the time and effort

Consumers are not following your company to bump up your numbers. They expect value from you.

Exclusives, special deals and good content will bring in loyal followers. And loyal customers is what you want, not people who sign up for contests.

Three Reasons Why You *Really* Shouldn't Automate Social Media

One of the unwritten rules of excellent Social Media is  - don't automate your Social Media. When a so-called Social Media Expert tries to convince you that a piece of software can make your Social Media a snap, it's a good bet that they have no idea what they are doing.

It's very apparent, however, that it is possible to automate Social Media - Tweetdeck, Hootsuite and even Empire Avenue, provide ways of doing just that. So....where's the disconnect? If you can make Social Media simpler through automation, why not just do it? Here's three critical reasons why you should make each and every connection personal:

Lack of Customization Looks Insincere

When you format a Tweet, you have 140 characters total. There needs to be no preamble, no sign-off. Everyone knows this, and no one considers it inappropriate. On your mailing list, however, this would be seen as terse - at best - and really just plain rude by most people. You're missing a chance to be approachable and human with a simple greeting and sign-off or, if you have the kind of list that uses customized images and formats, a slick-looking message. What works best for Facebook might be a short intro to the link, the link and a personal comment about the link. On LinkedIn, you'll probably want to add a line or two of insight or application.

When you boilerplate your communications, it signals insincerity. Take the time to make each communication count for maximum impact on that platform.

It Puts A Barrier Between You and Your Message

Let's say you have a blog, a Mailing List and Facebook. When you automate your Social Media, on the one hand it shows consistency, but on the other, it begins to take on a corporate slickness that makes it less human. There's one message there, and no real person behind that message. How long does it really take to email your List and let them know something terrific is happening? That personal touch gives your message a voice - and a face.

Taking a moment to write authentic communications gives your audience a voice to hear, and a person to respond to.


Closes You Off To Response

Once you've begun to automate Social Media, you'll save a lot of time. That's the rationalization, but is it true? Aside from the obvious point that taking 5-10 minutes a day to connect with people isn't really asking all that much; when you save those seconds, what are you planning on doing with them? Because you've automated your communications with your audience, the barrier you've placed between them and you goes both ways -  are you going to take the time needed to respond to people?

+1ing a comment on Google+ takes mere seconds. Responding to a tweet or a comment, perhaps a minute. If the issue is complex, you might need to take it off-platform, through mail or phone. Once the audience you're addressing with your standardized messages become faceless number counts in your stats, are you going to make that time? These people are your audience, your market - your customers. Automating communications with them may give you a few more minutes in the day, but it's unlikely to give you a few more sales at the end of that day.

Keep your Social Media real - talk with, not at people. Time invested in communicating always brings about a better ROI.

When and How Social Media Works

Turns out Social Media Marketing doesn't work, says Fast Company. Is this true? Of course it is. Companies that see Social Media only as an advertising channel or a filter through which to drive business, will inevitably fail.

However, saying that using a platform like Foursquare to drive business doesn't work is not the same thing as saying that Social Media doesn't work. That's like saying that a screwdriver doesn't work for driving in nails. Well, of course it doesn't - that's not what it's meant to do.

Social Media is not a golden ticket to riches. It is not a sure-fire simple way to get your message to more people than ever before. Social Media is not Foursquare, or Facebook or Twitter.

Social Media is a method of communicating with your audience and your market.

Let's look at when, how and why Social Media works.

Social Media works when you have something to say that your audience will want to share with others.

Every day is an exciting day for you. You have a lot going on. Some of that is stuff you really want your customers to know about. It's unrealistic to think that, if you have a special blow-out sale every Tuesday, that every customer will want to share that new every week.

So, what's news that's worth sharing? What is significant news for your business? A new publication by a popular author (if you're a publishing company,) or tips for bicycling locally (if you're a bike shop.) When you have something special to share, and you share the passion you feel about it with your customers - they'll want to share too.

Before you ask your audience to share something, ask yourself: Is this special? Is it exciting? Is this something *I* would want to tell someone about?

When you can answer "Yes!" to any of those questions - especially the last one - then send that message and ask folks to share the news. Make sure you recognize those folks with thanks, with rewards, with a nod...something, anything, to let them know that you noticed. A little thanks goes a long way to building loyalty.

Social Media Works because you care about your customers

Social Media is not a tool to drive business - it's a tool to communicate how much YOU care about your market.

This is the single most critical fact of Social Media that companies fail to grasp. Social Media is not, has never been, about you. Social Media is about the people who walk into your office, your store, visit your website, purchase your goods or services.

It's time for companies to stop asking customers to care about them. Checking into Foursquare may get them a small discount or a free appetizer, but the ROI of Social Media comes from time. The time you put into taking good care of your customers, and telling them how much they mean to you, listening to them properly, communicating with them openly. This will generate ROI, because you've actually made an worthwhile investment in your audience by giving them something to talk about and letting them know you're actually paying attention to them. When you invest in your customers, they will share your news, because they know that you care about them.

Forget asking your customers to do stuff for you - do something for them. That's good Social Media that works.

The Uncanny Valley of Social Media

You know it the moment you see it. You get an email, or a Direct Message, and it's friendly, outgoing...and wholly automated.

"Hi /Your Name/!" It says in imperturbably cheerful tones. "Here's what I can do for you!" Build your website presence, advertise your business, get more friends/followers/contacts, whatever. When you don't know that person and you don't need that thing, you just dismiss it as spam and move on.

But it feels even weirder when you do need that thing, or know that person and are creeped out by the lack of real connection between you, that person and the message you're reading. Who is it for, you wonder? Why am *I* getting it?

You are looking at the Uncanny Valley of Social Media.

Automated Social Media seems like the most obvious and helpful tool. One message across all your platforms will reach the most number of people with the most efficient use of your time. But this is where the Valley lives. In the same way that Advertising works better when you invest money in it to saturate your audience with your message, Social Media works best when you invest time to make your interaction with people authentic and relevant.

Your audience will be able to identify automated Social Media Marketing instantly. You, your business and your message go right into their mental spam filter and not only have you missed your opportunity to connect this time, you've blown it for next time too. Depending on your industry, this could be anywhere from minimally damaging to massively so. A website designer is going to have a harder road to hoe to make a connection on the second try than someone who is selling, say, chocolates.
Your "efficient" form of communication may be perceived as even creepier than you intend it to be. Watch this:



In the above video, you know *exactly* the moment you can see that the face is human, and when it is not. The video was created to study what factors people use to understand when a face looks alive. You can understand instantly when that face is an animation and when it is human. Even knowing that you are watching a simulation, it's hard not to be creeped out by it. Equally, even when I sign up for your newsletter, the tone of your communication might indicate to me that there is no one in there. Like eyes, words are incredibly powerful. Sending generic messages, spammish offers of business development help and automating one message across multiple platforms are dead giveaways. It doesn't take a sophisticated user to identify when a communication is fake.

To avoid the Uncanny Valley in Social Media focus on messaging that is actually relevant to your audience and addresses their needs directly and individually. Take time to get to know your audience, otherwise, you're just another 'bot.

Social Media Means Helping Others

It's the time of year when reports of acts of kindness fill the news. Average people reach out to make life easier for other people who are trying to get by, making the world just a little better, one moment of decency at a time.

Social Media is no different. Your Twitter stream is likely to be full of links to non-profits, stories of good-hearted people helping others and celebrities using their popularity to support causes of importance to them.

Popularity can drive passion. The more followers/friends/contacts you have, the more impact a simple request for a donation to a charity can make.

But you don't have 10,000 followers, you say. You can't make that kind of impact. No, maybe you can't with one tweet...but you can if you focus your niche into a cause that resonates with your audience. Using the Social Media you already have access to and no more, you can rally your existing customers into a force for good.

Once again, I offer my other blog as an example. On Okazu, I review books and other media. One of the habits I have formed over the years is to donate some of what I review (and other books I read, but do not review) to my local library. One of the pain points for many of my readers is that their libraries do not carry books they are interested in. Over the years I've encouraged readers to donate their unwanted graphic novels to their libraries, to use Interlibrary Loan to expand their reading and generally assist their libraries in developing strong graphic novel collections. This has expanded into a strong support of libraries world-wide among my readers. For Banned Books Week, I offered any Library that requested it a complete library of all my publications.

I have received emails and comments from people all over the world about their donations to their libraries becoming a kernel of a new collection. And some of my readers have begun buying extra copies of what they read specifically to donate to their library, something my wife and I now call "Feeding the Library." I often add books I might not otherwise get to my orders to give to the Library - and I've encouraged a few local companies to donate books and even DVDs.

Supporting my local library may not change the world, but that's not the point here. If it makes a positive difference in one life, it makes a difference. Like Toys for Tots or giving school supplies, the goal is to make life better for a person. If I encourage the reading, the writing, the artistic endeavor of one person by my donation, I've succeeded. And so can you.

You know your niche. Whether your focus is to be the best sandwich shop in town, the fastest and friendliest tire store, the best accountant, the vet doctor that everyone loves, there's a way to turn your niche into support for a cause that will light a fire in your and your customer's hearts. Run a restaurant? Why not ask folks to contribute to a food donation drive, then lead the way with a gift of your own? Sell shoes? Maybe the local Battered Women's shelter could use some of those left-over stock from last year, or donations of  barely-worn, good shoes for the kids in the Shelter.

The niche you live and breathe every day can become a cause that brings your passion to your customers. You can make a few people's lives a little better and cement your reputation as an important member of your community.

Donate your time, your expertise, or your skills to a cause that means a lot to you and that ties in with your business. Use your Social Media to spread the word of the cause that warms your heart. Build your reputation, your audience and your community up with one act of kindness.

ROI Means What in Social Media?

One of the things that most confuses people about using Social Media is the concept of Return on Investment. Confusion about ROI in Social Media stems from several different areas of the overall process of trying to map traditional marketing tactics to a Social Media model. Today we'll look at exactly what "Investment" you're making in Social Media, so it will make more sense when you think about why (and how) one should measure them and any Return on them.

Money - In reality, there are two major things that can be invested in Social Media. Money is the first.  Whether you hire a Social Media Professional to develop a strategy or Twitter for you, have someone on your internal staff build a Foursquare presence, have a writer blog for you, or put ads on Facebook, you are investing money in Social Media. If you are reaching out to your internal staff, the cost appears to be less, because they are there doing work for you anyway and all that's left is an opportunity cost. But any way you slice it, you're still paying for that work.

Because traditional marketing was based on investment of money, with well-established formulas for marketing campaigns targeted to specific media, specific demographics, times of day, expected number of viewers/listeners, etc., it all seemed rather straightforward.  Any mathematical formula applied across variables will yield *some* kind of number. Online advertising doesn't yet have established formulas, and measurement has to change to account for changes in technology. Since technology is changing at a rapid pace, things like Pay-Per-Click become obsolete as soon as they become standardized. Ultimately what gets measured most are the easiest, least useful numbers.

Throwing money at Social Media will make it easy to measure the investment, but there is no tried-and-true formula to measure the return.


Time - In the currency of Social Media, Time is the Gold Standard. Every business wants to be able to send out a single status update to all their Social Media presences at a single click of the button and have business pour in. But Time is a counterintuitive spend. When it comes to relationships, the *more* time spent, the more you are indicating that this relationship is important to you. Consider the power of a lunchtime chat when catching up with a friend as compared to a holiday-season "update from the Smith family" letter. Which is more authentic? Which do you think shows that the other party values you? We know that we spend more time with people who are important to us than we do with people who are not. The truth is obvious to anyone who has ever received a letter from a company with the greeting "Dear Valued Customer."

Time is the one thing you *must* spend in order to create any sustainable relationship.

***

Time and Money are the biggest spends when executing any kind of Social Media plan. But they aren't the only things you're spending....

Reputation - When you've been in business for any length of time, you have built up a reputation. When you start to put yourself out there for people to communicate with, one of the first things you are doing is investing that reputation. If you've built an awesome reputation, people will want to be part of your network, to be part of your team. Conversely, if you've got a reputation for avoidance and obfuscation, when you venture into Social Media, you may be taking a gamble that your reputation will make you a target.

Investing in your reputation means you'll have reputation to invest when the time comes to enter the Social Media world.

Creativity - This seems obvious, but almost no one considers their investment of Creativity when they look to create a Social Media presence.  For instance, you may look at your creative team and ask for something cool, innovative, engaging, but easy to manage and measure. And you want it in a reasonable time frame. In order to get even most of what you want, you need to invest a lot of Creativity in the process. There are limitations to hardware, software - and people. Imagining something completely new sounds great, but do you and your team have what it takes to get there? Or are you going to fall short and get something that's easy for you and less functional for your customers?

Consider the amount of Creativity you and your team have to invest before you start to dream.

Stake - Big corporations talk a lot about stakeholders. Stockholders, employees, customers all have some stake in the well-being of a company. Even in your small business, there are more stakeholders than just you - your family, your customers, your vendors all have some stake in your business.

You can leverage this stake if you need to, to invest in your ability to develop, support and grow a healthy Social Media presence.

Before you question what the Return on Investment of Social Media is, know what you're Investing in Social Media in the first place.

10 Questions to Determine If You're Using Social Media "Right"

The words "Social Media" have become as common as "cell phone" or "online marketing." And, like so much else related to digital forms of communication, there's a tremendous amount of snake oil being sold as panaceas for your ailing business.

Here's a simple checklist to determine if your business is getting the maximum benefit from your social media use.

Do you answer when people talk to you?

Do other people answer when you talk to them?

Do you talk about topics other than yourself or your business?

Do your status updates look like a conversation?

Do your status updates include questions that encourage answers?

When someone complains that they did not get good service from you, do you respond quickly?

Do you respond to people on the same social network platform they commented on in the first place?

Do you allow open and free discussion on your social media profiles? (For instance, is your Wall open to comment on Facebook?)

Do you follow up with people after you have spoken with them?

Are your followers/friends/fans/likes increasing?

***

1-4 "Yes" answers

Your use of Social Media is not Optimal

Social Media requires good interaction to be successful. You may have profiles or pages on all the hottest networks, but you're not curating them. The more you interact, the more authentic you seem. The more authentic you are, the more people will want to interact!

Take a few moments and prioritize your Social Media presence. Focus on one or two places where you can realistically spend time with your customers and cultivate relationships with them. In 6 months, retake this test and see how far you've come!


5-7 "Yes" answers

Your Use of Social Media is Good

You've got the basics down and you're putting your best foot forward most of the time. You're busy, so sometimes maybe you miss something, but you're doing your best.

Take a long look at a few of the spaces that aren't really getting much return. Maybe it's time to let go of an old profile or network. One of your spaces might just be full of unmoderated spam and it's time to trim it. Don't just get rid of the old, though- your mailing list may still be the best conversation in town. Just be ready to let go of something that's not working and focus on what is.


8-10 "Yes" answers

Congratulations, you are doing Social Media "Right"!

You understand that responding quickly and politely to issues means there's no time for those unresolved issues to fester into resentment. You understand that being where your audience is means you can convert them to becoming your market. And you understand that talking with people is more than just talking about yourself.

Don't get cocky, though - there's always room for improvement. Take that excellent Social Media Strategy and turn it into something exciting for you and your followers!

Use these ten questions as a quick health check of your Social Media presence on any platform - you can even ask your followers to take the test for you and see if you and they have the same feelings about your Social Media use.

Creating Your End-of-Year Social Media Review

Because the calendar dictates that it is so, this time of year we're all looking back at our year (and, this year, a decade) of what we did. Best of and Worst of lists abound and Twitter, particularly, is a love-fest of Top this and Top that in Social Media. :-)

So, while we're talking about reviewing the year in Social Media, it's probably past time that you took a look at your own Social Media Strategy. Large companies have entire departments devoted to tracking metrics, but when you are a small or mid-size company there may only be you.

Here's a few questions to prompt you to figuring out what worked and what didn't.

Put your answers down in plain and simple language. Do not use business buzzwords or jargon. Be as specific as you can.

1) State your Social Media Strategy for 2009


2) State Your Top Three Tactics for the Above Strategy


3) State the Estimated amount of time/money each tactic took, per month


4) State your Objectives for each Tactic


5) State your desired measurements for each Objective


This *should* all have been established when you created your strategy. If you lacked any of the answers for these questions, that indicates that there was a big hole in the strategy to start with.

Now, draw a vertical line next to these statements and put in what you actually *did.*

For instance, you may have estimated that your Facebook page would take an hour a week, and your Foursquare page might take 3 hours a week, but you found that your Twitter feed actually took the bulk of your time, and your FB page languished as a result.

Looking at your objectives and the measurements you used for them is critical - did you, in fact, gain 10,000 fans/followers, sell three boats, get that recommendation or are your efforts to entice users to "Fan Us" work poorly? Or, conversely, the non-committal nature of Facebook may have worked awesomely well for you and you've more than made your numbers, but you may find it hard to get those followers to *do* anything.

Look at the gaps between the expectations and the execution. Analyse them without delusion. It's not your users fault that your content isn't compelling or that you don't give them reason to join your exciting /fill in the blank/, or your action language consists of "check us out!"

Look at what worked better than you expected. Did you find your sales rising when you posted that link on Twitter? Did you presence on Friendster cause a peak on your Shop? Maybe that hashtag you used on Twitter brought in new visitors to your site.

Note which objectives of your strategy each successful tactic was connected to. If you have a specific tactic that was unexpectedly successful and it was *not* part of a specific objective, note that, as well.

After looking at all this, walk away. Talk it over with a friend, or drop me an email - I'll listen. Focus on one thing that worked and one thing that didn't. Figure out *why*.

When you've looked at what you've done without delusion, once you know the why of what worked and what didn't, answer this question:

State your Social Media Strategy for 2010

Then take it from there. ;-)

Have a Happy New Year and I'll see you in 2010!

A Simple, Delusion-Free Guide to Monetizing Your Blog

You've got a blog.

You like blogging and you get a a nice number of readers every day. It seems like a natural choice to monetize your blog and get something back for your efforts.

There is a lot of press about people making a living from their blogs - and some people do, it's true. There are a small number of professional bloggers out there who can make reasonably significant money from their blog, part- or full-time wages.

In many of these cases, these people had a large following *before* they began to blog. In others, they focused on celebrity gossip and related topics. It's unfortunate, but celebrity is the easiest way onto the money train. Today's post is for the rest of us.

I'm writing this post with two assumptions - 1) That you enjoy blogging in and of itself and; 2) That you are not trying to game the system and create an income machine. If you want to know how to fake your way into fast money, this is definitely not the post for you. If you have a blog you love and want to understand what you can *reasonably* do, read on. :-)

Here are Four Methods for Monetizing your Blog:


Banner, Block and Interstitial Ads

It's probably safe to say that the biggest ad network used by bloggers is Google Adsense, but it is not the only ad network out there. Many ad networks, both big and small, allow for creation of ads that can be placed in a variety of locations on your blog.

Banner ads were very popular in the early days of blogging. Many free blogging spaces put their own top banners above your blog to pay for your use of the space. These days banners are less common on blogs, because they separate your content from the audience in what is a very crucial space in your blog - below your header and above the cut, where they have to scroll down in order to keep reading. Banners across the bottom of a blog are often ineffective, because people read what's above the cut on your page and may not read all the way down.

Today, ads in the sidebars and in between posts, known as interstitial ads, are quite common. Block ads can be placed just about anywhere on a blog and can be practically any size. Interstitial ads separate posts or separate the top of a post from the bottom - you see this quite often on news/magazine sites: "Continue reading below." Interstitial ads that separate posts add distance between one post an another, but can also appeal directly to an audience with properly targeted ads.

Strengths: These kinds of ads are very easy to set up and, with most ad networks, a certain amount of targeting to your audience and topic is available. You can manage size and location so that these ads are not *that* intrusive.

Weaknesses: Your audience may not respond all that kindly to obvious monetization of your blog. Non-intrusive ads might not receive any attention at all. Bury your ads in the bottom right hand corner of the blog and no one will click on them. Many experts recommend avoiding interstitial ads, because they say it looks cheap. The irony is that at least two of the experts I saw with that advice had an ad planted squarely in the middle of their copy. So take your expert advice with a grain of salt. :-)

Be Aware: All ad networks have rules against you clicking your own ads to drive up rates. They also have rules about you making a point in the blog to encourage your readers to click the ads. Furthermore, many smaller ad networks have rules about mixing and matching advertising networks on one blog. Be careful to read the Terms of Service and not get on the wrong side of an ad network, or you could find your earnings held hostage or revoked altogether.


Contextual Advertising

Should your blog reach a certain number of visitors per month, you may be able to add contextual ads to your copy. These are, once again, served by a number of advertising networks. These ads appear as double-underlined links in your text and usually provide a pop-up ad as the reader scrolls over them. There isn't that much targeting available to you through these networks, since the words in your copy provide the context. Sometimes, the ads are hilariously off-topic.

Strengths: These forms of advertising are small, reasonably non-intrusive at first glance and sometimes actually useful.

Weaknesses: Contextual Advertising is not as targetable as banner/block ads and the pop-ups can be both annoying and are often blocked by readers.

Be Aware: There's no legal way to point out to your readers that these are not some evil virus put there by your blog host, but are, in fact, a way for you to make money. You have to hope that your readers are sophisticated enough to get what you are doing - something you can't rely on, realistically.


Affiliate Marketing

This is probably the most tried-and-true method of blog monetization. If you have a strong, focused topic, there are probably folks out there selling related items. There are any number of affiliate marketing networks, a little time searching around will surely come up with the best one for your blog.

Affiliate marketing works best when the blog actually discusses the items being marketed. This draws the reader's attention to the item directly.

Strengths: Affiliate marketing works well for review blogs, subject-enthusiast blogs, blogs in niches where information about relevant products and services are hard to find.

Weaknesses: Bloggers that rely heavily on sponsorships and received items can appear biased. There's a fine line to walk between unbiased, honest reviews and making yourself either unpleasant or a stooge.

Be Aware: Reviews of featured products are now reportable to the FTC and to the IRS. Bloggers should be aware of the new regulations and disclaim properly when reviewing received items.


Your Products and Services

Ideally, you have a unique idea or, at least, a unique approach to an idea. Perhaps you've written a book about it, or have branded T-shirts and coffee mugs or...something. Don't be afraid to commoditize you. Book, shirts, your services - these can all be featured on your blog as a way for your readers to show that they are part of your "team."

Strengths: You are selling youself, your ideas, your creativity. These are (or should be) your areas of strength - what you do best.

Weaknesses: No one cares until you make them care. Have a book? How nice. Having a book does not mean anyone will buy it - until that book becomes the most relevant and interesting thing for them.

Be Aware: The more you put yourself out there, the more you will draw attention - both good and bad. Be ready for negative reviews of your book, bad client experiences and nasty commenters on your blog. Note that they exist, then move on.


None of these monetizing methods give you a bye from promoting your blog, expanding your network or doing the work to create good, relevant, compelling content. If you are already doing the work these methods still might not bring in $$$ while you have 100 readers. But, when you have 100,000 readers or 1,000,000 readers, you might be one of those few who can say they make a living at blogging.

Don't Automate - Communicate

"Where can I find a one-click automated solution to all my social sites?"

I see this question constantly and, frankly, it sends up all sorts of warning sirens and flashing red lights in my opinion. The need to automate is a sign that a company is more interested in their time than mine.

Let's take a step back and look at the gap here.

Why do people use Social Media? They use Social Media to talk with friends, clients, professional and personal connections. In other words - they have conversations.

How do people use Social Media? They share pictures and videos, comment on each other's statuses, play games...in other words, they communicate with other people.

People do not join a Social Network to be advertised to. Yes, we're all aware that that pays the bills, and we're willing to tolerate it in return for a free experience, but - the moment you think the point of a Social Network is the advertising, you have fallen into delusion. This is why just having a "presence" in a Social Network has no real meaning and why people aren't jumping aboard your Fan page, or following you on Twitter.

The Keys to Great Social Media are Relevance and Authencity

How authentic are your communications? If you are automating one message across multiple platforms, the answer is - not at all. You're using a broadcast model, and not only are you not accomplishing what you hope to do, you're alienating the very people you hoped to engage. Essentially, you have turned your business communications into Spam.

How relevant are your communications? Do you post the same message over and over on Twitter? Do you "target" people by keyword, then reply to them out of context with a pitch for your site, product or service? Getting involved with a conversation about your area of expertise shows you can listen as well as talk. Communication is more than one-way.

Talking with people takes more time than talking at them. But it also provides your potential customer with the knowledge that you are more than just a faceless drone, spitting out press releases. And it assures them that you value their time as much as you do your own.

Be real - don't automate, communicate.

Three Dimensions of Social Media Engagement

A little while ago, we discussed how to Reward the folks who make up your market/fan base. Today I want to take a look at the lynchpin of every Social Media strategy - creating Engagement.

Engagement is more than enabling comments on a blog or on your Facebook page. Engagement is more than just posting a random question from time to time. Engagement is more than two-way communication.

Social Media Engagement is Three Dimensional

One dimension is a single point. You are that point. You're standing on a blank page talking about your business. Your website, your blog, your advertising campaigns are all that single point. One dimension is you, your words, your point of view, talking to the outside world. Someone may see it. Someone may care about what you have to say. But you won't know, because your communication is in one dimension.

Two dimensions are represented by a line. You add a Contact Us link or form to your site. You enable comments on your blog or Facebook page. You can now receive communication back from people who are motivated to contact you. You have, quite literally, opened a line of communication. When you receive that comment or email, you might be motivated to respond. That response goes back up the string to the customer's tin can.

Three dimensions add volume. No longer just a single line, there is now depth and breadth to your world. You communicate not just with the individual that commented, but with anyone who might potentially have the same thought. There's your breadth. And...if you do it in the right place in the right way, with the right people - they want to share what you said with other people. Bam! There's your third dimension.

Engagement is both harder and easier than most companies realize.

Contests and giveaways does not actually engage people. It's a quid pro quo transaction. People enter contests for prizes, for ego, for bragging rights. People do not become engaged in your brand because you give them stuff.

People become engaged because they *believe* in your brand. They have a hole in their heart that your brand fills. Your brand - and only your brand - makes them feel as if they are where they want to be.

The secret to engaging people is to forget about that first dimension. *You* are not the point. (As Karen Rosenzweig says, "It's Social MEdia, not Social YOUdia." Great Social Media is about the customer - it's all about what they like and want and need...not about what you have to give. Incidentally, this is also the basis of good Sales technique - which is why, when people ask what division of a company - Communications or Marketing - should handle Social Media, I often say, "Sales." Sales already has the skill set needed for Engagement, where Communications is often locked in that first dimension and Marketing in the second.

To create good engagement, start by commenting on something some else says. Don't wait for a comment on something you said - go out and find someone to talk to.

@Bob You had great service at our store in Townsville? Great- thanks for letting us know!

Ask a follow-up question, which will solicit a reply.

Was there anything you were looking for that you didn't find?

Invite a third party into the conversation.

@Townsvillestoremanager, @Bob say he had a great store experience. How did that sale go?

Then invite the first party to invite someone into the conversation.

Hi, @Sue, @Bob tells me that you're a regular customer too.

Converse with all sides. You're the expert - you guide the conversation.

@Townsvillestoremanager, how about we give @Bob and @Sue a "Team discount" for the next sale?

This conversation is a bit pat, of course but, the point is, it was never about the business - it was always about the customer. And if you've been following me here, you'll recognize that the conversation included a Reward for being your market, not just your audience. A Reward that encourages Bob and Sue to extend the network.

Engagement comes from a feeling of being part of something. Bob and Sue aren't just customers and they aren't "valued customers." They are part of the Team.

Your Team is everyone and anyone who can extend your network. Blogging isn't enough. Comments aren't enough. Comments that lead to conversations on and off your blog; comments that bring other blogs into the conversation - and your comments in those spaces - that's the third dimension you need for Engagement.

I'm going to wind up today's post with a quick shout out to some of the many folks on my Team: Dean C, Bruce McF, Katherine H. Ana M, JD - I can't thank you enough for all you do! Step up and take a bow in the comments, and let the good folks who read this blog meet you. :-)

And, if you are a regular reader....please feel free to shout out to your own Team! I'd love to learn who you think makes your network hum. :-)

A Parable of Social Media ROI

What confuses people most about social media is that they think its a new way of doing business, a whole new paradigm. In fact, it's really the exact opposite - it's the oldest way of doing business. Talking with people, the people you want to sell to, is the very oldest way of building a good relationship with your customer base.

Social media ROI is puzzling to many businesses. They are used to measuring concrete numbers - conversion rate of site visitors to purchasers, and click-through rates. Because in social media marketing, the emphasis should be on the "social" part, the concept of ROI seems awkward. That's because good social media is not just a form of marketing - it's a whole business model.

I created this parable to illustrate the matter:

Imagine a town. There are three fishmongers in town. All of them have roughly the same fishermen's catch to choose from.

One of them seems to get slightly better fish, but he's a taciturn guy and rarely does more than grunt when you do business with him.

One talks a great game, about how his fish is the freshest (it's the same-day catch as the other two) and the cheapest (he's actually sometimes cheaper by a very little bit.) He talks a lot - always about himself or his fish.

One is a really nice guy. He knows your kids' names and what your business is. His fish is fine. Neither the absolute best, not the absolute cheapest, but he throws in a little bit of fishhead for your cat, because he knows she likes that.

Q: Which one are you going to go to first when looking for fish?

More importantly

Q: When a friend asks you for a recommendation, who are you going to recommend?

Chances are, you'll go to the third fishmonger first, before you go to the others. It doesn't mean you'll always buy from him - maybe he doesn't have the fish you want today, or he's not on the way home. But mostly, you'll try to buy from him.

You're most likely to recommend him, too, because shopping at his place is a pleasure. The guy who makes you feel good, who asks after your spouse and feeds your cat - he *cares.*

Here's the third and most important question....

Q: What's the ROI on the third fishmonger's strategy?

Let me know how you would describe it.