Your Blogging Expertise is Needed

[walrus]

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

Howdy

I'm preparing to launch the affiliate blog that was the subject of another thread. (I've got the affiliate id part working perfectly, as well as the RSS feed.) Now, I need the input of experienced bloggers on what seems to work well at getting blog readers to click through to the paysite tour. It looks like most of you give a gallery or two per post and use that as the primary linkage to the tour(s). What's better in your opinion - linking to the gals via thumb or text link?

Both, back in the day I actually did picture blogs, I developed a preference for a large thumb with a text link below it.

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

Outside of galleries within posts and direct links in the sidebar, are there other clever ways to transition readers from the blog to the tour?

Creatively done text links within the post. If I were to set a standard for blogging, I probably would require a link to a gallery + a minimum of two text links to the tour. Also, don't make post after post of sales text. Blog about the featured model. I think a more personal approach works better on a blog than sales text.

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

I'm seeing a lot of blind linked thumbs on newer blogs. I can't see that as being a great way to move the surfer to the tour. Has this become the rule fo the day for blogs, or are those blind thumbs just poor blogging by newbies and rebels?

Newbies and lazy bloggers. Unfortunately, since there are no really big traffic pumps for blogs except SE's, there are no real quality standards set for bloggers to abide by.

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

Also, do you folks tend to simply link to affiliate blogs or do you also pull the RSS/Atom feed? I assume most feed lovers use RSS 2.0 - are there other types of feeds that are popular? (I've got 2.0, .92 and Atom running.)

For me, I'll add the link to the blog to my directory, add a link from the sidebar of the Blog Maniac and add the feed to XXX Blog Feeds and any other compolation blogs I develop in the future. Also, with a quality feed that was updated regularly (regularly being the catch here) I'd add a page with shorcut chicklets so that people could subscribe to the hosted feed directly.

I think most people who would use the hosted feed would do so in a compolation type blog.

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

Do you have certain quality/content demands of affiliate blogs that I should know before I make an ass of myself and launch something no one wants? This will be a real text blog - not a list of galleries or a page of thumbs accompanied by 10 words. (I promise)

Like I said above, there are really no quality standards set for blogs. My personal criteria is that it actually have text that is somewhat interesting in nature and that it actually update more than once a week.

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

Stupid question: What is the best name for blogs created by sponsors? Hosted Blog...Affiliate Blog...etc?

I vote Hosted Blog

[Chop Smith]

Originally Posted by walrus

Both, back in the day I actually did picture blogs, I developed a preference for a large thumb with a text link below it.

Creatively done text links within the post. If I were to set a standard for blogging, I probably would require a link to a gallery + a minimum of two text links to the tour. Also, don't make post after post of sales text. Blog about the featured model. I think a more personal approach works better on a blog than sales text.

Forgive me for getting specific. Assuming that ChopOnTheLake was a 'hosted blog' Would this post be close to what you would like http://www.choponthelake.com/ - By Chop Smith on June 4th, 2006?

If I have followed you correctly,
1) instead of having three pictures shown, there would be one
2) instead of linking directly to the tour, the link would be to a gallery having two text links to the tour.

Is there a preference for the preview picture size?

[walrus]

Originally Posted by Chop Smith

If I have followed you correctly,
1) instead of having three pictures shown, there would be one

Correct and that single picture plus some text directly underneath would link to the gallery

Originally Posted by Chop Smith

2) instead of linking directly to the tour, the link would be to a gallery having two text links to the tour.

Is there a preference for the preview picture size?

One text link somewhere in the text above the picture and one in the text below the picture like it is currently. It's my belief that text underneath the picture is often lost so I would definately post the tour link in the top area. Plus, not everyone will use the full feed, it is therefore important, I believe, to have a tour link in the first couple of sentences.

But don't set that in stone....I think the example post would also work well if the picture (with text link to gallery) were put in a div and floated to one side of the text. Although I would still recommend the link to the tour come earlier in the text.

As far as a preview picture size, if done like chop on the lake, I would use 350px wide, if used in a div 200px. But then again, I like large pics.

[Useless]

Thanks for the excellent info, Walrus.

If anyone has any more input on this matter, please tell us soon. Once I launch this thing, I won't be able to do any major changes without screwing up the feeds.

[Useless]

Only one blogger has any input...
Maybe it's not worth the effort.

[Chop Smith]

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

Only one blogger has any input...
Maybe it's not worth the effort.

Remember the 30% theory?

Remember you will promote your site better than others?

It is worth building it for youself and the team. That is if you and the team will use it after it is built. The theory of "build it and they will come" is bullshit in this business.

IMO, blogging is about where hfs' were a couple of years back. So jump out there with the other leaders and set the standard.

Did not ask for all of this bs, did you? See you at the staff meeting.

[docholly]

Opinions are like assholes--everyone has one

and quite frankly, in MY opinion, you got some very valuable imput and a good jumping off place. I've been blogging for over 4 years yet have zero clue as to what 1/2 that stuff is. Write and build what you would like to read and there will be millions of others who feel the same way.

All you need is 1% of those millions to join the program.

[Useless]

Originally Posted by Chop Smith

It is worth building it for youself and the team. That is if you and the team will use it after it is built. The theory of "build it and they will come" is bullshit in this business.

By team, did you mean staff?

And yeah, I know - I'll probably send more traffic to it than anyone else would (damn, I hope that's not true ), but I just want to be sure that I'm building something that'll be useful for affiliates too. I didn't spend all of that time screwing around with passing affiliate codes (and re-doing it again the other day) for my personal use. I see a need/desire for real hosted blogs and want this thing to succeed. We can only hope that my blog posts will be 25% as interesting as Ponygirl's Ode to Cocksucking on her blog.

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

Only one blogger has any input...
Maybe it's not worth the effort.

Well, if you are looking for info about how to not to make blog sales I can hit you with an earful!

Honestly, Walrus' blog notes made me rethink my posting style, so I just wanted to thank Walrus.

As for how to use a feed, I guess I could link to it in My Friend's Blogs like Walrus' mentioned or list it on my new linklist that takes blogs(cough) , but up to this point, the few sponsor blog feeds I have looked at have been utterly useless, and not in a cum splattered sort of way.

[walrus]

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

Only one blogger has any input...
Maybe it's not worth the effort.

Now that is the question....isn't it.

While I get as excited as a whore in a sausage factory when someone mentions hosted blogs and hosted feeds, how many people are really in a position to utilize and market it. My personal feeling is a select few. Bloggers will ask and beg and cry for RSS feeds but it is my belief that most of them don't have much of an idea what they'd do with them once they got them.

But if you want to recycle your work a bit, you could save the html of each post and offer that as a pre-made hosted post (or whatever the fuck you'd call something like that).

One of the tools I really get into is Naughty Allie who offers an erotic story with her picture downloads. If I'm not in the mood to think of something to post, I grab a couple of pics and the story that goes along with it. Something like I mentioned above could work in that manner.

[shade001]

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

Only one blogger has any input...
Maybe it's not worth the effort.

No, I just agree with Walrus and I only post when I have something meaningful to add.

You're doing the right thing. Ask questions, it's the only way to learn.