I am quite impressed with Leo Babauta, top blogger and founder of Zen Habits and mnmlist, but for a different reason than you might think. What I admire about Leo is his ability to zig instead of zagging in a very busy blogosphere. A sphere that is filled with as many tips and tricks as you can find to market, optimize and make money from your blog. Of course these things are important, but it is the way that Leo has crafted his blog to its current incarnation that speaks to his character.
I stumbled across Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch, founder of GoodLifeZen, A-List Blogging Bootcamps during research. After taking their bootcamp which is offered several times a year on various blogging topics, you are able to join the monthly A-List Blogger Club (I highly recommend the bootcamp and the club. Leo and Mary are great teachers and you get to connect with a diverse community of bloggers).
Content is King
The thing that Leo has drilled in our heads since I started the A-List Blogger Club is “content is king”. Put your energy into creating great content. The rest will take care of itself. Leo says that great content spreads. I am definitely one to adhere to the “build it and they will come” scenario, but I think many people are scared to take the slow path. They want to build things rapidly and have success overnight, so they look for ways to market themselves which can sometimes be incongruent with what they are creating.
Pop Up Opt in Forms
Nothing drives me crazier than to check out someone’s blog and within 30 seconds of being there, a very annoying pop up box lands in front of me asking for my email. I personally get turned off by this marketing and won’t sign up for any blogs that use these. Yes, I have heard the statistics and conversion rates of bloggers that added these opt in boxes and how their subscriber rates doubled, tripled, etc. I consider myself a very discerning buyer. If I am not signing up for your email updates, how many other subscribers are you losing? I think it is important to ask yourself, are the subscribers you receive from these opt in forms really qualified buyers/readers or do they just want to get rid of the annoying pop up box so they can read your blog? As Leo has said, if a reader really likes your work, they will sign up to receive updates, not because they are prompted by a pop up box. You don’t need to sell them on your work.
Free Material with Email Sign Up
I am drowning in free ebooks and material I have received by signing up for blog updates. In the beginning, I thought this was a great idea to get subscribers, but I can assure you I have not read 95% of this material. Why? Because in a blogosphere littered with free information, there is no value in giving things away. You think one day I will read this, but the reality is people value what they pay for. So, if I paid $10 for your ebook, you bet I am more likely to read it than one I have been given for free. Plus, you are providing readers with free content on your blog, how much free content do you need to give away?
Google AdSense
Leo mentioned he tried various forms of advertising in his early days as a blogger and learned what made money and what didn’t. Overtime, his blog has evolved into the ad free version you see. While his 240K+ subscribers read his posts via rss or email feed, if you happen to go his website you will see a clean white, minimalist design which reinforces his zen brand.
Like the pop up opt in forms, I am not a fan of Google AdSense. My mind literally turns a blind eye when I see them on a site. I know you can make them targeted, but I don’t feel the ads match the character or purpose of any blog I have seen them on. They are distracting and take away from the design aesthetic and focus of your site.
Photos
While Leo had photos on his site in the past, he no longer uses them. His focus is solely on his writing. This speaks volumes, as there probably aren’t too many bloggers willing to part with photos permanently. We are a visually oriented society and images capture our attention.
I don’t have a problem with photos on blog posts, but I think they are misused. Unless you are an artist or photographer posting your own photos, chances are you use flickr common use or one of the many paid stock photography sites. The problem with stock photography is that its intended use is for the masses and therefore the photo doesn’t carry any direct personal relation to your post. It is lacking your unique essence and perspective. I have seen many of the same photos on site after site. Yes, they may be pretty, but half the time I don’t think the photo goes with the particular post or it screams stock photography.
I do think photos can be relevant and look great if done well (i.e. you have taken the photo yourself or the post is an interview or book review and you have used the corresponding book cover or interviewee’s photo). As an experiment, you might try posting time to time without a photo. Let your writing speak for itself.
Things you might want to consider the next time you post a photo:
- Does this photo really connect with my post?
- Can this post stand on its own without a photo? (If it can’t, you might want to think twice before hitting the publish button)
How can you zig instead of zagging the next time you post? How can you challenge yourself to stand out from other bloggers?
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Hi Wendy,
Love the look of your site. You walk the walk as your site speaks volumes about your blogging philosophy. I do as well love the clean look of blogs like yours and Leo’s. He is such a gifted writer, he does not need the bells and whistles some of the other bloggers seem to feel is necessary. I don’t like the ads or pop up windows either. I can understand why bloggers get frustrated and think they need the gimmicks to attract readers, but it is your content in the end that will draw an audience.
I recently read an article from Social Triggers to limit the sidebar which you are a great example of, to 4 parts; Subscribe, Popular Posts, Search and Affiliates I believe, so I’m trying to cut mine down. Great ideas in this post. Thanks for sharing.
Cathy | Treatment Talk recently posted..How to Help Yourself and Get Your Life Back
Hi Cathy:
I think your blog looks great. It is designed well, informative and you have created a great resource and community for people interested in addiction and recovery.
I am no Leo Babauta when it comes to blogging. I wish I had his natural gift of writing. Everyone admires him for his writing and advice on leading a life that is mindful and simple and this comes across strongly in his design and how he presents himself as a blogger.
- Wendy
Love your take here Wendy. I am also annoyed by pop up newsletter forms and they probably work best on blogs about blogging.
I may also do away with photos because it is just one more step to creating a blog post. I just began taking my own photos and adding them to flickr. They are free for anyone to use.
Good old adsense. The poor man’s money maker. For now it is the number one income stream for my site and I won’t get rid of it anytime soon. I am getting more inquiries though for direct advertisers so as direct advertising increases adsense will decrease.
I am signed up for one personal development newsletter, and two blogging newsletters and that is it. The free eBook is cool and I get it. People love free on the internet.
Justin Mazza recently posted..What is Your Time and Energy Really Worth to You
Hi Justin:
To be honest, I was a bit afraid to post this one. I didn’t want to come off as preachy and I don’t typically post with a strong view point. I usually just like to share information.
I am glad to hear you are using your own photos. I do think blogs and websites look better with them. I can see the reason people use them, I just feel a disconnect between the photo and the post in most cases, so as much as one can make them the photo more personal and relevant, the better.
My recommendations were only food for thought. If something works for you, Google AdSense, etc., keep on using it. I will read your posts regardless, as I am a fan of your blog.
I do agree that people love free and there isn’t a problem with giving things away. I think it is more the intent. Leo talks about it more from the standpoint of free ebooks etc. to get subscribers, but he always says if someone enjoys your blog, they will sign up regardless.
- Wendy
Hi Wendy… I just found your blog link at the A-List Blogging Club which I joined today. I agree that AdSense isn’t attractive on a blog, but do you have any alternate ideas for making money with blogging? I do have AdSense on my personal blog, and other websites, because I have no other income other than what I can earn online. AdSense provides about half of my income. I would love to know your ideas for an alternate income source.
Linda recently posted..Eliminate Personalized Search Results at Google
Hi Linda:
Thanks for stopping by. If AdSense works for you and you are making money from, I would keep it. It is a catch-22, because until you have a large audience and have created different products to sell, you need to rely on affiliate marketing, ads, etc. to make money.
I haven’t focused on the monetary aspect yet, so I am fine with just posting for now. Finding the time to blog, is a bigger focus for me. I am working on my first ebook and I see it as something that will continue to bring in money once it launches. I am sure it will go through its phases, where there will be small months and then larger months.
I am also creating my resource page to link to Headway, A-List Blogging Club and products from blogger friends that I endorse. That is the only way I see for myself at this time to make money.
This post was more food for thought, for each person to take from it what suits them. I am very impressed with what Leo has created but he also did all the things that he doesn’t do know, like AdSense, etc.
-Wendy
Good idea, to have the resource page! I will keep that in mind. I’ve been blogging for more than ten years, but don’t have any ebooks… and most of my blogging efforts have no audience! Almost all my income comes from four websites/blogs and the other half is from Squidoo. I’m not feeling particularly prosperous but it is enough to get by, month to month. For that I am grateful!
I have a strange block to writing an ebook… I say it is strange because I have no problem writing novels!!! I’m thinking that I should focus on ebook writing for the next few months. Good luck with yours!
Linda recently posted..Eliminate Personalized Search Results at Google
Hi Wendy,
I enjoyed reading your post and pleased to see that there are others who share in my vision of minimalism on their blogs. I also strongly believe that there is information overload on the web, and it’s refreshing to see bloggers who are focused purely on the quality of content.
One thing that I wasn’t able to do on my blog was to get rid of the comments. Something that Leo also practices. Oh well…
P.S. Nice blog!
Vlad
Vlad | simpler life today recently posted..time to start getting out of your comfort zone
Hi Vlad:
Thank you for all the nice compliments. I am going to check out your blog once I have few minutes to settle in from the day.
It was definitely a food for thought post. I see potential in a lot of blogs but my eyes can’t shut out all the busyness people have on their blogs.
I used to work in web design as a project manager and also in branding for another compnay, so I come from a different experience than many bloggers out there.
I have to say my site is a little on the lackluster side design wise. I haven’t gone to a professional designer yet, as I am unclear on the overall design I want, so until then, I am focused on building my blog.
- Wendy
great article
this one makes a lot of sense : Free Material with Email Sign Up
i do promote my site by selling books, so i get money in addition to promotion, that’s better than giving free books
Thanks Farouk. I should be posting your post today.