How 4 Top Bloggers Used Networking to Accelerate Traffic and Kick Ass

In the last post, I wrote an extensive guide on how to use blog networking to build solid relationships and skyrocket your traffic. If you haven’t read it yet, I definitely recommend giving it a look (and read it through – it’s worth it).

Because we all know that networking is crucial if you want your business to see amazing growth (I talked about this in my massive networking guide, so I won’t get into it here). But how crucial is networking really?

Photo by Hamed Saber (flickr)

Well get ready to get inspired, because today I have for you four special guests experienced in the networking arena: Tristan from Blogging Bookshelf, Marlee from Metamorphoself, Jk from The Hustler’s Notebook, and Marcus from The Sales Lion. I talked about them briefly in my networking guide, but the fact of the matter is – these people are rocking the blogosphere. They all have large, growing audiences, and they’ve all agreed to share their secrets on how you can increase traffic, better engage with your audience, and build ongoing relationships with the people you interact with.

Are you ready?

I hope you enjoy these interviews. After reading, I encourage you to check each blogger out, read a few posts, and subscribe to the blog. They really write some amazing stuff.

Then when you’re done, get networking!

Here’s what we’re going to talk about.

• The meaning behind networking
• How each blogger managed to create such a tremendous following (including tactics not networking-related)
• The main benefits of maintaining a network
• What each blogger does to network now and which tasks are done more than others
• What bloggers hesitant about reaching out and expanding their network should do and why they should do it

Let’s begin. (more…)

The Complete Blog Networking Guide: Build Solid Relationships and Skyrocket Your Traffic

First, I just wanted to extend a special welcome to the Smart Passive Income visitors coming through here (hello!). If you like this post, feel free to subscribe to the blog so that you can receive more updates when awesome posts like this one are published.

For everyone else, here’s the surprise you’ve been waiting for (video is below). I hope you enjoy!

If you can’t see it, click here to view the post directly (for RSS and email subscribers). To check the video out on YouTube, click here.

In the video, I discuss my take on networking. I also talk about a trend I’ve noticed on other blogs and the major mistake most new bloggers make that ultimately doom their businesses to failure (and how to avoid it). But you have to watch the video if you want to know the awesome networking trend I’ve discovered (I don’t mention it anywhere else). Plus, you’ll have the pleasure of watching me utterly humiliate myself on cam!

Special Note: I recently got a new cam (Logitech 1080p Webcam Pro C910 – ref link), and the quality is seriously incredible! If you’re thinking about video blogging, I totally recommend checking it out! Watch the above video for an example.

Many of you may remember a few weeks ago when I talked about the power of networking and why getting personal is crucial for any online business (or offline, for that matter). Well, today I want to take that idea to a whole new level and break down the concept of networking piece-by-piece. After today, you’ll be a blog networking pro, and hopefully you’ll have learned a great deal on how to build solid relationships with other bloggers, reach thousands (and even millions) of potential readers, and skyrocket your subscriber count.

Because, honestly, networking is crucial if you want to get noticed – and get noticed quickly. You need networking to create a profitable, fulfilling business or blog.

Then on Wednesday you’ll get a glimpse of how top bloggers use networking to build a rapid audience and take their blogs to levels they never thought possible (yes, you’ll see interviews from my buddies Tristan of Blogging Bookshelf, Marcus of The Sales Lion, Marlee of Metamorphoself, and Jk of The Hustler’s Notebook).

Let’s dive in. (more…)

Niche Site Duel 03: Betta Care Monetization Strategy

I first started the Niche Site Duel about 5 months ago after hearing Pat Flynn’s successful story when building a niche site of his own. However, after the first few weeks, I ended up putting the project aside in order to pursue other goals – I just didn’t have a lot of time on my hands to dedicate 100% to the challenge. Now though, I’m ready to kick things up a notch, and my plans are to have Complete Betta Fish Care ranking well (on the first page of Google) by May 13th of next month.

But first, let’s look at how well the niche site is performing with only 4 published posts basically set on autopilot while the project was put on hold. To do that, we’ll take a trip through my Google Analytics account and then through the Market Samurai (ref link) rank tracker data. Once we’ve gotten a feel of how things are going, I’m going to talk about my monetization goals for the site and what I’ll be doing right now to boost income.

Betta Care Niche Site Results

It’s important to see where you stand at the present moment before you start making improvements to your site; this helps to better track growth, and it also gives you a clearer picture of what aspects of your site you need to work on most.

In this section, I’ll talk about where my niche site is standing right now and which areas I need to work on in order to increase overall results. (more…)

Are All Marketers Evil? Why Building Links Can Save Your Business

Hi everyone. I have a special post here for you today, written by a close friend of mine. The question on whether or not you should backlink your content has been a raging debate for years now, especially now with Google’s algorithm change. I asked Brian to write this post because I think that it’s important to understand the other side of marketing and how marketing, the good kind, isn’t bad as some people say. In fact, it’s even necessary.

Give this article a read. You’ll be glad that you did.

This is a guest post by Brian, author of the blogs Residual Income Online with Chezfat and How to Live a Longer Life. If you think this post rocks, I encourage you to check him out.

Photo by Steve Keys (flickr)

Want to know a secret?

Your website or blog is your business.

Whether you make a few dollars a month on that site or thousands, it is still your business. Even if you don’t have it monetized, it is your PR campaign for your own brand; therefore it is your business.

Can you think of any businesses in the offline world that don’t do any marketing?

I can’t think of any. (more…)

Link Wheels and How to NOT Get Your Site Sandboxed

This is part 2 of a two-part series. In the first part of the series, I talked about Understanding Link Wheels (and Avoiding Sandboxes): The Beginner’s Guide. I highly recommend that you check part 1 out first if you haven’t already done so.

In the last part of this series, I defined link wheels and talked about how to use them in a way that would increase search engine traffic. I also gave you an example of a link wheel that I personally use for my own niche sites.

Well, now in this post I’m going to share with you all of the benefits and drawbacks of link wheel building, how to create a link wheel that works for you, and how to use link wheels without sinking your site into the deadly sandbox, another way to get backlisted by Google. And if you don’t know what a link wheel is, I strongly suggest reading my article Understanding Link Wheels before moving on.

Ready to dive in? I knew you would be. Let’s get started…

Benefits and Drawbacks of Link Wheels

As you might have guessed, there are many advantages to using a link wheel (why else would people use them?). But, while there might be many more benefits than drawbacks, you simply can’t rule out the disadvantages.

And if you are thinking about creating your own link wheel, it’s important that you’re aware of the potential obstacles you might face in the process – particularly how much time you’ll need to devote to your link wheel and why link wheels have such a negative denotation.

So, without further ado, let’s get our hands dirty! (more…)

Do You Read Like an Encyclopedia? What You’re Forgetting and How to Fix It

I originally had another post planned for today, but I decided against publishing for now because something seriously important came up that I thought would be worth mentioning. And without it, your blog is pretty much doomed to failure.

Photo by Andrey (flickr)

Did I get your attention? Good. Because this just might be the very wake-up call you need.

Just this morning I was making my daily blog rounds, reading blog posts and giving everyone my two cents. But today, something happened in the midst of things (a light bulb moment, if you will) that really got me to think about where this so called blogging venture is headed and why, at the rate that blogs are created today, do most blogs slowly die off and fade into dust.

In fact, according to Marcus Sheridan in his guest post over at Blogging Bookshelf, less than 10% of all blogs live to see their first birthday.

Really? Incredible, isn’t it?

And it only gets better. According to Candace Lombardi, staff writer of CNET News, a blog is born every half second. Get that? TWO new blogs are born EVERY SECOND! That means that 7,200 blogs are created every hour.

Going by these statistics and if what Marcus says is true, only 720 blogs out of the 7,200 ocean of blogs per hour ever see the light of day and a whopping 6,480 die before their first birthday! (more…)

Understanding Link Wheels (and Avoiding Sandboxes): The Beginner’s Guide

This is part 1 of a two-part series. Next week on Wednesday, I’ll publish part 2 in the series – Link Wheels and How to NOT Get Your Site Sandboxed. Stay tuned!

The dreaded sandbox is every blogger’s worst nightmare – that is, if you’re making a living primarily by creating and monetizing niche sites. But don’t worry; I have a way you can put those fears to rest – and it starts with understanding link wheels.

Now, I’m sure some of you are staring at this with wide eyes and opened mouths thinking, “But I loved playing in the sandbox when I was younger! So why should Internet marketers fear boxes of sand?”

Well, just read on.

Boxes of Sand

Think Back to When You Were a Child.

Do you remember going to the beach? Maybe you had your very own sandbox. Like many children, you probably enjoyed building castles in the sand, which really looked like giant ant hills (but nobody ever told you that).

When someone else knocks your cherished castle over and it’s permitted to fall back into a sand mound, you can’t help but cover yourself in it – admire the way each grain of rock works together to hide your little body, as you gather bunches of sand and fling it across your legs.

First you bury your toes, then you bury your thighs, then your stomach, and lastly your shoulders – laughing giddily while your mother tries to find you. Eyes squeezed shut, your high-pitched squeals give yourself away entirely; but you don’t know it, and your mother is more than happy to play along. (more…)

Stuck on Your Next Blog Post Idea? Change it Up with 14 Blog Post Formats

Photo by Rennett Stowe (flickr)

No one likes the dreaded writer’s block, and let’s face it: If you’ve been blogging for a while, you’re going to get afflicted with writer’s block sooner or later.

But what if I told you that you could write endlessly, without fear of running out of topics or losing interest in what you’re blogging about? Because, yes, it is possible to maintain that same spark of excitement you felt when you first created your blog.

You just need to know the secret how.

If you didn’t have any interest in your blog when you first created it (you just blogged for money), this tactic won’t work – since your blog is probably destined to fail anyway. Harsh – I know. But it’s the sad truth. If you didn’t enjoy writing in your blog from the very beginning, how do you expect to keep torturing yourself 5 years from now and still keep up your money-based enthusiasm? Either you’ll give up in frustration (there is no get-rich-quick method of blogging – your blog takes time to grow), crash and refuse to write in your blog for months (something I once did), or pick up a new profession.

But if you are passionate about your blog topic, but your interest is slowly ebbing and writer’s block is becoming more and more frequent, this tactic just might help you overcome your obstacles by forcing you to try something new.

What is my secret? Well, it’s not really a secret – anyone can take advantage of it, and I’m sure many bloggers have already thought about it before but never really utilized it. (more…)

Why Do You Blog? Be Honest Now…

Photo by Alex Proimos (flickr)

While browsing the Web, I came across the post How to Change Lives with Your Words: A Writer’s Higher Calling by Marcus Sharidan, where he asked one simple question…

Why do you blog?

After stopping to think about it for a moment, I thought about my past and what this blog once was – how it shaped and transformed into what it is today. I thought about my past mistakes, the peak moments in my life, and the people I’ve met along the way in my blogging career. I thought about my goals and what I hoped this blog would become.

Then I thought about all of you and how you helped this blog grow.

You see, it all started back in college. I was a freshman at WCSU – one of those public universities in Connecticut – and I was in the living area heating up a bowl of spicy noodles for dinner. While making my food, I was on the phone talking to my boyfriend (nothing new), and I was agonizing over the fact that I had no job and needed money.

Somehow, blogging came up and he suggested that I start a blog. At the time, blogs were a new concept for me. Strangely, I didn’t know any blogs (didn’t read much of them), and I had no clue what I would write about if I ever did start a blog. (more…)

Niche Site Duel 02: Tackling Content Strategies for All 3 Niche Sites

It has been a little over a few weeks since I first started the Niche Site Duel challenge – and, I admit, I haven’t written many posts for it. I’ve been mainly working on design, adding plugins, and writing crucial pages for each blog (about and contact pages, for example). Since I’m dealing with 3 niche sites instead of 1, the process has been starting off a bit slower than I would have liked.

Now that I’ve gotten the necessities out of the way though (with a few tweaks still left, but nothing major), I can spend more time adding content and backlinking my articles.

But before adding any more content, I need to first think about my content strategy. Specifically…

• What will I write about in order to maximize search engine results?
• How will I break down each niche into easy to manage subareas?
• What will I do to maximize returns (increase income) for each article I write?

(more…)