I have been working on a new template for my Internet Marketing Blog. While checking on a couple of the more popular bloggers, I was struck by the Cluttered, Circus Midway, Carnival Barker atmosphere of these blogs.
It’s a tossup between John Chow (johnchow.com) and Darren Rowse (problogger.net) - both of these sites have so much crap on them it’s a wonder why they are popular at all.
Every inch of Chow’s blog is covered with some sort of advertising. So there’s not much room for content. He hires a lot of guest bloggers so he really doesn’t have to write much there himself.
But Chow has an appeal and with 40,000 RSS subscribers and 20+ comments per post, he must be doing something right. In addition to advertisers, Chow earns money from affiliate programs and blog reviews. Advertising on his site is not cheap, but the advertisers seem to be satisfied with their results.
Now Rowse’ Problogger site is very similar junky sytle, although not quite as littered with ads. He does write a lot of his own content, and it’s actually fairly engaging. And with over 65,000 RSS subscribers and 50+ comments per post, Rouse is really doing it right!
Although I think there are some tricks to getting so many RSS subscribers, in other words pumping up your subscriber count, and for getting comments. I think you could Outsource this pretty cheaply in India or Philippines.
As I began to look a little deeper at these 2 blogs, I began to see there was a logic to the madness. And, I started to appreciate the style even though I don’t like it that much. I can see why they have so many fans.
They go to all the Blogging and Affiliate Marketing events, hang out with the other Bloggers, and are out making a name for themselves in the Blogging World. Not much different than what Internet Marketers do.
Anyway, I liked my old Blog Template, simple basic, no frills, just good content. But I decided it was time to upgrade my look and get a more modern functional feel. Let’s hope it was not a big mistake. I enlisted the help of our V-Webs Support Staff to help me with the project.
I will keep you posted on the progress!
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4 Responses to New Blogging Styles Suck
Darren Rowse
November 14th, 2008 at 5:58 am
Thanks for the critique of ProBlogger. Will take it on board as I move forward.
I should clarify - there’s no outsourcing or artificial increasing of subscriber or comment numbers. Just four years of writing daily content. ALso - I usually only go to one (some years two) events per year - I am located in Australia and it’s a pretty big call to travel to the US for these events. Wish I could go to more - but with a young family it is hard to justify such a long trip
Steve Renner
November 14th, 2008 at 7:03 am
Hi Darren,
Yes my designer tells me that this is the “New Style” for blogs. I guess it guess it’s just a matter of taste.
But I am coming around to this style and you may see this reflected in the new Steve Renner blog.
Thanks for the comments, and good luck with your latest effort TwiTip.
I am hoping to get to Australia in the early spring, maybe we will run into each other then!
Cheers Mate!
lweng
November 17th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
I believe in keeping everything to the point and straight-foward. Personally, I’d go for a simple and clean look.
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