Well darn, I was kinda hopin you folks would do a newbie blog trial to prove me wrong

[HunkyLuke]

...can a newbie make money with blogs

Yes absolutely!

should blogs be a primary focus

you should never focus only one one marketing aspect in this business, you should think of blogs as part of building your empire

If blogs are the new freesite, how should a newbie do them?

Like freesites, you start with one, learn and then do a second one, learn more and then do a third one. In no time you will have a good selection of blogs running and if you are any good they will be making you money too.

[Rich]

i would be interested in this too i am going to be starting with some blog stuff soon

[basschick]

i would be interested in this too i am going to be starting with some blog stuff soon

well, why not start here http://forums.gaywidewebmasters.com/...2&postcount=15 ?

[DirtyNick]

I just snapped up some niche blog domains myself. Fratboys, Latin, Thug etc.

I know from working at my old SEO co that blogs are greaaaat for search engines. We regularly posted content and were always getting spidered.

One thing I would suggest is if your using feeds from an affiliate co is to do a little bit of re-writing. Google tends to not like seeing the same content over and over so if your copying exactly you could get penalized for dupe content

I have one domain I'm going to do my own little original blog DirtyNick.com which I bought because my friends started calling me that as a nickname

One thing I've seemed to noticed since being in the biz is that Nothing works I constantly here oh TGP's don't work, Blogs don't work etc. I was even told once when asking someone that had a good website that there was no money i adult

So I ask myself if blogs dont work and tgp's don't work why are they out there hmm

I say explore all avenues learn what you can from people that have been doing it and good at it, and try and have fun with it.

[HunkyLuke]

...One thing I would suggest is if your using feeds from an affiliate co is to do a little bit of re-writing. Google tends to not like seeing the same content over and over so if your copying exactly you could get penalized for dupe content

Better yet, get software like Blogs Organizer to automatically do a bit of re-writing the feed for you!

[100boys]

Well, there's only one way to find out.

I notice in your other thread that once again you are advised to blog, (blog network technically) and told to stay away from trying to run a tgp.

So the question is, why are you being given such advice? Is it viable for a new guy, or is it rat poison to wipe out competitors? What's the truth of the matter?

My curiousity is stimulated.

As you said yourself, there's only one way to find out if you don't believe in such advise given by webmasters who are more experienced. Setup a TGP and give yourself one month to work on it and create a blog and invest the same amount of time. If you make more money from your TGP after the first month than you do from your blog please hit me up and let me know
I doubt I will ever hear from you because doing TGP's has a much steeper learning curve and you need to invest much more money to be successful these days.

[Bill]

So you're a blogger then? How about you giving some lessons? That would be cool.

---

One thing I've noted is the misty vagueness of most suggestions about blogging. One reads over and over stuff that is obvious, like splogs from feeds don't work so great because of the google dupe filters, but everybody always seems to be talking about something 'their friend' does, or speaking in other generalities, or making other statements that are right out of bizop like "it all depends on how much you work".

Several things always seem to be missing - like exactly where does the traffic come from, exactly how far down in the long tail are the effective keywords to be placed, and how does a newbie's blog find places in the relatively limited profitable-keyword serps?

And I notice I'm not seeing many trade requests for blogs here or in the other (gay) boards I read - I guess everybody is all linked up long ago?

---

By TGP I assume you mean setting up a post and trade script, not gallery posting? People often mix up those too, saying tgp when they mean posting, and also saying tgp when they mean trading.

I sure as fuck wouldn't suggest a newbie set up a post, buy hits and trade them as a first project. Well, there would be one possible good reason to do that, which would be to introduce yourself as a gallery poster (not as a TGP owner) to the various posts - but it's going to be a lossleader for a while.

[Bill]

I dunno how many new folks we actually have here - but maybe in the near future we can run an experiment - and start some blogs from scratch, new names, etc, and mess with them.

Wether any of the blog experts teach or not.

I'll do it, why not. I mostly gave up on blogging before because it wasn't making as much money as what I was doing, but hey, what can we lose, right? It's not like blogging is a big out-of-pocket expense.

I had a bad experience with my registrar and lost my one good blog name - I've restarted the poor thing on an even better name but I was disheartened and haven't been writing for it - I'm waiting for the new name to recover it's page rank.

Then we can taunt everybody into spilling their guts, and see if we can cut thru the vagueness.

[Bec]

I don't exactly know how to reply to the comments where we've said it takes work, and yes, vagueness is a response to I/we don't know you... yet.

I will help you where I can, but I am going to say that my site provides an immense amount of information to someone who has the eyes to look and see what's there. You're handed ways of doing blogs for free and/or for very little money investment. You're told what those of us that have a blog empire are using to manage it, and the other tools we use to make it even bigger.

I won't sit here and tell you what keywords I use to have my blogs and mainstream sites on the front page of Google. That's a small part of what you need to learn and implement as far as SEO goes. But at the same time I and others HAVE said what it takes to get there. Granted, it might mean some digging into older posts to get at the information, but it hasn't been erased

One of my recent posts at www.adultblogbuilder.com literally listed places to submit your site to. http://www.adultblogbuilder.com/inde...ry-submitters/

You can also submit to my dynamic directory lists: www.gayxxxblogs.com and www.gayblogfinder.com

For more places: use Luke's directories: www.gaymaleblogs.com, www.findgayblogs.com, www.gaymaledirectory.com, www.gayxxxrated.com and www.studcorner.com

Submit to www.gaydemon.com

Submit to www.rudeboxxx.com

When you find sites similiar in niche to yours, write and ask for a link trade.

[Bill]

Thanks Bec, I've been following your stuff for a while.

I'm writing this to the newbies, not to folks like you, tho, the challenge I'm extending is directed specifically at you and folks like you.

I'm trying to model this the way a new person would - how are they going to parse the advice to do blogs, compared to whatever advice they might be receiving?

The challenge I refer to is to test the thesis - 'can newbies make decent and equivalent money with bogs fresh out of the box?'.

In order to test the thesis, we'd have to get some newbies and get them to do blogs from a dead start, and measure their results and their happiness with the project.

I think it would be great content. A fascinating experiment.

But, without some challenge, it won't happen, because there are strong motivations to be vague. Which is partly why I originally said I thought it was a bit cruel to advise newbies to do blogs. "Proprietary Information" and all that.

Based on my measurements of the reactions to this topic so far, I'm thinking there aren't enough newbies here willing to try the experiment to make this test idea work. But more might show up.

[basschick]

is there some reason you can't do my step one? if you do, i'll go to step two, but you gotta start there.

Thanks Bec, I've been following your stuff for a while.

I'm writing this to the newbies, not to folks like you, tho, the challenge I'm extending is directed specifically at you and folks like you.

I'm trying to model this the way a new person would - how are they going to parse the advice to do blogs, compared to whatever advice they might be receiving?

The challenge I refer to is to test the thesis - 'can newbies make decent and equivalent money with bogs fresh out of the box?'.

In order to test the thesis, we'd have to get some newbies and get them to do blogs from a dead start, and measure their results and their happiness with the project.

I think it would be great content. A fascinating experiment.

But, without some challenge, it won't happen, because there are strong motivations to be vague. Which is partly why I originally said I thought it was a bit cruel to advise newbies to do blogs. "Proprietary Information" and all that.

Based on my measurements of the reactions to this topic so far, I'm thinking there aren't enough newbies here willing to try the experiment to make this test idea work. But more might show up.

[100boys]

So you're a blogger then? How about you giving some lessons? That would be cool.

Sure why not but I'm busy as hell and time is money so if you want 1on1 consulting you will have to pay for it and I doubt that you are willing to invest a couple of hundred dollars, am I right?

One thing I've noted is the misty vagueness of most suggestions about blogging. One reads over and over stuff that is obvious, like splogs from feeds don't work so great because of the google dupe filters, but everybody always seems to be talking about something 'their friend' does, or speaking in other generalities, or making other statements that are right out of bizop like "it all depends on how much you work".

Several things always seem to be missing - like exactly where does the traffic come from, exactly how far down in the long tail are the effective keywords to be placed, and how does a newbie's blog find places in the relatively limited profitable-keyword serps?

And I notice I'm not seeing many trade requests for blogs here or in the other (gay) boards I read - I guess everybody is all linked up long ago?

You can't expect all experienced guys to reveal everything from A to Z in such a thread, you will still have to do some research and learn some stuff yourself. I really don't like when newbies are that demanding and and think that all webmasters who actually make money will educate their own competition without getting anything back. It took me years to learn what I know today and I had to learn a lot of stuff the hard way and I invested days and weeks of reading, trying, failing, reading again and so on!
[/QUOTE]

By TGP I assume you mean setting up a post and trade script, not gallery posting? People often mix up those too, saying tgp when they mean posting, and also saying tgp when they mean trading.

I sure as fuck wouldn't suggest a newbie set up a post, buy hits and trade them as a first project. Well, there would be one possible good reason to do that, which would be to introduce yourself as a gallery poster (not as a TGP owner) to the various posts - but it's going to be a lossleader for a while.

I'm a TGP owner as you can see if you check my sites and I haven't noticed any webmasters mixing up gallery submissions and operating TGP's if that's what you're referring to.

[Bill]

You folks don't seem to be getting my backstory.

I already have blogs. Only two gay blogs, and I'd be the first to admit I'm a terrible blogger, because I made more money doing other things.

And my fave gay blog's name dropped, because of an unpleasant problem with my registrar - long story, to make it short I switched from paying my registrar a yearly check to paying by CC, and in the process of making the switch they munged up my account. I lost the name.

This is the blog I'm referring too - on it's new name- sad lonely and except for a bit of recent work it's been ignored. I'm revamping it a bit while I wait for it's pr to recover. http://gaymansxxx.com/

This is a new theme, tho the old theme was black too.

I can install wordpress in a snap, read blogging articles regularly, there's not a SINGLE thing you've said that I didn't already know, in spades.

---

Geez, haven't you figured out I'M NOT A NEWBIE.

I just want to see if a newbie can do blogs instead of freesites and make equivalent money. I doubt they can. I doubt the advice that that's what they should do.

And I thought it would be an interesting experiment to see done.

[Bill]

Sure why not but I'm busy as hell and time is money so if you want 1on1 consulting you will have to pay for it and I doubt that you are willing to invest a couple of hundred dollars, am I right?

Sure why not - if that moves the experiment forward. I'll pay you $200 epass to join in the experiment, (half now, half after each newbie is running a blog), to make a blog from scratch like a newbie would have to, with us, and dispense your knowledge here openly to Maxx and Rich and me and hopefully another newbie or two if we can scrape them up.

I've studied your blogs - I'll pay to hear exactly how they do, where the traffic comes from, and how they work.

Understand - this is the parameter of the experiment - "can a newbie do blogging from a dead start and make equivalent money to doing freesites?".

I just bought a new name for a blog - now all we have to do is get some newbies to invest some money in fresh names and whatever else they need for their part in the experiment.

New guys - you reading this? You ready to try the experiment? Ready to start blogging for dollars?

[Bec]

This is the blog I'm referring too - on it's new name- sad lonely and except for a bit of recent work it's been ignored. I'm revamping it a bit while I wait for it's pr to recover. http://gaymansxxx.com/

This is a new theme, tho the old theme was black too.

I can install wordpress in a snap, read blogging articles regularly, there's not a SINGLE thing you've said that I didn't already know, in spades.

---
Geez, haven't you figured out I'M NOT A NEWBIE.

Ok non newbie Bill ... Delete the about page if you aren't actually going to put text on it. Fix the link code on the Twink page. Find a pridemov banner that actually fits inside your content area instead of one that is too big and breaks your template layout. Might even add on some text links to fhg's.

I'm not seeing anything that resembles a directory submission recip link. Those can funnel a lot of traffic to you.

Add a meta tag for the keywords, and another for the description in your header.php

Adding www.rtalabel.org code up there would be a nice gesture to keep kids off it where parents have made an effort to install porn blocking software.

Lot of wasted sidebar there - prime real estate for banners /cam feeds/more hot porn upsell links.

Setup an xml google sitemap plugin http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/.../installation/ at the bare minimum and add the link to your robot.txt and your meta tag area on the sidebar. Doing a DagonDesign sitemap http://www.dagondesign.com/articles/...for-wordpress/ is a nice feature for your surfers.

That's just on a driveby evaluation ... :sunny: