5 Resolutions for Bloggers in 2008

What a year it's been! As 2007 closes out and the big ball drops in Times Square, people are ready to make their New Year's resolutions. You know the tried and true resolutions that people make but never stick to. It's usually the typical resolutions: lose weight, make more money, pay off debt, be more religious, be nicer, put aside grudges, etc. etc...In the blogosphere, we should also have resolutions. Here's 5 the Monetizer is going to try to adhere to, and that you should also consider in your blogging for 2008.

1) Keep blogging - This should be at the top of every blogger's list. Keep at it with what you started. Don't let your blog fade away and fall into obscurity like so many others do. It takes work and devotion to create a successful online product, such as a blog. If it's a topic you're passionate about, it should be no problem to at least post 3 entries a week. One a day is ideal as it gives your blog site a ton of content for consumption by readers and search engines. Keep at it in 2008 and avoid falling into a serious lapse of blogger's block.

See: How to prevent blogger's block

---

2) Increase RSS subscribers - This usually comes as you generate more traffic, and of course having content that others will want to return back to. It is probably the best measure of your blog's success, beyond Google Page Rank and Alexa traffic rank. Having subscribers is positive feedback that your blog is providing valuable material. Here's a few ideas on how to get more RSS subscribers:

- Hold contests which require people to subscribe by email
- Use your RSS feed URL in your comment URL on other blogs
- Submit your RSS to directories, and use pingoat.com to ping.
- Provide sign up for RSS on your blog in convenient and visible spots.
- Publicize ways to sign up for your RSS feed on other sites (forums, social media, etc).

---

3) Increase traffic - This is listed after RSS only because I'd rather have 500 subscribers and a not so great Alexa score versus 10 subscribers and a great Alexa score. Subscribers means your content is attracting readers. Traffic doesn't always mean that. But nonetheless traffic is the best way to make money and gain subscribers. The more visitors, the more likely they will: subscribe to your blog, check out your moneymakers, or promote what you wrote somewhere else (Digg, Stumbleupon, etc). To increase traffic, try some of these free and easy methods:

Entrecard
BloggingZoom
SocialMarker.com
BlogCatalog
MyBlogLog

---

4) Clean up the Mess - John Cow has a recent post about cleaning up the clutter on your blog for the New Year. He also suggests things like adjusting the background color or image on your blog, and tidying up the sidebar and other areas. Making the blog more organized and less cluttered will go a long way in achieving the other goals as you will attract more readers. If you aren't a do-it-yourself type and can afford it, buy design services. A new Web 2.0 banner or even full blog design services can give a polished look for a New Year. If you're on a budget look around at free alternatives, such as new blog themes. You don't necessarily have to change the entire blog, but cleaning up clutter and distraction should be a goal.

See: It's the Best Time of the Year - To Clean Up Your Blog by John Cow

---

5) Make More Money - It should always be on your mind after you're able to create valuable content and get readers. I'm not saying be super greedy, but always be looking for the best ways to Monetize your blog. You can always refer back to the Recommended moneymakers here. For example, if you're just running Adsense right now, consider adding Kontera, Auction Ads, Widget Bucks and/or an affiliate type program. The more money you make blogging, the happier your 2008 might be!

See: The Monetizer's Recommended Money Makers

---

Make sure you stick to these goals for the coming year and you should start to see more blogging success. These things will help to create further results for you such as networking opportunities, more exposure and links back to your blog. it will take work and effort, but the end results can be rewarding. The Monetizer wishes a Happy New Year's and much success to everyone in 2008!

If you haven't already, Subscribe to the Monetizer RSS feed and enjoy the adventures in 2008!

Advertise on the Monetizer Blog

If you're looking to get your blog or site noticed, The Monetizer blog offers two very easy and cost-effective ways to advertise here:

1) Get a link on the Top Spots Widget - This Widget is placed high up on the left sidebar, right above the previous posts spot. For a $5 tip you will get prime exposure on a well-traveled blog (300,000 Alexa). The blog also enjoys a Page Rank of 3 from Google and is #178 and climbing the 45n5.com Top 100 Make Money Blogs. This isn't so much bragging, but more to let you know what you will get if you go with an ad here. To advertise just use the widget and click on the "get on my top spots" link. Your link and text will display for 30 days. Payment is made via PayPal.

2)Use the Free Entrecard 125x125 spot - This method is free and provides you a graphic 125x125 ad here. This widget is lower down on the blog, but still visible to visitors in the left hand column. All you need to do is head over to Entrecard and sign up, then upload your free 125x125 image. An ad here has ranged from about 40 - 69 credits, which is a very affordable "free" option. I've rejected just a few ads that I can recall, because they were political in nature. Feel free to advertise with the Monetizer this way if you already are using Entrecard or are new to sign up. You can find Monetizer on the Make Money category at Entrecard.

If you're in the make money online, internet, SEO, HTML, marketing or business realms those 2 methods are a good way to get some exposure for your blog or site. I'm also open to networking opportunities and guest posts as well. Feel free to contact me at Monetizer@myway.com with any questions or ideas.

The Monetizer is on Problogger!

Today is a great day in the history of The Monetizer. Yes, today my free Entrecard 125x125 ad is running over on Darren Rowse's Problogger.net. Don't want to toot my horn too much, but it's kinda a big deal...As many know Darren's blog is the epitome of all blogs, and what many of us blogers aspire to become in the blogosphere. Darren is at the top of the "Big 3" and ranks #1 on the 45n5.com Make Money Online list. He has thousands of subscribers to his blog as well. He's a true pro as the name of his blog says, and offers a load of great info for anyone blogging. I've referred to his blog many a time not only for tips and techniques, but also for inspiration in making money online. So thank you to Darren for running The Monetizer card on Problogger! Best of all it's free, whereas many others have had to pay to be there...Folks, make sure you use Entrecard!

I want to welcome anyone who may stop over here to The Monetizer blog from Problogger. It's great to have you here. Feel free to sign up for the Monetizer RSS feed, and enjoy your stay as you browse the various Moneymaking ideas and other fun stuff!

The Failures & Successes of 2007

2007 was a pretty cool year in terms of blogging and moneymaking for The Monetizer. I discovered a plethora of great new blogs this past year which have helped me along the way. There were also several very useful innovations introduced to bloggers, and they seem to get bigger and better than ever. Not only that, several of these innovations were free of charge.

2 Successes in 2007

First up we had BloggingZoom, an amazing Digg-like service for Bloggers. Rather than trying to get "Dugg", bloggers could now get Zoomed to top rankings. Not only that, but the Zooms were coming from fellow bloggers and not spiteful Digg artists. Many a blogger has noted how tough it is to reach the front page of Digg, while stating its traffic benefits are great. However, getting Zoomed is even better because b It also provided new feedback for articles and networking opportunities, as bloggers worked to help each other out. BloggingZoom should stay strong and continue to be a great service into the next year.

Second up, we had Graham Langdon's Entrecard system. The online business card for bloggers allows a blog owner to get new exposure, traffic and free advertising. The catch phrase "Drop Yours" is now something many bloggers are aware of. According to Graham they recently reached 1000 blogs owning business cards at Entrecard. An amazing feat and the number will continue to grow in 2008. The make money category started around 30 when I first joined, and is now reaching 200 or so. It shows the saturation of this topic, but also how fast the service is growing. Nonetheless, newer and smaller blogs have a way to get discovered and advertise their blogs on bigger sites. Kudos to the developers of this 125x125 means of free advertising for all bloggers. Entrecard will continue unrolling new developments and features next year, so it will only get better for bloggers.

---

2 Failures in 2007

While there were those 2 successes, Monetizer saw what he also considers 2 failures in 2007. The first we all would agree is Agloco. Agloco can be equated to a make money con artists site, and many of us took the bait early on. It gave false hope and promises. For months many a blogger and site owner were pitching Agloco to others, in the hopes they could amass a huge network of referrals. The more people they had, the greater the chance for "riches" from the site. There was a quirky viewbar involved, or several versions of one. However, now that Agloco can't deliver on these promises, there's no way to get a refund for time and effort spent trying to promote their concept to others.

The second failure in my opinion is BlogRush. Some may disagree as many site owners believe it's great to run that widget on their site. In the beginning there was nothing but stalling as the site kept promising "soon we will have stats", "soon you will see how great this product is". But soon after a few months of trying it out, the Monetizer realizes that BlogRush works best on blogs already receiving steady traffic. Or it requires you to get a lot of people to sign up and hope they are getting traffic. Entrecard is much easier to employ and brings traffic and new subscribers. BlogRush requires luck, traffic, a catchy headline and referrals. I think I'll stick to Entrecard in 08'.

---

Wikis, Cows & What's to Come

Wiki Wiki Wiki Wiki... 2007 also saw an abundance of Wiki sites popping up. The jury is still out on whether they are a success or failure. Wikipedia is the current champ, but it spawned MillionDollarWiki, MillionEuroWiki, Ten and Five dollar wikis and even the new QuarterWiki. How will these do in 2008? Time will tell on these, but they still can offer benefits in terms of a new place to advertise and set up shop.

My favorite new blog I discovered in 2007 was easily John Cow. I discovered it because of John Chow, and Monetizer finds it very creative and entertaining to read. Even though Cow seemed to reject my Entrecard there's no hard feelings. He ran a Monetizer ad in his RSS feed for quite a while, which helped out here. So I wish the Cow the best of luck as he continues in 2008!

So what will be the next big blogging or money making development of 2008? There's a ton of blogs being born on the web daily. Some will fade away, and some will survive. There's also plenty of creativity and brainpower floating around the blogosphere, so it won't be long before we see "the next big thing".