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Most of you use services like Project Wonderful and Entrecard to bring in some extra traffic to your blog, but complain about it being quick and unproductive traffic (or the hit-and-run traffic). Have you ever tried to think about why you failed with any particular service when many others have used the same services so efficiently to market their blogs and build a healthy readership base?
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Understanding why is it important to respect the advertisers
When someone buys an entrecard ad-spot on your ad widget – you may visit their blog or website once to check if it is appropriate to let them advertise on your space even for a day. And you’ll have to believe, some even don’t do that as they approve each and everyone to earn some quick entrecard credits. If this is your way, how do you expect others to visit your blog, leave comments or subscribe to your content?
Don’t take that as a taunt – take that as a quick tip. If someone is spending entrecard credits or some money (as in Project Wonderful, text links, sponsored posts or direct advertising) to advertise on your blog, visit them back. Read through their content and drop a few comments or subscribe if you feel like. You’ll soon realize that you are discovering far more fresh content this way than reading only the blogs and websites that you have subscribed to and/or visit regularly.
Click Fraud
Another way in which bloggers disrespect the advertisers is click fraud. I have been educating a number of my friends at college about blogging and how a blog can generate revenue for them. I have helped some of them with monetizing their blogs using adsense and other PPC (Pay Per Click) programs and they seem to have discovered generating false clicks as a good easy way to reach $100 pay-outs.
In various forums and chat-rooms people talk about how they get their ads clicked once in 3 days (or more) from many friends.. and still get their PIN and pay-outs. They are making money for themselves, but do not think about how much loss are they causing to the advertisers who spend so much money and time on running campaigns trying to sell their ideas, services and products.
Respect the Advertiser
Disrespecting an advertiser is of no good. If an ad campaign at your blog turns out to be an unproductive one – advertisers will stop coming back to your blog. You may make a good fortune initially by generating false clicks, earn many credits by blind-approval – but such profits will eventually die out when an advertiser won’t be willing to advertise on your website.
On the other hand, if you visit an advertiser’s website he may visit your website back. If you leave him a comment, he might leave you a comment back. If you buy his product, he may buy some from you. The same good principle of reciprocation goes for building healthy social networks. How do successful bloggers seem to know so many people online and off- and maintain active relations with their readership base. Just by giving some importance to these two principles : Respecting the advertiser (and making him stick to you) and principle of reciprocation.
I don’t read hundreds of blogs through my feed reader everyday – but I do visit anyone who’s up on my entrecard spot, go through the content and comment or subscribe according to the extent to which it influences me. The traffic I get in return is of such kind that converts. And this also helps me to discover fresh content that I might have otherwise missed out.
I respect the advertisers on my blog. Do you?