Comments on: Turn Your Blog into a Relationship Hub

By: Mark Dykeman

Mark Dykeman — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:32:52 +0000

:: just woke up from the pummeling that James gave him ::

By: Create a Blog Pack to Get Blog Traffic and Increase Subscriptions

Create a Blog Pack to Get Blog Traffic and Increase Subscriptions — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:08:08 +0000

[...] helped each other grow. That’s really what it’s all about. Yesterday I posted about how to make your blog into a relationship hub. I guess this post is my answer to my own [...]

By: Janice Cartier

Janice Cartier — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:22:18 +0000

Excellent clarity Michael. And it’s so much more fun. Hi guys.

Note to self: look into critical mass figures….and metrics…

Thanks once again.

By: Karen JL

Karen JL — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:29:22 +0000

@ MM - my niche seem to be ‘bookmarkers’ as opposed to ’subscribers’. A tad frustrating…my feed count is LOW. My next move is an opt-in white paper, then ebook, then membership site…then world domination (but James will probably beat us all to it).

By: Michael Martine, Blog Consultant

Michael Martine, Blog Consultant — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:02:44 +0000

@J - Average comments per post, subscribers, typical visitor data, and backlinks (trackbacks, often) are all valid metrics. Do not discount or overemphasize any of them.

@Karen - Good move. Think about what you can further do to build on that trust and turn those visitors into subscribers. Long term, build a base you can sell to on trusted terms. Not talking about “tricking” people in any sense — this is genuine all the way.

By: James- Men with Pens

James- Men with Pens — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:59:45 +0000

*leaps on Mark D and pummels him*

Steal MY readers, will you?!!

By: Karen JL

Karen JL — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:57:21 +0000

Much like Wendi, I’m not selling anything. But I plan on it in the future and my blog was the first step. I really want my niche’s trust and respect and it is happening. I have a small but loyal group.

Quick story. Just in the last few days there’s been a big ’scandal’ happening over at an animation site that had a contest. I had a banner for the contest (but I was not involved in any other way). Someone alerted me to what was happening at the site so I took my banner down and wrote a post about it.

I’m getting traffic from their message boards because they put a link to my post. People love the fact that an outsider of that contest (and a professional in the industry) is ‘with them’ and I’m getting great feedback and new readers. I feel their trust and it’s great.

Word of mouth is huge and I hope it pays off later.

By: J. Erik Potter

J. Erik Potter — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:52:34 +0000

I’m trying harder to pose more open ended questions to facilitate a conversation. The common theme being my posts don’t leave enough up for discussion.

Going forward, I plan to measure my success by the # of comments; not # of visits or subscriptions.

By: Michael Martine, Blog Consultant

Michael Martine, Blog Consultant — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:27:39 +0000

@Barbara - Yes, the tools change but the relationships are the same!

@Jonathan - Love your succinct observation! That is PowerPoint material, friend.

@Mark - having a few great blogs to hang out at really helps — it helps everyone, but it comes back to you.

@Dave - it would be fantastic if you had numbers for that. My own observations have been that the more social I get (twitter, conferences) the more business I get. Basically, it equals money in the bank.

@Wendi - Many people jump too soon and try to sell something or monetize before they’ve reached critical mass. Patience is the highest of virtues in this regard.

@Daryl - It takes time to connect and build trust, and when you’re dealing with technology, you will only connect with those who are tech-savvy, which may not be everyone in your audience. Offline work feeds online work.

By: Daryle Dickens

Daryle Dickens — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:13:32 +0000

I’ve had the goal of being a relationship hub from day one with my blog but I am still not there. Though I am learning.

I have major changes in the works to go in this direction. Thanks for this post. I know I am still on the right course.