This was also commonly referred to as the “Super Bloggers” panel.  The members consisted, in total, of:

• Jim Kukral, JimKukral.com (Moderator)
• John Chow, JohnChow.com
• Zac Johnson, ZacJohnson.com
• Darren Rowse, ProBlogger.net
• Brian Clark, CopyBlogger.com
• Jeremy Schoemaker, Shoemoney.com

Jeremy was late due to some quality Vegas partying, but once he did arrive he had some quality things to say.  They all did, really, but I especially enjoyed Darren & Brian’s takes as I had never heard them speak before and I’d heard John & Zac.

Bullet Point Review!

• Jim asked what their number #1 money maker on their blog was:
  • John Chow: Switching from an ad network to direct advertising sales using the OIO Publisher Direct plugin.
  • Zac Johnson: Direct ad sales
  • Darren Rowse: Recommended affiliate products.
  • Brian Clark: Launching a membership site & selling WordPress themes.
• Selling any old crap decreases content value; sell things you actually believe in.
• Bloggers just want to write, not sell, so plugins are useful.
• Write about something that’s interesting or else it’s not sustainable.
• Revenue: 1. Direct Ad Sales 2. Affiliate Programs 3. AdSense.
• BC: Selling things (information, membership, etc) instead of advertising makes more money.
• A couple of years ago readers would complain about ads, but now they’re accepted as par for the course.
• The amount of money to be made in “non-sexy” niches is ridiculous.
• Start with what your readers want to buy, not what you want to sell.
• Offer incentives to sign up for your newsletter – 3x the money to be made with subscriptions.
• Newsletters vs. RSS – it’s way more beneficial to get people onto your email list.
• Aweber – BlogBroadcast tools count is included in RSS subscribers & sends an automatic newsletter with your blog posts.
• Many people still have no idea what RSS is, so offer delivery by email too.
• Blogs don’t have to look monetized.
• Sell yourself using consulting.

Points brought up during the Q&A

• Wait until 100 or 1000 readers to bother displaying RSS numbers on the blog.
• RSS subscriber count is powerful for branding and can be factored into ad prices.
• JC: Rule of thumb when setting an ad price – what is the ECPM for that same spot on an ad network?  Double that.  Offer the ad to run for a month at a time or a quarter, depending on price.
• Condense your header – big headers take up valuable space.
• How much traffic do they see through search?  DR sees about 40% to ProBlogger and 60% to Digital Photography School.
• Chitika is a good ad network with powerful blog widgets for contextual, relevant ads.
• Write for your users, not Google.  Search traffic is just a bonus.
• It’s a tricky line to keep your editorial integrity and still sell stuff, so don’t sell willy-nilly.
• Build a business – get repeat customers, loyal readers.
• What percentage of the time do they work?  A LOT – you have to bust your ass, this isn’t a get rich quick scheme.
• Always look deeply at a product & only recommend valuable things.
  • Announce it
  • Talk about the product info, merchant or manufacturers information.
  • Share testimonials of readers.
  • Review your experience with it.
• Credibility is key with sharing information.
• Endorse, review products.
• Sell advertising in newsletters, lots of merchants love that.
• Establish yourself as an expert.
• Remember that Teaching Sells!

This was a very informative panel, and a great way to kick off the sessions.  The room was packed, and I especially liked Jim’s approach to using Twitter to get questions for the audience.  With a tech set crowd like bloggers, it was highly effective and a great panel for sure.

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