Scripting News - Latest Comments in How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

ahmedamayem — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 19:59:36 -0000

First time I see this break down. Thank you, I plan to do more research about this breakdown.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

carmelo — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 07:54:40 -0000

All this is like a big lottery where someone catch the attentions of other people..the main case is to speak about something important ...

__________________

flv to avi converter

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Jonathan Prusky — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:54:51 -0000

Congratulations Dave, you deserve it for all of your contributions to the industry

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

glasswool — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:55:16 -0000

Great post Dave, communication at it's best.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Jose Paul Martin — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:15:31 -0000

"Don't charge them to read it and don't let others interfere with your communication. Talk through your blog as you would talk face to face. You'd never stop mid-sentence and say "But first a word from my sponsor!" -- so don't do that on your blog either"

Masterpiece!

Bring Back The Fun in Blogging!

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Mike Haubrich, FCD — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:50:34 -0000

One of the faults I see in WordPress theme-building is the promise of "monetized blogs." In the four years I had Google ads I earned $11.00 precisely because people weren't coming to my blog to learn about somebody else's products. They were coming to read what odd new thing I have to say. I mostly dumped ads and my readership climbed and I have had new network opportunites.

One of the areas in which the power of blogging for business has shown its muscle is that in a world of electronic commerce, the blogging businessperson has again a means to initiate conversations with clientele and potential clientele. It "repersonalizes" the relationship in a way that static content websites never good (save by using too many gifs of flying flags and bible verses.)

I did some content writing for a designer who is always trying to come up with ways to make his clients' sites sticky; adding games, talking avatars, etc. I pressed on him the idea that he should sell his clients on adding blogging. There was no data on the traffic enhancement of blogging at that time and since he was doing well without selling blogging, he paid no attention.

I think he sells blogging now.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

rishil — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 09:07:39 -0000

hear hear! Well played.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

geir ellefsen — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:57:22 -0000

This is an excelent post, i just wrote a post about the same subject, and I did agree with you alot (http://www.blog-money.com/m...

What I don't agree with is that you can't make money directly of an blog, sure you can. Even if your only goal in life is to make money on blog, it can be done. I even know about a few people in little Norway that do problogging for money.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Damilik — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 02:54:45 -0000

Exactly, blog is a way of communication. I think Dan was trying way too hard and he finally gave up.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Dennis — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:50:38 -0000

Well, Dave...it's not like you haven't thought about ads yourself :-)

http://web.archive.org/web/...

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

blackholebrain — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:43:17 -0000

When I read "just for the thrill of being out on the edge" it made me immediately think of why anyone does anything others might consider *crazy* —climbing mountains, jumping out of planes, etc.— because we can!

It's really another version of what somebody somewhere probably said: "follow your heart, and the money will follow". And just magine how different the world would be if more people followed their hearts instead of dollar bills...

Of course, it seems like that's also the reasoning (not necessarily publicly expressed) behind a lot of what's going on everywhere today, especially with the political world.

All reporters hate not being the one to "get the scoop" —their thrill— especially if a sub-important blogger breaks it first. But to me, professional reporters who feel that way are similar to music industry snobs who scoff at "internet musicians" who do and share what they love without shouldering the 'yoke of obedience' that the establishment insists MUST BE WORN!!!

But hey, enough of us now know better (not just talking music anymore) and I think the PTB are more than a little frightened by how enlightening and empowering the web is to people... LOTS of people. We can get our thrills without all the "thank-you-sir-may-I-have-another" crap they so enjoy!

Anyway, the good ole sign business is 'ok', but our company let 20% of the work force go in the past month or so... which says a lot. But hey, I still love designing signs, and I'm glad to be working!

Then again, if I get laid off I suppose I'll have plenty of time for blogging then, hmm?

>;]

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Abey — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 02:02:30 -0000

This is my moment to thank a great contributor to mankind. From the day Dr. Gihan Dias mentioned it at the annual IT event in Sri Lanka, I used to be a fan of Pointcast, but lost interest eventually, I have forgotten why. But with RSS I am a happy man daily. Well done Dave.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

ebrittwebb — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:28:43 -0000

Excellent perspective, Dave. I'm slowly trying to follow your example.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

virtualimpax — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:37:38 -0000

STANDING OVATION!!! BRAVO!!!!

Blogs are communication tools. Marketing is communication. Advertising is communication with the masses. PR firms help people who can't communicate do so effectively.

When you can communicate effectively AND with a large audience - well, that's when a blog is absolute marketing MAGIC.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

dave — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:38:21 -0000

Right on and great to hear from you after all these years. How goes the sign
design business?

Anyway, it's not surprising that professional reporters want to apply the
same rules to bloggers that they apply to political candidates. If they can
catch you in a trivial gotcha, no matter how smart they are, they're going
to run with it. I made the mistake for a number of years of giving a shit
what they thought, even though I would have told you outwardly that I
didn't, I was acting differently.

I've learned that you can't win in that world, and it's crumbling anyway --
so let it go and that's gotten me back to my roots, all the way back to
before I was blogging when I was writing DaveNet just for the thrill of
being out on the edge.

As a result we're having a lot more fun here. And it's got the
blackholebrain to make another visit. That's coooooooool.. :-)

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Joshua Francis Whalen — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:11:14 -0000

I bought the products, so it must have worked, and yes, the fact that I felt I had a relationship with the CEO and lead developer at Userland and not with the CEO of WordPress or Blogger had a definite influence in my choice, especially since your product cost money and theirs didn't. Now there's a cash benefit of being real and not a mere sound-bite or infomercial (Hi! I'm Dave Winer and I'm here to tell you how YOU can advance your career with rss and Radio Userland! yeesh. I'd have bought anyone else's product if you'd have done that.)

Authenticity made a real difference in recommending the product, because I felt like I had an insight into how the product came to be, I'd watched it evolve, I felt like my responses were part of the design process, and would continue to be.

I'm still using it, though not as much as before. It's not under active development, and you owned up to that. You let us in on the troubles you had, and why support wasn't so great for a while, and that let me know where you were going helped me make good choices. I still trust your stuff because of that. If those things had happened without an explanation, and I'd had to rely on rumors, I'd have walked away completely. Instead, I let people in on what they're buying and plenty of my clients still choose it. Some don't. Some wouldn't have anyway. I can't say that the truth did anything but help.

Thanks.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

blackholebrain — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:51:38 -0000

"Talk through your blog as you would talk face to face. You'd never stop mid-sentence and say "But first a word from my sponsor!" -- so don't do that on your blog either."

Exactly!

Dave, one of the first things I liked about your blog (and, of course, you... still do) is that it embodied that philosophy (purist 'blogology', if you will). No ads, no clutter, just you —warts (or whatever you might have!) and all— and whatever thrown out onto the cyber sidewalk for whoever is curious enough to stop and take a look.

I mean, how can anything truly new (ideas, things, etc.) ever enter into our world if first it must be paid for in advance?

Being unafraid to try, say or do things before you've determined what others might think first is key to success in anything (generalizing a bit)... but especially blogging. There's no guarantee (obviously) if one does believe and practice this in life, yet living the opposite way will usually put you in a politician's pickle – unable to do anything unless your adv-[ert]-isors or the polls say it's okay.

I miss blogging like crazy –and one day will make time to do so again– but I still read your blog as often as possible (ok, almost daily).

Keep it up! >;]

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

dave — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:51:34 -0000

You proved my point, but I wonder if you even get that you did.

Some people are so darned ornery! But I love yaz anyway. :-)

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

jmc — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:32:33 -0000

RE: Userland Software
"All the promotion ever done for the company was done right here. "

Wrong. Scoble did some too while he worked for you. In fact I didn't even read your blog back then, and discovered and tried Radio Userland because I was reading Scoble's blog.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Neal Frankle — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:51:48 -0000

I appreciate this. Its direct. (It pops my bubble but better better now than after I've spend countless hours and dollars pursuing the wrong path.)

This makes sense and is probably the most helpful piece of advice I've heard in along time.

Thank You.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

RexDixon — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:18:39 -0000

Totally agree with you! I have ads on my blog, but the reason I do what I do now for a living is due to my blogging, as horrendous as I can be at times, I owe what I do now to just starting it. Do I make money from the blog? Sure, pennies from ads, but like you said in your post - look outside the box. I also read that piece this morning by Dan Lyons.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Geoff — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:14:48 -0000

Great post Dave.

Steve Pavlina is also making money from his blog. His tips are here http://www.stevepavlina.com...

Personally I have never paid a cent to advertise a ski apartment that I rent out, because my blog makes sure it is always in top 5 of the appropriate search terms in google.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Dario Salvelli — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:44:55 -0000

2 million without advertising: it' is possibile, the best way! ;)

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Norbert Mayer-Wittmann — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:16:03 -0000

Where records (written ideas) "belong" has been thought about by librarians and archivists for centuries.

With advances in information technology, people are slowly but surely becoming aware that such expressions do not need to be classified or pigeon-holed, but insteads can be stored in an arbitrary location and accessed by appropriate indexing.

The indexing methods that are appropriate depend on such things as the "user" (e.g. language) and the "use case" (e.g. entertainment). Therefore, whereas someone who speaks .US or .UK might search for a vacation-rental in Spain @ http://vacation-rentals.es (and such linguistic phenomena were probably also at play with your sale of weblogs.com).

Whether the code (the website) available at the location (the web site) is a blog or some other format (or genre) is (IMHO) secondary.

Re: How I made over $2 million with this blog (Scripting News)

Nick Mudge — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:50:45 -0000

Nicely said.