Blogging and Marketing Resources for the Average Blogger and Business
Posts tagged Energication
Entrecard Acquired by Ziprunner
Jul 22nd
Entrecard is now Exitcard
One of my earliest posts on the Ultimate Blogging Toolkit was my new found networking system of learning about new blogs, called Entrecard. By now, most of you have discovered Entrecard has been acquired by Ziprunner. At the bottom of this post, I have displayed the email notice that came from Graham Langdon, Entrecard’s previous CEO.
Entrecard has seen its challenges recently as it has tried to evolve, grow, mature and still please all its members. I don’t intend to expound on the merits of individual strategies or whether Ziprunner will be better or worse. Instead, it is a great opportunity to discuss change and the need for bloggers to adjust to change – or sometimes make it happen.
As I’ve explored other networking and advertising options to further monetize the Ultimate Blogging Toolkit, the New Blogged Word, and my newest project, Energication, I’ve come to realize there is no one best solution. I’ve since added Adgitize as a new advertising system, CMF Ads and Project Wonderful on various blogs. (More posts coming on my experiences with them soon.) It’s still too early to declare a hands down winner, but it has been an interesting start. Each one has its merits, and its drawbacks.
The important message: try new things. The old adage of “if it aint broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t hold true today. Today, constant iteration of new advertising strategies, monetization models, A/B testing, and so forth are the name of the game. Keep pushing the limits. Other bloggers (aka your competition for eyeballs) are. Constant change is simply the ante to play.
Time will tell if this Entrecard change is positive or negative. For now, Entrecard continues to be a very good tool and I intend to keep experimenting, learning and adjusting with it and other environments. It is the ability to change that is what bloggers need to master, and I intend to continue that effort.
The Entrecard announcement email appears below.
Dave
7.16.09
Dear Entrecarders,
It is with great excitement that I announce Entrecard.com, Inc. has been acquired by Los Angeles based ZipRunner Inc.
ZipRunner has the resources, vision, and dedication to Entrecard that will allow it to grow in pursuit of the vision I laid out nearly two years ago.
Moving forward, my relationship to Entrecard will be that of an adviser, and I will help the good folks at ZipRunner take the whole project to the next level. Expect a follow up communication from them very soon.
ZipRunner Inc. was chosen out of a number of potential suitors because of the resources they can dedicate to the project, their exciting vision for the company’s future, and their understanding of social media and the blogosphere.
I urge you all to look forward to a bigger, better Entrecard, and I couldn’t be more proud to bring it to this point before passing the torch. I’ve heard first hand all the great things that are in store for the company and it’s members, and needless to say it has me quite excited.
If you would like to keep in touch with me in the future, you can find me at my new blog Ontrapranore.com where I look forward to sharing my stories of entrepreneurship and starting/running internet companies.
Whether you love or hate the decisions I’ve made for Entrecard in the past, I always did the best I could to move the company forward given the resources I had, and I always had the best interest of the members in mind. Now, with new management and ownership stepping in, I urge anyone who has left the service to give it another chance, and I urge those who have been loyal members for days, weeks, months, or years to look forward to a brighter future, a reliable and stable service, and great new features and strategic direction.
Signing Off,
Graham Langdon
Founder of Entrecard
Ontrapranore
Multiple Blog Monetization
Jul 10th
Grow Your Blogs
As I’ve explored many different blogs in a number of varied categories, I have found instances where the same apparent author has created multiple blog properties. They are all monetized and in some cases, look very much the same. The topics within those families vary to different degrees, but one thing seems to be common: they are all owned by the same person.
Why is that significant? I’ll take a run at it from a couple of different angles.
First, frequency.
As I’ve indicated before in Frequent vs. Relevant, frequency plays a significant role in enticing readers to return. Post too often and people may not want to keep up with all the posts in their blog reader. Post too infrequently and they get bored. Multiple blogs allow frequent posts (for those prolific bloggers) to be shared across each blog, keeping an “every few days” cycle for each one.
Next, relevancy.
In the same post, I suggest that knowing your audience and staying on target is also important. Multiple blogs allows those of us with some A.D.D. tendencies to explore a wide variety of topics, but channel those topics to the appropriate venue.
Finally, monetization.
With an understanding that the “basic blocking and tackling” of frequency and relevancy must be performed on each blog property, casting a wide net allows a wider monetization coverage. We still need to post at the right frequency with relevant content. However, multiple sites means multiple Adgitize ad sets, more Google AdSense boxes and a greater chance that a blog will “take off.” More saplings planted means a better chance of a large, healthy tree – or maybe a whole forest.
OK, I’m about out of cliches.
But I’ve begun to take my own advice. In addition to the “business” blog of the Ultimate Blogging Toolkit, I have previously mentioned my “casual” blog the New Blogged Word. Last week, I just launched Energication to satisfy my passion for education and renewable energy. Energy Education. Energication. Get it? Sorry. Had to play the game. No monetization on that last one yet, but watch for it!
As humans, we have no end of opinions and perspectives. What better way to channel that energy than through multiple blogging channels. The only requirement is quality. A large number of bad blogs can’t compare to even one great one. But multiple good blogs gives us the best chance for monetization success.
Dave
Energication for Renewable Energy Education
Jul 7th
Posted by Dave in Uncategorized
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Energication for Renewable Energy Education
The Ultimate Blogging Toolkit has been my repository for all things related to my new hobby, blogging. This will continue to be a place to share what I learn, but I also want to share the result of two other passions: renewable energy and education.
First, education.
For the last eight years, I’ve been a school board member. A lot of work, but a very rewarding experience.
Now, renewable energy.
As a self-proclaimed solar geek, I’m always looking for innovative and successful uses of solar technology. Taking a page from the school district’s math initiative, I put two and two together – and got Energication.
The combination of Renewable Energy and Education, “Energication” is my latest project bringing information of value to educators about renewable energy curriculum. My hope is that it will become a central topic in all schools across our nation. For now, I’m just happy our local district is interested in pursuing the concept.
Renewable energy is our future. Electricity will be the currency of that future. Through Energication and speaking in person to any school who will listen, I am looking forward to helping our students have some “spending money.”
The first effort is to pursue a working solar system and related curriculum through a grant application. You can read more about it on the site.
Dave