Today I am talking to Murray Newlands, a British marketer who gave up the world of Law to make a living online.

As is usual in BloggingTips interviews, I like to ask interviewees to first introduce themselves and let readers who don’t know you find out a little about you are and what you do.

I am Murray Newlands I am 35 years old and I blog at murraynewlands.com. I have been in online marketing one way or another for the last 12 years. I run an affiliate network called Affiliate Heat. I am looking for people to have a conversation with.

How did you move away from Law and get involved with online marketing?

I qualified as a lawyer but did not like the work. I was dating a girl who was a graphic designer and I took some days off work and sold design work. I we soon expanded from design to marketing and I have loved it ever since. Marketing for me is about working with positive creative people to develop businesses.

When did you create your own affiliate network?

I started my affiliate network last year just running in to the dip, it has been a hard year but things have worked out well and I have been amazed at how much people are willing to help you when you are getting going.

You appear to be a regular at affiliate conventions. How important are these events to you and your business?

Conventions are an essential part of business for me, I like meeting people and connecting, I have been told by friends it is a talent of mine. You can do business remotely but meeting someone in person is a great opportunity to strengthen contacts. It is also an opportunity to meet lots of people fast which speeds up business growth. I find conventions invaluable, you just have to make sure that you make the most of them; before, during and afterwards.

How long have you been blogging for?

I started blogging in the Spring of 2009 and now post almost daily, I do have a couple of other people who also write on my blog. I interview lots of people in the marketing and blogging arena. I always like to thank Heatherinbc and Steve Hall for getting me it to it. When I started my blog it was slow and it took me a long time to get into it, I am still learning, still making mistakes, I share it all. That is what I love about blogging sharing and communicating. Blogging and interviewing people has enabled me to connect and communicate with all kinds of people from around the world.

Do you find it hard to find time to blog and run your business?

Time is the critical thing, I tend to do a lot of blogging, in the evenings, weekends and while traveling.

What do you think is the best way for someone to learn about affiliate marketing?

Shawn Collins who runs affiliate summit has a great blog Affiliate Tip. If you have any questions about affiliate marketing you can ask them at Ask Shawn Collins .

If you had to start all over again, what would you do different?

Start blogging earlier, be less afraid to try things earlier. Now my blog has taken off a bit, if I make a mistake I can get a lot of people pointing it out, but I do learn much faster because of that.

Murray Newlands email marketing blog?

Yes I have been involved in email marketing for several years now and recently decided as part of what I was writing about I wanted to enter the conversations around email marketing so why not make it a email marketing blog too. Email marketing for years has been about sending out email and then watching the opens and clicks now it is entering a different phase it is as much about social media engagement as

What advice would you give to aspiring bloggers who are looking to make good money through affiliate marketing?

Chose an area you love to blog about, blogs work thought persistent blogging, love, care and attention. If you do not love your topic it is going to be a hard slog, you may as well love what you do. Keep on blogging and do not give up. Find a Blogging Buddy , I have been kind of doing this for a while but it really helps.

Many thanks to Murrary for taking part in this interview. If you would like to keep up to date with what Murrary is doing, just visit MurraryNewlands.com

Interview with Murrary Newlands


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

I have been following them on Twitter for a few months and last month they lmoved into the blogging world by launching their own dedicated blog. There are not many major online retailers which have integrated a blog with their website, least not in the traditional blog sense, so I thought it would be great to interview the guys from Ebuyer about their progression into the social media world.

Hope you enjoy this interview with Lee Benecke (Chief Copywriter) and Daryl Walker-Smith (Head Designer)

Ebuyer HQ was launched at the start of May, have you had a lot of good feedback from customers regarding the blog?

Daryl: “Yeah, we’ve had a lot of good feedback about the blog, particularly about the overall design. I know it’s far from perfect though so I’ll be looking to tweak the design further in the coming months.”

Lee: “I think that’s key to making Ebuyer HQ a success – ensuring the blog is constantly updated with new posts and interesting insights into life at Ebuyer. We’ve had some good comments so far so I’m looking forward to writing more blogs and showing our followers what life at Ebuyer is like.”

Daryl: “The cake and cookie days have been very popular, haha!”

I cannot think of many top online retailers in the UK who have launched a blog. Many have launched newsletters to connect with their customers though those mostly just promote the companies latest products, rather than attempt to connect with customers. What was the inspiration to create a blog?

Lee: “I was inspired by the potential of blogging from a business point-of-view. We’re both keen readers of blogs so when the opportunity to bring blogging into Ebuyer came along, we jumped on it immediately.”

Daryl: “Obviously blogging isn’t a new phenomenon but we thought having a blog would be a great way to connect further with our customers and prospective customers. As a web-based technology retailer we also thought that blogging would be the perfect platform for reviews, guides and general tech advice. We already have an incredibly successful forum at Ebuyer so we saw a blog as another string in the ever-growing Ebuyer bow.”

At the moment Ebuyer HQ is not linked from the main Ebuyer website (and vice versa). Are you looking to integrate the blog more with the main site or would you like to keep the blog separate from the customer shopping area?

Daryl: “Great question! We’re actually in the process of moving the blog to the main site now funnily enough. When we initially set the blog up we went for a ‘soft launch’ to see how people reacted to it. As the feedback has been wholly positive, Ebuyer HQ will soon be a permanent fixture on the Ebuyer.com domain.”

Ebuyer has been tweeting since February. Did your experience with Twitter influence your decision to create a blog?

Daryl: “Not really but we see Twitter and the Blog working very nicely side-by-side. I’ve been using Twitter personally for a while but, similar to the blog, we launched the @Ebuyerdotcom Twitter account as another experiment in new ways to interact with the customer. With over 1,900 followers we think we’ve got the balance of Tweeting just about right (unlike other retailers who we’ve noticed tweet far too much).”

Lee: “Although they both fall under the same ‘social media’ umbrella, the ideas behind Ebuyer HQ and the Ebuyer Twitter account were conceived separately. Our Twitter account was designed so we had another avenue to speak to our customers and I think it’s been a great success so far. The blog was different. We have a very good forum on Ebuyer.com and the idea of a blog was an extension of this. We wanted to have a page that showed our products but also our personality. As a bit of a social media geek, I was also very keen to bring all these aspects into life at Ebuyer. Although I blame Daryl for my Twitter obsession…I was a casual admirer before he introduced me to it properly. Now I’m forever seeking new ways to use Twitter as well as all the cool tools for searching, messaging and managing my Twitter”.

Recently we saw Habitat, a major UK reailer, shoot themselves in the foot by misusing Twitter by attaching tags to the latest news (including the problems in Iran) in order to get more exposure to their tweets. This got them a lot of bad press and illustrated how a lot of companies still don’t understand how to get the best from new social mediums such as Twitter and Facebook.
Ebuyer appear to have had a very good understanding of Twitter and how to use if effectively from the start. For example, as a follower I have seen Ebuyer directly help customers with a problem via Twitter on several occasions.
Was this due to your staff members having previous experience with Twitter or did you research the platform extensively before launching the Ebuyer Twitter account?

Daryl: “Using Twitter for @Ebuyerdotcom has definitely been a learning curve and a lot of it has come down to common sense. We don’t want to alienate those people who choose to follow us for the latest deals by constantly bombarding them and we also want to help as many customers as we can whenever problems arise. I was shocked about the whole Habitat twitter hashtag debacle – and wouldn’t be surprised if they used an external company for their Twitter account. As we Tweet completely in-house we have a vested interest to Tweet responsibly!”

Lee: “I too was shocked by the Habitat Twitter scandal. I often see people using trending topics to their advantage but I think you’ve got to know what subjects to touch and which ones to leave alone. In terms of Ebuyer, Daryl and I are the main ‘pushers’ when it comes to Twitter but there are a few members of Ebuyer staff on Twitter. This gives us a good understanding of the basics which obviously helps our company profile.”

How are you looking to promote the Ebuyer blog and the Ebuyer main site with Twitter?

Daryl: “Funny you should ask as followers of our Twitter and site should have seen our latest Twitter marketing campaign – the Ebuyer iPhone Giveaway. As the very popular #Squarespace campaign was coming to the end we thought it’d be good to start our own UK only iPhone giveaway and raise the profile of the Ebuyer brand.”

Lee: “The competition centres around our Twitter but Daryl has also created a ‘How to Use Twitter’ blog post to ensure everyone who registers for the giveaway can then continue to use Twitter once the giveaway has passed. Obviously this is just one example of how we intend to cross promote our website, blog and Twitter account but I’m sure you get the idea. Basically whether you’re a blogger, a tweeter or just a casual social media fan, we want to ensure the Ebuyer brand will be there offering the best deals on electronics on the web. It’s a friendly social media takeover haha”.

Who is writing the articles on Ebuyer HQ? Are the posts written by Ebuyer staff or have you decided to outsource the work?

Lee: “It’s an Ebuyer blog so its Ebuyer staff behind it. When we launched Ebuyer HQ, we sent out a ‘call to arms’ to the entire Ebuyer staff and every department was keen to get involved. I think it is very important that our staff get involved as Ebuyer HQ is built on the products, service, business and day-to-day office life we all experience. I think it helps the integrity of the blog.”

Daryl: “We’re recruiting writers all the time and we’re also going to explore the idea of ‘guest writers’ so we can bring other peoples expertise into Ebuyer HQ.”

What are you hoping to achieve through the blog over the next 6 months?

Lee: “I’d like to see Ebuyer HQ become a blog that people turn to for advice on products or current technology trends. I also want to make sure readers get to take a peek behind the scenes at Ebuyer and get a feel for the people behind the company.”

Daryl: “We’re really looking to produce high quality and interesting articles that people will particularly find useful when making purchasing decisions. A great example of this was the ‘Compact vs. DSLR’ post written by our Pre Sales team. That post in particular got some great feedback. We’ll also be keeping the ‘Cake and Cookie Friday’ posts as they seem to very popular.”

Lee: “We should really start an Ebuyer Marketing cookbook!”

Anything else you’d like to add?

Daryl: “Thanks a lot for this Kevin…it was a great interview.”

Lee: “Agreed. Thanks and keep checking Ebuyer HQ and the Ebuyer Twitter account for more updates. We honestly have only scratched the service when it comes to social media and blogging.”

* A huge thank you to Lee and Daryl for taking part in this interview. You can see Ebuyers blog in action at Ebuyer HQ. If you are a regular Twitter use, I would also check out their fantastic ‘The Essential Twitter Guide for New Users‘

Interview With Lee Benecke And Daryl Walker-Smith From Ebuyer


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

One of the reasons I started subscribing to their blog was their fantastic video clips. I don’t remember seeing anyone being as funny, confident or lively in front of the camera as Jimmy (5FtHighMktgGuy) and Travis (BigIdeaGuy). It’s a refreshing change from reading long boring articles on marketing.

Check out their recent video on ‘How To Use A Twitter Hash Tag‘ to see what I mean

I contacted Jimmy through Twitter last week and he quickly replied saying that they were more than happy to take part in an interview for you guys. Enjoy

As is usual in BloggingTips interviews, I like to ask interviewees to first introduce themselves and let readers who don’t know you find out a little about you guys

We’re Jimmy Vee & Travis Miller, creators or Gravitational Marketing and authors of Gravitational Marketing: The Science of Attracting Customers (Wiley 2008). We met in college at marching band camp in 1995 (seriously). Since that moment we’ve been obsessing about choices (like why did we chose to sweat our butts off on this damn marching band field). What makes one person choose one thing and another person choose another? What effect can we (as individuals or companies) have on those choices? And how can that influence or persuasion be made to feel natural rather than forced?

Born as an ideal, the concept ultimately transformed into reality as Gravitational Marketing…a powerful, natural force that can’t be defied, which causes people to gravitate in mass quantity to your idea, your business, your cause.

Today our emphasis is on speaking to, writing for, coaching and consulting entrepreneurs toward greatness by creating reliable and intentional systems for attracting and converting the perfect customers.

Your book ‘Gravitational Marketing – The Science Of Attracting Customers’, was a huge success and has received a huge amount of praise from reviewers. There are thousands of books on Marketing available today which makes choosing the right book very difficult for would be entrepreneurs. What sets Gravitational Marketing apart from the crowd?

We don’t focus on theory and fluff. We get right down to business and we’re not afraid to talk about making people buy. We talk about things that make people come to you and make the cash register ring. We focus on lead generation, which is so frequently overlooked. Most other marketing advice assumes you already have a flow of leads. What good is a sales strategy if you don’t have anyone to sell to? This is about creating prospects out of thin air, positioning yourself in a way that’s engaging and unique, providing value first and becoming a trusted advisor instead of a product pusher.

How did you guys first get involved in Marketing and Advertising?

We got into advertising after we flunked out of calculus class in college. We were both math and science majors… pre-med (Jim) and engineering (Travis). After calculus we knew we needed to find different career choices. We both chose communication and advertising. It’s what we were really good at. We figured it would be easy and it was. The problem was we didn’t learn anything about really making advertising work.

I graduated first with a degree in advertising and public relations and got a job as the assistant to the vice president at a direct response agency using my now legendary 7-page resume. Later I recruited Travis to the agency after his stint in radio sales.

Being the new kids on the block Travis and I were given the worst clients the agency had. The clients nobody wanted to deal with. We had the task of selling the worst car in America. Locked in a room for a week we created a formula that worked like crazy. From this winning atom bomb strategy we discovered the foundational principles that later would inspire us to create Gravitational Marketing.

Since then we’ve spent over $96 million dollars testing, proving and honing our marketing chops. Oh, and that $96 million we spent wasn’t wasted. We turned it into over $12 BILLION is sales for ourselves and our clients.

You are known for being Anti-Marketing. What exactly do you mean by this?

We believe that SAME IS LAME. If you do what everyone else does, you’re gonna get the same results. Those results are mediocre at best. We’re Anti-Marketing the way most people traditionally do it. We don’t believe an entrepreneur or small business owner should PAY MONEY to “get their name out there” or build a corporate brand. It’s just a waste. You need to spend your money to attract customers in a natural way. Done right your marketing should gravitate people to you and cause them to directly respond to your messages and offers so you can build a lasting relationship with them.

It’s important to note that non-traditional marketing and advertising doesn’t mean you don’t use traditional media. It’s the approach that differs. Non-traditional advertising and marketing is about leaving behind the traditional and boring conventional marketing wisdom and being sensational in everything you do…including your advertising.

How important do you believe marketing is for the average blogger?

If you are trying to get a message out, then marketing is essential. The first thing you need to define is why you’re blogging. Is it to just have the microphone and be heard, to make money, to influence, to affect change, all the above?

After that you can choose who you’re writing for and why they should choose to read your blog vs the thousands of other blogs out there. Then you need to stand out. Give value and position yourself as an authority on your topic. This is where marketing begins.

* A huge thank you to Jimmy (5FtHighMktgGuy) and Travis (BigIdeaGuy) for taking part in this interview. If you are looking for a good book on marketing then I encourage you to check out their book ‘Gravitational Marketing: The Science of Attracting Customers‘, as all the reviews have been incredibly positive. At the very least you should subscribe to The Jim & Travis Blog, I know you won’t be disappointed.

If you would like to ask Jimmy or Travis anything about their blog, their book, their videos or marketing in general, please post them in the comment area and I’m sure they will reply when they can

Interview With Jimmy Vee & Travis Miller From Gravitational Marketing


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

I was intrigued by Jennifers story so I contacted her and thankfully, she was more than happy to take part in an interview for all of you. I hope you enjoy it

For those who don’t know you, can you tell everyone a little about yourself and your company MadeByGirl.

I’m the designer & owner of MadeByGirl online shop. We design paper products such as cards & prints. They’re available to purchase via our website as well as on a wholesale basis for retail shops that are interested. 99% of our product is printed onto Earth-friendly paper, which we encourage others to start doing.

I also run a popular blog (madebygirl.blogspot.com) where I post about the newest home design trends, items in my shop, art, DIY projects, fashion, home tours & whatever else inspires me at that time.

How did you start working online? Was it something you planned to do or was it a natrual progression from your previous job?

Working on line was just the right thing to do for me. It allowed me to create my own business and interact with potential clients from all over the world. A few years ago I had started in the apparel business, but that didn’t last too long. I then went into designing and embellishing coffee tables and sold those online as well. Now, I am in the Paper Goods Industry and doing quite well.

MadeByGirl has appeared on dozens of well known Lifestyle and Design related magazines. How much has this exposure helped your online business?

It’s helped some. I honestly thought it would increase my sales a lot more….however being in magazines etc. gives you great credibiity within the industry. Sure, people will see you in the magazines and it’s a great feeling when you see it yourself. However, the best exposure has been my own blog. Having your own active blog and using it every so often as a marketing tool, helps a great deal.

Many online shops start blogs nowadays as they are aware of the SEO benefits. So it’s refreshing to see someone who seems genuinely passionate about updating their blog and keeping in touch with customers. What made you decide to start a blog?

I think reading other popular blogs & seeing how they were growing, their success etc. gave me the confidence to start my own. I knew it was going to be a commitment & a challenge, something I had to tend to almost everyday. But I was ready for it, starting my own blog in 2006 and haven’t stopped blogging since. During this time, I slowly realized what a great marketing tool blogs were becoming.

A couple of people I knew (who have businesses, but don’t run blogs) would tell me I was wasting my time. They told me I could be selling my product instead of blogging. Sure, that may be true, but having my blog has established a name for me and brought me many sales. The SEO benefits have been great and it’s a great opportunity to reach potential customers from all over the world…in my own words.

Do you sometimes find it hard to juggle running your shop and updating your blog? How many hours would you spend working on your blog i.e. what is a typical working day for you.?

I usually spend 8-10 hours a day on my business & blog. It can be quite difficult to juggle both. I also take p/t classes at the University too, how about that?!
It gets a little crazy but luckily, I have some help with production, which is great!

Which aspect of blogging do you enjoy the most?

Finding content that no one has posted is always a good feeling. The feedback & the comments are also fun to read.

Is there any part of blogging you have struggled with or find a chore?

Dealing with blogger can be a pain in the neck. I wish their posting window was a lot larger where I am able to see most of my post. At this time I alternate between ECTO and Blogger for postings.

What blogs do you read regularly?

It changes. Right now I like, Mixed Plate, Decor 8, Mati Rose, Decorology and apartment therapy.

What advice would you give to an online shop owner who is just launching a blog for the first time?

Make sure you update your blog as much as possible and interact with your readers. Once in awhile post about your product, to remind your readers that you are also a shop owner & direct them to your website.

* Many thanks to Jennifer for taking part in this interview. Please contact us if you would like featured on BloggingTips.

Links :

• MadeByGirl Shop
• MadeByGirl Blog

Interview with Jennifer Ramos from MadeByGirl.com


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Here is a video of Taylor explaining how you can get backlinks to your blog. It’s a good example of the videos he produces for his blog :

I hope you enjoy the interview

For those who don’t know you, can you tell everyone a little about yourself and how you first got into blogging.

My name is Taylor Thompson and I am a 19 year old student at Chemeketa Community College. I am set on studying general education although I hope to later take some classes that will support my blogging career.

For me, blogging began on January 3rd, 2008. I had received a set of the Perfect Pushups as a Christmas Gift. When I first began the Perfect Pushup Program, I thought that it’d be a cool idea to make an entire site dedicated to reviewing the product. Little did I know that Blogging would later turn into a part time job.

Can you tell us all a little about your main blog Video Blogging Tips.

I first created Video Blogging Tips after having 6 months of blogging experience. At the time, I still didn’t know too much about blogging. After doing vigorous research and purchasing hundreds of dollars worth of blogging programs and tutorials, I began to learn how to be successful online.

Which part of blogging do you find most difficult?

Time and money. If you’re going to be a Blogger you have to understand that time is a major issue. I will work 8 hour days on occasion, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I will make as much money as I worked for. With blogging, patience is key. If you have no drive and if you’re not willing to work for little to no money for the first three or so months, then it’s really not worth it.

Do you outsource any work for your blog. If not, is this something you would ever consider doing?

I do not have others work on my blog. It’s something that I have considered, but I really like being unique. If I were to ever allow others to write content for me, it’d have to be a friend that’s knowledgeable on the subject. As for Celebrity News Polls and Get Rid of Acne Online, I am always looking for writers. But again, I would only want a reliable friend working on the blog with me.

Which aspect of blogging do you enjoy the most?

Helping others. Most definitely. I enjoy the community and I really like to talk to people and help them with their problems. I am always willing to talk on the phone and help others set up their own blog. Currently, Muscle Monsters is the big site that I have truly spent hours and hours of work on . The owner of this site is now making $5.00 – $10.00 a day on AdSense alone. I hope to help more serious bloggers in the near future.

What blogs do you read regularly?

I really enjoy Blogger Noob and Rockfuse. Widgets for Free and Smart Bloggerz also have fantastic blogging information. Finally, I also enjoy reading Muscle Monsters. Now, you may notice that I didn’t mention any of the major bloggers. The problem with some of these guys is the fact that they simply do not have enough useful content.

Don’t get me wrong here, these Pro Bloggers are great guys and I have had conversations with a lot of them online, but for blogging tips, they just don’t come through. If I had to recommend a Pro Blogger to anybody, I would definitely recommend Darren Rowse. He truly has some quality content.

What advice would you give to someone who has just started blogging?

Balance your life. Don’t let blogging destroy it. Set your time limits to keep your life balanced and don’t go over this limit. Most importantly, have fun. The harder you try to make money with blogging, the less you will actually make. If you learn to simply have fun and do some work along the way, you will end up getting a lot more out of blogging from both a financial and a mental standpoint.

Finally, what are your main goals for 2009 : for yourself and your blog?

I really want people to know of my blog because I truly believe that I have a lot to offer. More importantly, I want to do a better job at balancing my time. I need to remember that blogging is currently a part time deal. Sometimes I get so into blogging that I forget to take my own advice.

* Many thanks to Taylor for taking part in this interview. Please contact us if you would like featured on BloggingTips.

Link : Video Blogging Tips

Interview With Taylor Thompson From VideoBloggingTips.com


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Our first interview is with Elina, a Malaysian blogger who runs the Parenting blog Parent Reviewers. Hope you enjoy the interview

For those who don’t know you, can you tell everyone a little about yourself and how you first got into blogging.

I am a full time working mom to a pair of hyperactive kids and a part time blogger since 2005. I started blogging on my parenting blog and currently run 5 blogs, including Parent Reviewers.

Can you tell us all a little about your main blog ParentReviewers.com

This blog caters to a community of parent and grandparent reviewers from various countries over the world who enjoys blogging as well as reviewing family friendly products. Our team of reviewers are called “PR Team” and they are put through a series of interview questions before they are approved into our panel of reviewers.

We provide Review & Giveaway editorials as well as Blog Tour packages for parentpreneurs who are interested to get more buzz for their products or sites. Check out our Testimonials page for our success!

Which part of blogging do you find most difficult?

I would have to say networking. It takes a lot of time, effort and discipline to maintain that rhythm of blog hopping, reading, commenting, replying to comments on your own blog, etc.

Do you outsource any work for your blog. If not, is this something you would ever consider doing?

I don’t call it outsourcing but I have three wonderful people assisting me voluntarily. Christine from the US and Su from Australia are helping me as Contributing Editors to the site and another member, Amber, from the US, is also assisting with Twittering and drumming up traffic via our Twitter account. With their help, my workload has reduced significantly and allows me more time to concentrate on improving our community.

Which aspect of blogging do you enjoy the most?

Blogging has plenty of benefits but I would say it’s a wonderful avenue to relieve stress!

What blogs do you read regularly?

Your blog for one! I’ve been a long time loyal reader since the time when you were the sole blogger on Blogging Tips. I also read MomDot, another wonderful community blog and other parenting blogs.

What advice would you give to someone who has just started blogging?

Have fun and enjoy!

Finally, what are your main goals for 2009 : for yourself and your blog?

To build a reputation as the number one community of global reviewers and have fun as I journey along that road.

* Many thanks to Elina for taking part in this interview. Please contact us if you would like featured on BloggingTips.

Link : Parent Reviewers

Interview With Elina From ParentReviewers.com


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Suzanne is taking part in Daily Blog Tips blogging contest Blogging Idol 2 and is currently sitting in a respectable 11th place.

With so many blogs taking part in Blogging Idol, participants need to come up with new and inventive ways to get ahead of the competition and Suzanne has done just that. She sent personal videos to several Gurus asking for support in her quest to win Blogging Idol 2.

She sent videos to the following people :

• Travis (Sago) The Bum Marketer
• Bob The Teacher
• Rich Schefren
• Derek Gehl
• Frank Kern
• John Chow

Here is the video Suzanne did especially for John Chow.

John was very impressed with Suzannes creative and original idea to personalise videos and a day later he gave his full support to Suzanne in the competition. Getting exposure on a blog with around 40,000 subscribers can give your blog a huge boost so I contacted Suzanne to ask her a few questions about her blog and her progress in the Blogging Idol 2 competition.

Suzanne has answered my questions via email and via video. Enjoy

The Interview

Video Interview

Email Interview

First off, for those who don’t know you, can you tell everyone a little about yourself and how you first got into blogging.

I’m originally from Southern California (Orange County and San Diego) and relocated to the Texas Hill Country about 7 years ago. I’m work at home mom to Austin 13, Nathan 11 and Emily 9 … and soon-to-be stepmom to Alyssa 8 and Cobey 6 so as you can imagine we have a very busy household with sports and homework … not to mention meals! LOL

I got into blogging by accident really. I was hoping to find a creative way to market products through the eBay affiliate program so I started my Review Mama site. I quickly realized that I knew nothing about blogging or Wordpress and I actually started hanging around the forum here on Blogging Tips. Kevin, you probably remember that I was there uncomfortably asking all of the newbie questions and you were all so patient with me … so thank you for that. I had the suzannefranco.com domain for many years but there was nothing there. I decided to load WP there so I can try to learn how to use it without messing up my new review blog. I posted about my life and my kids and eventually I started posting about how I was making money online. I found quickly that I enjoyed it more than the other things I was doing online so I set out to learn all I could about blogging.

Your blog has been online for about three quarters of a year now. Have you experienced a lot of highs and lows during this time?

Well, I’m embarrassed to say that I back-dated some posts so that IF anyone actually showed up it wouldn’t look like I just started … so my posts started some time in May of this year.

My lows with anything internet related (and this is no exception) most always evolve around something techie going wrong. I’ve never had any training at all and everything I do is self-taught through research online. I would get frustrated by any type of coding, or file transfer … and I’ve had to learn the hard way to backup before I touch anything on my sites. *sigh*

The highs have honestly been in the great people I’ve met and the fun I’m having. I love “working” now and will challenge myself to know and understand more about blogging each and every day. My most recent highs have been related to the Blogging Idol contest and all I can say it’s been really fun!

I was very impressed with your idea to film personal videos for several high profile bloggers. Was something you had been thinking about for a while or was it more of a ‘quick flash’ of inspiration?

Well, the rules for Blogging Idol changed last minute so it wasn’t something I thought about for very long, no. We stayed with friends for the Halloween weekend and I was running ideas by everyone there and I got a lot of blank stares. They are not from the blogging world so they just didn’t “get” what I was trying to accomplish.

The strategies for the video invites were two-fold. I was hoping that at least one of these guys would show up to my blog and surprise all of us. But, honestly, I knew there was a chance that none of them would. The idea was to be a bit bold, to get my readers involved, and hope they’d subscribe to keep up on what was going on with it … and to hopefully take it viral with everyone else tracking these guys down to try to get them to come over to the blog. John responded very quickly after I emailed him … and I was floored (still am). The invites have paid off and, in fact, Bob The Teacher and I are planning to get together and do a teleconference of some sort so watch for that too.

There’s around 2 weeks left in Blogging Idol 2. Do you have something big planned for the next 2 weeks to encourage more people to subscribe to your blog?

Yes, I am putting together a contest that should launch as soon as Daniel opens up the voting. I am still looking for prize donations so I’d encourage anyone interested in some great promotion to contact me about that. I am also still offering to reserve a free spot in my upcoming Blogging for Bucks BootCamp just for subscribing to my feed.

What do you have in store for SuzanneFranco.com readers, after the Blogging Idol 2 competition has finished?

I will continue to stretch myself to learn and share everything I can about blogging with others. One of my favorite quotes is by Zig Ziglar, “If you help enough people get what they want … you’ll get what you want.” If I make my job helping others … I will be rewarded for that.

* End of Interview *

A big thank you to Suzanne Franco for taking part in this interview. I’m sure you all enjoyed it and I encourage all BloggingTips readers to support Suzanne and subscribe to her blog

Blog Link : Suzanne Franco, RSS Link : http://feeds.feedburner.com/MoneyMakingIdeasSuzanne

Coming Soon

Suzanne is one of many Blogging Tips readers who are taking part in Blogging Idol 2. In the next week I will bring you a report which shows how all readers are doing in the contest. If you would like your blog included in this list please leave a comment with the URL of the blog which you have entered. Thanks guys

Interview with Suzanne Franco


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

* Questions are in Bold

For the benefit of readers, can you please introduce yourself and give a little background information about you, your blog and your experience?

My name is Sarah Perez and I’m from beautiful and sunny Tampa, Florida (hence the screen name “sarahintampa”). I’ve been blogging for many years, starting back in the early 2000’s on Blogger, although that blog has long since disappeared into the ether. I later moved onto TypePad and finally to WordPress, which I love. My personal blog www.sarahintampa.com, has been up and running since 2004. It gained me the attention of both Microsoft (on10.net) and Read Write Web and I now write professionally for both of those sites.

You have been blogging for around 4 years now but recently went from part time to a full time blogger. Was this a gradual process or did one big blogging gig have a snowball effect and lead onto a full time job?

Before becoming a pro blogger I worked in I.T. which is where my love for technology began. When Microsoft offered me the position as a blogger on their site for technology enthuisiasts on10.net, I kept my day job and blogged on the weekends for them. However, when the offer from Read Write Web was presented about six months later I realized I could actually quit my job and earn a living just from blogging. And that’s exactly what I did.

What advice would you give to bloggers who are just starting out and are looking to move into blogging full time?

They just need to keep at it. If you want to gain notierity in the tech blogosphere, you need to post consistently on your blog with quality information and participate in the community. Comment on other blogs and network with others, you never know where it might lead! However, to some extent, I was just in the right place and the right time though I wouldn’t have been there if I wasn’t participating.

Do you sometimes find it difficult to update your own blog and maintain your blogging schedule for your employers?

Of course! My number one priority is paying the bills now. Sarah In Tampa was the vehicle that got me there but it can’t be my top priority any more. It doesn’t keep a roof over my head. But I have not abandoned it! I still post a couple of times per week on average, sometimes I have things to say that just aren’t a good fit for either of the pro sites. Or maybe I just want to write a post with a more personal take on some technology and that’s what my blog is for these days.

You are one of the co-founders of Grand Effect. the network has been around for close to a year now. How do you feel the network has progressed in that time and what plans do you have for the network in the future?

Grand Effect has been fun! I have to give a lot of credit to David Peralty of xfep.com for dealing with most of the technicalities involved in getting it up and running. He has been amazing. The members represent some of the best bloggers in the tech blogosphere and they’re all conveniently linked to each other from the Grand Effect bar at the top of our blogs. The main goals of Grand Effect were to establish a community that supports each other, shares traffic and generates some ad deals. We’re doing well with all three of these things so far. Our members are great, they’ve offered each other support, advice, free tech support with WordPress/SEO and even free hosting space (just to name a few of the nice things they’ve done for each other). We’re also working with Performancing as an ad partner right now, but as with everything we offer our bloggers, it’s optional. The only requirement we have is that the members run the Grand Effect network bar.

Where do you find inspiration for your blog posts?

Oh, everywhere. RSS feeds, Twitter, FriendFeed, and even real-life experiences.

What are you looking to achieve from blogging in the next year. Do you have any new projects or jobs in the pipeline?

I think my plate’s pretty full right now.

If you would like to know more about Sarah, please visit her blog Sarah In Tampa.

Interview with Sarah Perez from Read Write Web


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

If you are looking to compare it to another advertising network then the closest system I think there is to this is Text Link Ads. However, there are 2 major differences. First of all, the list is displayed via javascript therefore you do not run the risk of being penalized by Google for manipulating PageRank (Google’s words, not mine). Secondly, Scratchback pays you 90% of the ad revenue you generate. This is a very generous cut in my opinion particularly when you consider TLA only gives you 50%.

The Interview (questions in bold) :

First of all, I would like to thank you for taking the time to take part in this interview

Scratchback Beta has been online for just over 3 weeks now. Are you happy with the progress the site has made in this short space of time?

No problem, glad to do it. Yes, we’re very happy with the beta progress. Without any marketing budget, we’ve signed up over 600 users already, and growing every day,but probably the best part is that we’re working out the minor bugs in the system on display issues and other minor stuff like that. You know, stuff that isn’t mission critical system stuff, but more “how it looks” stuff.

A few months ago BlogRush exploded onto the scene trying to make an impression with bloggers. BlogRush is an ad/banner serving network whereas ScratchBack is a system which allows bloggers to sell text and image links on their blogs. Other than the fact that both use widgets to display ads, I don’t think it’s fair to compare Scratchback to BlogRush as they serve a different purpose.

Were you keen to avoid the mistakes Blog Rush made at launch when you were developing Scratchback?

Well, you’re right, we both use widgets, but Scratchback isn’t Blogrush. Blogrush gives you the promise of a “flood of traffic”, which from what I can tell isn’t really delivering on that promise? Scratchback doesn’t promise that. The reason we didn’t do a huge launch on Scratchback was because we wanted to roll it out and work out the kinks and get feedback from the users on how we could improve it, rather than just jumping in with a flawed product that doesn’t deliver on its promises.

ScratchBack is currently in Beta mode. Have you set a date for the site to go live officially?

No official date yet, but probably going to be close to the first of the
year. Don’t hold us to that though

Google recently punished a lot of websites for selling text links by reducing their PageRank by 1 or 2 points (this happened to 3 or 4 sites I personally own). Since the scratchback widget is published using javascript, bloggers do not have to worry about their site being punished by Google for selling links.

How big a role will Google’s recent clampdown on text link seller’s play in the success of Scratchback?

Interestingly enough, the decision to go nofollow for us was done months and months before the pagerank penalties for text links happened. It was a mere coincidence that those changes came shortly before our beta launch. I have to say it worked out for us, the timing I mean.

The reason we decided to go nofollow as because we wanted to build a system that wasn’t about “passing Google juice”, but more about helping bloggers earn a few tips and helping their readers be able to “give back” to them in a fun way, and get something in return. It’s a win/win for everyone!

Like all good ideas the Scratchback concept seems very straight forward, however there are few things in particular which I love about Scratchback and a few things that I think could be improved and I would like to address these in my next few questions

Shortly after launch you increased the commissions from 50% to 90% of revenue from ad sales. My main gripe with Text Link Ads was that a 50% cut was way too high for any ad network to take. Will the 90% commissions remain after the site leaves beta mode?

We moved to the 90% payout for beta just to get things going. We’ve stated in our blog that after beta we’ll move to a more fair cut, probably closer to what a system like Blogads uses. In the end, we want to provide a fair and fun solution for everyone.

I believe that the free custom widget design offer you have just now is excellent and will help bloggers increase click thru’s by blending the widget in with the rest of their site (you can see our custom widget in our sidebar). Do you plan on offering more design personalisation options in the future for Scratchback users?

So far we’ve done over 100 custom designs, and wow, are we backed up on doing more of them. Our team has been doing them as fast as we can, so yeah, we think that our users like it to. Particularly, we’re seeing that with custom designs that the tips are flowing more and more. Keep them coming!

Mark Wielgus from 45n5.com reviewed Scratchback in late October and suggested that he would like to be able to change the unsold links to
affiliate links or something similar. Is this something that you would consider adding to the Scratchback system?

Alternatively, I believe it would be good to have the option to reduce the number of unsold links in our widgets. As it stands just now, a new widget which is set to list 20 links will have links which say ‘Get In My Top Spots’ until they are sold. Perhaps the number of ‘Get In My Top Spots’ could be reduced to 1 or 2. This would be my preference as in my opinion
unsold ads can reflect badly on a site and I can always list affiliate ads myself elsewhere on my blog

We’re building a huge list of improvements for version 2.0, and having the ability to change your unsold tip links is one of those features we plan on putting in. For now though, all you have to do is make your widget the minimum $1.00 and go ahead and buy your own links Not an elegant solution, but easy enough to do. Then just bump up the cost on the widget if you wish.

The reason we show all the unsold links is for the reader to be able to identify that there are spots available. If you don’t want to show a bunch of unsold topspots, just buy your own as I mentioned above, or do a better job of promoting them. Shawn Collins over at the Affiliate Tip blog does an amazing job of promoting his topspot widget with use of video even. Check
it out here. He’s one of our tip tip getters, having sold out of his 10 spots in the first day.

Above : An example of the Scratchback Dashboard

I think it would be beneficial for both publishers and advertisers to know how well their widgets are convertising. Do you plan on adding traffic tracking to the widget in the future?

That’s a feature that we’d like to add, sure. The reason we didn’t put it in the beta was because it would have delayed the launch. But yes, that’s something we’re planning on putting in down the road. But in all honestly, the best way to tell if it’s working is to simply login and see how many tips you’ve gotten.

Currently, advertisers need to go through the publishers blog to advertise on their widget. Do you think a marketplace or directory which lists publishers by genre would make it easier for advertisers to find suitable websites to advertise on?

Yes! A marketplace is coming soon. It with either be a user generated marketplace, or maybe we’ll partner with an existing directory out there. If you know of anyone who wants to discuss a partnership, please send them our way. But we agree that it would be good to have a marketplace. This is probably one of the first things that will happen in beta.

From reading the posts in the official Scratchback blog it’s clear that you are very responsive to suggestions and feedback from users. How important do you think Scratchback users are to the future of the site?

As I said earlier, we launched softly because we realize that our user feedback is the #1 most important thing to creating a truly valuable and long-term product that solves problems. So we encourage all of our users to give us feedback, to which we personally respond to as fast as we can. I think we’ve responded to about 1,000 emails so far already, or more.

All in all, I am quite impressed with Scratchback and I hope it’s something that catches on (What can I say, 90% is sweet!!). What are your plans for Scratchback in the next year?

Thanks, we like it too. The plan is to improve it, over and over based upon our users feedback. The way we look at it is there are 60 million bloggers out there. 99.9% of them are what we call “low traffic” bloggers, probably generating a few hundred visitors a week or less. These bloggers don’t have a way to monetize right now. They can’t sell CPM ads because they don’t have enough impressions. They can’t use Adsense because they’re generating a few pennies per day. And on and on. Scratchback is really a
long-tail solution, made for all bloggers and website publishers.

Last but not least, I would like to thank you for taking part in this interview and I wish you all the best with Scratchback in the future?

Thanks Kevin, and we appreciate your questions and the work you do on your excellent blog. Keep it up, we’re reading!

Related Links :

• Scratchback Home Page
• Examples of custom widget designs
• The Scratchback Blog

Interview with Jim Kukral from ScratchBack


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

In total I answered 9 questions for the interview, most of which were related to this site. If you want to know a bit more about this site then I recommend checking it out.

Interview with Kevin Muldoon

* Another interview I took part in is being published on Blog Ignite next week

Interview with Kevin Muldoon at CSS Juice


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Interview with Sabah Karimi

Q. First of all, I would like to thank you for taking part in this interview. For the benefit of our readers who are not familiar with your writing, can you tell us a little about yourself.

A. Of course! I’m a professional freelance writer and marketing consultant, and have been writing for the web and blogging for about a year and a half. I write on a variety of subjects including fashion, style, travel, health/fitness, business, marketing, and internet trends. You’ll find a lot of my articles on Associated Content and HubPages. My offline work has been published in Orlando Style Magazine, Papierdoll, and Dining Out Miami and I’m developing a few blogs on the side.

Q. You grew up in London but moved to the States 12 years ago. What do you miss about the UK?

A. London has a unique charm about it, there’s nothing like a trip to the city for shopping, or just enjoying a cup of tea with scones . I miss the culture, the daily life; being able to hop on a bus and explore a new town for an afternoon just isn’t as easy here in the States.

Q. How and when did you get involved in Blogging?

A. I’ve only just started blogging, but have been writing for the web for almost two years. Recent launches include The Latest Luxe (part of the b5Media network), the Orlando Business Blog that focuses on local news and business resources, and I’ve just joined ShinyMedia as a blogger for ShinyStyle.

Q. b5media is one of the biggest and most influential blogging networks on the net. How long have you been blogging for them?

A. I’m a newbie! The Latest Luxe officially launched on August 1.

Q. How does blogging for a large network like B5Media differ from writing for your own blog?

A. b5Media is a great way to get started on an already-established network. You have a lot of freedom in the content you develop and provide, and the community is so committed to helping everyone succeed. I’ve been very impressed with the level of contact between bloggers and sense of community that this network has for its contributors.

Q. The Latest Luxe has been online for just over a month. Are you pleased with the progress the site has made in that time? What can we expect to see from the blog in the next few months?

A. I’m working hard on marketing and promoting the blog, and b5Media helps with this aspect also. Still, a large part of driving traffic is getting the name out there and social networking as much as possible. The site has steady daily traffic, and I’ve received a very response from readers so far.

Over the next few months, I’m looking forward to exclusive interviews with designers and other luxury lifestyle bloggers, as well as introducing unique products that are just entering the uber-luxury market. As soon as I sharpen my techie skills, I would like to jump into podcasting, and perhaps a video segment each week.

Q. Do you plan on launching any new blogs this year?

A. I’m planning on launching my own personal blog (currently a work in progress), along with a blog on educational resources for gifted and talented children, and a personal development blog for girls and women interested in entrepreneurship. I’ll probably launch a blog about London at some point, just to stay up to date on the latest happenings across the ocean!

Q. Will you be attending any blog exhibitions this year, for example the Blog World Expo in November?

A. I haven’t planned anything for this year, but would definitely consider it in 2008 (unless anyone has a spare ticket?)

Q. Whats the number one tip you would give to new bloggers?

A. Take the time to develop your own ‘voice.’ Nothing stands out better than an authentic blog in today’s growing blogosphere, and you may need to develop your writing skills and tone before publishing. When you’re passionate about the topic, you can be creative and make something very unique; don’t be afraid to try different styles, and avoid becoming another ‘echo’ on the web!

Overview

I’d like to send a huge thank you to Sabah Karimi for taking part in this interview and I wish her the best of luck with her new blog, The Latest Luxe.

Sabah will be checking this post out so if you have any questions for her, please post them in the comment area and she will do her best to answer them

Interview with Sabah Karimi


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/