I've had over 1,000 hits in a few days from StumbleUpon. This is a huge case study I've written on that as well as my views on the quality of the traffic. And also how to make a good quality website and how to make quality content. Here it is This is probably the longest article I've written. If you like it please Digg and/or Stumble it! and share it Cheers!
Hi, While you are getting a fair bit of traffic, how are you monetizing the traffic? What is the quality of traffic you are getting from stumbleupon? Is it achieving the objectives of your website? Perhaps these are the real questions that need to be asked. Frankly, traffic has value only if they are able to give you a good return, which may not be money but that needs to be measurable in terms of the goals of your site.
I am not interested in trying to monetize small volumes of traffic. Especially to a blog. My main objectives with this blog and any blog and I think should be all blogs objectives are 1. To get subscribers 2. To provide good content I will start monetizing traffic when I get enough to make it worth compromising user experience on a level. There's no point with small traffic, your just throwing potential readers away.
Hi, providing good content is great but you seem to have the perception that providing good user experience cannot be integrated with monetization. I tend to feel that if you do know a good product that can help your subscribers, by all means recommend that to them and in the process earn some commissions. It is about adding value!
Of course I don't think that. I make sites to make money. But also to provide good content. But I see it as pointless promoting and advertising with small volumes of traffic for maybe that one rare sale when you could be focusing more avidly on keeping the users hooked, especially with a blog. I will focus on monetizing once the traffic is high and stable.
There is a difference between taking away user experience (throwing ads everywhere on a blog) and by offering them a general expansion to what you are writing about. For example, if you are writing an article about the top five web host companies. By all means, throw in a link to those top five companies with an affiliate link so you can potentially make a return. However, throwing an ad into that post about how Paris Hilton was caught doing something wrong...Well, that wouldn't work. It all depends on the type of monetization. For me, I often wonder if I should have waited before adding adsense to my blogs simply because the potentially $1.00 or $2.00 a month I would make was not worth the loss in potential readers. I am going to be writing an article soon to mention when you should put ads on your blog and what sorts of ads you should put on it. I'll post a thread to it when the time comes.
Well obviously lol. It's all about relevant, targeted monetization. Exactly. I monetize static content websites straight away because the content is there and that's it, it's a content packed site with a nice design and ad integration. But with a blog, it's constant content, daily content, content you want readers to continuously enjoy and comeback to. So that's the reason I wont be monetizing much at all until I feel the traffic is high enough. It's only worth adding at the least Adsense on a small volume blog and with Adsense you get ''one click and gone effect'' and you wont earn enough from AuctionAds or affiliates for it to be worth it. I prefer to have a benchmark of traffic / readers to set myself and when I reach that or something I feel is high enough then I start direct advertising, contextual, affiliate, in-link testing and tweaking. I already have a direct advertiser lined-up to start next month. As I feel next month I'll be more were I want to be for it to be worth it. But with a very small traffic blog... you just do more harm than good. I believe it's the best motto for blogs, your first sole intent should be to get subscribers.
I think you did a fine job on your study. You covered some great points. I think I'll need to re-evaluate my logos/branding, as you suggested.
Wow. Awesome, it feels good actually having a positive effect on someone who's read something I've written.