What I Learned from Writing Blog Madness: Content vs. Commerce

May 14, 2008

Rant A lot of sites have something they want to sell you. They may simply run a lot of outside ads, or they may be pushing services such as writing, editing, consulting or design. When I was running Writing Blog Madness, I tried not to penalize blogs that had something to sell, but in many cases the sales pitch did hurt them in the competition. Articles that would otherwise be helpful seemed less valuable because the sales pitch was too strong or the blog’s design would be less attractive because it was weighed down by ads.

I don’t fault anyone for using their blog to make money or promote themselves. I like money too, and I get a fair share from PoeWar. I just think that, with competing sites only a click away, you have to be very careful about how you promote your message because you are competing with plenty of other blogs that are either unconcerned about money or found a better way to promote themselves than you did.

Is Your Sales Pitch Hurting Your Sales?

If you have a strong sales pitch, especially one that you work into your articles, you need to examine it closely. How many sales/queries are you actually getting? If you work a sales pitch into every blog entry and you haven’t made a sale in months, then the strategy isn’t working. If you have a dozen ads and only a hundred daily readers, you need to think about how many people leave your site because your articles are just part of the clutter. You also need to think about how many potential regular readers/customers you have lost because your content took a back seat to your sales pitch.

How to Know When to Turn Down Your Sales Pitch

The tips below are mostly based on numbers and statistics. Statistical tracking is a key to any advertising campaign. If you are trying to make money from a web site and you aren’t tracking your statistics, you need to start. Try Google Analytics, they monitor everything I’m about to discuss and plenty more.

If your readership is under 500 people a day, you should probably work on expanding that before you hit the readers with the hard sell. You need an audience before you can sell to an audience.
If your readership hasn’t grown in three months or more, you should keep a close eye on your sales pitch. It may be driving readers away.
If the average number of pages readers view per visit is under 1.5, you are almost certainly driving people away. When readers like your site, they tend to explore, looking for more articles to read and checking out that all important “About Me” page. If your site is loaded down with ads or your articles come on too strong, chances are they’ll look at one article and then move on to another site.
If you aren’t getting comments on your articles, it may be because of the sales pitch. People tend to comment when they feel their opinion has value and the article leaves them with something to say. If they feel like they are reading a sales brochure, they aren’t going to add to the conversation because there is no conversation to add to.
If you aren’t getting many links from other blogs or web sites, then the chances are pretty good that they aren’t finding value in your articles or they see through your sales pitch. Bloggers like to feel as if they are part of a community. A heavy sales pitch can take you right out of that community.

Four Quick Fixes

There are four quick steps that can help you get your sales pitch down from a shout to a whisper.

Be upfront and brief. Say very clearly what you offer and then move on.
Do not work a pitch for your services into an informational article. Let the article stand on its merits. If you feel you need to discuss your services in a blog entry, save it for a separate entry and keep it down to once a week or once every five posts or more. Put the content up front.
Pick one spot per on your page to promote your services. It can be a prominent spot. People understand and accept the need for advertising. Just keep it to one spot and say what you have to say. The people who are interested will look.
Take out any poorly performing advertising. If your page is filled with ads, chances are only a few of them (if any) are actually making you money. Get rid of the ones that aren’t selling. They are just clutter.

Written by John Hewitt · Filed Under Blogging, Featured, March Writing Blog Madness, Writing, Writing Business · 8 Comments

Writing Blog Madness Final: #1 Seed Daily Writing Tips Versus #1 Seed John August

May 8, 2008

The Matchup

After four full rounds of competition, two top seeds have fought their way to the finals. Both of these blogs are popular and make a point of helping their readers through minor and major writing issues. Beyond that, these two blogs are very different. Daily Writing Tips is a team blog with five writers. Its focus is on the nuts and bolts of writing such as word usage and grammar. It also features articles on general writing topics such as freelancing and fiction writing. John August is a niche blog aimed specifically at screenwriters and aspiring screenwriters. The titular author, John August, is a successful screenwriter with credits that include indie favorites such as Go and The Nines as well as box office blockbusters such as Charlie’s Angels and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the two Charlies are unrelated). This is it, the final match. Lets do it!

Best Headlines

Interestingly, looking at their last 10 posts, both blogs feature an article with 101 in the title. JA has Screenwriting 101 while DWT has Creative Writing 101. Both blogs also feature a headline that asks a question. DWT has, Should You Use Footnotes or Endnotes? JA has Does a working writer keep improving? There are definite similarities. In the end though, I have to give the nod to DWT because you can always get the gist of what the article is about from the headline, while JA has headlines such as Time spent thinking and Uggh that are a little hard to interpret.

DWT strikes first with a turnaround jump shot from six feet out. DWT leads 2-0.

Best User Experience

Neither of these blogs is flashy. Both have a professional but conservative look and their user features are a bit on the basic side. Both make occasional use of graphics in their postings, but generally stick to text. DWT is weighed down a bit by its advertising though. At some points, because of the ads, there are four columns of material with the ads taking up two columns. That’s a bit much for a web page to handle and in the end it costs them this category.

JA gets the ball and breaks a screen to get to the inside, putting the ball in off the glass to tie the game at 2-2.

Best Community Experience

JA has a large and informed community that often adds solid information of its own to the posts. The community at Daily Writing Tips is smaller, but does stay on topic, although they tend to be overly critical of the posts.

JA gets the ball back and shoots a mid-range jumper - nothing but net. JA takes the lead 4-2.

Best Branding

John August has been an Internet fixture for years, writing for IMDB long before the concept of blogging took off. He has the advantage of a great reputation in a high-profile industry, and he has named his blog after himself, so he really is the brand. The content on his site offers information specific to his industry, and the advice is consistently informative. DWT has been around for a year, and has quickly jumped to the forefront of writing blogs, with one of the highest traffic totals in the competition. It stays true to its purpose of improving people’s writing skills while also providing the occasional nod to the writing business.

Jump Ball. Both blogs have done a great job of branding and developing their reputation. The score remains 4-2.

Best Archives

JA doesn’t have a true archive page, at least not one that anyone can find. The site does list featured articles and has a small Screenwriting 101 list as well as a category guide at the bottom of the pages. DWT has an archive that lists every article ever written in chronological order. Chronological order isn’t the best choice, but at least you can go through every article on a single page. DWT also has a substantial popular articles list.

DWT breaks the full-court press and races to the basket, scoring two with a finger-roll basket. The score it tied 4-4 going into the final round.

Best Post

Setting Your Freelance Writing Fees

This is a lengthy and informative article about all of the factors that a freelancer should consider when setting their rates. It goes through such issues as the type of work, the amount of knowledge and experience the writer has, who owns the rights, research, expenses, the going rate and the all-important gut feeling.

Does a working writer keep improving?

August answers a question from a screenwriter with a few credits under his belt who wants to improve on some of his weaknesses so that he can move up to the next level. August advises him on how to improve his story and plotting by dissecting successful movies and shows to examine their structure. He also advises the writer to work outside of his comfort zone so that he doesn’t rely so much on his strengths.

John August gets possession the ball one last time and dives to the basket, dunking the ball just as the buzzer goes off. John August wins 6-4.

Post Game Analysis

It was a nail-biting battle. Daily Writing Tips is a great site for writers. John August was just a little bit better. The real kicker is that August can speak from such a depth of experience. In his field, he has been through the battles at every level and come out as one of the top writers in Hollywood and on the Internet. My hat is off to him and his site.

This ends 2008’s Writing Blog Madness. It was great getting to know all of your blogs better and seeing all the different ways that blogs can help writers. I’ll write a proper wrap-up over the weekend, but thank you to everyone who took the time to comment and link to the contest. Without you this would have been a very lonely month and a half.

The Articles

So people can compare for themselves, here are the past 10 articles from each site:

John August

Daily Writing Tip

Written by John Hewitt · Filed Under Blogging, March Writing Blog Madness, Writing · 6 Comments

Game 30: #1 Seed John August Versus #5 Seed Men With Pens

May 7, 2008

The Matchup

Top-seeded John August has the reputation and the goods. John August the man (rather than the blog) is a successful screenwriter with a pocket full of hit movies. His blog has fended off all of its opponents thus far, but the underdog, fifth-seed Men with Pens, has the support of the crowds (at least in the comments).

Best Headlines

JA isn’t known for great headlines. Over the past 10 headlines, there are several that really wouldn’t tell you what the content of the article is about. MWP writes descriptive titles that pull you into the article. The headlines aren’t flashy, but they are simply more descriptive than the ones at John August.

MWP works the ball inside and scores on a short jumper. The score is 2-0 in favor of MWP.

Best User Experience

The strength of JA is the simplicity of the design. There are some nice graphic touches that let you know some work and skill went into the design, but the site isn’t flashy, just readable. The lack of ads (except for an Amazon link or two) also keeps the look pure. As for features, the pages at JA have only subscription options, featured articles and a few key links. He includes, however, a wiki that allows you to explore screenwriting concepts.

MWP is an attractive site as well. It doesn’t have the simple elegance of JA, but it does have plenty of features such as subscription options, recent posts (yeah!), top 10 commenters and recent comments. They also incorporate graphics into their site and their posts to keep things visually interesting. They have to work in a lot of ads too, which makes the site a little busy.

Jump ball! Neither blog is the clear winner. MWP remains in the lead, 2-0.

Best Community Experience

Both web sites have active, knowledgeable communities. These are definitely sites in which you read the comments as well as the posts. The community sizes are about the same, with fifteen to twenty comments on the average post and occasional spikes of 40 comments or more.

Another jump ball! The score remains 2-0 in MWP’s favor.

Best Branding

Men With Pens does a great job of getting their brand out. They actively comment on their own articles and articles on other sites. They write with personality and passion. Their posts are almost always informative and helpful. John August has something most other blogs dream of - authority. His blog helps position him as an authority, but his string of hit movies is what puts him on top. He also put his name on the blog, so there is no avoiding him as a brand. He writes with authority as well. His articles show his level of expertise in his craft.

JA finally answers back with two points in the paint. The score is now tied 2-2.

Best Archives

When it comes to finding past articles, MWP is loaded with options. There is an entire column of featured posts as well as a new recent posts widget that you can access from individual posts. The actual archive page is excellent. It has an extensive list of posts as well as the ability to scan by page, category or month. JA has a list of featured articles and a Screenwriting 101 list as well as a category archive at the bottom of each page.

MWP goes for the alley oop, Chartrand lobs it up to McLeod who goes above the rim to drop the ball in the basket. MWP leads 4-2.

Best Post

Fiction Writing: Overactive Imagination

James Chartrand writes about the benefits of having an overactive imagination when it comes to creative writing. He encourages readers to embrace their imagination, not suppress it. The article is an appealing look at creative writing.

The six-hour scene

John August discusses a single scene that took him six hours to write. His post centers on the difficulties some scenes present, and the ways to get through writing them. He also discusses what he would have done if he hadn’t had the luxury of time and was forced to put the scene out in an hour. It is a great mix of philosophical and practical advice.

JA breaks to the basket, laying the ball in just as the buzzer sounds. The score is tied at 4-4. We have to go to the tie breaker.

Tie Breaker

Even the margin of comments was extremely close, but John August wins out, 240 to 236. In case you are wondering, yes, that is total comments including comments by the authors. I said I would go by total comments. Even if I had weeded out author comments, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome. MWP clearly replies to comments more frequently than John August, who tends to respond once a day and do so with a massive comment rather than respond individually.

Post Game Analysis

These were two very well-matched blogs. This was the first time we had to go to a tie breaker and even the tie breaker was extremely close. I will miss MWP, which has become one of my new favorite blogs because of this competition. We have out final matchup. Two top-seeded blogs will duke it out for supremacy. Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion of Writing Blog Madness as Daily Writing Tips takes on John August.

The Articles

So people can compare for themselves, here are the past 10 articles from each site:

John August

Men With Pens

Written by John Hewitt · Filed Under Blogging, March Writing Blog Madness, Writing · 8 Comments

Game 29: #1 Seed Daily Writing Tips Versus #4 Seed Confident Writing

May 6, 2008

The Matchup

Top-seeded Daily Writing Tips has stayed strong throughout the competition, dominating with its daily focus and its team of writers. Confident Writing has been the surprise hit of the tournament with its positive approach, even taking down presumptive front-runner Copyblogger.

Best Headlines

Judging from the past 10 articles, DWT doesn’t have the flashiest headlines on the block, but they do tend to be clear and concise. Headlines such as Should You Use Footnotes or Endnotes? or A While vs Awhile tell you pretty much everything you need to know about the articles that follow. CW tends to write longer headlines that incorporate her latest theme or explain the topic at length. A headline like Chicago Pulse: Why The Windy City Was The Perfect Setting For SobCon08 tells you what you need to know, but it also feels a little long-winded.

DWT gets the ball and works it down court, scoring in the paint for two. DWT leads 2-0.

Best User Experience

Both sites have clean and attractive interfaces. The banners for both sites are both conservative and based on single lines of options. DWT concentrates on key options such as a list of popular articles, recent articles, a category list, subscription buttons and some links. CW has a couple more bells and whistles, but nothing dramatic. CW has subscription options, cornerstone posts (too few), recent comments, recent posts, recent readers, and a list of other places you can find author Joanna Young at. Overall, neither blog stands out in the user experience category.

Jump ball. The score remains 2-0 in favor of DWT.

Best Community Experience

The community at DWT is a picky one. They often write in to take issue with DWT’s explanation of a word’s usage or to point out any minor grammatical or typographical errors. Sometimes a nice discussion of the topic springs up, but nitpicking seems to be the order of the day. CW has a more positive, supportive community. That doesn’t mean all of their comments are substantive either. There are a whole lot of “I love this article” sort of comments that don’t really further the discussion. On the other hand, Joanna Young dos take the time to engage her readers, replying to most of her comments, while the crew at DWT tends to step back more. CW also gets about twice the number of comments as DWT.

CW works the ball down court and puts up a short jumper for two. The score is tied up at 2-2.

Best Branding

DWT has a unique style that is summed up by their name. Every day you get a writing tip. The majority of the tips are based on word usage, but they also branch out into resources, freelancing and other topics. CW also has its purpose — Confident Writing. The focus of this site is building up both a writer’s skills and self-image. DWT has a more professional image, while CW has a more personal and emotional appeal. Each develops this well. DWT has the advantage in traffic, with far more visitors, but the active community at Confident Writing indicates a more connected community. In the end, neither blog has a clear edge.

Jump Ball. The score remains tied at 2-2.

Best Archives

DWT’s archive page is quite simply a chronological list of every article that they’ve published. On the plus side, that means you can go directly from that page to any article on the site. The subjects are rarely time-sensitive, however, so a chronological list isn’t that helpful. DWT also keeps a popular posts list on each page. CW’s archive is really more of a “best of” style list. You can also search by theme, but that delivers full blog posts, not a list.

DWT gets the ball back and breaks for the bracket, putting in a layup for two. DWT takes the lead 4-2.

Best Post

3 Keys to Powerful Writing: Guest Post By Robert Hruzek

I haven’t really been that interested in Young’s recent articles about SobCon08, so I am going to go back to the same article I chose in the last round, a guest post by Robert Hruzek titled, 3 Keys to Powerful Writing. It’s a fun article about having a clear focus on your goals when you write. It measures these things in three categories, targets, boundaries and gravity. They aren’t the first things I would have thought of, but Hruzek makes it work.

Creative Writing 101

This is an excellent example of the way that DFW manages to cover new information using the tips format. The post is aimed at beginning creative writers, and gives them a bit of advice on how to get started writing, and on what other sites they can visit for more information. There is solid information there, and it should be quite helpful to beginners.

DWT makes it down the court for one more scoring opportunity, a light finger roll into the basket. The final score is 6-2 in favor of DWT.

Post Game Analysis

If I had to sum up what won the game for Daily Writing Tips, I would have to say focus. The headlines were more focused and the articles were more focused. Both sites have focus, but at this point, DWT is just a little sharper.

The Articles

So people can compare for themselves, here are the past 10 articles from each site:

Confident Writing

Daily Writing Tips

Written by John Hewitt · Filed Under Blogging, March Writing Blog Madness, Writing · 5 Comments

Writing Blog Madness: The Final Four

May 5, 2008

We’ve reached the final four of our Writing Blog Madness. We are down to four excellent blogs that have each proven themselves by winning three previous contests. These are battle-tested blogs, each worthy of a shot at the top spot. Two top-seeded blogs have managed to make it this far, as well as a fourth-seed and a fifth-seed. Can the two top seeds take out their competition to meet in the final? Will the fourth and fifth seeds overcome the favorites? Stay Tuned. Meanwhile, here are the remaining blogs and links to the contests that got them this far. Congratulations to our remaining contestants and thanks to all those who have taken part.

4. Confident Writing — Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3

1. Daily Writing Tips — Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3

1. John August — Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3

5. Men with Pens — Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3

Note: There won’t be any big category changes this time. We’re plowing through to the final.

Written by John Hewitt · Filed Under Blogging, March Writing Blog Madness, Writing · 6 Comments