1. Ask a blogger for a favor, especially if you have no intention of reading their blog.

• Bonus points for starting your request like-a-so: "Hi, I don't read your blog, but would you mind..."
  

2. Use messaging on social networking sites (StumbleUpon, MyBlogLog) to ask people to visit your site.

• Bonus points for not visiting the sites of those you ask.
  

3. Sport the dollar signs in your eyes with pride. Whether it be links, traffic or money, we're all here to serve you. Demonstrate your dedication to self-enrichment with every comment, email and post.

4. Avoid writing comments that resemble actual conversation. Comments that begin and end with "Great post!", "I agree!", or "Ditto!" are best.

• Bonus points for fawning.

5. Copy another blogger's content.

• Bonus points for not linking to their original post. They love that.
• Gold star for submitting your copy to Digg.
  

6. Borrow heavily from another blogger's post, or repeat their news. Perform no hat-tip. After all, noone wears hats suitable for tipping anymore.

7. Write sponsored reviews without disclosure. People need mystery; fill that need.

• Bonus points for reviews that are irrelevant to your readers. People need variety, too.
  

8. Have a unique perspective on spam: if it isn't Viagra or a Nigerian scam, assume everyone wants to hear about whatever it is you're selling. This frees you to:

• Promote your link with every comment
• Send cut-and-paste messages on social networking sites
• Use a blogger's contact form to promote your site/blog/product
• Et cetera
  

9. Focus on memes, contests, link-lists and any other masturbatory link-building scheme you can find. Bask in the ensuing irritation from every visitor not involved in the link-mania.

• Bonus points for regularly featuring link-building posts devoid of actual content
• Gold star for having more links than visitors.
  

10. Do everything on this list while fundamentally agreeing with the Golden Rule. Now that is annoying.


Kind thanks to all who contributed to this post via the "What Frustrates You The Most About Blogging?" thread: Liz, Steven, Jonathan, TK, Lora, Matt, and everyone.

Need more Bad Advice?

This article is for those who have read metric tons of "how to get traffic" articles and either:

• have yet to see encouraging results, or
• just want to find out what this so-called "guaranteed 1-step plan" is.
  

The typical list we're familiar with looks something like this:

• Use social networking
• Link effectively
• Comment well
• Be active on forums
• Blah
• Blah
• Blah to the Blah
  

That's all fine advice (especially the "blah" part), but we'd all appreciate more than recycled versions of the conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is valid as far as it goes, but also tends to be overly-general and far from guaranteed. Let's change that.

The 1-Step Plan To Get Readers For Your Blog

1. Have A Conversation With One Person
   

As in, two-way communication. Dialogue. One-on-one. A real, actual conversation.

You might link to other blogs, write good content and comment all over the place, but how often do you actually connect with someone else through a real conversation? ("Good post!" followed by "Thanks!" doesn't count)

Fire-and-forget comments, impersonal messages and unqualified links look exactly like what they are (i.e., lame), and are generally returned - if it all - with about the same level of enthusiasm. A real conversation, however, takes a little time, thought and effort; the end result often being friendship. A good link may get you some traffic, but a good relationship is more valuable by far.

So, who to talk to? If what primarily interests you about someone is getting in on their traffic mojo, you really have nothing to talk about (as far as they're concerned, anyway). If they make you think or inspire ideas, however, you've chosen the right person. You can start these conversation any way you like:

• Links
• Comments
• Contact Forms
• Email
• Private messages on forums or social networking communities
  

It doesn't matter, as long as your goal is to connect with another person who shares your interests, as opposed to trying to get links or traffic from them. In terms of networking, the rewards you're looking for come as a natural result of investing in - and building - relationships. Ask any successful blogger and they'll tell you the same.

Want more readers for your blog? Connect with one person. Have a real conversation. Repeat. If you know what friends do for each other, then you know what a friend can do for your blog.

It's guaranteed.

The people listed below are but a small selection of the outstanding commenters here at FTM, each of whom has a blog well worth checking out.

The comments section of a blog is where its true life is. While monologuing has its place (particularly when a would-be hero lies helpless in your clutches), dialog is the true key to success in the world of words that is the blogosphere.

For challenging us with your unique perspective, raising the level of dialog, or just being plain sassy, I salute you:

• Ms. Q: An amusing muse
  

• Jonathan Philips: Reservoir of positivity
  

• Liz Strauss: The original SOB
  

• Avinash: Just cool
  

• Jesse Somer: Bane of the impetuous
  

• Kumiko: Certifiably enthusiastic

• Andy Beard: Remarkably sane
  

• Two Knives: Whose blades are not ceremonial.

Jesse of Blogspoke is; I, myself, am not. I've been talking to him about it at his blog, and I think it's a great conversation to have.

Sure, blogging-for-money is a wading pool of low expectations. Low barrier of entry, little-to-no risk and, frankly, full of folks easily amused by splashing around without accomplishing much of anything.

However, it's full of potential; and - as I told Jesse - although it's easy to get snarky about all the wannabes out there (which I do on occasion, and could be accused of being one, too,) there are people out there with a vision for how they want it to be, who raise the level wherever they go. Walking the talk, so to speak.

Technology will eventually get us to a place where our online activities become a part of - or even integral to - how we earn our income. Will that future have room for lowest-common-denominator thinking, writing, and marketing to the level that it exists online today? I don't think so; but getting there will be a process, and people who are long-term thinkers will shape it. That's how we'll turn the wading pool into something with depth.

I'm not tired of money-making blogs or blogs that make money - I just want them to evolve into something better. I know I'll be thinking about how to raise the level; will you?

Scenario #1
If you:

• Regularly create high quality, valuable content
• Actively promote your blog
• Don't make a reasonable hourly wage

You are UNDERPAID.

Scenario #2

If you:

• Spend more time checking ad/earning stats than creating high-quality, valuable content
• Are more interested in monitoring traffic than promoting your blog
• Also don't make a reasonable hourly wage
  

Whatever trickle of income (if any) you're making is JUST RIGHT - get used to it.

If you are a Scenario #1 blogger: Keep doing what you're doing; you will likely be rewarded sooner or later. You are a winner.

If you are a Scenario #2 blogger: Punt the ads, get off the daily traffic rollercoaster and spend your time doing something productive; like building and promoting a blog you can be proud of. Winners do it.

That is all.

If you've been wondering what the deal is with PayPerPost, this may be a good starting (or ending) point.

PayPerPost, in essence, connects advertisers with bloggers who are willing to review their product (positively, of course) for money. Controversy has arisen over PayPerPost's initial failure to require disclosure of paid postings (shill much?), and it continues as various "A-listers" claim that their new disclosure policy just isn't enough.

On the other side, some are saying that the A-lister bourgeoisie just doesn't like the idea of empowering "blue-collar bloggers". Huh.

All of this leads to Jason Calacanis' recent interview with PayPerPost's founder, Ted Murphy. The result?

Calacanis seemed: insincere and condescending.

Ted Murphy seemed: either unprepared, an ineffective debater, lacking in vision, or any combination of the above.

But PayPerPost is becoming quite the popular little item, anyway. There are bloggers who were counting Adsense pennies a short while ago who are making significant monthly income now. But is it "polluting" the blogosphere? (Because, you know, the blogosphere is the last bastion of honesty and integrity on the internet - hee hee.)

Earlier this month, Problogger asked "Do you read paid review posts?" The general response was in the negative. But then, many of us don't watch commercials, either; or listen to pitches from radio hosts. Is PayPerPost the same thing? I'm not quite sure.

Is an elite cadre of blogging gatekeepers keeping us all in our place and limiting our blogging potential?

Pshaw.

However, if you have too much time on your hands ( :D ), you may have been following a theatrical little debate that pits the "A-list" against "blue-collar" bloggers. Oh yes, you know where this is going.

It all started with one blogger's annoyance at the trend of A-lister's who have taken to bashing poor ol' PayPerPost.

What follows is a (ridiculously) paraphrased version of the debate, including links to the appropriate whines tirades posts:

DeepJive: PayPerPost isn't evil. The A-list is just an elitist aristocracy who has no need for it.

Calacanis: BS! If there was an A-List, which there isn't, all it would take to be an A-lister would be to stop being such slackers. And then you'd be on the A-list. If there was one. But there isn't.

Lorelle: Yes, there is.

Calacanis: NEGATIVE, dummies. Stop whining.

Jim Kukral: You're all wrong and all right. Like that paragon of philosophically deep movies, The Matrix; the A-List both exists and does not exist. Oooommmm...

Webomatica: Jason's partly right, though; slackers don't make the A-list. Hard work alone, however, probably won't get you there either. After all, most of us have to write really good content to get links; Scoble can write about Earl Grey tea and bloggers around the world will swoon.

Gaping Void: Uh, no, Jason's all-the-way right; and you're all so wrong that I'm going to make a cartoon about how whiny you are.

Rebecca: Calacanis both sucks and blows. He's in denial. He's the Bill O'Reilly of blogging. Not only does the A-list exist, but hard work isn't even close to being all that's necessary for success.

Loren Feldman: Uh-huh. I have one word for you so-called "blue collar bloggers" - Waaaaa.

CopyBlogger: Funny, Loren; but you know, the A-list does exist. It just doesn't matter.

DeepJive: Uh, thanks for all your thoughts, but this isn't even really what I meant in the first place. :(

Update: Andy Beal of Marketing Pilgrim fame wants your RSS feed:

"I’m not claiming to be A-list, but I do realize there are a lot of great blogs out there, that don’t get the attention we do, so I’m sharing the love."

Whether you're a seeker, slacker (hi!), yang kee, cash-quester or ray gun robot, you've got expectations for this whole blogging thing.

You could be happiness incarnate, but expectations can still be an irritant; especially when they fail miserably in the "jibes with reality" department (even if your name is blog).

I know what my frustrations are (and in an upcoming post they shall be revealed), but I don't know all of yours. So, an open question to all bloggers: what frustrates you the most about blogging?

Some of you already have your Monday groove on. All I can say to that is, damn you. For some of us, "Monday" and "brain-dead" mean the same thing. Although a hot cup of French roast may take us out of mono-syllable land, our creativity just may need a kick-start.

Having recently re-discovered how to count to three (I heart caffeine), please allow me to share three simple steps for Monday inspiration:

1. Snag some posting inspiration right here. 101 good posting ideas? Oh yeah. Something here will get your creativity flowing.

2. Don't write it yet! First, check out Copyblogger's latest series wherein Brian rewrites and comments on user-submitted headlines - here and here (hey, one of those titles looks familiar...) Especially note the way he transforms author-centric or neutral titles (read: ZZZzzz) into magnetic headlines that resonate with others.

3. After following steps #1 and #2, you should have a pretty good idea of what you want to do. Let me suggest one thing: write the headline first. Make it magnetic, make it something that intrigues you; then write the post. Try to make every sentence retain the focus of the headline, and make sure that by the end, the headline's promise is kept.

I hope this works as well for you as it does for me. If not, you can try my plan B: a triple-short white chocolate mocha. If nothing else, your post will be memorable.

You may have read "How To Make Readers Avoid Your Blog Like The Plague". While most of that (clearly excellent) advice was easy enough to integrate into your blogging habits, some of it required actual work. Do you need more work? Pshaw.

Submitted For Your Approval

• Will send readers running for the hills
• Require absolutely no effort!
  

1. Don't Provide Email Subscriptions

There are still too many people who prefer to receive posts by email (as my email subscribers will attest). If you were to take the 10 to 30 minutes required to provide this option, you'd be running the substantial risk of increasing your readership. Ouch.

2. Avoid Research

Any amount of research will make your posts far too valuable. When I declared that "Winners Use StumbleUpon", for instance, it generated way too much interest. I could have repelled so many more readers just by changing the headline to "StumbleUpon: A Service" and following up with "I like it." Live and learn.

3. Discover Something Valuable? Take No Action

Anything that piques your interest, makes you think, or compels you to learn more has far too many good things going for it. Sharing it with your readers might require research and creative thinking when explaining how it applies to them. If you were to do that, people might start thinking of you as a resource for fresh and unique ideas. Not the best way to stunt your blog's growth.

4. Ix-nay On The Risk-Taking

Many readers like writers who have a clear voice. Luckily, most of us don't begin with such a voice. To find it, we'd have to take risks and get out of our comfort zone.

We all know where our comfort zone is because we know when we're leaving it. Are we uncomfortable because we're unsure of the outcome, or because we don't really believe in what we're doing? Too much thinking - too much work. Not only is it too much work, but it's work that leads to a clear and confident voice. Readers like that too much.

5. Do. Not. Network.

Just because I like reading Liz Strauss, Andy Beard and Chris Garrett doesn't mean I have to actually talk to them, does it? Talking is work, and it leads to learning, inspiration, linking back and forth, and so on. That way lies too many readers.

Just because I notice good things about Avinash, Sania Wyatt, Jon Phillips, or Two Knives doesn't mean I should link to them as a conversation-opener, does it? Conversations with new people leads to broader horizons and new ideas; making you just too damn appealing to avoid a larger readership.

That is all.

Got a tip via ChrisG for the Blogged Out Project. The author, Darren Cronian, will be sharing his best techniques for blog promotion and is asking other bloggers to get involved and contribute as well. Darren - like many of us - isn't a professional blogger, but has learned a few things about earning money through blogging (as have you and I).

Besides the knowledge exchange, this sounds like it could be a good way to network with other like-minded bloggers. Let's check it out, shall we?

It's not that you aren't willing to invest time promoting your blog - you are. Indeed, you spend so much doing so that you haven't got much left.

Have you, therefore, hit a wall in the amount of exposure you can generate for your blog? Not if you can tap into some slacker-friendly ways to broaden your community.

To that end, here are a few examples of services and techniques that work. I invite you to add your own favorites, too.

Slacker-Friendly Services: Communities

Now, I'm not promoting a self-centered view of online communities, where the only goal is to receive and not to give. However, if you truly understand and believe in the value of your blog (do you?), then even limited community participation can pay off. Does your blog sell itself?

Here are two such communities that are sending traffic my way:

SpicyPage
A Digg-like voting site for blogs that I joined recently. Setting it up is quick and easy, and possibly all you need to do. While active community participation will undoubtedly increase your exposure, good blogs sell themselves here.

PlugIM
A new-ish service I joined recently. This is also a Digg-like community, but the content is more focused on marketing and promotion. Conveniently, you can set it up to auto-submit new posts from your RSS feed. If you regularly post in these themes, PlugIM will increase your exposure, even if you can't spend as much time there as you'd like.


Slacker-Friendly Techniques

Another way to increase your online exposure is to invite your readers to network with you, as well as offering reciprocation when possible. If your favorite bloggers offered easy ways to network with them, would you?

Show Your Readers Where Else to Find You
If you're (for example) a Stumbler, Digger, or have a MyBlogLog community, consider providing the links to your communities on your blog.

These kinds of services become more valuable depending on how many friends/members you have, and many of your loyal readers would be happy to hook up with you there; especially if you're providing interesting content there that isn't on your blog (see my StumbleUpon page, for instance). Providing these links for your readers is pretty light in the time-investment department, but the rewards can be great.

Social Voting Reciprocation
This isn't something I actually do at the moment, but Andy Beard does, and I think it's worth talking about.

Specifically, if you add him to your Technorati Favorites or vote for him at SpicyPage, he'll do the same for you (provided your blog is on the up-and-up and isn't overly naughty). Once again, this is a way you could increase your exposure without the need to invest a lot of time. I'd be interested to know what others think about it.

Increase Your Exposure: Slackify

There's only so much you can personally do to promote your blog. When you hit that wall - and you've probably hit it many times - it becomes essential to start thinking of promotion and networking in new ways. Slacker-like ways.

I'll leave you with two:

• If you build a blog that sells itself, it'll do great in many communities, even if you don't have the time to participate as much you'd like
• If you invite your readers to network with you, and make it easy for them to do so, they will

Sania tapped me for this thing. I'm not a frequent visitor of sites with slogans like "Create Life In Your Image!", but I do jump at chances to be perverse.

Have you ever been to Los Angeles? I live here. If you get the chance, spend a day in Malibu (you know, the city Mel Gibson "owns" - hee hee) or take a walk down Santa Monica's Promenade (try to avoid bearing a passing resemblance to any star - it sucks). When you do, you too may develop the narrow-eyed view of the word "success" that I have. There's self-improvement, and then there's masturbation - the latter often masquerading as the former here.

SO, avoiding success-language kitsch, allow me to share my everyday top-5:

1. Fail Upwards
I make (among other kinds) a blogging "mistake" almost every day. Huge or tiny, they're all forms of failure, so-called. Regardless, things are still moving upwards (see #2).

2. Don't Sweat Persistence, Just Be Unreasonably Obstinate
I think persistence in reaching goals is great, but when it includes short-cuts and reconstructing your voice for highest profit - not so much. Therefore, blind stubbornness in doing what you've decided to do, in your own way, works best for me. Integrity or bust, if you will. It may not be the surest path to riches, but you can sleep at night.

3. Flee the Comfort Zone
I can't speak for others, but whether or not you end up looking foolish, this is where you learn the most. This applies to writing/blogging, making music, or anything creative.

4. Fake It
Otherwise known as "confidence". I think the greatest heroes are also the biggest fakers - ditto on the most confident. Real confidence is a key element to good self-promotion; that is, seeing yourself in the third person and projecting appropriate confidence based on mutually-appreciated objectivity (not bravado). Personal insecurities don't go away - self-consciousness, thankfully, can.

5. Conduct Inane Research
You know those random curiosities that pop into your head for about five seconds and then disappear? Yeah, I follow up on those things; whether it's whatever happened to the Karate Kid or how long psychotropic substances have been illegal. The funny thing is that as you dig deeper, you often mess up and actually learn something useful that can be shared with others.

Besides, you're not an American if your head isn't filled with useless trivia.

No taggage this time, but if you decide to follow suit with a post like this on your blog, drop a link in the comments or contact me and I'll try to include you here.

I've read a number of ebooks - paid and free - and have come to rely on their nigh-monolithic failure to approach the charm of, say, your typical dentist's drill. Therefore, Chris Garrett's excellent ebook, "Killer Flagship Content", has slightly screwed up my whole idea of God, right and wrong, the universe, etc.

I already subscribe to Chris' blogs because I like his writing. Had it been almost anyone else, the mere utterance of the words "ebook" and "killer" would have ended the story right there; but it wasn't just anyone, so I decided to scan it. Then I read it. Then I started taking notes. In other words, it was the hotness.

Atypical of free ebooks, there's no sales language or anything to buy (unless you consider "sales" to be one invitation to subscribe to his RSS feed, which I would encourage anyway). Instead, it gives practical advice that can get you thinking about new ways to distinguish your blog from the rest.

Who Should Read it?

Whether this ebook is for you depends on how well you can answer these questions:

• Why should someone read your blog over others with a similar topic? Can you easily point to something that represents your blog's unique value?
• Does your content adequately convert visitors into loyal readers?
• Do people often link to you when your topic is being discussed?
• Do your readers regularly spread the word about your best content?

These issues (and other important ones) are addressed in 14 pages of easy reading. Is "flagship content" a radical new concept? Not really (what is?), but it's an under-utilized concept that can make almost any blog a better one. "Even 'Exotic Sock Puppets of the World?'" Yes, even.

My only criticism: while easy enough to scan or read, it could use an editing makeover. The grammar made me wince at times. Also, there were a couple of somewhat butchered words right at the end, which isn't the best note to end on (yes, that is me ending a sentence with a preposition - I disagree with that so-called rule).

Closing Thoughts

I was familiar with the idea of "flagship content", and could recognize it on various blogs, but its practical value never quite made sense to me. Reading through Chris' ebook brought on the realization that content I'd already written could be built up and tweaked into something of much greater long-term value.

Bottom line: Whether your blogging goals are financial, personal, or you're just starving for attention (hi!), this is one free ebook worth reading.

To get "Killer Flagship Content", subscribe to Chris Garretts' RSS Feed here (the link is in the feed).

On the subject of self-promotion and commenting, here's one method: write a comment that outshines the original post (see comment #1).

Great self-promotion? Read it for yourself and see if you agree.

Update: The excellent commenter was Sania Wyatt.

Contrary to (un)popular belief, self-promotion and good karma are not mutually-exclusive. Read on if I didn't just blow your mind:

ChrisG - Comment!

According to Chris, bloggers don't comment well or often enough. No, no they don't. Additionally, they often miss the point of commenting entirely.

As you well know, you can't swing a cat in the popular blogosphere without hitting a few clumsy attempts at self-promotion (e.g., "Hey, check out my blog at www.ignore-me.com"). These individuals are missing the (evidently) arcane karmic secret: the best self-promotion is about giving, not receiving.

Take the advice in Chris' post, and whether your comments are three words or a paragraph, analyze them like any post you would write. Ask: "What am I offering to the conversation, and why should anyone take the slightest notice?"

Successful Blog - Truly Unique and Outstanding Blogs - Recap Week 1

Speaking of clumsy self-promotion, Liz's quest to find 200 one-of-a-kind-OMG-hotness blogs has turned up a number of cases in point.

Nominating yourself for a list like this is, let's say, not the karma-conscious way to go. This, again, is an opportunity to contribute something to a good conversation; and if you do truly add something of value, it could be good self-promotion as well.

Liz is eager for more exceptional blogs to add to the list, by the way; if you know of some blogs that fit the bill, share the hotness.

Two Knives - The real true story of what happened, including details previously not mentioned

Money-making blogs aren't the only way to learn how to make money online; you can learn important things from any good post. This one is an amusing example of the power in candid stories that pique your interest and hold your attention to the end. Now that's self-promotion.

1. Never analyze your blog from the perspective of a first-time reader
2. Whether in design or writing, show no passion
3. Be as wordy as possible
4. Always link to well-known blogs, never to obscure ones
5. Write uninteresting titles
6. In all things, avoid variety
   
7. Focus on frequency of posts - not frequency of good posts
8. Don't reply to comments
9. Post infrequently
10. Avoid displaying personality at all costs
11. Provide only a partial RSS feed
12. Be self-congratulatory
13. Avoid paragraphs and white space
14. Make links open in a new window
15. Never add pictures to your posts
16. Write about what everyone else is writing about, but add nothing new
17. Fill your sidebar(s) with irrelevant pictures, widgets and ads
18. Frequently post outside of your blog's theme
19. When you link to other blogs, provide no compelling reason to actually visit them
20. Never, ever say thank you

Did you know that the top Google result for "laptop bags" is a Squidoo lens? Now, why didn't you think of that? Never fear, there are many more opportunities to write about such thrilling, unique - and frankly, damn sexy - topics on Squidoo. If you possess the vision.

Are you destined for the upper echelons of Squidoo society (c'mon, admit it - those lenses are pure gold)? If the following list describes you, you just might be.

• The very mention of "niche keywords" engenders in you feelings not unlike hunger or lust
• You see no incongruity in the following sentence: "The Wheel, Cuneiform, and Adsense" (except the deeply flawed order)
• Your favorite websites tend to begin with enormous headlines and end with multiple payment options
• The concept of unique content is a real turn-off
• You feel the term "snake oil" is merely a tool of the envious
• You know that this is just a damned lie
• You are an enhanced homo sapien; this includes immunity to cold stares, ire, and the concept of individuality. You also lack the capacity to love

Having a guest blogger can be a winning situation for everyone involved. In theory:

• The blog owner wins because he gets free content and possibly a break
• The guest blogger wins a free link and possibly new readers
• The readers win fresh content from a new perspective
  

That's the theory. In practice - and please correct me if your experience differs - guest bloggers are usually (not always) akin to a big rickshaw full of ZZZzzz. Yeah, a rickshaw.

Here is Rowse saying how to get one, and here is ChrisG saying how to be one.

And here are some reasons not to have guest bloggers (any one of which can cause your readers to catch the first rickshaw to anywhere else):

Failure to Meet Expectations

Regular readers develop a perception of your blog, and consequently, expectations for it. If we read a guest post that doesn't meet our expectations (or is boring, which they usually are), not only are we going to come away with a negative experience, but we could also develop a negative perception of your guest posts in general (i.e., "Bleh, another lame guest post. I'll pass.)

Just Not Good Enough

General calls for reader-submitted posts: Worst. Idea. Ever. This might be a nice thing to do for your more self-promotional readers, but even the cream of the crop here tends to be sub-par compared to what we expect of your blog.

If you can't find someone who has impressed you enough to approach personally, we probably won't be impressed, either.

Good Blogger, But Wrong Blogger

If you wouldn't link to their blog in the first place, spare us the pain. There's more than one reason you might not link to someone else's blog, even if you're a fan. Their content, style, or sensibilities may not be appropriate for your readers (or minors, you sick, sick individual).

Even if they're successful or well-known in a general sense, it doesn't necessarily follow that we'll be interested in what they have to say. Again, expectations: what are they, why are you looking for a guest blogger, and do those interests conflict?

In Sum

Having guest bloggers is a double-edged sword. Bloggers (especially popular, busy ones) are becoming increasingly seduced by the allure of "outsourcing"; however, there are so many blogs out there that finding good ones is getting tough.

So, if you're going to act as a direct filtering agent, be a damn good one. Otherwise, consider just letting the post frequency slide while you're away. We'll forgive you. Really.

Read Why Blog Networks Failed. Yes, the post itself is interesting. Yes, your eyes will glaze over long before the 84th comment.

No, you will not be able to reclaim any brain cells lost whilst researching blog networks.

That is all.

Cool points are hereby awarded to StumbleUpon. Think of it as a mid-point between del.icio.us and Digg, with a great social element. Here's why winners use it:

• It's fun, and the toolbar is actually useful.
• It's easy to integrate into your blogging/surfing habits.
• It connects your blog to a larger community.
• The 'Stumble Effect' is arguably better, and far less painful than the 'Digg Effect' (traffic over time as opposed to all at once)
  
• The friend/contact mechanism makes much more sense than, say, MyBlogLog's.
• You get ME as a buddy. (This clearly should have been #1)

The Basics and More

The Basics: There's really not much to using StumbleUpon (I like this). There's a toolbar you'll use to find, vote on and review new pages, and there's your profile page which includes a mini-blog that catalogs your Stumble activity.

The Toolbar: The main functions of the toolbar are the "Stumble" button, which takes you to various websites within your areas of interest, the thumb up/thumb down buttons (i.e, 'this is cool'/'this is ass') and the 'reviews' button, which lets you see the reviews of a page and/or add your own.

The Profile Page/Mini-Blog: This page describes who you basically are and shows (via the mini-blog) the pages you think are worth visiting.

If you aren't regularly writing reviews for the pages you like/dislike, you are going to look fairly boring, as your mini-blog is just going to be a list of post/article titles; and if all your recommended pages are from your own site, you're just going to look lame. If you are writing reviews of the various cool sites and articles you find (including your own site's best stuff), your personality will be much more apparent, leading people to follow your links, vote positively for you, and add you as a friend.

About Friends: Where friends and contacts currently mean very little on a service like MyBlogLog, they're highly significant in StumbleUpon. Who you choose as friends will determine much of what you're shown when you click the 'Stumble' button, as you'll be seeing the pages they've voted positively for. Likewise, if they befriend you in turn, they'll be seeing your submissions.

Since you have a limit of 200 friends at any given time, spamming the friend button is counter-productive. If they don't have similar interests, you're going to be seeing a lot of pages you aren't interested in; and they're highly unlikely to make you a friend in return.

And More: This is a good guide to promoting your site with StumbleUpon.

Social networking is all but required for promoting your site these days. There are right and wrong ways to do this. Don't look at StumbleUpon as merely a tool for self-promotion; instead, put in the effort to actually join the community. Winners do it.

Shoemoney revealed today (for the last time! really) that MyBlogLog tracks Adsense and YPN ads. Soon after, Jensense spotlighted Shoemoney's aforementioned startling discovey.

Um. Who didn't know that?

The unique outbound-link tracking feature is supposed to be a cool thing. How can anyone not notice that it tracks Adsense clicks the first time they look at their stats?

Jensense did note that the code MBL uses for tracking Adsense ads appears to be lifted straight from another program designed to do the same. That's mildly interesting, but we don't really care. Noone sees MBL as a marvel of engineering. It's just kinda' cool.

Anyway, this is supposed to be some dire warning to uber-Adsense/YPN bloggers. It's hard to believe that anyone that uber wouldn't have noticed it by now, though; it's very nearly a touted feature...

Some would (VERY FOOLISHLY) say that Shoemoney is childishly attempting to strike back at MyBlogLog for, you know, banning his ass. Some people; not me. No.

Alas, the Shoemoney/MyBlogLog drama waxes thin. Bored now.

Update: MyBlogLog decided to un-ban Shoemoney.

See Also: 10 Reasons to Use MyBlogLog

Randy of Besting Adwords is looking for more people to join the KBCafe feedburner network. If you'd like to monetize your feed, this is a good opportunity.

"Two plus weeks ago, I started promoting a FeedBurner ad network called KBCafe. Just over two and we've already sold 10% of the inventory. Today, I dropped one blog from the network because I'm selling it. This'll increase the sold percent (12-13%), but drop the sub count about 20%. I'm looking for people that want to join this network. Normally, a FeedBurner blog only gets ads when an advertiser specifically buy ads on your channel. By joining a network, you get additional exposure and ads. Send me an email, if you'd like to join."

All these professional blogging reality-checks I'm seeing lately are groovy. Recurring themes are patience, passion, self-evaluation and (bleh)hard work.

Which got me thinking. What separates the pro-bloggers from the amateurs... a big blogging income? If Darren Rowse had to start over from scratch today, would he suddenly cease to be a professional blogger? I'm thinking that's a negative.

So, it would appear that being a pro-blogger isn't something as quantifiable as your blogging income, but rather a state of mind. If that's so, asking yourself the right questions would allow you to evaluate how close you really are to being a pro-blogger; leaving financial goals to time, patience, the lap of the gods, or whatever.

With that in mind, I'm going to seed a pro-blogger self-evaluation list, and tag a great blogger for the next item. Like-a-so:

You Might Be A Professional Blogger If...

1. You find working countless hours with no assurance of compensation exciting.

Tag, Liz - you're it.