I have never spent a minute looking through blogs until about a month ago. I featured some blogs on my website for author exposure, but I never ventured to read someone's else's daily thoughts just to escape my own. But recently, I have noticed alot of the fitness blogs are kinda like newsletters. They are designed to "reel" you in to that author's website (on an almost daily basis) in hopes on stumbling or clicking on a affiliate link to a product or, in most cases, provide pretty good info. There are some pretty good blogs from some members here, and I am NOT either "for" or "against" the intent, but my question is: Do you think blogs are becoming the new newsletter? And which do you prefer to read, a newsletter or blog?
For me they are pretty much the same thing. Some are great some are not so good but in the end they serve the same purpose as the newsletter.
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Well John, I enjoyed your blog, and I didn't at all mind the gentle push at the end to purchase Eye of the Trainer.
I have been featuring fitness blogs on my site now for the last several months, so I have had some time to read through some fitness blogs and determine what I like. I typically feature a pure blog that is pretty established, and avoid featuring blogs that promote products, even if I like the products.
You're right that they have become the new newsletters, as spam filters usually block most of those now, so authors opt to just let people know that they have a new entry.
People like Joe Stakowski or Jim Sisson don't seem to be selling anything. Lou has his books, but he never pushes them in his blog posts.
I don't think anyone should have any illusions of affiliate links making any money. They just don't make that much. But it doesn't hurt to make a few commissions to help offset the expense of building and supporting a site.
Well John, I enjoyed your blog, and I didn't at all mind the gentle push at the end to purchase Eye of the Trainer.
Funny, I started a blog over a year ago with 4 whole entries...if you can find it on the 'net, I'd like to see it because I stopped it a long time ago. (WAAAYYYY before I created Eye). I think you are confusing my newsletters with my attempt at blogging. My newsletters have gotten tons of positive feedback and they are easier to produce, and thats where I do my promoting.
I've got a quasi-blog up, but I don't consider it to be a blog per se. It's actually a full-on content management thingamajig that I use to handle articles and what not. It just happens to be convenient to use for ranting and raving at times; I can't get motivated enough to write something about the topic daily, not without watering down the content. Plus there's other things I need to be spending my writing time on.
In regards to the original topic, I'd say so. And just like with a newsletter, if the content is genuinely good, I can let
Then again, I think a lot of blogs can be superfluous, re-hashes of stuff I already know, or just uninteresting (again, like newsletters), so I generally don't tend to follow a lot of them.
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Funny, I started a blog over a year ago with 4 whole entries...if you can find it on the 'net, I'd like to see it because I stopped it a long time ago. (WAAAYYYY before I created Eye). I think you are confusing my newsletters with my attempt at blogging. My newsletters have gotten tons of positive feedback and they are easier to produce, and thats where I do my promoting.
So I guess you prove your own point. I didn't know that wasn't a blog. It sure felt like a blog. Shows what I know.
So I guess you prove your own point. I didn't know that wasn't a blog. It sure felt like a blog. Shows what I know.
Tangent . . .
People throw around the term blog very loosely these days. My local/city discussion forum is referred to as "Chris Correia's blog" when it is, in fact, a forum like this one.
From Wikkipedia:
A blog (a portmanteau of web log) is a website where entries are written in chronological order and commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Another explanation, which makes sense to me:
Dan Gilmour gives us this definition in the draft version of his book, Making the News :
So what is a weblog, anyway? Generally speaking, it's an online journal comprised of links and postings in reverse chronological order, meaning the most recent posting appears at the top of the page. As Meg Hourihan, co-founder of Pyra Labs, the blogging software company acquired by Google in February 2003, has noted, weblogs are “post-centric” -- the posting is the key unit -- rather than “page-centric,” as with more traditional websites. Weblogs typically link to other websites and blog postings, and many allow readers to comment on the original post, thereby allowing audience discussions.
As a former Internet marketer, my comments are that a blog should be part and parcel of your promotional whole; it's merely another way to stay in touch with your audience (plus search engines love indexing real blog postings as well).
I generally advocate having an online ezine/newsletter, a blog, and a 7 day followup series (ie, person submits their email for a 7 day eclass etc. This gives you the opportunity to brand your name/site in their mind without the appearance of spam).
If you use an autoresponder, you can set up a years' worth of newsletter/ezine articles and simply put that on autopilot for all folks who sign up. I've implemented all of the above at my Internet recruiting site, RISETrends. You'll see the first page has the dropdown to offer the 7 days class (you can get the scripts that do this for free at Dynamic Drive DHTML(dynamic html) & JavaScript code library ; Dynamic Drive DHTML Scripts- Drop-in content box is the one I use).
I'm currently crossing all the i's and dotting all the t's for my current project (Safe and Smart Internet Weight Loss Edge). Towards that end, I blog everyday at One Fab Fit Mom , and make certain to give visitors plenty of opportunities to learn about my product/affiliate products/etc. It's all a matter of design ( Blog Tips to Help You Make Money Blogging - ProBlogger is the definitive resource for monetizing blogs).
Another difference is push versus pull. People are pulling in your content by going to the blog. You are having to push it to them from a newsletter. Pulled content is typically more accepted.
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Another difference is push versus pull. People are pulling in your content by going to the blog. You are having to push it to them from a newsletter. Pulled content is typically more accepted.
I used to really enjoy the email newsletters. I have a blackberry (and had a phone and/or PDA with email before). In my downtime (sitting in the lobby, waiting for clients, etc.) I would read the newsletters. Now, all the newsletter emails tell you is "Hi, there's a new newsletter at http:\\asd;lfjas;lfksafasf.htm l." It sucks.
Then, when you get home, you click the link. You get there, and it's three or four paragraphs of a tip or one little question asked and answered (briefly). It's the perfect length to have just sent it out in an email. Or, it's worthy of a blog post. It's not really a newsletter in any sense of the word.
They are free, so it's hard to complain too loudly, but with a few exceptions, they are either too annoying or just worthless.
Another difference is push versus pull. People are pulling in your content by going to the blog. You are having to push it to them from a newsletter. Pulled content is typically more accepted.
Thats actually a very good point and I completely agree. Good blogs pull you in, especially the ones that maintain a consistent flow of good topics like EC, Tony G's, and Jimmy's.
I, obviously, like blogging. I would agree that they're like a newsletter, although I operate both.
I use my blog for more day-to-day stuff. I try to publish a reasonably substantial article once or twice a week. I also have a couple of smaller posts per week, these could be a news post (ie what's going on with my company), a personal post, or a link to something interesting I've found. I haven't found a direct voice for my blog yet, as I started it with the intention of being a combined personal and business blog. I keep leaning to the business area but always feel it sounds too much like other fitness pro's when that happens. Probably that would financially be more successful, but to me that's not what it's all about (like the long sales letters we talked about).
I put a more detailed or heavily researched article or two in my newsletters. I make these exclusive for my subscribers for a while before they go into my archives. I sometimes submit these articles to an article site or pull them out for long-term content on my website. Again, this is after my subscribers have first crack at them.
I have recently done as LostDog hates: Taken the newsletter to a static website and emailing a shorter version with a link. I had some feedback that the newsletter articles (usually several pages) were too long for email and people preferred to open them at their leisure. It also allowed me to do a bit more with advertising, but with as little as I make (and am trying to make) there, who f-ing cares?
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I like blogs over newsletters as I can read a persons blog when I feel like it and go back as many posts as I've missed. I hate my inbox being crowded and if it is crowded I'll just delete everything in it and never even open most of the newsletters.
I kinda feel a blog is for advertising so don't get pissed when entire posts are "how great am I" compared to newsletters when pushing products feels like PUSHING.
I've cancelled all my newsletters, and read very few blogs (~4). You have to work to keep me on your list. Craig lasted the longest but then got to my saturation point, and I unsubscribed.
You know what I find annoying? People send you an email titled 'Newsletter' and all it contains is a link to a newsletter on their website. If you're going to send me a newsletter, send it to me.
I like blogs, because I visit them when I want to. Sometimes all the newsletters I get in the email seem a bit like spam (even though I requested them) because they just keep turning up all the time. Whereas when I feel like reading someones blog, I go read it. I have no problems with promotions in blogs, but I prefer them to be interspersed with other stuff. Some personal blogs, some fitness info blogs, some review blogs, and some 'buy my product' blogs works fine for me.
I like CBs newsletter (I'm not even a TT member). They just seem to be focused on being helpful. He gives a 7 day guideline on what to do that week fitness wise, including tips and advice.
I like Zach Even-esh's newsletters. They're an entertaining read (usually have some kind of story to them) include some advice, or just straight up motivation. He generally has some kind of plug as a p.s. at the end.
Even the recent PN newsletters have been interesting to me, with some good stories or motivational stuff.
I guess I'm noticing a pattern, whether it be blog or newsletter. Entertain me, give me some advice, and I wont care if you plug a product.
have just started a blog, link in my signature (plug, LOL). Think t is great and I am really enjoying writing it. Just waiting for it to be up a little longer and to see if anyone else other than me has any interest in what I have to say!
ROUNDTABLE #6: Are Blogs the New Newsletters?
It's part of the whole
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