Mike Masnick
Techdirt
Mike Masnick started blogging almost before it was called blogging. His Techdirt blog officially launched in 1998, which makes it one of the oldest business blogs online. Its mission then was to provide technology-industry news analysis, and it continues to focus on that mission today.
Techdirt has an unusual ancestry. It started as a newsletter, and then it became a website, which in turn inspired a blog. And from that blog grew a company, Techdirt Corporate Intelligence. And today the blog remains an integral part of the company’s strategy. This is all highly appropriate for an organization that blends expert analysis with advanced technology to provide custom corporate-intelligence services for Fortune 500 companies. As the company’s own website notes, “Our clients re -ceive private, customized, tactical analysis of news and information in a context specifically relevant to their needs, delivered daily in an easy to read blog format.”
For Mike Masnick, advertising is not a major source of income. Nor is it the reason his blog exists, which is the case for many of the 80 million blogs in existence. Masnick moves in a somewhat different world than most bloggers. Instead of using blog content as a lure to expose readers to advertising, he sells that content. And in the best tradition of someone with a good product, he gives away free samples daily. Those free samples draw an enormous readership (paying customers are a minority), which suggests that he knows what he’s doing, and that he’s someone to pay attention to if you want to learn about blogging success. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind:
Not all blogs start out as blogs.
In some circumstances, blogging can be used to showcase a product or service, without pushing to sell it.
Blogging can make you pay closer attention to a subject, think about it, and remember more.
Try to blend advertising in with content, rather than allowing it to intrude on content.
A certain kind of advertiser can add prestige to a blog. Big-name companies advertising on a blog tend to make it appear more “legitimate” to readers.
Want to get more readers? Write about something for which you have passion.
Avoid begging for links—it’s counterproductive.
Don’t spam other blogs with invitations to your blog—stick to legitimate comments that
add to or begin new discussions.
“It’s great that anyone who wants to have a voice can do so with a blog.”
Mike Masnick started blogging almost before it was called blogging. His Techdirt blog officially launched in 1998, which makes it one of the oldest business blogs online. Its mission then was to provide technology-industry news analysis, and it continues to focus on that mission today.
Techdirt has an unusual ancestry. It started as a newsletter, and then it became a website, which in turn inspired a blog. And from that blog grew a company, Techdirt Corporate Intelligence. And today the blog remains an integral part of the company’s strategy. This is all highly appropriate for an organization that blends expert analysis with advanced technology to provide custom corporate-intelligence services for Fortune 500 companies. As the company’s own website notes, “Our clients re -ceive private, customized, tactical analysis of news and information in a context specifically relevant to their needs, delivered daily in an easy to read blog format.”
For Mike Masnick, advertising is not a major source of income. Nor is it the reason his blog exists, which is the case for many of the 80 million blogs in existence. Masnick moves in a somewhat different world than most bloggers. Instead of using blog content as a lure to expose readers to advertising, he sells that content. And in the best tradition of someone with a good product, he gives away free samples daily. Those free samples draw an enormous readership (paying customers are a minority), which suggests that he knows what he’s doing, and that he’s someone to pay attention to if you want to learn about blogging success. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind:
Not all blogs start out as blogs.
In some circumstances, blogging can be used to showcase a product or service, without pushing to sell it.
Blogging can make you pay closer attention to a subject, think about it, and remember more.
Try to blend advertising in with content, rather than allowing it to intrude on content.
A certain kind of advertiser can add prestige to a blog. Big-name companies advertising on a blog tend to make it appear more “legitimate” to readers.
Want to get more readers? Write about something for which you have passion.
Avoid begging for links—it’s counterproductive.
Don’t spam other blogs with invitations to your blog—stick to legitimate comments that
add to or begin new discussions.