Humorous Writing Tips
And now for something completely different:) Recently I had the pleasure of doing and in-depth, behind the scenes interview with the DomainGang.com reporters (Lucius "Guns" Fabrice and Giovanni "Crazee" Mossolini). The two have taken the domain name news reporting industry to a whole new level as of late and I was honored they took the time out of their day of working to have the latest domain name news scoop to actually talk (ok email) with me. Also, we have a nice new sponsor for the domainer crowd, check out the flashy new banner at the top.
Here is the interview, I hope you enjoy:
The two of you have done a great job taking the domain news world by storm, how do you two know each other, the team work is off the charts?
Stranger things have happened, like domain owners asking for full fledged development instead of minisites. We're both active in forums and possess similar writing skills that employ humor to deliver our message.
What does it feel like to be considered the de facto indepth research and news organization for the domaining world now?
We are not the de facto news organization, we're simple the most awesome news source for the domaining industry - delivering the news even before they happen.
As you reported Ron Jackson has sold DNJournal, probably due to your success, are you concerned bloggers will quit blogging and other news organizations will call it quits due to your success?
As you probably know, Ron Jackson now has a bobblehead figure - that's a premium height of success that we haven't ascented - yet! So there's room for more achievements in the coming months.
Your traffic has skyrocketed faster than any other domain focused site, is this due to the amazing SEO tips you have in your article 5 SEO Non-Expert Tips for the Expert SEO?
The fact is that all of our traffic is due to boredom. We are bored reading the same regurgitated news on blogs each day, so we write our own. Equally, bored domainers come to DomainGang.com to read refreshing and sometimes outlandish but believable news about the domain industry. We're the Onion of domaining - but we taste like garlic.
How do you keep the momentum going?
A couple of beers, nachos with salsa, coffee, lots of chocolate and not enough sex.
How much money did the “Bruce Marler is lazy and RT follow Fridays” fundraiser raise for the important Domain mass development research cause?
We cannot reveal that yet, the next fundraiser will probably meet the minimum $1 that Paypal allows to transfer.
What are some of the key domains that the DomainGang team has registered, I am sure you have some amazing .tel names for sure.
It's funny that you mentioned but someone did register WZGJC.com *after* our article about minisite development. They see the potential of humorous sites or backlinks from our site.
Thanks to team for taking the time to reveal their secrets and their thoughts on domain news reporting.
DISCLAIMER: If you still do not understand that DomainGang.com is meant to be humorous and fiction in most cases then this interview may not of made sense. Enjoy the humor.
It is an indisputable fact that the world’s economy is moving more toward the online model of exchange. Amazon and Google stand as icons of companies that began as small projects, only to grow into massive successes, largely due to the successful marketing of their services. The question then arises, how can a small business take advantage of the opportunities presented by the Web in order to make a profit?
Same as it Ever Was
At its core, online marketing follows the same principles as any other means of marketing - a provider has a product or service they wish to sell, so they advertise in order to draw potential customers’ attention to the information they’ve put together. Just like television commercials, online marketing has to be creative and informative to truly catch the attention of the discerning customer. We’ve all heard of popup and banner ads that do nothing but hog resources and annoy potential customers rather than attract them to the product, and that result is hardly healthy for any business.
And Now for Something Completely Different
One method that sidesteps the click-away tendency is the use of a blog to market the product. Blog is a shorthand term for web log, and refers to a serial, online journal or record intended for regular viewing. Examples of blogs include noncommercial ventures such as personal diaries posted to Livejournal, the daily record of campaign events for the more tech-savvy politicians, and ‘hobby’ blogs that cover an activity such as cooking or model airplanes. However, they can also include outright commercial ventures, such as a blog intended to promote a new product, consisting solely of video posts explaining the various advantages to the new product.
It’s Easier Than Herding Cats
Some blogs strike a balance between these two extremes. Consider the highly successful LoLCats website. This site began solely as a hobby, posting humorous images of cats. However, due to effective word of mouth promotion among people with similar interests, the site grew quickly, spinning off additional sites and generating an extraordinary amount of advertising revenue. The site has grown so much that Time magazine reported the company was purchased for two million dollars in 2007.
Now, this result is obviously not the norm. For every cheezburger success story, there are thousands of blogs that toil on in obscurity, accomplishing nothing at all. The differences can be many, but they can be boiled down to concerns relating to effective marketing.
Give it the Old College Try
Let’s say that a user named Ron has a passion for low budget college cooking, and wishes to make money writing about it. Ron starts a small blog, using the popular Wordpress blogging system, and begins posting two or three times a day. He posts recipes, money saving ideas, and ‘bet you didn’t know’ material, building a decent sized archive. To get an audience, Ron begins visiting and participating in cooking and college related forums, mentioning his blog and its goals to his audience, gathering new users with patient, active efforts.
Eventually, Ron takes two steps toward commercial success when he monetizes the blog through an advertising revenue program (such as Google’s AdSense), and by using the blog to promote his new eBook, \”Collegiate Cuisine\”. To hook readers, he promises not only recipes he’s already included on the site, but special tips on inexpensive ways to get cooking tools and a few new recipes he hasn’t shared yet.
Will this model work? Perhaps. If Ron is too pushy, he might turn people off to his product before they ever come to his site. If he’s too timid, his message will get lost in the tide of the Internet. If he chooses poorly in the ads he allows on his site, users won’t click and the ads will generate no money. So the second key is research and careful attention. Ron and other blogging marketers have to study the market, pay attention to peoples’ needs and input, and adjust their presentation accordingly.
But is There Any Money in it?
To return to the point that there is money to be made in blogging, one would be remiss not to pay attention to the successful Problogger. In the classic ‘make money teaching others to make money,’ tradition, this is a blog that makes its revenue by teaching users how to make money through professional blogging. Many other sites, such as FreelanceWritingGigs, swear to Problogger’s integrity and efficacy and the site does provide a great deal of information. So there clearly IS money to be made in the blogging-as-marketing world.
Back to the Basics
The key to blog marketing is the same key to any business venture, appropriateness. The savvy businessman will evaluate their entire business, and do the research to determine if blogging is a vital addition to what they’re trying to accomplish. Blogging allows for a wider audience than local advertising, which could lead to expanding into nearby cities, or shipping to distant locales. It is an option that should seriously be examined, and approached with the same degree of research and caution as any business venture or proposal.
About The Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. Go to http://www.Brandsplat.com/ or visit our blog at: http://www.brandsplatblog.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
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