Advertising, Blogrolls and Linkfests
As my blog has gotten more popular, I have gotten a lot of interesting “business” propositions.
“Join our ad network.”
I am still considering a few of them, but most rake off too much to the network.
“Let us republish your content at our site.”
Sorry, no. Aside from Seeking Alpha, no one else is allowed to regularly republish my material. Fair use is fine, but I regularly check to see if my content is being misused. If you are swiping it, you better put it in a place where Google can’t reach it.
Anyone taking the headers of my articles and publishing text links is fine. Good examples of that would be newsflashr, Realclearmarkets, and a new one, tradememe. Their objectives are consistent with mine. I want to drive traffic flow to where good content is located for the good of my readers.
“Would you exchange links with me?”
Generally, no. I only link to people and articles with which I am impressed. I am not out to sell my credibility.
“I loved your article on XXX. Please write more articles like that and link to my site. I will pay you well.”
Sorry, no. If you want to advertise here, buy a Blogad. That is clearly labeled as advertising, and I am not out to bamboozle my readers with ads disguised as my thoughts. My Blogads aren’t expensive.
“Would you link up with our site? We are trying to promote investor education, and we could use your content.”
Most of these are not trying to promote investor education, but to maximize their fees over the long haul.
As a rule, I have tried to segregate advertising to places where it is clearly distinguishable as advertising. I am not out to trick readers or advertisers.
“I’ll place you on my blogroll if you place me on your blogroll.”
I don’t do that, either. My blogroll is something special for me. It is the group of blogs that I read anytime they post. Aside from when I started up, I haven’t asked anyone to put me on their blogroll.
My blogroll is meritocratic. If anyone wants me to consider them for my blogroll, fine, e-mail me. I’ll read you for a little while. If I find you indispensible, I will add you to my blogroll. I always have a few bloggers that I have added to my RSS reader that I am trying out before I add them to my blogroll. If I don’t place a blogger on my blogroll, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t good. It does mean that they aren’t consistently useful to me. (There are a few on my blogroll that are there for personal reasons. But only a few.)
On Linkfests
I like linkfests. I think they can be useful. In my opinion, the best linkfests are:
- Regular
- Focused mainly on financial topics
- Not pushing a political view
- Of moderate length, but comprehensive (difficult balance)
- Wise — They have a real sense of quality.
About a year ago, a friend of mine who is a really good credit analyst for financials asked me,
Friend: “If I were to read just one blog per day, what should it be?”
DM: Abnormal Returns. He samples the finance blogs, and gives one concise daily post on the best of what was written.
F: Not your blog?
DM: Look, my quality varies, and what I write about is quirky. I don’t have a narrow focus, like most blogs. Half of what I write won’t appeal to half of my audience, and it is a different half each time. Plus, I can’t cover everything. I would go nuts.
Second place, but not a close second, would go to FT Alphaville. Beyond that there is Naked Capitalism, occasional links at Alea, and a number of others, but if I had to pick just one, it would be Abnormal Returns.
Why don’t I do linkfests? Well, I do them in my own way. I try to write articles focused on a single topic, and then link to relevant content on the web. It’s more work, but I think it produces a better product than those that make a few small comments and do big blockquotes. I’m not out to overuse the content of others at my blog. I might copy a couple graphs or paragraphs with attribution, but to paste whole articles into one’s blog violates “fair use” in my opinion.
One last bit of blog housekeeping. I appreciate all of the feedback that I get, so feel free to e-mail me. I read all of my e-mails, but I can’t respond to all of them. Thanks for reading me.
September 5th, 200812:38 pm at
I agree with you ; I get the same demands.
September 5th, 20081:23 pm at
You are an arrogant snob. Just because you have your audience already doesn’t mean you shouldn’t help out others in the blogosphere.
Just shut up and write something useful.
September 5th, 20081:47 pm at
Dubba — I am nice enough to let you post. I’ve been called many things in my life, but this is a first for “snob,” much less an arrogant one.
Ask how many blogs I have linked to? Dozens. When someone new cites an article of mine, I usually go and thank them, and give a follow-up comment.
I’m open to people sending me links to articles they have written — I sometimes cite them, sometimes not. It depends.
Not everyone can write well. Not everyone understands finance. The main reason I write is not for fame, but to give something back to readers. Why did I write at RealMoney for four years? It wasn’t for the money — that was tiny. It wasn’t for the exposure — that actually hurt me in a few quarters. It was to give something back to retail investors, who have few friends.
If you think I haven’t written much useful, then why are you hanging around this dump?
Take care.
September 6th, 20087:13 am at
David,
Nice post and good advice. I to like your recommendation on Abnormal Returns’ site.
Keep up the good work.
David
September 6th, 200812:43 pm at
I agree with Dubba Dubba Dob. You are a snob. The only reason I got to this blog is from Abnormal Returns only to find out I should be reading it instead of yours.
September 6th, 20086:41 pm at
Well, fortune8, my apologies then. It is not what I intended to come off saying.
I was a little surprised that AR put it in his regular post. I expected him to excerpt it for his “praise for AR” page. Perhaps AR thought it was high praise coming from me. You can ask him.
But I’m sorry if you were let down by my post.
September 7th, 20088:31 am at
As I read the body of response #2, I couldn’t help but to write it off as moronic, written from one of these militant blogosphere whack-jobs….
But then, I noticed the response came directly from the keyboard of “Dubba Dubba Dob”. This, of course changes everything. A name like Dubba Dubba Dob is bound to express deeply insightful commentary. In fact, Dubba Dubba Dob comes in second place, only to such weighty monikers as Pookie Wookie Dookie as far as blogosphere appeals to authority.
Thanks for sharing, Dubba Dubba Dob. I know I look forward to the “blog-cred” thrown my way, as I invoke the always powerful, “Well, Dubba Dubba Dob says the following…..” in support of any argument I may make.
September 8th, 20083:43 am at
Dear Mr. David Merkel,
Thank you very much for the reference to our site.
Best regards,
Alan
September 12th, 20084:58 am at
A touch precious, perhaps?
September 12th, 20089:11 am at
More than a touch precious in hindsight. I didn’t mean to come off sounding proud, but I guess I did. My apologies.