Best Posts of February (Tycoon Blogger)

As February winds down, I wanted to write a wrap up post and highlight some of the most popular and most read posts of the month here on Tycoon Blogger.

Be sure to subscribe to my feed for more blog promotion tips and general blogging tips as I have dozens of ideas for posts in the month of March.

Twittley is out. Should I go Topsy or Tweetmeme?

Some of you may have noticed that I changed retweet buttons yesterday.  It was time for me and Twittley to part ways.  For a site that had so much potential, Twittley seems to have fizzled and I did not feel like going down with the ship.  Here are some of the factors that have lead to my decision to drop the Twittley retweet plugin.

• Over the past months, there have been at least a dozens times when the button was “off line”.
• Increase in Spam, including porn.  I certainly do not want my blog associated with that.
• It is a ghost town.  Several months ago there was a lot of action going on and my blogging buddies like Dragon Blogger and Extreme John added a spark there.  It seems like most of the bloggers have already dropped Twittley.
• Effort. Not that it takes a ton of time, but you still have to log on to the site to get to your first tweet out.
• Here is the final straw.  Yesterday, when I went to add my link, it would not allow me because it said that the content was questionable and was against their terms of service.  After that, I went searching for something else.

I was going to jump on the Tweetmeme bandwagon but I decided to take a closer look at the Topsy Retweet Plugin.

Here are some reasons why I went with Topsy for now:

• I really like how Topsy does not delete old posts, so it will keep count on the retweets for all of my posts.
• Free analytics from Topsy trackbacks
• Aside from all else, I really like pulling for the underdog.   This may seems strange but I really could not find any major advantages that Tweetmeme has over Topsy.

Let me know if I am missing anything her about Tweetmeme.  I could always be swayed and will change if Tweetmeme if it is really superior.

Help me decide which retweet button to use.

What retweet button are you all using? and Why?

10 More easy blog post ideas

One of the challenges many bloggers face is coming up with fresh content on a regular basis.  I have several blogs in my stable and try to post at least one post per day.  Some days are easier than others and there have been quite a few days where it took me longer to think about what to write than to actually write the post.

A while back, I wrote a post entitled 10 easy blog post ideas and based on the comments it seemed to be a valuable post and helped other bloggers.  I wanted to write a follow up post and share some additional ideas for blog posts.  An additional bonus is the fact that the ideas I am going to list are all super easy and should take no more than 15 minutes to create.

Easy Blog Post Ideas

• New Blogs you discovered – As bloggers we are always cruising the blogosphere and checking out different blogs in our niche.  Why not write a post and introduce your readers to another blogger and link to the other blog and write some thoughts on why they should check it out.  Bonus – This is a great way to break the ice and meet new blogging friends .
• Best of Posts – I love reading and writing best of posts.  This is a great way to highlight your posts and it is very easy to create especially if you use a plugin to help with your round up posts.
• Ask a question – Another easy idea is to ask your readers a question, you can throw in a poll too.  In my last post, I asked what makes a someone an expert blogger . This sparked a great debate in the comment section and drew a lot of traffic to my blog as well.
• Expand on comment – One of the greatest things about blogs is the content that comes after the post in the comment section, why not take advantage of that and find a comment to expand upon and write a post about it.
• Video Post – This is an area I need to dive into deeper as I have only done a couple so far.  Why not just turn on your camera or web cam and talk about you topic for 5 minutes or so.  Another twist on this idea is to find a video that someone else has made that would interest your readers and pop it on your site with a couple of sentences introducing it.
• Cool Web Discovery – This could be a post about a new twitter follower tool or anything else you think would interest your readers.
• Archived Post – Your old posts are a treasure trove of blog post ideas.  Take a look at your older posts and see what you can add.
• Rants – These are post where you spout off about something that annoys you.  It will feel good to get it off your chest and chances are if it bugs you, some of your readers may feel the same way.
• Check your google analytics for idea- google analytics will let you know what keywords are drawing people to your site.  It is a great idea to continue to write posts about those topics and this will also help you build up your authority.
• Yahoo Answers – Do a quick search for questions that match your niche.  As an expert in your niche you should write a post about it and answer the questions on your blog.  Again, this will go a long way in building up your authority.

There you have it, 10 more fast and easy blog post ideas.

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If you are looking for more ideas, check out my friend Liane’s blog as she has just introduced her first product -

70 posting ideas

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I would love your thoughts in the comment section..Can you add any fast and easy bog post ideas?

What makes someone an expert at blogging?

I am hoping you can all help me out with this in the comment section because I really have no answer to this and would love to hear your thoughts. I have been thinking about this all night and it is based on this “snarky” comment I received on my last post which was about making money blogging . Here is the comment:

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Dan, I’m pretty sure this is going to sound snarky, but I sincerely don’t mean it to sound that way. Trust me!

If you’re going to tell me the “most important tip” I need to making money with my blog, then I assume you’re making a boatload of money blogging. Or quoting someone who does. Otherwise, how are you qualified to make the statement?

I’ve read a few of our articles before, but am not terribly familiar with your blog. So, are you an expert at making money blogging?[/stextbox]

Here was my response:

[stextbox id="info"]You’re right that does sound snarky. If you read my post carefully, you will see that I stated that I would be making a lot more money if I had more time. I stopped by your blog and I am wondering how you are qualified to give blogging tips? You get my point?
You do not have to be the richest or most successful blogger to help other bloggers reach their full potential. Oh and by the way, I do very well making money online which includes blogging. You would be well served to keep reading my blog as I am sure you could learn a thing or two.[/stextbox]

So I stopped by her blog and all I found was a bunch of posts about ProBlogger’s 31 Day Better Blog Challenge.  The ironic part is that she is trying to sell people on the idea of buying a blog package from her.  I don’t want this to sound snarky but, why should a buy a blog package from you, are you some kind of expert or something?

I guess there are only three bloggers out there that seem to think that only Darren, ShoeMoney or John Chow could blog about making money blogging.

I know I am ranting but if you read my last post you will see that I never even came close to claiming to be an expert and the point of the post was to reflect on the fact that if I was able to commit more time, I would be more successful.  I do not think anyone would argue with that point.

How much money does someone need to make in order to blog about blogging or making money? Allison Moore Smith, I would love to hear your thoughts on this?

the most important tip you need to know to make money blogging

There are thousands of blogs that focus on blogging tips and how to make money blogging .  I am sure you have heard that content is king and social media is the wave of the future and hundreds of other blog tips along those lines.  I was thinking about what separates bloggers and why some bloggers fail and others succeed.  I have come to the following formula :

Time + Effort = Blogging Success

If you want to be a well known blogger and make serious money from this medium than you have to go all in.  You have to work your ass off.  You have to be dedicated and be ready to commit yourself to working on your blog each and every day.  Some times you might not feel like writing content, that is fine but you should then do something else like link building or interacting on Twitter or Facebook.

It makes sense then that the most famous bloggers are the ones that blog full time, they have made it their career.  Most of these blogs are on cruise control now and they do not have to work as much but in the early days they worked like crazy to get their blog off the ground.

I understand that most bloggers do not have the time to blog full time.  I know that I don’t.  I work a typical 9-5 and have a wife and 2 kids so my blogging time is pretty limited.  I do make a commitment to spend at least 2-3 hours each and every day to do something to move my blog forward.  I feel that with my commitment and effort and the 15-20 hours a week that I am committing to this blog and my career advice blog that I can be moderately successful and make some decent money.  I also know that if I had 40-50 hours a week to spend on blogging, I would be able to make a hell of a lot more money than I am making now.

Oh, in case you were wondering what that important tip was that I was alluding to.

Put in the time.

I guess I could of wrapped up this post in 4 words but I somehow found a way to ramble on and make a 400 word post out of this.

Are you putting in enough time and effort in to be a successful blogger?