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Join Me (And Everybody Else) At BlogWorld
Unless you’ve been under a rock as a blogger, you most likely know about the Blogworld and New Media Expo in Las Vegas. If you haven’t been there before, I highly suggest you go.
This will be my third year at Blogworld. I’m looking forward to going for more reasons than one. Obviously, the networking is the biggest motivator for me. However, since my wife and I just had our second child in February, let’s just say I don’t get out as much as I used to. 
I used to attend more conferences than I have this year, so Blogworld in October is going to be my first trip out of Florida since March. Looking forward to it.
5 Reasons You Might Fail As A Blogger
Blogging is cool. Obviously, it is a big part of my business. However, it isn’t for everyone.
Not everybody should be a blogger. Some people aren’t a good fit for it. Others just end up doing it for all the wrong reasons.
I compiled what I believe are the big 5 reasons why blogging might not be your thing.
Remember, Blogging Is A People Business
People make things too complicated.
I see it all the time in the world of blogging. A lot of bloggers out there trying to build up traffic, get recognition and make some money. They read blogs about blogging, which are (hopefully) written by people who have actually done that. Too often, however, I find that they get mired down in minutia.
Perhaps you know the type of minutia I’m referring to. Stuff like:
- “I’m going to keep tinkering with this theme until it is just right.”
- “I’ll launch my blog in 3 months, when I’ve got everything perfect.”
- “What little tid-bits of secret tactics are those successful bloggers doing that I’m not?”
- “I wonder if I have my meta tags right.”
The list goes on.
The Simple Ingredient Which Creates Die-Hard Fans Of Your Blog
As I’ve talked about before, I am in the midst of a re-making over on PCMech.com. I am putting the finishing touches on the new design, and I’m laying the groundwork for a re-making in how we talk about technology. All this is designed to make PCMech an interesting destination in a very crowded niche.
It is an interesting issue, and one that I think many bloggers deal with. PCMech is in a very saturated niche – tech. There are LOTS of tech blogs out there, and all of them are acting like little “me too” reporters. They talk about the same things incessantly. To a degree, that goes with the territory. After all, when you have that many sites talking about the same topics, there’s bound to be lots of overlap.
So, from a strategic perspective, I’m faced with a task of making PCMech relevant again in a niche where it is all too easy to merely blend in.
How I Got a 250% Opt-In Rate Increase With No Work… With Popup Domination
Some of you may have noticed that I silently launched a new lightbox opt-in form on this blog late on Friday afternoon. I’ve already had emails asking me how I did it. The design is really professional and it also resulted in about a 250% increase in opt-ins from what I was getting using Aweber’s lightbox form. And the best thing is…. I didn’t have to design it myself or hire anybody to do it.
How cool is that?
I did it using a brand new Wordpress plug-in called Popup Domination, being released by my far-flung blogging buddy from England, Michael Dunlop.
The Power Of Minimalism And How You Can Apply It
Have you ever felt really confused? Not sure what to do next? Overwhelmed? Things taking too long?
Of course you have. Me, too. We all have.
Today, I want to talk a little bit about my view on this, and how it ties into minimalism, and what it has to do with a well known internet marketer, John Reese. I’m about to get rather philosophical on you, but I hope you’ll see how this stuff affects everything, including how effective we are as bloggers.
Is Wordpress Getting Hostile With Developers?
We love Wordpress. And, yes, we love the fact that it is free.
Wordpress is also GPL. Thesis (the popular premium theme) is not GPL. Matt Mullenweg thinks it should be. The argument is that, because Thesis is a “derivative work” from Wordpress, it is required to also use the GPL. There is a counter-argument, too, which says GPL doesn’t apply.
But, the debate got louder today and now there is even talk of Mullenweg suing over the issue.
Here’s my take…
Make Money Blogging: Income Breakdown for June 2010
Well, I figured I’d share another internal look at my own income streams for last month. What we’re looking at here is June 2010.
The breakdown here is pretty much showing a business which is coasting. I haven’t had any major new releases, and most of my work has been behind the scenes. It also goes to show which areas need some attention on my part.
Here is the breakdown…
Filing For Bankruptcy (From Email)
Yep. I changed my email address. The one I’ve had for over a decade now. And it feels good. Damn good.
So, the questions here are: why and how?
I mean, is it worth it? Because, after all, it is a lot of work making the change, and it is sure to inconvenience a lot of people I’ve had past contact with. So, let’s cover it.
7 Proven Tactics To Get More Blog Comments [That Actually Work]
![7 Proven Tactics To Get More Blog Comments [That Actually Work]](http://www.davidrisley.com/wp-content/themes/drisley2010_2/thumbs/timthumb.php?src=http://www.davidrisley.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/iStock_000009176307Small.jpg&h=150&w=150&zc=1)
You write that fantastic blog post. You spend a lot of time on it. You stare at it in all it’s glory. You think, “Damn! That’s a hot post!”. So, you publish it. Sit back and wait for the limelight and praise of your audience. But…
Crickets. Deafening silence.
Quiet enough where you also just want to make your next blog post one single word: “WTF!”.
I'm David Risley. I've been making my living as a blogger for over a decade. Blogging is my business and how I support my family. With this blog, I'm just gettin' REAL and telling you how this business works. 
