Blog Straight Talk
Out Marketing The Marketers On Entrecard
Posted by libdrone • 1/02/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS]
Topics: entrecard, Marketing
So I'm breezing through the Entrecard forums and look up and notice something. Dane Morgan's on board now. He and Sam Freedom show every sign of taking _those_ discussion boards from bland to blazing.
First-- a warning. Entrecard is addictive. Perfectly normal bloggers have joined and been turned in to card-dropping click monkeys in minutes, so proceed with caution.
In a recent blog post I wrote about Entrecard and promised to start a discussion about EC as a social networking site here on BST. This is Not that discussion.
While the critics initially dismissed Entrecard as "just another traffic exchange' and called the concept unworkable, Entrecard has clearly proven itself to drive traffic to blogs and is winning over critics. The way it is creating more traffic is by getting a bunch of bloggers to read each other's blogs. More people reading more blogs = more traffic. Delivered as promised.
There is a lot of talk about that traffic being 'junk traffic' ("but they're only on the site for 10 seconds to drop the card...") but don't believe it.
You see, I have become one of those addicted card dropping click monkeys. And quickly pushed my blog first to the top of my category and now onto the Most Popular and Most Recommended lists. And I Am getting traffic. In five months on blogspot I had gotten a total of about 5,000 visitors and 8,000 page views.
In one month on WordPress and networking on Entrecard I had 2,300 visits and 5,300 page views. See, it Does work. What the folks who complain that "chain droppers" are "junk traffic" fail to realize is that there is No Such Thing. Having visited on occasion as many as 301 blogs per day in my quest to drop cards and climb the listings, I learned that if the blog owner had been savvy enough to insure that both the Entrecard widget AND the beginning of their current post is visible when the page loads, the click monkey will probably read the headline while waiting for the message to change from "Drop Yours" to "Thanks" or the dreaded "300/day".
And if the headline hooks his interest he may well read the article. If the article gets him to thinking he may well leave a comment. If the article gets him to thinking the blogger is brilliant he may will digg, Stumble or post a recommendation on the blog's Entrecard page. As one of those addicted click monkeys who visits so many blogs, I assure you I have done every one of those things in the course of visiting blogs ostensibly just to drop a card and get a credit.
There's no such thing as 'junk traffic'. Only bloggers who create compelling content that engages and retains their traffic and those who don't. But don't blame the traffic that the blog didn't engage it to do more than click a widget and close the tab. Might as well blame the audience when the show's a bomb and they walk out. Sure, you can, but you've still produced a bomb.
My addiction to clicking is taking me to new heights. I've decided, just for the heck of it to make my blog and my category, the humble little Books which previously had been down there with History in the low cost basement, into the most expensive and popular category and blog, respectively. And I am laughing my @ss off as I do it, largely thanks to the amused encouragement of Sam Freedom.
So are any of you marketing professionals ready to pass comment on Entrecard?
User Comments
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Greetings gentlemen...
I just experienced one of those moments where you spend 20 minutes writing out a well-developed, in-depth post on "the nature of things" and the computer then decides to do it's annual blue-screen-of-death routine.
That really sucked. I had to just walk away for an hour or so but now I'm back.
Glad to have been invited here to find kindred spirit, thanks to Lib and Dane. And now I'll just cut right to the chase with some "straight talk".
Entrecard does one thing and does it well - it provides a whole bunch of fish in a barrel for those who know how to shoot. It does it well not because of any one thing but because it has EVERYTHING required to keep its citizens happy. It wisely stays out of social affairs which gives the users as great a sense of self-determination as fish in a barrel can have. It provides plenty of room to move around and establish pecking orders and it appeals to our vainer sides with the "most popular" and "most recommended" pages.
After all, though some might be slow to admit, there comes an instant, quasi-status, from being seen on the same page as John Chow - better yet, the same top row. And "most recommended?" Whatever that REALLY is, bravo! It lends an instant kind of credibility to the most impressionable amongst us whether it is deserved or not.
And while I would bet anything that the minds in this forum are truly keen enough to sense all that, I still like to drive such points home because there is always the strong likelihood that the influx of new interactions, accompanied by new feelings, can cause a person to, temporarily, forget.
What I like about Entrecard is not so much the obvious increase in traffic but the potentials for testing and discovery that become possible with such traffic. That is why I refuse to call any traffic junk traffic because, in the very least, it can be used to test new ideas. And someone recently told me about a book called "Blue Ocean Strategy" which, in a nutshell, was about not competing in the shallows with maximum competition over limited resources but rather finding "blue water" - deeper water with less competition and more resources.
Come on, that's what this is - that is what Entrecard is offering. It is SO powerful and, like Twitter, it is being drastically underestimated, treated as "just another thing to review" on the web. I watched, with dismay, as blogger after blogger, instead of inviting dicussion, railed on about Twitter as if it were useless and I could go on for a couple of hours about that.
And same with Entrecard, with so many bloggers starting out calling it "junk traffic". But before I explain why it might, AND might not, be "junk traffic", I first need to address this by you, Dane:
"but remember that Sam is also fond of controversy and uses overstatement as a highly effective part of his tool set"
The reason I make emphatic, absolute-type, statements is two-fold:
1. To get those who have strong convictions for their own ideas to take me on. Not just for the obvious traffic and interest that tends to follow (but which is never guaranteed) but to find the truth of a situation; and
2. To discourage the clueless from confusing the impressionable masses with textbook-level regurgitation which, by the way, is pretty rampant. That is not to squelch discourse or free speech but to convey that if someone is going to challenge my thoughts on a matter, it's only right that they should be prepared.
That being said, here's one example of how such "junk traffic" can hurt and one example of how it can help.
Example 1 - helpful - We all know of blogtopsites style directories. You put their js button on your site and the more traffic you get the higher your site travels up in its category at the directory. Well, if one belongs to a fair number of these directories, and one begins to get a decent ranking in ANY of them, then visitors start coming from that directory, thus increasing one's ranking in the other directories, rinse, repeat...
Chaindroppers do wonders for those little buttons. I'm not utilizing this idea right now but I HAVE and now it's there for anyone in here to explore.
Example 2 - harmful - the best case I've read, so far, for chain dropping being harmful which, I guess, would make it worse than "junk" - is that it can, possibly, water down one's Adsense impressions/click ratios and cause their Adsense earnings to become "discounted". I don't yet know enough about this but anyone can follow and discuss here:
optempo.com/2007/12/31/entrecard-analysis-take-2/
If one relies heavily on adsense on niche sites, this could be devastating and the recommendation was to remove Adsense from site with the EC widget. This idea, in the least, gives good pause to consider other possible harmful interactions. Although, I'm not at all too worried about it... or at all. ;-)
Some of you have seen them but here is the label to my Entrecard articles:
controversialmarketing.blogspot.com/search/label/entrecard
Oh yes, one last thing, because Entrecard WANTS Entrecard Credits to become a form of legitimate online currency, they're being VERY open to creative uses with them, vigilant, but open - like a parent that cautiously watches a toddler but wants it to discover many things on its own.
Today, I'll demonstrate an incredibly unique use for them. I think it should do very well but, if you could, I'd appreciate it if you could give it a little buzz to help (no pun intended) kick it off... You'll see what I mean and it should get everyone's creative juices flowing.
And I'm always willing to help.
Thanks again to Dane and Libdrone for pointing me here and Rich for inviting controversy and discourse. ;-)
Sam-
Sam,
A more detailed reply to follow after I've had some time to digest and consider your many excellent points. And I totally fell your pain on the vanishing post. Tuesday I spent over an hour painstakingly composing three decent paragraphs about a book I definitely felt was worth reviewing but which was Not easy for me to write about. WordPress and or my host's server burped and it was all gone. Never did put up a post for that day (and will probably eventually review the damn book) but believe me, I know from "the computer ate my post"
Thrilled to see you here in the Blog Straight Talk group. We generally have a pretty lively group of marketing professionals on hand here, though it has been very slow lately, I suspect just due to the usual holiday slump. No doubt your posting detailed and eloquent discussions like this will help to get things back to humming in here.
All my best,
a
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I joined Entrecard to check it out. Put the widget code on my blog. Their dashboard keeps telling me the code isn't on my blog. Any ideas? -
@Dane
yes I'm on the latest version of WP and usually it does save my drafts automatically. this one really did vanish into the ether. it happens sometimes (in my experience) even with the best of programs. It's also quite possible the problem was caused by my computer rather than anything to do with WP or my host's server.
my DSL has been down for most of a day and I am in the middle of my weekend work week so my detailed reply to Sam's points may have to wait until Mon evening or Tues.
best
a -
I think I'm gonna pass on this phenomenon for now. The thing is, blogging is ancillary to my other work. It helps me think, share, teach, but it is a helpmate, not something I can devote too much time too. I sense Entrecard might become a little too addictive, something Alan's experience confirms. For him that is a positive, but I'm pretty sure it would be a negative for me. I won't say never, but I will say no for now. -
Well Sam also used an auto hitter on myspace to gain traffic. So I mean junk traffic to him is just a click away.
Anyways... I don't know if I am too big of a fan of this. I don't want to go around clicking on other things to gain traffic. An extra 5000 page views a month isn't worth a half hour a day in getting credits.-
The problogger interview said something about this being pitched to users aiming for their first 2000 subscribers. It sounds like you might be working with different economies of scale.
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Very true.
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Spoken like a true beta male, Kevin (pointlessbanter).
While I'm not terribly surprised that you'd be holding on to such a petty grudge for so long, I have to admit, I had just completely and totally forgotten about you. Nothing personal.
I knew it wasn't some petty jealousy over the fact of my having the more intelligent audience because it was always apparent you were content with quantity over quality. But, if I recall, I think you were upset because, along with a bunch of others, I voiced displeasure at your plans to exploit incarcerated females. I won't rehash it here, though. It was stupid and now it's over.
Regarding auto-refreshers...
People who've grown to know me understand that I generate and use controversy in ways that entertain, amuse and educate. To those with more than a casual, passing interest in the "ways online", I've amply demonstrated my ability to penetrate new markets, generate traffic from various media outlets and invent - and reinvent - myself, at will.
Do you think I really needed an auto-refresher to create unique, invigorating contests that generated over 500 comments:
tinyurl.com/39fnop
Have I ever explored, investigated and discussed such things?
FOR INTERNET MARKETERS -- TO INVITE CONTROVERSY and ENCOURAGE DISCOURSE to all of those seeking to become more effective, HAPPY marketers. Here we discuss what is good marketing, bad marketing, INVISIBLE marketing, grey area marketing, back door marketing, you name it. We are ethical people. We just discuss everything. WARNING -- NOT FOR THE FAINT AT HEART! Did I happen to mention "internet marketing"?
I'll leave that for others to decide "yes" or "no".
But, whether it's generating massive traffic from myspace
SAM FREEDOM'S TOP 10 GUIDE TO BEING A TOP 10 MYSPACE BLOGGER!
tinyurl.com/3xo64u
across multiple accounts about which you know nothing,
or interviewing strippers, escorts and sociopaths on BlogTalkRadio (hey, remember Amy, who you screwed over? ;-)
Sam Freedom Hr 46 - Interview with a Craigslist Ho!
tinyurl.com/2b5u6d
...it should be clear the only one whose traffic has truly qualified as junk has been yours.
Now, run along little boy... the "brilliant" audience you hijacked from so many others with your friend-adder software eagerly awaits your next fascinating blog about farts.
Sam -
(on a more important level)
Kevin said,
"Anyways... I don't know if I am too big of a fan of this. I don't want to go around clicking on other things to gain traffic. An extra 5000 page views a month isn't worth a half hour a day in getting credits."
I understand. Fortunately, there's a lot of people in there who are excited about it and are pretty good at thinking outside the box. You can, if you had any, have an employee do your clicking for you.
You could also spend some time in the forums getting to know a whole new group of excited, motivated people... people who might, for a change, contribute something of quality to your blog.
There's so many ways to benefit from Entrecard. You're only limited by your imagination.
If all men followed your lead and used things only for those purposes with which their creator had in mind, then we'd all still be in the Stone Age.
Sam -
Wow I haven't been back to this group in months and just caught this.
Gee I don't know Sam I did pretty well on there and moving my blog off of myspace. You know getting paid to write for some of the largest sites on the internet isn't a bad hobby, getting hired for social web marketing consulting, and having your blog picked up by one of the largest blogging networks on the planet kind of is okay. Plus not to mention the job I just landed at an enterprise social networking firm... eh but what do I know.
As for the female thing, not that you kept up with it but it was a joke and a social experiment. Writing fake letters to people in prison for the sake of a comedy blog is on a better moral high ground than some of the cheap ass tactics you deploy.
And if you have this great staff of people or whatever maybe you want to pony up and higher a designer because your site is disgusting.
I think my credentials speak for themselves, I get paid to write about social media, I get hired by companies to help them, and I have moved my way up in a short period of time. Besides the professional front I also have the comedy writing which wow, I don't know has led to um... a book, a webtv show, a stand up following, writing for popcrunch.com, writing for doubleviking.com, and a website that is growing rapidly.
What do you do Sam? Cheat, link bait, and resort to some unethical tactics... Way to go...
Edit: Oh I forgot my acceptance to a Masters Program for Digital Media Study... how could I forget that
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I can Really relate to Kevin's point (that Rich echoed) about time. Time lately seems to be the one thing I just don't have enough of. I really threw myself into promoting my latest project (and I'm pleased with the results) but I kind of regret that I have not found the time to sign up at cre8buzz or study Sam's Twitter theories to see how they could work for my purposes.
I only did the 301 drops a day thing Twice. More due to time constraints than as a conscious decision I followed Sam's advice to hit, hit hard and then pull back and I am pleased that so far at least I am still getting the drops and high placement on the Entrecard site even though I am only doing perhaps 50 drops/day mostly in the course of visiting blogs for other reasons.
Most importantly to me, I find that I am continuing to Immensely enjoy my blogging and all the projects I am working on and imho, at the end of the day that is the biggest measure of success-- that you enjoy your work and look forward to doing it every day. -
Hi Rich,
I hope you recognize from where came the attack and that my response was to simply undo any wrong impression the attack might have left. Having included a light zing, I believe, is a de facto right of anyone who has just been blindsided without provocation.
Can we, at least, agree upon that? ;-)
Except for me. I have a very thick skin. You can attack me anytime.
Great. I was planning on it but it's always nice to have permission. ;-)-
Sam, Kevin is a valued member on BC who many of us know and trust. If his dig at you was amiss, just say so and get on with things instead of offering a retort 100 times more harsh. My impression: Kevin must have struck a chord. Otherwise you would have been a bit more calm and level-headed about the whole thing. If I'm wrong, so what. Let's get on with the normal discussion. Maybe you two could start a new thread about MySpace too.
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Right, nothing new about it. And so far my efforts to pump them for the dish on the other have been futile. (casting a wider net
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