PureBlogging

It’s been a long, jet-lag-filled post-holiday week here in the House of Kev, so my post this week will be devoid of the usual top-flight content-creation advice and Algonquin-Roundtable-worthy bon mots. Instead I’m going to point you to a potential moneymaking resource that I could see myself using someday. Mostly I’m curious to see what you all think of it.

It’s called WordHugger, and as I mentioned in my title, it’s not dissimilar to Squidoo, in that it allows users to create pages centered around specific topics. It bears one fairly major difference, however — it’s a paid service.

Collin LaHay, WordHugger’s developer, markets the site as a method of investing via microlending — he even offers a money-back guarantee. A page costs $60 for ten years; each page revolves around a single word, like Wikipedia or dating, and uses can do whatever they like with them — add clickthroughs or affiliate links, or fill them with random and seemingly useless information.

Overall LaHay seems pretty knowledgeable when it comes to SEO and online revenue streams; his blog is full of useful information, and one of his most recent posts, titled “Top Ten Reasons This Post Will Be Popular on Digg,” recently took the top spot on, well, Digg. So clearly this is a guy who’s got his head in the right place when it comes to monetizing and marketing.

What I’m having trouble figuring out is why anyone would choose WordHugger over Squidoo; the best reason I can come up with is altruism, since half of the profits from WordHugger go to Kiva, a nonprofit organization that offers microloans to entrepreneurs in developing countries (LaHay claims the other half goes to pay off his student loans).  I think that’s a great idea, but will it take off among an audience of Web-based entrepreneurs? My own dim view of human nature makes me wonder.

LaHay also recently introduced a new site called rssHugger, which is similar in scope. We’ll talk about that next week.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Yes, I know it’s late but technically it’s still Friday… somewhere… probably…

Welcome to this week’s edition of Weekend Links! Every Friday, I reward the active members of this community by featuring an interesting post from the top commentators.

If you would like to see your post featured here, just join the conversation by commenting regularly and next week you just may make the list.

• Alan Johnson provides 123 stupid mistakes you should avoid as an online money maker… yep… 123!
• Ruchir – I’m having trouble accessing his website but he gets a link anyway…
• Jamaipanese received a great gift and had some GoDaddy trouble.
• Steven Snell lists 20 websites with unique layouts.
• JoLynn Braley posts an in-depth interview with author and food addict Debbie Danowski Ph.D.
• Darin Carter gives a helpful piece of advice for your next ad campaign… double check your spelling.
• Roberta reports that Alice Cooper’s guitar was stolen… and she uses the word kerfuffle in a sentence.
• Sharon Hurley Hall discusses the when and why of writing for free.
• Jim Smoot reveals the truth about two-for-one deals.
• Michael Martine gives a few tips for choosing the right Adsense blog niche. Remarkablogger is also sporting a slick new design… go check it out!

Congratulations everyone, you’ve been stumbled… Have a great weekend!

Popularity: 10% [?]

Welcome to this week’s edition of Weekend Links! Every Friday, I reward the active members of this community by featuring an interesting post from the top commentators.

If you would like to see your post featured here, just join the conversation by commenting regularly and next week you just may make the list.

Comments were really down this week… something about it being Christmas or something. Who knew. Anyway, here’s this week’s list:

• Jamaipanese reviews Entrecard, a great blog promotion Tool.
• Michael Martine lists 6 ways to improve your blog over the holidays.
• Steven Snell provides a few networking tips for bloggers.
• Ruchir urges you to set your goals for 2008.
• Sharon Hurley Hall gives the details on ghost blogging.
• Roberta reports on the continuing troubles of Amy Winehouse. That’s one scary woman… Amy Winehouse that is… not Roberta.
• Blogging Tools shows you how to get the scoop on your blog.
• Darin Carter shows you how to perform a yearly search marketing cleanup.
• David Bradley explains how NOT to poison your dog this Christmas.
• Steven Finch lists his predictions for 2008.

It’s an exciting time around here. With the new team of writers there is new content being posted multiple times a day and the quality of that content has been outstanding. I’m very happy with the results so far. Which reminds me… I haven’t formally introduced the team to everyone yet. I’ll have to take care of that this weekend.

There are also a few new developments on the way… Stick around, I think 2008 is going to be a big year!

Congratulations everyone, you’ve been stumbled… Have a great weekend!

Popularity: 15% [?]

Welcome to this week’s edition of Weekend Links! Every Friday, I reward the active members of this community by featuring an interesting post from the top commentators.

If you would like to see your post featured here, just join the conversation by commenting regularly and next week you just may make the list.

Here’s this week’s list:

• Michael Martine wants to help you give your new blog a boost.
• Jamaipanese loves presents but thinks Christmas is for eating.
• Steven Snell lists 9 ways to gauge your visitors’ experience.
• Ruchir gives the details on 2 plugins for crazy plugin uploading freaks.
• JoLynn Braley explains why NOT to watch inside Brookhaven Obesity Clinic.
• Sharon Hurley Hall is getting ready for 2008.
• David Bradley provides 10 excellent computing tips.
• Roberta Ferguson gives us her 50 song list 2007 year end extravaganza!
• Teejay details a few ways to make money online.
• Blogging Tools gives the scoop on Entrecard: blogging’s newest fad.

Congratulations everyone, you’ve been stumbled… Have a great weekend!

Popularity: 9% [?]

Finding a blog niche that is on the verge of rapid growth can be difficult, but it’s not impossible if you know where to look. I did this years ago with flashed-based web video, when Google Video was new and YouTube didn’t exist. That video blog now has more than 1,500 subscribers and I make a couple bucks from AdSense on it.

Staying on top of trends, changes, and advances offers you the following advantages:

• You can snag the best URLs before someone else does.
• Your blog will have a greater degree of longevity than the newcomers, so you will rank higher in search results.
• The new blogs will link to you and see you as an established expert in the niche already.

But what are some ways to stay on top of trends? There are websites devoted to this. Whether you call it trendwatching coolhunting, or just good ol’ research, keeping an eye out on some of these sites puts you ahead of everyone else:

1. Trendwatching
2. Springwise
3. Popwatch
4. Cool Hunting
5. Influx
6. Trend Hunter
7. Trendirama

I subscribe to several of these sites, and I benefit from them. Some of my recent, current, and future blogging projects are driven in part by being ahead of the curve and by having this information available when most bloggers don’t pay attention to it.

A Word of Warning

Creating a new blog in anticipation of a trend is risky. Sometimes, things don’t shake out like we might think. I’m very glad I never bought any domains or created any blogs around Microsoft’s Zune, for example, because it’s basically a dud. And even though you’re basing your decision on an educated analysis of trends, you should still choose something you have an interest in–the greater your interest, the better. In another example, I once created a celebrity video blog about Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, and Paris Hilton. I wasn’t really personally interested in it enough to work it up into a blog with solid traffic, so I killed it.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Welcome to this week’s edition of Weekend Links! Every Friday, I reward the active members of this community by featuring an interesting post from the top commentators.

If you would like to see your post featured here, just join the conversation by commenting regularly and next week you just may make the list.

Here’s this week’s list:

• Michael Martine reveals the secret to a successful business blog: Sell without Selling.
• Jamaipanese morns the loss of Herbert Henry McKenley.
• Steven Snell provides some excellent tips on monetizing a website without alienating your visitors.
• Ruchir gives 5 things to make sure before ordering a review.
• JoLynn Braley helps turn weight loss fears into motivation.
• Roberta Ferguson has a sneak peek of the video for Britney Spears’ new song, Piece of Me.
• Teejay explains why you need to build a blog commenting strategy.
• Marco Richter provides a tutorial on optimizing your blog’s title tag.
• Jim Smoot lists the real rules of customer service.
• David Bradley wonders if warm feet could save the world.

Congratulations everyone, you’ve been stumbled… Have a great weekend!

Popularity: 8% [?]