Great turnout for the second question and answer session hosted here at theNetFool.com. I saw a great response from you guys (as always) and have a whopping 19 questions to answer for you today. I know that some of you had massive multi-part questions, but to be fair and conserve space… you are going to need to wait till next round (or email me!) to get all of your burning questions answered publicly.

This time around, questions ranged from personal blogging issues to my opinion on investing techniques. I’m answering everything that came my way, and giving each of you a 100% free backlink as a reward for your participation. The two winners of a 30-day text link ad will be announced at the tail end of this post, so I encourage you to read through all of the questions asked.

Ralph from ForTheLose.org asked:

“Being a PR 4 blog and having so many subscribers/visitors a day, I was wondering what strategies you use to get the word out about your website here.”

Initially, it was a big struggle getting my blog noticed in public areas. I feel that the best way to increase your subscriber base initially is to comment frequently on 15-25 other blogs in your niche, be an active member on some niche forums (webmaster forums like DigitalPoint and Bloggeries in my case) and link often to other websites. People often sleep on the fact that you can get the word out without actually marketing, but just by writing posts and linking out to other blogs/sites in your niche. People notice incoming links, and traffic is generated organically from the inside out!

Hugo from BloggerVenue.com asked:

“Based on your knowledge and experience what do you thing it would work best for making money purpose. Using usfreeads or Squidoo|Hubpages?”

As far as “bum marketing” goes, I really have never used USFreeAds (an online classifieds service) to promote my blog. So this is biased, but I would have to go with Squidoo/Hubpages on this one. I actually would prefer submitting articles to a free resource like EZineArticles as a start to getting solid Google page ranks. By submitting articles, you get targeted keyword traffic coming into multiple pages of your website through Google, so it’s a lot better than just making one Hubpage or Squidoo.

John from AffiliateObsession.com asked:

“Do you find that you have more visitors interested in the STOCK topics or the BLOGGING topics?”

I have been shying away from stock market topics (making a new blog for that purpose) because I feel that my visitors are primarily interested in blogging and making money online. The whole “entrepreneur” look is really what I am going for, and I feel like people like the stock-twist to go along with it, just not as a primary focus. I try to keep a solid balance, but I am definitely starting to favor the MMO crew here.

Movva from ContestWinner asked:

“What is affiliate marketing exactly: Is it driving traffic or selling products. I am a newbie to affiliate marketing, which program should I join?”

Affiliate Marketing can be either driving traffic or selling products, as leads alone can make you money. Essentially affiliate marketing is any time you are doing something to market someone else’s service or product. They will give you a commission to drive traffic to their site, or sell their product, which you can use to make a good amount of money. I would recommend Market Leverage or Never Blue Ads as a good start.

Yan from ThouShallBlog.com asked:

“How do you make yourself visible amongst the pros when you are just a new kid on block? What approach should a beginner take when participating in the discussion in a more recognized blog?“

Everyone’s been there. Being fresh on the scene is really a great opportunity to make a splash from the get-go. When I first started, I pretty much tried to establish the notion that I was an authority, regardless of my low subscriber count. You need to act tall to be able to get that authority and reputation on the internet in my opinion. If you are a beginner, it can be especially vital to start some constructive debate, or even poke fun at a more popular blogger. People may not like it at first, but it’s going to get you recognised and will benefit your exposure in the long term.

Trent from SellPornMakeMoney.com asked:

“How do you handle tracking for incentivized promotions?”

Tracking for incentivized promotions, such as affiliate marketing or referral programs, is typically handled automatically by the third-party provider. For example, Market Leverage or NeverBlueAds has a whole system built in so that you can see who is signing up to promotions through your links. Referral programs through websites to gain users typically track people that sign up under you by email. By comparing the emails that sign up under you to your list of feed subscribers (through FeedBurner), you can award people free prizes and digital downloads for their participation!

German from TheGermz.com asked:

“How long did it take you to get the PR you have now?”

Seeing as this blog officially started in late-October, it would have been about 6 months. However, I mark the beginning of TheNetFool as March, since that is when I saw any noticeable traffic, that is when I premiered the new design, and that is when I began actively promoting my site. Using March as a starting point, I believe it was only 2-3 months before I landed on a PR4. Nobody is quite sure how the system works itself out, so I count myself lucky of such a distinction. You can get a nice PageRank by ensuring that you publish quality work, and that people are spreading links and discussion to your blog.

Matthew from BlogAboutYourBlog.com asked:

“How important has commenting been to network and build your blog to what it is today?”

Commenting is, in my opinion, the best networking tool in the shed. There is simply no better way to form a lasting relationship with other bloggers in your niche than by participating in discussion on their blogs. I know that people appreciate the occasional comment, as it boosts the value of both websites. In addition, you get a free link back to your website every time you drop someone a note. Definitely the easiest method in increasing your exposure available. It’s been my most effective method in starting out, and has continued to provide steady traffic to this day.

Mattaw from MoneyBites.com asked:

“What is your view on conferences and you ever plan to attend any?”

Conferences in my opinion are effective for networking purposes, and not much else. I’m honestly not a fan of being dragged to some off-site hotel in order to hear speakers talk about what most people in the room already know; however, there really is no better way to form a relationship than by talking face to face. As far as my plans, I don’t have any pending interest in attending a webmaster/blogging conference. If a following ever develops around my blog, I could definitely see that happening though.

Pete from BibleMoneyMatters.com asked:

“What strategies would you use to monetize a site using affiliate income?”

My site is monetized in a unique way, in that a lot of my income comes from referrals that are strategically placed throughout my articles and website. A lot of people don’t realize that links I post are in fact referral links due to my affiliate ID cloaking method. Because of this, and the sheer placement of ads, I have been able to increase my referral commission steadily month by month on various websites… which really serves as a motivational tool.

AxioBlogger from AxioBlog.com asked:

“Which is easier to write about for you, either stock market or make money articles?”

This is actually a tough question. I really would have to say make money articles, but only because I have saturated a lot of obvious topics that are out there in the industry. Stock market articles are typically more time consuming, as I do a lot of equity research beforehand to make sure that I provide “what you need to know” and no “fluff” material. However, simply coming up with an idea for a blogging or a make money online article is a lot harder the more that you post!

Ben from RevenueReservoir.com asked:

“What is the hardest challenge you will face when starting a new blog?”

The hardest challenge you will face on a new blog is getting the initial 100 subscribers. 100 users is an important mark. I found in my own experience that once I hit around 100 subscribers, people saw The Net Fool as a lot more legitimate and a good amount of my users started coming from the inside out. It’s important that you aggressively market your website by advertising, commenting and networking to get an initial user base. Never be afraid to ask for help during that initial period!

Flimjo from Flimjo.com asked:

“Do you think that the “buy and hold” rationale for investing in stocks is really just a “buy, hold, and PRAY” mentality for the majority of stock investors and, ultimately, a recipe (for making money) that fails due to investors’ lack of knowledge about stocks and the companies in which they’re investing?”

There has been a lot of bashing of the “buy and hold” model over the past year. This is basically because we are no longer in the bull market environment that we were used to seeing, where most stocks would appreciate in value as a whole. You will be able to apply the “buy and hold” mantra once again in the first quarter of 2009 in my best estimate, sustaining growth for about five years forward. In a recessionary environment, you are literally committing suicide by buying stocks without a good amount of research and understanding. In short, the model fails in a bear market, but can actually work in a bull market. Jim Cramer says “buy and homework,” which I think is the best idea.

Hussein from Niessuh.com asked:

“What did blogging bought you (e.g. mobile phone, laptop, appliances, etc.)?”

Most of the money I make from blogging is either re-invested into The Net Fool or re-appropriated to my various web projects. There really aren’t a lot of luxury items coming in because of blogging other than perks (like the nice care package from Market Leverage). I mean, if you want to blog to afford things… that is definitely possible. I prefer to simply re-invest my earnings to increase my revenue month-over-month.

Prophet from DayTradingProphet.com asked:

“Do you believe its smarter to focus all of your attention on just one or two blogs, or is it better to own a lot of blogs?”

People who try to make 100 blogs just to flip them for $50 a piece are fools. Bottom line. The optimal earnings will come from operating 2-3 blogs, no more and no less. I am in the process of launching my second project, and will be sticking with the two for some time. It take a LOT of work to get a blog to succeed. People often overlook this, and try to do too much at once. Killing yourself with work is never a good thing, and you’ll be better off starting with one blog… before maybe making an additional to increase your earnings potential.

Marko from GnosticDesigns asked:

“How do you actually make money online? Using this blog only?”

It’s funny that you should ask, because saying that I am only using this blog to make money is a bit deceiving. The Net Fool dot com is my primary revenue stream on the internet, but this is not done through advertising and paid postings. Rather, you get a lot of great money from the referrals that sign up through your website into affiliate programs, and people buying products that you are promoting. Because you can essentially leverage a blog’s user base into making money elsewhere, it’s kind of a central hub to making money on the internet that provides for itself!

Ganesh from TeenBlogger.net asked:

“What advice can you give to a 14-Year old to get started with investing? Do you know of any affiliate programs that allow under 18’s to join?”

If you are talking about investing in the stock market, there’s really nothing you can do until you are 18 for legal purposes. In addition, being that young you will be taken advantage of in the markets 98% of the time due to a lack of understanding in my opinion. Anyone under 18 can make loads of money on the internet by fashioning a blog, offering freelancing services, and joining in with affiliate programs to make money. I’m not sure if you are going to be able to access and actual affiliate networks if you are under 18, so you will need to check the terms of service. You can, however, register a PayPal account and sign up with individual sponsors to make money through their affiliate programs.

Pweng from PwengBee.com asked:

“What can you say about the Google-Digg issue?”

Reportedly, Google is in the negotiation process to buy Digg for $200 million. This isn’t much of an issue in my mind, as $200 million isn’t much of an expense for a company the size of Google. With the amount of talk and exposure that Digg fetches on the net, Google is getting their money worth by acquiring the website. The most important issue for them here should be NOT letting Microsoft get the deal. Microsoft would be smart in bidding up the price of the deal, simply because they can afford it and get some great market penetration by making the bid. This is an interesting one.

Sherry from SherryGo asked:

“Here what I like to know if blog having many affiliate programs or links does it affect the blog Page Rank?”

A common misconception about Google’s PageRank service is that you will damage your reputation by linking often to other websites. That you can only have a good PageRank if more people link to you, then the other way around. This is completely false. Link as much as you want, it will only help. I would suggest trying out my affiliate link cloaking method (mentioned above) for ensuring that Google doesn’t look down upon the way you are linking to affiliate programs… but feel free to flood your website with reasonable amounts of link love.

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Well, you guys have successfully gotten my fingers to burn holes through my keyboard on this post! That was a fantastic round of questions, so I want to thank all of you that participated once again. If you have any further questions or want a longer explanation, feel free to use the contact page to get a hold of me and we’ll talk further. Now, on to the winners of the text link ads!

Winner of 1 Month Text-Link: Flimjo from Flimjo.com!
Winner of 1 Month Text-Link: Matthew from BlogAboutYourBlog.com!

I’ll be contacting both of you winners to get set up, but I wanted to thank everyone for the great questions this time around. If nothing else, you got a nice link back just for dropping me a quick comment! Hopefully, I will do this again soon, as I feel it adds a new level to the blog that only a Q&A session can accomplish.

-The Net Fool

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