Shopzilla’s free affiliate program - turning quality traffic into revenues

Posts Tagged ‘fresh content’

Why You Should Avoid Automated Blogging

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
Think outside the box for unique content

Think outside the box for unique content

Blogging is a great way to record your thoughts and share opinions with people from around the world. It is a form of wide-scale communication which has the power to build communities and increase consumer knowlegde. If you own your own blog, you own a powerful communication tool - visitors come to your site to read your personal point of view, which is why you should always try and keep your content fresh and original.

A phenomena called Automated Blogging which pulls content via RSS feeds from various other blogs has often been implemented as a good option to ‘real’ writing. However, the Shopzilla team feels that although this may cut down the amount of time that you spend on the internet, a blog needs unique content to drive visitors and to keep hold of the loyal ones. Automated Blogging may end up damaging your site’s reputation. Your users will start to recognise the fact that you haven’t done your own research and if the primary reason for exploring your site is to get a real opinion on a product, event, service etc, why should they come to your blog when they can go and find true, personal posts elsewhere?

Make your site unique and stand out from the crowd - this is a great tip but often is the case where writer’s block may set in. If you sometimes struggle to come up with fresh content, take a look at our post on Overcoming Writer’s Block.  Avoiding automated blogging and providing orginal articles is what tends to bring in the higher revenues and is what the best writers do - they have their own ideas and form established user bases on their own back, using unique content.

Here at Shopzilla, we focus very strongly on content-related advertising and like our Publishers to have established websites, integrating shopping content that matches with the website’s theme.  If your visitor numbers are high and these are people who are really interested in what you have to say, you should see some good results through the Shopzilla UK Publisher Program.

Why not sign up today and give it a go - reward all that effort you put into creating your content by monetising your site through us.

If you have any questions, please have a look at the Publisher Blog or contact us directly.

- Take a look here for more reasons why you should avoid automated blogging.

5 Tips for Fresh Content - When Writing Gets Difficult

Monday, February 1st, 2010
Fresh out of ideas?

Fresh out of ideas?

Providing insightful and consistent content on your website is one of the best ways to keep your readers interested and those visitor numbers up! It plays a vital role in that all important SEO.

If you have a slight case of writer’s block , though, and sometimes struggle to think of ideas for your blog, have a read below for some tips on how to generate fresh content.

1. Have a change of environment.

If you’re working non-stop behind your computer for hours on end, take a break and go for a walk. Often one of the best ways to overcome writer’s block is just getting away from your environment for a short while. Its’ wondrous what half an hour of fresh air can do for the brain! You may even see something along the way that inspires you.

2. Do some research.

Read other people’s articles around your subject area and see if these evoke any potential ideas for blog posts or articles for your own site. Maybe a combination of all the articles you read will inspire you, or even provoke you to talk about the key points mentioned but taking it on a different slant, with your own personal opinions.

3. Talk to peers.

Do you have friends in the same field? Prod them for advice on what’s hot at the moment or ask if they have some thoughts on interesting areas within your subject. You could even blog about an interesting conversation you had. For example, if you write about football and have a friend who holds a season ticket, start a debate with him on who should go up in the league - be sure to get his side of the arguement and blog about it. Your readers will be delighted to get involved in the discussion which may encourage them to leave comments and therefore heighten the debate (and interest) even more!

4. Re-use an old post

Don’t be afraid to unleash it once again from the depths of your blog or website. You may think everyone has already read it but think again! There are millions and millions of internet users out there so don’t think you’ll be boring your readers with a recycled post; in fact, if it was a popular one, who’s to say it can’t start an attention grabbing discussion once again?

5. Write honestly

The number of times people try to write content that they think their visitor wants to read instead of writing just for writing, is incredible. The only way to generate those high visitor numbers and reader loyalty is to write from the heart. Imagine talking to yourself…and then add some punctuation marks! Once you’ve finished the post, if you think it sounds too impersonal, go back and modify it. This applies especially to review sites - if readers don’t think you are being honest behind a product review, how are they to trust your opinions?

Remember that writer’s block happens to the best of us and can be extremely frustrating when it occurs. Some of the greatest authors of all time have experienced the same thing, and more than once. But they got through it, and so will you. It may take perhaps a stroll through the park, an unexpected lunch date or even conversations with friends, (don’t forget that different writers are inspired by different stimuli) but you’ll soon see that the creativeness and ability you already possess  for fresh content are not hard to restore!

  • Blog Calendar

    February 2012
    M T W T F S S
    « Apr    
     12345
    6789101112
    13141516171819
    20212223242526
    272829