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As I announced last week, I have sold my biggest blog, PluginID. The site was around 19 months old, had 6,600 subscribers, and according to a tool that monitors different niches online, was the 10th biggest personal development blog in the world.
I have revealed my reasons for selling over on PluginID, so go there for more details. If you’re wondering how much I sold the site for then my best answer, based on legal limitations, is simply “a mid five-figure fee.” Instead of dwelling on the sale, I want to praise the growth of such a big community and share the steps involved in duplicating my success.
Whilst there is probably going to be some advice in here that you may have heard before, I do believe there are some concepts that I (or anyone else) have never shared. As with most articles, this is going to be long, but I would rather provide massive value for those who want to know everything about building a popular website.
If you’re wondering why guest posting isn’t working for your site or why you can’t seem to get past 100 visitors per day, this is for you. If you are desperate to get your feed count past 1,000 subscribers then, this is also for you. If you’re looking for an A-list blogger to mention you work and put you on the radar, then guess what? This post is for you as well.
Let’s begin, shall we?
I Collaborated With Over 100 Relevant Bloggers
Read that again, if you don’t believe it, because it’s true. And I didn’t just do this in the first 18 months; I did this in the second month of my site being online. Hi, I’m Glen; it’s nice to have your attention.
I’ve always known that collaboration can be excellent to get more visitors to your website, so I decided to take things to the extreme. There are, of course, a number of ways to collaborate with people via your blog. For instance, you could:
- Interview a big player in your niche
- Ask a large number of people the same question and post their answers
- Monitor the rankings of the top blogs in your industry
- Start a face-off series and interview two bloggers at once
- Write an eBook with other people
- Start a blog with other people
I have highlighted in bold the one which involved me interacting with over 100 relevant, personal development bloggers. I paid $100 to have someone code me a rankings script that showed the top sites in my niche, and then I emailed every individual blogger to congratulate them for their rankings.
I had created something that people naturally wanted to share (especially if they were ranking highly), something that people would come back to in order to check their position, and most importantly: I had interacted with the top 100 bloggers in my industry.
How I collaborated with these people does not matter (don’t copy my idea; do something unique) but the fact that I did collaborate with so many people who mattered is important. This is how you start building a big blog.
I Wrote What I Wanted to Read
I started PluginID because I wanted a way to document my personal growth. Naturally, I was writing things I wanted to read, because they were the things I was doing. However, I know that a lot of people (I used to do this myself) get caught up in worrying too much about what their audience wants to read.
It’s good to care and get reader feedback, but the majority of the time: your audience doesn’t know what they want. Yet, if you give them something they end up enjoying, they’ll thank you for writing it. Instead of allowing myself to get stressed about the pressures of writing for a large audience or attracted by what everyone else was writing, I simply wrote what I would like to see in a blog.
This may be surprising, but very few personal development blogs appeal to me. I just don’t like reading them. There is lots to learn out there, but I have far too many of my own ideas to write down before I need to borrow inspiration from a crowd of others. I have 2-3 sources which I like, and that’s enough for me.
My Site Told People To Read Me
Do I think design is a huge part of making a successful blog? Not really. Do I think a unique or at least professional design makes a big difference? Absolutely.
While you may not like the design of PluginID, I personally love it and so do thousands of others. Over a year after designing it, I’m still amazed at how many compliments it gets. Some people liked it so much that they copied my image style (text on a black bar) and even the yellow bar that shows how many comments a post has and who wrote it.
I have noticed a huge number of Thesis themes (not an affiliate link) around the web and I think most of them look professional. That kind of look is enough to make sure you are not turning people away, in my opinion. If you can customise your design even further and make it unique to you while staying relevant to your industry, then that’s going to help you even more.
I didn’t only care about whether my site was unique and professional. I also cared about whether it would convert visitors. What a conversion actually is varies from site to site, but for me, my conversions were product purchases and RSS subscriptions. First of all, I made my feed subscription options the first thing anyone sees in the blog sidebar so that they get a lot of views.
I also put prominent RSS hints on popular pages such as the blogs list. This was simply an arrow graphic that pointed to my RSS subscription box which actually got me up to a 10% conversion rate (30 subscribers from 300 visitors) at one point.
And finally, I made sure to show my feed count. I grew PluginID fairly quickly so it didn’t take long to have some “social proof” and a way to show people the site was popular. The more the number grows, the more it impresses and tempts people to subscribe, and the more subscribers you get.
It’s just constant growth.
I Wrote More Guest Posts Than Anyone Else
I’m not necessarily proud of this fact and nor do I feel that guest posting is ultimate way to promote a blog, but this heading is true. Not one single person promoting a personal development blog wrote more personal development related guest posts than me in 2009.
If you’ve never considered guest posting or you aren’t sure where to start with it, read my massive guest blogging guide. It really does contain everything I have to share on the subject and you’ll learn why the tactic is so effective.
Some of these posts only brought me a few subscribers. Some of them brought me over 400 at once. It wasn’t just direct subscribers that I was getting in return for my guest posts though, I was also getting:
- Visitors that might bookmark my site and return later
- Links that would help with my search engine ranking efforts
- Branding by having my name associated with the top sites in the niche
- Exposure by appearing on multiple blogs on the same day
Since I first started writing about my success with guest posting it seems like the practice (and the amount of other people writing about it) has exploded. I see people doing it everywhere these days. I don’t have a very big ego, but I believe I have played a massive part in this change. Because of that, I think I’m in a good position to see where it is going.
Guest posting as a tactic is going to get dirtier, less valued and have less benefits within the next 12-24 months, in my honest opinion. SEO’s are already doing guest posts for clients in order to get them links and some blogs seem to do nothing but accept guest posts, rather than writing themselves.
I knew it worked, I used it hardcore, and I reaped the rewards. You will discover something else that you know works this year, so please (after telling me what it is, via email 
) go hardcore with that tactic and see how it works out for you.
Writing a lot of guest posts might seem hard, but I guarantee that spending your time on “easy things” is just going to leave you with harder work while playing catch-up in the future.
Note: I have not written one guest post for PluginID in the last 3 months and the site still grew by over 1,500 subscribers in that time. Once your audience reaches a certain size, you can slow down (or stop) with activities like blog commenting and guest posts.
I Grew Big, Quickly
I know this article is teaching how about how I grew my site, but one of the reasons the audience grew so much, is because my audience grew so much. Before I explain what I’ve just wrote for those of you who are confused, allow me to say one thing: a decent number of people who subscribe to PluginID don’t do so because they want to read it.
A number of people subscribe to PluginID simply because it’s a big blog. They want to see how often that site is posting, what it’s talking about…and whether it is growing. PluginID isn’t unique in this case; I guarantee that ZenHabits, Problogger, TechCrunch and probably even your site has people who read it just for the sake of knowing what is going on. Not necessarily because of what you have to say.
The great thing about blogging is that once you get to a certain stage, growth becomes so much easier. Once you get to the 500 – 1,000 subscriber mark, you have far more people naturally promoting your content for you. This leads to more growth, and more people promoting your work, and then more growth.
You’ll have people unsubscribe from your feed now and then, but really, no blog should ever be getting smaller.
Focus on getting over the 500 / 1,000 subscriber hurdle (depends on the niche) as quickly as possible. Based on what happens, you could find this to be the hardest part of your blogging life. Especially if you’re a “nobody”. However, if you can just keep going and get over this hurdle, your blog is going to start growing exponentially from there.
Just get over the first hurdle.
I Was Real
And I like to think I still am. My website included my full name, my photo and even some videos of me. That’s a start, but it’s information that is becoming commonplace. To really bring my own character into my site, I went with what I thought would work best: being open and transparent in my blog posts.
I knew that if I shared failures, people would relate to them. I knew that if I shared successes, people would congratulate me and know they can achieve the same. I knew that if I put enough work into making my content help people, then the people I help will give back by talking about me and sharing my work. I also knew that if I put on any sort of front, people would be put-off immediately.
If you go back to blogging in it’s simplest form, then all you’re left with is a writer, a blog post, and a reader. Blog subscriptions, fancy sidebar’s and “most commented post” widgets are all really just extra ways to get people to stay in the simple loop of it being them, and your content, and you.
If you claim to be someone you’re not, how can people relate to what you say? If you don’t tell personal stories about your life, what story is there to tell when others want to talk about you? If you aren’t willing to lose the offline definitions of yourself that you’ve worked so hard to build in an online world, then you’re trying too hard to cover up, and you’re not being real.
I admitted that as an experienced and award-winning internet marketer, I felt like a failure when my blog only reached 500 subscribers after 7 months of hard work. But, I loved what I did, so I just kept going. 2 months later, the site reached 1,000 subscribers. 3 months after that, and one year after launch overall, PluginID reached 4,000 subscribers.
Keep it real, and keep it up.
I Dominated Search
At 16, when stumbling around the web looking for ways to get more traffic to my websites, I discovered Search Engine Optimisation. SEO, in its most basic form, is about getting more traffic from search engines by building links to your site and improving your on-site optimisation. Over the last 4 years I have been immersed in the SEO community and tried hundreds of different tactics to get websites ranking.
I wouldn’t say that I can rank a site in a tough niche easily, but with enough work I really can start to dominate any niche I focus on in the search results. I wrote how I did that in the personal development niche by ranking on the first page of Google for two of the biggest terms to my audience. One of those terms, was personal development.
I’m sure you can imagine how great it is to be getting hundreds of targeted search visitors to your site everyday. If you want to know how I achieved these rankings then check out my article on getting a lot of search traffic.
Around 15,000 people land on PluginID every single month directly from search engines and that is constantly increasing. How would 1,000, 5,000 or even 15,000 extra visitors to your site affect your stats? If your situation is anything like what happened to me, then you’re going to continue to increase the size of your audience, even if you’re not working on getting traffic from elsewhere.
I Focused On What Really Mattered
If you’ve made it this far, I’m guessing you’re a blogger. If I’m right, then I have a question for you: what have you already done today?
Besides reading your favourite blogs, checking email and logging into Twitter, what have you done? I think I’m right when I say that at least 80% of you have probably done very little on your own site today, yet you’re still searching around the web looking for little nuggets of info to improve it.
I believe this site can provide you with useful information and masses of value (otherwise I wouldn’t write it), but I also believe that learning more and looking to fine-tune are all things you do after the things you know you have to do.
You know, like writing quality articles and engaging in your niche. If I haven’t done anything on my blog on a certain day, then I will continually stop myself from reading articles about blogging or anything else until I do something that can actually help my website. Articles for your own site or others don’t take that long to write — just an hour per day will give you enough time to write an article; provided you have an idea ready.
There is nothing more important on your blog than your content.
It doesn’t matter how pretty it is, how many subscribers you have or whether your latest title tweak is going to bring in floods of search traffic; your content is everything.
Not giving content creation most of your time is like a golfer constantly looking for more aerodynamic golf balls rather than working on their poor swing. Just look at the article you are reading right now — surely you can see that most of my time is being spent on my content?
My goal with ViperChill is not just to build a useful blog, but also to use it as a case study for my own recommendations. The site grew by over 600 subscribers in January. That’s nothing to do with luck and certainly no coincidence.
Content simply gets most of my attention.
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Amen
Amen
Amen Amen Amen!
I completely agree with everything you’ve said. I’ve also been on a guest posting blitz lately, and people ask me how I do it. I’m kind of surprised, because writing one post a day isn’t that hard.
Sure it can be draining, but if you do some brainstorming and release your fears, pressures and writing blocks, your writing will flow and you probably won’t have any problems getting out 2 posts a day. Of course, I can’t sustain 2 great posts per day, every day, but I think you get my point.
Focus on the right stuff and good things will happen. Be real. Work hard and collaborate. Another excellent post dude!
Hey Henri,
Funny you should say that, myself and Diggy were talking about it today. Even when we are partying 8 hours per day and visiting different countries, we still find plenty of time to write articles.
You impress me, Henri
Writing everyday is a discipline, it takes time getting all the elements right, like choosing something original or a good angle,quality writing,making it engaging etc above all really loving what you are writing will ensure that your posts and articles are high quality and of interest to the reader.
Fantastic post Glen, I must admit I’m guilty of wasting time on this little things, while my sites lie there without content or traffic. One thing that’s helping me to combat this is creating a journal on BackPack (by 37signals).
Thanks Danny,
I have used Backpack before but I prefer goplanapp.com which seems to be more useful when you are working on a large number of projects (20+).
we need hard working to make a blog to be perfect absoulute blog…..
n i agree about your writen…
Congratulations on the growth and sale of the site Glen.
Thank you Steven.
Awesome to see you over here
Great post. I’m so excited because I recently marked the 500 subscribers goal. It took me 6 months but now I see the website growing even faster. I’m now going to do even more guest posts. Cheers
Hey Oscar,
I noticed that, congrats!
I look forward to seeing where you can get to. Just don’t forget about me when you’re famous
Wow! So much good information here. Read it through quickly and will, of course, reread it for as many times as needed.
Thank you and congratulations!
You’re welcome Marisa (awesome name, btw).
Thanks for the comment!
This is scary! Last month while doing preliminary research on my niche, I came across “blog ranking” on a site called adage. Thought about doing it for my own niche. But with everything involved in getting a blog up and running, I forgot about it. Truth is I forgot about it because I was unorganized. Now that I’m using netvibes this is no longer the case (thanks Glen). I’ll just mark this down in my notes as something to consider (thanks again Glen for the reminder).
Haha.
Yep, AdAge is one of the bigger ones. It was actually started by a smaller company / blogger, and then the list was purchased.
Oh, and you’re very welcome.
I appreciate the comments
Hey Glen,
Great post. It’s always fun and interesting to read about the things other people have done “right” to grow their blogs successfully.
Stats are funny: they make you feel better or give you the “my efforts didn’t matter today” feeling. I need to learn to control my feelings.
Live it up, where ever you are in the world!
Hey Moon,
Replying to you from Paris right now
.
Thanks for the comment. Glad you liked this one!
I think this is key right here: “Once you get to the 500 – 1,000 subscriber mark, you have far more people naturally promoting your content for you.”
That’s a really good point and one that’s well taken. You really gotta work really hard to get to that point and once you do, then it’s more appropriate to slow down a little. But, in a sense, if you’re not at that point yet and you’re writing really good content for your own site, it’s almost as if your very own content is being wasted! So you gotta get out there and do something, quick, to get a certain amount of subscribers EARLY ON. Because every good post should be promoted, period.
Good post, Glen. This site looks really promising. I look forward to seeing how deep the rabbit hole goes.
Another thing: You’re right. And I’ve even considered this before. Your blog is going to get some subscribers not because they necessarily enjoy what you’re writing but because they want to learn from you, see what you’re up to, etc.
Great comment.
You actually covered something I missed — writing awesome content when you have a small audience. I personally wrote a number of guest posts in the first few months of the site launching and of course collaborated with so many bloggers early on. I definitely think it’s important to get out there fast, so people can actually see the great value you’re putting out there.
I was impressed by your post recently at WritetoDone. Ever think you’re in the wrong niche?
Glen,
As someone who is just starting out, I can’t thank you enough for all the quality info on blogging that you’ve shared. I am actively working on improving my blog, and your advice is heavily influencing the way I spend my time. Thank you.
Wow, Glen this was such a great article with a lot of useful information. You consistently provide useful and actionable information, which is why I always read your posts first in my reader and click to leave comments.
I wrote my first guest post over the weekend and that’s just the start. I commend you for writing ‘the most’ last year – it’s a lot of hard work, in addition to providing quality articles on your own sites. Would you say that writing guest posts for larger audiences than your own is key, or is it volume and getting your name out there?
I agree that content is the most important thing and that having a professional-looking site really matters. Design is a big thing, too, but is really subjective. Look at the difference between this site and PluginID – two different designs and yet it’s the same guy.
Congratulations on the sale and on building one of the best personal development blogs. I have a lot to learn
Thanks,
Karen
I also had the problem of focusing on my design and kept changing little things here and there, along with constantly searching and reading about blogging, until I finally realize none of that was really getting me any further. Now I’m beginning to focus how what matters (taking direct action) and my blog is beginning to be, well, a real blog
Thanks for sharing these in-depth articles. Keep it up Glen!
Glad you’re over your concerns about the blog sale Glen and happy to see you powerful enough to sell you recipe for free in this post. PluginID is a great success story and it will definitively mark your presence as a blogger. It was, and still is, an incredible example about how one can build a powerful brand online with only 3 simple steps (you gave them different names, but I flattened them to what they really are
): work, work, work.
Congrats, my friend
Great list. I do mostly all of this. but I need to bump it up more.
I learned just how willing TOP bloggers are to help if you just ASK.
Found this out recently with a new book launch.. I was very surprised by the attention and support I got.
Bottom line, is ask, try you never know what can happen…. I had a few bloggers say no to partnering for my book launch but they said anytime I have a psot they would publish it.. soI win either way.
This is SUCH good info. It reminds me also of being a new Twitter user. You so badly want a few more followers but getting there takes some work. Once you get to a certain point, the growth of the follower number grows easily.
My blog is really a personal blog about me that people often find humorous or insightful so I don’t have a niche per se. That part is tough to figure out. Hmm.
Congrats on the money makin’! Jus’ wonderin’ ’bout this good ol’ case study, if there is a way to reach it now after the sale? It sure was a gem! http://www.hqhow.com/case-study-1/
Keep the good work up!
Hi Benny,
HQHow was nothing to do with the sale, I simply deleted the website as I’m cleaning up my web projects and only want to host things I’m totally passionate about.
HQHow will redirect to a proper location in the next 48 hours.
I like all the insight you share. I’m definitely going to keep building and growing my blogs.
Congratulations on the sale of your blog.
Thanks Glen!
Hi Glenn,
Thanks for all the great info! I had thought about starting a blog for a long time and then last July I downloaded your “Blueprint for Building a Blog” (on PluginID). That had a direct impact on my getting off my ass and actually getting things going!
Now I have 5 blogs up and runing, with SellingHasValue (for sales pros) and my band blog http://www.thewhitehalls.com/blog/ being the two that I spend the most of my time on.
I read everything you post on ViperChill and am I always learning! I wanted to make sure to send you a personal thanks! And since it was PluginID that was my initial introduction to your work it seemed appropriate to send that thanks now.
Thanks for all the great motivation and advice, take care!
- Paul Johnson
Hey Paul,
Great to hear you are enjoying my content. Thanks for taking the time
to come and share what you’re working on.
Hi Glenn,
Really loved this one. I was most of the time wasting my time searching things that help my blog get instant success, now you have opened my eyes. Really i was stupid to wasted so much time on finding shortcuts to success. After reading this post i will be a better blogger. Thanks!
Warm Regards,
Azad Shaikh (The Internet Geek)
As always Glen, friggin awesome stuff….you are the most transparent blogger on the Net, and I mean that. Your quality posts and your Cloud Living eBook are the whole foundation for my blog. Thank you brother!
Well said. Although, you can only spend your time on what really matters – writing AFTER you’ve made it. Before this, you have to scrunch around reading other people’s blogs, commenting on your favourite sites, building bridges and connecting with people you admire. If you don’t do this, no matter what your content is like, no one is going to know it’s there. This is my opinion anyway.
If it wasn’t for your post on Problogger and Copyblogger I would have never found this site. I’m so glad I did, keep up the great work Glen, love it and very inspiring.
What the hell am I doing commenting here???
Thanks for the kick in the pants Glen.
Man, Glen. I just love your articles, and I found this one especially inspirational. Today you were speaking to me when you asked “what have you already done today?”. I am exactly what you described in this section and I didn’t realize that there might be so many like myself. It is so easy to get into the blogs, following links trying to gather up as much knowledge as you can, and before you realize it, the day is done and you’ve accomplished nothing. Thanks very much for this gem of a post (certainly as far as I am concerned). I have clipped out a portion of this section, printed it and stuck it up over my monitor.
Cliff
This is certainly a solid recipe for success. I don’t think you can over emphasize how important it is to be real.
And congrats, as well!
Great post Glen,
Once again, you have given great advice. I especially liked what you said about keeping it real:
“If you claim to be someone you’re not, how can people relate to what you say?”
This is so true. My personal opinion is that it is very wrong and reckless for someone to misrepresent themselves online or anywhere. Glen, I have learned so much from your content. I just want to say thank you and keep up the awesome work.
Jim
AKA – MojoBlogger
Nice Glen!
You are so real and that’s what make syou sucha success. Great writing. I truly believe your writing and grammar ability carries you a long way…maybe not as much as content, but I truly enjoy writing like I talk and i thnk that helps my blog.
Keith
Thanks Keith,
I actually think writing holds me back a little bit in this blogging world (harsh self-critic?) but if you just focus on what you want to put out to the world then someone (hopefully lots of “someone’s”) is going to like it and stick around.
I definitely like reading blogs where the author has something unique to their writing.
This post along with ‘Guest Blogging: The Ultimate Guide’ are the two most useful, informative and helpful posts I have come across. The information you provide is invaluable. Great stuff, Glen!
Comments like this are exactly what I put so much effort into them.
Thank you!
Hi Glen,
Thanks for the post, very interesting to read how you did things.
In the first paragraph you are talking about a ‘tool that monitors different niches online..’ are you willing to share this tool with us?
I noticed that one link in your post (http://www.pluginid.com/blogs/) gives an 404 page
cheers
Richard
Hi Richard,
I have fixed the link in the post: http://www.pluginid.com/personal-development/
Absolutely amazing post.. thanks for making it so long & detailed
It gave me so much to think about and to redesign the way I am building my blog presence.
Cheers
Thanks Maren!
I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
Hi Glen,
Been lurking the last few days – since subscribing to your RSS feed.
Just want to say “Thanks” for the great articles. I’ve been learning a lot. Please keep the articles as long and detailed as necessary to cover all the bases.
Thank you Marko,
I will do that
Thanks for writing this Glen! For us blogger newbies and others that are looking to take their blogs to the next level… great information!
Ouff I started reading this post curious for directions and indeed there so many… a bit overwhelming and not sure where to start from :/ Will stay tuned.
Hit me up on Facebook if you have any Q’s.
[...] after this post read How I Built a Blog with 6,500 readers on Viperchill.com (weird URL, awesome blog) this is probably the best blog post I have read this [...]
Great blog. I can’t write what I want to read because they’re all pictures… lol
Then share what you want to see
.
I have a picture blog myself.
Excellent content Glen.. You have got some real good stuff which a lot of bloggers should consider.
Wow great post Glen. I was just thinking about how to get some of my writing out there and help grow my site. You say, “If you don’t tell personal stories about your life, what story is there to tell when others want to talk about you? ” – What about using a pen name? Would that hamper the “keep it real”?
I don’t think so.
The likes of DoshDosh.com have done very well without having a real name or face associated to the site.
A pen name doesn’t really stop you from being genuine and personal
Glen,
I finally have my first blog up thanks to your Cloud Living, but I feel that I my other idea for a blog would be able to benefits people more. I guess I will have to try them both out and see which one works.
Hi Vince,
It’s nice to look at what would benefit people the most, but don’t forget that you must follow your passion. Writing about something you don’t love is going to show one way or the other.
People want you to do what you love as well
My problem is that i have more than 1.000 visitors per day but still dont know how to make money. Can you help me???
What is your main traffic source? (You don’t have to be too specific)
What have you tried so far?
Hi Glen, this was a very long post to read on a computer screen, so read it while I was eating lunch in a parking lot. There was so much information here that it was overwhelming for me at first, until I got to the part where you mentioned that at the end of the day, a blog is just a writer, a blog post, and a reader. This part really hit me. All the extra stuff, such as widgets or reading other blogs, doesn’t matter so much as to creating content (on your blog or other blog’s) that actually helps your website. I’m going to take this lesson and focus on creating good content. And I just wanted to also add that this was one of the best lunches I have ever had. Thank you.
Awesome comment Hulbert,
It’s a funny feeling when you think about people actually printing your articles off. Though, I guess I should not be surprised as they’re so long
And that was one of the best comments I have ever received.
Thank you.
What a detailed post. I’ll try to learn from your experience and hopefully increase my company’s name brand recognition.
Awesome post. Question, this RSS feed – what does it do exactly? Is it sort of like list building? I have one on one of my WordPress blogs but I don’t actually know what it does, or how to use it..
The RSS feed tells people when new content has been posted on the website. This means that instead of coming back here everyday to check if I have wrote anything, people can simply go to their inbox or a feed reader and read updates from there.
I hope that helps.
- Glen
Awesome tutorial! Especially the the last section, that stuff is so crucial.
Great work Glen. Content-aside, I think your transparency does you a lot of favours too; not necessarily with regards to documenting your personal life, but by not being coy about what you’ve earned or what your intentions are. A bit like John Chow without the bullshit, if that makes sense!
Great post Glen, I’ve been here once before and then saw Maren Kate mention this post (I won’t spam here web address here) saying that it was the best post she’s read in ages and I have to agree, I’ve not read all the links yet as I thought I should do some work on my blog first
I’ll be reading those later though. I went down the interview route recently and got 5 out of 5 interviews that I asked for so it really isn’t that difficult.
Good job Glen, I’ll be back to annoy you some more.
Thanks for the quality post.
it’s great article !!
I loved this post. So inspiring for a person who is actually to increase his online presence. I have started increase the content part and I would be looking forward to guest post. But your post just helps solving one problem, that what i need to do to get more subscribers. The content is what i actually need.
[...] was just reading Glen Alsopp’s latest post on his blog ViperChill. In the post Glen highlights and talks about how he built a blog with 6,500 [...]
[...] Pick 1: http://www.viperchill.com/build-popular-blog/ [...]
Thanks for posting this. Focusing on what really mattered, I think, is really the most important part. I really have to bookmark this so I can get back to this article.
I am launching my website in a week so I am sorry for the link that doesn’t work
I just found your blog and I am madly in love! I get so incredibly bored reading the same old posts but yours really inspired me. I feel a bit guilty for reading yours when I should be writing for my own, but wow, I feel more motivated now than I did after my two shots of espresso!
Collaboration with other bloggers is a great idea if you share common goal.
damn that last paragraph…
I’m quite proud of it
[...] http://www.viperchill.com/build-popular-blog/ [...]
That is quit an accomplishment. It took me a long time to convert visitors into fans. It was the quality of the content and a little SEO that helped me learn and improve.
Truly an excellent article. Thank you. Congrats on selling your other site. I appreciate the link to your other content. I run several communities (forums & blogs) and while some have done well none of them have taken off. It’s time to concentrate on my sites and work more wisely.
Thx for the post Glen
[...] is rarely anything new. This is exactly why I gave specific examples when writing my post on how I grew a blog with 6,500 subscribers. One thing most A-list bloggers forget is that one of the things that has made them successful is [...]
Nice Post Glen! Many online marketing issues are about being pure I guess: be yourself, be interested in what you write… people can read it if you’re not!
Good post Glen! Very interesting to read how your journey went!
You’ve just gotten +1 subscribers
I have gotten quite interested in the process and benefits of collaboration in the last two months. Made a few videos about it. When your article first came out earlier this month I was really excited; like a gold mine of ideas concerning collaboration, at least 2 that are new to me completely. I have bookmarked it. It is so laden with specific ideas that I will be reading it a few more times yet. Quoting: “surely you can see that most of my time is being spent on my content?” Oh yeah.
wow awesome post.
i like your transparency it really gives that trust factor that makes more people want to read from you.
I was really inspired by your journey,and getting subscribers definetly is not hard it just takes action
I have never done guest blogging, but i will try it.
Thanks for a very insightful and informational post, and good luck in growing your site, its very helpful
[...] How I Really Built a Blog with 6,500 Subscribers [...]
[...] writes in the same niche as I did when I grew PluginID to 6,500 subscribers, so my traffic advice was both relevant and from experience. For a while I [...]
Good stuff! I’m going to start using these tips to dominate the healthy eating niche slowly and surely!! Thanks Glen!
Your post is long but quite interesting to read. And i must commend you for your efforts so far and for sharing your success experience and methods with others. I like your closing, there is so much for a blogger to do especially in link building that we can easily get distracted from what is really important which is content, no matter the amount of link we get, when people eventually come to our site but don’t get content to read, or no unique/interesting contents, then they visit once and never comeback. So balancing is the appropriate word, the two most important thing a blogger must concentrate on is content and backlinks. Once again, thanks Glen
[...] interested me. I’ve already talked a lot about building a successful blog in articles like How I Built a Blog with 6,500 Subscribers and 24 Things To Do Before Launching a Blog so I’m not going to cover the topic in-depth [...]
Fantastic inside information Glen. I’m new to the scene so it’s ALL informative to me but wondered if you felt there was ONE KEY THING to boost your blog in it’s early days what would you say it was?
Appreciate you posting your help and advice as us future bloggers couldn’t acheive anything like yourself without such insight.
John
Hey John,
While I couldn’t pinpoint one key thing myself, I can point you in the direction of 24 things to do when starting a blog. If you haven’t seen it already, you should take a look at Glen’s post here: http://www.viperchill.com/launching-new-blog/ . Even if you’re site isn’t that new any more, I’d still take a look through the list at all the points as even established blogs could be missing out on some of the steps. I’ve personally been through the list and found some things I hadn’t done on one of my websites which has been established for two years.
Nice article I will defenetly try this steps to see where it will go me. thanks allot for this article
Very nice (and huge) post. I believe you left that part out… writing lengthy informative posts even if it takes you hours, or days for that matter. Large valuable posts create search engine rankings. They beat out blogs with 10 smaller posts in the same time-frame.
Glen, you are inspirational. Thank you for valuable tips. I have implemented one already (the arrow pointing to signups/RSS feed.
Hey Michael.
.
Let us know how your signups/RSS feed count goes
Loved the article. Best part was the ending “If you’ve made it this far . . .” hahah
I liked the advice about monitoring the bigger blogs in your own backyard. That’s one of the things I’m looking for now.
Got a newer blog, so my hurdle is 5/10 LOL.
Glen, this is phenomenal. This post is full of priceless information. You are fast becoming a legend. Proud of you! I’ll contact you soonest.
Seun Kilanko
Nigeria.
I like design of that Popular post bar
Great article, you caught me out! I’ve been reading all about blogging today and haven’t touched my own blog since yesterday – how did you know that?! This post is very helpful and I’m glad I found it. It’s real food for thought and a cut above the rest of the stuff you read about blogging and traffic and how to relate to your readers etc.
Thanks a mil!
Mazel tov! Very inspiring for a newbie webmaster. =)
another great post…lesson learnt ..work with top bloggers,use seo extensively, be real,work hard on your content and do a lot of guest posting….thanks
I think that I have been looking at blogging the wrong way all this time! Thanks dude! I’m going to keep on reading VC and try to keep your ideas in mind when I blog.
Love this comment, its so true – “There is nothing more important on your blog than your content.”
[...] with this one. I didn’t want to overlap ideas and I think it fits in nicely with the post on growing PluginID to 6,500 readers. Although I simply can’t reply to all emails, I do make sure I read every single comment and [...]
hi, great article, especially the last part
Collaboration really is so important. The thing is, people don’t think widely enough about how to collaborate. Its not just guest posts but chatting on Twitter, email and even going for coffee with a “top” blogger if you get the opportunity. Collaborating also helps you learn a lot about what they do and how to do it better.
Great post Glen.
The Tyrant
Congratulations, that’s a great success story to inspire others. Hard work really does pay off and this is proof of that, so stick to your guns people and don’t give up. If you work harder than your competition, you’ll better them.
I cant do more as you
.
I found this a really interesting read and congrats on your success. It seems like a lot of hard work but its good to know it is not in vain. Btw you got me red handed on the reading other people’s blogs rather than updating my own site!
I was wondering if anyone here would know where the graphics for the post come from here
Thank you
Thanks for this post , I will use techniques you mentioned in your post
Great article. I’ve read many articles on the do’s and don’ts of blogging, but I must say that this is one of the most inspiring.
“There is nothing more important on your blog then your content.”
To me, this line says it all. It’s so simple and direct it’s almost like a song lyric, but it is a concept that so many fail to understand. Sharing well written useful information is what blogging is all about.
Very good info. I agree.
The kicker in this post was (paraphrased) Write on your own blog post and then go looking for ways to improve it. Caught me dead in my tracks, because here it is lunch time and I’ve spent the whole morning with Glen.
I love this stuff! I’ve ignored blogging for far too long – thanks.
Thanks for the worthy suggestions. I plan to follow them to increase my blog traffic.
nice
i think you raise a really good point here Glen about what have you done on your blog today. If you’re not improving it, then it’s going to become stale. That’s a great reminder and to stop looking for solutions elsewhere on the net, when the answer is really staring me in the face when I power up my computer – my site.
Glen,
Love your site! Just discovered it after hearing you on Pat Flynn’s podcast. I know I am real late on this post but hoping you can let me know how/where/who you got to create that code (script) for the 100 top site rankings? I want to do the same thing…
Damian
Wow, Glen. You truly are amazing. I can’t even describe how useful this post was for me.
I especially liked when you asked the question, “What have you already done today?”
It made me really access how productive I was for the day, especially since I’m reading this post around night time. When asked that question, I thought about what what I did, and I believe that most of my day has been pretty productive (at least, when I was at my computer). I’ve been working on my first eBook that I plan to launch soon (there’s simply so much to do!), so that has been taking up quite a bit of my time. In fact, I’ve been working on it for weeks now. I’m almost done though, so it’s pretty exciting. I just want it over with!
But if I didn’t have an eBook to work on, I probably wouldn’t have been so productive, though planners have helped a great deal with my productivity.
Anyway, thanks for the reminder that the blog should be top priority, Glen, and keep up the awesome work!
I have a question though: How many niche websites (in total) do you currently have running? I know from your eBook that you have quite a few set up, so I was curious about the number. I think it’s amazing that you have so much free time on your hands, and you’ve managed to grow so quickly, especially at a young age.
I’m an aspiring entrepreneur who also recently left college to pursue my writing dream. I’m also pretty young – 20 – so I your phenomenal progress is REALLY motivating.
Christina
Valuable information. It is, however, a fact that hard work is essential and as Gary Vaynerchuk says “Hard work is underrated.” No matter what you plan to do, be prepared to put in long hours. Passive income is not ONLY about sitting back and earning money, it’s about working hard and reaping the benefits of that hard work over a long(er) period of time. Thanks for this great post, Glen.
Glen you are an a okay guy – But why are you turning off the comments on your new stuff? Are you worried about an overload?
Take it easy my friend…
Brian M Connole
HCG Diet 411
I don’t see the need for feedback in them. Normal ViperChill posting (with comments) will resume next week
I’m glad I stumbled onto this blog. I just started actually posting to my own blog and doing research on how to get started. I like the whole idea of posting what I wanted to read.
Also I focused way to much on the mechanics.. Like what plugins to use and what would work better on conversions. Just write good content seems to be the best approach
Frankly I was looking for info on building backlinks for my new website http://www.freelancewriter.co/ , but I reckon I’ve stumbled upon a goldmine here. Glen, you’ve a big heart I’d say .. you just gave away the secret of building a half-million worth blog. Of course, it’s easier said than done, and I will surely try to follow your footsteps. You’re a great teacher, thanks a lot.
Hello, Glen. New guy here, but loving the information and for sure will be a regular now.
Would you be willing to share a little more about this section? “I paid $100 to have someone code me a rankings script that showed the top sites in my niche, and then I emailed every individual blogger to congratulate them for their rankings.”
This is a technique I would like to utilize myself. I have a list of a bunch of blogs in various niches I cover through various websites, but I’m a little unsure on the coding aspect – or more accurately, what exactly I should be asking for when I talk to a coder about a ranking script. I went to the link provided but it seemed like it wasn’t fully-operational any longer.
Any help would be great. Thanks so much.
There are certainly a variety of particulars like that to take into consideration. That may be a nice point to deliver up. I supply the ideas above as normal inspiration however clearly there are questions like the one you carry up where the most important thing will probably be working in trustworthy good faith. I don?t know if finest practices have emerged round things like that, but I’m certain that your job is clearly identified as a fair game. Each girls and boys feel the influence of only a second’s pleasure, for the remainder of their lives.
I thought I’ve got my lessons. Thanks for sharing to us, Glen.
I was given a target by my boss 2 push a blog I started. I was scared dat it won’t work, but now I feel real good dat I can do dis. thank you so much for sharing this