Blog Blazers: My Interview

Posted by Paul Lefebvre in Interesting Things, Software Business Dec 19th, 2008 | no responses

Not that I was worthy, but had I been included in Stephane Grenier’s Blog Blazers book, this would have been my interview:

What makes a blog successful according to you? Is it traffic, reach, revenue, etc.?
If you write regularly for your blog, then I think you can consider it successful. After all, most blogs die on the vine.

When did you decide you finally reached success with your blog?
I’d have to say that it felt good when people I know told me they enjoyed reading my blogs. But I’ve felt successful since I started writing regularly in 2006.

How long does it take to become a successful blogger?
How could anyone possibly quantify this? It obviously varies according to your success criteria and your personal goals.

Who do you think are the most successful bloggers on the internet today?

Which five blogs do you regularly read?
I read a lot of blogs regularly. In addition to the above five, I also enjoy these:

Which websites would you recommend for any new bloggers starting to blog?
If you’re starting to blog, you’ll need a blogging engine. I recommend WordPress. Other than that, I think you’ll get the most advice and inspiration by reading other blogs you enjoy.

Which book(s) would you recommend for new bloggers (these can range from marketing books, blogging books, etc.)?
I would just recommend that you stay abreast of the topics you are blogging about. Books are becoming less and less relevant for a lot of topics these days.

What is your most successful blog post ever?
I’m going to list two posts from Software Made Simple. In terms of traffic, my most popular post has been Shootout: Parallels Desktop vs. VMWare Fusion. I wrote it in the summer of 2007 and so far it has over 13,000 unique views. It has easily been my most read post each month.

My favorite post and the one that generated the most comments is Leaving the Day Job about my decision to leave the corporate world and work full-time for my company. It has had over 1,000 unique views and 20 comments.

At RBDevZone, I’d say my Current Notes news posts generate a lot of regular traffic, which helps the site in general.

What’s your biggest tip on writing a successful blog post?
You should write posts for topics that you are passionate about. I find that I often go back to re-read my own posts because there is some nugget of information in them that I can’t quite remember. By blogging about it, I can always search for it to refresh myself.

What’s your best advice in regards to content and writing for bloggers?
Write carefully. I use MarsEdit to write all my posts and keep the drafts folder full of potential ideas. My posts are edited and sometimes rewritten several times before I post them. I also recommend you include lots of links; that’s what the internet is for after all.

How important do you think are the headlines of your blog articles?
I’d say good headlines are pretty important to get new readers to go to your blog. It’s hard to write good headlines, though. One of my favorite headlines is “Microsoft has gone Insane”.

Do you spend any money and time on marketing your blog?
My blogs are creative outlets more than anything else, I think. When I post to forums or other blogs, I always include links to my blogs. I also will submit my posts to Digg and Reddit from time to time.

What are your quick and short five best tips for blogging?

  1. Write about what you love
  2. Write regularly
  3. Keeps lots of drafts of potential topics
  4. Use an unique template design for your blog
  5. Have fun

What is the most common pitfall new bloggers generally fall into?
They stop. If you blog because you want to blog then there’s no reason to stop. A blog without new content isn’t really much of a blog.

If you knew what you know now when you first started, what’s the one biggest tip you’d give yourself today?
I didn’t start blogging regularly until 2006. In retrospect, I should have started much earlier than that.

What repels you the most from a blog (animations, in your face advertising, etc.)?
I like to buy things, so I don’t mind advertising if it’s relevant. I think what attracts me to blogs, rather than what repels me from them, is good, easy-to-read content.

Do you make any direct money from your blog through advertising, product placements, etc.?
I don’t directly make money from Software Made Simple, although it has brought some consulting clients to me.

I have a small icon on RBDevZone to accept donations and I have occasionally sold direct advertising. In just over a year, I’ve made about $140, which doesn’t quite cover the hosting costs. It’s not about the money, though.

What’s your most interesting story related to your blog and blogging experience?
When I wrote Leaving the Day Job, I thanked several people for helping me make the jump. One of them was Pamela Slim, one of the elite bloggers in my view. I was surprised and honored when she featured a post about me!

What’s the one biggest opportunity that came to you because of your blog?
I think by far, the connections and credibility afforded by my blogs eventually allowed me to go out on my own as a software consultant.

Any other comments or thoughts you’d like to share?
Thanks for the cool book, Stephane. It’s certainly gotten me excited about blogging again!!



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