Online Publicity and Marketing

Online, it's a different world. Eventually, there may be tried-and-true, traditional ways of drawing traffic to your site.

Today, we're in a much more exciting era of experiment and (occasionally crazy) new ideas.

" [Google contextual ads] $100 Movement Train," a post on "Hin's Photo Blog," introduces the reader to what I think is a good marketing/promotion idea for blogs. It is not a link exchange, except by a wild extension of the term: at least in my opinion. We'll see if I get in trouble with [Google contextual ads], over cooperating with an effort to get qualified visitors to blogs.

With each blog's link having a brief description of the blog, it's a pretty good way of finding new blogs: and somewhat similar to my "Apathetic Lemming of the North" blog: which is enjoying pretty good traffic. At least, compared to some of my other efforts.

(update, August 18, 2007)

I've substituted [Google contextual ads] for the name of the search giant's advertising program. I did this out of an abundance of caution, after a doing a little research. The experience of one of our fellow-bloggers, who was dropped from the program, has made me more cautious.

I'll be posting on that, later.

Now, about the "[Google contextual ads] $100 Movement Train" - unhappily, at this time, I'm not able to participate. Nobody's making me, I just have a set of rules that I make for myself, and 'no link trains' is one of them.

The reason for this self-imposed ban is that I'm very new to blogging, and haven't thoroughly researched the rules and culture of the blogosphere. Traffic-boosters like link trains are dubious points in some quarters, and until I know more, I'm leaving them alone.

That doesn't mean that you can't participate in Hin's plan, though. Not everyone is as cautious as I am.