Suggestions for a Self-help Blog

[GuestUser159]

At the end of May this year, my friend and I launched a blog - http://vzmo.com - in the self-help category. Our greatest struggle has been to make it known and get people to visit it, and to participate with comments and suggestions. So far we created a Facebook page where we post the articles with a short description. We considered making a twitter page, but we're not sure how effective it would be for a blog such as this one. Every once in a while we participate in different discussions on various forums related to self-help, but that doesn't seem to get us very far.

For this reason we thought about asking you guys what we can do to improve it. What do you think about the design, the content, and what are the best ways to advertise such a blog?

 

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[Boo Blizzi]

You will need to do keyword research and write a lot more articles using them so you can get organic visitors.
Also, I think you are talking to a specific market because you use words like "samurai and warrior".
You need to find FB groups or forums where people who talk like that hang out because they are your targets. You can put ads in front of them or post snippets of articles.
I am into self help stuff, but I dont feel the articles are talking to me in a way I can relate to even though I understand what you are saying. (hope that makes sense... and more importantly, helps)
Oh... and what is your goal with the blog? How are you trying to monetize it?

 

[AustinS28]

Hmm, this has always been on my mind, I have a new site launching hopefully in 8 weeks and have been thinking of things to make it stand out, it's much different then yours however.

Maybe offer some incentives to generate an e-mail list. Example, you have an article on training...well have a subscription where you offer a free workout program or something, it requires an e-mail address and then you have that person on an e-mail list and can periodically send them updates on the site to keep visitors.

Adwords brought quite a bit of traffic to my personal site.

I think though offering free things that require e-mail subscription can get people on there or at least keep them coming back.

Leverage your network and see if you can interview any people that are relatively speaking, well known successful individuals.

Instagram has a lot of accounts that you can pay for advertisement, millionaire_mentor is one I follow that gets a ton of hits and would link your website on a shout-out. An acquaintance of mine blew up over night from instagram, he's into fitness though, Bradley Martyn.

Maybe offer some type of paid life coaching.

Do this for fun, because it's what you enjoy doing, keep blogging, make a name for yourself, the money will follow that. I feel like these ventures definitely turn disappointing if the primary focus is the money and not the enjoyment of blogging, entertaining and helping others.

 

[AndrewNC]

Our greatest struggle has been to make it known and get people to visit it.... Every once in a while we participate in different discussions on various forums related to self-help, but that doesn't seem to get us very far.

... what are the best ways to advertise such a blog?

"And here at VZMO we will teach you how to start your own business, or expand what you already have, to make more than you ever thought possible."

:-\

 

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[Coach Shane]

Get some buzz going by using polls. SurveyMonkey is great for that. It helps in generating blog articles for YOUR readers and also can spark ideas for product creation. Get them telling you what they want, and they will tell their friends because "they're the star".

 

[Abdiel]

Just a headsup. WebSense categorizes your site as "uncategorized"; try getting it re-analysed and set a category so you won't get unnecessarily blocked .

Also, have you thought about curating content from time to time? The scoop.it website is a great way to start a community and get some good shares between the groups.

 

[M&A]

Create real great unique content spend.

Create Facebook fan page.

Post articles to fb page.

Advertise your best article via fb ads.

If its as good as it should be it will be shared and go viral. Leading to a larger following for your website.

I did this for my old website, 40$ of ads lead to one article going viral and receiving 300,000 visits in one day. My overall traffic went from 30 per day to 1000 a day after that event.

 

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[LifeTransformer]

The feeling I'm getting from your site's design is corporate, not self help. Look into other self-help blogs, see what their designs are like and make it look more engaging.

Here's another quick tip; I clicked on your "hidden side of politics" article expecting to read some kind of conspiracy theory, whereas (I only briefly glanced at it) the message was to not bother yourself with politics. A better title would have probably been something like; "6 reasons why you should ditch Politics" or "Should you be worried about Politics?" or "Need to find more time? Cut out politics", anything along them lines.

 

[GuestUser159]

The feeling I'm getting from your site's design is corporate, not self help. Look into other self-help blogs, see what their designs are like and make it look more engaging.

Here's another quick tip; I clicked on your "hidden side of politics" article expecting to read some kind of conspiracy theory, whereas (I only briefly glanced at it) the message was to not bother yourself with politics. A better title would have probably been something like; "6 reasons why you should ditch Politics" or "Should you be worried about Politics?" or "Need to find more time? Cut out politics", anything along them lines.

Powerful advice. Indeed the titles of the articles could use some improvement.

 

[KennyJA]

Do this for fun, because it's what you enjoy doing, keep blogging, make a name for yourself, the money will follow that. I feel like these ventures definitely turn disappointing if the primary focus is the money and not the enjoyment of blogging, entertaining and helping others.

Took the words right out of my mouth. I started a blog sometime back concerning the topics of one of my books that frequently got the most likes and shares out of all of my FB ads. I found it easier to post about this because I know quite a bit about it and love the subject.

This process of earning money requires a lot, and I do stress a lot of learning.

 

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[GuestUser159]

Just a headsup. WebSense categorizes your site as "uncategorized"; try getting it re-analysed and set a category so you won't get unnecessarily blocked .

Also, have you thought about curating content from time to time? The scoop.it website is a great way to start a community and get some good shares between the groups.

Why would WebSense matter?

 

[Abdiel]

Why would WebSense matter?

WebSense is the 'to go' network security in most firms that work with the government, globalized companies and colleges. WebSense categories are also taken into consideration by other web security plugins (including avast). Right now my employer uses this so that means I can't share your site at all with anyone in or partnered with the firm because it appears as harmful. Multiply this scenario by a few thousand "8 to 5 internet-hungry workers" and you have a significant loss of traffic.

Plus it's good practice to test your site with tools like csi.websense because if it's marked and blocked as uncategorized in those sites it's bound to be blocked in other security services like McAfee (which means even more people are missing your content). The sooner you have a category the faster your site will start receiving organic traffic.

 

[Jonleehacker]

http://www.quicksprout.com/2015/05/...100k-a-month-challenge-without-using-my-name/

 

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[KennyJA]

Good article.

If you want to grow your traffic at a fast pace, pick a big niche that isn’t filled with a ton of smart marketers.

Wow, and I thought the easiest way to drive traffic was by entering a small niche that nobody dominates yet. Sometimes advice contradicts and leaves me confused.

 

[Coach Shane]

WebSense is the 'to go' network security in most firms that work with the government, globalized companies and colleges. WebSense categories are also taken into consideration by other web security plugins (including avast). Right now my employer uses this so that means I can't share your site at all with anyone in or partnered with the firm because it appears as harmful. Multiply this scenario by a few thousand "8 to 5 internet-hungry workers" and you have a significant loss of traffic.

Plus it's good practice to test your site with tools like csi.websense because if it's marked and blocked as uncategorized in those sites it's bound to be blocked in other security services like McAfee (which means even more people are missing your content). The sooner you have a category the faster your site will start receiving organic traffic.

This is a GREAT site. Thanks for the info. My business is "online education" and like you said, if companies block my site--MY CUSTOMERS CAN'T SEE ME! What a potential disaster! Thanks again, I've already resubmitted and will hopefully get categorized as an Education site.

Thanks again!

 

[GuestUser159]

WebSense is the 'to go' network security in most firms that work with the government, globalized companies and colleges. WebSense categories are also taken into consideration by other web security plugins (including avast). Right now my employer uses this so that means I can't share your site at all with anyone in or partnered with the firm because it appears as harmful. Multiply this scenario by a few thousand "8 to 5 internet-hungry workers" and you have a significant loss of traffic.

Plus it's good practice to test your site with tools like csi.websense because if it's marked and blocked as uncategorized in those sites it's bound to be blocked in other security services like McAfee (which means even more people are missing your content). The sooner you have a category the faster your site will start receiving organic traffic.

I'm not sure what effect something like this can have, but I did submit a category for the blog. Will see what happens. Thanks for sharing.

 

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[GuestUser159]

http://www.quicksprout.com/2015/05/...100k-a-month-challenge-without-using-my-name/

Great find man!

 

[piesandak47]

What makes you an authority in this space? Looks incredibly generic to me.

There's no face to this blog, no personal touch. The design looks dated.

And you say "And here at VZMO we will teach you how to start your own business, or expand what you already have, to make more than you ever thought possible." How can you say that when you can't grow your own blog?

I'm sure you mean well but nothing about this site makes me want to visit or read it over all the other super established players in the space.

 

[Vigilante]

Self help blogs are a dime a dozen.

 

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[GuestUser159]

Self help blogs are a dime a dozen.

so?

 

[GuestUser159]

What makes you an authority in this space? Looks incredibly generic to me.

There's no face to this blog, no personal touch. The design looks dated.

And you say "And here at VZMO we will teach you how to start your own business, or expand what you already have, to make more than you ever thought possible." How can you say that when you can't grow your own blog?

I'm sure you mean well but nothing about this site makes me want to visit or read it over all the other super established players in the space.

What makes anyone an authority in anything? It's the courage to step up and work your way to success.

 

[Vigilante]

Have you made more than you thought possible?

 

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[Vigilante]

At the end of May this year, my friend and I launched a blog - http://vzmo.com - in the self-help category. Our greatest struggle has been to make it known and get people to visit it, and to participate with comments and suggestions. So far we created a Facebook page where we post the articles with a short description. We considered making a twitter page, but we're not sure how effective it would be for a blog such as this one. Every once in a while we participate in different discussions on various forums related to self-help, but that doesn't seem to get us very far.

For this reason we thought about asking you guys what we can do to improve it. What do you think about the design, the content, and what are the best ways to advertise such a blog?

What businesses have you built? Profiling them on your site might lend credibility.

 

[GuestUser159]

Have you made more than you thought possible?

That's a figure of speech, especially in the context that it was used. Was that supposed to be a smart comment?

 

[GuestUser159]

What businesses have you built? Profiling them on your site might lend credibility.

Why would listing some businesses provide any credibility to a self-help blog dealing with mastery of life in all aspects, not just business? If you can make a business and make money out of it, does that make you able to discuss the powers of the mind or other more metaphysical concepts? Besides, anybody can list a few businesses and claim a connection to them, or part ownership or anything else. And in fact I would consider your advice, would it not be for your arrogant attitude.

 

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[Vigilante]

 

[Vigilante]

Why would listing some businesses provide any credibility to a self-help blog dealing with mastery of life in all aspects, not just business? If you can make a business and make money out of it, does that make you able to discuss the powers of the mind or other more metaphysical concepts? Besides, anybody can list a few businesses and claim a connection to them, or part ownership or anything else. And in fact I would consider your advice, would it not be for your arrogant attitude.

Learn to master your emotions.

 

[GuestUser159]

Learn to master your emotions.

Mastery is required in something worthy of attention. However, you're rather amusing comments are nothing more than a mere inconvenience.

 

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[GuestUser159]

 

[Vigilante]

Ok. Here's how you fix the blog.

Step 1 - build something successful or demonstrate mastery in some arena that gives you a modicum of credibility

Step 2 - draw from that to teach others how you did it and how they can break through

Step 3 - be authentic

If you do those three things, your blog will be successful.

Good luck! I hope you become the next big thing!