Bloggers Face-Off: Adam Singer vs. Eric Friedman

Time for a new Bloggers Face-Off.

In this edition we have two long time DBT readers who have very popular marketing blogs. The first one is Adam Singer, who blogs at The Future Buzz. If you are interested in marketing, PR and social media (not to mention the intersections between those fields), his blog is a must read.

The second one is Eric Friedman, author of Marketing.fm. On his blog Eric explores how technology affects marketing, and he is always coming up with interesting stuff, so check it out.

Adam Singer	Eric Friedman
1. How many hours per day do you dedicate to the blog?
Approximately 2 hours daily	1-2 depending on the day. Sometimes more for interviews\podcasting editing time
2. How many page views does your blog get daily?
On average ~1,500 but on days I go hot in social media, it spikes much higher	700-1000 on average and exponentially more when I get solid traction on a post
3. Do you make money with it?
I don’t make money from my blog directly – but indirectly it is worth far more. As a communications professional, it is appealing for clients to be able to have access to an active blogger. It also helps me experiment with how ideas spread and establish my credentials by sharing case studies/ideas/strategy in an open format	My blog played an important role in getting me my current job, so technically yes. I have run advertising to test out new forms of technology and ad units in the past, but all in an effort to experiment and learn. I have a better understanding of ad products once I have used them “in the wild”
4. How long did it take for you to reach 1,000 subscribers?
Around one year	2 years
5. Can one build a popular blog on a free WordPress theme?
Absolutely – if you look at what Seth Godin has done with a default TypePad theme, you’ll see it is possible to create a white-hot blog based purely on strong content	Absolutely. Content is king and is proven by those popular bloggers on the default theme. It helps once you have an established readership to build a quality archive page and surface old posts, but good writing always trumps good looks
6. What is the biggest blogging mistake you did?
Not starting a professional blog sooner. I had been keeping a personal blog since 2005, but only decided to launch a niche-focused blog in 2007. Wish I had done that far sooner, as I would have benefited from a strong wave of growth during that time	Making mistakes is the part of blogging that helps you learn the most – I would say blasting RSS readers with updates when I was editing podcast posts accidentally
7. Twitter is a distraction or a good promotional tool?
Great promotion tool for your blog content, but also a distraction if you’re not careful. I spend most time focusing on producing the absolute best writing and not worrying about Twitter. People will share your material if they like it, doesn’t have anything to do with how much time you spend there	Clearly I am biased, but I legitimately feel it is a great promotional tool. It has been great for feedback, ideas, quick polls, and of course promotion too – but in the end it just extends the conversation of a good post
8. Do you think AdSense makes a blog look unprofessional?
It depends on what you’re doing with your blog – if you’re keeping a blog to help your career and establish your credentials, ask yourself if it is really worth it to pocket a few hundred from AdSense monthly. I’d rather use screen real estate for things my audiences find interesting instead of making a little extra cash	Thinking about ad placement is key to a good design. AdSense can look silly when contextual relevance fails, but overall a well placed contextually relevant ad should ad value and in turn provide a more professional feel to a blog
9. If you could give an advice for a novice blogger, what would it be?
Write on what you’re passionate about and you really can’t fail	Start today. I have helped tons of bloggers at all stages of life begin writing and the hardest hurdle, even more so than hosting, domain names, setup, etc… is starting to write
10. What is the best way to increase website traffic?
Get on the radar of social media power users. They won’t share your content unless it is top-notch, but when it is, interested, connected people are the key to driving massive amounts of traffic	Treat your blog like an island. It needs supplies, traffic ports, trade routes, and visitors to remain habitable. Ignore one or more of these metaphors and your blog can become a deserted and desolate island fast – pay attention to each and you will have a favorite destination of visitors who want to come back

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