Niche Product Sites Case Study #6 – Getting in a Groove
Last Updated on September 18, 2023 by Jeremy
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Welcome to the sixth entry into our niche product site case study series.
In this case study, we are tracking the performance of niche product sites I created between 2020 and 2022, sharing what is working, what is not, income and traffic changes, and lessons learned along the way.
The first site we will look at is The Grape Pursuit, a wine blog I started in early 2020. The second site is Hipster Homesteaders, a home & garden plus food & beverage blog we started in late 2021 (where we merged two lagging product sites, a coffee blog and sous vide blog, into a broader umbrella branding to allow for more content to be produced with other topics).
In the last six months, the wine blog has started to find its footing and is gaining momentum with new ideas we are replicating at scale. The homestead site's growth in traffic has been slow, but an uptick in affiliate sales shows that we're on the right path all the same.
5 Things to Do (and Not to Do) If You Have a Copycat Blogger
Last Updated on September 12, 2023 by Jeremy
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It is never a fun feeling in blogging to find out that you have a copycat. It has happened to me many times over the years, and even to this day I still always have a moment of panic over all of the what-ifs that could happen.
Most end up resolving themselves just fine, but some become a persistent issue that I simply have to recognize become a part of doing business.
So in this one, we thought it'd be fun to discuss the topic of copycat bloggers more and share some things you should (and shouldn't) do when someone is imitating your business.
That said, we should also note that you may have two kinds of copycats to watch out for, namely, one that follows your lead and builds an eerily similar brand as your own and another that steals content outright. While we call both of these copycats insofar as the word's connotations allow, some approaches below may best apply only to one case over the other.
How Does the Facebook Performance Bonus Work? A Breakdown
Last Updated on September 1, 2023 by Jeremy
Disclaimer: This Week in Blogging uses demographic data, email opt-ins, and affiliate links to operate this site. Please review our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
In mid 2023, Meta announced a new bonus program, aptly named the Facebook Performance Bonus, that would reward creators with payments for engagement-related metrics on most all types of posts excluding Reels and Stories.
Unlike past bonus incentives, this one was quite exciting to many creators as it appeared that we would get paid for the content (and subsequent engagement) we were already generating day in, day out.
After getting accepted into this one for my local blog, I decided to look closely at my data to see if I could find any trends in how money is earned and ways to increase our revenue via the program.
When Blogging Tests Fail – Is It a Bad Idea or Wrong Time?
Last Updated on August 20, 2023 by Jeremy
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It is hard to believe that I have been blogging for over 15 years now, and since starting in 2008, it feels like I've made just about every blogging test imaginable to determine what does and does not work on my sites (be it for traffic, affiliate sales, social media reach, and more).
One common trend I've seen repeatedly is that I make a test, find that the results “didn't work,” write the idea off, and move on to something else. Then, months or years later, I returned to the idea one more time only to find that it worked better than I ever dreamed.
As it turns out, the idea itself wasn't bad, but instead that it I was not analyzing the results correctly or, in most cases, simply doing the test too early in my blogging journey!
So in this one, I thought I'd share a bit more about some lessons I've learned and why you may want to repeat past experiments as your site grows and evolves.
Affiliate Aggregators vs Direct Programs – Which is Better?
Last Updated on August 7, 2023 by Jeremy
Disclaimer: This Week in Blogging uses demographic data, email opt-ins, and affiliate links to operate this site. Please review our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
When it comes to getting into affiliate marketing with your blog, we'll be the first to admit that the process is confusing.
Some companies offer their own in-house affiliate programs. Others use 3rd parties that can range from being easy to use to downright frustrating. Even more do not have affiliate opportunities at all!
As affiliate marketing is a topic that comes up time and time again in our Facebook group, we thought we'd take a high level look at the different setups of affiliate programs, namely direct programs vs affiliate aggregators, and provide an analysis on which is better when you have an opportunity to pick between more than one service for a given brand!
Note: This article defines “affiliate aggregators” as 3rd party companies that feature numerous brands under one affiliate platform (e.g. CJ, Awin). Companies that sell numerous 3rd party products in aggregator fashion (e.g. Amazon, Booking.com) may have their own direct affiliate program or be available via aggregator affiliate networks.
