Entrecard Update
A week ago I mentioned having joined Entrecard and trialling it to see if I felt it was beneficial to boosting my blog traffic here at Lightening Online.
I originally heard about it via a discussion on the Aussie Bloggers Forums in the thread Aussie Bloggers Using Entrecard. A thanks goes out to Lani and Swollen Pickles for their help with designing my own card. 
So, how has the first week gone?
Here are some of my current stats from the Entrecard dashboard:
158 clicks from Entrecard to you
38 clicks via ads you placed (so far I have run 7 ads so that’s an average of a little over 5 clicks per ad)
92 clicks from your blog to others
What do these stats tell me?
Being a part of Entrecard has brought some traffic to my site. Almost 200 visitors in the space of a week isn’t too bad.
Others are getting a LOT more benefit (92 clicks from here to other blogs) from placing ads on my site than I am from placing ads on other sites (only 38 clicks from my own advertising to here). This may be because you guys are very supportive of whatever I have on my site. It may also be that currently there isn’t a lot of competition from other ads on this site to compete with the entrecard widget and I have placed it in a prominent place.
I am disappointed with my click through rate from advertising on other blogs. At this stage I have actually ceased requesting advertising on other blogs and allowing my credits to build up. It may be that I need to try different blogs to advertise on or it may be that the best benefits to be had through the entrecard program are to be had from other entrecard users rather than blog readers.
What are my thoughts in general on entrecard?
I think the concept is a good one in theory. How good it is in practise is limited by the way it is used by it’s users. There has been some debate about the “drop and run” users. Some say they are still helpful to their site while others believe they could be jeopardizing the whole program.
My only concern with those who drop and run (without browsing the site at all, ever) is that if the program doesn’t bring people regular readers, will they begin to give up on it?
I would also like to spend a bit more time in the forums and writing reviews for some of the blogs I do visit regularly. I know I could put more into the program (and then perhaps get more out of it) although right now it’s a matter of balancing my time usage with other projects.
How have I approached my entrecard “strategy”?
My strategy so far has been “slow and steady wins the race”. I haven’t spent hours of time dropping my card on as many sites as possible in order to boost my advertising costs quickly. It would seem that some smaller blogs have overpriced ad spaces for the amount of exposure the ad gets. Of course, we’re not talking “real” money here anyway so does it matter? Not sure. Slow and steady suits me anyway.
As much as possible, I try to visit the sites of those who have visited me. Kind of a return the favour type thing and to build up a repoire with these visitors.
When I have some spare time (usually in the evenings when I’m tired and just in the mood to browse) I make use of the entrecard categories board to find new blogs to visit. Just a presence there I’m sure is one good way to advertise your blog. So far I have subscribed to a number of interesting blogs that I am enjoying reading.
When I find a blog that interests me, I try to leave a comment to let the blog owner know that I have visited and appreciated their site. Yes, entrecard will let them know I’ve been, but I know I love receiving comments so I try to leave comments as much as time permits.
My opinion overall?
It is a program designed to get out of it what you put into it. If you have a new blog or some spare time, it looks to be a reasonable avenue for attracting at least some traffic to your blog. If you’re already pressed for time and not really all that interested in finding new blogs then it’s benefits may not outweight the investment required. Then again, it doesn’t cost you anything to join us, so perhaps it’s worth a try?
If nothing else, I know that I have managed to find some great new blogs to read due to being a part of entrecard. So far, it has been worth it for me. Whether I continue to use it over the long term remains to be seen.
During my entrecard browsing, I discovered that a LOT of entrecarders are talking about their opinion of entrecard. If you’d like to see what others are saying about it, here are some great links for you to visit.
Chris Garrett has a written a great blog post called Your Feedback as a Mirror where he talks about getting back what you put out.
Andrew Boyd from On Blogging Australia has compiled a list of Aussie Bloggers Using Entrecard. If you’re an Australian Blogger using Entrecard, let him know and he’ll add you to the list.
Turnip of Power has a number of articles on entrecard. My 2 favourite are:
Top 5 Entrecard Tips and Tricks
How Much Traffic Has Entrecard Brought Me
Problogger recently did an interview with the founder of Entrecard:
Interview with Entrecard’s Graham Langdon
Blarguments has an article titled Give your site some iCrack - with Entrecard and states “It seems Entrecard is loved by most of its users.”
On Blogging Australia discusses The Aussie Entrecard Conspiracy which isn’t actually a conspiracy 
but mentions some recent discussions on the Aussie Bloggers Forum as well as listing several Australian blogs which are using the Entrecard.
Digital Lounge is offering to Design Your Entrecard for Free . This is a great way to get you started if you’re unsure about designing your own card.
Cyber Street Report has written Card Power which shows a graph of 3 entrecard users and what has happened to their rankings since they joined entrecard.
Also:
10 Entrecard Traffic Tips for Success by Technet News
Entrecard at Wassupjack
Over to you:
Those of you who are part of entrecard, are you happy with how it’s working for you? Do you have any strategies that you’d like to share?
If you’ve become a regular reader of this blog as a result of entrecard, please give a little hello in the comments section here.
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11 comments:
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L, I am showing my ignorance as I haven’t a clue what this is about - but it certainly sounds like blogging and site visit statistics are a serious issue here. I hope your changes bring you the success you’re after. Lisa x
Have tagged you for a meme, go check out my blog
Cheers
Robin
I’ve had a lot of new visitors via Entrecard. Sure there’s a few of the “drop and run” mob but there’s been a lot who’ve returned as regular visitors too.
Hi, I am one of the drop and runners in Entrecard. (Not for your site, I have you on a direct email new posts) However I am stopping by a lot of sites as I go, two things make me actually stop and read the sites. 1. The computor being slow, I tend to read the site before the slow site. 2. Something interesting catches my eye. If its somethig really interesting, I may comment, but I’m not a big commenter in general. If the post after the interesting post is also interesting then the blog gets moved to my EntreCard read worthy favorites folder.
My Stats aren’t real good on clicks through from ads either. I think it depends on how the widgett is positioned and the number of ads on the site. Also on what the widget is called. If its called ‘Drop Yours’ then its likely that unless you are with EntreCard you wont look at it, as you dont realise you can click on the ad. Something to consider when you pick who to advertsie with.
Lisa - well it is really a bit of fun but a lot of bloggers do enjoy finding ways to boost their traffic.
Robin - thank you. I wasn’t sure if you were still with us.
Nice to hear from you!
Jayne - that’s great. Thanks for sharing.
Amy - thanks for sharing your experiences with us! You make a good point about the card labelling.
Well, I never even noticed those stats were there until I read this post. Shows how much attention I was paying.
I just checked my stats and I got the most clicks from my ad on your site, so I applied to put it there again! I have taken the same sort of approach as you - slow and steady. To be honest, I don´t really have the time or inclination to do all those card drops, but I just drop when I´m on a site that has the widget. I also check out all the sites that apply to advertise and some of the people who´ve dropped their card on me.
I´m still in the wait and see phase, I think, but at this stage, I can´t see investing a lot of time in it. As far as I can tell the traffic is all bouncing so I´m not sure I´m getting any more subscribers or regular readers from it.
It’s slow and steady for me too. I’ve been visiting the sites who have asked to advertise on mine (and rejected many) and visiting people who have dropped cards for me. I will occasionally browse and see what I find.
Personally, I don’t see much value in dropping and running from site to site to site. I care little about having a high advertising price and would much rather see my Entrecard stats grow organically than inflate them by spending time I don’t have visiting sites I’m not interested in.
But I like being able to leave my card somewhere when I choose, and I like that others can leave theirs for me.
That’s great Guera!
Have to admit I don’t mind at all when blogs I read want to advertise on my site. Glad to hear you got some benefit from it. Some days I do the same - drop on sites that has the widget. Generally browsing and dropping I leave for evenings if I have some spare time. 
Thank you for the mention. Stumbled!
Thanks so much for dropping by Reno and for the Stumble! Much appreciated!!!
thanks for mentioning me I am still giving free designs any sort-of.
How’s your card ?
thanks