Like many blog-specific traffic generation concepts (I nearly wrote fads there) Entrecard has had a pretty prolific beginning. In this post I explain exactly how the Entrecard system works and what you can do with it so that any blogger can have a start that is equally as prolific!The Entrecard system is a bit involved for new users so it is necessary to break it down a little to explain it. Put simply, it lets you advertise for free. Did you breathe a sigh of relief? I hope so, because I certainly did when I found this out! Effective advertising for bloggers is costly these days with expensive PPC campaigns producing more and more dubious results and the price of reviews on the bigger blogs reaching hundreds of dollars; Entrecard is a way to slightly level the playing field.
So here's the process, step by step:
- Sign-up to Entrecard for free (note that there is no referral system, this has resulted in plenty of very fair and even-handed reviews popping up around the blogosphere).
- Create an advert – The format in which adverts are shared on Entrecard is as 125x125 .jpeg/.jpg or .png file which you will have to host somewhere on-line as opposed to uploading it from your computer. These images may be created in any program you may have on your computer such as Photoshop and there are many sites such as Imageshack that supply free hosting for your pictures.
- Place the Entrecard widget code on your blog – simply create a new object in the sidebar of your blog and copy and paste the smell segment of html code provided on the Entrecard site. In this widget adverts of other bloggers will be displayed.
- Earn some credits – Instead of spending money on advertising, users of the system trade in Entrecard Credits (ECs) as a substitute for cold, hard cash. This will be explained below.
- Buy an advertising spot – To promote your blog you need to spend ECs to buy an advertising spot on another blog in the network (over 7,750 as of today). The cost of the advertising spot will depend on the size and quality of the blog and, once bought, will show your blog's advert for 24 hours.
Firstly you earn one credit every time you 'drop' your card for another Entrecard member. This is analogous to sharing your business card. Your card shows an image of your 125x125 advert and is a great method of networking. You are limited to 300 drops a day however but the good news is that you also earn one credit every time you receive a card from another blogger.
The second method of earning credits is to accept them as advertising earnings. If you have installed the widget code on your blog (which you must do in order to use the site effectively) you will be able to display the adverts of other bloggers who wish to promote their blogs on your site. In order to do so they will have to purchase advertising with Entrecard credits and you will personally receive 25% of those credits. Entrecard states that this is in order to prevent inflation of advertising prices.
The third credit earning method is a little more obscure. The site has a marketplace where credits can be exchanged for products and services. This is a very innovative and exciting aspect of the system and should not be ignored by new users. Examples of things sold in the marketplace are; hosting for a Wordpress blog, article review services and one member even offered to write a Shakespearean sonnet about the purchaser's blog!
So there you have it, earn yourself some credits and spend it on some advertising. If you have an attractive advert and display it on carefully chosen blogs in your niche you can expect some traffic. Also you should expect to see plenty of traffic from Entrecard members checking out your blog to decide whether or not to advertise on it.
Entrecard is ideal for medium to smaller blogs, the ability to earn enough credits to purchase a 24 hour advert on an enormous blog, for the very cheap price of nothing, is incredible. The system is easy to get to grips with and will involve plenty of networking with other bloggers which is always useful. Like all systems however, it is open to some minor abuse. There are 'chain-droppers' out there who may hardly spend a second on your blog and also plenty of bloggers who are very popular in the Entrecard community and hence have high advertising costs but not so big outside of it. My advice is always to check how popular such blogs are outside of Entrecard before you spend ECs on advertising and, when you drop your card, make an effort to actually look at the blog. You may find several blogs that you really like and establish some great relationships this way.
So there's a brief introduction to Entrecard, an up and coming blog traffic generation that could well continue to grow for a long time, a great opportunity to promote your blog and yourself to the world, for the cheap price of absolutely nothing! Sign up today at www.entrecard.com
4 comments:
I tried getting my own Entrecard..but I still get confused how it works. Thanks for sharing this post..i helped me understand how Entrecard works better.
You're most welcome :)
Did you get lot of traffic from it? I used it for 1 month already. But not much in coming traffic. How to improve ah? :D
@Jayce: Maybe you can try powerdropping. Refer to andrewooi.com
The more you drop the more people will return to drop on you.
Other than that you can try to organize events, such as a weekly draw to award your droppers with credits etc., you should refer to ahkong.net, he is very active in entrecard related activities
have fun jayce :)
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