The Article Writer

After just over one month of doing the “Entrecard thing” I have decided to pull the plug.

All right, let me rephrase my statement: After using Entrecard for the past five weeks on five different blogs, I removed the Big E’s widget from the sidebar of this blog and on my automotive blog. I’m still running Entrecard on three blogs, but I’m only accepting new ads on one of them.

My reasons for cutting back on Entrecard are many and include the following:

Entrecard takes up a lot of time. Yes, there were a few days where I hit the 300 limit for one site (600 total drops for all sites) and I realized two hours had gone by. Time carefully expended in exchange for a small amount of fleeting traffic — not good!

Quite a few sites were dead or rarely updated. I don’t mind visiting blogs but there has to be something new for me to read. I rather not drop and run, but if there isn’t anything else for me to do, why should I visit an aged or neglected blog in the first place?

Newer blogs benefit, but for older blogs it can be a drag. Don’t get me wrong if you found this blog via Entrecard and are now a regular reader — thank you and please stay! But, the quality of the blogs submitted for advertising here just hasn’t measured up.

Bait and switch. I know that I shouldn’t depend on power dropping sites for my supply of websites to visit, but they can be useful to find blogs to visit and drop cards on. Unfortunately, some sites are suddenly converted to porn or other senseless babble, sullying Entrecard in the process. What a shame.

Of course, there are some benefits to Entrecard including:

Newer sites. I launched Auto Trends last month and got more than 1100 visitors from Entrecard alone. Add in all of my digging, stumbling, and propelling and the site got off to a nice start. It remains the only site where I am still accepting ads to this day.

Networking. Some of the bloggers I have met have been friendly and helpful, the usual trolls notwithstanding. I’m sure many of the more active users are also active elsewhere and our paths will cross again and again.

Please don’t take this as a slam of Entrecard as it isn’t — Entrecard just isn’t working that well for me. After this month I may remove the widget from one or two other sites and I’m not planning to resume regular card dropping on a consistent basis.

My time is valuable to me and dropping cards doesn’t seem to add value to my time.

Further Reading

Entrecard and Other Internet Mysteries

Entrecard Notes, Update 1

Entrecard Notes, Update 2

It has already been two weeks since I joined Entrecard and I’m still finding my way around this unique, online traffic trading system. I have Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly score going through my mind at the moment (insanity, here we come) therefore I’ll use these three categories to explain my current observations of Entrecard:

The Good — There are some very helpful people who are involved with Entrecard. There isn’t room for me to name everyone plus some people are still anonymous to me, managing blogs where I cannot find their names. Personally, I prefer disclosure when it comes to blogging, but the consistency of drop exchanges, regularly updated and interesting blogs, and camaraderie on the forums is appreciated.

The Bad — I’ve been trying some of the power dropping methods out there including the bookmarking tagging found on Ty’s blog and have had mixed results with this method. First of all, some of the blogs have been removed, so all you get is an error message. Second of all, some other blogs haven’t been updated in months. Finally, there are a handful of blogs included which are splogs, have adult content, or are just plain bad neighborhoods. Anyway, I’ve modified Ty’s information by removing some blogs while replacing them with a few others.

The Ugly — It is a nice thought to think that fellow bloggers would treat site visitors with respect, but that just isn’t the case. I’ve come across a number of blogs which offer some form of trickery whereby you’ll click on what looks like an Entrecard, but be brought to a separate advertising page. I’ve also found blogs which are poorly written or contain design flaws making them impossible to read. I know it isn’t Entrecard’s job to police their members, but some sites are just plain crappy.

I’m still running Entrecard on five blogs with no plans to add or subtract sites for the short term. The benefits to me have been additional traffic, especially to my newer blogs, plus connecting with some decent people. Long term, I can see me reducing my Entrecard involvement to three blogs with less daily dropping as time goes on.

Last week I announced that I was giving Entercard a look over, applying their widget to five of my blogs. I’ve been taking my time learning the system, but I have been a big time dropper so far. I think I’ve only advertised once or twice to date.

I am late to the Entrecard game, so I realize that some of you are pros while others have used Entrecard and left. For those of you who have been sitting on the sidelines to this point, I offer to you the following observations:

• There is a core group of entrecarders who seem to drive the system. Known a “power droppers” they routinely hit their 300 drop limit each day. Most also are part of a “You Drop, I Follow” network, just the type of person who is guaranteed to stop by.

• Asia is well represented - I’m finding plenty of bloggers from Malaysia and the Philippines present. Without generalizing, most take their networking very seriously.

• If you talk up Entrecard you may get a visit from founder Graham Langdon who will leave a comment on your blog and invite you to join their forum (I haven’t done this yet).

• You can stumble the Entrecard site, but for some reason StumbleUpon has banned their blog. BTW, I like to stumble “entrecard” and find drops that way. If the article is good, I’ll give it a thumbs up. If it isn’t I usually keep moving.

• Like any social media system, Entrecard can be addictive. Some people definitely need to get a life, but you can say the same about me when it comes to StumbleUpon!

I plan on running Entrecard on these five blogs for some time, but the widgets will stay below the fold on this blog and on my automotive blog. If an ad is ugly, it doesn’t stand a chance for approval nor does any site that I think my readership wouldn’t be interested in.

More Entrecard notes to follow!