Mani got my attention with this post today – What would you do if you owned ProBlogger.net?
There’s some great answers in the comments section – would love to hear more of your ideas!
PS: I actually think it’s a good question to ask others about your blog. In fact I asked this very question to two other bloggers this past week and the answers were really informative. Sometimes getting perspectives from outside your own blogging zone can bring a great new perspective.
Oh! Glad that it interested you Darren.
Indeed there were some crazy answers !
I guess you’ll get more whacky and interesting one’s here. Let’s see how people take it? ;)
Cheers!
Mani Karthik
http://www.dailyseoblog.com
If i owned ProBlogger.net, i will turn make it the universal portal for all bloggers!
I’d 301 redirect it to my blog.:)
Tricky. Though, on the surface, ProBlogger.net could be used generically, it is very much tied to the “Darren Rowse brand”, therefore I almost wouldn’t want to own it. I think anyone but Darren running things could eventually lead to a loss of readership. Although other people (including myself) use the term Pro(fessional) Blogger, when it comes down to it, I’d expect most people would say ProBlogger = Darren Rowse.
If I had more of a say over things, I’d possibly get guest writers in more often, but never more than 25% of the blog’s total output.
Possibly one or two posts per week could be given over to aspiring or new probloggers, kind of like a live training ground.
Maybe add a forum (I know we’ve been there before) for more structured discussion of topics.
I would hire you to run it.
I’d let you do what you do best – which is giving out great blogging tips while I expand the website as a whole to include other features too. Of course, the Jobs Board would need a definite make-over.
Seriously though, Problogger.net has a great potential to grow – you’re stifling its growth by holding onto only the blog IMHO, but that’s just me!
Also, one of the first things I would do is to switch to Problogger.com, a .net just doesn’t have enough punch.
Are you listening Darren? ;)
Let it die probably, I’m terrible with domain names :S
What a great question!
If I owned ProBlogger, I would leverage its brand awareness into geographically focused live meeting and networking groups. Meeting say once per month and working together to learn, help each other, and add blogging awareness and civic value within their community.
Does President Darren sound good?
I’d time how fast I would lose all the regular visitors.
Blogger porn, perhaps. John Chow and Darren Rowse in compromising photos. I’d have to use Bidvertiser, I guess.
I would offer to sale for at least $100,000*10years=1 million!
I’ll add a forum to it, I’ll run monthly competitions, I’ll let my readers make a guest post once a week, and..um.. I’ll probably write a book and sell it at a very low price.
And don’t worry Darren, I’ll let you write for ProBlogger too :P
I would turn it into a book, I would take all the best posts and go make some money from publishing a decent book about blogging.
I can’t believe what I’m seeing, I was wondering around this question last few days and it really do appear.
If me I would start heading the other direction of topics on problogger.net. Since problogger has been covering blogging tips over the years. I believe it’s covered up enough from the inside out.
Maybe I’ll start on focusing on blogging motivation topics + blogging tips. And so problogger will become another kind of era.
I would forward it to my site .. lol!
I’d probably ruin it, but in a perfect world I’d just keep doing what you’re doing because that seems to work well enough.
I’d sell it, unless what Dennis mentioned would be an option. From what I’ve seen since the beginning of the year, blog selling often doesn’t work out too well.
Milk it for all it’s worth then flip it!
Write books with hints and tips and sell them on this blog. 100% chance of succes.
Keep this blog going on same lines but also
Add another blog on a different theme.
perhaps /writing-tips
/self-improvement
/financial-adivce
Write loads of articles and get other people to contribute. Watch the $ come in :)
Get way more advertisers. Add google ads and others to generate more $$$$.
What is the best way to get advice on your blog? (design, posts, direction) Should you just ask big bloggers, post on your blog saying that you want to get your blog reviewed or leave comments to the same effect?
I would probably beg and plead with you to buy it from me (for a reasonable amount of money). I’m not out to do anyone wrong, but you’ve got this ProBlogging-Money-Making-Thang worked out a whole lot better than I do!
Start a print edition (magazine) of ProBlogger.net that would be easily available at supermarket counters.
Cash out, I can’t keep up with posting.
One thing I would do is to leverage the brand of Problogger across a whole series of blogs and services.
Maybe offer one-on-one blog coaching sessions.
I would redirect it to my blog!
I think a better question might be “What would you do if you owned the b5 media network?”
If you had asked me a week early, I would have saved $54000.
I would add a forum to it and still hire you to work for it. No other owner can make this blog better than what it is.
Simple. I’d post great quality content that you have been doing for years, Darren.
Interesting question.
Let’s assume for an instant that I was Darren Rowse. What would I do that he (the real Darren Rowse) hasn’t already done?
I think that I might try to hire additional writers and launch off into an e-magazine format the way Wendy Piersall has done with eMoms at home. You could have one branch talk about blog design, another about managing your blogging business, a third for beginners on blogging basics, and so on ….
If it’s not broke don’t fix it. If i owned it that wouldn’t mean that I would change the authors, and i’d be up for doing a income share for contributors.
“If I tell you I will have to kill you” Jk
I would probably do the same thing you do, just different face. I would maybe add Forums to it so people can talk about more stuff instead of just commenting.
This would bring even more traffic to it. If you are going to do this route call it probloggerforum.com :)
Ups: Just checked that domain name and as it looks like its taken!
Is this your forum?
To avoid everyone being like “Skellie who? What did you do with Darren?” I think I’d have to do some Sandra Bullock stars in ‘The Net’ style identity theft to keep things afloat. You know, the occasional post about the house Google built v2, the wife and kid, etc. Keep the Darren Rowse photo and otherwise mooch off Darren’s personal brand as much as possible.
If Darren started a new blog of his own, and perhaps started telling people/the authorities I was falsely capitalizing on his personal brand, I’d just tell everyone he’s some kind of new Fake Steve Jobs — except, a Fake Darren Rowse, I guess.
I would give away problogger t-shirts or at least sell them to who ever wants one
retire
I would work hard writing, promoting, and replying to comments every day. On the weekends I would rest, happy to have the best job ever — one I enjoy.
Problogger is really great. It’s an example in what can be done (and how to do it well) and a great resource too.
i like what you are doing since the design and branding update, Darren. That is the direction I would go, if i were steering the ship. And, I would be looking to take problogger more and more toward being a social media site mashed with your blog. the problogger community is passionate and HUGE. and i think has the “cult” style potential you want in an audience.
right now, though, i would open some forums off the front page. and gear them toward “tips”, troubleshooting, how to, diy (scripts etc), pitched at different skill levels (beginner, expert, etc)
either that or i’d sell it, and go lie down for a while.
I would create ProBlogger shirts and sell them for $5 each. I would also do more video posts.
I would hire Darren to continue posting on it and I’d get the heck out of the way. ;-)
Start a forum.
I would use it to effect my plan for world domination!
Redirect to problogger.com?
If I owned ProBlogger… Mmm, sell it and buy a Six Flags theme park? =)
Because I enjoy the site so much now, I wouldn’t change a thing. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Well, first I would review my current blog, and link to it, second I would add some banner links, again to my blog, write here that I’m on vacation, and let traffic build up on my current blog.
After a month or so, I will see the behaviour of visitors and the traffic trends and post something like coming from you. :) This is fun…
Review my blog again and this time praise it with kindest of words. The point is I would try to make my blog known to the world, to people really interested in blogging, SEO, web events, wordpress, google, everything I write about.
After a while, 2-3 months (or maybe 6, or maybe 12), just when traffic will start to drop here, I will sell the domain to some professional blogger (as the name implies) to continue this great work and source of inspiration for us all.
sell it
If I owned problogger.net I’d affiliate myself with Ebay and then ask you to post about ebay things. I’m sure this would bring in tons of additional revenue each month.
I would sell it for a million US dollar and retire young..