I just want to throw this question out there, on an experimental basis, for various reasons: to get some feedback on “personal finance blogging” as a whole, to feel the pulse of readers/commentators on personal finance blogs, to get a feel of what some personal finance bloggers think of other personal finance bloggers, and so on.
So if you have beef with anything in particular (or even in general - on issues like content (or lack of it), link baits, layout, etc), feel free to leave a rant. All criticism will be accepted as long as it’s not personally directed towards anyone - so basically, try to rant without pointing fingers to any particular blog or blogger. References to specific identities will be edited out.
To start things, here is something that throws me off every once in a while: headlines similar to “Get Rich in XYZ days” - sometimes that sounds to me like “Learn Japanese in 7 Days” - I don’t know if people click on such headlines thinking “Wow, let me check it out” or thinking “Sounds like a rip-off, let me check it out”. 
Now it’s your turn.
If you want to be anonymous, just write “Anon” as your name in the comment form.
Image source: www.cod.alliancze.org
{ 10 trackbacks }
{ 55 comments… read them below or add one }
I have only recently started reading money blogs but already have noticed how much of the same content is recycled over and over and over. Same tips over and over. At least bring an original angle to it. Also quality over quantity on posts.
I dont like veiled attempts to get you to their friend’s site who are trying to sell you something. Or links to what they have up for sale on eBay. I see this more often on small frugal living blogs than on finance blogs.
I have a crap computer on a crap connection and so many blogs have so many widgets and such on the sidebars it takes FOREVER to load. I give up on reading sometimes.
Posts I do enjoy though are when blogs open it up for opinions on “ask the readers” type posts. The most recent one I recall reading was for what financial tools do you use.
Thanks for allowing us to vent.
I don’t have anything against bloggers themselves, but I don’t like when toipcs shift from personal finance to blogging. I don’t like reading about blogging… it’s like a book about how the author wrote the book rather than a book about *something*. There’s nothing wrong with it, just keep it separate… in my opinion. :>
This post is an exception, because I get to complain
… but I’d like to read about *personal finance* on a personal finance blog rather than personal finance bloggers or blogging.
Well, sometimes i see really good articles, but most of them are impossible suggestions
Although I’m guilty of it too, I hate the way we have all become extensions of Money, Kiplinger’s, etc.
I also think some bloggers have gone from blogging to “affiliate blogging” and have basically become advertisements for credit cards.
All of this is natural due to the intense nature of blogging. I mean we all feel like we have to blog about something once a day. It gets tough to find topics to blog about (especially if you’ve been blogging for more than a month).
A few things:
1) When I think of something original, everyone in the world jumps on the same bandwagon. I notice the same exact same thing when an article gets published on MSN Money or some other online magazine ($46K/year, anyone? Though I am guilty of using that one myself). It’s kind of interesting because if you do your own thing you can secretly see how many people are reading your blog. However, since I’m trying to stay niched, it’s not as effective as if I were a more generalist PF blogger.
2) I don’t put a lot of stock in the credibility of some bloggers (YES there is one person I’m thinking of in particular but I won’t mention his name here), because if you follow them for any length of time, their story doesn’t make any sense at all. Others are more genuine.
3) Same thing when someone appears to be shilling something, and you can’t tell if they genuinely like the product or if they’re getting paid $8 to post about it.
4) I also hate when the articles people write totally suck, when they don’t cite sources, and then their page is all full of ads. I see this more often among military PF bloggers than PF bloggers in general.
My favorite bloggers are people whose personalities shine through their blog and who, while anonymous, aren’t so enigmatic that you can’t imagine the face beyond the blog. Women bloggers are a lot better at this than men bloggers, in my experience.
I agree with some of the above-mentioned items.
Blogs that previously were interesting reads but have turned to re-hashing any article with a finance angle for the sake of making a post. Even worse if most of the other posts contain author-benefiting referrals.
Advertising and widget overloaded sites combined with a junk layouts/designs. you wait for the site to load and then see it is a jumbled mess.
I hate bloggers who use spam software for comments and then just delete all marked as spam w/o checking for false positives.
Seriously though, I enjoy bloggers who are able to turn often boring personal finance issues into fun. In that respect I like the WideBread’s motto: “You can’t save money if you’re not having fun!”
I’m not a big fan of tons of chicklets.
I had written about this past, but didn’t open it up for comments. However, feel free to see the articles at:
Personal Finance Blogging Pet Peeves #1 (or the 10% Compounding Myth)
Personal Finance Blogging Pet Peeves #2 (or X Tips that will Save you $Y)/
Here are my complaints about most PF Bloggers.
1. Overly simplistic advice like “spend less than you earn” as if this were the holy grail to vast riches. “Holy S!#%, you mean I could be rich right now if I just spend less than I earn!” Bloody Brilliant!
2. Bloggers that tell you how to get rich without being rich themselves. Hmmm..quite a paradox no?
3. Advertisements.
4. Bloggers that advocate particular investment vehicles (mutual funds, stocks, etc) but NEVER publish their holdings or returns which means no credibility.
5. Headliners. Bloggers that “borrow” headlines for material. We all do it but some do it far, far more than others.
Golbguru,
To use a food analogy, my favorites are those bloggers that share recipes I can use, typically cook using those recipes, and regularly eat their own cooking
-I prefer details to generalities, how to’s are good for this
-I enjoy alternative points of view, ie Devils’ Advocate
-I like reading about people’s money problems, and more importantly, how they solved them
-I have a hard time when people use terms like always or never. There are usually two sides to most every story. Only the Sith speak in absolutes
The one thing I can’t stand about pf blogging is this website. Just joking
My biggest pet peeve is the extent to which content is recycled dredging up old posts and also the rampant linking to other blogs. My LEAST favorite posts are the weekly linkfests to various blogs — I’ve already been reading those blogs and have SEEN all of those posts. I don’t want to see them again.
PLEASE — just maintain a good blogroll and let me wander around the blogosphere on my own.
I don’t ask people to stop the linkfest links but I think they should be limited to say, your top three favorite links of the week. And end it there. Then write some new content dagnabit!
On my blog, which I imagine must be insanely boring, I don’t feel comfortable doling out advice beyond praising what’s working for me. Mostly I just rant on about my personal struggles. And that’s the sort of thing I like to read.
DB
Okay, let’s all start naming names! LOL! I swear some of these comments are about me! Oh well, you can’t please everyone.
I gotta say I am baffled when pf bloggers say that clothing is an area where you can spend more (don’t need to be frugal).
I will say it - I shop at Target. I shop at Walmart. I shop at Ross Dress for Less. And those clothes can last a long time. Meanwhile, I “splurged” on a sweater from JC Penney last year and the buttons on the cuff of the sleeve started falling off the first day I wore it.
I find great deals on durable clothes that are fashionable and stylish. And it just irks me that pf bloggers haven’t caught on to this.
I even had a blog about frugal clothes and accessories - it’s still there if you want to see it styleandsensibility.blogspot.com
JLP you are not my primary culprit, if you resemble my comment it’s because a lot of folks do.
DB
I don’t like reviews of products that are not relevant to me because I’m not in the US.
I don’t like linkfests unless the blogger tells me why its a good (or its linking to my blog
).
I don’t like too many posts that aren’t about personal finance.
There are two things that particularly annoy me:
1) A post which is more than 50% comprised of a quote from another blog or msn money.
2) Linkfests weekly, weekend, daily… who cares… I get feeds from all of them. I periodically scan other people’s blogrolls to add new ones.
By far, I most enjoy personal stories. If you talk about a topic that has been beat to death, I still enjoy it if you add in how it effects you. You can’t continuously come up with new outlooks on PF that no one has ever thought of. But if you add how it has effected you, it is valuable.
I have to admit I’m not big on linkfests either. That’s what my reader is for.
There are other things I don’t like, but I think I sometimes DO them, so no throwing stones in glass series of tubes.
I gotta say, there are some blogs, even really popular ones, that make claims or give advice that sounds really profound or accurate to the uninformed, but in reality are just outlandish or even impossible. Some of the posts make me laugh out loud because I know that the advice won’t work. I fear that people who read these blogs will think that following sensational advice will have a positive impact, and will only harm themselves and become bitter towards the rest of us.
My biggest pet peeve is the fugly blog. I code all day at work. If your blog is ugly or strains my eyes further in some way, then I won’t read it. Period.
I don’t use feed readers which is probably why I am guilty of pointing out the articles I really like. But I also know my audience has people who are not into the PF blogging read and actually do rely on me to point out stuff to them, i.e. my meatspace friends who don’t read my blog everyday. I don’t mind this kind of post so much as long as it’s not just a list, but includes some commentary about why the article is worth noting. (Which is something I didn’t really do today.)
I hate linkfests. I’ve been approached to exchange links. (Oh the irony! I knew one of the founders of the original company, LinkExchange.) I only like to link to stuff that I actually read, which is why I’ve also become ruthless is cutting links when I have stopped reading them.
Ads in the middle of the center column. If you’re going to have three columns, reserve the middle for content. I know the 3-col layout is popular with folks, and you get more imprints from having an ad in the middle at the end of a post, but that bugs me. FWIW, I would have them too per my contractual obligations, but my pea-brain hasn’t figured out how to code that.
I hate the holier-than-thou attitude of some PF bloggers. They sound like people I wouldn’t like to be friends with in real life. (And I am well aware I am not everyone’s cup of tea either.)
The rehashed, same bland advice. Let’s talk turkey and get a personality.
Ok. I’m done. Just call me Miss Ranty-Pants and email me directly if you want to flame me for any hypocrisy. (Whaddya know? I’m Catholic so I’m pretty down with that.)
Wil,
Could you give specifics? (Not specific bloggers, but the specific types of advice that is too unrealistic?)
Thanks,
NCN
Mapgirl,
Hey Miss Ranty-Pants!
NCN
Yes, content is undoubtedly king, but in the wild world of blogging, we all write about pretty much the same can of beans.
For the most part there is nothing absolutely new or interesting about money that hasn’t already been said or done.
Ultimately, linkfests and regurgitated content don’t bother me either way.
What bothers me is how a number of folks think they’re the hottest thing next to the sun for whatever reason, and take it upon themselves to create these isolationist blog cliques that give off an aura of false importance.
*shows his fangs*
I’m totally annoyed by any sort of exclusivity or expectation of conformity.
I personally enjoy blogs like OkDork and Nevblog that are utterly independent and thirst-quenchingly unique.
btw I unheart fugly blogs too.
I’m not a big fan of the holier-than-thou attitude some bloggers throw off.
And I find that I’ve stopped reading the blogs that just crunch numbers and rehash Kiplinger’s in favor of following bloggers who have specific goals and are chronicling their progress towards those goals.
Every comment above carries some learning moments - it’s going to take some time to absorb it all in.
For those (like me) who didn’t know what “fugly” means in a couple of comments above, read this:
http://www.answers.com/topic/fugly
Meanwhile, any experiences with bloggers who boast too much, or falsify stuff (towards more boasting) beyond reason? I am adding “beyond reason”, because, blogging anonymously does carry a general implication of reasonably falsifying personally identifiable information - but I am not talking about that.
I’ll throw mine in, too. I hate the “Top 7 reasons to do _____” type posts.
It’s been educational for me reading these comments. It sounds like the linkfests and roundup postings are disliked generally.
I agree it’s nice to read when someone isn’t lecturing but instead telling their own story. I try to do this but don’t always succeed.
These aren’t oriented towards any blog in particular. Actually maybe they’re oriented towards me, because I’m guilty of most of them.
Complaint #1:
Blogs that find an article at cnnmoney or Kiplingers, and rehash it point by point without offering any additional insights. Linking to the article is fine. Perhaps others haven’t seen it. But simply poaching the content is cheap.
Complaint #2:
Claiming to be something you’re not. Claiming to be a personal finance blog but advocating chasing interest rates or credit card arbitrage is, in my opinion, not cool. An audience who needs help with personal finance does *not* need to be chasing interest rates.
Complaint #3:
Mixing religion and finances. I believe religion is better left at home. I’m sure others disagree vehemently.
Complaint #4:
Not offering a unique perspective. Blogs aren’t news sites and most of us aren’t professional financial advisers. I think it’s a lot more honest to present personal experience than to try to give general advice.
I have been writing my PF Blog for about 2 months now, so this post is a very valuable lesson for me. I find myself guilty of doing some of these ‘offenses,’ but of also doing some of the things people say are good.
My blog has quite a few posts in the ‘Military Money’ section, as I was formerly in the US military. I do not do these posts every day, but I try to do them a few times a week. This is an important niche for a relatively small (a few million) group of people. (not that a few million people visit my blog!)
The reason I bring this up, is because if a military member visits my site through Google or another search engine, there are certain things they may be looking for that they did not even know existed. A ‘Weekly Round-Up’ might be annoying to a PF Blogger, but to someone who has never visited a PF blog, or any other blog, it is a wealth of information and is very enlightening.
I found My Money Blog through Google and by visiting Jonathan’s site several times, I learned learned enough about PF blogging that I wanted to begin my own blog.
My point is this: What do you find annoying as a PF Blogger, and what would you find annoying as a first time reader? And, would you stick around that site and read some more?
samerwriter: for claim #2…
Every audience is at a different level. If someone comes to a money blog that focuses on debt reduction, then credit card arbitrage would be way off topic.
But some people do not have debt and are looking for ways to make more money. If people are responsible, have little to no debt, and a credit score that can withstand it, credit card arbitrage is not necessarily a bad thing.
The important thing is to realize that only someone who is comfortable in their situation and understanding of finances should do this. It is an ‘expert move’ so to say, and many blogs represent it as such.
Some audiences are already at that level, and are looking for a way to maximize their current situation.
As for me… I am guilty of #1 and #4 from time to time…
Mapgirl:
Patrick:
Mapgirl and Patrick have raised some interesting points to think about with respect to the universally-hated link fests.
I am guilty of link fests myself through 2 weekly reviews, but a few of my readers (at least one of them is a PF blogger) have assured me in the past that they look forward to those reviews. May be, because I always have some kind of a commentary to go along with those links - like Mapgirl suggests above.
Perhaps, if we care to add a few lines of our own thoughts - criticism or appreciation or comments - those link fests would have more value than just a bunch of links thrown together.
Samerwriter: I agree with your sentiment of writers claiming to they are not; however, when you say:
..that’s sort of confusing for me in sense - isn’t trying to get a good interest rate and/or suggesting better ways to earn/get returns on your money (or credit), a part of personal finance?
The problem I have with all the credit card posts is that they are usually filled with all sorts of links to places like cardoffers.com, where the blogger makes a decent commission if someone signs up through a link. I don’t have a problem with it as long as readers know that there’s a relationship there. I doubt most readers would understand that the blogger is getting paid if they sign up for a card.
That said, I’m a hypocrite because I sometimes mention books that are linked to Amazon.com and I get paid if someone buys a book through that link. I guess in my mind some things seem more sneaky than others.
Here is my list:
Be Credible - If your personal finances are a mess, you have no business offering advise. Share your story. Let others learn from your mistakes. But you should be taking advise, not giving it.
Forget Anonymity - If you are afraid to attach your name, then I can not trust your message.
Ditch the Ads - To me, the best blogs have a purity. They exist only for communication… not revenue generation. The minute you allow ads onto your blog your goal has shifted from sharing your message to generating traffic.
Just my opinion.
I sort of roll my eyes at any blog where the author professes some sort of consumerist and /or selfish attitude in the title, e.g. “Princess”, “Daddy’s Girl”, “Diva”, “Spoiled”, etc.
Sure, we all had our pink shirts with “Hard to Please” silk-screened on them in middle school, but I’m not going to take personal finance advice from someone who hasn’t evolved beyond that yet.
I think that there are some PF blogs that have taken the personal out of personal finance. Sometimes people get onto various topics, retirement, savings interest rates, etc. and it seems to be just an optimization calculation with no regards to personal feelings on risks or convictions. When this happens the advice tends to indicate that you should be doing this, this, and this, making a high networth value the most important thing you can achieve versus controlling your finances so that you can have a good life now and in the future.
samewriter: do you have a problem with off-topic religion, or is your beef more anything to do with religion even if it’s personal finance related (ex. when a reader asks a question about tithing while trying to pay off credit card debt, and this becomes a discussion topic).
One thing to be wary of is the fact that the responses in this post are predominantly from other bloggers and not representative of the readership as a whole. Take for example linkfests, while I don’t understand the perspective that listing links isn’t helpful for someone who has already read the post, I do think that adding a little commentary and having these linkfests in general is helpful for those new readers who aren’t familiar with the space.
With respect to adding commentary onto mainstream articles, I know I do this from time to time in part because I thought the original article was interesting or particularly useful. One other reason is that oftentimes those articles are taken off the CNNMoney’s or I’d rather read my own potentially misinterpretation or I remember things better if I re-explain.
If anyone has anything in particular they don’t like about the content of my site, please please please tell me. I will not take offense, I will not react unreasonably, in fact I will thank you for your candor because I want to know if I’m doing something that isn’t well received. I cannot stress this enough, if you’re talking about me, please tell me, I will thank you regardless of what my opinion is of your opinion. I don’t know what I don’t know and I’m smart enough to realize it.
Golbguru,
Great discussion,
By the way, I regularly read and enjoy the Sunday Review that you do.
However, based on the comments, I am discountinuing my Carnival Highlights of the Week segment.
I am quite surprised to see so many people don’t like linkfests and weekly roundups since I mostly enjoy them. I don’t have the time or energy to read through all the blogs out there and I like “discovering” articles that I may have missed, through a fellow blogger with similar tastes as mine. If I am on a new blog and do not have similar tastes as that blogger, I just skip past the roundup post. Also, a weekly roundup represents an opportunity to link and get linked from folks who think like me.
Anyway, Golb, thanks a lot for kicking off this discussion. I have learnt a lot through these comments! For now, like super saver, I am considering getting rid of the weekly roundup. I have an update on my blog to poll my readers if they like the weekly roundup. If I don’t receive any responses that favor the weekly roundup - off it goes. I spend way too much time in writing the roundups anyway - I sure could use that time to do other things!
Oh, and my pet peeve: blogs that “list” their old posts. I am perfectly fine if someone points to an archived post (or two) and writes something more about it. But some blogs have an *entire post* dedicated to a list of links titled “this week from the archives” - I find that too blatant an approach to self promotion, and usually don’t read the post even if I find some of the listed articles interesting!
I personally don’t have very many pet peeves. I feel that you can’t really please everyone. By taking something out, or adding something into your mix of content, you will inevitably annoy somebody.
I find that even posts that personally annoy me are things I learn from — if not from the advice, from human nature as well.
I understand why people rehash: I find it helpful especially when I don’t have time to encounter the post in CNN Money. By seeing it in my reader discussed by another blogger, I still picked up something and saved me time.
I understand why people do linkfests: they try to give something back to the blogosphere by linking to others, plus provide an index for the casual reader who may not know much about the blogosphere.
I understand why people list their old posts without saying more: it takes time to put up a post even if it’s full of links, and archived links are still quite valuable.
I now understand why people don’t reply back to me: In the past, I have sent out email to other bloggers to try to reach out. I now know why some don’t. It’s nothing personal — people don’t have all the time in the world to manage everything and reply to the mountain of email that they get sometimes. So I respect why I don’t get a call back all the time. Don’t hesitate to write again — people eventually respond…well at least I hope!
I particularly understand and encourage anonymity: my privacy and security is more important and infinitely more valuable than my blog. I’m staying anonymous.
Being anonymous does not necessarily mean you are not credible. You could be laying out a lot on the line in your blog and if you happen to be a high net worth individual along with that, it’s best to stay anonymous for good reason.
I can go on and on but I won’t take more of your time.
To all, keep up the good work. I like all your stuff. Even if I get annoyed.
Like bad tv, if I don’t like something, I just skip over it — no big deal.
I love blogs like Single Ma and Make Love Not Debt b/c they’re talking about their experiences and they bring out their personalities. I read in one of the PF blogs (I don’t remember whose. Sorry!) that if you’ve read 5 PF books, you’ve read them all. That’s so true for me! I’ve already gained the knowledge I need (not that I know everything, but I certainly know enough to make a good plan). Now it helps to have the inspiration and the motivation from other people’s stories to help me carry out my plan. It helps to know that others are falling down and tweaking their own plans so that it’s not just me. I also like the feedback others give when I come across someone who’s asked for help and it’s the same problem I’m having. PF blogs rock!
As a reader and non-blogger, I must say I quite like the link-fests and “archives” posts.
The link-fests often throw up a post that would otherwise be way off my radar. I do appreciate when the blogger makes a few comments- especially when they disagree, as then you get a both-sides view of the issue. Some bloggers do this well, others do seem to just be playing a scratch-your-back-and-you-mine game.
The archives posts are great for those readers who are new to a site, which could well have dozens (hundreds!) of great posts. Sure, the reader can dig through archives and follow links, but this is another gentle way to remind readers there are all the previous posts as resources there too.
In both cases, I don’t understand why people complain about certain types of post. It’s hardly too much trouble to skip it in a reader or scroll down, is it? It seems some blog readers want “their” blogs to cater to them and them only.
What don’t I like?
I don’t blame the bloggers for this, but as a non- American some content is simply irrelevant to me (any New Zealand PF blogs out there?).
Re-hashing CNNmoney and Kiplingers et al is sometimes done well, with fresh insight or opposing views, but it is often just transperantly lazy and sometimes nothing more than plagiarism.
Don’t believe your own hype- you’re just one voice out of thousands and you’re contributing to a discourse, not shaping it. Your advice is always conditional and subjective.
Above all, PF is a limited field and posts often seem to blend into one another. The way to get around this is to keep the personal in personal finance. Use all those “10 things to do/ avoid” rules, but tell me how you apply them to your real life, and how they work, how they don’t.
The linkfests etc. often lead me to blogs I’ve never seen before. There’s a limited number I want to put in my feedreader. So I think they are useful.
I do get irritated by people giving advice about stuff they’ve never tried doing, or how to get rich when they obviously aren’t etc. Or dogmatism about how to invest (usually indexing) based on something they read in some personal finance book.
bajebas. I’m going to have to reread this a few times. My blog is in its infancy, but I’m still struggling with keeping my site personalized and informative.
I hate linkfests, but see where they are useful. Is it possible to establish a second feed JUST for linkfests? I know lifehacker has done this, but I haven’t looked into it.
I also intensely dislike “this is an article I read, it says X, so you don’t need to read it.” or “x wrote y, you should read it because!”
It’s a delicate balance, but most blogs I actively read do a better job of showcasing other blogs with their own opinions and interjections, but it seems these linkfests are purely pageranking fodder, IMO.
Maybe I’m just jealous
Again, I’ll need to reread and absorb all these tidbits - you can’t please everyone all the time, but you can try to create a pleasing experience!
Oh, and people who say “I hate ‘top x to do y’” - it’s ironic that that’s something I’ve read on various blogging sites to help drive traffic to your site, also to do “authoritative” posts.
Personally, I hope to help write and put the personal back in personal finance, but then again, isn’t everyone?
“Linkfests.” I like ‘em for the most part because some readers do not read all the blogs, so the articles are new to some. I also believe they help shape the community of bloggers and increase overall readership. I prefer when there is some kind of commentary, not just links, but it’s not necessary.
Anonymity. Obviously, I don’t believe that you need to release your real name in order to be credible. Credibility is obvious in the content. You can tell when someone is lying or ingenuine for the most part.
The “Personal” in Personal Finance. This is what makes blogs somewhat unique in the world of media. You don’t need a blog post called, “What is an IRA?” because while that may be fodder content and attract Google visitors (and AdSense), there’s no reason to read a blog to get the answer. I’d rather read about someone’s experience with their IRA.
Advice. Most bloggers are not professional financial advisors — and should therefore limit their “advice” giving. There is a chance, despite all the disclaimers warning otherwise, someone will mistake their writings for those of a professional advisor. I don’t think it’s such a big deal in the scheme of things, and as long as you write as if you assume your readers are intelligent (and therefore don’t need to be spoonfed ideas — simplified or dumbed down), you will attract intelligent readers who will understand your point of view (even if they disagree) and not try to act on your “advice.”
Yes, I agree that those who have not — say made themselves rich — try to teach someone else to be rich.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t have something valuable to say, it just means they might have an attitude that may not be appropriate.
Holier-than-thou attitude. I guess this is just a style of writing that sounds more like preaching. It’s just a preference, but I don’t like it.
Religion. Speaking of preaching… I can’t argue that the bible has a lot to say about money-related issues. Some people care, some people don’t. I think writing as if all of your readers are Christians (for example) can alienate those who are not… but if you’re writing assuming your audience is completely Christian, then you probably don’t care that you may be alienating others. I guess it’s like someone mentioned above about the ethnocentricity and the American nature of all blogs. I can’t write about my experience with Canadian retirement plans because with no Canadian income, I’ve never had one.
Ads. Don’t care. I can tell when a writer is shilling for an advertiser or trying to attract AdSense bucks rather than being genuine, and obviously, I have no problem with someone wanting to be remunerated for their hard work. When I see ads on a blog where it is evident there is no effort at all on the part of the blogger, I’m kind of disappointed, but I wouldn’t be reading that blog anyway.
Ok, that’s it for now.
I lied, one more thing that bugs me: writing for Digg rather than writing for real people.
Oh, one more: writing as if there is only one correct answer to any question and that advice or a “rule of thumb” for one person applies to any other person.
Since I said linkfests bug me I wanted to clarify — I think there needs to be a balance to the linkfests, not that I want them to go away altogether. To me it’s more meaningful to have a small number of links with a short explanation of why you like them, then to clobber us with a lot of links at once.
Another way that I DO like links is if there are a few links integrated into content, or a short list of related articles at the end of content. That works for me just fine.
One difference to that is sometimes I see things like “And now a recap of the week” with links to several of the posts from the same blog. ARGH. Why bother?
My big weakness as a blogger is I don’t link enough.
DB
DB
I’m going with SJR on this one. If I see another recycled, generic article I’m going to flip out.
Most of them are nothing but keyword heavy articles that reads exactly the same as the next just to attempt to get rankings for their payday loan site.
Very refreshing to see original content worth reading…keep up the good work.
It’s not cool when someone posts a comment and a link to something that sounds unique and insightful only to find when you click on the link that it’s a loaded page with high pay keywords and a bunch of ads. I saw this recently with a credit card strategy page from a specific site recently. If you’re going to entice readers to visit your page based on a comment, com’ on no tease. Make it legit.
Agree with the recycled crap. It’s watering down the good work a lot of the finance bloggers are doing.
Hey, if anyone wants to stop by everydayfinance and tell me what you hate about my page, I’m all about feedback.
While we’re on this topic, is there a bias against “blogspot.com”s vs. true .coms (i.e. like you’re not fully invested in the cause)? I think I could do more with my site if it were a .com but I’ve been investing all my effort into the content, not the design of late. I haven’t gotten around to learning much html. Since I’ve seen some of you in the finance circles, you may be able to shed some light on the topic and general concensus.
Thanks
Dan at edf.
Interesting discussion.
I think the most important thing is that each blogger should be true to himself/herself. We’re all different with different opinions and different styles.
Some are more technical than others, while others try to build a personal relationship by discussing personal problems.
It’s all good. If the reader doesn’t like the style, he will go elsewhere for content.
I personally like when the blog has a personal touch. If I’m looking for something more technical, I could go to yahoo, msn, cnn, etc.
The thing that I fell in love with and got me doing my own was tracking retirement nests. I like comparing my personal debts against others, comparing my expense budgets, etc. Comparing income is not as important since the bloggers probably spans through a huge spectrum.
Personally I’m not expecting to make any money from my blog (there’s only 1 google ad sense placement). It’s mostly to track my own journey and share it with others. Eventually I would like to have more readers (more than the current 4) so I could get more feedback, but I’m having a blast anyways just being able to throw my opinions out there, even if they’re just to rehash another post from a site or even another blog.
Anyways, those were my 2 cents. Peace all.
I don’t like the blogs that fill up with ads in the middle of the blog. Also don’t like all the links for other articles. Have been looking on a simple blog that provides tips on saving money everyday. I found some and decided to make my own just for fun.
I agree to a certain extent that there is a lot of repeated content out there on personal finance and I do think a lot of it is crap and useless advice. But every now and then I do come across a useful nugget of information that does stop and make me look at the way I conduct my finances. If I happen to run into the same content on another blog I would rather that than to never find it in the first place.
Pro bloggers themes are now popular, however the ads embedded and meant to get more clicks to get un fair advantages from ads into blogs is not advisable.
Most of the money blogs are usually repeated stuff. Unless the owner is comfortable to write on his own personal finance status.
I am a personal finance blogger myself and I generally try to keep the posts as a guideline to the viewers. If my posts are saying in a way as “I’m better than you” generally people will not come back to my blog to read more.
Your posts are great, you seem to provide a great amount of informaiton and keep the social status between the writer (you) and the viewers fairly even, equal.
Keep up the great work.
Leave a Comment