Interviewing Daniel Socco from Daily Blog Tips
Brief Intro about yourself?
24 years old, trying to make a living online.
How did you get started?
I started some blogs as a hobby, and once they started growing I realized the potential of the web.
Do you run your blog under any “Media” type site? Like I run mine under the control of Gurilla.net
No.
How long have you been blogging?
I started late in 2005.
Whats your strategy with your blog in general?
Focus on the content, make it useful and unique.
How do you get rss readers?
Focusing on the content and making sure visitors notice my RSS icons.
Could you tell me, in as many words as you can, what made you stand out in blogging?
Not that I consider myself to be a popular blogger (folks like Darren Rowse or John Chow are), but I guess it was the original content that I always tried to put out.
Do you give out freebies?
Occasionally, when other people offer them to my readers.
Whats your opinion about the importance of PR in a blog’s life?
You don’t need to worry about it.
Do you consider the top100 list at 45n5.com as authoritative?
Fairly authoritative. Lately they are losing a bit of trust though, as they continue to use Alexa as a measure of traffic (and in my opinion Alexa is completely useless these days).
Any thoughts on my post on Blogs are not the authority, the Bloggers are?
Sorry, haven’t read it.
Would you sell out your blog at some point?
If the price was right I could consider it.
Do you think people should sponsor wordpress themes?
It is up to them.
What’s your take on sponsored reviews?
If they are done with transparency and disclosure, they are fine.
What’s the best thing a blogger can give to his readers?
Valuable content.
Did Aweber play a vital role in your growth?
Never used it till today.
Do you think Pagerank plays a vital role in a blog’s life?
Nope.
Could you give me a statement for everyone using the feedburner hack here:
Ignore it. Those kind of hacks and fake stats are not worth anyone’s time.
What would you prioritize? Content? SEO? Traffic? Readers?
If you prioritize your content, you automatically are going to prioritize readers and traffic. They all go together.
Did you ever consider selling links to those underground link sellers, you know, the ones that mail you and ask you to sell in-content links and pay per year.
Nope.
Did you ever get an offer of selling your blog out of the blue, if so how did you react to it?
Yes, but the price was too low so I just turned it down.
What are your thoughts on my free wordpress themes here, be as blunt as you can.
They look good.
Overall what do you think of blueverse, once again be as blunt as offensive as you can.
Honestly I had not heard too much about it in the past. But lately I am seeing people mentioning it more often. Looks like you are doing something right.
Any tips for my readers?
Follow your passion.
September 19th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
it’s cool that the guy’s so young, and that he’s been blogging for quite a while now. pretty good advice there. and a lot of emphasis on content.
September 20th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Why is it that blogger do not put any focus on email marketing which is an important component to leverage the traffic once you have incoming traffic? The email database could be a source of income for bloggers as well.
September 20th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I might start an email list soon Wei Liang, just didn’t have the time till today.
September 21st, 2008 at 12:22 pm
That will be cool Daniel. Hoping to see your newsletter. I will be the first to join.
September 23rd, 2008 at 1:56 am
Good Interviews,good blogger
September 27th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Content is king. Nice interview. Answered some of my questions too.
September 30th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Great interview, its good to see he started at a young age, and focuses on good content
December 7th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Good Interviews,good blogger