I installed BlogRush about 2 months ago, but then didn’t do a lot of updating here, so my initial numbers are skewed.

Since I’ve been back to regular posting, Reese has updated the service to include new analytics, more specific categories and new sizes for the BlogRush widget.

What do I think?

TWO CAVEATS

1. I hate, hate, hate putting anything on my blog that takes traffic somewhere else. Unless it’s a link in a post I specifically put there, (and I’m very specific about who I link to and why), I pretty much don’t want it. I’m not concerned about bleeding page rank or other SEO practices. No, this is a marketing blog, and it has two functions. The first is to teach, which I cannot do if people are busy clicking away to other sites. The second is to sell, which is, again, impossible if people are visiting other blogs.
2. I really, really, really like John Reese. I believe in his products, his knowledge, and want to support this latest effort of his. He is a man of his word, and when he says the goal of BlogRush is to send blogs traffic, I do believe he will do everything in his power to make it so.

Now, let’s look at the concept. It’s not new. I get credits every time the widget is displayed ion my blog (every time someone views a page here). The credits then cause my own blog posts to show up in other people’s widgets across the internet, within my selected BlogRush category. Simple enough.

There’s also a referral element, you can gain additional credits when people sign up to BlogRush after having visited your blog and clicked through.

There’s one major flaw to this kind of network. The traffic-rich get richer, and those without traffic get squat. I probably get more pageviews (and therefore credits) then many bloggers out there. If you’re new to blogging and have very little traffic, you won’t get many pageviews and therefore won’t get credits. Without credits you won’t get your posts shown on the network, and thus won’t get any traffic from the network.

It sucks.

But, John – who repeatedly insists the goal of BlogRush is to send your blog traffic, has set up a bonus credit system to help lower-traffic bloggers utilize the network. And this is the key to the system; the piece of the puzzle that might just make it work.

BONUS CREDITS FOR LOWER TRAFFIC

I conducted a little experiment to see how the “bonus credit” system works. Do you really get more credits when you’re a low-traffic blog?

I sent out a mailing to my list, letting them know I had a new post up. I got a huge influx of traffic, as expected. I noted the number of bonus credits I received from BlogRush.

After that traffic subsided, I watched my bonus credit numbers each day. Lo and behold, as my traffic surge from the mailing declined, my bonus credits each day went up. Because my blog was receiving less traffic, less credits, BlogRush increased my bonus credits.

Nice!

It’s clear even the lowest traffic blogs can benefit from syndication across the network, and with these bonus credits they’ll be able to syndicate.

MORE CATEGORIES

BlogRush unveiled a ton of new categories on Nov. 2, which is great. You’re now much more able to pinpoint the topic of your blog, which will cause your posts to syndicate on like blogs across the network. Having your posts on closely-related blogs will bring more targeted traffic.  Changing the category for my RabidBloggig project, Redomestication.com, has increased views and traffic, so you may want to experiment a bit there.

This is also a good time to mention a common misconception – BlogRush isn’t just for marketing blogs.  The categories now are very comprehensive, and from my Redomestication.com results, I can see there are plenty of blogs in the network outside of marketing.

ADVANCED ANALYTICS

The new Analytics interface is gorgeous, a true snapshot of  your credits, referrals, traffic etc.  You can also see which blog posts are receiving the most click-throughs to your site.  This is great to learn about what kind of headlines entice readers.   Plus, the site is fast loading, super fast, which, after spending 8 minutes just trying to log in to PayPal (or BofA) is so refreshing.

SHOULD YOU INSTALL BLOG RUSH?

I’ll tell you flat out I wouldn’t have this thing on my blog if it was from any other marketer.  As it stands, I will be giving it more time on my site, and am moving it’s placement up a bit today.

I recommend giving it a shot.  As BlogRush matures, more changes will come and, based on Reese’s promises, I expect them to be productive ones.

P.S. – If you didn’t have a chance to grab Reese’s “Traffic Secrets” when it was available, I have a copy available here.Â

   

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