Comments on: 6 Things I’m Struggling With as a Hyperlocal Blogger

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Sun, 09 May 2010 00:58:16 +0000

Thanks for a great post and interesting discussion.
Some ideas for getting new readers:
- facebook fan page
- twitter account – just use Twitterfeed to have your blog rss feed create tweets
- contests/give aways – if local businesses ask you to write a blog post ask if you can do a give away of their item or gift certificate
- link to other local blogs, neighborhood organizations or businesses. I am thinking of using this wordpress plugin to create a links page/directory for IheartPGH (http://yannickcorner.nayanna.biz/wordpress-plugins/link-library/)

By: Local Search Talk Series Part 3: Matt McGee Interview | Nifty Marketing

Local Search Talk Series Part 3: Matt McGee Interview | Nifty Marketing — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:23:32 +0000

[...] to write there as I’d like. I’m hoping for more guest blog posts in the future — like your recent article, which was very well [...]

By: Karen Brewer

Karen Brewer — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:49:22 +0000

If you cant make the news,comment on it. Every week I pick up the local paper and invariably find items that taken on their own are ridiculous and amusing. Go through the Police Reports and find who garden gnomes were stolen or what fool left her purse on the front seat of the car only to find it missing.Review events,local games,performances etc.Feel free to review a movie.EVERYONE loves real estate. Write abou the local market.
Guest writers- how about local merchants.politicians,police,fire,librarian etc.

By: Hyperlocal Blogging for Non-Journalists | BizAdvice.org

Hyperlocal Blogging for Non-Journalists | BizAdvice.org — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:12:55 +0000

[...] read a post, recently, on Hyperlocalblogger.com about GoBurley.com in Burley, Idaho. The owner of the Blog had several questions about how to [...]

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:04:08 +0000

Student council idea sounds interesting, keep us posted on how they do, Mike.

I’ve been thinking about asking for guest posts via Twitter for our blogs, but haven’t tried it yet.

By: Mike Ramsey

Mike Ramsey — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:51:11 +0000

Update: I have really been pounding to get contributers and here is where I am currently at. I wrote a post today with specific positions that need filled…

http://goburley.com/i-am-looking-for-some-people-to-make-a-big-difference

Today I have two people who contacted me to fill it. I think the key is having a more specific focus on the type of contributor you are looking for. They might read a description and thing “hey, I’m perfect for that”.

I was telling Kyle a bit about this on twitter a while back but I also worked a deal with our high school’s student council so they know are part of my staff. We are still working out the kinks, but they will cover all school related things which is a lot of what happens in our community.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:49:13 +0000

Seem like monetizing is always an issue, sigh.

It can be tricky, yes. I’m lucky to have a flexible job. You could always start with events you cover.

For example, I maybe crazy for doing this, I recorded and photographed our local New Years fireworks. Before I crashed that night edited it all up and published it. The outcome was worth in when I heard all the feedback (Not financially, unfortunately).

I guess it depends on the angle you are taking with your site. I’m not necessarily focusing on actually News, more events, local issues, and featuring the town.

On another note, I’d love to know others thoughts about how to attract contributors?

By: Mike Ramsey

Mike Ramsey — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:56:40 +0000

Thanks Kyle…always a pleasure to hear feedback from you. I completely agree but find it the hardest area due to other responsibilities. This is where you really need a part time person that is living by the radio and seeing what is going on at all times. In other to get there, I think you have to be monetizing fairly well.

any toughts?

By: Kyle

Kyle — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:32:24 +0000

The one thing I noticed that people like is near live results.
This has happened several times to me but one example is when I covered a car accident just outside of town. As soon as I finished at the site I quickly put the article together and published it and sure enough only an hour after the accident people were Googling it and found my post.
So the one thing you can have over traditional media/newspaper is the speed at which news is reported.

By: Mike Ramsey

Mike Ramsey — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:00:32 +0000

@Thomas I will have to make sure to keep up on your site and see what you are doing. The idea to help businesses in a consulting roll for social media/local search is definitely something I am pushing for. The area is really slow on it but i speak at a lot of local places on it and there is a small amount of roll over from my GoBurley site to the Nifty Marketing one. I give away a lot of free advice and I don’t mind because it is my home town and people I grew up with, but at the same time, but with free advice you get what you pay for. I should probably come up with a set package price for it.

I also have thought that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to set up a donate button in a sidebar widget and let people know if they like what they see, they can donate. Has anyone had any luck with this? A good way to make small about from subscribers w/o relying on businesses.

@Miriam Great advice! Thanks for commenting and your kind words. I actually need to revamp the about us page completely and FOR SURE add a call to action.

@Duncan Thanks for commenting…I am testing out a classifieds system and even ran some flyers to let people know about it, online classifieds is still a very new idea to most in my town. The paper still makes bank off of them. Could be a very solid addition as subscription continues to rise.