(I hope I don't catch any flap for negative comments about EntreCard...)
I tried it for several months and discovered three things:
1. You need to take the time to drop your card on a lot of EC users in order to get a lot of traffic to your blog. This takes time even if you have a program to help you with this.
2. When dropping a lot of cards, there is no time to actually read the blogs where you're dropping.
3. Even if you get a lot of traffic on your blog, people are just stopping by, dropping their card, and exiting without reading the content.
I'm just not so impressed with EntreCard.
I've seen high traffic blogs with the EC widget. Once they take the EC widget away, the traffic drops way down. The number of comments on the blog, however, remain the same.
My opinion:
If you want a lot of traffic, join EntreCard and drop your card everywhere.
If you want a lot of quality traffic who reads and appreciates your blog, don't bother with EntreCard.
A friend of mine summed it up by saying "EntreCard is the freeway through blogland. You speed through and miss all the little towns along the way. I like to take the country roads so I can stop and enjoy the little towns I pass through. If I like a particular town, I'll probably visit again."
(And remember, all comments are do-follow, so your comment left here supports YOU.)
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I completely agree! I wasted too much time "dropping" and noticed that only one other Entrecard user stayed long enough to leave a comment. All others where in and out.
ReplyDeleteYeah, can only agree with you. I'll be leaving them soon too.
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think you were lucky just to have that one visitor who stuck around to check out your blog.
Cheers!
-Pam
Well said!
ReplyDeleteEc gets a lot of stick from past users as I have recently discovered myself, only yesterday I removed my cards from my sites,
I get more traffic from networked blogs on facebook anyway and at least the visitors from there are interested in my content.
I have always taken a different approach to Entrecard. I drop, maybe 50 cards a week. I do so few because I'm in discovery mode when I cruise around. I love to read blogs and stop and comment if there is something I want to say. I have found many of the blogs that I follow this way and I do return and comment. I think it's something that you have to use to your advantage, rather then using like the majority of people do. One other thing I like is that I discover blogs that aren't just about art/crafting....and it's good to make other people aware that you exist. I do understand your post and agree that it can be very disappointing with the drop and run ECrs.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point, Waterrose. There are some ECrs who use EC the way it was intended to be used, and explore, read, share, and return.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I've enjoyed my browsing time more when finding links through reader comments on interesting blogs, or through other bloggers' blogrolls. By networking out like that, it feels to me like there's a more personal connection, a la "Friend of a Friend."
I like how you have it as a waste of time and then have the widget :) I dropped. I get many daily visits from entrecard. I use FF3 and the toolbar and drop daily.
ReplyDeleteI use Entrecard to drive traffic at the same time to find quality blogs to post comments and get backlinks. However, I only limit to only at most 1 hour per day. I only accumulate ECs enough to use to advertise.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Entrecard is best for new blogs (up to six months)to kick start your traffic and pagerank building.
Once you have the desired traffic and pagerank then you can stop using it.
Entrecard, can build trafic for you , but if you drop other entrecard, it would be better comment on about him or her blog (like social communication) Say hello to your neighbors!!!
ReplyDelete