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JLP’s QotD and Giveaway: How Am I Doing?
By JLP | January 25, 2007
This is my “State of the Blog” post.
Okay, I have to ask regarding this blog…
1. How am I doing?
2. What do you like about AFM?
3. What do you dislike about AFM?
4. What would you like me to post MORE about?
5. What topics would you like me to cover (or try to cover)? From what I can tell, I have a pretty broad readership so I try to write about topics for all age groups.
6. Should I try to bring in a “co-editor” and make AFM a team blog? I have thought about this lately. My only concern is that it might be hard to find someone who is on the same page as I am. I also don’t know what incentives I would be able to offer someone to blog for me. With blogging so easy to get started in, I can’t see someone who wants to blog, just setting up their own blog. I have to say though, it was really cool having Ricemutt fill in for me while I was on vacation last year.
Things I’m working on…
I have been trying to think of a way to better organize my archives. The categories are okay but I would prefer a title listing of each post under each category or perhaps a “favorite posts” or “must-read” section. I have a lot of posts that aren’t time-sensitive that are buried in the archives and readers can’t find them.
Also, I’m trying to move away from regurgitating magazine articles. I think this is necessary because there are simply too many blogs blogging about the same things and it might make it hard for people to take personal finance blogs seriously. In the past I have tried to limit the amount of magazine articles I cover to just those that I think are worth passing along or have something that I can cover more in-depth.
Although I have done it to some degree in the past, I will no longer post multi-part posts on small topics (like a 5-point magazine article). I find trying to read multi-part articles on other blogs is annoying. So, if I find it annoying chances are pretty good that my readers do too. Therefore, I PROMISE to save multi-part posts for really big topics.
Now it’s your turn to weigh in
I want to know what you think about all this. Please leave a CONSTRUCTIVE, comment. As a bonus, I’ll randomly select one commenter to receive a $25 gift card (or e-gift certificate) to Amazon.com. I’ll announce the winner on Monday, January, 29th.
Topics: Blogging | 21 Comments »
January 25th, 2007 at 10:18 am
1 – I love it and don’t have any big gripes or suggestions really.
2 – It’s informative without being too long.
3 – Not much, actually, nothing I can think of.
4 – I think the variation you have is good and should stick with it.
5 – See #4
6 – A team blog … interesting concept. Maybe try having a few guest writers and see what type of responses they get and build from there.
I know this is probably more work than it’s worth, but I would personally find it very interesting …
Why not have a few guest writers and each of them write their thoughts on SS and what they think should be done to fix the issue (or dismantle SS all together).
Also, it would also be interesting to see a few different opinions on the % you should put into your 401k. I’ve heard everything from %6 to %20!
-Erich
January 25th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Provide a full feed. I recently came across this site. I might be forced to unsubscribe if you don’t provide a full feed…
January 25th, 2007 at 10:33 am
JLP -
Keep up the good work. I agree that avoiding summarizing magazine articles is probably a good move.
I recommend you focus on keeping us up to date on regulatory changes that impact our finances, especially with this new Congress starting. What tax changes are coming? How are our retirement benefits/options going to change? What consumer protections are being considered? Who should we contact if we don’t like the changes being proposed?
I also recommend you talk about new financial products and review who they might be good for and/or how they might be bad for our financial health.
January 25th, 2007 at 10:41 am
I would enjoy full feeds as well. I use Google reader and you write a lot of good things, but I am always having to jump to the actual site to get the full feed.
January 25th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Short time reader here (about a months worth). This has become one of my daily sites to check. I like the frequence of updates (YAY there’s something new to read!) and I like the round-ups and links that you provide. I also agree with the multi-part post part of things.
I wonder if a challenge to the readers might not be a bad idea to get some of your readers more involved.
January 25th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
I love the calculators and data analysis you do. I think you do it better than anyone else.
I wish you’d put full-text feeds. I do, and my readers are much happier about it.
I also like your collaborative projects with other bloggers, and I hope you do more of those. I know I’d be willing to collaborate on another project with you.
Thanks for a great blog.
January 25th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Dislike: partial text RSS feeds, conservative approach to social issues like minimum wage. I’ll be more likely to read your website if you use full RSS feeds because I’ll be more likely to come over here and comment. I can’t do much about the social commentary except provide my own, I suppose.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Likes: You have new posts every day & they cover a pretty good range of topics related to personal finance & investing
Your blog & Ramit’s blog are my favorite blogs. Both are pretty different in the sense his blog is more of a mindset related to finance & yours is to-the-point information related to various finance topics. Both aspects are pretty important & you should continue with giving more information related to finance topics.
Dislikes: There is nothing that I dislike but some times the posts tend to be dry when you try to summarize magazine artciles
The guest post idea is pretty good but if possible have that sparingly. Also, it would be great if you have a link for introduction articles. Keep up the great work & thanks for the information that you provide to us!
January 25th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
I think by being a financial advisor you can bring more examples of situations that you see in your practice. Some people in PFblog.org like the personal touch of what people are seeing in their lives. I think that you can bring a unique perspective of showing an issue and how you and your client handled it from start to finish. Of course there are caveats because each situation is different and confidentiality issues. Yet, even giving people issues to think about could help them deal with their financial advisor better by seeing other examples and knowing what questions to ask and think about.
I agree that fewer articles are better. If I wanted to read an article, I know where the good ones are published. Articles should be saved when we can offer an unique perspective on things.
As for co-editor, I guess I like certain bloggers and visit their sites for their blogs. I see a co-blogger as a way to help others get established (like a guest blogger), yet not on a day to day basis.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Plus I don’t know if you can do this with blogs, I know you can with message boards, but perhaps a setting to email us if other people have commented on a topic we previously commented on.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
1. I have enjoyed reading your material.
2. I appreciate anyone who can take complex subjects and present them in a format that is easily understood.
3. It is very difficult to sift through your past blogs.
4. I get a lot out of your blogs detailing how to apply specific investment advice (i.e., magic formula investing.) You introduce new tools that newer investors may not be aware of.
5. I would say continue with 5 above.
6. Ultimately I think you need to answer this question yourself. It goes straight to your quality of life. If this blog is taking too much time or you feel you can’t devote the time needed, co-blogging may be one answer. I also think you basically handled this to some extent over Christmas with your reader submissions. Maybe you saw some untapped talent there.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
BTW, re: # 3 above…this is true for most blogs.
January 25th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
JLP, there lots of great things about AFM, and I view it as the “one ring to rule them all”. What sets you apart from others:
a) if the answer isn’t here already, you’ll find it
b) Weekly Roundup is fantastic, and saves me loads of time
c) summaries of magazine articles (again, time factor as well as executive summaries of subscription articles)
d) smart, insightful and relevant comments from your readers
e) the personality you inject, including humility as relevant
I’ve mentioned before that AFM is one of only 2 blogs that I have time to visit on a daily basis, so IMHO there aren’t many areas for improvement. I agree regarding organization of the archives. Also, I really enjoy the threads that get lots of feedback (minimum wage, anyone?) … maybe stage a meaty question every week or so?
I second George’s comment about keeping up on regulatory & other changes. Also, I like the idea of an occasional “guest editor” though I’m not too keen on co-editors.
Thanks for asking us for feedback. Keep up the great work!
January 25th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
This is one of my favorite blogs. I hadn’t realized you were previously in the financial advising business until someone mentioned it in a different post. I suppose that makes a lot of sense.
The best part of the blog is the easy-to-read format which lends itself to people actually learning about personal finance from your blog. Your posts are also very focused on the various aspects of financial planning. Many bloggers have trouble staying focused and quickly stray from their intended audience too quickly. You haven’t done that.
Obviously we all love blog of the week, even if we’ve never made it into the box
I don’t have any real criticism… it’s a blog, it’s not supposed to be perfect.
Best,
Russell Bailyn
January 25th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
1. How am I doing?
** I’m a huge fan of this blog since I found it in the Money magazine article last year. It’s at the top of my RSS, so it seems to me you’re doing a lot right.
2. What do you like about AFM?
** Of course, I love all of the information. I also like your balance of original content to cross-referenced content. I think this is a key ingredient to a successful blog.
3. What do you dislike about AFM?
** Not too much, except links to subscription based web publications, but these are very rare. I sometimes get duplicate headlines in my RSS feed, too. Again, rare.
4. What would you like me to post MORE about?
**I like the wide variety of topics here, actually. Again, a nice balance. Very well rounded. I find cost-savings posts very interesting. Thinking about having kids soon, so any related financial advice there is always welcome. I would also LOVE to see a more formalized Q&A. I know you’re probably not in the business of ‘advice giving’ but it would be nice if readers could post a question to have you and other readers respond to — something moderated, or turned into a more traditional post is fine, too… just would be nice to see some Q&A, if you don’t mind opening up your blog to other posters in that way. A kind of forum, I guess.
5. What topics would you like me to cover (or try to cover)? From what I can tell, I have a pretty broad readership so I try to write about topics for all age groups.
**Same as above.
6. Should I try to bring in a “co-editor” and make AFM a team blog?
** Up to you obviously. I think you are right to question the consistency factor. You’re doing a great job so not sure if you want to mess with that if you can handle the workload on your own. If you’re going to pull in a co-editor, it might be good to relegate them to managing cross-referenced content rather than original commentary. Just a thought to keep it more JLP pure. Minimally, you’ll want to make it visually obvious whose posting what.
January 25th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I think it’s fine to have partial feeds. After all, you’re doing this pretty much only for the ad revenue (as small as it probably is). You deserve to be compensated (as the market sees fit).
As far as content. I might disagree sometimes… but it’s a blog. That’s part of the point. Overall, I’m impressed.
January 26th, 2007 at 6:43 am
I am surprised so many people are asking for full feeds. Personally, I don’t mind summary feeds, your blog is just a click away through those. Also, after some recent episodes with full feed on my blog, I am going to steer clear of them for a while.
The best part about this blog is the simplicity in explanation. I especially like the small images/graphics that you include.
A co-editor will mean a new flavor, but it can sometimes mean a drop in traffic…especially if things get too opinionated.
January 26th, 2007 at 7:37 am
A short-time reader; just found you a couple weeks ago. Excellent and interesting range of topics. I like that you publish daily and have no problem with summary feed as it reminds me to check in and see what you have for me today.
I think your “social/political” comments give breadth to purely finance issues and help frame their importance. I don’t really see the need for a co-editor.
Keep doing what you’re doing.
January 26th, 2007 at 8:17 am
I teach financial planning at a university and after reading your blog for over a year, I have begun recommending it to my students as a resource and daily inspirational reading. Developing good financial habits only begins in the classrom and must be reinforced often to be successful. Your blog and freemoneyfinance are the only two blogs I trust enough to stick my neck out and recommend to novices.
Keep up the good work!!!!
January 29th, 2007 at 6:39 am
Ciwood –
Thanks for the thoughts. Appreciate them!
January 30th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
[...] First off, I want to tell everyone thanks for their comments on my “How Am I Doing?” post. I was surprised by how “nice” the comments were until I went back and reread the part of my post that said, “leave a nice, CONSTRUCTIVE comment…” I didn’t mean that the comments had to be positive. LOL! Anyway, I went in and took out the word “nice” but I think it was too late. [...]