PraveenRajarao Dot Me…Thatz All……With a punchline like this, I wouldn’t expect people to come flooding to my site and liking my posts and leaving hundreds of comments and thoughts. Why will anyone be remotely interested in what I write about Me and My thoughts and personal experiences?
BillDorman Dot Me…Thatz All
Now, that makes a lot more sense to me, I would go to this website everyday to know more about a person who is a genius and kind-hearted fella behind this site. If you do not know Bill Dorman yet, you have missed out some of the well written ingenious articles by him, which you should really go and check out in his archives. Though I should say I have known him from a short while ago, he is a person who will make you feel comfortable from the very first interaction with him, with his funny one-liners and humorous remarks and comments.
And YESSSS….he is one of my favorite bloggers out there!!!!
| Bill Dorman | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | How long have you been blogging? | My first post saw the light of day on March 4, 2011 with a whopping 2 responses. |
| 2. | How many blogs do you own and contribute for? | I have a personal blog at BillDorman and contribute to our corporate site at Lanierupshaw |
| 3. | What is the main purpose or objective of your blog? | Initially it was just to play in the game. I thought you had to have a blog to drag around with you to comment at the other sites. Now, my direction is more like a Chamber of Commerce after hours; I use it for engagement and to develop relationships. |
| 4. | How many posts do you write on an average per week? | Maximum 2, but sometimes just 1. |
| 5. | How much time do you devote for your blog on a daily basis? | On average, 1 hour. |
| 6. | How much time do you spend on tracking RSS feeds? | Typically about 2 hours of my day will be involved checking out my reader. |
| 7. | What is your favorite social bookmarking site and Why? | If Twitter is considered a bookmarking site, then this would be it because I don’t use any other. |
| 8. | What is your blog’s monthly revenue? | One million dollars…..ok, maybe something below that…..priceless, how is that for an answer? |
| 9. | How many page views does your blog generate daily? | One million…..ok, maybe something below that….because I’m lazy and don’t take the time to ‘game’ the system, my site averages around 1,000-1,500 visits a week. I know it could be much better if I were more strategic, but for now I am ‘ok’ with just showing up. |
| 10. | Name one blog(apart from yours!!) you read every day without fail. | Thejackb ‘cause that sumbich posts everyday; hard to keep up with at times…….:) |
| 11. | What is your blog’s main revenue generator? | My day job is commercial insurance sales; most people in my community know this. Eventually there will be more of a convergence between the two worlds, but for now, my day job is my only revenue generator. |
| 12. | Do you believe in Alexa rankings for measuring traffic? | I believe in it because Brankica at Live-Your-Love says I should; but with my current model it is not something I pay attention to. |
| 13. | Do you accept Guest Articles on your blog? | Yes I do. |
| 14. | Do you believing in spending money on promoting your blog? | No I don’t; it’s not necessary for my current model. If I have to do more than ‘just show up’, then you might lose me. Plus, I have to go through my wife and it is very tough to get any money out of her; especially for social. |
| 15. | Do you answer to all the comments on your blog? | Absolutely; I’m not that popular. Now if I was like Jenny Lawson at TheBloggess w/ 4500 comments; that could be a problem. |
| 16. | How did you market your blog during your initial days to get the readers that you have? | Because I thought you needed to have a blog to comment, I always linked my site to my comments. Essentially, that is all I have done; then and now. |
| 17. | Any mistakes to learn from and avoid? | Don’t spread yourself too thin; concentrate more on deepening the relationships than trying to be everywhere with thin relationships. Also, develop a thick skin early because you will get ‘bumped’ around; don’t take it personally if you don’t make a ‘list’ or get a mention. |
| 18. | What is your source of new post ideas? | The fickleness and silliness I see in social, people making big issues out of nothing; other blogs; things that happen to me in real life; my day job. |
| 19. | Is having a “niche” important to bloggers? | Yes, even though I don’t have one. Being a ‘generalist’ only carries you so far; if you really want to elevate your status and get serious about it, it should be clear what your blog is all about. |
| 20. | Any advice to a start-up blogger? | My number one advice is take the time to establish relationships first and build from there. Slow down; take the time to see what works for others and what doesn’t. And once again, don’t spread yourself too thin. Be real, be yourself, and don’t be a douche bag. |
| 21. | Name a Blogger who inspires you | I have several and I would be remiss if I inadvertently left someone off. Each for various reasons, go to some of my posts at http://billdorman.me and see who left comments. I probably have a story to tell for each one. |
| 22. | Bio | Principal/owner @LanierUpshaw, Inc. FSU grad; Auburn dad; interested in people & relationships, who you want to be when you grow up. My themes will run from social media to life to community to corporate life and what it all means to me, of course. You can find me at http://billdorman.me www.lanierupshaw.com [email protected] |
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Thanks for the heads-up and opportunity to be part of your ‘naked’ series; gets my attention every time.
Busy day for me, but I will get back; hope your day is going well.
Bill – the pleasure was all mine to know a little bit more about you. Thanks.
Looks like you got the superstar of blogging! And he makes close to billions from blogging… given the fan following the day when Bill does a concert, it just is going to beat Lady Gaga’s records!
Loved knowing the Truth about you Bill! 2 responses… on the first one; I actually called up my family (immediate and extended) and told them to come and comment! Now they just dodge me at family gathering; they hide behind their steaks!
Billions upon billions; he can’t even spend it all. And clarification on that first post; one comment and one reply…….= 2, right?
It is funny how the people who aren’t ‘all in’ with social, don’t really get it. Blogging is a commitment, that is another people don’t seem to grasp when they first jump in either.
So good to see you; thank goodness I had a towel to wrap around me…:)
keep the towel on tight! 😉
My family doesn’t get it now… they actually tell me that I shouldn’t be talking anything remotely blogging!
Wait ’til we are rich and famous; they’ll certainly be singing a different tune then, huh?
That sounds like a plan!
oh oh…family blog guys…..just kidding. Now, why dont we feature hajra for my next series…now that she knows what this is all about…bring on your towels 🙂
I am not ready to reveal how much I make through blogging… @twitter-34985693:disqus is in for competition on that area 🙂
50/50 right……:)
Bill is of no near comparison to any rockstar….he is just the star in our blogging world, with no one to compete.
Thanks for all the support Hajra and have a nice day.
You just got stripped! 😉 After the finger chopping… next what?
Let’s go streaking……everybody is doing it………….:)
Makes sense… summer is here too!
A streaking tweet-up; I like it………
HANK THE TANK???
Yes…..
I loved this advice:
Be real, be yourself, and don’t be a douche bag.
More people need to read it.
Ain’t that the truth………
Sometimes it’s hard to tell if it’s getting better or worse from the shake outs we see.
Thanks for stopping by my friend.
Jack – Welcome to my blog and thanks for leaving your comment. Yea, more people need to read that and everything else that Bill has to offer….hoping this series reaches out to atleast a handfew.
Bill, loved seeing your LanierUpshaw website. Looks great (I do an insurance agency website, so I love checking out others). And I love that you read The Jack B every day. Jack is one of the most prolific and longest running bloggers I know.
Thanks, we just revamped it and tried to make it friendly and relevant. Jack is a true machine and really good content as well.
Thanks for stopping by and catching me in the buff…….:)
Leora – thanks for stopping by and glad you and Bill have some common interest there with the insurance domain.
Have a great day ahead.
Easy, you say insurance and people start running……:)
Where’s your crown?
BTW, the car you won, you can turn it over to Hajra, she beat your comment count on my blog by 1,000,000.
I was embarrassed to go back to your place; I might have to wait a month or two. I did win a 31.5″ flat screen TV at a golf tournament on Monday….that was pretty cool……….
Good to see you; thanks for stopping by, the crown is all I had on….:)
That sounds like a believable number. Ask Bill to do a guest post for you and then he gets to take the comment count revenge!
She rejected it……:(
I did not! Are you blogging with another Allie?
Say please! 😉
Did you say ‘where’s the clown’?
Both make sense though!
Nice to see you join the series Bill, and am glad you had him over as well Praveen!
I have been seeing Bill around a great deal on the blogosphere, though hardly stopped over at his blog- which I know I should not, especially reading so much more about him.
Guess these naked Truth Series are helping everyone a great deal, enabling us to get to know each other better!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Know you should ‘now’ or know you should ‘not’? Probably not huh, because it can be a scary place.
So good to see you Harleena, thanks so much for stopping by; it is very much appreciated.
I hope all is well at your place and hope you have a great day.
I am pretty certain she meant ‘now’ 🙂
Harleena – Kind of you to encourage the series and leaving your thoughts on each one of them. Thanks for all the support.
This could easily be one of my favorite interviews in your Naked Truth About series, Praveen. I’ve seen Bill’s comments elsewhere and he comes across as a wonderful, humorous and warm person. Hey, Bill! 🙂 Good to “know” you! Cheers!
Hey you, that was mighty nice of you to say; very much appreciated.
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and seeing me in all my ‘naked’ glory…………kind of scary, huh?……….:).
I hope your week is going well for you.
Thanks Vidya, and am sure everyone else feels the same about Bill. He is an awesome writer and easy to relate to.
Hey Bill, I have to disagree with one of your responses. You do have a niche. Your niche is Bill Dorman. In fact, I would say you are somewhat of an expert on Bill Dorman. I would love to have a blog all about Bill Dorman but I am still a novice.
Congratulations on being featured by Praveen. He is wise to feature a blogger who shows the rest of us “how it’s done.” My advice to beginning bloggers is to head over to your place and see how you can build an engaged, lively community in a very short time.
Congratulations on winning the TV, but with a million dollar monthly income from the blog, you probably have enough TV’s by now. Time for another Ferrari?
Praveen, thanks so much for featuring Bill here at your place. He sure knows how to make people feel at home.
Thanks for the kind words Carolyn; I figure the one thing I can really be good at is being ‘me’ so that should be worth something, right?
Yes, I have been putting those TV’s in my car now and I even have my own satellite for wireless so I’m set.
When Praveen asked, I had to look over me shoulder and ask ‘are you talking to me’? Well, I guess he was and here I am; naked as the day I was born…………:).
So good to see you; thanks so much for your support.
Carolyn – Thanks for stopping by. I was honored when Bill accepted to answer to my questions and gave his invaluable advice via this interview.
You have rightly said that he is a niche by himself and that is the reason he has all the followers he has now. Everyone loves to read what he is upto and what he thinks about anything, in his way of putting thoughts together.
Well look who got interviewed! Oh I knew it would only be a matter of time. With your blog closing in on it’s one year anniversary soon, I’m sure the party will definitely start soon.
Now this is why we all love you Bill. You bring out the fun in everything. We have to be a little more refined at times because some of us are here to build a name for ourselves and a business to boot! You, you’re the friendly insurance salesman we all wish we had as our own. Oh yeah!!! One that can talk business but have fun with it.
So the TV went in the car. Like Carolyn said, with all those millions you make you probably didn’t have anymore room for it in the house! 🙂
Great interview Bill and thanks for the smiles. As always, they follow you everywhere.
Adrienne – Nice to see you back around. I am amazed that within a year Bill has achieved to be what he is today, great going Bill.
Friendly Insurance Salesman??Is that a reality or a myth? But of course for Bill, i wouldnt even have thought those 3 words can go together in one sentence even.
Have a great day ahead.
Scary, huh? But yes, I am the friendly.insurance.salesman! Behind the silliness, I do know the insurance pretty darn good. Back in the day, you learned insurance before you learned sales and sometimes it’s hard for the two to meet because you usually have two different types of personalities. Fortunately, I found a fit and I can’t think of a job I would be better suited for. It has been a good gig for me.
Hey Adrienne, thanks for dropping by Praveen’s to see me in all my glory…..:). He had easy questions I could answer; if there was going to be heavy lifting, I might have had to run.
Yeppers, the TV man; that’s twice from that tournament, crazy stuff indeed.
I hope your day has been going well.
Awesome to see Bill Doorman here.
I see him just about everywhere I comment as well. Good to know a little more about the man behind the comments.
Bryce
Thanks Bryce, good to see you; yes, we do hang out at some of the same watering holes………:)
Bill Dorman – the Famous Blogger. I think he has special writing skills.