JohnChow.com Review - The Verdict

  • Posted by Allen
  • February 27, 2007

Some 20 days after I’ve been reviewed by request at John Chow Dot Com, I think it’s time to release a much awaited verdict. This post will actually kick off our next series, which will talk about blogging reviews: whether you need or should get one, and if you do - how to make the most of it.

But before discussing why & how, let’s see what have John’s review brought to this blog in terms of instant traffic, RSS subscription and loyal readership. Was it worth my $100?

Instant traffic
Let’s talk about the least important effect first. Instant traffic is basically the amount of visits to the site as an immediate and direct result of the linkage. In this case, Chow’s review brought in 490 unique visitors during the first 24 hours, x8 of what AlleNaiton was receiving back then.

AlleNation is linked to by many more blogs today, but I do believe a fair percentage of the current traffic are some regulars that converted from the “instant traffic” to the “loyal readership” category. Read on..

Feed subscribers
After Chow’s review, my feed subscription count jumped from 29 subscribers to a new whopping count of 69. That is almost x2.5 increase in RSS subscription.

Now of course you’d expect a certain fall in RSS subscribers after the John Chow hype, while the number did fall to 59 the next day, that very same weekend showed another record - 119 subscribers.

Loyal readership
How do you know someone that came from another blog may become a loyal reader and stick with you? how do you asses how effective and targeted a review is?

Unique visits/page views ratio. I did tell you I received about 490 unique visitors after 24 hours, but what would you say if I also told you that the blog served more than 2000 page views that day, An average of 4 page views per visitor?(!).

The verdict
Any webmaster with some experience knows the statistics above show clear signs of a highly trafficked and qualitative blog that has extra targeted audience, add the fact the author is a marketing mogul…you know the verdict by now.

Wait, so do you recommend buying a John Chow Dot Com review?
The really short answer is yes. Why? because John Chow does 200% of his work, 200%. From what I’ve seen until now, any blog that didn’t benefit from a review of his in the long term simply wasn’t worth it.

I think you should wait to the next post in this series though, that will give you the longer, more detailed answer on whether and when you should get yourself a blog review, whether it’s from John or not.

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February 27th, 2007
22 Responses
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Reader Comments

Comment Number:
1
Written by:
Gareth
Posted on:
February 27, 2007 at 2:45 am

Looking forward to the next installment. I’ve been hanging around since JC posted his review and have been wondering how many others have. Now I know.

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Ryan
Posted on:
February 27, 2007 at 5:50 am

Is it worth the new $250 price tag? :D

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Ryan
Posted on:
February 27, 2007 at 5:50 am

Oh, and I hate that when I post a comment on your blog I don’t get taken to my comment… I just get stuck at the top. :(

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
broc
Posted on:
February 27, 2007 at 5:54 am

something you have to take into account:
after being reviewed by john chow you received links from problogger and others
which i am sure brought in a hefty amount of visitors
but you are probably taking this into consideration with your next post

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
thepaperbull
Posted on:
February 27, 2007 at 6:32 am

interesting - I’m glad you posted a followup on this.

I’ve clicked through a number of blogs that John posted in response to his Review Me invite. Only a few have spurred me to return. Far too many were pretty formless sites with little content. Might make the owners happy for a bit to see the traffic spike - but those will die back.

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
Gregg
Posted on:
February 27, 2007 at 6:52 am

Awesome, great to hear that the review was a positive! I always enjoy reading your stuff :D

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
HMTKSteve
Posted on:
February 27, 2007 at 5:06 pm

I second the previous question; Is it worth $250?

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
Allen
Posted on:
February 27, 2007 at 10:18 pm

@Ryan & Steve: I said it was worth my $100 on purpose, this post is basically about what this blog has benefited from John Chow’s review and not what necessarily what each one of John’s reviewed sites is going to get.

Your answer will be answered in the next post of this series, don’t worry.

@broc: Actually I’ve gotten links from Problogger and few others before the John Chow review, but I did get several extra links after his review.

@Gregg & paperbull: Glad to hear you guys are liking it, hopefully my next post will be comprehensive and satisfying for anyone considering getting his blog reviewed.

Happy blogging!
Allen

Comment Number:
9
Written by:
Giving some Lovin’, link lovin’ - DreadBlog
Posted on:
February 28, 2007 at 10:47 am

[…] With John Chow being the most sought after reviewer Allen talks about the “John Chow Effect”, not to be confused with the Digg effect. :P […]

Comment Number:
10
Written by:
derrich
Posted on:
February 28, 2007 at 6:40 pm

“Dear John Chow…” :)

Comment Number:
11
Written by:
Jane
Posted on:
March 1, 2007 at 1:52 am

I think the only answer to asking if the $250 Chow charges is worth the income it brought in from the traffic it you recieved.

Comment Number:
12
Written by:
Allen
Posted on:
March 1, 2007 at 2:50 am

Hi Jane,

I can’t say I agree with you. As I outlined in the 2nd post of this series, you may notice a huge jump in RSS subscribers and unique visitors during the first few days, but if there isn’t enough content, not a lot of readers are going to stay..which means the traffic was effective only in the short term.

Allen.H

Comment Number:
13
Written by:
12 Quick Ways to Maximize your ReviewMe Affiliate Commission Earnings
Posted on:
March 1, 2007 at 2:58 am

[…] Linking to specific examples of advertisers benefiting from ReviewMe blog reviews is a powerful way to attract advertisers. Allenation’s testimonial and analysis after being reviewed by the very popular John Chow dot Com is a great example of what will motivate advertisers to sign up with Review Me. Link to the landing page post using a text link or badge and display it prominently on your blog. […]

Comment Number:
14
Written by:
Jane
Posted on:
March 1, 2007 at 12:35 pm

Allen,

Now that I am re-reading my last comment about the $250 being worth it…I don’t even understand what I wrote…I take my hat off to you for even being able to respond to it :)

Comment Number:
15
Written by:
Making Money From A Blog - February 2007 « John Chow dot Com
Posted on:
March 1, 2007 at 10:53 pm

[…] ReviewMe (aff) has gone from last place to first place as the blog’s biggest moneymaker. Thanks to some great advertisers’ testimonials (here, here, here, and here, just to list a few), and a 50% ReviewMe coupon for February, this blog had it best ReviewMe month ever - over $1,000 of reviews orders came in on the last day. […]

Comment Number:
16
Written by:
Juan Rodriguez Villa
Posted on:
March 26, 2007 at 2:56 am

Allen, what is in your opinion the best free stategy to promote a blog? I have a new blog about “trends” and I am searching for ways to increase traffic.

Thanks for a blog so useful!!
Juan

Comment Number:
17
Written by:
1000MileJourney » 6 Internet Entrepreneur Blogs That Spurs Me On
Posted on:
April 7, 2007 at 8:28 am

[…] Well written, unique, interesting, not afraid to buy reviews from the biggest guys in the industry.. […]

Comment Number:
18
Written by:
rob macleod
Posted on:
April 26, 2007 at 12:42 pm

$250 is a lot of money!

question/ Is it worh it :)

Comment Number:
19
Written by:
» 12 Quick Ways to Maximize your ReviewMe Affiliate Commission Earnings
Posted on:
May 18, 2007 at 5:15 am

[…] Build a landing page. Good old affiliate marketing style promotion. Easiest way to do this is to do up a blog post which lists the benefits of using ReviewMe from the perspective of an advertiser. Try something simple like “10 reasons why ReviewMe is an advertising option you should consider.”Linking to specific examples of advertisers benefiting from ReviewMe blog reviews is a powerful way to attract advertisers. Allenation’s testimonial and analysis after being reviewed by the very popular John Chow dot Com is a great example of what will motivate advertisers to sign up with Review Me. Link to the landing page post using a text link or badge and display it prominently on your blog. […]

Comment Number:
20
Written by:
12 Quick Ways to Maximize your ReviewMe Affiliate Commission Earnings | Adsense Blogs
Posted on:
June 8, 2007 at 12:09 am

[…] Build a landing page. Good old affiliate marketing style promotion. Easiest way to do this is to do up a blog post which lists the benefits of using ReviewMe from the perspective of an advertiser. Try something simple like “10 reasons why ReviewMe is an advertising option you should consider.”Linking to specific examples of advertisers benefiting from ReviewMe blog reviews is a powerful way to attract advertisers. Allenation’s testimonial and analysis after being reviewed by the very popular John Chow dot Com is a great example of what will motivate advertisers to sign up with Review Me. Link to the landing page post using a text link or badge and display it prominently on your blog. […]

Comment Number:
21
Written by:
The John Chow Effect: Does it kill young blogs? : Big Bucks Blogger
Posted on:
July 19, 2007 at 1:01 am

[…] In the short run, it’s clear Allen was happy with the results and reported a spike in traffic. But, alas, Allen’s traffic dropped precipitously, and for some reason, Allen pretty much stopped posting at Allenation in March 2007. You can read more at Allenation. […]

Comment Number:
22
Written by:
12 Quick Ways to Maximize your ReviewMe Affiliate Commission Earnings
Posted on:
August 4, 2007 at 2:37 pm

[…] Build a landing page. Good old affiliate marketing style promotion. Easiest way to do this is to do up a blog post which lists the benefits of using ReviewMe from the perspective of an advertiser. Try something simple like “10 reasons why ReviewMe is an advertising option you should consider.”Linking to specific examples of advertisers benefiting from ReviewMe blog reviews is a powerful way to attract advertisers. Allenation’s testimonial and analysis after being reviewed by the very popular John Chow dot Com is a great example of what will motivate advertisers to sign up with Review Me. Link to the landing page post using a text link or badge and display it prominently on your blog. […]