Are Poker Blogs Futile?

Someone recently posted a comment on a post I did back in 2005 regarding the futility of being an online poker affiliate. My main point of the post is that poker blogs don’t really convert well because by the time someone finds your blog they usually have an online poker account already.

The comment asked if I had changed my mind since I first made that post. And my answer is that it has and it hasn’t. On one side I think that poker blogs, especially one like mine that talks more about the online poker industry than it does about strategy and such, convert poorly compared to say review or news sites. On the other hand sites like mine have a very long-tail effect in converting and some of my most highly trafficked pages are those I wrote several years ago.

At the core of the problem with poker blogs is the fact that you’re preaching to the converted. You might find some random person who clicks on your banner ad for some online poker room but more likely than not your loyal and faithful readers are going to be people who are already players.

In contrast a review site which reviews all the different poker rooms might not have loyal readers but they do attract people who are specifically looking to open a new online poker account. Similarly, a site that ranks well in Google for terms like “bonus codes” might not build up a steady stream of regular visitors but the people who do find them are highly targeted and highly motivated.

That doesn’t mean I’ve made no money with this blog. I certainly have. But I could have made a lot more affiliate money had I aimed at a different market. Nobody should be pulling out the tissues for me though. I’ve done alright.

First off, if it weren’t for this blog I wouldn’t have met some very cool people who have become great friends. People like Iggy, Dr. Pauly, HDouble, Franklin, Hanel, Glyphic, Katkin, Ryan, Joe Speaker, and the list could go on for a page or more.

Second, had I not had this blog and made some of the contacts I made I would have never gotten my foot in the door at Full Tilt Poker several years ago. And had I not had the job at Full Tilt Poker then I wouldn’t be sitting over here on the Costa del Sol working for my current employer.

In fact, during my six interviews (in one day) for my current employer nearly every person I met with mentioned that they either were already a regular reader of my blog or that they had just begun reading it after seeing my resume. Speaking further to how small of a world it is, it was at a WPBT event that I ran into a former co-worker of mine that I hadn’t seen in several years. Two months later I came to find out that this same guy used to be the boss of the guy I was interviewing for.

So while I still believe that blogging about poker isn’t a great affiliate conversion tool I wholeheartedly believe that I have been enriched by it. Both in the great friends I’ve made as well as the doors that it has opened up for me. As I’ve said from day one; you have to write what you’re passionate about. It doesn’t matter if you gain an audience. Your aim shouldn’t be to make other people happy. Blogging should be for your benefit and if people happen to enjoy what you do then it’s a win-win for everyone.

And I’m not alone in having benefitted from blogging far beyond affiliate conversions. Dr. Pauly is probably the most well known tournament reporter around. Mene Gene is also collecting pay checks and travelling the world because of his blog. Same thing could be said about Otis, Change100, April, Spaceman, Franklin, Hanel, and a long list of other bloggers who have their career paths changed from a decision they made several years ago to start typing their thoughts and ideas about poker into some crummy blogging software and publishing it out onto the Internet for the world to see.

Blog about poker because you want to. Don’t blog about poker to try and make tons of cash as an affiliate. There are plenty of other ways you can convert traffic more effectively. If you’re good and people like what you have to say then blogging can open up a lot of doors that would normally be shut. And worst case scenario is that you have fun getting your thoughts and feelings out there. Not a bad deal if you ask me.