My poor sales for Christmas indicate autoblogging is dead?

Exactly! Don't jump into something else until you understand completely what went wrong with these sites. As the Philosopher says, "the unexamined life is not worth living." That goes double for IM.

+1. No single website nor network of website's failure indicates the death of any marketing method

Perhaps the products that you are promoting just aren't popular this year. I sold loads of a type of toy last year but sales for them have been much slower this year, but other types of toy are selling well.

I don't know how many times I have heard people say things like this only to find out in the end that they were wrong.

I'm sorry but just because it didn't work for you or others you know doesn't mean that it doesn't work at all or can't work...or as you state...work in the future. You shouldnt be so quick to judge IM methods simply based on your own experience with them. I know several people who are successful with auto blogging or forms of it (myself included) so I simply can't and wont believe it when people say things like this.

I've never had a lot of luck with CPA but does that mean it simply doesnt work, can't work and wont work in the future? I don't think so, not even close...what it really means is that I personally haven't figured out how to make it work for me. Just liek auto blogging, there are too many people who have success with CPA to blindly state that it doesn't work.

This simply isn't true...not even close! Given this example then sites liek Google News would be considered spam...sorry, but you are way off here and simply wrong!

I was wondering when this would pop up...

Most auto blog haters always say the same things:

"Build real sites with real content for real visitiors"....blah blah blah.

I have plenty of "real" readers reading my my auto blogs and have received several comments from them thanking me for the "real" content and "real" convenience I have provided them by bringing related quality content from severeal different sources together in one lacation.

You dont like auto blogging and thats your choice but you shouldn't try to force your viewpoints on others...especially when you try to package them as fact when they are nothing more than your opinions.

Autoblogging has had its ups and downs. Now that it has become a consumer commodity, you will have to do something different to get people to buy from your link.

Dumping stuff onto your site from an XML file is not a new strategy. And it used to be that some people could make pretty good money from doing that. the issue IMO, is that if you are doing the saeme thing as everybody else, what is it about your site that is going to make people be loyal to you.

I set up an autoblogging site today, a big one. Actually I set up enough posts to last for over 3 years. And now that that part is done I can concentrate on getting my site ranked with different keyword phrases. Autoblogging really only saves you time is setting up your content.

If you combine that autoposted content with real written posts and then use some of the "spreading the conversation around" tools you can probably make something over the long run.

I've heard it mentioned a time or two...

Seriously, the problem with using Google, and the main advantage to subject specific aggregated (and human reviewed) content sites, is that with the former I have to wade through all the auto-generated, spun slop sites Google hasn't figured out how to filter yet. With the latter, someone has already done the work for me.

Well, I doubt auto blogging is dead or a waste of time. I don't know what product you're using but mine are dong just fine.

Each month my sales go up, my traffic goes up and I make more money.
If that's death then cool, can I have some more?

All depends on how you auto blog. But all IM depends on HOW you IM!!!
Patrick

[edit] Oh yeah, I forgot to say that my sites aren't just junk and I do provide the reader with value.

This is good advice.

Most successful autobloggers would happily tell Google exactly what they do, and Google would smile and nod and say "great job."

Most unsuccessful autobloggers would likely face criminal charges if they explained what they do out loud, to Google or anyone else.

The average person is dishonest, selfish, and vindictive. They don't care what's right, so long as they profit and others suffer. And it's a long, hard road they travel before figuring out there's no pot of gold or land of Oz at the end.

***Yawn***

Dude, this post is so full of holes and BS I barely know where to begin. Don't worry though...I said barely. Let me take a shot here....

If you're referring to auto blogging as spamming then all I can say to that is no matter what anyone tells you about it you will most likely feel the same way so it's almost not worth my trying to explain the difference. The only thing that makes it worth it is to try to better inform those that you have misinformed with your auto blogg hating ways...

Auto blogging (if done correctly) isn't spam...period! Can it be spam...yeah of course, can any other form of IM be used to spam...certainly! Just because something can be used in a way that could be considered as spam doesn't mean it is always used that way or automatically becomes that simply by it being implimented.

This is basically total BS! First your referring to auto blogging as "gaming the system"...honestly, this isn't even worth addressing because it's so far out of the reality of the situation. As far as losing all of your traffic because of using the "wrong" plugin is concerned you might be partially right...but only partially. Using the "wrong plugin" can cause issues. However, the key phrase here is "wrong plugins"...I dont rely totally on plugins and many others I know who are successful in auto blogging dont either. I also know those that are honest with it, approach it legally and ethically wouldn't use those plugins that do cause issues.

I gladly tell the search engines what I do, how I build my sites and what content fills their pages....I've never had any problesm from any of them. Then again, I approach it differently than those that have somethng to hide.

You had me with the fist scentence...after that you completely lost me. I think that's because everything else you wrote is total crap. You might be able to sell that line of used car salesman BS to newbies but you won't get that by me or anyone else who is familiar and successful with autoblogging.

Thanks...but no thanks, I will listen when you actually have something of value to add to this conversation instead of just your own misguided opinions.

I know how this feels....

I wake up almost everyday and after I've had my morning MT Dew (dont drink coffee) I spend the next couple of hours researching niches, categories within the niche, keywords and phrases, the competitions strength, related products, related content, types of monetization...etc etc and then when I am all done guess what I do...

I build a quality semi auto blog that does offer value to its readers, that the search engines rank well and in the long run will make me steady money for many years to come.

If thats not a "real web site" in terms of IM then I'm not sure what is!

This is way beyond BS...it's so out there in left field I dont even know where to begin. All I can say to this is you seriously need to go to auto blog hater rehab....you need help man!

Well, selling the software can be profitable if the software you're selling is quality software and does what it says it will do....otherwise you will end up with a high refund rate and that will kill your profits, not to mention your reputation (which is much more important).

I was initially one of the guys who bought the crap software but as time went on and I learned the proper way (at least for me) to auto blog and I learned what it really took to get it done then it all started to fall into place and then it wasnt just the software guys who "laughed all the way to the bank".

You should know that I (along with others I know) have had auto blogs (or variations of what is typically referred to as auto blogs) running for years and I've never had a problem with any of hte search engines. I don't try to hide anything and ensure the content that posts to my sites is high quality. In the end, my sites provide good value to the reader and grow as time goes by which is evident by my ever increasing traffic volumes each month. They also continue to make me a pretty decent sum of money each month so when you say they are nothing but spam and that it cant work now or in the future...all I can say to that is...sorry it didnt work for you but thats probably because you did something wrong! It works just fine for me and many others I know.

After reading the responses from Rsberg and a few others on other threads about this subject, I think I finally came up with an analogy that helps understand what they're talking about.

Back in Nebraska, I used to help teach the state-required gun safety course kids needed to get a hunting license. One topic that always came up was "automatic weapons."

Kids would always ask if automatic weapons were legal to hunt with, since the government was trying so hard to ban them. (This was during the years just after the Columbine tragedy.)

We would explain the difference between a fully automatic weapon and a semi-automatic one. With the fully automatic guns, if you held the trigger down, they would fire until the magazine was empty. With the semi-automatic (more properly called an 'auto-loader'), when you pressed the trigger, one round would fire and the waste gas would be used to work the action and load another round. Which would wait patiently for another press of the trigger.

The crappy autoblogs that raise such animosity from people are like automatic weapons that also automatically refill the magazine, only with no reliable means of ensuring the new ammunition is the right caliber.

Aggregate content sites are more like the auto-loaders which will continue to pull in new ammunition, but require a human to validate the fit and pull the trigger.

Of course, neither variation (of gun or blog) is worth much if you can't hit what you aim at...

It's always interesting to me to see the "auto" haters come out of the wood work every chance they get...

I read the page at the link you provided and even though you are attempting to put down autoblogging with the way you phrased your followup after the link I just dont see any real info on that page that makes it look bad.

A simple breakdown of the page reads something like this:

1. Article intro -Brief explanation as to what autoblogging is and how it is accomplished
2. Viewpoints of autoblogs and their "worth" - Just like anyother form of IM (or business for that matter) there are always going to be people who see it from both sides...those who like and those who dont. This particluar article doesnt seem to take one side or another...instead it presents "arguements" from both sides so the reader can decide for themselves.
3. Finally, Flippas position on selling autoblogs - Once again, they aren't trashing them they are simply saying that buyers should know what they are buying and do their due dilligence before buying....unique content site or otherwise (in this case, autoblogs).

1. That link is to a page on Flippa. Flippa is a webiste dedicated to flipping/selling websites. We all know that most websites will sell for more with unique content on them and to be quite honest most auto bloggers arent interested in selling them although this can be done (and I have done it myself...for more than it cost in time and money to build).

2. Sorry...but I dont see what made you "cold dead" when reading the views. Was it because most of the views actually supported autoblogging in one way or another and since you don't (which is why you made this post to begin with) you couldn't believe your eyes?

Seriously...

If you don't agree with, like or have not had success with one form or another of IM then thats your choice/experience and you're welcome to voice that, but when you do a "drive by" on threads about that form of IM without adding any real value to the topic of the thread except to state your opinion without any real evidence to support it then all you are actually doing is trash talking about it. Especially when you attempt to trash it with a link to something you view as trashing it when in reality it isn't doing that at all...

Next time you post a link trying to trash something maybe you should make sure that link is actually trashing it before you post it.

Or better yet....if you can't add something of value to the discussion then just dont post at all.

BTW...there are 101 comments at that link (below the article) and less than 10 are from people with your same viewpoint who can't seem to find what most others atleast see to some degree or another (even if they don't agree with it)...the value and possibilities that autoblogging can offer if it's done right. Maybe someday you will be able to see that, but I doubt it.