EntreCard Droppers, Are We Destroying the System?
During yet another EntreCard dropping session I just kept wondering why the hell this has become such an addictive habit. At the moment my ad “sells†for 173 credits because I have switched to a faster way of dropping and to be completely honest, I do get most of my traffic through EntreCard at the moment.
I have tried different things to drop faster, like using sitehoppin and powerdroppin, in combination with the Firefox add-ons like ImgLikeOpera (to make sure the only image loaded is the EntreCard widget) and bookmarked a list of random sites with their EntreCard above the fold, to open up different taps at the same time. This tactic lets me drop around 200 cards in about 30 minutes, giving me quite some possibilities to advertise on different blogs each day.
Now, even though at first I thought this was quite nifty, my opinion is shifting towards the feeling that I am destroying my own options and am guilty of defeating the whole purpose of Entrecard, building up quality traffic.
Google analytics stats show a bounce rate that I am quite ashamed of so I was thinking of ways to get that percentage down, which is going to be my goal for the coming period and part of my plan of action is starting to drop wiser.
You see, I did not really care where I would drop my card, whether it being on blogs about sports, blogging, history, or whatever site was on the lists of bookmarks readily available online. But by doing this I am actually inviting fast droppers to my blog, the ones that only enter to drop and leave, just as I have been doing lately as well.
Now, thinking about which blogs actually draw my attention, they are all related to only a few categories, and they are the only ones where I do take the time to read the titles and posts, even visit and read more posts and comment on the ones I enjoyed or which have taught me something new.
This train of thought is leading me to think that possibly, those bloggers could be doing the same thing, being involved in certain categories; their attention probably will be caught by blogs in those same categories as well.
I still believe Entrecard is an awesome system for beginning blogs who haven’t yet gotten a huge amount of back links and contacts, but only if it is being used in the right way, so I guess my days of EntreCard whoring are over and I am going to focus more on quality drops…
Who knows, it might just do wonders for my bounce rate 
Are you using EntreCards to your advantage or are you just playing the system?
Tagged with: entrecard • Traffic
Filed under: Blogging • Traffic
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OK so I am a Stumblaholic. I stumble through blogs. Matter of fact that is how I discovered you. Most of what Stumble brings me from the blogs topic is endless sites telling me how to blog and build readership and make money. I would say that I have formed a conclusion but I don’t like conclusions as they leave no room for further study. So I have come to an idea. There are so many people out there that are trying to find quick easy ways to increase there readership rather than doing it by actually being a good blogger and building a reputation that has their readers recommending them to others.
I personally am not interested in using any of these tactics as I am still figuring out the direction I want to take my little blog. However I like to know what the options are should I decide that I want to monetize my blog at some point.
Now to your specific problem I would venture a guess to say that yes you have a lot of people that are just dropping with out reading. Of course I can only speak in generalities as I have no real concrete facts to back up my ideas. That is why I present them as ideas, not conclusions. I also admit that I very well could be wrong. That happens frequently. I again want to point out that by simply taking the time to talk about this and pose these questions yourself to your readers that you earn the respect of your readers with your open honesty. Ok I will shut up now
Jim – Just a Guy’s last blog post..Probably the funniest thing I have ever read.
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Mirjam Reply:
March 17th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Hi Jim!
“There are so many people out there that are trying to find quick easy ways to increase there readership rather than doing it by actually being a good blogger and building a reputation that has their readers recommending them to others.”
Are you referring to all the contest you see all over the blogosphere that make you sign up for their feed in order to enter in the prizedraw? A few weeks ago I thought about that option aswell and I planned on combining it with a complete redo of my theme (still working on that bit). I have however decided against that idea. There are so many contests already and quite frankly I believe there are a lot of people who will only sign up for the reader feed in order to compete without having any real interest in reading the blog thereafter.
The only contest I am running is the Handbook for Life which will be ending this Sunday and I haven´t done a lot about promoting it, since it is more a “reward my readers” thing, than “getting more subscribers”.
I agree with you on the “doing it through being a good blogger” part, to me it seems more the way to go, although ofcourse I can´t deny the fact that a huge wellrun contest sure will create the buzz.
As far as your comment on possibly monetizing your own blog in the future, even if you have a remote idea on doing that in the future, I would highly recommend you switch to owning your own domain (and using wordpress;) ) as soon as possible, but I guess you will have come across a lot of articles about that already
The quality of traffic through entrecard, by only reading several sites you will find that many are recommending ways on how to spend less time dropping, while earning more cards. I have done it aswell, but now starting to favor using the system to come across new blogs in order to build relationships and focus on their content rather than just dropping and leaving….
As always, thank you for taking the time to comment so extensively, you have brought up some valuable points!
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Jim - Just a Guy Reply:
March 17th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Asif I could stop myself or leave a short comment
Jim – Just a Guy’s last blog post..Probably the funniest thing I have ever read.
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I agree, even though I myself drop 300 a day, I only do that for marketing purposes but the real fun for me is to browse for the “quality” blogs afterwards to find some writing material for my blogs.
I think Entrecard needs to do something about people spending so much time dropping cards, maybe change the system to benefit those who are getting traffic, instead of just hyping up traffic.
It’s a great system right now, don’t get me wrong, but the way it is, it does bring in “hyped traffic” you don’t want anyways and it does waste your time to drop so many cards. I rather go concentrate on actual blogging sometimes, well… that’s my 2 cents.
Now, don’t tell me I am biased, I only built a tool to save myself and others some time.
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Mirjam Reply:
March 17th, 2008 at 10:35 am
hey there!
thank you for commenting on this post! I will be the first to admit that I have been using your system aswell in order to drop faster.
The thing I like about your way is that you don´t actually focus on only dropping on fast downloading sites with the entrecard above the fold, but actually include all blogs organizing per category, which will bring up more blogs in ones field of interest. And more than once have I stopped in my dropping tracks to read more content and comment on different blogs which I would never had found if it weren´t for EntreCard.
Thanks for taking the time to stop here and comment!
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I agreed that we need to visit blog close to our niche for quality traffic. As for me I do not do a lot of dropping but I do received a lot of drops.
My 125×125 banner does help me in entrecard.
regards.
Rosli’s last blog post..3 months with EntreCard
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Mirjam Reply:
March 17th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Hi Rosli
Good point you bring up there, I personally noticed an increase in cards being dropped on me after changing my banner which I guess proves your point;)
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I don’t drop a lot of cards but I drop when I see a site that has the widget mainly. It would be nice to see Entrecard build in some kind of timing option. So people only get the actual credit if they spend a certain amount of time on a site or visit more than one page. I also think it depends who you want to read your blog. My blog is a blog about blogging so everyone is a potential reader. If I run a craft blog not everyone is going to be interested in visiting.
Lee’s last blog post..Blogs as a Seed
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Mirjam Reply:
March 17th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Hi Lee,
I don´t really think that a timeslot will be the solution, since people who are into powerdropping will open several windows at a time while waiting for the blog to open enough to click the card, which will make the timeslot useless.
Plus, if they are really after speed dropping I am sure they will find a way around it.
thanks for stopping by!
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I have tended to stick with more like 100 drops per day (well, not every day but when I can) and take the time to comment on posts that interest me. Rather than power dropping ALL the time.
I kind of do a bit of both. Some fast drops and some “take time to look around and comment” type drops.
I don’t have much of a system but I try to return drops first and after that will browse different blogs depending on my mood.
I guess for me, even though I write a personal blog, I enjoy reading a wide variety of other blogs and figure that perhaps some people are the same. So I get less worried about “niche” and more concerned with treating other bloggers the way I would love to be treated (by reading and commenting).
Lightening’s last blog post..Family Camp
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Mirjam Reply:
March 17th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Hi Lightening!
I had a look at your blog and liked what I saw, so thanks for commenting here;)
“… more concerned with treating other bloggers the way I would love to be treated” … that is what got me thinking yesterday when doing another fastdropping session, feeling like I was really adding a lot to a system which actually offers a great service, especially to newer bloggers.
I will check out some more of your posts about frugal shopping, I have already achieved cutting my grocery bills back to only 40% of what I was originally spending and I am sure I can pick up some more ways from your posts
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I am fairly new to entrecard and have been getting the hang of it lately. I also do a little of both. I do drop cards anywhere I see a badge, but I also take the time to stop and read posts that interest me (like this one).
I have definitely seen the benefit of entrecard bringing more traffic to my site. I see your point too. I don’t know what entrecard can do to make any difference. Maybe they can’t.
Cassie’s last blog post..My CVS trip this week!!
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Mirjam Reply:
March 17th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Hi Cassie, thanks for dropping in
I don´t think they will do a lot about it, especially since it looks like they are now going to monetize by opening up an EC´s buy and sell program …
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Hey no problemo, blogging isn’t about dropping cards but interacting with other bloggers, otherwise you take out all the fun!
cheers~
SiteHoppers’s last blog post..HOWTO put the 127×148 Beer Widget right next to your Entrecard!
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I used to try to drop as many cards as I could. Now I keep it between 60-100 drops a day. I use it like StumbleUpon now. It gives me a way of browsing through sites with the benefit of the card dropping and the option of commenting.
Stephan Miller’s last blog post..First Things First
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Mirjam Reply:
March 17th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I like using the combination of different options as well (stumbling, dropping and commenting) and I think that is a do-able and reasonable number of cards
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Yes, I also saw the bounce rate being very high.
I only do 10-20 because I try to learn something from the posts I see. That is, I check the latest post on almost half the blogs I visit.
I think it is a good way of getting traffic, but it is harder to get good traffic from it.
Olivier – Mindfulness guy’s last blog post..A handy mantra
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Mirjam Reply:
March 17th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Hi Oliver,
Thanks for the comment 
I agree with you, I feel it is especially helpful for starting blogs to get the initial traffic going, but certainly going to focus on making it work the best way possible and getting traffic through other sources
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200 drops in 30 minutes! Sheeesh!
I guess I’m just dropping the old-fashioned way, because i probably average about 200 a week!
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Mirjam Reply:
March 17th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
That is what I thought when I first started using entrecard but it is surprisingly easy to find shortcuts and ways to speed up… greed does spoil the whole purpose of the system though
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Excellent post, and I Stumbled it. I love entrecards, and I am a fanatic card dropper, but I have no plugins or doodads to make things faster. I’m the kind of person who likes to enjoy the journey, ya know?
Great post, encouraging us to enjoy the journey. See on the highway.
Mrs. Mecomber’s last blog post..Home Makeover Contest
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Mirjam Reply:
March 18th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Thank you for the thumbs up, very much appreciated!
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You know, I was just thinking about this today as I was ‘dropping’. I am new to entrecard, and even though I really like it, I am finding it to be sooo addictive!
).
I do worry about just dropping and moving on to the next blog, but I do find myself stopping along my way at certain blogs that have a post that jumps out at me (like this one
I do want to slow down, post more, and build good traffic though, and not ‘abuse’ this system.
Great post!
Irene’s last blog post..Work At Home Doing Data Entry
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Mirjam Reply:
March 18th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Hi Irene, thanks for dropping in
I tried to do the same when I first entered and kind of lost track of things, wanting to see how many cards I could drop… now making a consious effort to participate more, although some blogs just seem to be build to scare visitors away ASAP
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Oh yeah, I think if you drop lots of cards, that’s great for your Alexa stats, but that’s about it. If you want to get every juice out of Entrecard, you gotta really split between dropping, reading blogs of your interest, and network with other bloggers such as trading blogrolls, guest posting, etc…etc…
SiteHoppers’s last blog post..Coming soon – Beer Economy and Beer Stocks – Invest and become co-owners of SiteHoppin.com!
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Mirjam Reply:
March 18th, 2008 at 12:06 am
That is exactly my conclusion after last night´s dropping session, completely agree with you
I am staying clear from guest posting for another while though
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My Gosh 200 in 30 mins!! That is PowerDroppin’ + PowerPoopin’!!
;PPP
I make CardDroppin’ the Old Fashioned Way (who was that British Actor in the Smith Barney Ad?
) by actually taking the time to Read a post – make a Comment + often add their Blog Link*
I think in the Long run it will Pay Off* However I won’t be Retiring until Stephan Miller has Dropped a Comment on my Blog!!
BillyWarhol’s last blog post..St. Patrick’s Cathedral New York City * HAPPY ST. PADDY’S DAY!
) 4
All my Flickr Friendz*
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Mirjam Reply:
March 18th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Hey Billy, thanks for dropping in and leaving your comments
I agree with you 
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I keep a lot of blogs in my favourites at EC. Those are the ones which have caught my eye and kept my interest. Some will come and go as they don’t update enough or seem to be something other than what I thought they were. But, those are the blogs I start dropping at each time. So, it is working for me. I’ve found a lot of new blogs to read and find ideas at. I don’t card drop just for the sake of dropping cards except for the U Drop list at Lee’s blog. I’m having second thoughts about being part of that. Several of those blogs don’t interest me at all and several others seem to be all ads. One even opens with a huge porn ad so you can’t even find the blog at all.
Laura’s last blog post..Pink Flamingos
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Mirjam Reply:
March 24th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Hey Laura
I think your way is the way you both get some traffic to your site and aswell make sure you get to visit blogs you really like, combining best of both worlds 
thank you for your point of view
Thanks for commenting!
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The way I do it is reciprocate all the drops in my in box and then click the add in the droppers widget. If it is related to my blog I tend to read the article and comment as well. Never reached 300 drops up to now , usually its between 75 -100.
Nishadha’s last blog post..Make Money by giving free Books
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Mirjam Reply:
June 19th, 2008 at 8:14 am
I am stepping away from entrecard for now, too time consuming and not very productive, I prefer spending my time building links and adding content … so no more powerdropping bloghopping ROFL
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