Welcome to my latest dose of blogging reality and if you have not yet got started with your blog for whatever reason then this blog post is exactly what you need to read TODAY.
Most folks are aware of the many reasons why you must seriously consider having a blog for your online business.
Being a blogger enables you to run our very own public relations campaigns and be continually building your personal brand, creating trusted connections, developing your leadership and authority, getting free search engine traffic are amongst the main reasons.
You can read more about these here with Kim Willis’s excellent post about
Why network marketers need a blog
Why I Blog?
For me having a blog as my central business hub is giving me the chance to build more credibility, authority and trust with my subscribers in a fun and enjoyable way that I could never have achieved using only an email marketing approach.
My blog allows me to express my thoughts on things that are important to my target audience (others like me who are interested in learning about blogging and internet marketing) in a way that does not look, smell or sound like sales hype – but still has the objective of attracting my readers to my affiliate offers.
It's all a matter of positioning plus making sure you really give first with no strings attached – people absolutely respond to this type of approach because they're sick to death of being pitched to everywhere they seem to go online.
So my question to you is why haven’t you started blogging yet?
When I asked that question recently in a Facebook group of affiliate marketers I got a range of answers that included:
Don’t have enough time
Lacking confidence in writing skills
Not sure what to blog about
I'm not sure if what I have to say is really worthwhile
I need to get everything in order before they get started
People will see through me as I’m not an expert in anything really
And the list goes on.
Perhaps all this is a fear mindset of finally putting what you have to say out there, for the world to see.
I can clearly recall my feelings of uncertainty when I first clicked that “Publish” button
Today I’d like to answer these reasons for not getting started yet with blogging, and if you are one of these folks, read on as this will definitely help you to overcome these procrastinations.
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The Time Issue
Yes we all have 24 hours in every day and to be a successful blogger you have to organize your schedule to ensure you consistently provide valuable content.
You can never go back in time. What you did in December, 2015 is now history and you change things that you planned to do but somehow never got around to actually doing it.
Blogging is not an overnight success journey and it does take an investment of time to attain benefits that may be months down the line.
[Tweet “”Always Do More Than You Get Paid For To Make An Investment In Your Future” – Jim Rohn”]
By consistently creating your content you will experience a compound effect over time. The problem is these days many folks just can’t wait for a week let alone months or even years to enjoy the benefits of a well established blog community.
The growth rate for most bloggers is slow and steady but during that growth you can experience some wonderful new relationships that can open opportunity doors you may never considered possible previously.
Sure it does take time, especially when it comes to the promotion of your posts.
Reaching out to other leading bloggers in your niche by providing valuable comments on their posts is something many people are not prepared to do. In fact, with the changes made by the search engines, the whole concept of blog commenting for links is no longer a viable strategy.
But blog commenting is far more than “links” – it’s by far the most effective way for new bloggers to learn from leaders in their niche, create relationships with these leaders and attract high quality relevant traffic back to your new blog site.
If time is your concern think about what you can achieve by investing into your blogging journey compared to the potential return of doing something else.
Once you have developed your style, build new connections with leading bloggers and have mastered the power of syndicating your blog, then you will truly start to see how you can really make a difference in the lives of your readers.
This is a priceless ROI for you.
But none of that can happen until you make a start.
The Perfection Issue
If you are a perfectionist then it’s no wonder why you haven’t started your blog yet.
And I have news for you.
Unless you change your mindset you never will start your blog – it will simply be a pipe-dream.
Forget the perfect web design or perfect blog theme.
You can always work on this as you go but if you insist on getting that perfect look and feel for your blog design before you can start then forget blogging – it’s not for you.
Bloggers must have the courage and determination to “put it all out there warts and all” and be prepared to be criticized for your efforts. This is the real world and the way you react to your circumstances will determine your status and authority.
As Jim Rohn once said “It’s not what happens that determines the major part of your future. What happens, happens to all of us. The key is what you do about it.”
You can never achieve perfection so stop trying to chase it.
Take risks rather than hide behind the “perfection position.”
Be imperfect, be unique, be strong, be persistent, be consistent, be yourself.
You’ll never know who you’re inspiring with your posts and comments.
Blogging requires you to have a mindset of giving high relevant content to your readers and subscribers.
So make your readers feel like you are interested in them and that you understand them. Make sure your message is clear and always relevant to your readers. This will be one of your biggest challenges but get it right and it will dramatically improve engagement and your credibility.
TIP: Teach but never preach!
The Making Mistakes Issue – We All Do!
Don’t be scared of this.
In my last post I had 2 hyperlinked statements that linked to the wrong page. I honestly thought I had checked this before I published but on reflection I realized that when I was going through the post editing phrase I was joined by my 2 year old grand-daughter who wanted to help grandpa out with his “bogging.”
And yes that is not a miss-spelling. That’s her terminology for the work I do on my blog.
However, thanks to Kerrie and Ryan, 2 of my blog subscribers, who private messaged me on Facebook re the link mistakes, all was easily fixed
No big deal really and no need for panic. Just learn to roll with your mistakes and let your readers see you are real.
Naturally I’ve learnt never to do the important editing bit with my grand-daughter again!
We’re all human so never worry about making mistakes and again I quote from Jim Rohn:
“Take risks. If you win, you’ll be happy. If you lose, you’ll be wiser” – just love the wisdom of that man.
Give the very best you can in everything you do with your blogging and people will relate with you, will respect you, will come to trust you and will follow your recommendations.
So go on give it your best shot. You’ll kick yourself 12 months down the track if you did not get started TODAY – no excuses just get started.
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The Writing Skills Issue
Let me tell you I’m not a great writer. I’m far more comfortable creating a video or a podcast.
A Blogging Tip for You
Write as you speak and keep in mind that all you are doing with your post is communicating with a particular person with a particular problem about a particular solution you have to offer.
Just like this post.
If you look back at the very first sentence of this post you can see my target audience this time is that person who has yet to get started with their blog even though they are fully aware of the benefits of such a website.
[Tweet “Become More Valuable To Your Target Audience”]
When you are sharing your ideas, your opinions, your “spin on things” then I feel it would be very difficult to make any mistakes. Just communicate and engage with your readers in your own awesome style and see what happens.
What’s the worst that can happen? You get no comments or you may even get negative feedback. Handle it and move on.
Blogging is your personal branding platform and people WILL relate to you if you are authentic even when you make mistakes – and you will.
Just start writing and see what happens
The What Can I Blog About Issue?
Before you start blogging you need to do some research.
I have news for you here. Everything on every topic you can possibly imagine has already been published within the 2 million blog posts that are published EACH DAY.
So now I hear you saying. “I told you I didn’t know what to blog about” and now you tell me “it’s all been said before”
Well not quite. No one has heard your take on things before.
Here’s your chance to tell the world YOUR story.
Word of Caution
Before you tell your story, whatever that may be, you need to identify WHO is your target audience. Not only who they are but WHAT are their needs and wants –the “pain points” you can possibly solve with your particular take on a particular solution.
TIP: See what my friend Adrienne Smith, one of the top bloggers on the planet, has to share about “target audiences” and writing content that guarantees the results you are seeking. This is awesome content you should not miss.
http://www.adriennesmith.net/how-to-write-content-guarantee-results/
To identify these particular wants and needs go to the places where your target audience hangs out like forums or social media groups and simply listen to what is being shared.
TIP: Use FAQFOX to search the various forums for your selected keywords Here’s a video all about this simple research method that will give you tons of topics to blog about.
The Self Belief Issue
No one expects perfection, no one expects you to know all there is to know about any particular topic. Your job is to simply communicate with your readers in your own way, your experiences, your stories, your opinions on the particular topic you have selected.
The very fact that you have created a blog post sharing your thoughts and ideas is awesome.
Believe me the more you post the better you will get. So face your fears and give everything you have to making the post the best you can give. That’s all anyone can expect from you.
Never compare yourself to other bloggers – learn from them for sure but do not let it become a “comparison contest” – everyone is different , people’s expectations are all different and you are NOT aiming to please everyone.
You focus is only on that particular reader with a particular issue that you are setting out to give them your unique solution.
That’s it folks.
It’s time for you to stop procrastinating and go give it your best shot.
Start of by blogging as if no one was reading your creation because that’s probably right.
SOME MORE TIPS:
Always reply to your reader’s comments, always be nice even if they are being critical – this is YOUR community and your leadership and competency are always on display
Break up your text with white spaces and relevant images. I use these creative commons images and then create a relevant meme using PicMonkey, a free image editor.
You can easily leverage your content by creating PowerPoint slides and uploading to Slideshare; create a video of your Slideshare Presentation and upload it to YouTube; create a podcast of your post and upload to iTunes – with all this re-purposed content having links back to your blog post – great for highly targeted free traffic.
Publish your posts at pre-determined times and days – this not only requires you to be consistent but also builds expectations in the minds of your blog community.
As you progress as a blogger, you will discover new skills, new relationships, new readers and all the while be building your blog community around you.
Always be learning from your mentors, leading bloggers in your niche, your readers and subscribers. The learning process never stops and is a never ending source of blog post material.
FINAL TIP: Become as valuable as you possibly can by learning, implementing and then teaching others. Spend time on developing your skills as you grow your blogging community.
The more unique and valuable you can become in your own style, the more successful you will be and your income will be dramatically changed for ever.
Update: Maybe all the things that are stopping you are not really reasons at all. See one of the comments on this post by Kim Willis, said about this ” When I look at your list, my only response is that they’re not reasons at all. They’re excuses. So people need to put the excuses behind them and just get started. It isn’t hard. It’s a methodical, step by step process designed to take people from where they are now to where they need to be.”
YOUR TURN
I know how busy you must be so many thanks for your comments.
Care to share your blogging story?
What challenges have you faced and overcome?
How did you do this? Have you tried blogging before and failed?
Are there things you would like to know more about?
Please leave me your thoughts and comments below – I always respond and so should you!
