Blogging used to be so easy. You put yourself and your words out there and you created a community of like individuals who read, liked and engaged with your content.
Now, blogging is big business. Tons of new blogs are started. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. And there are so many moving parts, like social media and SEO, that you have to manage, that it almost seems impossible to grow your own audience.
But I’m hear to tell you, you can create a successful blog. Even in this over-saturated market, if you learn how and when to put your blinders on.
Let’s face it. There isn’t a shortage of information online. Everyone and their mother has created a Pinterest course. Newbie bloggers are bragging about an income in their first month blogging. And just about every mega super successful blogger has a course about blogging.
So if you are struggling with some kind of technical aspect about blogging, I’m sure you can find an article, You-Tube video or course to help you solve your problem.
As bloggers, we don’t worry too much about what we don’t know how to do because we can always find the information online or ask a blog friend or post a question in a Facebook blogging group for the solution.
Learning how to solve a problem or learn a new skill is awesome and useful and you definitely should seek out information that could potentially make or break your blog.
But it never stops there does it? The things that keep us up at night and stressing all day are the secrets we think we need to find. Those tidbits of information the great ones are holding back from us. The strategies. The little morsels of information that will all of a sudden turn everything around for us and send our blogs spiralling up there.
We search. And read. And implement. Over and over again.
Stop. Just stop. Because I’m going to tell you the secret so you can stop looking.
It’s you.
Scary isn’t it?
The secret sauce is already inside you. Just like it was for every other blogger that has made it.
It’s their voice, their perspective and their way of communicating with their readers that made them.
You can’t read about and copy someone else’s success. You have to build it yourself. When you are authentic, people are naturally drawn to you and what you have to say.
This is where the blinders come in.
If you spend most of your blogging time reading about blogging instead of creating posts and content for your own blog, you need to stop, put your head down and concentrate on your own blog.
You need to work in a vacuum for a while. At least until you have a substantial number of posts on your blog.
In another post, I intimate that number is 100. You may need less depending on how niched your blog is. But nonetheless, you require a certain amount of content on your blog to be able to successfully evaluate what works and doesn’t work for you.
The only way to do that is to block out the noise.
Social media is noise.
It makes us as bloggers constantly second guess ourselves and throws us off course. Kind of like shiny object syndrome.
Do any of these things sound familiar? Be honest.
- Everyone is joining this new social media platform, maybe I should too.
- Blogging posts look like they drive tons of traffic, maybe I should write some too.
- Finance blogs become successful quickly, maybe I should start one.
Sound like you?
Put your blinders on!
Not only will that help you get more focused on your blog, but you will also stress less from FOMO. Fear of missing out. Bloggers suffer from that hard.
Trust me. It’s debilitating and counterproductive.
Put your blinders on!
Sorry, but the only way to become a successful blogger is to work. Really hard. On your own blog.
So forget about the ebooks and courses and articles about blogging for now.
Put your blinders on and write. After all, that is what the foundation of blogging is, isn’t it?
10 comments
I’ve just started my blogging journey, and reading your post has reassured me that it is possible to become better at blogging. My desire is to share my life experiencing with anyone that cares to listen.
Welcome to the blogging world! The more you write, the more you will improve. Good luck and don’t forget to enjoy the process.
Social media is noisy. And everyone else’s website looks better than mine! But I’ve decided to just focus on what I can do, so your advice is reassuring. Thank you!
I think it’s very important to stay true to your niche/passion you write about. And this post surely sums up the current scenario perfectly.
How true this is, Elena. As someone who is once again starting another lifestyle blog, I need to remember the blinders. It is much more competitive nowadays versus in 2010 when I first started blogging. The pressures to be better than the other and the competition just needs to stop. And for me, jumping through all Google’s hoops with SEO and all that is just more added pressure. Oy vey! How did we ever do it to begin with! Blinders, girl! Thanks for the reminder!
Thank you! So so true! Great article!
This is excellent advice. Thank you for sharing it.
You can certainly ignore your blog learning how to blog, Elena. Good content is worth its weight in gold. That along with patience, right?
I always find good advice on your pages. I write like a fiend, over 200 to date, but my demographic (older people) is small. Growth is moderate, and my readership is loyal, so I’m happy.
I placed my blinkers on very early when I started blogging as I found the deluge of information quickly became overwhelming. Luckily, I enjoy blogging as a creative outlet and the bloggers I have met in person and online. Good advice Elena!