Being a blogger in today’s competitive blogging environment can become very stressful for many people. We see so many bloggers claiming amazing earnings and traffic we sometimes wonder what we’re doing wrong as a blogger and how we can achieve better success.
What you have to understand as a new blogger is these members didn’t just start blogging they have been blogging for a long time and have built up a large reader base. When I first started blogging I didn’t make any money and my traffic was very low.
What I want to do today is help you feel better about how your blog is growing and what you shouldn’t be worrying about as a relatively new blogger. Enjoy the list and if you have any questions simply leave a comment below.
1. Making money from the start – Realistically most bloggers will not make huge amounts of money from simply blogging. This takes time, commitment and dedication. I didn’t start making money from blogging for the first year. You have to build up a readers base and gain traffic before you start earning.
2. Getting tons of comments – Don’t feel bad if your articles still aren’t getting comments. Look at the traffic I get here at blog engage and I still get no comments on some of my articles. Getting comments takes time and requires a lot of readers. Continue writing your content, stay positive and with hard marketing your blog will eventually start to pick up.
3. RSS Subscribers – Don’t expect everyone visiting your blog to sign up to your RSS Subscription. This takes time and dedication as well. The readers have to see that you are consistent with good quality work before they put their selves subject to your content in their e-mail everyday. Keep writing quality articles, communicate with your blog visitors and eventually your RSS will start gaining new subscribers. This is a long and slow process for the majority of bloggers so don’t feel bad and keep your head up.
4. Custom themes – When you first start blogging don’t worry about having the biggest or nicest theme. This doesn’t mean use something basic and simple it means don’t buy something custom. You can still find many nice and free templates online. When your blog reader base starts growing and traffic increases perhaps it’s time to move to the next level. When you initially start a free wordpress theme is just fine.
5. Publishing your content on social networks – When you first start blogging don’t expect your content to hit the front page on social networks. Remember your new to blogging which also means your new to the industry. You have to start developing relationships with members inside these communities. To be honest your better off simply signing up, commenting and voting for others before you even submit your first article.
6. Re-tweets on twitter – Similar to getting published on social networks your content will most likely get little or no re-tweets. Again you have to build on your relationships with other bloggers. Try to stick with bloggers that have similar interests to you. This is a great way to build your brand and eventually get some re-tweets from people that follow you back.
7. Being like the other bloggers – I assume you started blogging because you seen someone else doing it and you thought well I can do that too. This may be true and you can potentially be a great blogger but do not worry about being like or similar to other bloggers. Find your own path and be unique. Blogging in the same niche is fine but please bring some originality to the table.
8. Blogging everyday – Please what ever you do, don’t feel obligated to blog everyday. I do however suggest being consistent with your readers. If your going to release content on your blog make sure it’s the same day of each week so your readers have an idea on when to return and visit. Blogging everyday is not needed and should only be done if you want to, not because you think you have to.
9. Don’t worry about what other people think – Like in life you can’t spend your day wondering what other think about you. Be yourself and produce content that you enjoy writing. Do as you wish on your blog, hence it’s called your blog. This is your place to be yourself without having to worry what others are thinking. If this is an issue with you in real life starting a blog may be a huge obstacle to overcome.
10. Don’t worry it will all work out – When you put your all into blogging it will eventually work out in your favor. Your reader base will grow, your organic traffic will start flowing in and you can start monetizing your blog to make some extra income. Take it easy for the first month and focus on branding and marketing.
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Twitter, bbrian017
Thanks,
Brian
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Twitter: xaffiliatex
Brian, I am thrilled to have found this article! These are all issues I have faced or am facing right now. Blogging takes patience and I am working on that. This post hit the nail on the head for me! I will definitely benefit from reading and re reading this post. Put a alot into perspective for me. Thank You!!
Lisa recently posted..Serping- What Is It & Why Should You Be Doing It
Twitter: bbrian017
Lisa, thanks so much for the amazing comment you made me blush little. I wanted to write this article because I see so many bloggers getting disappointed and frustrated when all we have to worry about is ourselves once in a while. thanks so much for stopping by. I hope to see you joining blogengage and submitting your articles with us.
Twitter: daclements
I would definitely add that being a PR hawk and Analytics freak does you little good. Those starting out should focus solely on churning out good content. The only way Analytics should be used in the early days is to see what content is popular and perhaps where your traffic is coming from to know where to focus/target your efforts. The numbers really don’t matter and too many people get hung up on them.
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Twitter: bbrian017
Dave that’s an amazing point and to be very honest I’m surprised I didn’t even notice or think about it. In fact I was a huge analytics junkie when I first started blogging. Thanks for posting the comment and adding to the topics conversation.
Twitter: daclements
Yeah it’s desperately hard, particularly in the beginning to avoid falling into that trap, but when you look in hindsight, you realise how futile your efforts were. Your main concern needs to be churning out good content and building relationships – people aren’t going to come if there’s nothing worth reading!
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Great article Brian,
, is a real downer.
I think every blogger confronts this problems when they first start in this “business”, and many give up because of the frustration this situations bring.
Being new and not understanding why isn’t anybody coming to see your great posts after you worked so much to write them and you even made some keywords bold to be noticed
Also many people want to start earning money the instant they publish their blog which again is something that will never happen and it’s an other thing that will bring down a new blogger.
All in one if new bloggers would read this I bet the blogosphere would be more crowded place.
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Twitter: bbrian017
Hi Alexa, yes blogging can be a huge roller coaster ride at time but we have to continue moving forward and let the small things go. If we work hard and be consistent things will always work out. Thanks for visiting the blog so often it’s nice having some regular commentators.
The way I see it, the best way to start off is to know what you want to blog about, stick to that theme and pretty much being doing it for you and make sure that you are getting enjoyment out of it. All the rest such as followers and money and so and so forth will come with time.
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Twitter: bbrian017
I agree Gerri, if you enjoy what your doing, be consistent money and fame will follow. This is similar to anything we do in life.
Twitter: jwongjk
Hey Brian, that’s a great article you have over there! Those 10 things you mentioned strikes much relevance to not only those new to blogging but even those that have been around – it’s always good to go back to basics and not worry so much about ROIs, unique visitors and etc.
1 word – awesome
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Twitter: bbrian017
Hi there janwong thanks for the compliments. I’m not a very good writer but this article managed to flow right out of me lol. Thanks for stopping by and posting a comment. I hope to see you returning again soon.
Twitter: selurus
Often people start blogging with high aspirations and the initial enthusiasm tends to fizzle out soon.
Its essential to keep the focus and not worry about details while starting out blogging.
The first day I start my blog, I was being like other blogger. I follow their path because I know they had already succeed. I have been blinded until recently I found my own path. My interest change from “I have to blog” to “I want to blog”. Finally, I found the difference and things started to change eventually.
Alvin Lim Fong Yee recently posted..BlackBerry Torch 9800 Features and Specifications
Good points, Brian, especially that about the rss feeds. I honestly never worry about that, as very, very few people I know have the slightest idea what an rss feed is. The only time I have ever grabbed an rss feed is to integrate it with another online application in a geeky programmy way.
Twitter: blogstashdotcom
Great post. Those are the actual things I used to worry about when I first started. I spent two weeks looking for that perfect theme and couldn’t find. So, I gave up and picked a simple one, whcih now I actually like a lot.
I guess its best to just focus on creating good content and building some backlinks at first, then when you start to see some results, you can worry about the rest.
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