Does Your Blog Have the Cart before the Horse?
Not seeing the results you were hoping for with your blog? Do your traffic numbers just seem to be stagnant?
Maybe you have the cart before the horse?
Did you know you can do the right things in the wrong order? Today we are going to talk about 4 stages of growth and how you have to grow from where you are to be successful.
If you haven’t already discovered, there is a lot of work that goes into maintaining a blog. Sure it is exciting when things start coming together. Maybe you begin to make a little money or double you email subscriber rate from the month before. Still, you can easily grow weary with all of the plates you are spinning just to keep your blog afloat.
I remember being very frustrated at times in the first year of blogging. I was always told that success leaves clues. Discover the people who are doing what you want to do, see what they are doing, and do the same things. While overall it is decent advice, I think there is an element that is missing.
You have to learn the art of growing from where you are.
The plain truth is that it’s somewhat easier to do certain things when you already have an audience. Earning attention is the hardest part. Early in my blogging career, I would do exactly what I saw other successful bloggers doing only to grow frustrated when it didn’t seem to work for me. You can begin to think:
- Maybe I am just not cut out for this
- Maybe the guru I am following is lying about his success
- Maybe there is something I am doing wrong
- Maybe I should just give up and do something else
My advice to you would be not to give up. As Michael Hyatt has said recently “Don’t give up. You are closer than you think.” I believe that. It sums up my blogging journey.
Jim Rohn often said it a different way, “So many people plant in the Spring, work hard cultivating something all Summer long, only to quit before the Harvest.”
If you have decided not to quit, then what practical steps can you take then? You need to learn the art of growing from where you are. What stage are you currently in with your blog? Focus on the growth strategies that work in that stage.
How to Grow from Where You Are
Stage 1: Build a Home Base with Truly Awesome Content
Before you go after guest posts, you need to establish some awesome content on your own blog. When I first started blogging, Yaro Starak was my mentor and he referred to awesome content is as a Pillar Article Series. Take your passion, give away your best stuff, and let your voice be heard.
You need to spend a little time doing this way before you try driving traffic to your blog through social media, guests posts, etc. Not having awesome content first, would be like getting a ton of visitors to your brick & mortar store and having empty shelves when the customers arrive.
Stage 2: Surround Yourself With Other Passionate Bloggers That Can Help You
There comes a point when you have to stop blogging in isolation. You need to surround yourself with other passionate bloggers. Allow each other to help you. Gone are the days of viewing one another as competition. Our blogs grow better together. Besides, you are the average of the 5 people you most hang around. If no one blogs in your top 5, you will quit at some point.
What is the best way to find other passionate bloggers? Well to start, come join the Blogging Your Passion Community on Google Plus.
Stage 3: Be Everywhere By Syndicating Your Passion
This is where many bloggers try to start. While it is okay to set-up Facebook fan pages, Twitter profiles, and Linkedin groups when you first start out, you want to really put effort here once you have the first two stages rolling. At this stage you begin to build real community.
Start discovering ways that you can leverage some of the epic content you have already created. Take your favorite blog posts and turn them into podcasts. Turn the podcast audios into videos for YouTube. Turn a series of posts into a Kindle book and have a presence on Amazon. The lists is endless, really. Be everywhere!
Stage 4: Focus on Your Core Genius & Build a Team
This is ultimate place you want to arrive. You focusing on doing what you do best, and you have support people capitalizing on their strengths. The truth is it is hard to just jump right into outsourcing everything. You need time to mature, experience a few things yourself, better understand your workflow.
Then, you will become a better teacher, boss, and mentor. This is why we intentionally do not cover outsource training until the Blogging Your Passion University 301 course. You need a little time to discover your voice, your core genius, and what you want to get done that others can help you with.
Questions: What stage are you currently in? Do you find yourself being scattered trying to do it all at once?
