Almost everyone has a blog today and the three main things new bloggers want are massive amounts of traffic, tons of subscribers, and lots of money. Let’s stop right there. These three goals are all possible, but in the beginning stages of blogging, they are unrealistic.
Ultimately all they are at this point in the early blogging stages are goals. Its good to have goals, but try to give yourself more concrete goals with a substantial number. Numbers are great, but you should start by looking at a monthly basis with what you would like to accomplish with your blog. So, what’s the ultimate thing holding you back from setting these goals?
You’re reading a blog put together by an A-List Blogger and you see they have 100,000 subscribers marked with a little chicklet in the sidebar, they broadcast their numbers (30,000 visitors a month) on their site to get you motivated, and tell you how great the blogging lifestyle is. That’s all great, but I hate to break it to you. This isn’t going to be you in the beginning stages. This could one day be you, but its going to take quite some time.
What most A-List Bloggers would fail to tell you is how long it took them to get to this point and the countless hours of work they put in until it became something they could call a career. New bloggers make the mistake of looking at what an A-List blogger does and telling themselves, “oh look, they are making money easily online, I can do it too.” Its not that easy and second of all…STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO THEM. The worst thing you could do is compare yourself to an A-List Blogger. You need to factor in a few things…
1. They have been at this a lot longer than you.
2. Many have been blogging before the internet was the “internet”
3. You need to really put in the effort to get the results – day in and day out.
So, here are 5 reasons why comparing your blog to an A-List Blogger can ruin your blogging efforts.
1. Achieving your goals becomes impossible – You are trying to run before you can walk. If you focus on making a 6 figure income from blogging before you’ve made $10, then you’re never going to reach your potential. You need to think smaller in the beginning. Start off with trying to make side cash from your blog, whatever your goal may be. It might be $10 a week. Try doing that first and building upon it. Maybe a couple of months from now, you will reach $20 a week. Thinking smaller makes the larger numbers more achievable.
2. Putting in the work becomes impossible – A-List Bloggers tend to write a blog post everyday. You shouldn’t get into the mindset that you need to do the same thing. Its better to write 3 high quality posts a week instead of 5 sub par posts. Remember, A-List Bloggers have a larger audience who want that daily content. Chances are with your blog only having a few subscribers in the early stages, those readers aren’t going to be expecting a post everyday. Secondly, its about how you structure the mold of your site. If your subscribers become used to 3 posts a week, that’s what they will expect. Don’t feel the need to do exactly what an A-List Blogger does because you will burn yourself out and will not want to do the work.
3. Fun becomes a thing of the past – Start blogging your passion because its something you enjoy. You hear it all the time and its so true, you should be blogging about something because its an interest of yours and not for the money. The majority of A-List Bloggers started blogging as a hobby because they enjoyed it and they were not doing it for the money. Don’t look at the money as your ultimate reason for blogging. If that’s the only reason you are doing it, then you are going to be disappointed as your blog will have no passion behind it and no money.
4. Become Your Own Blogger - The main point I’ve tried to make clear throughout this post is trying to compare yourself to an A-List Blogger can ruin your blogging efforts. Ultimately, you want to become your own blogger. You want to be a source readers want to go to and trust. Don’t copy an A-List Bloggers style, create your own style and voice – separate yourself from them! Instead of trying to compare yourself with them…network with them; they will talk to you! Pick their brain and learn what has worked for them and implement ideas that sound good to you. Rather than become them, become something that is unique.
5. Frustration becomes a continuous process – Blogging is a frustrating process. Most of the time, the things you are trying to accomplish are not going to go the way you want them to. I’m sorry to say it, but that’s blogging. You need to keep trying new and innovative things with your blog. The minute you stop doing this is when your blog becomes like every other blog out there. A-List Bloggers are always changing things up, but don’t do what they are doing. The things that they are doing may not work for you. Instead, pay attention to their habits and pull together fresh ideas that work for you. If you stick to the same idea and give up when something doesn’t work that’s when blogging becomes too much of a frustration and you sit there wondering how do these top bloggers do it?
Look at it this way, no matter what you do, those A-List Bloggers are always going to be at the top of the food chain. They have been at it a lot longer. You can’t expect to be at their level from the beginning. You can eventually build up to that level or somewhere along those lines, but don’t EVER compare yourself to them. It doesn’t matter what they do, it matters what you do and you decide what defines success. You need to feel accomplished with what your producing and not worry about what another blogger is doing. Believe in what you are producing and people will care.
About the Author: Frank Angelone is the founder of SocialTechZone.com and has been blogging since 2008. Since that time he has provided readers with tips on improving their social media reach as well as offering tech tips for improving computer performance.
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