When majority of the people unfamiliar to blogging are asked to define what a blog is, their definition usually revolves around a personal journal or a social networking tool mostly used by young adults and teens which is entirely different from the Bloggers perspective.
How to be One Among Successful Bloggers
Anyone familiar with blogging knows that blogging is NOT just a personal journal, in fact, far from it. A blog is a powerful marketing tool which both businesses and individuals are using to establish brand recognition and connect more intimately with a super-targeted group of clients, consumers or customers.
More and more people are recognizing the fact that they can market their personal brand or
business exclusively through blogging, thereby saving thousands of dollars on traditional offline marketing costs such as newspaper ads, handbills, flyers, television ads, and giant hoardings.
As of today, there are more than 600 million blogs online and I know that at least 100,000 new blogs are being created every day. And I also know that a minimum of 50,000 blogs are abandoned daily.
Do you know that most bloggers do not persist beyond the three-month mark?
Why it happens for most bloggers?
* Blogging consistently is NOT easy.
It certainly is easy to set up a BlogSpot account or even install WordPress, but unfortunately most blogs don’t go much farther than that. Many bloggers find that writing informative and original articles consistently is difficult, and they are right – it is difficult. However, most experienced bloggers will tell you that it takes a while to build up that elusive blogging rhythm – the one in which you easily weave together insightful and unique posts.
* New blogs yield little to no financial return, initially.
Many bloggers start blogging because they see big time bloggers like John Chow and Darren Rowse pulling thousands of dollars each month from AdSense and third party advertisements. These super bloggers make it look easy, but the fact remains, John Chow and Darren Rowse have been blogging for their heart out. I know them personally. They are genuinely interested in helping bloggers to earn money. However busy they are, they always replied to my questions. It is extremely rare for a blog to make money before its three-month mark.
* Consistent web traffic takes time to build. Be patient.
I’ll admit it’s hard to feel motivated to blog when you know not many people are reading your work. However, this early stage of blogging is arguably the most crucial. The first three months are the time to show everyone that despite not having tons of comments or a large number of RSS subscribers, you are writing interesting, original, and link-worthy articles.
* Lack of passion?
Many new “make money online” blogs have been popping every now and then. To my knowledge, “How to earn online” is the most taken up Niche by new bloggers mainly because they are led to believe that it is also one of the most searched phrases on the Internet. How many of those bloggers actually make money online and are passionate about it? John Chow didn’t start writing about how to make money online exclusively – he initially just used his blog to talk about his passions, only one of which was making that online dough.
* Lack of persistence
Most people would love to quit their day job and blog full-time. So, they start blogging but find that, like anything, it takes a considerable amount of time. Add that to their already busy lives and it is something that often gets put off and eventually abandoned. When anyone adds blogging to their busy lives, they must start practicing time management much more seriously. I find that it doesn’t take me much longer than 30 minutes to write a solid post. Can you dig out the earth to check whether the seeds you planted have started growing just three days after sowing the seed? Blogging takes months of hard work to see any noticeable benefits. My first AdSense check came only after 9 months.
I respect bloggers who have been blogging for at least six months; it’s an indication of some dedication and seriousness. The longer you have been blogging, the more people will see you as an expert or authority on your blog topics. There is a lot of power in published work.
Infinite patience of bloggers results in immediate results.
Establishing authority through blogging is completely opposite to the old way of generating business. In the past, businesses marketing a product had to interrupt your activity to bring a product or service to your attention. For example, a TV commercial interrupts the show you are watching and may be perceived as an annoyance by us but the marketers assume (quite foolishly of course) that it is the only way to get their products to us.
The Internet is the exact opposite of offline marketing techniques. For every online product and service, consumers are seeking out the business. When someone types in your product or service into Google, are you on the front page?
It doesn’t matter whether you sell concrete or provide a freelance service; every type of business or service can benefit from engaging the endless supply of niche consumers that exist online.
How do Bloggers can establish authority?
Authority is not something that comes easily or quickly. However, it can take far less time to establish authority than by marketing through traditional media outlets such as television, radio, and newspaper.
You are not likely to see commercials selling tooth paste and shampoos on the Internet. Those types of ads have no place on the Internet as every product that is for sale in the web has to be backed with testimonials. You can’t ask the advertisers to produce that man or woman who smiles immediately after swallowing head ache tablets-can we? In the web world, a smile is not a positive feedback; only words can convey it.
Establish authority by gaining credibility
Many bloggers are now starting blogs to simply “make money online,” but if you can delay the temptation for instant monetary gratification (e.g., plastering Adsense Ads on your site), you will establish credibility and long-term trust at a much faster rate.
Remember, before you gain authority you must gain credibility. By sacrificing short-term profit, you will show your target audience that you are committed to the greater good of serving your audience instead of bombarding them with ads. Ultimately, to gain credibility, you must help people and not just advertise to them.
Summary
Whatever niche you are in, take the time to become an authority. Start by building your community of followers and by implementing an intelligently conceived marketing plan. The barriers to entering the world of online business are extremely low, so more bloggers are hopping on board every day. Remember this, and do everything you can to implement your master plan for success!
