If this is not what you thought it is, I apologise. I am not about to share a secret from the manual, instead, I want to share something I discovered (which can be verified) during the week. If you already know about it, then, hop unto another post. Happy reading.
It has been a great week even though I started the week feeling down-casted because I was not getting the attention I wanted from the kings (site visitors). My first post for the week was just a thought that dropped into my head and my fingers started flirting with the keyboard, at the end, the post “Are You Willing to Sell Your Blog?” was added to my ramblings (I was actually addressing the king makers – my friends). The response was good and that kept me going for some days. I was quite busy after then even though I still fulfilled my daily quota.
By Thursday, I have started getting grumpy again because of some frustrations I was experiencing online while trying to please the kings (nothing good come easy). While in that mood, I poured out my heart in another post that is pure ramblings, “Are You Still My Friend?” (by now you must be wondering if I am a serious entrepreneur 😉 )I was not expecting anything good to come out of those two post, but looking back now, I can say that they produce better result than my other posts that were focused on the theme of my blog and were carefully written out.
So, what is the catch. My regular posts are always considered as part of my business. I focus my attention on the needs of my visitors (the Kings). I want their approval, I want their patronage. Unfortunately, sometimes in life, things do not go the way you plan it. After putting in so much effort, you get to a hurdle you do not know how to surmount. It is at such moment that you need your friends (the Kingmakers). They come with soothing words, they encourage you to go on. They lend helping hands and give useful suggestions that make the challenges less intimidating.
My post “Are You Still My Friend?” got me the kind of attention I needed. I received comments, messages and emails. The response was so amazing that I started feeling cool with myself. I got a new vigor to pursue my dream and face the challenges without winking. It is nice to know that my blogging experience and online business venture in general is not just about Ranking High (statistics) or getting a fat purse (income), but much more, real relationships are being built.
I received wonderful tips that has helped be to refocused. For example, one of the response I got to my post“Are You Still My Friend?” has helped me to understand the difference between being passionate about your blog and being emotionally tied to your blog. The later is childish and not recommended. I am getting a clearer picture of what I want to achieve online.
Also this week, I stumbled into another African blogger, Mwangi, who has been blogging for almost 5months (not counting the days of starting and abandoning blogs because of lack of focus). It has been a wonderful experience getting to know him. On Monday, I will be publishing a post that is full of his personal experience on the way to stardom as a ProBlogger (useful lessons he has learned). I promise you it is rich in content.
Finally before I end this rambling of mine, I will share one tip from my mentor with you. My mentor explained that as a blogger, I need to be careful, if not, I will end up making myself a slave to my blog! Sounds wierd, isn’t it 😉 but think aoout it for a second. As a wannable ProBlogger, it does not take so long before you get yourself into a tight schedule: A long list of posts that you need to write, SEO unending tasks, adjustment of blog design/layout, traffic generation tasks, catching up with social sites, tons of emails to respond to, requests from visitors and fellow bloggers etc. Eventually, blogging ends up becoming an unpleasant chore instead of a fulfilling experience.
Hey, give yourself a break. Go get some real friend to chat with. When you return, sit down and plan on how you will build your blog as a system so that as you grow, you can begin to delegate or outsource tasks. That will free up your time and enable you concentrate on the aspect of the business that you enjoy, while having sufficient time to enjoy the kind of lifestyle you desire! If you don’t get the gist, I recommend you read this manual, it is free.
If you want to be my friend drop a comment! If you feel I wasted your time, I apologize 🙁 If you came here for business tips, check the categories, you sure will find something interesting. If you want more, lookout for the guest post from Mwangi, you will not be disappointed. Wishing you a wonderful weekend. I will be spending mine with my wife and kids 😉 Cheers.
Thanks for the kind words. It was a pleasure to meet you too. I think you hit the nail on the head…..whether or not you enjoy the writing process, you should systemize your business as much as possible so that you are not trading hours for profit but instead the value you provide through posts gives you residual income long after it’s written. I wonder what pearls of wisdom, “Mwangi” will have to share 😉
Enjoy your family weekend.
Mwangi – the Displaced Africans last blog post..Stop Reading and Thinking! Do Something Instead (Audio)
I can never be a problogger, that’s a tedious job. I am all tired from my long hours day job and all I can do after that is rambling in my blog lol!
Good luck to you and yeah, don’t forget to make friends because those people that you’re going to meet online will definitely help you in your online business if you need one.
And not so serious post or title of your post are usually the one that generates readers.
manilenyas last blog post..My life should be interesting