GUERRILLA

Bullshit Blogging: 15 reasons you’ll never have an A-List blog

First things first, if you’re reading this right now you’re already leaps and bounds ahead of other bloggers who are stuck in their rut and never making it out of the D list. So, congratulations for taking the first steps towards success. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let me be the first to tell you that your bullshit blogging is still not going to cut it.

What is bullshit blogging? You know someone who’s doing it right now (or maybe you’re doing it yourself) – kicking tires and pretending to want it but they’re not doing anything to get the job done. It’s OK though because below are 15 reasons why you’ll never have an A-List blog – and if you’re able to pick up on it, they also double as 15 things you should be doing in order to build a solid, A-List blog.

#1. You don’t blog on a consistent basis

I didn’t say daily – not everyone has to blog daily in order to win, but you do need a consistent posting schedule for people to keep up with what you’re doing and pay attention. This could be a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule, or a Monday through Friday schedule, with the weekends off.

Whatever post schedule you pick, stick to it as closely as possible. It’s how people will see that you’re serious about being a blogger, because if you’re not serious about it then you’re just bullshit blogging (see what I did there?).

#2. You’re not promoting your blog posts right

Once you write that killer blog content, what do you do? First, you tweet it and then you stumble it and then you send a link out to Facebook, right? What about after that? Do you just move onto the next post and watch the stats on your current post to see how many people check it out?

If you’re doing that, you’re doing it wrong. Just sending out an initial blitz of links isn’t going to work as well as planning things out a bit better. Find out what time of day your Twitter followers are on the most (test different times of day), then do the same for your Facebook page and other social media sites, newsletters, etc. Once you know the best time to send, that’s when you send the information out – not all at once.

#3. Who are you again?

If you’re starting from scratch and no one knows your name, you’ve got a slippery slope to climb. Sure, there are some that make it without anyone ever knowing their name or face, but 9 times out of 10, there’s some ground work needed in order to succeed and have an A-List blog.

Start by commenting on other blogs in your niche that run relevant topics that you can share insight on. By doing this, you’re getting your name and face in front of that blog owner as well as everyone who reads comments (and yes, people do read comments on posts they like).

You could also email a few of the mid-size players in your niche and see if there’s anything you can do for them (promote their articles, etc). Don’t ask for anything in return and they’re more likely to just help you out because you were kind enough to help them.

#4. You don’t know how to network properly

This goes hand in hand with the above reason because networking is a great way to add value to your name and your brand among your peers, which will allow you to grow your audience at a much faster rate than just writing killer content.

Make sure you’re on the social media websites that others are on, but also check out message boards that relate to your topic, their blogs/websites, etc. Not everything happens on Twitter, I promise

#5. You don’t believe enough in yourself

Confidence should be oozing out of your content and if it’s not, people will take notice. No one wants to take advice from someone who doesn’t even believe in themselves. If you don’t believe you’re fucking awesome, why should I?

If you’re not a naturally confident person in real life, that’s ok. Writing on the internet like this allows you to craft your voice and build yourself up as whoever you want to be. For instance, I have bad anxiety and am horrible in face-to-face conversations and phone conversations, yet I can write 1,000+ words with ease and am very confident in myself when I’m writing because it’s when I’m my most comfortable.

#6. You aren’t a good enough writer

Failing English class in the 8th grade doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer. Neither does not having a high school diploma. I failed English class every time I took it (3 times!) and never did finish high school, yet I taught myself how to design and code websites, create logos and also write.

You can become a better writer by writing a lot and also reading blogs of those who are awesome writers. Start with Copyblogger, Problogger, Zen Habits, Smart Passive Income & ViperChill to see great writers in action. Oh, and if you’re reading my blog here or the Guerrilla Freelancing blog, you’re reading awesome writing – so +1 for that

#7. You’re only a part-time blogger

Listen, I know you’ve got it stuck in your head that you’re going to strike it rich while only work 4 hours a week, but the truth is, blogging and becoming an A-List blogger takes time. It takes a lot of time and dedication to grow your blog properly and become a powerhouse in your industry.

Blogging once a week or once a day is fine, as long as you’re adding value with every post and you’re also networking with other bloggers, interacting with your readers & putting in the groundwork to grow your blog past it’s initial stages.

#8. You don’t have a personal voice

Writing like other successful bloggers won’t make you successful. Standing out is what’s going to get you noticed. Look at how Naomi over at Ittybiz got noticed by throwing a nice “fuck” or “shit” into a post title and all over the content. She stood out because no one else in the marketing niche was really talking like that (side note: I cuss a lot in my offline conversations, so you’ll see these words throughout my articles here as well – they’re just words).

You need to find your inner voice, the person you are (or want to be) and write with that voice. You might not write like Brian from Copyblogger, but if you write in your own unique way, people will take notice of that.

#9. Your blog is too generalized

When you write a blog, are you covering EVERYTHING in the tech industry or just phones? What about the working from home industry – are you writing for everyone or just people who freelance?

Starting a blog about everything will more than likely lead you to nothing in terms of results. People want something laser focused and usually something that hasn’t really been done before. It’s why a website like Freelance Switch was such a big hit when it launched – it wasn’t done anywhere near that level before for freelancers and freelancers ate it up.

#10. You lack the patience to be big

The “set it and forget it” method doesn’t work with blogging and Chris Brogan already covered why being an overnight success doesn’t really mean overnight. If you don’t have the patience to grow your blog and walk strong through the tough times when traffic is scarce and it looks like no one is watching, you’ll never have an A-List blog.

If you look at a guy like Darren from ProBlogger who wrote every day on his blog for over 5 years straight, you’ll begin to see why these guys are the biggest and best in their industries.

#11. Are you spotting the right opportunities first?

If you’re blogging and not looking for new opportunities to do something first in your niche, you’re always going to be playing catch up to your competitors. Following in someone else’s footsteps might be flattering to that person, but to others it just makes you look like a follower and not a leader.

A-List bloggers take note of opportunities and jump on them to test them out and see if they work. By doing this, they’re seen as the innovators in their market and people tend to look at them for advice much more often than they do for the blog who’s writing about the same topic 2 weeks later.

#12. You don’t give a shit about your readers

When you’re writing content and you get a lot of people (the majority of your readers) commenting and letting you know that you’re wrong or that they don’t appreciate what you said or how you said it, do you just shrug it off as them being haters or do you actually sit down and analyze why they’re saying it and what you could be doing to better your blog?

Your readers are what’s going to drive your blog to A-List status by commenting, sharing links, buying products, clicking ads, etc. So, if you’re constantly pissing your readers off, how do you think you’re actually going to grow a blog to A-List status?

#13. You’re trying to be Envato too fast

What I mean is that if you’re trying to grow 10 blogs at once in a “network” type atmosphere, you’re likely spreading yourself too thin and not focusing on one blog to get to A-List status. Yes, Envato has TONS of blogs, but when they started blogging, they used Freelance Switch as a blog to springboard other blogs out to the public because of the attention Freelance Switch was getting.

Instead of trying to have 5 different blogs in similar niches, try pooling your efforts into one blog and make it successful. Then, once you’ve got the solid foundation built, you can start to venture out more and/or hire someone to work on your new projects for you.

#14. Plan in advance in case of emergency

If you’re writing on a consistent basis and then all of a sudden, you drop off the face of the earth for two weeks, people will notice it and start to wonder why. Instead of having this happen, write in bunches and schedule your posts for future dates or save them as drafts so that you can schedule them for times when you know you’re not going to be around as much as you’d like.

Chris Brogan talks a lot about writing in bunches when you’re in the mood and for good reason – as I write this post right now, I’ve got 2 other topics to write today for this blog so they’re ready to go on future days and I also have 2 articles to write for other blogs. Doing them in bunches allows me to utilize the ‘groove’ I can get in and avoid the blogging burnout.

#15. How well can you adjust and adapt?

Sometimes things will work great for you and other times, you’ll fall flat on your face. How many freelance blogs out there make tons of money from ad revenue? Freelance Switch and Freelance Folder come to mind. What if the ad revenue coming in doesn’t make enough sense to clog up your sidebar? You do what I did on Guerrilla Freelancing and adjust by trying something completely different – I removed all advertisements from the website and have been growing an email list instead.

If you see that after some time, things aren’t working in your favor like you’d like for them to, maybe it’s time to pack up and move onto something different, whether it be trying something new on your blog or letting your blog go altogether. Everybody fails, but not everybody learns from their failures. Make sure you’re not falling victim to that and you’re able to adjust and adapt accordingly.

Do you have an A-List blog?

If you run a blog and know that it deserves more attention than it currently gets, leave a comment below with a link to it and a little bit about your blog so that the other readers here can check it out (and so I can check it out as well).