Bloggers, I Hear You

76 | Posted In Life & Mindset by David

A week or so ago, I ran a simple, 2-question survey to my email subscribers. The purpose of that survey was simple – To find out what the biggest issues are out there facing bloggers.

One thing is VERY clear: The problem isn’t lack of tactics.

The problem is square between your ears. ;) In other words, mindset and personal management.

What I see as the single biggest problem facing bloggers is a sense of confusion and frustration on those things which come BEFORE the actual blogging. Things like time management, overwhelm, lack of focus, lack of motivation.

These are things that many of us already doing it take for granted. After all, those of us who have found a level of success online would not have done so had we not found a system which worked for us to address those same issues. The problem is – then we forget.

What I’m seeing is that most of the strategies and tactics talked about when it comes to becoming successful bloggers are not, in reality, delivering what is really needed and wanted by bloggers.

We need to work on our foundations. In many ways, the success of our blogs, our businesses, the size of our bank accounts – these things are a measure of the quality of our thoughts.

I hear you. Loud and clear.

Now, Lay Down On My Couch…

I can’t tell you how glad I am to have run the survey. I’ve got a really good, inside look into the most pressing issues of aspiring bloggers out there. My mission is to help, so my gears are now churning on how best to do that.

But, I encourage you to keep something in mind. Lay down on my proverbial counseling couch for a second… ;)

You should take the time to spot what your primary constraint is which is keeping you from achieving your goal – then focus on eliminating it.

Sounds simple enough, but this survey also shows me that many bloggers don’t seem to be doing it. See, the first question of my survey was designed to extract your most pressing issue. And I got it – in droves. :) The second question was designed to get your take on what you need/want from me. The answers show a disconnect.

Most people were requesting things from me which do not address the most pressing issues. While they’d give me some more personal constraints (i.e lack of time) to their success, they’d ask me for more tactics (i.e. traffic building, stuff designed to just show you where the money is).

Perhaps you’re focusing on the wrong things. I can give you my entire business playbook and it isn’t going to do anybody any good if they don’t have the solid foundation on which to build.

So, if you’re determined that lack of time is a constraint, why don’t you spend time addressing THAT rather than reading more blogs about blogging in search of more tactics? You don’t need more tactics! Handle your lack of time first.

Ya feeling me here?

When you’re focusing on scarcity and you look to people like me to artificially create the abundance for you, it won’t work.

Obviously, we’ll always meet the demand. It is smart business. But, you owe it to yourself to spend a little time in personal reflection of how you’re going to address those real constraints.

This is why you see personal development so often intertwined into the “make money” niche. They really do go hand in hand.

What do you think?

Oh, you can get up from the couch now. ;)

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  • terrydunn

    David,

    I absolutely agree with your survey findings. I have been running a blog now for about 18 months straight. And my biggest problem? Time. And I am an organised person with a busy schedule. But publishing my blog to a regular schedule, with a different topic every post, is a challenge. It takes committment. And I am committed. But sometimes after a tough day I arrive home knowing I have to write a post but instead I just want to sleep. Those times are hard. But this is where blogging tests you. Do you really want it to succeed?

    Over time I have experimented with different posting schedules. I started posting once a day but then tried 3 times a week and discovered the traffic to my blog did not drop! Infact, it went up a little. That surprised me. And I discovered the weekend, early on Saturday or Sunday morning is when I am most creative. So I write 3 posts, and schedule them to be published on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (this is easy with wordpress) and also publish my the best video I find that week on Sunday evening. And it works for me.

    I think bloggers need to experiment and find what works for them, create a regular schedule and stick with it.

  • http://www.dogtrainingsandiego.com/ K9 Coach

    How much more clear can that be. The root of the problem. I love it when it gets put right out there… it really does make one stop and think.

    Seems to be such a reoccurring concept. Use what you know, because you know more than you are acting like you know and keep on marching forward.

    All the the newest ideas seem to sidetrack what should be a very easy path to keep a consistent course on. There aren't all that many rules really.

    Then again… you might have to be a little bonkers too in order to make it all come together… you know all the best ones are!

  • Bob

    I hear alot of great valid points, my main issue as an aspiring blogger is right now i have alot ideas, but the plane is still on the runway and i am trying to get it in the air.
    As elementary as this may sound, i am still looking for a structured plan to get the blog going. Starting with step 1 would be the best place to start. I have plenty of time, and motivation, I am a self starter, and do not need motivation. Right now i am looking for technical guide on what to first and get enough info to get this thing going.

  • http://SourcesOfinsight.com/ J.D. Meier

    I'm a believer in turning insight into action … learning and responding.

    I'm also a fan of finding the right mentors and learning from their success (it always leaves clues.)

  • http://www.ouidavincent.com/ Ouida Vincent

    Thank you. I have come to the conclusion that is what I am going to have to do.

  • http://mycollegedegreesucks-ren.blogspot.com/ Renelda

    I tend to get caught up by reading ample blogs on how to, while neglecting my blog at the same time. I need to find a way to manage my time instead of wasting time each day.

  • http://mycollegedegreesucks-ren.blogspot.com/ Renelda

    I agree with your statement.College is all about how much junk you can take and for how long(how much reading, how many tedious papers and how many group projects with people you do not want to really work with. Overall, I will create a website call My College Degree Sucks dot com.

  • http://www.nextlevelblogger.com/about Christian Russell

    Ha… I know business owners who “take it easy” these days. Their definition of taking it easy is being able to travel and take time whenever they want, but when they're in town…working…they're still at it all day long.

    Tim Ferriss? …yeah, that dude works his *SS off.

    And David Risley…how many late nights have you put in this past year? I'm guessing you still work late sometimes. Having a successful business means you have more responsibility, not less :-) At least that's what I've seen from my side of the fence.

  • http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul

    Yea but if you have a truly successful business, then you are free to do the things you want, have the funds to outsource tedious tasks.

    I'm sure their are days David and Tim put in a long day but 10 hr days daily?> I doubt that.

    Harder you work in the beginning the more you can back off when the success comes.

  • http://www.nextlevelblogger.com/about Christian Russell

    It's true. Success is expensive. However, failure is more expensive. It's not really about whether you pay a price or not. It's about how you want to live. Whatever's holding you back dude, I promise you it is not lack of money.

  • http://www.nextlevelblogger.com/about Christian Russell

    You speak the truth. Financial freedom is a real thing, and a well-organized small business can get you there without a doubt. I just always fight hard against the mentality of something for nothing :-)

  • http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul

    lol yea I agree… but “something for nothing” isn't what we been talking about.

    We are talking about busting your ass on a daily basis to grow your blog, and if you do that in time you will see success and once you see that success, you can pull back a little bit and enjoy your success.

    Now having the free time and money to do the things you like is the point of building a successful blog or business.. correct?

    So then once you have success and have the funds to outsource the task that you used to do allll yourself, and cut back from 10 hr days is the point right?

    That to me is success, having a busines that takes 10 hr days everyday for life is not a success to me :) that's a job!

  • http://www.nextlevelblogger.com/about Christian Russell

    I've been locked into working from 8am to 1am before. I made great money and hated my life. I would never do that again :-) if business isn't about freedom, what the heck is it about? And trust me, money is easy to come by after you learn how it works. Time is what freedom is made of. You can have all the money in the world, but if you're locked into some horrible work schedule, you've got nothing.

    That said, I do not want to build something from which it is my goal to escape. To me, business creation is not about funding a lifestyle, it's about creating a lifestyle. My business IS my lifestyle. I don't ever plan to step back from it.

  • http://www.get-my-ex-back-quick.com/ Get Ex Back

    I believe the standard FTC disclaimers now dished out is a measure towards accountability. Yes, gurus claim to have the magic bullet – but that's just clever copywriting tactics. Its the buyer who desires a magic bullet and the smart marketer is one who hits the right emotional buttons on his sales page. The buyer gets seduced and cheated.

    So who is responsible? The buyer who desires a magic bullet (knowing that its too good to be true) or the marketer who promises a magic bullet (knowing that there isn't one).

    I think the really savvy marketer is the one who knows that the only magic bullet that exists in the world is the product that claims to be the magic bullet. Those are the guys laughing all the way to the bank.

  • http://www.experienceitall.co.za/ Gary

    Well for me, it is not about time, I spend all my time on this, I even have first page on certain terms, but no money. Not sure why, as the services on the blog are good.
    Perhaps I could get some imput as to why I am not making money after a year of doing this.
    http://gary-experienceafrica.blogspot.com/

  • http://www.tellusfuture.com/ Fredrik Wallinder

    I certainly agree with you, if you lack motivation you should do something else like getting a day-job. According to dear ol' Trump, about one percent of the population have the resources to become an entrepreneur, the rest should do something else. That's fine. My biggest motivation is the freedom to do what I like instead of being bullied by some psyko stealing the profits of my hard labour. But it's hard because you're on your own and you alone must make all the decisions. As regards gurus, I'm now in Kern's List Control for $2k. If that doesn't deliver the value I'm entitled to, I've no problem requesting a refund. The simple thruth as to online success is that your income is directly proportional to the value you give to the customers. So if you spend all day on Twitter or a blog writing about your breakfast habits, don't expect any serious financial return.

  • KJeff

    Mindset and Personal Management.
    OK, so as a new aspiring blogger, I would take these two top problems into my personal goals. In regards to your article about the survey, I would honestly say that it's quite broad and doesn't have much details for now. And reading through your comments, I could see that there are more advanced readers who also knows a lot about blogging and/or businesses. How to make money online and stuff.

    But for a starter like me and others who are looking for a way to have a good start and trying to have a first blogging income, we would definitely appreciate more steps, details and tactics that you say that we don't need yet.

    Mindset, well I've already made up my mind on getting my blog to work for me as my business and now looking for ways on how to make it work the wonders.

    Personal Management, I'm already dedicating time to my blog and also doing my research on improving it and making the necessary steps to keep it active and alive. And I would say that I'm enjoying it, having fun with my own blogging business online is one way that motivates me.

    So maybe, this one's actually not for me? But I do hope that you have more to share. It's a good article and I'm willing on waiting more to come that could really help me on my tracks.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Just make sure you really put List Control into application, otherwise the value won't be there. :-)

  • Simon_PerformanceTraining

    That's really wonderful advice poch. Kind of scary to to tell the truth, which means I should follow it for a while. Like most people here I am connected 24/7… (I blame my iPhone).

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    I'm not going to stop discussing tactics. In fact, this blog's archives, my training courses and my free e-books all go heavily into tactics. So, I've got plenty for you.

    But, there are a lot of people out there struggling with the issues I discuss in this post. If that's not you, then all the better.

  • http://www.RPTblog.com/ Simon Rose

    thanks David, I was most intruiged by your closing line:

    >This is why you see personal development so often intertwined
    >into the “make money” niche.

    I certainly agree with you about the overlap, I'd just never thought about it that way around before.

    I spend my time working with people who are into personal development and self-healing, often trying to convince them that they *should* be making more money. You spend your time helping people make more money, often trying to convince them that they *should* look at personal growth.

    Interesting connection you have made. I wonder if we should compare notes? I'd be happy to write some material for you on personal growth for bloggers. I think I could do with tasting some of my own medicine! :-)

    thanks for your regular words of wisdom.

    Simon

  • http://www.ProfitsMasterPlan.com Louis Jonathan

    Hi David, you are right, for most people, I think other than without a sound foundation, there isn't a “good building and services” in there to provide and give what people are looking for.

    Without the “selling point”, we can have all the great traffic tactics in the world but people will leave once they got there.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    I think you completely missed the point, Bob. And, no, I don't follow everybody on Twitter and it is a mistake to do so. If you interacted with me on Twitter, then I'd probably follow you. But, auto-following reduces the workability of the medium grossly.

    And my dad is doing fine.

  • http://evengrounds.com/blog Julius

    I for one always find my constraints to be those complex ones (making a good structure for my post, keywords), but I realize that it is really the basic factors that affect my work (time, fear of not being able to do a lot). And since it is the basic factors that need to be addressed, I should focus on them first, then deal with the other more complex factors afterwards.

  • http://jennifervalerie.com Fruitfulvine2

    This post triggered some thoughts about where I should spend most of my time in order to get the results I'm looking for which is loyal readership and money in the bank. I wrote them down so that I could have a visual reminder.

  • http://jennifervalerie.com Fruitfulvine2

    This post triggered some thoughts about where I should spend most of my time in order to get the results I'm looking for which is loyal readership and money in the bank. I wrote them down so that I could have a visual reminder.

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