Your Problem Isn’t Traffic, It’s You

48 | Posted In Life & Mindset by David

When I ask bloggers about their chief issue they need help with, traffic usually ends up at or near the top of the list. And it seems obvious. After all, you can’t make any money if you don’t have anybody looking at your blog, right?

However, I’m hear to tell you that, most of the time, your problem isn’t traffic. Traffic strategies aren’t the solution. Usually, there is some constraint holding you back that supersedes traffic. In other words, low traffic might be the symptom.

Myself As An Example

To illustrate what I mean by a constraint, let’s take a look at myself. As any entrepreneur, I want to grow my business and make more money. However, even though I am doing well, I’m not satisfied. So, I look for constraints.

What I found was that my constraint was ME. I found that I was single-handedly responsible for my business not growing to the point that I want it to be. If I take my ideal scene (what I want my business to look like) and compare it to reality, I see that there aren’t really any external factors holding me back. So, the problem is me.

When I look further, I realized that my primary constraint was a decision I had been operating on that I should be the one performing most of the various tasks in my business. For various reasons (or excuses), I found myself doing work that I’d be better off having somebody else do. So, I had become a huge bottleneck.

With that constraint spotted, I work to remove it. I immediately start looking for good people to do more of my work for me. This will allow me to focus on what I enjoy and what I’m good at, and let others do the rest.

An Inconvenient Truth

To steal a title from Al Gore, this is an inconvenient truth. That truth is:

Usually, your biggest constraint will be found when you look inward.

When I talk to people who say they need more traffic, I give them suggestions. Build the list. Give away free content. The usual suspects. But, does that solve the problem? Usually, no. Because being told the solution (which is plainly obvious) doesn’t solve the underlying constraint.

Here are some possible constraints that might be a little closer to reality:

  • Information overload and resulting total confusion. The solution is to pick a single tactic you have learned and apply that one, forgetting about the rest of them. Simply do one thing at a time.
  • No time to blog. Solution: bite the bullet and schedule in time where you will use self-discipline to sit down and work on your blog. You know that building a successful blog takes time and work, but if you don’t actually put the time there to work on it, nothing will happen. Pretty obvious.
  • You Don’t Take Action. This is HUGE. A lot of people like to think about what they need to do, but don’t actually do it. The constraint here is the person and a real lack of decision to actually succeed.
  • Lack of Interest. Some people just want the money, but they really don’t have the passion for their market to do the work which is necessary. That’s a constraint, and one where the solution is usually to pick a different market or to, instead, spend some time on personal development so that you are a person who can create interest in things. Interest in anything comes from the inside, not the outside.

You can begin to see why the overall market of “internet business” so often gets intertwined with personal development. Most of the savvy entrepreneurs spend time on themselves in addition to their business.

What To Do Next?

If you have certain things which you know need help with your internet business, then spend some time and peel back the layers and see if you can arrive at the true constraint. Usually that constraint will be something involving yourself. Perhaps a decision you have made which you are operating on (even if it wasn’t the right decision), or perhaps a lack of honesty with yourself as to what your true strengths and weaknesses are.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you what your constraint is. I have no earthly clue. Only you can decide that.

We all have them. It is up to each of us to figure out what we are personally doing to hold ourselves back and fix that. Because, when you get right down to it, we are the only people who can hold ourselves back.

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  • http://retirerichroadmap.com/blog/ Mikael @ Retire Early

    Awesome post. Did you just finish Rich’s ebook? :)

    As you state this is so incredibly obvious and yet I have still not been able to narrow down what my actual primary constraint is. Did you just “decide to find it” or did you find it difficult as well? If so what was the method you used to finally narrow it down?

    Thanks.
    Mikael

  • http://retirerichroadmap.com/blog/ Mikael @ Retire Early

    Awesome post. Did you just finish Rich’s ebook? :)

    As you state this is so incredibly obvious and yet I have still not been able to narrow down what my actual primary constraint is. Did you just “decide to find it” or did you find it difficult as well? If so what was the method you used to finally narrow it down?

    Thanks.
    Mikael

  • http://retirerichroadmap.com/blog/ Mikael @ Retire Early

    Awesome post. Did you just finish Rich’s ebook? :)

    As you state this is so incredibly obvious and yet I have still not been able to narrow down what my actual primary constraint is. Did you just “decide to find it” or did you find it difficult as well? If so what was the method you used to finally narrow it down?

    Thanks.
    Mikael

  • http://www.pcmech.com/ David

    I’m aware of Rich’s book, but I actually haven’t read it. :)

    For me, I just went through this recently. I was finding that I was spending too much time in the office, and half that time was spent moving casually from one task to the next with little aim. And when I was not working, I was thinking about work. In other words, I was getting too immersed in work and things weren’t getting done. So, I decided that was enough.

    I guess it gets to a point where you are more or less forced to make a change. When enough is enough.

    For myself, I just compared where I wanted to be to what was reality and looked for departures. Seems to work.

  • http://www.pcmech.com/ David

    I’m aware of Rich’s book, but I actually haven’t read it. :)

    For me, I just went through this recently. I was finding that I was spending too much time in the office, and half that time was spent moving casually from one task to the next with little aim. And when I was not working, I was thinking about work. In other words, I was getting too immersed in work and things weren’t getting done. So, I decided that was enough.

    I guess it gets to a point where you are more or less forced to make a change. When enough is enough.

    For myself, I just compared where I wanted to be to what was reality and looked for departures. Seems to work.

  • http://www.pcmech.com David

    I’m aware of Rich’s book, but I actually haven’t read it. :)

    For me, I just went through this recently. I was finding that I was spending too much time in the office, and half that time was spent moving casually from one task to the next with little aim. And when I was not working, I was thinking about work. In other words, I was getting too immersed in work and things weren’t getting done. So, I decided that was enough.

    I guess it gets to a point where you are more or less forced to make a change. When enough is enough.

    For myself, I just compared where I wanted to be to what was reality and looked for departures. Seems to work.

  • http://www.cyclemania.ca/ Les

    I blog for fun, not money. However, your points still hold true.

    Well-written post.

    Thanks!

  • http://www.cyclemania.ca/ Les

    I blog for fun, not money. However, your points still hold true.

    Well-written post.

    Thanks!

  • http://www.cyclemania.ca Les

    I blog for fun, not money. However, your points still hold true.

    Well-written post.

    Thanks!

  • http://www.dailyshotofcoffee.com/ Mike

    For me I think my problem, that I’ve been trying to work on is information overload. I keep reading about different ways to generate traffic, trying to do all of them, instead of focusing on what’s working. I just feel like if I’m not getting my name and blog out there everywhere that I can and I’m trying new things, I feel like I’ll miss something.

  • http://www.dailyshotofcoffee.com/ Mike

    For me I think my problem, that I’ve been trying to work on is information overload. I keep reading about different ways to generate traffic, trying to do all of them, instead of focusing on what’s working. I just feel like if I’m not getting my name and blog out there everywhere that I can and I’m trying new things, I feel like I’ll miss something.

  • http://www.dailyshotofcoffee.com Mike

    For me I think my problem, that I’ve been trying to work on is information overload. I keep reading about different ways to generate traffic, trying to do all of them, instead of focusing on what’s working. I just feel like if I’m not getting my name and blog out there everywhere that I can and I’m trying new things, I feel like I’ll miss something.

  • http://jimijones.com/ Jimi Jones

    Like Mike, I once struggled with information overload. After reading and watching videos for many hours one night, it dawned on me that I hadn’t accomplished diddly. Failed to even write a blog post. I was caught up.

    I got myself a whiteboard where I list weekly tasks. Most of the other important information gets filed in electronic folders, where I can access it when time allows.

  • http://blogonlinebiz.com Jimi Jones

    Like Mike, I once struggled with information overload. After reading and watching videos for many hours one night, it dawned on me that I hadn’t accomplished diddly. Failed to even write a blog post. I was caught up.

    I got myself a whiteboard where I list weekly tasks. Most of the other important information gets filed in electronic folders, where I can access it when time allows.

  • http://www.tshirtinsight.com/ Martin

    Along with Mike and Jimi above, information overload has to be one of my biggest problems. Or perhaps more to the point fooling myself that all the research into what I SHOULD be doing is going to help me, when actually doing something, ANYTHING is going to get me further. This basically ties together your comments on information overload and actually taking action – less information gathering and more action. Sadly although I realise this at some level it’s hard to break the habit!

  • http://www.tshirtinsight.com/ Martin

    Along with Mike and Jimi above, information overload has to be one of my biggest problems. Or perhaps more to the point fooling myself that all the research into what I SHOULD be doing is going to help me, when actually doing something, ANYTHING is going to get me further. This basically ties together your comments on information overload and actually taking action – less information gathering and more action. Sadly although I realise this at some level it’s hard to break the habit!

  • http://www.tshirtinsight.com/ Martin

    Along with Mike and Jimi above, information overload has to be one of my biggest problems. Or perhaps more to the point fooling myself that all the research into what I SHOULD be doing is going to help me, when actually doing something, ANYTHING is going to get me further. This basically ties together your comments on information overload and actually taking action – less information gathering and more action. Sadly although I realise this at some level it’s hard to break the habit!

  • http://www.pemasarinternet.com/ bisnis internet

    Good review. I agree the problem is in us, how our strategy and the way of things to develop the site. thanks.

  • http://www.pemasarinternet.com/ bisnis internet

    Good review. I agree the problem is in us, how our strategy and the way of things to develop the site. thanks.

  • http://www.pemasarinternet.com bisnis internet

    Good review. I agree the problem is in us, how our strategy and the way of things to develop the site. thanks.

  • http://www.prosperouscoachblog.com/ Rhonda Hess, Coaching Business

    This hit home, David. Especially the part about taking some time to peel back the layers… Imagine that, taking some time to reflect on my own professionally development as well as fostering others.

  • http://www.prosperouscoachblog.com/ Rhonda Hess, Coaching Business

    This hit home, David. Especially the part about taking some time to peel back the layers… Imagine that, taking some time to reflect on my own professionally development as well as fostering others.

  • http://www.prosperouscoachblog.com Rhonda Hess, Coaching Business Success Strategist

    This hit home, David. Especially the part about taking some time to peel back the layers… Imagine that, taking some time to reflect on my own professionally development as well as fostering others.

  • http://blog.laceyllc.com/ Lorenzo

    I find my problem is sleep. I am constantly trying to find out how to add more hours in a day. And when I push myself too hard I crash and feel it necessary to sleep during a time I would usually be productive. I’m also trying to watch my weight which means exersizing and running which requires more sleep to recover.

  • http://blog.laceyllc.com/ Lorenzo

    I find my problem is sleep. I am constantly trying to find out how to add more hours in a day. And when I push myself too hard I crash and feel it necessary to sleep during a time I would usually be productive. I’m also trying to watch my weight which means exersizing and running which requires more sleep to recover.

  • http://blog.laceyllc.com Lorenzo

    I find my problem is sleep. I am constantly trying to find out how to add more hours in a day. And when I push myself too hard I crash and feel it necessary to sleep during a time I would usually be productive. I’m also trying to watch my weight which means exersizing and running which requires more sleep to recover.

  • http://www.makemoneyonlineng.com Adesoji Adegbulu

    This right.

    It is people that makes blog successful. You are what you reflect. I’ve just crossed one year in blogging now i’m taking it to another level

    Thanks

  • http://www.makemoneyonlineng.com Adesoji Adegbulu

    This right.

    It is people that makes blog successful. You are what you reflect. I’ve just crossed one year in blogging now i’m taking it to another level

    Thanks

  • http://www.adesojiadegbulu.com JesusFreak

    This right.

    It is people that makes blog successful. You are what you reflect. I’ve just crossed one year in blogging now i’m taking it to another level

    Thanks

  • http://www.tonyteegarden.com/ Tony Teegarden

    Man Dave I just came across this and umm…we’re on the same page lol.

    I loved your insight on the fact that a lack of traffic isn’t the problem, it’s the symptom. Great analogy.

    Generally before I’ve had my biggest break through’s I’ve gotten to the point where I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I hit that point where I strive for more “awareness” which I blog about a lot.

    Then I find the point of where my unconscious incompetence crosses over to conscious incompetence. Much like you, you found yourself there and started seeking solutions as you objectively did the “work” that so many people choose not to engage in. And yes that’s personal development work. As you know I’m all about that :-)

    I really have found myself digging back into my roots as of lately in the personal development realm on my blog. Probably because of the work I’ve been doing with my life coach.

    Great insight and articulated very well David. I appreciated your transparency.

  • http://www.tonyteegarden.com/ Tony Teegarden

    Man Dave I just came across this and umm…we’re on the same page lol.

    I loved your insight on the fact that a lack of traffic isn’t the problem, it’s the symptom. Great analogy.

    Generally before I’ve had my biggest break through’s I’ve gotten to the point where I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I hit that point where I strive for more “awareness” which I blog about a lot.

    Then I find the point of where my unconscious incompetence crosses over to conscious incompetence. Much like you, you found yourself there and started seeking solutions as you objectively did the “work” that so many people choose not to engage in. And yes that’s personal development work. As you know I’m all about that :-)

    I really have found myself digging back into my roots as of lately in the personal development realm on my blog. Probably because of the work I’ve been doing with my life coach.

    Great insight and articulated very well David. I appreciated your transparency.

  • http://www.tonyteegarden.com Tony Teegarden

    Man Dave I just came across this and umm…we’re on the same page lol.

    I loved your insight on the fact that a lack of traffic isn’t the problem, it’s the symptom. Great analogy.

    Generally before I’ve had my biggest break through’s I’ve gotten to the point where I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I hit that point where I strive for more “awareness” which I blog about a lot.

    Then I find the point of where my unconscious incompetence crosses over to conscious incompetence. Much like you, you found yourself there and started seeking solutions as you objectively did the “work” that so many people choose not to engage in. And yes that’s personal development work. As you know I’m all about that :-)

    I really have found myself digging back into my roots as of lately in the personal development realm on my blog. Probably because of the work I’ve been doing with my life coach.

    Great insight and articulated very well David. I appreciated your transparency.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOtcdNKziHo Jody

    When I first started marketing, I tried to do everything all at once (big mistake). I was trying to learn everything at once, which does not work.

    Once I settled down and mastered one thing at a time, marketing became much much easier.

    I even burned myself out, so take the advice of this blog with David.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOtcdNKziHo Jody

    When I first started marketing, I tried to do everything all at once (big mistake). I was trying to learn everything at once, which does not work.

    Once I settled down and mastered one thing at a time, marketing became much much easier.

    I even burned myself out, so take the advice of this blog with David.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOtcdNKziHo Jody

    When I first started marketing, I tried to do everything all at once (big mistake). I was trying to learn everything at once, which does not work.

    Once I settled down and mastered one thing at a time, marketing became much much easier.

    I even burned myself out, so take the advice of this blog with David.

  • http://nextlevelblogger.com/about Christian

    Looking at yourself, as opposed to any other external factor, is always the best way to solve a problem. Kudos!

  • http://nextlevelblogger.com/about Christian

    Looking at yourself, as opposed to any other external factor, is always the best way to solve a problem. Kudos!

  • http://nextlevelblogger.com/about Christian

    Looking at yourself, as opposed to any other external factor, is always the best way to solve a problem. Kudos!

  • http://www.plushbeds.com/ Samantha

    Great post. I’ve found also that listening to too many “Gurus” at once can really paralyze you.

    I’m sure I could find 100 top chefs who all have a “secret recipe” for tomato sauce, but if I had them all in my kitchen, screaming their ingredients at the same time while I tried to evaluate on my own which ones to add & how much of each…we’ll it doesn’t take a genius to guess how my sauce would taste.

    I think rule # 1 to fixing the “me” problem is for people to decide on 1 Teacher/Guru (or whatever they want to call them) to follow, and then block ALL OTHER TRAINING EMAILS & FREE WEBINARS until you have mastered their system. Just my 2 cents!

  • http://www.plushbeds.com/ Samantha

    Great post. I’ve found also that listening to too many “Gurus” at once can really paralyze you.

    I’m sure I could find 100 top chefs who all have a “secret recipe” for tomato sauce, but if I had them all in my kitchen, screaming their ingredients at the same time while I tried to evaluate on my own which ones to add & how much of each…we’ll it doesn’t take a genius to guess how my sauce would taste.

    I think rule # 1 to fixing the “me” problem is for people to decide on 1 Teacher/Guru (or whatever they want to call them) to follow, and then block ALL OTHER TRAINING EMAILS & FREE WEBINARS until you have mastered their system. Just my 2 cents!

  • http://www.plushbeds.com Samantha

    Great post. I’ve found also that listening to too many “Gurus” at once can really paralyze you.

    I’m sure I could find 100 top chefs who all have a “secret recipe” for tomato sauce, but if I had them all in my kitchen, screaming their ingredients at the same time while I tried to evaluate on my own which ones to add & how much of each…we’ll it doesn’t take a genius to guess how my sauce would taste.

    I think rule # 1 to fixing the “me” problem is for people to decide on 1 Teacher/Guru (or whatever they want to call them) to follow, and then block ALL OTHER TRAINING EMAILS & FREE WEBINARS until you have mastered their system. Just my 2 cents!

  • http://www.webtrafficclub.co.uk/ Graham

    I've got to agree with Samantha – there are just too many gurus that can distract you with the latest and greatest schemes.

    Pick one and stick with it until you start to see what works and what doesn't. Keep it simple!

  • http://www.webtrafficclub.co.uk/ Graham

    I've got to agree with Samantha – there are just too many gurus that can distract you with the latest and greatest schemes.

    Pick one and stick with it until you start to see what works and what doesn't. Keep it simple!

  • http://freenintendopoints.net/ Free Nintendo Points

    If you have no time to blog then perhaps find a relative or good friend to blog for you, as long as what they would offer would be sufficient enough until you have enough time to construct your own content.

  • http://www.life.yinteing.com/ YinTeing

    Right on mark. I realised that there are lots of great advice and tips shared by blogging experts. It's just that we never follow them or we do but give up halfway before we begin to see results. Blogging takes a lot of work and passion. It's not easy money. Recently, all I did was to implement a simple advice given by one of the authors- and I saw my traffic doubling. It's great you mention this- sometimes, the constraint is really us, not the traffic. Thanks, David.

  • http://www.dvdmoviesave.com movie to Downloads

    I really have to thank you for putting up such interesting posts. I have gained so much by reading your blog posts. Keep it up!

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

    Great post, Thank you! It is hard to feel that if you don't take action in one area or read every traffic generation manifesto available that you'll miss something something that may prove fatal to your blog. I know that I am guilty of having those feelings. What I have decided is that there are 3 or 4 actions that I can take consistently. That I should take daily and I am working on a system for doing that daily.

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

    Great post, Thank you! It is hard to feel that if you don't take action in one area or read every traffic generation manifesto available that you'll miss something something that may prove fatal to your blog. I know that I am guilty of having those feelings. What I have decided is that there are 3 or 4 actions that I can take consistently. That I should take daily and I am working on a system for doing that daily.