I’ve been blogging for almost a year now and last week I tweeted a question, asking how people got their blog to grow. You can read stories all over the net of people having a hugely successful blog within a year. I’m defining success as a lot of comments on each blogpost and hundreds/thousands of subscribers. Although this blog isn’t exactly what you call unsuccessful, things could be so much better. And that’s where I really could use your help.
Guest posting and engaging with other bloggers is key. That and being useful to your readers - Corbett Barr
The quote here is what I got back on my question via twitter. Guest posting and engaging with other bloggers isn’t to hard. My plans for that are simple: Guestposting on any blog that will have me. Small blogs and big blogs, none will be left out as long as they fit in the same niche. To get in touch with more readers I’m going to dive deep into the blogosphere and comment on at least three blogs every single day. Of course those comments need to add value, a simple “First! hahaha” or “What a great post, please visit my blog” won’t cut it. The most effective is looking for new blogs out there you didn’t comment on before, it’s getting your name out there. Frequently posting meaningful comments on the same blog will get you noticed by the writer and readers and so that’s also a good idea to get out there.
What is usefulness?
Usefulness is useless if nobody knows that you’re there
But I’m left with a single problem: I have no idea if my blogposts are useful to you. Am I writing things that matter and help? Or is it all a load of **** that nobody really finds interesting to read and/or is just dime a dozen content? How would you describe usefulness when it comes to blog content.
A long while back I laid out the plan on growing my blog A blogpost filled with 16 building blocks to a succesful blog was what resulted. Back then the goal was 500 pageviews a day or 300 subscribers. I haven’t reached either – yet-, but the blog is still growing slowly every month and it’s only a matter of time until those goals are reached. There is no doubt in my mind about that. If there is one thing that I’ve learned from the successful bloggers out there is that things very rarely happen overnight. You’ll have to really commit and it can take years to build a really useful blog which is successful. Being useful by writing good content, answering questions and providing help is one side of the coin, it’s useless if you don’t reach anybody with it so you’ll have to market your blog as well. Usefulness is useless if nobody knows that you’re there.
I’d like to ask you two questions:
- Is this blog useful to you?
- What would make this blog more useful to you?
Blogging is very different from writing a book, you can actively engage with others and address issues that come up. It’s a great way of communicating and I want to make your experience on this blog better. Help me help you and we’ll both profit from it.
Thanks for the support my friend, I hope to hear from you
I can tell you one thing, this blog is the same as dozens of others out there. So is mine almost. I’ve been blogging for two months, but I’m starting to realize I still don’t have a perspective that makes me different just yet.
And that might be why you’re having the same kinds of problems. Why you’re blog posts are good, well written, this is a lot of the same information found on dozens of other more successful lifestyle design sites.
What is lacking, is your uniqueness. So either lifestyle design isn’t what your really passionate about, or you just aren’t putting enough of you behind the message.
I just finished the book Crush It! and it’s really making me rethink my strategy and personal brand.
So my question here is, what is your personal brand? Because when I came to your site, I can’t really tell.
A hard wall to hit, but thanks.
Something I really have to think about and do some serious self-reflection.
Hi,
I surfed over to your blog via a tweet from Corbett Barr “RT @ChristiaanH: Being useful as a blogger, how can you tell? http://su.pr/1pYS6E the new blogpost at Mind the Beginner”
The blogs I read regularly are the ones I am pulled in by their story:
- ProBlogger: is taking me through the journey of ‘how to be a successful blogger.
- Art of Non Conformity: One man’s journey through location independent entrepreneurship
- Man vs Debt: We watch one man’s with his family journey out of debt while living abroad.
Just to name three.
I am not even interest in finance and I read man vs debt, because of his story.
Your blogs tagline: Lifestyle Design and Personal Development with a Zen twist
Leaves me asking what skin you have in the game? What is your story?
I just soft launched my blog 3 or so weeks ago, with a plan to hard launch it a week or so from now.
My tagline I think, I hope invites people to join me on a journey, to read my story: The blog of paul macpherson’s experiments in a location independent life style; where the thoughts of an aspiring entrepreneur, author, writer, blogger and capitalist adventurer meet the world.
Another prime (or should I say better) example is from the Art of Non Conformity: Welcome to the Art of Non-Conformity site, a home for unconventional people doing remarkable things.
The tagline says a story… a story I when I first read it I want to be part of, it’s very engaging.
Back to you tagline: Design and Personal Development with a Zen twist
It sounds like a lecture from a university course guide.
As for you content… I suggest you read this post (Why You’re Too Qualified and Respectful to Produce Great Content — http://www.copyblogger.com/qualified-and-respectful/) from copyblogger.
From what I read of our blog you have insight, but no edge.
I think you have great potential, and I am by no means trying to say you have a bad blog. You are PR2 and have a readership that is growing. I think with an edgier writing style and an authentic ‘call to action’ you could have a great blog.
Cheers,
Paul
I think the responses you’re getting are hitting pretty home Christiaan.
Take a specific tack and nail the hell out of it.
A tagline is a good thing to have, but not necessary, what is necessary is having a vision and core direction which makes you pursue it.
It doesn’t have to be huge or big, it can be small and specific, but it has to be you.
Maybe we’re not on the same page, but I don’t really think you can put a number on success. I think that if even one person (even if that person is just you) is benefiting from your posts, than they’re a success. Although, like I said, if we’re on a different page and you’re idea of success is getting hits so you can make money through googleads or the like, than I guess I can’t really help you. However, I understand that even the most unselfish person with any motive wants people to read what they write if they find their information worth reading. As far as that goes, I’ll leave you with a quote from Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning,
Don’t aim at success–the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run–in the long run, I say–success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it.
Best of luck,
Regan
Thanks for that Regan,
Measuring success by looking at hits or subscriber numbers is the easiest graphical way of determining if a blog is being received well “by the public”. I’ve already had a lot of benefits from my blogging and will dedicate a blogpost to that very soon. (Called “Reasons not to blog” or something along those lines) I don’t intend to make a lot of money through this blog, save the few affiliate links in the sidebar to cover the costs of hosting. Earning money online is not my reason for blogging, there are far better ways to do that which I’m investigating.
As long as what I’m writing is seen as adding value to the lives of others I’m happy.
On the other hand there is always that craving for bigger/better/faster that we all suffer from at times. I think I’ll have to stop caring about that and just pick a specific tack and nail the hell out of it. I’m currently rethinking my motives and what it is exactly that I want to be doing with this blog. I’m all over the place with my topics as you might have noticed and am indeed a bit overqualified and to friendly. It’s time for bolder strategies, getting down to what really does matter to me. The thing that drives me.
All things considered, it’s going to be a bumpy ride, but fun and worthwhile. I’ll find my nail yet.
(And thanks for that great quote!)
Christiaan,
Write about what you love, and don’t worry what the others think.. Don’t worry about pageviews. If you are passionate about what you write, THAT is what is important!
I love your blog! You write about a variety of subjects all centered around a basic theme. Your posts always give me something to think about.
Do I read every post? Yes. Do I follow every tip you post? No. Do I think this is an important blog? Yes, yes, yes.
We need this blog. Lives are so complicated the world over now… We are constantly told to buy this, be that… This blog is like a haven.
There are a lot of minimalism blogs, basically people saying I did this or that and the kid spit up and I laughed–mine included. Yours is clean, simple and contains a lot of refreshing information. The post on the Ferrari, the one about Steve Jobs–I’ll not bore you with a reiteration of what you have written, but I think I’ve read them all at least twice, not including what I’ve FBed and Twittered…
Please don’t change and go all commercial. You are special just as you are!
~Annie
P.S. I updated the links on my blog for you. Thank you for your kind note.
@ Annie
Thanks for your very extensive reply here :) Writing what I’ m passionate about actually proved to be a small problem. It’s very hard for me to put my finger on what I’m passionate about. Nothing really stands out because I’m excited about so many things. Blogging, personal development, minimalism, lifestyle design, martial arts, reading, writing, simplicity, you name it…. but the core of it all is the way I think about them. And that’s exactly what the new tagline of my blog is about:
Thoughts from a Zen mind living in a Western World. The Western world, and in particular the digital world that is taking it by storm is all about those topics mentioned above. I’m just here to try and tell you how I look at them. And by now it’s clear to me that my way of thinking is at times very different from what others are thinking (or at least writing about) So yeah, I’m unique in that perspective. Let’s see how long it takes before people take notice. And actually, if they never show up I’ll still be happy. I have a small tribe of regular readers on this blog and the interaction is getting better every week. I’m blessed to have you all here.
Thanks!
Well, success is more than numbers, *but* ultimately you must decide for yourself what success is. What is the purpose of this blog? To get lots of readers? Is that it? Because I think it’s more than that. Now if you get a million readers, you’re *probably* doing something right. Just keep in mind that millions of people watch a single episode of American Idol and others go and watch it on YouTube. To me that’s actually a bad thing. American Idol wouldn’t bother me if there were just a few viewers who really benefited from it, but I think the vast majority of them are just wasting their time watching the show. I know I did. I mean, who actually benefits from that other than the people on the show who are pocketing everyone’s money?
My purpose would require me to ask these questions: 1) am *I* personally gaining enough out of it? 2) are other people gaining much from of it? 3) am I making as big of a difference as I could by focusing my attention here?
As for what I think of your blog, I think it has potential, especially since you are asking for feedback. I read StevePavlina.com, though, and have yet to find anything of comparable quality. Steve’s content is not only original, but very comprehensive. He writes long, comprehensive posts packed with good information – he’s read over 500 PD books and it shows. He has enough knowledge and experience to put together loads of information in an effective way I haven’t seen anyone else do. For that reason, there is no other blog I follow regularly.
I have only read a handful of your articles, and what you say is basically accurate, but I agree it’s not all that original. There are a few lines here and there that really hit the spot, and that’s one reason I feel you have potential. I can’t say I’ll be back here, though. I am not sure why I am still reading because this blog hasn’t done anything amazing for me. I think it has to do with your style of writing and the fact that I basically agree with the things you have to say.
I write a political blog, but it’s very low key. atm I am still trying to learn tons so maybe one day I’ll be able to write a lot of posts worth reading. I think even my best posts on the blog have mostly been so-so by the standards I am trying to live up to. I have to say there are a TON of awesome political blogs, so I don’t know why most of the PD ones are so-so. Maybe because politics is studied in academia, but PD is not (most of the political bloggers I follow are college students, graduates, authors, etc.). And also because PD is just so, you know, personal. And metaphysical. And not newsworthy.
Anyway, I mean, I am sort of in the same boat with you. I also had a spiritual blog, which no longer exists, but I definitely didn’t know enough to write many good posts. My blogs, frankly, are mostly for my own personal growth… I wouldn’t see it as a good thing if I had a ton of readers already.
Man, as I was re-reading that comment, I realized it sounds pretty negative and not so helpful. Okay, so here’s the thing… most PD blogs have a lot of interesting things to say. The problem is that they are scattered all over the place. You have to read three entire articles in order to get just a handful of helpful sentences. This blog is like that. I find it hard to be patient enough to read the entire article. Steve Pavlina is great because most of his articles are so packed with great content that you don’t get impatient/bored. You’re riveted. I filter things that are not helpful. I am trying to make my life better, so this is important to me. But it takes a ton of knowledge OR researching for your particular article in order to consistently write articles the way Steve does. So study hard!