Is Your Blog Lonely?
Unless you’ve already made yourself into an authority in your niche, or have some really awesome connections, chances are, you’re going to face a period of… slowness!
When you first launch your blog (or any website for that matter), you was having full energy and excitement to keep the work up, ideas come easily, you have put together the best content ever, but results are not what you have expected, you keep wondering what’s wrong with your blog, and what exactly you are missing!
let’s put that in points!
The scenario usually looks something like…
- You have a great website idea and install your blog.
- You get it looking exactly the way you want; you get very excited.
- You pump out a bunch of great articles, and start posting regularly.
- You notice that hardly anyone is visiting your website; your subscriber count is dwindling around nothing and close to nobody is leaving comments.
- You begin to feel discouraged and unmotivated very rapidly.
What I just described to you happens to just about every new blogger, but unfortunately, most (or 95% according to the NY Times) end up giving up during these “lonely days” of their new blog.
What’s the 5% Secret?
So if—for most of us—this low point is inevitable, then how do you pull through it? There must be some “secret” if only 5% of every blogger can do it, right?
The secret is self validation. The 5% of bloggers who pull through the slow days of their blog know that their blog is worth something, even if there hasn’t been a lot of people who discovered it yet. They don’t need anybody else to “confirm” to them that their blog is valuable because they validate themselves on their own.
From there, they ride the waves of persistence and consistent effort until they’re home free.
What Else Can You Do?
In the end, it ultimately boils down to YOU. There is really no way around that. You’re going to make the final decision, whether it’s to keep going or to give up, and there’s no “magic formula” for that; however, I can give you some tips that might help you to lean more towards the “keeping going” route.
- Establish a simple, do-able posting/promotion schedule and just stick with it. You want to keep it simple to increase your chances of sticking with it. Once you get used to a lighter workload, you can always take it up a notch later, but you don’t want to burn yourself out (that can be lethal for your blog).
- Get results faster! Guest post regularly on other established blogs, participate in forums, and leave comments on other blogs to get yourself and your blog “out there” so the depressed state of your blog doesn’t last as long. Just like in real life, if you don’t go out and meet people, you won’t get any attention. Likewise, if you don’t make an active effort to promote your blog regularly, it might just stay lonely forever.
- Keep posting valuable, useful content to your blog on a regular basis to grow it faster. The more worth you can place on your blog in your own eyes, the more you’ll value it and want to keep pushing through.
Final Words of Encouragement
If you’ve made it this far in the article, then you’ve most likely either “been there”, or are currently going through it. Just remember that you’re not alone. Every blog (with rare exception) goes through it. The key is to seek self-validation (not external validation) and to remain persistent.
Create a simple schedule, stick to it, and actively promote your blog to reduce the duration of your blog’s “lonely” state and before you know it, you’ll start wishing your blog did have some lonely days!
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