Ubud, Bali
My friend and thriving blogger David Boozer chatted with me yesterday about Sasquatch.
After the chat we both agreed on a most pressing blogging problem: most bloggers do not put themselves out there. Think about it. Most bloggers do not blog persistently. Most do not create, connect, promote themselves and put in time to work diligently for years. Few bloggers feel comfortable self-promoting. Even fewer bloggers feel comfortable promoting fellow bloggers and looking for nothing in return. I struggled horribly to understand that promoting others freely without expecting anything in return is:
- the quickest way to get connected
- the quickest way to succeed online
- the quickest way to become a pro blogger
BUT…the quickest way does not mean easy or quick. Bloggers need to show up for a long time to succeed. Showing up means putting yourself out there. David and I both felt discomfort on putting ourselves out there for the first few times. But we also knew that connected bloggers succeed while blogging lone wolves struggle, fail and quit.
Show up. Keep showing up. Put yourself out there. Promote fellow bloggers. Promote your eBooks, courses and services. I promote myself freely. I promote fellow bloggers freely. Showing up and putting myself out there still feels highly uncomfortable sometimes because I have fears to face, feel and release. But no one expands their reach by shying away from the spotlight. We all need to show up routinely to become successful bloggers.
David has shown up persistently for well over a decade. I also put myself out there for over a decade. Putting yourself out there means interacting with fellow human beings but not solely in self-serving fashion. Putting yourself out there means promoting other folks as you promote yourself. Feel free to promote self because bloggers have every right to self-promote. But do not solely self-promote because people can and will tune out bloggers who self-promote 100% of the time.
Promote fellow bloggers freely. Let go expectations. Build friendships. Watch where these friendships take you. Do not use human beings for your selfish gain. Befriend human beings by being kind. Allow bonds to form organically. Get connected. Thrive.
Cheviot, New Zealand
One Big Blogging Fear
Most bloggers begin blogging with the idea that blogging is:
- writing blog posts
- publishing blog posts
- never interacting with human beings
- never speaking to human beings online
- never collaborating with human beings
- driving big traffic
- earning big profits
However, blogging is not like that, at all.
Bloggers usually begin blogging being infected by a deep, pulsating fear of interacting with fellow human beings. Being burdened with this fear deludes bloggers into formulating the silly expectations noted via the bullet point list above.
Perhaps English is not your first language. Fear of being criticized or rejected surfaces because English is your second language. Perhaps native English speakers may mock you, your ego fears. Blogging as a non-native English speaker feels scary. But you need to put yourself out there if you ever hope to succeed online.
My successful blogging buddies Mudassir Ahmed and Vishwajeet Kumar write clearly, confidently and skillfully even though English is not their first language. Each inspiring blogger left their blogging comfort zone and put themselves out there to become the bloggers they are today.
I cannot stress this enough: blogging is a fun and freeing journey but feels highly uncomfortable sometimes. No one succeeds by hiding in a cyber cave. Face your fear of interacting with people. Co-create. Collaborate. Observe this blog post. Note how I mention fellow bloggers. I help blogging buddies sans expecting anything in return but virtually all of my blogging buddies:
- retweet my blog posts or
- share posts on Facebook or
- share posts on LinkedIn or
- mention me on their blogs or
- invite me to guest post on their blogs or
- interview
Pondicherry India
because friends help friends succeed. But friends only meet each other first by putting themselves out there:
- generously
- patiently
- persistently
especially when putting yourself out there feels highly uncomfortable.
Being a professional blogger involves:
- brainstorming with blogging buddies on Zoom
- retweeting blogging buddies
- emailing blogging buddies to check in and ask how blogging buddies are feeling
- sharing blogging buddies’ posts on Facebook
- putting yourself out there to meet and greet new bloggers every single day
for many 1000’s of hours spanning years BEFORE becoming a professional blogger. Amateur bloggers do this stuff for free for 1000’s of hours BEFORE going pro. Never forget this powerful truth. Put yourself out there for a long time until money flows in. Put yourself out there for a far longer time before even more money flows in.
Show up.
Video
I recorded this video reminder.
Check it out here:
