Palm Desert California USA
Individual bloggers follow strategies for individual bloggers to eventually succeed.
But deluded beginner bloggers might try to do what big business does to chase quick profits.
The online business world teaches these folks a harsh lesson; it never spares the rod.
Corporations succeed by following the corporate playbook.
Individual bloggers fail horribly by attempting to follow the corporate playbook.
For example, spamming thousands of random strangers daily puts your messages in the spam folder sooner than later. Corporate interests invest an astounding amount of money to advertise to a dizzying number of semi-targeted to non-targeted strangers daily. Playing the numbers game to serious levels nets a heavy profit for big business. Not so for solo bloggers whose emails go to spam.
I recall seeing an individual blogger well over 17 years ago who invested up to $45,000 per paid marketing campaign. He saved a big chunk of change to do this. Some ads netted $50,000. Others only $46,000. Others spawned big losses. He could not keep up with paid ads like corporations with millions of dollars to burn on paid marketing campaigns. But this guy was the ultimate outlier. Most bloggers rely heavily on free marketing methods like publishing detailed blog posts combined with personalizing engagement on social media.
Nightmarish User Experience
Visiting mainstream weather sites is like suffering Chinese water torture.
Load times? Abysmal.
Can the designers add more slow-loading, dynamic ads?
But big weather sites get away with making people wait 15 seconds before the website fully loads. Why? Millions of loyal weather fans stick around; perhaps thousands of irritated former fans close the site out for good.
Guess what?
You and I do not boast millions of loyal fans as solo bloggers. We have far fewer community members. A few may stick around for 15 seconds for your blog to fully load. Most will exit your blog for good.
Can you build a full time blogger career based on a sky high bounce rate? No.
Will a few loyal fans propel you to a professional blogging career despite your sky high bounce rate? I would say this scenario seems highly unlikely. Most human beings do not stick around for 5 seconds, let alone 15 seconds, before a website fully loads. Your 15 rabidly loyal zealots cannot overcome this basic human tendency, even with referral traffic flowing through their friend networks. The numbers are not big enough.
You cannot do what corporations do.
Like it or not, the bigger corporations become, the more these mammoth industries use fear manifest as manipulation and the general numbers game to drive business via a blunt force approach. Toss in unlimited marketing budgets and you have the recipe for massive waste along with consistent business growth greater than the stunning financial investments made.
Do you have unlimited marketing dough to throw at a beefy paid advertising campaign? Do you have millions of followers to slowly burn through if your horrible user experience turns off a chunk before changing your tune?
No you do not.
But solopreneur bloggers possess two powerful weapons in their online business arsenal:
- sharing genuine, highly-detailed blog posts
- being personable, warm and inviting
Provide Genuine Value
Big business is not about sharing genuine, massive value across the board.
Corporations certainly do not over deliver consistently because the ask always shows up too quickly. Big businesses need to earn profits for the company more than over delivering for customers with no expectations or conditions involved. There is ALWAYS an expectation or condition because big corporations need to get something from customers, be it an email, other contact information or money.
Big business brings some value to the table but profits typically take precedence over people sooner than later. Stockholders push for money over offering maximum value to customers. I hate to sound jaded but this is par for the corporate course. This is why a weather site takes 15 seconds to load. Advertisements weigh down portals to a snail’s pace. Some ads have absolutely nothing to do with weather. Businesses chasing money do these things. Imagine if my blog took 20 seconds to load those spammy-looking sites run out of Israel? (You know exactly what I’m talking about LOL) Your ass would be out of the cyber door quicker than I can say, “Blogging From Paradise Dot Com.”
Sharing detailed, practical, thorough blog posts distances you from corporate interests. Loyal readers appreciate this breath of fresh air. People love bloggers who go the extra mile consistently. Everyone loves someone who goes above and beyond to help solve problems thoroughly.
Publish long form content. Write and ship one long form blog post weekly. Aim for 1000 to 1200 words or a bit longer.
Share steps to walk readers from problems to solutions. Leave nothing out. Do the blogging leg work.
Build a loyal blogging tribe slowly but surely.
Allow these blog followers to fan the flames under your business through referrals.
Be Personable and Pleasant
True; customer service reps appear to be somewhat personable and pleasant.
Yet most work from a script.
All have their hands tied by corporate legalities.
Even if customer service reps are pleasant, none are the face of the business. Outsourced individuals are not even associated with corporations directly.
As an individual blogger, being personable, warm and engaging separates you from big business. You are the face behind the business. You are the personality behind the brand.
For goodness sake, I never viewed myself in this fashion…..but someone once said receiving a private message from me was like seeing a celebrity in their inbox. I found it funny because I am just like everyone else. Yet to her, my heartfelt, personalized approach left a positive impression on her mind. She perceived a well-known blogger setting aside some of his time to deliver a personal message. I know that there is no other way to build an online business as a solo blogger without a massive marketing budget and/or titanic-sized following.
Being personable is a requirement.
Reply to readers via social media. Be kind. Appreciate your loyal tribe. Show up. Be seen. Reply to questions or comments within 1-2 business days to add a genuine touch to your blogging approach.
Conclusion
Learn from experienced solopreneur bloggers.
Follow their lead.
Seasoned professionals know how to build organic traffic consistently by sticking to the fundamentals.
Be a value-provider.
Emit a personable approach.
Succeed by stepping away from the lower energy tactics employed by big business.
