New Russia, New York, USA
Do you understand the title?
Bloggers want to succeed but skip the work to become successful.
In one moment, most bloggers dream of spectacular results. Perhaps blogging from a tropical paradise sounds about right. Get your coconut shake ready. Dip your toes in the cool but refreshing tidal pool. Feel the sand. Soak up the sun.
Great.
But in the next moment, blogger day-dreamers become all but offended when the *being* or *work* part of the deal gets presented to them.
I swear to goodness, laying down a railroad across the United States of America would be easier than getting bloggers to cease spamming my groups. Never mind how I publish content explaining in vivid, step-by-step fashion how to:
- drive organic trafficÂ
- increase blogging income
Yet most bloggers harbor such severe unconscious resistance to being the successful blogger that the masses become blind to the work required in order to live their most brilliant dreams.
Even if a few become aware of the work almost none do the work consistently enough to go pro.
Another blogging dream bites the dust.
Why?
Bloggers who want smashing results rarely do the mental and physical legwork to get there.
What Does Being a Successful Blogger Mean?
I’m glad you asked.
Being a successful blogger means:
- putting in the work
- putting in the time
- being generous
- being patient
- being persistent
Being this type of blogger feels highly uncomfortable sometimes but wading through discomfort is the difference maker between amateur and professional bloggers. Amateurs expect blogging success but do not BE a pro blogger for a sustained period of time.
Being a successful blogger means working for free for a long time until professional blogger income arrives. Most amateurs do not tolerate these years spanning thousands of free blogging work hours. You and I have been conditioned to expect pay for work because most learn to think, feel and act like an employee who expects money for service rendered. I saw it from my parents. You likely saw it from your parents.
Look around; society, from family, friends and the general public at large works mainly to get a paycheck. Working to build an asset which eventually works for you seems asinine to the world.
Tolerate It or Quit
Either you tolerate this period of free blogging work or you quit because you have not made much money through blogging. Amateurs who tolerate this free work period BE the successful blogger for this stretch to BECOME a pro blogger after the free work stretch. Everyone else never goes pro.
Be Truly Helpful
Being truly helpful as your intent guides you through dry spells. No one pays me directly for any guest post I wrote and placed for many years. Since I intend to be genuinely helpful I write and place guest posts diligently to keep working for free. Each post helps more people. Every post also increases backlinks pointing to Blogging From Paradise. Helping more people and increasing backlinks pointing to Blogging From Paradise expands my presence.
Ditto for my blog; no one pays me for each post I write and publish. But each post builds my blogging assets. My blogging assets work for me around the clock because I put in the work required to reach that point.
Help people freely but never expect professional blogging results overnight. How can you expect to be a professional blogger if you are not being the pro blogger who puts in a pro effort well before becoming a professional? Every amateur works for free before going pro. All amateurs pay their dues. Amateur bloggers pay their dues by being a pro before becoming a pro.
Move Away from Time Frames
As for time frames, dwelling on the idea of creating and connecting for 100’s to 1000’s of hours then more grounds you in reality. Be a pro during these 100’s to 1000’s of hours by helping people for free well before earning a pro blogging income. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Face fears like wasting time, squandering energy and all anxieties every pro faces during their amateur days. Come to think of it, moving away from time frames sounds wise. Why focus on time frames when you want to focus on the process of creating helpful, targeted content?
I never met a pro who sported supreme confidence in their blogging self for the entire blogging journey. Every pro doubted themselves here and there during amateur hours. Even pros exhibit self-doubt in moments because humans sometimes question themselves and their skills even if said humans become highly-skilled pros.
Ramp Up Your Generosity
Be a generous helper. Think of ways to serve readers. Podcast. Guest post. Tune into reader problems. Provide solutions through your blog content. Publish videos.
Be a pro by helping people for free through uncomfortable periods. Become a professional blogger by wading through fears related to not making money or driving traffic quickly enough. We all face these fears. No one avoids facing these fears. I still need to talk myself into being patient in moments since I am a human prone to feeling fear. Knowing this may give you patience with your impatience if you feel frustrated by a lack of tangible blogging success.
Conclusion
Be a professional blogger well before becoming a pro blogger but beware expecting pro results if you barely put in work.
Blogging is no cakewalk.
Blogging never seems to be coasting through effortlessness.
Every blogger puts in work before succeeding.
Trade expectations for genuinely helping people.
Being helpful instead of looking for returns conditions you to be a successful blogger before going pro.
