Learning from successful people who have been able to achieve something big is one of the best things you can do for yourself if you want to succeed in anything. And how many people have achieved what Madonna has in their life?
I remember when I listened to Madonna’s album Ray of Light over ten years ago for the first time and couldn’t stop wondering how it is possible that one artist can make popular music for three decades by not making the same album over and over again.
Whether you like Madonna’s music or not, the fact is that she has been one of the most successful pop music artists in the world for about three decades now and is still going strong.
She has got many traits and habits that have made that kind of success possible for her, and I believe those things can and should easily be applied to blogging as well. They are all something any blogger can relate to as well.
1. Never Give Up
When Madonna was a young girl, she didn’t have any money. What she did have was an endless amount of persistence and an incredible drive for success. Even for her, success didn’t happen overnight. For the first years after moving to New York to build a dance career, she had to work in low paid jobs to support her.
It might take ten years to get a break in the music business, but blogging business is much easier compared to the music business. Many successful bloggers have blogged for a year without any big publicity or huge traffic, but then at some point their persistency has been rewarded and they have been able to make their living just by blogging.
Most bloggers probably give up after just a few months because of low traffic that leads to frustration and loss of motivation.
Don’t be that person!
Never give up. If you are not getting enough traffic to your blog right now, find out what the reason is and work more. Maybe you are not marketing enough, or maybe you have to write better content. There is always something you can do better.
Success follows the ones who never give up.
2. Be Limitless
Even before Madonna became popular in music business, she tried to make a living by dancing, photography, art modeling, acting, and founding two bands, in which she played also drums and guitar.
During her career, she has also written books for children and done a numerous amount of other things, so she has definitely not set any limits to what she can or can’t do.
If Madonna had decided early on that playing drums is the only thing she is going to do in her life, she probably wouldn’t have succeeded this well, so don’t do the mistake in your business either. If you try something and you find out that it doesn’t work out for you, don’t hesitate to take a new direction.
However, taking a new direction every three months is usually not wise. It takes time to get a momentum, no matter what your business is, and even if you gain success by blogging, it is a little bit risky to have only one income stream.
Always think about new ways of making passive income after one of your ideas takes off, just like Madonna did.
3. Collaboration
Her album Ray of Light made me wonder already twelve years ago how it is possible for one artist to continuously make popular music. It is also possible that the albums are always influenced by the newest and coolest genres but still sound like they are Madonna’s albums.
Now I know that it is not Madonna alone who is behind her enormous success. If you get to know the music industry a little bit, you realize quite fast how important a great producer and good songwriters are for an artist.
Most of Madonna’s songs are not written nor produced by her. She has right from the beginning understood that she must find the most talented producer every time she makes a new album, and it has worked out beautifully. She then focuses on what she can do best — performing and entertaining.
The same thing applies for blogging really well. If you try to do everything alone, you make things very hard for yourself. Always try to find the best people to cooperate with. Don’t try to be an expert in everything, but instead focus on what you are good at and find skilled people to do things that are out of your expertise.
Also, getting to know smart and influential people can save you years of time when you try to get a break. There are always plenty of opportunities for cooperation that will benefit you, your partner, and your customers. Keep your eyes and your mind open.
4. Know What Sells
Whenever I think of her, I always see those sexy outfits and crazy acts she’s done. She has clearly decided to have a sexy image, and we all know that sex sells. Sexuality is one of the most powerful driving forces for human beings.
But as her career went on, she chose to change her image a bit. But, she has always done controversial things, such as kissing Britney Spears publicly which make people talk about her and remember her.
The best blogs have always had something unique about them that separates them from other blogs and makes you remember their blog after your visit.
Maybe what makes you come back to most blogs you read is the personal touch of the blogger, or the great information they offer. It could be because of their controversial opinions, or even the other resources they offer. But the point is, there is always something that makes a blog appealing for you.
I believe that Madonna has thought about the things she is passionate about and then searched for the opportunities to follow her passion by doing something that people are ready to pay for. That’s why she is a filthy rich pop music artist instead of an average art model.
No matter what your passions are, there are always possibilities to find a niche that you can write about, that people are also interested of and willing to pay for some of your products. You must find that niche first. The good thing about blogging though is that you can usually quite easily tweak your blog’s niche as you go, especially if the name and the brand of your blog are not too limiting.
5. Evolve
I bet that Madonna wouldn’t be as successful as she has been, if she would have kept repeating the success recipe that worked for her in the eighties. She has been able to change her looks, her image, and the style of music she sings during all these years. That is one of the biggest reasons why she has been able to be successful for all these decades.
Every business idea and product has a lifespan, and nothing lasts forever, so even though everything might look perfect for your blog or your business right now, always be ready to evolve if you notice that consumers’ preferences are starting to change.
Evolving also means learning new skills and becoming better at what you do. Life changes and those people, who can change with it, can ride a wave of success for the longest.
What Have You Learned From Madonna’s Success?
But more importantly, how do you plan on using the lessons she has taught you today for your own good? Just because Madonna isn’t exactly blogging doesn’t mean she can’t teach you the most important things about blogging.
29 Discussions
Excellent advice there Petteri.
You are really spot on in your points.
It is really important and essential to never give up. As they say ‘the only place where success comes before work, is in the dictionary’. So success does come, but after time and patience.
I also agree with how you say it’s important to diversify and not be limited to one business model. That may limit your earnings.
Kindest,
Nabeel
Thanks Nabeel!
Most people just don’t realize that successful people are not successful because they would be so much more gifted than other people, but more because they are the ones who don’t see giving up as an option.
We just don’t see the 49 failures behind the breakthrough.
Petteri´s last blog ..How to Make Your Photos Look More Professional
Thank William Orbit for Ray of Light.
Go buy Strange Cargo III and IV (skip the first two tbh).
Yeah I like William Orbit’s other production, but haven’t listened to those records you suggested, gotta get them!
And Stuart Price is the Midas behind Confessions on a Dance Floor. He’s made some really good electronic music with monikers like Thin White Duke, Les Rythmes Digitales, Paper Faces, Man With Guitar, and Jacques Lu Cont, as well as produced bands like The Killers, New Order, Kylie Minogue, Gwen Stefani, Kean etc.
I find the music business quite fascinating because usually people see only the band and the lead singer and worship them, when in fact without a great producer and songwriters they would be nothing.
Petteri´s last blog ..How to Make Your Photos Look More Professional
Hey Petteri,
Awesome Post.
“Success follows the ones who never give up.” exactly all it takes is time and patience.
Thanks for sharing this great Post dude.
~Dev
Dev | Technshare´s last blog ..7 Guaranteed Ways to Reduce Your Blog Bounce Rate
Cheers, Dev!
It doesn’t really matter in the end if you succeed in the first thing you try. You can always try again, and if you fail in something 10 000 times, you might invent a light bulb.
Petteri´s last blog ..How to Make Your Photos Look More Professional
I agree with this very much. Do not give up. even it sounds hard sometimes, but indeed patience will help.
Kimi´s last blog ..WordPress clickable thumbnail link
Very inspirational! Have you read the book “It’s Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be”? If not, consider reading it when you’re into this kinda stuff.
Cool Social Media share bar btw!
Harry Hilders´s last blog ..Digitaal muziek maken
Thanks for the tip Harry, that sounds like a perfect read. Too often people look at where they are right now, but it doesn’t really matter that much in the long run.
If you follow your passion daily and try to progress without any fear of failure, you will eventually get where you want to be.
Petteri´s last blog ..How to Make Your Photos Look More Professional
Petteri, I appreciate the focus on Madonna. I’m roughly her age and I’ve followed her career most of my adult life, so I can relate to your five lessons.
John Soares´s last blog ..Consolidating Your Online Marketing Base
this is a great post…the example of madonna will also get you more traffic and comments…
never give up…..That much is the gist of blogging
Tushar´s last blog ..How Much Money You Need to Start Blogging in India
While I would never publicly admit such an admiration for Madonna, haha, you have made an excellent analogy here.
I think #5. Evolve is where many new successes end up failing miserably. They think A is what made me successful, so I have no reason to move to B or C; any new changes won’t last long, I can wait it out.
Oh how wrong they are.
Dennis Edell | Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..UPDATES-
O yea
Madonna is very, very smart. Everything she does is for a reason. She always does number 4 and 5 from the list.
Bryan´s last blog ..Skype 38 – Free Download
hey Petteri,
i am impressed by how you are able to collaborate and relate blogging with celebrities.
thanks for this inspiring post firstly.
secondly, i couldn’t agree more to every points that you have mentioned. apparently, not only madonna herself, many successful achievers be in online or offline i believe has strive through thick and thin before they get to the utmost position to where there are today.
it all comes down to the mind ,you see.
“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.”
-Vincent T. Lombardi
where there is will, there will be a way. so don’t stop believing. dreams will surely get you there. =)
keep up the good work , mate.
cheers.
Febap Liew | Making Money Online Today´s last blog ..6 Most Unfortunate Matters That Happened To Me Before I Finally Make Money Online Today
Really great post,
Exactly! Never give up. Don’t just dare it.
I discovered many of the most successful bloggers have been there for long and all once had the opportunity to quit, what really made them a success is not quitting.
Thanks a lot for the great post,
-Onibalusi
Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..How to Overcome The Google Duplicate Content Penalty
I certainly agree to this post. I also heard that song and its indeed inspiring. I appreciate that you have shared some wonderful tips on how to be successful in blogging.
Madonna is really one inspiring person and if we study her character and life we will be getting a lot of things to be inspired of. She has been able to make a huge mark in the music industry and is still one of the most celebrated artist. I think you have rightly pointed out all the points that she has used for getting success in her career. Similarly we can also do that for our blogging
hey dear
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well The content posted above is really appreciable and worth a read. Good job done . thanks for sharing it with us
znish
znish´s last blog ..People Give Me Some Idea
Collaboration, I think that’s the key! Well, it seems that I must find a blogger friend to collaborate with.
Reza Winandar´s last blog ..5 Types of Comments That Attract Attention
no idea at all.
Really usefull for newbies, who starts blogger life. Main rule; Dont be a lazy pig, more work, more learn, = Evolve
I agree that Madonna has evolved through the years and it helped her a lot in still being popular. Similarly, we should try to evolve and adapt to new forms of media such as video and podcasts. This is my personal goal for this month.
Julius´s last blog ..VOCAs- Assistive Technology for People with Speech Impairments
Well, it’s very important and effective strategy to get more and more advantages form your blog and through blogging, all you need is to create the content of your blog that should be very good, unique and very informative too so that it can attract more and more visitors toward your interest and the discussion of this kind can be very helpful to get more and more information about the ways to get make money through blogging…
The cooperation with other artists is one of the main reasons why Madonna has so much success; it certainly paid off.
The only problem is that I prefer where she gets her samples over her songs :/
However, in the spirit of the post it really shows that if you know where to draw your influences from, collaborate and build upon earlier ideas you can create a hit!
Murlu´s last blog ..If You’re Comfortable- You Won’t Be Successful
The best tips here are #1 and #4. But they are all very good. And Madonna has been around for 3 decades so I guess she is indeed a very good example of what to do
Jamelia´s last blog ..Making Money from Wordpress
I like success and I love Madonna song
Loved the article and how you tied it in with one of the worlds successful artists! Who would have thought Madonna could have taught us so much about blogging.
Prue @ Maleny Accommodation´s last blog ..Kenilworth Tourist Drive From Maleny
Well written post ,and there could be some more points to add such that we can go a head as far as possible.we can look in to which part we are writing our blogs article.so there should be a keen watch on Google analysis..
Excellent Advice very useful post.
seospidy@Seo Services Company´s last blog ..Search Engine Optimization SEO
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