Today, Chris Palmer of Angle of Attack Blog briefly, but powerfully speaks about taking a better leadership role in the community of your blog and what taking command of that position can bring to you. Want to write for us too?
As pilot-in-command during my flights, I am responsible for the souls on board my aircraft. I am also liable for whatever happens while that aircraft is in movement.
Your blog is no different. You are the P.I.C. of Your blog.
We’ve all been in the situation. Stuck in the terminal with grumpy and smelly passengers all around… and the news isn’t good. “Best case scenario…”, the gate agent explains, “…is the weather will clear and your aircraft can get in in about 4 hours. We apologize…blah blah blah.”
As a blogger, you face the same situation every day. No one said blogging was easy. But it is worth it.
What happens if you are “under the weather,” so to speak, when it comes to blogging? What has you delayed?
This could happen in several ways:
- Full time job takes much of your time
- Can’t come up with post ideas
- Feel disconnected and distant from users
- There just isn’t a whole lot of interaction with content
- Distraction
- Lack of motivation
The list goes on.
Do you really believe your readers will forgive you for these weather delays? Do you believe they’ll be cool if you say, “better luck tomorrow. Maybe it’ll be clear skies.”
Unless you already have a stellar reputation and you can afford a get-out-of-jail-free card, I doubt it.
For the rest of us, it’s a bit more cut and dry.
The truth is that this blogging thing, although a great passion, also takes a lot of hard work, determination, perseverance and patience. If you really live from a space as a blogger where you envelope these traits in your strategy and mindset, your success as a blogger is inevitable.
You are the P.I.C. of Your blog
The internet as we know it is growing more every day. There is someone out there that deserves your message. Someone that can learn from your experiences and knowledge. Are you really going to deny them that opportunity because your priorities aren’t set up right?
I respect that fact that we all have responsibilities. I do as well. But I certainly can’t expect my businesses and blogs to succeed if they aren’t given some sort of priority. They are only given priority because they are a part of my larger plan for the future.
One thing I’ve learned early on in my blogging career is that by working hard, being determined and possessing perseverance and patience, I always turn a corner.
I treat my blog like a job.
In Hugh MacLeod’s book “Ignore Everybody” he says;
Eventually the fish will start biting. Just remember that it doesn’t happen overnight. It usually takes a couple of years of continual posting to build up enough trust to where people are willing to invest in you financially.
At the end of the day, the financial part of this all is easy to achieve.
As the pilot-in-command, I’m seeking out happy passengers. In other words, I strive more to have my readers become believers and members of my tribe than I do for fiscal gains. Are gains important? Sure! But if your purpose is to make money and that’s it, you’re missing a larger picture.
And maybe that’s why you can’t push through the weather.
Let’s be slightly negative for a moment and list some consequences of not pushing through the weather:
- Losing Loyal Readers
- Poor Reputation
- Stagnant Growth
Wouldn’t you rather?
- Gain Readers and Keep Them Loyal?
- Develop a reputation as a leader in your Niche?
- Have measurable growth?
The answers are obvious.
As the pilot-in-command of your blog, you are in the leadership position. You lead your readers to inspiration within your niche. You lead your readers through difficult times, rough topics, and personal problems.
It’s no longer acceptable to do things half cocked. It’s all or nothing, throttles to the firewall. It’s time to push through the weather.
How are you going to be a better P.I.C. for your blog?
26 Discussions
This is an amazing article! Exactly what I needed to read.
It’s no longer acceptable to do things half cocked. It’s all or nothing, throttles to the firewall. It’s time to push through the weather.
Someone pointed out to me today that they were frustrated that I have been missing from my blog for so long and it struck a nerve. Like the old saying goes, ‘You’re either growing or dying.’ And I’m not ready to see my blog die. Thanks for the kick in the butt that I so desperately needed.
Brendan Wenzel´s last blog ..Use Other People’s Traffic to Build a List
Brendan,
I’m still in the process of really getting my blog going. Three pieces of short and awesome advice I stick to are:
1. A Blog is Work. Treat it like a Job.
2. Content is King. Create Relevant Content.
3. Interact Always. Inside and Outside the Blog.
I’m glad it gave you a bit of a kick!
This si the first time that someone has write that youa re the picture of your blog.
Palabuzz´s last blog ..They Dont Care About Us (Cebu Dancing Inmates version)
PIC isn’t short for picture, it’s an acronym for ‘Pilot In Command’. Maybe I understood you wrong.
Chris Palmer´s last blog ..Aviator90 and ORBX= Pure Awesome
Chris, this guy does not read the post and comment.
Agent Deepak´s last blog ..Shoe Money System is Coming
I think he was trying to be funny…hopefully
This has been kind of an eye opener for me!I started a blog on fashion related stuff just because I love fashion and I love to write!However as you have mentioned I am “under the weather” since a month or so!!!Suddenly I stopped getting ideas for my blog(after my blog got a PR of 1…yes I am a SEO novice-in- progress) and so there goes my blog ! But somehow after reading your article, I thought I should buck up and get going !
Thanks Chris especially because the way you have written this—-I treat my blog like a job has made me realize that my blog badly needs some TLC!!
Priya´s last blog ..Merry X’mas & Happy New Year!
Rock on!
My wife is also into fashion type stuff but she’s very new to all of this. It’s very difficult for her to come up with ideas and blog about them. It takes time, experience, and then some guts to just DO IT.
I’m glad this article did well for you.
Now, about SEO. SEO is so mysterious. Yes, we know some ways that it works, but no one REALLY knows what Google and others are targeting (the big picture, everything). Therefore I just write what I love and then I talk and comment on other blogs and get the inbound links.
SEO is something I’d worry about later down the road if you’re having trouble even writing content.
With that said, it’s also important to be validated for what you do.
Chris Palmer´s last blog ..Aviator90 Course Outline
Really agree. We as PIC our our blog that decide what happen for our blog. Will it be success or will it be die.
Dana @ Blogging Update´s last blog ..Effective Way to Learn From Favorite Blogs
A best article which says u r responsible for evrything that comes on ur blog, Wether its succeess or failure in blogging.The positives & negatives well explained.Also no one in world will be ready to eat a half cooked dish. The comparision of a blog with a flight & its actions is really good.
krish´s last blog ..Tips to Increase Your Sales through Online Videos
Thanks Krish!
Chris Palmer´s last blog ..Aviator90 Course Outline
My focus for my blog is to be the PIC as long as I can be. Along the way, hopefully there will be a lot of people who would like to be my co pilot and help me to take control of my plane.
However, we still have to face problem that we couldn’t avoid . The best thing that we can do is we must make sure that we have taken action the best as we can earlier on in order to prepare us for the future risks and uncertainties.
Yah, I agree with you that great thing does not happen overnight. Everything in this world starts from scratch.
Before we can be a pilot, we still have to be the co pilot. And even though we have become a pilot, we still have to start from small plane then big plane.
Cheers!
You took the analogy much further and I totally agree! By being a guest poster, you are being a co-pilot. Awesome.
Chris Palmer´s last blog ..Aviator90 Course Outline
Why not? Certainly agree with you about the PIC but what happen when the PIC need to take a leave@holidays. What happen to the blog?
lunaticg´s last blog ..Treasure gold coin found in Japan
Have a good enough blog that you can count on a few guest posters OR have your posts scheduled in the future, and have a trusted friend do some commenting and interaction for you.
It’s important to take breaks, so there needs to be strategy there. I also believe it’s best that you get to go on vacation or holiday without having to worry about getting on and posting or commenting. Clearing your mind will reveal some things you can get done with your blog when you get back. This can be a more important time for your blog than actually being on the blog and posting.
Chris Palmer´s last blog ..Aviator90 Course Outline
Chris I think you should change your blog theme as this one is really looking dirty.
The biggest challenge for every blogger is turning casual visitors into loyal visitors. Once you will be able to do that … you do not have to worry any more. Because those loyal visitors will spread your message to world wide and in that case this will work as multiply instead of multiplication.
So you should concentrate on those method which help multiplication not in addition.
ZK @ Web Marketing Blog´s last blog ..Why you don’t have to be a “make money” blogger to make a living from blogs
Word of mouth marketing is certainly the best way to go. That’s why quality content is so important. I’ve also noticed the controversial topics do really well in this area.
About my Theme: Yes, it’s dirty and doesn’t look super good right now. Difference is that it is free. I’m not against buying a theme like Thesis. I’m actually looking into getting it professionally designed.
I wanted to have Koko do it, but I don’t know how to get a hold of him.
Chris Palmer´s last blog ..Aviator90 Course Outline
I am impressed with the content of the article. I have been trying this method and I have seen some real improvements. This method is very useful.hey really awesome post thanks for that really you show awesome good keyword point about that point. your discussion is also very interesting thanks for that .this is full of awesomeness.thanks for that post…thanks by heart..:)
Yes! You are absolutely right! As i’m a student, sometimes i really cannot put more effort on my blog. I still need to concentrate to my study first. However, i will try my best to do the best for both! Thanks for sharing!
Kok Siong Chen´s last blog ..9 Steps of Peritoneal Cancer Progression
As with everything, we all have priorities. Nothing wrong with having some greater than a blog.
Chris Palmer´s last blog ..Curiosity Killed the Pilot
I agree with you that great thing does not happen overnight. Everything in this world starts from scratch and with some hard work
robert´s last blog ..Factory Partitions
It’s the old adage, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’.
Chris Palmer´s last blog ..Curiosity Killed the Pilot
Thank you for posting this author’s stellar article. I love the analogy of writer as P.I.C. As a poet, this article really helped me to see that I’m doing just about everything negative with my blog possible. I never really thought of my blog as a Tool to help me advance my career.
I think part of my problem is that I shy away from attention, but now that I quit one of my part-time jobs last week, I’m finally focusing a big part of my day only on my writing career.
This article couldn’t have come at a better time for me.
Thanks for helping me improve my leadership role as the #1 of my blog.
Cheers,
P.D. Gourlais
Awesome Post
SmashinGeeks´s last blog ..Best Translators for Better Blogging Experience
I’ve been reading your posts for the last couple of hours, and it all has been really informative and nicely written. I did want to let you know that for some reason this post doesn’t appear to work in Internet Explorer. On a side note, I had been wondering should you wanted to swap blogroll links? I hope to hear from you soon!
I can definitely relate to what you are saying here. Keeping readers, and yourself, engaged is incredibly challenging, even for the more avid writer. Thank you for sharing your thoughts here.
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