Now before you start getting angry at me for determining what you’re ready for, let me explain why I made the title what it is.
In the last 2 years of blogging I have seen 2 fatal flaws which hinder almost every blogger from becoming successful. These flaws are nasty and sometimes seem overwhelming.
Occasionally they are our excuse for being mediocre, slowing down, or even quitting. Usually if it is not one of the flaws it is the other that hampers success and makes blogging sometimes feel impossible. The 2 fatal flaws I am talking about are Effort and Knowledge.
EFFORT – Fatal Flaw #1
Right now you are either angry at such an accusation or feeling a little guilty. I know that no one wants to hear it, but sometimes we are not putting enough effort into actually being successful. Think of it this way “A lot of bloggers put time into blogging, but that is different then putting effort into successful blogging.”
To gauge whether your effort is enough to be successful, evaluate what sort of energy you are putting into your blog. Are you spending lots of time but putting little effort towards improving it? Do you half-heartedly write posts because you have to? Deciding if you are putting in 100% effort into your blog is a vital step in overcoming mediocrity and becoming successful.
Don’t catch yourself filling your blogging with useless activities that only fill your schedule but improve your blog very little. Focus your efforts on doing the hard things that will make your blog the best.
KNOWLEDGE – Fatal Flaw #2
Having just read about effort, you might be feeling good about yourself and the effort you have been putting in or perhaps you made a startling realization. If you are not successfully blogging but giving 100%, your problem is Knowledge. You either do not know the right information or enough information to blog successfully.
It is common throughout blogging to have many “ah-ha” moments in which we realize that we have been missing a vital element in our process. For me, one of these moments came when I was working on a blog and finally came to the realization that I had never used social media for my blog promotion. Wow… what a difference that bit of knowledge made to my blog.
To fix this flaw you have many resources. One of the very best things you can do is to sign up for Blogussion’s email updates. You will get targeted information that will help you continue your learning and increase your knowledge.
The #1 Traffic Tip
You might now be ready for the most important tip for getting traffic to your blog. If you are willing to put in 100% effort (not just reading posts and not commenting, twittering about nothing, and spending days on nit-picky design elements without publishing great content) and learn from some of the best bloggers around you just might be ready to go to the next level of blogging.
The most essential element to increasing your traffic dramatically is by “THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX“.
Thinking outside the box requires 100% effort and lots of knowledge to create custom traffic plans to bring in massive amounts of readers. Only you can create this plan for your specific blog and niche. Think about your blog’s goals, style and current traffic trends to develop something particular to your blog. Trust me, it will work.
Here are a few examples:
- Guest Post – every week no matter what. This will dramatically increase your blog’s backlinks, authority and outreach. I have met many new blogging friends and gained lots of visitors from guest posting regularly. Build a rigid schedule and stick to it for maximum results.
- Email Other Bloggers – send out a new friendly email daily to different bloggers within your niche or those who might be able to benefit from your expertise. A good example of this includes my friend Cheryl who sent me a very nice email complimenting me on my blog and offering some very honest critiques to my writing. I was so impressed that I asked her to guest post on my blog and offered her some great exposure. Be complimentary, kind and offer your expertise because they will love it.
- Email Commentators – send emails to first time commentators, answer questions or point them to more material they might be interested in. Make sure your emails are personal and helpful so that your new commentator will appreciate your email and want to return/link to your blog.
Now these are just 3 of the 1,000’s of ideas you can come up with for your blog’s content promotion. Be clever, kind and sincere and your efforts will be successful. Just remember to “Think Outside of the Box” and work hard to give 100% effort with maximum knowledge. Not only will your readers thank you, but your stats will too.
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Guest blogging is huge – a great win/win for both parties. Very good wisdom here Seth – now how do I go about guest posting for Blogussion?
Matt @ Life Without Pants´s last blog ..How Transparent Are You? (Online)
Guest Posting is great for your blog and ours… just go to Guest Post Guidelines to read the submission requirements, come up with an awesome post, and let us know.
Seth W´s last blog ..#1 Traffic Tip You Are Not Ready For
Thanks Seth for the post. Liked your style of writing. I’m gonna work on those flaws.
HAVOC MARKETING´s last blog ..It Happens TODAY at 12:00 NOON EST
Thanks for the compliment. Working on the flaws we have are the only things we can do to improve our blogging!
Seth W´s last blog ..#1 Traffic Tip You Are Not Ready For
I think fatal flaw #1 is the most common one among most bloggers. We -that’s right, I’m in that bus too- are too lazy sometimes and expect success to come knock our door. that ain’t gonna happen if we don’t step up and go for it.
Great post, Seth!
Héctor | Blogging Diary´s last blog ..7 Wordpress Plugins That Engage!
Hey Seth! I remember the first time I commented on your blog you sent me an email thanking me for my comment. That was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen in the blogosphere! Now I visit your site regularly and read every article. This is something I just started doing on my site.
Nick Tart | JuniorBiz´s last blog ..JuniorBiz in Local Newspapers – JJ Entry #22
Thanks. Being sincere and personal goes such a long way. If we focus on our readers increased traffic is a natural next step.
Great tips, although every time I think I’m trying to think “outside the box” I usually discover that I am still inside the box….does that make sense
Matt Harris´s last blog ..Self-Promotion Day Winner!
Matt… I totally can understand. I think the best way to think outside of the box is by focusing on your readers as #1. You will come up with totally new ways to please them based on your niche and personality. If you try to use the same old methods you’ll get the same old results. Try to please your readers the best you know how and you will find new ways to do it.
I guess the morale of this article is: “Nothing comes by itself”, and I suppose that’s true. Despite having great content, users doesn’t come unless you market it properly.
I look at this article as one of those “damn, I already knew that deep inside me, but I never really thought actually doing it”-articles. You know, stuff that seems to obvious, but you just don’t think about it/do it, until you are reminded. Such reminders are important from time to time, so thank you
Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..How-To: iTunes TV Shows & Movies For Non-US Citizen
The guest posting sounds like an excellent idea. I’m seeing more and more bloggers suggesting this. This not only increases your back-links, but also helps you build authority for your blog.
How To Easy – Jake´s last blog ..How To Get Better Gas Mileage MPG | Saving Money
I like the article man. Whats your blog’s URL? I want to check it out.
I have been procrastinating about guest posting for a while. I just don’t have much time because I’m just a part time blogger. Another great thing is to use article marketing. If your article gets picked up by many blogs you will get a lot of authority and many back-links.
Jake | Web Journey´s last blog ..Create Great Articles When English is Your Second Language
Jake – you already have been to one of my blogs. I write at Blogging Agenda but am currently transitioning into partner here at Blogussion. Thanks for the compliment and article marketing is a fantastic way to grow your blog.
Yea, I noticed that after my comment. I didn’t see your comment avatar. Why don’t you use the one that you use for Blogussion as the one for your comments?
Jake | Web Journey´s last blog ..Full Feed or Summary?
I especially liked the fact that you mentioned how “A lot of bloggers put time into blogging, but that is different then putting effort into successful blogging.”
I have come to observe this phenomenon for maybe 20 or so bloggers in my 2 year blogging career. they really do try their best but they are not aiming at anything, sooner or later, they realize that they need to further explore out of their usual zones. Most of them make it, some, well let’s just say they didn’t meet their expectations.
Good work Seth! It’s my first time to meet you, what’s your url? Just a little suggestion you can improve the post title to meet with the overall topic you’ve written. It doesn’t seem to match your first couple of paragraphs. Just a suggestion
Liane YoungBlogger´s last blog ..Optimizing Your Search Engine Results By Establishing Blog Connections
Liane – thanks for your suggestion about the title. The observation you suggested is exactly what I am talking about. Lots of hard work, but little direction.
My blog has been Blogging Agenda but I am a new partner here at Blogussion. Hope you like the articles that I will continue to produce here!
I’ve emailed two other bloggers this week about writing guest posts on their blogs. I haven’t received a reply back from either one yet but I’m very optimistic and I’m going to keep trying. I’m still new so it’s going to take some time to prove myself and build a solid reputation as an expert in my field. Thanks for the advice here and for the encouragement.
Nicholas Z. Cardot´s last blog ..Blogging Basics: What Exactly is a Blog?
That is great! Keep trying and you will be amazed at the results! You can write a guest post for anyone you want if you focus on what their readers would want.
If you need any help coming up with ideas for guest posts on the big blogs… let me know and I can help. I have guest posted on most of my favorite blogs and a lot of the top 25!
I never have a hard time coming up with ideas. I have about 30 or 40 solid topics for the ‘blogging tips’ niche that I haven’t written on yet that I could start on right now.
Also, Daniel over at Daily Blog Tips said that he was happy with my article submission and that he would be featuring it on his site on Sept. 6. I can’t wait! Darren Rowse was less accommodating. Go figure. LOL. Someday, much like that big hair stylist in the Zohan movie, he will regret not having me! LOL.
Nicholas Z. Cardot´s last blog ..I Stopped Using Nofollow & You Should Too!
Congrats on the guest post! The deal with Problogger is that he gets so many guest post ideas that he can and will be very selective. I mean if you got 100 emails an hour… (as he claims) then you would be getting a ton of offers from bloggers about all kinds of stuff. I would imagine he is getting at least 10-15 guest post proposals a day!
I’m sure that’s exactly what it is. I’m not too upset about it because as you say he gets tons of emails a day for stuff like that. I just figured what if somehow my one in a million odds played out and he featured my article. I figured I wouldn’t be out anything by trying.
Nicholas Z. Cardot´s last blog ..I Stopped Using Nofollow & You Should Too!
Great idea seth. I having been looking to launch my gues-posting campaign. This post is a good reminder.
My opinion is that guest posting is good, but we need to first of all put in time to build our own blog to an appreciable level before thinking about it. Failure to do so would be like pouring water into a basket, as the traffic gained would only be a flash.
I’m doing my blog now. When am done, I’ll be heading for some blogs in my niche, then blogussion – hopefully. Nice content seth. And are you now aboard blogussion as a partner?
Ugo.jar
http://www.javamobilecrunch.com
Building your blog is important but readers will stick around if you look like you have a lot of potential. Additionally the links and traffic will help you to refine your topic and really create a niche.
@Seth: Great article, I don’t really have a schedule of writing a post a day, emailing 1 blogger a day or writing a guest post a week, may be some organization can definitely improve my blogs. Hope to see more great articles from you.
Jeet´s last blog ..Manual Directory Submission
Fatal Flaw one has been my problem from day one. I can always find something that needs to be done rather than writing a blog post.
Dean Saliba´s last blog ..We’re Not Just About Making Money
Definitely… there are a million things to do and see on the internet. Sometimes what seems like promotion turns into a lot of wasted time on social media sites. I know if I am not careful stumbleupon can waste all kinds of time!
Are you suggesting having guest posts on your own blog or going out and writing guest posts on other blogs? I have done both and have seen an increase in traffic from both options. Just looking for clarification on your point.
passive family income´s last blog ..9 Reasons Why a Single Income is NOT a Good Idea
Nice question. I think guest posts on your blog can definitely help, but I was specifically referring to guest posting on others blogs. If you could discipline yourself to a guest post a week you would see a serious increase in traffic and quality backlinks… trust me!
A great and true post..
I like the Guest Posting part.. once a week no matter what.. yeah right !
Enk.´s last blog ..CHIDIMAR is getting New Looks
Enk – you can do it! I like to sit down and brainstorm what blog’s I want to guest post for. Once I have a list of at least 4 or 5 I then spend time brainstorming posts that would fit each blog. Once I have about 3 options for posts per blog I become more selective.
Once I have my options I choose the first one and send an email to the blog owner with a topic, sub-points and timeframe. If they are willing to consider the post I write it up and send it over. Then just do this for each guest post option you wrote down. Soon you have a guest post for every week of the month!
Wow! Thanks for the mention, Seth! I didn’t notice this was your post until I followed the link to my own blog. I figured it was some other Cheryl.
If my blog fails, it will be because I’m spending too much time reading how to do it and not enough time adding and improving blog content. Time to set a posting schedule and stick to it! Thanks for the nudge.
Cheryl´s last blog ..And now? Surfing Snails!
Your welcome.. You are a great example of “thinking outside the box”. I know you will do so well with your blog!
Really fabulous posting. Let me try this tips for my blogs too. Thanks.
Joel christ´s last blog ..Welcome to AJ Classifieds V3
Funny thing. My latest blog post was about guest blogging.
Excellent strategy I must say. It can even grow into a successful
business relationship in the future.
~Igor
Mastermind Internet Marketing´s last blog ..How To Get Other Bloggers To Guest Post On Your Blog
Seth,
I really like the way you lay it out there. You are so right that there a lot of bloggers who simply do not want to do the heavy lifting. If it was easy everyone would be doing it. Glad to see you blogging here.
Tycoon Blogger´s last blog ..7 ways to reward your blog commentators
Useful post! Guest posting is a great way to gain traffic and readers for the guest poster as well as a different voice for the blog readers.
Reading your post reminded me of how much i have learned these last few years. It’s amazing how our outlook and perspective completely changes when we learn new things. Truly amazing.
I have to say that I totally agree with you that guest blogging is a great way to go.
That tip alone can expand a blogger’s reach.
Thanks for sharing
Eren
Eren Mckay´s last blog ..Discover how you can organize important office files & papers
Hi! Thank you for the helpful tips. I have a start-up blog. It has been running for less than two months now. It only receives an average of 1000 unique visitors a day and I think I should have attracted more readers given this time period. I will try your tips in order to get a wider audience. Thank you very much.
PS: I am a law student as well
This is a very true and informative post. Through my journey of gaining traffic to your website I’ve found that quality is king.
If you have quality content everything else will follow.
Haven’t really tried Guest Post yet. I don’t even know how it works. Hope you could help
madz´s last blog ..Lady Gaga’s Poker Face