Is this like a blogger's theme song or something?
For real.
Do bloggers have secrets? You don't say.
There are several secrets bloggers are not happy about revealing such as but not limited to the fact that when you start blogging, you're not going to be Lego Movie's "The Special" overnight.
At times you might even find yourself feeling like you're stuck in the Kragle instead. No blogger I know will ever tell you that it takes years to develop your voice and readership.
Unless you're already a celebrity who starts a blog, the real deal holyfield truth of blogging success is that you should probably be realistic with what you're getting yourself into. The fact of the matter is that a normal person should put their blog business on a five year to ten year success plan. The very same goes for making money at it as well. Is it possible? Ummm.... yes. Is it slightly unrealistic to expect to make money at it even after two years? Ummm... yes. Define success anyway. From blogger to blogger, the definition of a blog's success varies greatly.
Take this for example. One day you wake up and decide to start a blog about your passion in life. This is typically how most start. Now consider this. Have you ever ran a blog before? I think not. It's going to take you a while to learn your craft right down to how to do things, write things and design things. Also, as most bloggers consider your new blog the future competition, there are very few informative sites out there that are willing to put their secrets out there for you to replicate. Some, however, that I happen to find valuable are
Pro Blogger,
Spice Up Your Blog &
iFabbo.
With all that being said, here's why I don't care
and am helping you...
1- With great risk or power comes great success or responsibility, just stated Spiderman. Those bloggers that remember you helping them with their start will more than likely continue to give you blog and social media love even when they've grown themselves. The way I view it is that us bloggers are a team who also happen to understand the importance of making connections. We're all in this bandwagon together taking a journey from Crazy Town to Extreme Successville.
Furthermore, the people and companies who have worked with me before considerable success will continue to benefit greatly when page hits increase. Honey, you can't break these bonds and connections I've made even if you were Thor swinging a mjolnir at my blog. There's a few handfuls of people I enjoy working with and it honestly doesn't benefit them if I work with hundreds of lines in the future. Plus it makes my job even more confusing. For example, I might work with say five shoe lines total. Ever. I don't want you buying everyone under the sun's shoes. I want you to buy from the ones that have shown me kindness as I have a vested interest in their success. Okay, back to the main points...
2- There is no way for one person to replicate another person's blog and marketing tactics exactly. Unless you can literally, figuratively or physically crawl up into my strange brain, replicating me to a T ain't happening.
3- If you build it, they will come. Some bloggers don't know for sure what they're building. As a former marketing and advertising consultant, I see value in what you're doing, whether you realize it or not. Back in the day, print advertising was hot and everyone wanted to know the circulation rates. Clients wanted to know exposure and basically what they were getting for their money. Makes sense, right? In essence, bloggers are building digital ad agencies. We're talking writing & promotional services, digital ad space, social media marketing and such. All of the things that you're doing as a blogger can be monetized. But in the end, Kevin Costner, you can't be charging clients if you're not proving value by way of numerous page hits.
Rock on, friends. Secrets or not.
