This is an email I sent out to my early notification list for the launch of Blog Mastermind. The mentoring program is coming along smoothly and thanks to the help of a bunch of talented people we should have the program ready for the first group of students by the end of May.
If you are interested in learning more about the mentoring program, what to be first to find out when it launches and would like to receive blogging advice like the article you are about to read then you better get over to BlogMastermind.com and sign-up to the email list.
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I did an interview about blogging and I was asked for my number one recommendation to give new bloggers. I thought back to my early days blogging and the main sources of discouragement I faced.
The most frustrating aspect was watching other bloggers making good money online and making very little from my own blog at the time. There were a particular few moments where I remember thinking I would throw in the towel because I felt I really wasn’t getting anywhere.
I usually felt worst when another blogger talked about their success and I felt I was working just as hard as them and not getting nearly as good results, or just after attempting to make some money from my blog and earning absolutely zero.
What is interesting was when I felt BEST about blogging, and it’s this point I want to really ram home to you today, especially if you are still in your first six months of blogging or about to begin.
Giving Mindset
During my first six months of blogging I did a lot of writing while working night shifts at a computer help-desk I was working at in my university library.
It was a great job because nights were very quiet in terms of needing to help people, so I spent most of the time writing my first pillar articles, which you can still find in the early archives of this blog.
I made a conscious decision during the period to expect absolutely nothing in return for blogging, just the enjoyment of writing my ideas and interacting with the blogosphere. I didn’t expect any money, or comments, or anything and focused on giving through the power of words.
I understood, even back then, that in order to earn rewards I had to give first. It was through helping others that I would eventually build a readership and then, at a later time, I could focus on how to make money.
What was amazing about this attitude was how much of a boost I got every time I did “earn” something.
If someone left a comment, or another blog trackbacked my post or linked to my article, or people downloaded my podcast and said they enjoyed it, or sent me an email, or my traffic increased, I just felt great.
There is something to be said for doing an activity for the purpose of giving with no expectations of anything in return. It’s very hard to feel any sense of dissatisfaction with this attitude in place, which is why I recommend all new bloggers adopt it.
Remember this is just a conscious choice you can make. It’s not a religion or a trick to fool yourself, it’s simply a mindset you can apply to make the early days of blogging pleasurable even when you make no money.
What’s also great about this attitude is how it affects the quality of your writing. With no motivation for anything in return you can blog naturally without any bias or a need to write about things that might make you money.
Ironically, it’s with this attitude that you build a foundation that will likely make you more money than if you focused all the time on content with income as your main motivation. Stick to giving, slowly build a readership, enjoy expressing yourself and I guarantee in time your blog will realize your financial goals as well.
Yaro Starak
Still Giving
wow, that’s just right on target and I felt the same way also. Good advice that it’s the attitude that we should concentrate on and to have that paradigm shift is the way to go! wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Great article Yaro! Unfortunately, most people tend to get the order wrong. They expect results now, before the price has been paid.
Your attitude is right on.
Yea That is the attitude one has to have to be successful. I say the first year should be about the enjoyment of blogging after that if you feel you have reached a point where it can become profitable thats even better.
Hi Yaro
I completely aggree. I started blogging as a ‘test’ about 18 months ago, as I was being assessed for my day job (ie whether to keep me on or not due to incurable illness). I was fortunate in this respect, as I was not allowed to work during this period, so I had all the ‘time’ in the world to explore the online world and blogging seemed the easiest way to start.
So there I began my ‘selfhelp’ blog and my ‘resellers delight’ blog. Yes, postings have been inconsistent, and not frequent enough – but as health improves, this is changing and I am growing the blogs – to WordPress soon with lots of web2.0 based tools
My point? I began with the exact mindset you note. I didn’t expect anything in return. And the thrill of just receiving one comment, or a few visitors, even without promoting my sites is fantastic – ‘intrinsic value’, rather than ‘extrinsic value’ (such as money focus).
Now that I have been ‘retired’ from my Govt job, I have to think about earning a living onine now – so my mindset needs to be adapted. But I still keep finding myself posting, and searching for hours for free downloads (my ‘goodies basket policy’) for my readers – value and save time for them.
I still don’t have many visitors, as still yet to promote fully. But I have spent weeks learning about the new ‘attention age’ and conversational and relationship based marketing. Setting things up. So, while I am not ‘earning money’, I see this as setting up the basis to earn money in the future, by providing value and not hard-selling (and also using blogging as my main platforms!).
I still love to ‘give’ more rather than sell. But I must in order to survive – so I will still ‘overdeliver’ and give – to balance out this incongruency in my mindset
BTW – I have written a comment for the ‘attention age’ post you made (but it has turned out so long to be a rough article initself! I may post it anyway, and you can edit, moderate, or just keep it for records!
Thanks again for such quality information!
Kind Regards
Megan
Adelaide, South Australia
Hi Yaro -
I’m envious, you had time to wrtie blog posts while at your job? I’d love to have that luxury.
Hi Yaro,
I agree totally with that viewpoint. I’ve written over 400 posts on business tips and strategies on my own blog. Purely because I love writing and helping people – yes you’ve guessed it I’m also a coach!
And what’s more I love where I live (Manchester) so I blog about that too. Like you orginally I had no thought to make money there. The blog is at http://www.manchester-blog.com and it probably could only be of interest to the 400,000 Mancunions – but I like doing it and yes it now makes me a little money too.
Jim