Pep Talk for Beginner Bloggers
One big lesson I’ve learned about blogging is that you can’t worry too much about what other’s think. It’s just like life, you have to row your own boat and not let anyone else get in your way. Blogging can be kind of scary at first because you could be talking to the whole world… but then again, you could be talking to no one but yourself. (and you will be in the beginning!) You have to just do your own thing. Remember, it’s YOUR blog and no one else has the right to tell you what to do with it.
Over the past 2 months, I’ve had some e-mails from many people who’ve used the Free Blog Tutorial and now have blogs. Some don’t quite dare to take that first step and go public with thier blogs… and some have stopped altogether. I know there’s a lot of pressure for beginner bloggers because I’m going thru it myself. All I can do is give you a sisterly “pep talk” and tell you don’t give up, and don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
My circumstances are a little different because I bought this blog. Blogs are like a business… in fact they ARE a business if it’s a monetized blog. You can either start your own business from the ground up or you can invest in one that is already established. Since I had the money, I chose to buy MomsCashBlog. One of the perks is that an established blog has built-in traffic, but that also meant every mistake I made was very obvious and got noticed. (and I’ll make more mistakes along the way, and they will be noticed too! LOL)
When you start your blog you won’t have to worry about your mistakes being noticed by everyone. You can go at your own pace and things will fall into place for you as you go along. When you do make mistakes… and you will make mistakes because that’s part of life and the learning process… then you just fix them and keep right on going. It’s no big deal! You have to make your posts, do what you can to build traffic, and learn all you can about blogs by visiting other blogs.
If you’re worried about others watching and waiting for you to make a mistake, that means paranoia has set in. You have to change your mindset and remember you are in charge of yourself and your blog. No one wants you to fail. If anyone really IS waiting for you to make mistakes, then THEY have big problems, not you! Never let others dictate what you do or how you live your life.
If you’ve stopped posting for a while, that’s OK, too. It doesn’t mean you failed. How can you fail at a blog? You own it, you can do what you want with it. Would you quit work because you missed a few days? No, of course you wouldn’t! (although I’ve had employees who’ve done that and it drove me crazy! LOL) You just start back up and get back into the game. But if you decide blogging isn’t right for you or if it’s stressing you out, then quit doing it! It’s a decision you have to make on your own, but DON’T beat yourself up and consider yourself a failure! That is self abuse and it’s unhealthy.
I find one of the best blogs for getting advice and confidence is www.bloggernoob.com. The Noob is laid back and witty and will get you feeling good about blogging in no time. He’s the real deal! While some bloggers try to tell you there are “rules” to blogging and if you don’t stick to the rules no one will ever come to your site… the Noob reminds you that there are no rules to blogging. He encourages you to try everything but lets you know that it’s no big deal if something doesn’t work out as planned. Just try something else! The noob gives me confidence.
We all need a good pep talk every now and then, so go to whoever gives you confidence when you need it. Remember that other bloggers want to help you succeed and no one is waiting for you to fail. There’s nothing wrong with being a beginner and in my opinion, there is no way that you can fail at blogging. You either do it, or you don’t! It’s as simple as that! Good luck and enjoy your blogging experience!
Comments
Blog for yourself. As long as you are happy the you are blogging good.
thanks for the pep talk JJ
Thanks JJ. I needed that! I am a little nervous to start mine as I am a perfectionist to begin with. I read making a launch date is a good way to jump in to blogging.
I need this too. It seems like there are a lot more men, or boys rather,doing blogs than women. They can be harsh with comments.
Tom.. that is exactly what I was trying to say!
Noob.. No, Thank YOU…
Gail… good idea to have a launch date.
Sandy… Hi, you’d be surprised how many women there are running blogs. Good luck.
[...] Pep Talk for Beginner BloggersOne big lesson I’ve learned about blogging is that you can’t worry too much about what other’s think. It’s just like life, you have to row your own boat and not let anyone else get in your way. Blogging can be kind of scary at first … [...]
Thanks a lot..! Absolutely fantastic advices and very useful information…
[...] Comment on Pep Talk for Beginner Bloggers by Making-Money » Making …Pep Talk for Beginner BloggersOne big lesson I’ve learned about blogging is that you can’t worry too much about what other’s think. It’s just like life, you have to row your own boat and not let anyone else get in your way. … [...]
Shafar…..I’m glad I found your site, Money Bookmarks … It has some very useful info for beginners like me. Thanks!
Sandy…..I also wanted to tell you not to worry about negative comments. (Most people make very nice comments and it gives you a boost of confidence!) But you can always turn your comments off in the beginning if you think they’ll effect you….and you can moderate the comments and not let some go thru if you choose to. (I believe in freedom of speech so I let them ALL show) When you get a blog do whatever you want. it’s YOUR blog.
Hi JJ,
we came across your video on “pings” on the video tutorial of Blogger. We are new to blogging and have home-schooled our skills from just trial and error and all the tutorials on Blogger. This has been a journey and adventure and our goal is to just learn the basics. Making money is not the goal, at least not now.
We came across your video on “Ping”. Do you have a followup video with a visual demonstration of which websites, and how to sign up to have our blogs “pinged”? You mentioned pinggoat.com but it didn’t seem to work. not sure what happened. Would you offer a more detailed step-by-step for dummies?
We’ve bookmarked your site so we’ll be visiting often to continue honing and homeschooling our new skills!
Thanks.
Alicia & Christine
Hi Alicia & Christine… The video you watched was made by the previous owner of MCB.. but if you have WordPress I can help you. Just go to the Ping article and COPY all of the links in the post. Then go into WordP)ress and go to “settings” (over to the right.. top) and then click on “writing” (second line in from the left.. at the top).. scroll down and INSERT what you copied into the display box at the bottom (below “Update Searches” and above right above “Save Changes”) After it’s all inserted, click on Save Changes!! and it’s done!
Now when you make a post look down at to see if comments and pings is checked off… you don’t have to ping after each post.. it will do it automatically.. but Ping whenever you make a change or edit a post. Good Luck. and see you around! JJ
Yeah initial days are very crucial. You saw that someone comment on your blog and you immediately want to see what she/he writes and you read either some junky stuff or may be spam.
But if you keep motivating your self and keep posting than after few months (say 2 – 3 months) you will be able to see real human beings are commenting on your blog and they now recognise you and very soon they become the frequent visitors of your blogs.
But first month is like a shrink, dark lane. Just pass that one and you will get the light.
This one is applicable to every field. Not only to this one. If you will start new business than this bump road will also come to your field as well.
Just keep these things going on, if someone is not reading that you should keep writing at least for yourself.
If you will be able to start with the suitable planning and outline. Than I am sure you will be able to get maximum results from them.
But you must follow these plans and regulations. You cant take it lightly if you want to get the success. Just stick with the thumb rules and you will get the success.