I completed a few interviews recently where podcasters wondered how I built a successful blog.
I got to thinking; what helped me succeed most with my blog? I followed my fun. I dove into my fears with little bursts of bravery.
Watch this quick 40 second video to see me discuss this concept:
I also thought of the years of small, seemingly insignificant actions I engaged in daily to build my blog.
I did so 1 blog comment at a time. I did so 1 guest post at a time. I did so 1 blog post at a time. I made 1 friend at a time. I did 1 interview at a time. I practiced writing 1 day at a time. I took each day in stride.
I embraced 1 blogging failure at a time. I celebrated 1 blogging win at a time.
This is the confusing but proven way to build a successful blog: understanding that successful ventures are built not on spectacular achievements but on the seemingly mundane, routine, sometimes boring actions that you engage in on a daily basis.
I have made mention of basketball superstar Kyrie Irving on this blog a few times. His dribbling and shot making ability leaves people in awe as the public enjoys his game on a worldwide stage but he developed those skills by practicing in a quiet gym, alone, every day, for years, when nobody was watching.
Kyrie has a passion for the game but being human, I betcha he got bored of practicing the same moves for hours at a time. But he knew becoming a wild success depended on him practicing the same movies, again and again, allowing his repetition and dedication to his craft to make him great.
Skills do pay the bills. To develop skills you need to work intelligently, persistently and religiously, even when practicing feels boring or mundane.
Confusing?
Most bloggers find this idea confusing because most bloggers believe success happens after receiving some magical big break or some lucky circumstance that lands you on the big stage.
As a guy who has been featured on many world famous blogs and 1 major media outlet I can assure you that success found me because I practiced developing my blogging skills daily for years. Often times, when nobody or few people were watching.
Writing a 3 paragraph comment on a blog at 12:05 AM after a long day of work does not feel sexy or inspiring all of the time. Sometimes it feels boring. Or like drudge work.
But the folks who see through this drudge work and persistently create and connect are the ones who get featured on Virgin and Forbes and Entrepreneur. Or even if they do not get featured on world famous sites they see the steadily increasing, fulfilling success that few bloggers ever see because these folks realize that stunning success finds the diligent blogger who does the seemingly insignificant things that lead to significant accomplishments.
Practical Tips
- read 10 blogs related to your niche today
- comment on those 10 blogs, posting a 2-3 paragraph, thoughtful piece of content
- write and submit 1 guest post to a top blog from your niche today
- promote 10 top bloggers from your niche today
- feature 2 to 5 top bloggers from your niche via your 1-2 blog posts this week
- write 1000 words daily in a Word document – just for practice – and trash the document to detach from your writing
I have fun blogging. I inject passion into my blog posts, guest posts, blog comments, videos and reviews. But I also do the non-sexy, sometimes mundane things that most bloggers avoid doing because I know that building a successful blog requires me to do stuff few bloggers do.
If you do things that most bloggers skip because these actions seem insignificant or boring you will slowly and steadily become a significant player in your blogging niche.