First, the movie worthy life.
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I circled the globe for the past 8 years as an island hopping pro blogger. My life unfolds a bit like a movie. I also wrote 100 plus bite-sized eBooks and have been featured on world famous sites.
But this crazy, intense, funny, death-defying stuff happened during my travels, too, adding to movie-worthiness:
27 of My Most Netflix Worthy Colorful Travel Experiences
Living your dreams requires you to break some blogging rules. Maybe most. Or perhaps you break some and honor others.
Make your own decisions based on your intuition. Only you know rules to follow and rules to not follow.
Peep these 4 blogging rules I broke to live a movie worthy life.
1: I Have No Email List
Currently, I have no email list. I did list build for a few years but the number was so genuinely tiny that my list had no influence on my blog.
Think thru why you list build. Does it feel good? Or bad? I felt list building to be heavy, a chore, so I let go this energetic anchor and my blog took off.
People follow your blog and buy your stuff whether via email links or by bookmarking your blog, or whether a carrier pigeon carries a note with your link on it, and drops it onto your back porch. Who cares? All roads lead to Rome, and your blog. If you do not believe people will bookmark your blog, that is your self worth issue.
Alonzo Pichardo became super duper successful through word of mouth marketing, and by paying little attention to lists, stats and all that jazz. Which brings me to rule #2.
2: I Do Not Check Metrics
OK; I did twice. Once by accident. I saw my DA. Once to….hmm…I forget why. So long ago.
In 5 years of Blogging From Paradise I checked metrics twice, moons ago. I have no idea what my blog does traffic-wise and profits-wise because neither matters. Having fun helping people guarantees my success. Checking or God-forbid, obsessing over stats, indicates:
- deep fears
- a severe lack of trust
- hellish outside-in living
Consider long and hard if you find yourself observing stats too frequently; let go the energetic anchor. Feel good. See greater success.
Success is not numbers on a screen. Success is helping people and building friendships through generous service.
3: I Write on Bizarre But Helpful Topics
I wrote an entire eBook on this topic:
7 Blogging Lessons I Learned from 2 Thai Lady Boy Prostitutes
No blogging tips blogger covered that one, prior to me.
Of course the bulk of my work consists of covering simple, practical blogging tips, but I spice things up to:
- entertain
- inform, through the powerful teacher of sharing analogies
- create a 1 of a kind brand not see anywhere else on planet earth
Delve into colorful topics. Spend more time talking about personal experiences that entertain. Cover your blogging niche as no one covers it, here and there, by broaching sometimes bizarre but helpful topics. Stand out like a sore thumb.
4: I Made it About Me a Hefty Chunk of the Time (But to Inspire You and Help You)
I talk about myself quite a bit, first person style, on my blog.
Blogging convention says make it all about your readers, 100% of the time, going the 2nd person route.
I do. But not in 2nd person, and sometimes, I relay my experiences, successes and failures, to inspire you, to help you and to serve you.
I do first person. I do second person. Me. You. Some bloggers advise not to do this but….even though I admire we (different person, again) all have a different journey, have any of these folks lived a life like me?
Solve people’s problems by speaking directly to them and by sharing your wins and losses. Switch it up. Serve, from both a 1st and 2nd person perspective.
Cory runs a blog that perfectly embodies how to share your story and empower other people. Follow him at Curb Free with Cory Lee.
Sue also switches first and second person seamlessly to help her readers at Write Mix for Business.
Bonus Rule Breakers
I fire clients sometimes, I pay little attention to reviews, I do not get caught up in people’s opinion of me and because someone buys my stuff or hires me, I do not believe this gives them any power over me, so I never do the bizarre, fear-based, conditional idea of “the customer is always right.”
I sleep well at night.
Plus, my life is a movie.
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