We Blog Better

Success – You Already Know How to Get There

Tia Peterson — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:00:31 +0000

Some things cannot be presented in a simple, step-by-step guide.

Success is one of them. Take a look at these famous quotes on success.

Eighty percent of success is showing up. ~Woody Allen

Don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally. ~David Frost

Success is blocked by concentrating on it and planning for it…. Success is shy – it won’t come out while you’re watching. ~Tennessee Williams

Those quotes, while very cool, are about as helpful as the saying, “Love shows up when you stop looking for it.”

Um… really?

That stuff is for the movies. It’s all very entertaining – the idea that all you have to do is be yourself and amazing things start happening to you.

The truth is – it all depends on who yourself really is!

What Things Bring Success?

Common sense seems to reign supreme here. If you’ve ever taken any sort of marketing or public relations course, you will not be surprised by anything you read there. It’s the same with blogging (good read: A-list bloggers). It’s all common sense. The specific steps people take toward success may be different, but the underlying principles are the same.

Learn from others – and emulate rather than copy.
Get out from under your own blog. It’s just like with dating, if you EVER want to get a date in your life, you’re probably going to have to lift your rear up off the couch at least once – if only to answer the door. So circulate. Get around. Unlike with dating, you won’t get a bad reputation, I swear. :)
Celebrate when you achieve small goals. The rush of endorphins your brain sends through your body will provide fuel for your next goal.
At some point, you gotta start believing in your own abilities.
Make friends. They help you.
Even people who achieve success in 30 days, do it because they worked their butt off for those 30 days.
Time or money – you gotta have at least one of those things. Even better if you have both. If you have neither, wait until you do.

This Isn’t Another Good Content Speech

I know it’s painful to hear over and over that you just have to have good content. Some of you are probably thinking, “that’s just not helpful enough.” I agree with you there. But at the same time, if you look around, you will find so many examples of good content to learn from. At some point, you have to start drawing some conclusions of your own.

Something Practical You Can Do

I am addicted to things that are practical and usable. I wouldn’t just want this to be something for you to think about. There is something you can do, if you are at a loss of how to become successful as a blogger in your niche.

Instead of looking for a break down of what good content is, try using Google or Wikipedia to find notable bloggers in your niche. Wikipedia especially, will have the term notable bloggers which you can search for. In Google, try searching for “famous [whatever your niche is] bloggers” and see what you come up with.

When you find a few bloggers that are notable in your niche, observe their blogs and make sure you go all the way back to the beginning of their archives so you can see how far they’ve come. Then, create a story of their success in your mind. Fill in the gaps of what you don’t know with common sense. I do this all of the time and am constantly coming up with new ideas – new ways to promote my blog, new ways to present content, and new ways to engage readers.

Conclusion

I don’t want to leave you with a feel-good word or two about how you can create your own path to success. Successful people are proactive and sometimes have to walk with their eyes closed, making stuff up as they go. They don’t always get a cheat sheet. If you’re willing to do that, you will eventually achieve success. Go get it. :)

What’s blocking your success? Is it you?

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Become a Better Blogger

How to Heal Blog-Related Relationship Rifts

Jean — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:00:39 +0000

One of my blogging friends has been taking heat from her hubby because of all the time she spends online. She sees blogging as essential for creating an online business. Her husband sees it as a time-sucking hobby.

The truth is, blogging creates stress in a lot of relationships. Sometimes it’s because the people we care about don’t understand the concept of blogging and are dismissive of our efforts. Other times, it’s because we put blogging front and center in our lives and push our offline relationships to the side. Regardless of the reasons for the cracks in our relationships, if we don’t make an effort to repair and improve things, the damage will continue to grow until things completely crumble.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to heal and grow our relationships, even while we’re growing a blog.

Here are some things that can help:

Make time. Block off chunks of time in your weekly schedule for family and friends. If your schedule is packed with ‘must do’ activities, find ways to include loved ones in activities that are already built into your day, like eating meals, working out, or attending events.

Reach out. Accept responsibility for any distance that’s developed in the relationship and take immediate action to get back on track. (Example: “Ana, I’ve really neglected our friendship these last few months, and I apologize for that. You’re important to me, and I want to spend more time with you. Would you like to have lunch on Wednesday?”).

Focus like a laser beam. Most of us know the importance of using focus in blogging. Now, bring that same focus to your relationships. Be fully present and avoid talking on the phone, text messaging, or getting sucked into any activity that will take your attention off the person you’re with. Show them you’re there for them by maintaining eye contact, complimenting them, and asking questions about their interests.

Speak their language. Most of my friends and family don’t read blogs, are befuddled by the entire concept, and have never even heard of blogging celebrities like Darren Rowse or Leo Babauta. They do understand things like writing articles and marketing products, however, so I’ve started using common terms like these rather than unfamiliar terms like ‘posts’ or ‘social media.’ This one small change has made it easier for the people I care about to feel more comfortable with what I do and talk with me about it.

Tell the truth. Blogging takes time, and much of that time needs to be spent alone to write posts and participate in online activities. Be honest with your loved ones about how much time you need to devote to blogging and how this will cut back on, but not eliminate, your availability. If possible, create a blogging schedule and share it with them so they’ll know what to expect.

Include them. Be on the lookout for creative ways to bridge the gap between blogging and your relationships. Ask your spouse to listen to some headline ideas and pick a favorite. Offer to pay your teenager a dollar for every typo they find on your blog. Have your computer-illiterate aunt visit your site to test out ease of navigation. The more your loved ones can participate in your blogging, the less it will seem like a rival for your time.

Live your values. There will be times that you’ll be tempted to cancel out on your plans with family and friends because something comes up with your blogging. In the end, your actions will show whether you really mean it when you tell your loved ones they’re the most important thing in your world or whether those are merely empty words.

Just like blogging, building a healthy relationship is a marathon and not a sprint. Your relationships won’t travel in a straight line from mediocre to great by next Tuesday. No, you’ll need to practice the twin blogging skills of patience and persistence and enjoy the small steps that make up the journey. And really, that’s what it’s all about–enjoying and sharing our life’s journey, including our love of blogging, with the people we love.

Your turn: Has your love of blogging caused any rifts in your relationships?

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Become a Better Blogger

Soap Opera’s Guide to Blogging

kieshaeasley — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:00:40 +0000

Happy Labor Day!!

Is that meat I smell, burning on your grill? (just kidding!) I hope today, that you are taking the time to enjoy family and friends. I don’t want to take up much of your time, but I thought you might like to check out this guest post I wrote for FamousBloggers:

Unlock the Secrets to an Irresistible Blog: The Soap Opera’s Guide to Blogging

If you enjoy it, please take a moment to retweet or leave a comment of your own.

Have a wonderful holiday!

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Become a Better Blogger

The Entreprenuerial Blogger

kieshaeasley — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:00:19 +0000

Guest post by Wayne Howard

Without a doubt, most of us got into blogging because we wanted to make a lot of money quickly or because we actually had a passion for it. When the “money quick” bunch figured out that the money wasn’t exactly quick or even existent, they either disappeared or converted over to the passionate bunch.

What were they passionate about?

Perhaps making money. However, you could still see the fire in their eyes and that very state sort of reminds me of the same state an entrepreneur needs to be in.

I can almost guarantee that when you first introduced your friends or colleagues into your world of blogging, entrepreneur wasn’t the first word that popped in their head. Most likely it was hobbyist, extreme hobbyist even.

Once you really get deep into blogging, however, hobby was the last word you wanted associated with your blog. Your blog was more akin to a start-up company! When we take a dive into the following values, we see just how similar we are. To be successful, you need to have:

Passion

With any entrepreneurial endeavor, you must have a fiery passion that people can feel. The same can be said for blogging. Without this important attribute, you most likely will not put as much into your work as you could. It’s like having that job that you hate so you only give 75% of yourself. True entrepreneurship needs passion. True bloggers need passion.

Vision

When you are starting a company, one of the first things you sit down and come up with is a vision for where you want your business to go. Where will you be in X amount of years and how will you get there? Well, if you already haven’t thought of this, you need to come up with a vision for your blog. All of our visions are probably to have the best blog in the world, but how will we get there? Just like the entrepreneur, we should have this mapped out somewhere.

Persistence

One of the most well known attributes of an entrepreneur is their persistence. After all, they say an overwhelming majority of most start-ups fail right? The same probably could be said for most new blogs, although it is far easier for us to just reinstall WordPress and start over. Down the road to blogging bliss, we will most likely make a ton of mistakes and get frustrated, but it’s that persistence that keeps us going unlike the “quick money” bunch who left after the first paragraph.

The Ability To Network

Entrepreneurs use networking to build teams, get ideas, bond with mentors, secure investors, and much more. We as bloggers should be doing just as much, if not more, networking as the entrepreneur. Our networking comes in the form social media and communities. We need to be actively building relationships with those virtually around us. The Lone Blogger won’t be a blogger for long most likely.

The Need for Freedom

When the entrepreneur goes to tell his friends that he wants to start his own company, unless they have the same mindset, he or she is usually met with with blank stares. They can’t fathom how anyone could want to start a company when there are so many “wonderful” companies we could be working for. This is what separates the blogger and the entrepreneur from others. While we usually aren’t afraid to drag ourselves to work, we realize that there is a lot more to life than the 9-5. Most of us aren’t able to quit our day jobs just yet, but the point that we envision one day being in control of our own time, doing what we love to do.

Blogging is entrepreneurship, point blank. There is no other way to describe it. If you have a blog and your goal is to have more than your spouse and next door neighbor to read it, you are going to treat it like a business. Once you get into this mindset, you become The Entrepreneurial Blogger.

Your Turn
Have you fully transitioned into The Entrepreneurial Blogger or do you see your blog as more of a hobby? What other values do you think the entrepreneur and the blogger share? Let us know what you think!

Wayne Howard is just a young blogger with an entrepreneurial mind who wants to share what he’s learning with the world. He is the creator of Business & Pleasure and The Blogger’s Atlas Project. Connect with him through twitter @WaynesBNP and on facebook at www.facebook.com/WaynesBNP.

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Become a Better Blogger

I Put the “Pee” in Passion When it Comes to Blogging

kieshaeasley — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:00:54 +0000

I had been working on my blog all morning and while rushing to make some breakfast for my son, I realized my bladder was pounding. I didn’t want to stop cooking – so I was moving as fast as I could.

Then my hubby noticed that I was doing the pee-squirm…

Rather than being compassionate and taking over the breakfast duties, he decided to imitate me and for some reason, in my state of near delirium, I starting laughing… and then I felt my bladder giving out on me and had to make a mad dash for the bathroom. I almost didn’t make it!

After the ordeal, I had to laugh at myself. It was so ridiculous how I waited until the ABSOLUTE last minute. There could’ve been a tragedy… How would I have explained that to my four year old, when I’m constantly fussing at him for doing the very same thing?

I know… shame on me!

But that reminded me of how passionate I am about blogging and writing awesome posts for you. I absolutely love it – so much that I literally almost put the “pee” in passion on my kitchen floor.

I know… in some ways, that’s a bit pathetic (the other-other P-word). But that’s how much I enjoy what I’m doing – and because I enjoy it so, it never feels like work.

There are so many rewarding aspects of blogging such as networking with new friends, watching my ranking climb, seeing my posts shared around the blogosphere – it’s wonderful and worth wearing Depends any day of the week. (just kidding!) :)

Has this every happened to you? Have you ever gotten so caught up in blogging that you forgot to take a restroom break? Eat? Sleep? Live?

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Become a Better Blogger

How to Continue Writing Quality Content

Evelyn Parham — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:04:37 +0000

Are you finding it harder and harder to pump out quality content? You know you can write quality content and make things happen. But you have let a bug grab hold of you and you cannot shake it loose. Today we will shake that bug loose.

You’re probably wondering what kind of bug I’m talking about. Well, before I tell you, I must confess and I shall not lie. I have this bug and if I don’t do something soon it will suck the life right out of me.

Okay, here it is “I have the blogging time wasters bug.” I feel so much better, since I laid my burden down.

What is the time wasters bug?

The time wasters bug is a bug that draws you away from writing and producing quality content.

Time wasters bug:

Checking email constantly.
Constantly checking for tweets and re-tweets.
Constantly changing something on your site.
Trying every Word Press plug-in that some one recommends and late deleting that plug-in
Constantly checking to see who’s saying what on Facebook.
Constantly checking your blog statistics.
Checking out every social media and social book marking site
Trying to be everywhere on the net at all times

These are just a few of the time waster bugs that will suck away your quality content.

How can you shake the time wasters bug?

Make a schedule and don’t let anything or anyone throw you off schedule.
Write for a certain amount of time without any distractions.
Close all tab windows on your computer. (don’t minimize, close)
Check email 3 times a day and instead of 50 million times a day.
Check your blog stats weekly and not every 5 minutes.
Designate a time you will check in on Twitter, Facebook and other social sites. Set a time limit on how long you socialize.
Be where you can be and do what you can do and nothing more.

Guess what? Keeping up with your blogging duties and being everywhere at all times will soon catch up with you.

You will find yourself not posting on the days and times you have scheduled because you are too tired and stressed from trying to cram everything into a 24 hour day.

How many of you want to keep the time wasters bug hanging on you like an albatross around your neck? Not I!

Today, I have shaken the time wasters bug loose and am starting over again another.

How about you? What will you change/not change in order to continue writing and producing quality content?

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Become a Better Blogger

Break It Up: Using Headers and Sections Effectively

Tia Peterson — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:00:43 +0000

Writing for the web – successfully – involves many things, but in this post let’s just concentrate on two: breaking up the text on a page and adding headers, sectioning off the page in a logical, legible way. This is part of better blog writing and will improve the look of your blog as well.

There are benefits to doing this, and I’ll break them down here but mainly what it comes down to is making your post easier to read by more people. The truth is that die-hard readers are going struggle through reading your content no matter what, but the rest of your intended audience is going to get eye fatigue, give up, and go find something easier on the eyes and on the brain! Don’t lose your readers just because your content is difficult to digest.

Here are some benefits to breaking up your post using sections with headers.

#1: Headers Make Content Easy to Scan

We as readers tend to scan before we settle in. That’s why magazine covers are full of headlines. People are scanners. We scan, determine whether or not the content appeals to us, and then dive in if it does. When your text is not sectioned off, readers are forced to decide whether they should buckle down and read something that may not be of interest, or leave without knowing whether the content was useful. That’s a tough choice to make.

#2: Headers Are Search Engine Friendly

Not only do headers help people scan your post more easily, they also assist search engine spiders in understanding what kind of content is on your page, for better indexing.

and

are HTML headers that will help search engines determine the context of the page more accurately, possibly leading to more targeted search engine traffic for your blog. In Wordpress, these are the Heading 2 and Heading 3 styles.

#3: Sections Can be Anchored and Linked to Individually

Reading on the web is highly interactive, and your content should be laid out in such a way that people can jump to different sections on your page easily if they need to. You can use anchors to identify a particular section, and link directly to that section from another place on the page. For example, if you had a section called Feedback, you could use the tag

in your HTML directly before the Feedback section, and then subsequently link to that section using

Feedback

This is a great way to create a table of contents or create jump tags for a particularly long post. Example: Go back to the top

#4: Sections Make a Long Post Seem Shorter

According to this Wikipedia entry on words per minute (which does have a source cited), the average person can read 180 words per minute on a monitor. That’s pretty good. That means a 700 or 800 word post takes less than five minutes to read.

Still, people frown at long posts because it seems like they take a long time to read. You can make your post look shorter and easier to read by using sections with headers.

Questions?

Let me know if you have any questions or need ideas on how to lay out a post so it’s easier to read. If you know of other tools/resources for using sections and headers, please leave a reply in the comments!

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21 Tips to Boost Your Blogging Mood

Jean — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:00:41 +0000

Most of us are so jazzed when we first start blogging that the thought of our blogging spirits ever sagging seems ludicrous.

Sooner or later though, life happens, and our attitude takes a hit.

Maybe our family or friends don’t support our blogging endeavors, or perhaps our traffic and subscriber numbers are still camped out in the basement despite months of hard work. Regardless of the reason, having a stuck-in-the-muck mood puts the brakes on our creativity and motivation. If we want to achieve our long-term goals and enjoy the journey, we need to take action to put the spring back in our blogging steps.

Here are some tips to boost your blogging mood:

Be kind. Make someone else’s day by sending encouraging emails or uplifting tweets to other bloggers.
Talk it out. Schedule a Skype chat with a blogging friend to share your blogging frustrations and gain new insights.
Unplug. Take a digital sabbatical to recharge your spirit and reconnect with your offline world.
Freshen up. Change out the ads in your sidebar or add a new plug-in or widget.
Be creative. Brainstorm and mind-map new ideas for posts, projects, and products.
Get help. Explore the idea of building a blogging team to grow your blog while easing your workload.
Recharge. Nurture your body with plenty of fluids, exercise, plant-based foods, deep breathing,and sufficient sleep.
Ramp up your writing. Break from routine by experimenting with the length, format, style, and frequency of your posts.
Aim high. Set a big goal like writing two guest posts a week and take the first small step towards making it happen.
Get smart. Decide what you need to learn to take your blog to the next level, and then purchase a book or course offered by someone who has achieved that goal and is sharing their knowledge.
Minimize. Take some baby steps towards paring down your possessions, responsibilities, and activities.
Step away from the stats. Go on a stat fast for a couple of weeks and focus on actions you control, such as linking to archived posts and promoting your new posts on social media.
Celebrate. Treat yourself to a special dinner or other fun event to acknowledge the challenges you’ve already faced and overcome to get to this point on the blogging path.
Expand your horizons. Join a free forum or paid membership program to network and learn new skills.
Dress up your digs. Give your blogging environment a makeover with a fresh coat of paint, or just add a minor decorative touch to give things a new look and feel.
Hit the road. Grab your laptop and blog from a coffee shop, restaurant, or mall food court.
Face the music. If you’re clear on the reason for your low mood, then make a plan to improve things and take action.
Get motivated. Watch some inspirational talks on YouTube or listen to some motivating music before writing a post.
Clear your mind. Meditate for 20 minutes a day, and check in with yourself throughout the day to make sure your mind is focused on the here and now and not the past or future.
Watch your mouth. Banish words like ‘should’ ‘have to’ and ‘ought to’ from your blogging vocabulary and blog from a place of passion instead.
Be grateful. Reflect on the many blessings in your blogging life, like owning a computer, having an Internet connection, and possessing the physical capabilities to read or listen to this post.

Feeling blue now and then is a fact of life, so when it happens to you, don’t panic. Your love affair with blogging isn’t over, by any means. You may be in a rough patch right now, but if you treat yourself well and keep on moving, you’ll be back on the blogging high road in no time at all.

Your turn: How do you boost your blogging mood?

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Become a Better Blogger

The secret of “A” List Bloggers

kieshaeasley — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:00:54 +0000

Guest Post by Jarret Morrow

For most of us, there’s no question that starting a blog is a daunting task. If you’re not very technically savvy, WordPress is pretty simple to use, but there’s still plenty of information to digest.

New bloggers make common mistakes such as not setting up their blog with “pretty permalinks” which can hurt their traffic and require changes later on.

Some learn a little bit about search engine optimization and incorrectly assuming that Meta Tags actually do anything while negating the importance of things that do matter such as Title Tags or internal linking. Even meta descriptions which are commonly discussed, do not factor into Google’s algorithm. Instead, they do show up under search results, but they have no actual influence.

One of the first issues for new bloggers is that it doesn’t take long before you start to become somewhat obsessed with traffic. After all, if you’re going to take the time to write carefully crafted and thoughtful posts, you probably want someone to actually read it. I know many bloggers that admit to checking their stats several times per day to the point that it’s a distraction.

Tip: If you have 4 different widgets, or code installed to monitor your blog stats, it’s too many, it’s a sign you’re obsessed. It’s also a potential threat, as it can slow your site down.

Often, it doesn’t take long before you figure out that no one is really even reading your blog. Depressing, huh? It’s hard to say, but even from the ‘hits’ that you’re getting, probably on a small percentage actually read your post itself.

When I first started blogging three years ago, I went through many of these experiences.

What did I do?

At the time, I read all of the then common blogging tips such as adding my blog to directories, RSS submission sites, getting a few free low-quality links, trading blog roll links, and trying in vain to promote articles with social media. To be honest, most of these things are fine to do, but they usually end up being pretty low-yield in terms of promoting your blog.

After all of this trial and error, I can tell you a few things that did actually work.

To start off with, you have to take a step back and gain perspective. What’s the secret of those so-called A-list bloggers that seem to generate so much traffic and readership?

1. Patience – Yes, patience. If you look at many of the A-list bloggers like Darren Rowse, Chris Brogran, or others you will read about how they spent a year just building content for their site. If you can’t figure out why you’re not getting traffic, you have to keep things in perspective. Successful blogs will build up loyal readers as well as generate enormous traffic through social media and search engines. A new blog on a new domain, will not be strong enough to generate very much search engine traffic.

2. More patience - At the risk of sounding pedantic or repetitive, you have to appreciate that a typical blog will not generate steady search engine traffic until you have about 200 original posts. Even if you write a post nearly every day, that could take you a year to get to the point where your blog generates steady traffic. What’s more is that it can take 2-6 months to get through Google’s Sandbox effect where your domain has enough trust to rank for more competitive search phrases.

3. Domain authority – Just take a glance at the domains of Chris Brogan or Darren Rowse for a second. With Chris Brogan, you will see that his home page has a PageRank of 6. He has over half a million backlinks and 16,000 indexed pages by Yahoo Site Explorer while his archives date back to 2004. For Darren Rowse, he has nearly 50,000 indexed pages, over 800,000 backlinks, and a home page PageRank also of six. Darren’s domain also dates back to a 2004 registration.

The truth is that if you want to start a blog in a similar niche, you’re going to need to do something incredibly innovative to overcome the massive disadvantage your blog is at relative to these guys. Obviously, factors such as domain age, PageRank, backlink count, and number of indexed pages play an very significant role in their success at generating search engine traffic.

What this really amounts to is that a reasonable strategy might be to do two things.

First, relax and just spend a year building up content for your site before you start obsessing over your blog’s traffic.

Secondly, you need to build up authoritative backlinks for your domain. No one’s going to do this for and writing guest posts is probably the most effective strategy.

Aside from the nuts-and-bolts reality of starting a blog, networking of course is another characteristic of the A-list bloggers. It’s easy to forget that being successful at blogging is not much different than success outside of the digital world.

The old adage here is also true, ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know.’ Connecting with other successful bloggers can have a host of benefits from learning tips, link building, as well as collaborating on mutually beneficial ventures. At the end of the day, if you’re not using your blogging platform to connect with other like-minded people, you’re really missing out on this most rewarding aspect of this experience.

So, what other secrets might be holding you back from the revered A-List?

Jarret Morrow, M.D., is a graduate from the University of Alberta School of Medicine. Over the past ten years, he’s been a published author and researcher. You can read more posts by Dr. Morrow at his dietary supplement blog, Supplement Updates.

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Become a Better Blogger

The Insects Guide to Blogging and Monetization

kieshaeasley — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:00:44 +0000

Never in my life have I seen more bugs than I have since I’ve relocated. It could be my attempt to adjust that has inspired a few guest posts that I’ve written recently, or I could just be plain crazy – who knows which it is really. :)

But, anyway, if you haven’t had an opportunity to read them, please take a moment to check out the following:

Attract Readers to your Blog Like Mosquitoes

Are you a Grasshopper or an Ant Blogger?

5 Sensible Ways to Monetize your Blog

If you enjoy any of these posts, please leave a comment or retweet to let me know you were there!

Have a wonderful day!!

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Become a Better Blogger

Do you suffer from Hyper Erudition Disorder as a Blogger?

kieshaeasley — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 09:00:06 +0000

Guest post by Jara Johnson

As a freelance writer and online business guru, I have the unique privileged of meeting all kinds of people from different walks of life united by the single burning desire to make money online. Whether it is blogging or web site creation, these individuals show a truly remarkable level of dedication and interest. Yet there is something wrong.

It took me a few years before I began to notice it. A subtle trait that was embedded deep within the subconsciousness of the people I worked with. On the surface, they would look like your average entrepreneurs looking to make a splash in a new exciting field. I have since then become very familiar with what I now call Hyper Erudition Disorder (HED) and I can say confidently that the vast majority of the people I work with suffer from this disorder.

What is HED exactly you ask?

Great question. Hyper Erudition Disorder is a sly virus that sits within the subconsciousness of new entrepreneurs, bloggers, website creators, etc. and renders them useless and unable to continue to grow or produce. HED is essential the great ocean that separates the 1% of people who actually find real success online from the 99% of people who drown trying.

Like I said before I get to work with a lot of people, and I am going to use one of my clients to illustrate to you the devastating effects that HED can have on your online career.

Let us look at Mark for example.

Mark began his online career in 2000. After a short welcoming run through the online scams, he found my website Writing for Money. Mark quickly realized that there is an overflowing amount of free information that will help him start his career making money online. So Mark began education himself through my site and sites like this one. He was the perfect student and soaked everything in. Sounds good right?

Two years later, I hear from Mark again. I was curious to see how he fared in the unforgiving world of the internet. Basically he had a couple failed blogs, but says if he knew what he knows now, that would have been avoided. Two years later, Mark is still researching. Two years later Mark is still learning how to become a successful blogger. Two years later Mark has spent hours and hours learning and has nothing to show for it.

And thus we see the true face of the evilness that is known as Hyper Erudition Disorder. You wouldn’t believe how many people I come across whose stories mirror Mark’s. These people are on all the best sites that teach how to make money online, they get all the monthly newsletters, they are members in all the forums; yet they have nothing to show for it. They are stuck in a stage of “learning” and “planning.”

What is the difference between the 1% who find success and the 99% who drown trying? Of course, that 1% are blessed with business smarts and intelligence, but the biggest difference is action.

The 1% swim, it’s that simple. They refuse to drown in a never ending current of “how to” blogs and “motivating” websites. They see the horizon of in the distance and keep swimming till they reach it. The 99% are stuck floating in the ocean waiting for some miracle tip or piece of information that will swoop them up and carry them to success.

For some reason there is something really comfortable when you’re in the learning stage. For some reason people get stuck there. For some reason people get terrified of taking that first stroke, that first step. For some reason the vastness of the ocean paralyzes people and they become content just floating and dreaming of their paradise island.

There is nothing wrong with learning. There is nothing wrong with equipping yourself before you start on this journey. But you can’t allow yourself to get stuck. You have to take that first step. Imagine what Mark would have accomplished if he would have those two years back?

You’ve heard the saying hundreds of times, time is money. Don’t waste your time learning all your time learning. You have to adopt an active mentality if you are going to realize your dream of online success. You have to have the courage to take that first stroke. Because once you do, once you start moving, your confidence will begin to grow.

You’ll realize what seemed like an ocean before is only a lake. You’re goal that was just a blimp in the horizon will be there within reach. Once you start moving, you will pick up moment. Heck, you might event catch a current that will carry you. And you can’t imagine the joy you’ll have when you finally reach your destination, when you finally accomplish your goals.

So, with that being said I leave you with only one question: do you suffer from Hyper Erudition Disorder?

Jara Johnson is a college student by day and a dynamic blogger by night. Despite his youth, Jara has years of experience as a freelance writer, blogger and entrepreneur. You can read more of his work at Writing for Money or follow him on twitter @bigjara.

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Become a Better Blogger

How do you respond to Tweeters who follow, unfollow, and then follow back?

kieshaeasley — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:00:04 +0000

I’ve been noticing a trend lately. Like most people, whenever someone follows me on Twitter, I get a notification.

Me being the inquisitive person that I am, I usually take a quick look to see if they’re someone I’d like to follow back. Sometimes I follow, sometimes I don’t.

It’s often nothing personal, I just tend to follow people who manage to intrigue me with either some element of their profile, their time-line or their site. If I don’t see something interesting right away, I generally don’t follow right back.

Lately, there’s been a group of people who I’ve noticed have followed me one day, then I guess when I don’t follow back, they decide to unfollow me, then a few days or a week or two later when they think I’ve forgotten, they’ll follow me again.

The problem is – I have not forgotten.

I guess I should make it known now that I have a pretty decent memory when it comes to people. I’m the weirdo who remembers the birthdays of family members and acquaintances that I’ve known since elementary school. I’ve aced many tests solely based on memory and nothing else.

So, I’m not going to forget someone who just followed me a few days ago – I’m going to wonder what’s going on? What are they expecting me to do – follow them back after they’ve un-followed me? That’s not a very effective method to get my attention.

There are much better ways to do that. It’s not hard really, I pretty much revealed all of my ancient Chinese secrets in 10 Ways I like to Thank Twitter Followers for Retweets. I don’t mind following back most times, but I don’t like my choice taken away either. I hate to disappoint, but following, unfollowing, and refollowing is not going to work.

I’m curious to know if I’m the only one who has experienced this follow/unfollow/follow trend? Have you ever had this happen to you? Is that crazy or what? How did you deal with it?

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No related posts.

Community and Traffic Takes Time and Patience

Evelyn Parham — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:06:51 +0000

Someone commented on one of my blog posts and here is part of the comment, of which I will discuss today.

I think the toughest is to build a community and getting traffic to your site. Whoever said blogging was easy is lying. There is a lot of learning curve.

The commenter is absolutely right. Blogging is not easy! Blogging is actually one of the hardest things I have ever done. Sometimes I have writer’s block, but it is building community and generating traffic that is the hardest.

I think it is the hardest because building a community and generating traffic to your site takes time and patience. Not only that, you have to get out there and be seen almost everywhere. Sometimes that is not so easy to do.

Building a community and generating traffic to your site is like anything else in life. One thing is for sure, you must get out there and make things happen. That is the only way you will succeed.

If you want to build community and generate more visits to your site, here is what I recommend. Imagine yourself sitting in the comfort of your home. Ask yourself how you would build a community and receive visits to your very own home.

1. Go hang out in other people’s neighborhoods. Hang out on other peoples sites and see what is going on and what topics are being discussed. You will be amazed in your findings. You never know, you just might decide to stay.

2. Be kind to your visitors. No one likes to be hurried away when they are visiting. Everyone likes to receive special treatment. Give your visitors a reason to come back time and time again. Respond all comments, if it is only to say,”thanks.” Pay your new visitor a visit and comment on their blog. If you like what you see, become a regular visitor/commenter on their site.

3. Throw a party and offer something that will benefit them. Publish a report that will be beneficial to your visitors and give it to them for free. Throw a few contests and giveaways in the mix and see what happens. Everyone loves a good party and something free. Let your hospitality shine!

4. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Yep, the golden rule! If someone shares your articles and you get wind of it, let them know that you appreciate what they did for you. Whenever you have a chance you do the same for them. Don’t be afraid to make the first move. You never know where it will land you.

5. Give people a reason to pay you a visit. You may have something that will help your reader. Be mindful of why others visit you and give them what them what they seek. Translation. Write quality content that is helpful and beneficial to anyone who lands on your site. If you do this, then you will see your visitors increase.

6. Have a clean looking hangout. Make sure your house is neat and clean. Neatness and cleanliness will help your visitors find what they need in little of no time. They will also feel comfortable hanging out with you.

7. Give your friends a call sometime. It takes no time to shoot someone a quick email to let them know personally that you appreciate what they do. I think this means the most to me. I’ve had people send me messages on You Tube and on my blog just at the right time.

8. Don’t be quiet and shy. If you want people to be a part of your community then you can’t sit around and keep quiet. You have a voice and you must use it. It is the only way you will get people to hear and notice you. If you are quiet and shy, you have to push that to the side.

Warning: You must work hard everyday to build community and generate traffic. If you don’t do this, then you will have no community and very few visitors.

I know these tips are not what you are use to seeing, but I thought I’d take you down a different path.

Stand out and be heard!

How do you build community and generate more visits to your site?

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Guest Blogging for SEO: Are There Unspoken Rules?

Tia Peterson — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:00:28 +0000

I’ve now had two different experiences with guest post pitches – ones that are from regular bloggers hoping to get natural links and exposure for themselves, and ones that are from SEO consultants looking to get natural links for their clients.

Why is it that the second one doesn’t sit so well with me?

I didn’t jump on the guest post bandwagon for quite awhile, so it was/is a little odd to me that people choose to do that when there are so many other ways of getting natural links from blogs that SEO practitioners can use.

Tips for SEO Guest Blogging More Ethically

My biggest issue with SEO guest blogging is the tendency to include links from left field. It’s an SEO consultants duty to try and get high PR natural links and so sometimes readability and good writing gets sacrificed.

I still think, and this may be just me, that it’s kinda bizarre to be writing about, say, Wordpress plugins, and then throwing in a link for cat food. There’s almost no way to blend that so it doesn’t stick out.

That said, I support and encourage guest blogging, even for pure SEO reasons. Here are a few ways to do some guest posting for SEO and make it a win-win for everyone.

Use the Author Bio for Links

This is a great, acceptable place for anchor text links. Almost everyone who accepts guest post will accommodate a link or two in this place and you can be a little more relaxed with what goes in there.

Guest Post on Related Blogs

If you’re an SEO consultant and you want to publish a guest post containing an anchor text link, seek out a blog that is related. That will serve both you and the host blogger as well. Taking the example above, if you want to publish a guest post that links to cat food, you might consider finding a pet blog.

Don’t Expect DoFollow

Just because a blog offers dofollow comments, that does not mean that your “natural” anchor text link in the body of a post is going to be dofollow, too. Dofollow comments is done as a way of thanking readers and people who engage. Let the host blogger reserve the right to decide which links will be dofollow or not.

Ask First

The most efficient way to go about this type of guest blogging is just to ask first. Ask if you can include a dofollow anchor text link in your post. Ask whether or not the link needs to be related. Ask if it is okay to include links that you are paid to place. Transparency is key. I am the type of person that is super easy-going when all of the cards are on the table, but at the same time, hiding or being sneaky is a great way to kill the relationship.

Your Turn

What do you think about this? Does it matter to you one way or the other how guest bloggers use their anchor text links, and where?

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A Simple Guide to Taking Digital Sabbaticals

Jean — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:00:04 +0000

My online work is like oxygen to me. Writing what I want, connecting with people from around the world, and having the freedom to work from anywhere is a dream come true. Still, too much time at my laptop gives me a tense, jangled feeling, and my creativity crumbles into a dusty heap.

If you’re like me, your spirit nudges you to step away from the keyboard now and again too. The trouble is, most of us think we can’t afford to take time away. We tell ourselves we have too much to do and that people are counting on us to communicate promptly.

It took a few spins around the dance floor with burnout before I realized digital sabbaticals weren’t a choice for me-they were a necessity. Although, I’m still new to the practice, I now take 24-48 hours away each week, and it’s already improving my blogging and my life.

If you’re ready for some digital down time, here are some things that will help:

Define it. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to taking a digital break. Some folks define a digital sabbatical as shunning the Internet, cell phones, television, and most other electronic devices for days or even weeks at a time. For me it simply means avoiding online activities that are part of my normal blogging routine, like social media, blogs, email, and forums, while still engaging electronically in creative pursuits, educational activities, and entertainment options if I choose. That said, the vast majority of my down time is spent far from the computer enjoying nature, spending time with people I adore, and just knocking around doing whatever appeals to me in the moment. Just remember that this is your break. You get to decide the length and structure, so keep testing and tweaking ‘til things work for you.

Plan it. I like taking my digital sabbaticals on weekends, so I don’t schedule deadlines or appointments for these days. I’ve also designed my overall work load to allow for a 24-48 hour break each weekend. It may take some time for you to shift and streamline things to carve out time for your breaks. If this is stressful for you, plan to unplug for just a few hours to begin with and work your way up as desired. If your blog or your business truly needs round-the-clock support, team up with someone or explore virtual assisting options to allow for time away.

Announce it. I talk openly about my sabbaticals on Facebook, Twitter, and in my blog comment section, and I’ll also be mentioning the practice in posts like this from time-to-time. Not only does this let folks know what to expect, but it opens the door for them to explore digital vacations of their own.

Wing it. Life happens, and sometimes you’ll need to rearrange or shrink your sabbatical. When this happens, just make note of what derailed things, think about how you can prevent it from happening again, and move on.

Learn from it. Much as you look forward to your digital sabbaticals, when you finally unplug you may find yourself feeling twitchy, with a strong hankering to pop on Facebook, Twitter, or email. Pay attention to those urges and feelings when they arise, and get real with yourself. Are you addicted to the Internet? Are you afraid you’re missing out on something by being away for a few hours? Is your offline life boring to you? Look at uncomfortable feelings as teachers. Heed their messages, and take action to make your offline world as rich and rewarding as your online endeavors.

My digital sabbaticals, as well as other life balancing activities, have helped me get my blogging groove back. And the truth is, it’s a great feeling to know that while I’m growing my blog, I’m also growing my life.

Here’s to your healthy blog and healthy life!

Your turn: Do you ‘unplug’ on a regular basis?

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