3 Best Attitudes in Blogging
“There is no luck, you work hard and study things intently. If you do that for long and hard enough you’re successful.” – Jason Calacians
Hard work is essential in reaping that fruit of labor but we must not forget how we are or how we are doing in this phase of life. Blogging is not that simple as one sees it.
Many people would perhaps react negatively when they hear blogging is a business.
How would you react when it happens to you or if somebody answers you, ‘‘just blogging’’ or ‘‘That’s only a hobby, go, get a real job.’’
Regardless of what they say, you yourself know what you’re getting into and what could be the results or consequences. Read further down below to know what are the best approaches in blogging.
How to be in your best attitude when it comes to blogging
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Know your goal
In everything that one does or will do, there’s always a reason behind it. Like a toddler, he has always a ‘‘why’’ for everything, but sometimes a 3-year old kid doesn’t always get the right answer for everything. But we, as an adult, should have answers in every step that we will do.
Why blogging?
Before you answer your own why are you blogging, you should know first what a blog is. According to Wikipedia, a blog is an informal website which is written in a diary-like manner and it is often in chronological order which means the latest posts are being showcased first.
Before I started getting serious with my blog now, I have already attempted to create a blog a year before. That was really a fail. I have neglected it. I didn’t invest in it aside from buying a web hosting from Bluehost. I meant, I didn’t spend more time and more love in it.
I didn’t really have those whys as if I just plunged in the water until I got drowned, without really using my logical thinking. Sadly, I had this ‘‘Bahala na’’ typical Filipino personality. In English, it means, ”come what may”. Whatever happens, happens.
Ironically, as a Filipino, I hate this attitude towards life and I try to avoid it the best I could.
Last year, when I was about to start another blog, I remembered my old blog which I wanted to save but I lost the passion to work on it.
When I finally decided to use my old domain or my old blog and tried to log in, it wasn’t accessible anymore. Too bad, I had some posts there in which I exerted effort. It was too late already.
Before starting to put up a blog, I should have known my goals from the start. What would I like to do with a blog? What are my reasons for creating a blog?
I didn’t have a solid reason for creating a blog, maybe that’s why I didn’t put much effort into it. If you are planning to put up a blog, orient yourself first why you would invest your time in creating one. If it’s for fun, be sure, you wouldn’t lose the passion for it and always stick to your goals, and your whys should always be answerable.
It’s quite cliché to say it, and it doesn’t only apply to blog, but if you think of giving up, think why you have started in the first place. Whenever you have doubts, discouragement, or down moments, think of the efforts you put in it, the money that you have spent on it, and don’t ever forget your time. Your time is more valuable than your money.
It doesn’t matter what your reasons are, as long as you are motivated by these reasons for making a step towards the life of blogging. No one has the right to judge you for having a peculiar or lucrative reason for blogging. May it be for money. So, what? Let’s set aside hypocrisy first, but blogging is one of the trends nowadays for earning money at home online.
If it’s for communicating and sharing your ideas without expecting something in return, then it’s fine. That’s your reason and just bear in mind, in everything that you do, it’s your own decision, not because of others or influenced by others.
What I find awful is, creating a blog because everybody does it nowadays. Okay. Is that really your reason?
If that’s really your reason, be sure you find more personal reasons and goals for creating one.
You don’t have to put up a blog yourself because your friend has one, or the entire community has a blog and you’re feeling out of place. If it’s being driven by envy, think twice before making a step towards it.
I have even made an error myself, telling my friend to create a blog too because she could write too. That was wrong for me to have said it. If one has a talent for writing, it doesn’t mean she may be good for blogging.
Blogging doesn’t only limit to writing. Yet, it also depends on your goal. If it’s for money-making, then brace yourself, honey, you have more way to go than brag your talent in writing.
If your blog is to educate, then you would need students or learners as the audience for your blog. Viewers won’t come on their own. Something has to be done in order to achieve that.
2. Plan ahead.
Being spontaneous is what I hate, but I hate to admit it, I am one of the spontaneous persons on earth. Unfortunately. But, this time I contain myself and do the right thing. Organizing is key.
Regardless of how exciting the idea is, always hold yourself back and plan everything. Don’t always follow that gut feeling, sometimes it only gives us this temporary euphoria.
Don’t go to war without weapons and training. The same thing applies to the blog. We shouldn’t just sit in front of our laptop, wasting electricity or its battery while waiting until ideas come.
Every individual has his own techniques and tactics in dealing with things, and maybe spontaneity works on you, but it’s better to plan everything ahead to see better results in the end.
Changing my environment helps me return to my concentration and drive to do the thing that I’ve been pining to do. I’m not saying here that I have to move, from Berlin to Siberia (well, not a bad idea), but I want to say, instead of staying all day in your home office, try to do go out for a while.
Get some fresh air, don’t bring your laptop this time. Enjoy the beauty of nature and appreciate what you see. You find some quiet place to sit and take your notebook and pen out.
Make a draft. Sometimes, it’s better to do it by hand than on a gadget. You could write everything you want, it may be messy, but you’ll see your alternatives and how your mind works from ideas to ideas.
If you are that type of person whose cleanliness and orderliness really matters, you need a journal or bullet journal wherein you could put your ideas and adhere to them.
Planning doesn’t only include the things you wanted to do, but the things you have to do. Prioritizing things would make your planning phase much effective and more productive.
Planning for your blog comprises the vital parts to be added or the ingredients on what makes your blog the right blog. There are different posts and articles where you could acquire more knowledge and tips on how to create your blogs like how you would name your blog, choosing a host, and a theme that would make your site more secure and beautiful.
In my post Avoid Amateur Blogging: Learn From My Mistakes As A New Blogger, I tackled the things I regretted to have not known and missed before I started this journey in blogging.
And..if you want to start a blog, I created a planner for you to help you what you need in creating a blog until publishing your blog posts.
3. Don’t compare yourself to others. Know your limits.
I know, we’re only human. Number 1 excuse. Yes, could be true and it’s quite common in this field. We see somebody with her monthly report of income, we often have that feeling of wanting to achieve what the others have gained.
To have that drive or inspiration to achieve your goals is okay, but when envy already mixes in, that’s already a different story. Blogging should be fun and maybe sometimes a bit nonchalant about it.
Your neighbour showed her monthly report from blogging, affiliate, or sponsored posts, and you have how much? Okay, zero, nada, null… so what?
Her success is different from you, we don’t have similar lines on the palm of our hands. If you have gained nothing after all your efforts, then strive more but don’t compare yourself to others.
Sometimes it also happens that we forget ourselves, we forget the people around us because we have our focus solely on our digital business called blogging.
We forget to give importance to the things we have been doing before we plunged into the world of writing and social media. We sometimes put our health at risk to achieve our overnight goal and doing everything we could just to market and promote our blog.
I’ve been getting wary not to let envy or jealousy reign in achieving my endeavours that I would forget my limitation as a human or that I would hurt someone dear to me.
It’s not only applicable in blogging but to everything, that one would tend to do everything to get rich, by hook or by crook, getting shady things done, or maybe selling one’s soul just to see the bank account with 7 digits.
I hope you get some reflection right there. No, don’t pinpoint somebody. I didn’t write that just for nothing, or that I am thinking of a particular person hoping that she or he would get to read this post, I am also talking about myself here.
So bloggers, and new bloggers, cheer up and enjoy blogging while maintaining our poise as good bloggers. 😉
