Blogging is mostly a balancing act. Just like walking on tightrope.
One one hand, you have to write about the things that matter to you. And you have to write them however you feel like it. On the other hand, you have to cater to your audience and deliver them what they want to read most.
There’s so much information easily available for free right now that most aspiring bloggers struggle to attract enough readers.
The issue? They are writing mediocre content that does not inspire, motivate, or add value.
How to fix this issue? Simple. Write the type of content that others would pay to read, the type of content that provides actionable steps towards solving certain issues, or the type of content that is so engaging as to make one rush for the subscribe button.
In other words, you must be so good they can’t ignore you.
Stop lying. To yourself. To others. In the comments section of your blog. On other people’s blogs. In your about page. Stop lying.
“I don’t care if people read my stuff or not.”
“I blog for me, myself, and I.”
Lies.
If that were true, you’d be writing in a notepad. Or several. Hiding them away under your bed or in a closet. But you’re on the world wide web for a reason, and that reason is to be read.
I am a full-time blogger, meaning that I write on a professional basis. My blogs are my source of income, yes, but this also means that I approach blogging in a different way than most people.
I punch the damn keys about ten thousand times a day. Every. Single. Day.
And this is why you should punch the damn keys as well.
A couple thousand years ago there was this king. He was quite nasty and deceitful. He was also a bit arrogant. What you’d call a smart ass.
Well, at one point, the gods had enough of it, and they punished him by being forced to roll a boulder up a hill only for it to roll down every time it neared the top. He had to do this, over and over again, for ever and ever.
His name was Sisyphus, and we now “honor” his name by using it to describe the backbreaking, neverending work that we often do but never seem to complete.
And, sometimes, it seems that blogging is just like that.
After all, you will someday run out of things to write about. You will feel trapped by the creative limitations of a certain niche or topic, or by the inner voice that tells that you are just writing about the same things, over and over again, for the same people.
So, what do you do when that happens? Do you give up? Do you start blogging about other topics?
I’m only asking because it’s really not as hard or mysterious as you might think.
One thing that prevents many people from boosting their creativity is the notion that creativity is somehow determined by intelligence. Another is the idea that creative people are born that way.
In truth, research shows that once you get slightly above an average I.Q., intelligence and creativity are not related. So you could be a genius and display little creativity or have fairly average intelligence and wield amazing creative powers. Continue reading “Are you Creative [Enough]?”→
After two years of The Art of Blogging, after a few hundred blog posts, two different e-books, and several e-courses, you can now absorb blogging knowledge by listening to The Art of Blogging Podcast.
Today’s topic? Sharing 90 super easy tips that are going to help you on your journey to becoming a true artist of blogging. Part one cover forty five of these tips, ranging from content creation, networking, mindset, and the best way to think of yourself as a blogger.
Right now you can listen to our podcast on Spotify and Anchor, but it will be soon made available everywhere where podcasts are available, including YouTube.
Read
Obviusly, this is a reference to the 465 blog posts that are available here on this blog or on our Medium publication.
Also, it’s a reference to The Art of Blogging E-book, which I do recommend you read. Yeah. No seriously. Lots of cool stuff there.
Including one of the most complete works on how to become a true blogstar that you can find anywhere:
So, yeah, after two years, now you can watch, read, listen, and learn all about becoming an artist of blogging.
Thank you for the opportunity to share all this content with you, be sure to subscribe, follow, like, tell all your friends (and enemies), and let me know what you think.
from people who are literally begging me to follow their blog, or promote their blog.
from people who want to complain that blogging is hard work, and that they want to quit.
Here’s the thing: blogging is, indeed, hard work. It’s not for everyone. It’s not for the entitled, for the emotionally weak, for the impatient, for the lazy, for the “oh, but I am too busy.”
Would you like to be more creative?
