Try as we might to look past them, we all have regrets. Maybe you wish you did something differently, or even did something at all; maybe you rushed into something too soon or took too long getting your feet wet.
My biggest blogging regret is one that may be familiar to you; it certainly is echoed in the responses I got back from other bloggers on this topic. My regret is this: why didn’t I start sooner?! I blog all day for work, and I know that I could be very successful if I put the time and the effort into it, but it has just been so hard to motivate myself to do an extension of my day job during my free time.
But even greater than that, it is this: why am I not doing more?!
I have personally always struggled with an inability to give myself free time. Even as a child, I would make long lists of projects I wanted to accomplish over the summer break from school, and I would feel intense guilt for not completing them all. All things considered, I still had a productive childhood – fascinated by the internet, I created my first website at age 11, and have only retained that fascination ever since. Blogging just seems like a natural extension of that.
But I have so many goals for myself. I want to lead a healthier life, and need to take time to exercise regularly and to cook food instead of grabbing takeout day in and day out. I want to save money. I want to save for things – like a fitness wearable (I’m still deciding which), nicer cookware, a nice pair of new running shoes. I want to learn a programming language – I recently decided on Ruby and have started taking online courses. I want to keep up with my French skills. I want to help my boyfriend pursue his musical career. And on top of all those goals (and many others) I want to build this blog up to become a creative outlet, an income source (eventually!) and a place to share all of the great things I learn at my day job. It’s a hefty list of goals!
I am working hard to become more regimented in my approach to accomplishing these things. The biggest help, in my opinion, has been the daily habit tracking game HabitRPG, which my brother introduced me to and which I use to make sure I’m accomplishing a minimum number of tasks each day. (Really, this thing is awesome, you have to check it out!)
Another huge help has been MyBlogU and the community over there. Participating in their contest #MBUstorm is a great way to stay regimented – every day, I need to work on my blog or help someone in the community out. The potential for a prize at the end is a huge motivator!
But I still have a long way to go. I am not updating this blog as frequently as I would like. I have a long way to go to build this site into the great resource I know it could be! It’s a day by day process.
I’ll turn it over to my fabulous interviewees from MyBlogU to share their blogging regrets, and advice to you as a fellow blogger. Then I have some questions for you at the end – I hope you’ll take the time to share your own blogging regrets, challenges, triumphs, and/or advice!
Q. What is your biggest blogging regret?
My biggest blogging regret is that I didn’t start my email list sooner. Because it was my personal blog and I wasn’t selling anything, I didn’t feel the need to have an email list at first. Then at some point I added a signup form, but even then I didn’t take consistent action to build my list because I didn’t know what to do with it. Now that I’ve starting to provide services and looking to create my own products, my list (as small as it is) has gotten me those initial sales that build your confidence and I wish I could reach more people.
One of my biggest blogging regrets is not starting a blog sooner, when ranking for a particular keyword was much easier than it is today.
I remember reading online about others who talked about how SEO has changed and how hard it is to keep up with it. Not starting a blog sooner is not a really big regret for me because if I would have started it now I would have to adapt to all the changes. So all in all it’s better late than never.
A. Phil Turner (The 5 Currencies Guy)
Spreading myself too thinly over niche sites I did not care about.
I had sites in gardening, mobile phones, entrepreneurism, teaching. You name it, I was there, wasting my energy rather than foucsing it on one area that I cared about.
Blogging is about building a community, not just building crappy “Made for AdSense” websites. I still see MfA sites everywhere I go. Called “content curation” sites they are just MfA sites under another name, the bloggers making the same mistake I made and thinking there was an easy way. There isn’t.
A. Brandon Schaefer (CEO )
I don’t know if it’s a regret as much as something I wish I had started doing from the very beginning… but it’s to always have a clear “call-to-action” at the end of every blog post. Taking the time to write content is one thing, but then giving it away for free and not asking for anything in return is crazy. Sometimes I’ll ask for a comment, and sometimes I’ll ask for an email address, but at least I’m asking for something… “always be asking.”
A. Angela Alcorn (Writer & Editor)
In 2006 I had a blog that I wanted to go pro with. I was on the right track, but I gave up after a domain name kerfuffle, where I lost my domain due to some confusion with the regstrar (who was also my hosting provider). I should have just got a new domain name and continued what I was doing! If I had kept plugging away at the blog then it would have grown a lot by now.
A. MAKONE (Make Money Blogging)
When it comes to blogging I have only one regret. That is, why didn’t I start blogging earlier? In 2005 to 2009 blogging was much easier than these days. There was not much competition and not that many restrictions.
Bloggers who started blogging at that time are now established bloggers with authority blogs. They have gained followers quickly, and their income is much higher than many people can imagine.
I started blogging in end of 2013, and I have seen how bloggers are afraid of algorithms, SEO has so many limitations, search engines are much more careful, competition on it is at its peak and to survive and get a good rank is really not as easy as it used to be.
Q. How has your blogging changed as a result of knowing what you now know?
Lately I’ve been focusing more on engaging my small list – making sure that what I send them is valuable, creating engaging subject lines and sending out my campaigns more regularly than I used to (this one is still a work in progress). I can see that my efforts are making a difference – both my open rate and my click-through rate have increased. The next thing I would like to work in is growing my list and I am still finding the balance between promoting and creating.
When I first got started blogging I had no idea what I was doing. My entire focus was on generating revenue, so I did exactly what I wasn’t supposed to do, clutter my blog with all sorts of ads and pop-ups. I still remember those SEO optimized articles that everybody was talking about.
Now, I know better. Write quality content, promote it, build your audience and traffic and last but not least monetize your blog in a smart way.
A. Phil Turner (The 5 Currencies Guy)
I now focus on two sites that I care about, one of my own and one where I work with a partner. Both have a purpose other than making money and that is important.
I have let all my undeveloped sites go because I will never be able to develop them properly and if I keep them then my main two sites will suffer.
I have also shifted my focus. My sites exist to serve others, rather than to boost my ego.
A. Brandon Schaefer (CEO )
Now that I know better, I naturally do better… it’s that easy. My blogging has changed because I don’t just blog to blog today… I blog with a purpose. Not to say that writing without a purpose is not helpful to my mind, it’s just that I’m limited on time and I need to get the most value out of every minute of the day… this is why when I write with a purpose, I always focus on getting people to take advantage of my “call-to-action” that I include in my blog post.
A. Angela Alcorn (Writer & Editor)
Instead of growing my own blog I started doing paid blogging for other people. Yes I’ve learned a lot and earned a lot, but my own turf got abandoned for most of that intervening time. I now know a lot about making a blog post look professional, but when I blog for myself I’m stuck writing posts for a tiny audience comparatively. It’s difficult to find the energy to write great posts for my own blog these days.
A. MAKONE (Make Money Blogging)
As I said, I started blogging at the end of 2013. In the beginning I was working on a news blog, which found success in its very first month and I started earning over $600 every month. But then things started changing, I was not aware of much SEO, and as a result I faced many issues. I at last moved from running a news blog to a blogging and tchnology blog.
By making eAskme, a how to and tech blog, I have learned a lot about blogging, SEO, search engine algorithms, marketing, and affiliate marketing. Now my business is again back on track and my site has a 58K rank, which is getting better day by day, earning is also between $60 to $350 per day.
Now I focus more on micro niche blogs as they help me earn more.
Q. Any advice for new bloggers from your personal experience?
Set up an email service and put an opt-in form on your blog as soon as you start blogging, even if you don’t have a great freebie you’re offering. The people that love your writing will join your list anyway.
The best advice that I could give is… don’t give up! I remember when I wanted to give up – good thing I didn’t. If you work hard and learn you will eventually get the hang of it.
A. Phil Turner (The 5 Currencies Guy)
- Think before you start
- Focus on serving others’ needs from day 1
- Build a community
- Build trust by giving to others
- Skip the ads
- Find a partner to work with whose skills complement your own
A. Brandon Schaefer (CEO )
The best advice I can give, and I give advice to small businesses and entrepreneurs all day long… is to be true to yourself with whatever you’re writing. Unless you’re a professional ghost writer, it’s going to be difficult to continue to come up with great content to share unless you truly feel passionate about what you’re writing about. Let your passion shine through in your writing, and write to help yourself out, but always be sure you include a “call-to-action” in every blog post that you share.
A. Angela Alcorn (Writer & Editor)
Just keep plugging away at your blog. Even if you change focus, just keep writing it. Keep your domain names active and keep promoting the blog in forum signatures and elsewhere where you make online friends. Find your peers and make blogging friends slowly over time. Keep trying to monetize your blog and learn all you can about promoting and creating great content. Your blog will grow over time and you’ll see rewards for your work. Don’t stop!
A. MAKONE (Make Money Blogging)
Well there is lot of advice already given on eAskme for newbie bloggers. I want to say that newbie bloggers should post unique and quality articles, work for your readers, learn SEO, start email marketing from the very first day, create social media profiles to build a strong social presence and also use affiliate networks to make more money.
Over to you!
I’d love to hear from you about your own blogging regrets or advice. What tools or strategies do you use to maintain your focus and drive? Share your own experiences in the comments below!
