After blogging for 14 years I’ve learned a few basic lessons about the human psyche and blogging fundamentals.
Greed knows no bounds.
Desperation blinds you.
Writing from greed or desperation yanks your focus from success-promoting fundamentals toward failure-inducing, complex strategies.
Bloggers from seasoned veterans to green beginners face greed and desperation at some point – or points – during their careers.
I still need to rein my mind back in at times because fear manifests as greed goads me to pine for something for nothing.
Desperation attempts to scream at me: “You are wasting your time!”
Hearing this insidious ego chatter seems uncomfortable.
But observing the little demon talk without following its advice guides you back to the blogging fundamentals.
Professional bloggers succeed by:
- publishing detailed, targeted blog content.
- building strong relationships with successful bloggers in your niche through your generosity.
Don’t skip the fundamentals.
That’s It. These Are The Blogging Fundamentals
Of course, I skipped some steps with these broad strokes. Each fundamental involves learning and practicing many details. For example, writing and publishing long-form content is an entire sub-topic.
But at the end of the day, writing content and making friends form the foundation of a successful blogging career.
In tempting moments, fear in the mind tries to pull you away from these fundamentals toward failing schemes, scams, and other complex strategies guaranteed to dissolve your reputation. – Ryan Biddulph
Iron-willed bloggers learn the skill of releasing the temptation to stick to the fundamentals.
1: Surround Yourself With Professional Bloggers
Professional bloggers remind you how following the basics for a long time yields success.
Pros stuck to the blogging fundamentals for a sustained period of time. Organically, creating and connecting laid the foundation for a successful career.
Network with professional bloggers. Comment genuinely on their blogs. Promote them on your blog and via social media.
Be patient. Earning pro blogger trust takes time and generous service.
Gradually, you will befriend successful bloggers who teach you to stick to the basics.
Learn to surround yourself with professional bloggers.
Avoid falling prey to bright, shiny object syndrome by resisting the urge to surround yourself with new or struggling veteran bloggers. Do you want to be influenced by their limiting beliefs? As a rule, most drift away from the fundamentals as a force of habit. Greed propels failing bloggers forward. Desperation scares ’em into looking for shortcuts toward blogging doom.
Release any blogger to save successful individuals. Listen closely to these pros. Follow their lead. Feast on their example.
Stick to the basics by seeing the successful evidence of bloggers who followed the basics for a bit.
2: Invest In Trusted Blogging Resources
Invest in trusted blogging resources.
Credible eBooks and courses point you in the right blogging direction again and again by preaching the fundamentals.
Resources remind you to stick to the basics. In weak-minded moments, an online course or eBook grounds you from trying to speed up the process.
I sometimes review my blogging resources as helpful reminders to resist temptations. Even though I have been at it for a long time I am still human and prone to err.
Re-reading an eBook or listening to an audio course reminds me to slow down, calm down, and return to the simple steps of creating detailed content and connecting with bloggers from my niche. – Ryan Biddulph
I practice what I preach until temptation creates temporary amnesia. Revisiting a resource puts me back on the straight and narrow.
Frame financial investments in resources as critical blogging education guaranteed to pull you back to what works.
3: Remember Why You Blog
Far and away, writing mainly for fun and freedom guides you back to the basics when you chase traffic or income metrics.
I love circling the globe as a blogger. Experiencing far-off lands feels fun to me. Anytime I feel tempted to take a shortcut I visualize being in Bali, Fiji, or New Zealand. Doing this snaps me out of a mental malaise into the present moment of clarity, purpose, and being truly helpful.
Frequently revisit why you blog. Select a fun, freeing the driver to egg you on during challenging times.
Being surrounded by bloggers perhaps a bit too greedy or desperate influences less clear bloggers to stray from the fundamentals towards less effective strategies. Recall why you want to blog. Think about being free. Enjoy having fun while you make a living. Dwell on these powerful emotions to pull yourself back to doing what works versus chasing ghosts.
Do not blog mainly for money. Never blog predominantly for being popular.
Both drivers yank your attention away from the fundamentals to silly strategies brimming with spamming, scamming, and trying to get something for nothing.
Remember to blog for fun and freedom.
Speaking of which…
4: Remember That Taking Shortcuts Never Works For Long Term Growth
I saved the best for last on fundamentals.
Taking shortcuts never works for long-term growth.
Attempting to find shortcuts literally puts you back because you skip the work necessary to build a granite-like foundation.
For example, imagine taking the shortcut of dropping 1,000 “Great post!” comments on blogs today. The ego foolishly believes that gaming the system with this approach will yield 1,000 backlinks scattered far and wide in your niche.
Reality check: every single one of the 1,000 comments falls into spam folders. Nobody sees spam comments.
Picture yourself wasting 10 hours today donating to trash folders all over the world. This is a glaring example of how taking shortcuts never work for long-term growth.
Instead of spending those 10 hours creating and connecting to increase your success, you tossed each hour into the cyber garbage can. Tomorrow you need to spend 10 hours doing the simple, practical things required to succeed.
Today you decided to take 1,000 steps backward when you should have published 10-20 genuine, detailed blog comments on authority, niche blogs after reading the blog post.
Reality check: every single one of the 1,000 comments falls into spam folders. Nobody sees spam comments.
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Shortcuts Do Not Exist In Blogging Fundamentals
Long-term growth hinges on long-term, old-fashioned, intelligent work based on being truly helpful.
Write and publish a detailed, targeted blog post.
Submit a thorough guest post to a successful blogger.
Publish a 1-2 paragraph, detailed, genuine blog comment on a respected blog within your niche.
Each strategy takes some time, a willingness to be of service, and trust in self and in the process.
But these simple tactics lay a solid foundation for exponentially increasing your blog growth over the long term.
Conclusion
Do you see why following the blogging fundamentals is so incredibly important?
Either you stick to the basics to succeed or take shortcuts and fail.
You decide.
