Pro Bloggers Attitudes – How Do I Match Up?
I joined the blog challenge running through April so that i could learn as much as possible about blogging successfully and grow my mailing list.
So I have been listening to podcasts and visiting blogs to spy on the best blogging craftsmen (oh and of course women).
What are the best practices? What can I learn?
Let me share with you my fellow bloggers – news about a great podcast.
As I have been walking every morning I have got to know a lot about a guy called Brandon Gaille who is a blogging millionaire.
HIs STORY ( and I will write more about that another day ) is incredible and illustrates how we can overcome obstacles with the right attitude.
Two Blogs On Offer Today:
Here I am going to be offering you two blogs – and I am doing this for a reason that I will explain at the end of this posting.
I am going to take you through the headings of a blog by Brandon Gaille. I will leave just a short point from Brandon about the heading and will insert my thoughts.
[my comments will be under KW: and be BLUE
and those that I have left from Brandon will be BG and BLACK]
Let’s go ahead and get right into the first habit.
#1 Pro Bloggers Exercise Self-Control Throughout the Day
BG:
Three tips
- Check email once every three hours
- Keep all social media windows closed
- Program your phone to only allow calls from spouse and kids
KW:
Great tips.
I am taking action right now TODAY. I have had my quick check this morning and answered a couple of urgent e-mails. Most of the e-mails I do not need – I am going further and will be unsubscribing from a few lists. Task written down for later today.
I will leave social media totally alone until all other tasks are completed for today. I will allocate a couple of hours a day to marketing through social media – but that will be planned.
The biggest irritation for me working from home is answering cold calls. Tried several things to get rid of that unsuccessfully. I know when the call is domestic and will put the rest on answer call.
#2 Pro Bloggers Have an Optimistic and Positive Attitude
BG:
In order to make it through your first year of blogging, you need to have a firm belief that you are going to be successful.
KW:
I can tick a box on this one. Positive attitude when all around are not quite with me. Things do take time but must not get demotivated.
If you can believe, you can achieve.
#3 Pro Bloggers Are Open-Minded
BG:
Steven Covey referred to this as sharpening the saw. As a blogger, you need to always be open to learning new techniques and processes that may be better than what you are currently doing now.
Here are a few ways I sharpen my saw…
- I Listen to Podcasts
- I Sign Up to Online Courses
- I Read Blogs
These three practices have guided me down the path of constant and never ending improvement.
KW:
Podcasts: Listening to podcasts is my sure fire way of keeping up to date and changing tactics when warranted. I have been putting some of my clients up with podcasts – but never done it myself – something to ponder.
Online Courses: I have joined a membership website NAMS with a treasure trove of help with list building etc. On the side of this post you will see some reports which you can download. Go ahead.
Blogs: What I have enjoyed on the April challenge is to meet my peers who have the same intention. To write a blog is giving away so much information about yourself.
#4 Pro Bloggers Have a Long-Term Plan
BG:
As I mentioned earlier… In regards to Google results, the work you do today will reward you six months down the road. Pro bloggers think long term.
They set quarterly, yearly, and five year goals. Here are a couple of questions to help plan for the future.
Where do you want your blog to be a year from now?
- Monthly Visitors?
- Email Subscribers?
- Revenue? Profit?
What actions do you need to take to achieve each of these goals?
If you do not think you have time for coming up with detailed goals, then take a moment to listen to the results of this study. Harvard surveyed their MBA program graduates as they were graduating. They found that…
- 84% had no specific goals.
- 13% had goals but they were not written down.
- 3% had clear written goals.
The 13% of the class that had goals were making twice as much as the 84% without any goals. The 3% of the class that had taken the time to write down goals were earning ten times as much as all of the other 97% of MBA graduates.
KW:
*** This is a lesson for me – the statistics speak – how about you! ***
I have left this section in there as written by Brandon.
BIG TICK for something I have to do.
The MBA story makes that so clear.
What are your goals
#5 Pro Bloggers Take Calculated Risks
KW:
Wow – I have been so ready to take risks and have done that so often.
I have so many stories to tell about this one.
Not always brilliant results but oh how my life changed every time.
Some risky moves turned out to be unexpected and led to terrific changes in domestic life. For example we went full time sailing, had an accident and sank the boat – then spent several years working out in the Middle East helping commission a new hospital in Muscat, Oman. The stories of the expat life and the people we now know around the world are the legacy of that accident.
You know now I hope that visiting my blog will give you a heap of stories.
“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.”
This is a constant reminder to me that I need to continue trying new things in business and in life.
#6 Pro Bloggers Simplify Their Processes
BG:
Bruce Lee once said…
“It is not the daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.”
KW:
This joins my BIG TICK Box and will become one of my first goals.
I am far too complicated when I think ahead.
I see the overall strategy and work too fast in trying to get to the end point – instead of breaking it down and making the simple building blocks which are well crafted and work well.
#7 Pro Bloggers Embrace and Learn from Discomfort
BG:
We are all going to face obstacles in business and life. Embrace them, learn from them, and keep moving forward.
KW:
I mentioned above what a hard time Brandon worked through.
I had to learn just how to deal with a major sickness obstacle.
Through all of my nursing career I didn’t have a singe day of sick.
So you can imagine what a surprise it was when I went through a sickness spell.
About five years ago at home emptying the dish washer I began to feel unwell. It was a heart attack and I had a stent put in.
A year later – blood in my urine which was cancer of kidney – so I had a kidney removed.
A year after that on Boxing day with a house full of family I had a stroke – total loss of function one side and loss of speech – the works. My wife is a nurse and got me to hospital quick. Great fast treatment and I was talking and walking again next day.
The most important thing I noticed during my nursing days was that patients with a positive attitude recovered and got over the illness quickly. That is totally my approach.
#8 Pro Bloggers Never Give Up in the Face of Struggle
KW:
You can see what Brandon has to say in his blog post.
In my case I just wanted to get back to normal life as soon as able. I had computer on my bed – some of my e-mails were sent out with some grammatical errors – I know because i was told so.
The sickness did give me problems running a business – but my business partner was terrific with a very positive and helpful support. In fact that business partner is Adam Eason who is the hypnotherapist that you will hear me talking about regularly. Also my family were the best including my son Tom ( he learned how to set up WordPress websites etc to help me out with some of my client work )
What ever I want to do – I will never let anything get in my way.
#9 Pro Bloggers Spend Time with the Right People
BG:
Reach out to other bloggers and share ideas. This can be through a Facebook group, a MeetUp, or a conference.
KW:
Oh how important is this advice.
In my eyes this blog post is aimed at the group of people who are doing the April Challenge which is on Paul Taubman’s facebook page. What a great group of people to get feedback from. I have already got some great feedback from members of this challenge group.
The place I came across Paul where he was being interviewed by David Perdew in NAMS. I am an insider there and what a great place to get the support and meet with the RIGHT PEOPLE.
It means you are never working in isolation.
Do click on any of the products on the right hand side and in any of those you will find a link to NAMS.
#10 Pro Bloggers Show Appreciation and Gratitude for What they Have
BG:
Here’s another great quote from Zig Ziglar that really sums up the importance of gratitude…
“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.”
Whether you are religious or just spiritual, it is important to show gratitude for everything that you have at the beginning and end of each day.
KW:
I have my faith which is the most wonderful thing that I have and I am probably not good enough at it BUT I know where my thanks are due.
You will not hear me talk about this at all – simply because I am not the one who knows the answers. There are other people much better informed than me.
#11 Pro Bloggers Accept and Embrace Change
KW:
I heard this somewhere on a podcast. (can’t remember which one)
“The only thing that is consistent is change” – Quote Heraclitus
I have been trying to keep up with the changes on the Internet since I put up my first website in 1994.
#12 Pro Bloggers Have a Great Work Life Balance
BG:
I make a point to spend every evening and weekend having fun with my wife and two boys. Without them, it would all be for nothing.
KW:
For the last seven years I have had a motorhome and whenever my wife Babs was on leave we were able to go away. I had the motorhome fitted out with everything so that I could do some work, some play in totally different locations. We were touring Spain and I was able to run my business a couple of hours max a day.
I have retired now but am really excited about starting a problogger business. In fact I am excited about that and will still have the travelling, social approach. Hopefully make an extra bob or two.
#13 Pro Bloggers Want Other Bloggers to Succeed
BG:
I have been fortunate to be part of several great mastermind groups over the past two decades. In each of these mastermind groups, we all sincerely wanted eachother to reach greater levels of success. If I know a blogger that just tripled his revenue, then I am going to be able to learn from him and apply it to my blog. Success breeds success.
KW:
This is a really important part for my new retirement business project.
I have not mentioned my products this week because we are not supposed to advertise within the challenge blogs.
So a subtle mention that I have an affiliate programme that I hope will be of interest to some of the bloggers that read this post.
Certainly get in touch with me if you are interested – so that we can get to know each other.
#14 Pro Bloggers Have a Definite Purpose Behind What They Do
BG:
When I set out to start my blog, I asked myself…
Why do I want to have a successful blog?
At the time, I was having success with my boutique marketing services firm, but I wanted to be able to reach more people beyond just my clients. Over the past three years, my posts have been read by millions. My about page, which is 5000 word bio of my comeback story, has been read by over 100,000 people in last year. I get several emails each day from readers who are inspired by my journey to find success again.
KW:
I have worked with health issues most of my adult life – both physical health where I was hospital nursing and mental health the last ten years with talk therapies.
What fascinates most is the link between the mind and physical problems.
I want to really promote the mind talk therapies and prevention techniques.
I want to kill all the false myths and misunderstandings about hypnosis and raise awareness of the power of the brain to influence change.
#15 Pro Bloggers Share Graciously With Others
BG:
Every once in awhile I get asked…
Why do share your secrets with everyone?
I am big believer in the law of abundance. This is the simple fact that there is an unlimited source of everything that we need or could ever want. The more I share, the more I get back.
My podcast and blog posts allow me to form relationships with people that will eventually become customers of my course and clients for marketing services. If I was afraid to share my secrets, then I would have very little to share.
KW:
I will leave you with Brandon’s words. My thoughts exactly.
#16 Pro Bloggers Accept Responsibility for Their Actions
BW:
At some point, you are going to make a mistake on one of your blog posts. Every once in awhile, no matter how thorough I am, a blog post of mine will leave something important out. About twice a month, I get an email from a reader who lets me know I did not do a great job of representing a specific topic.
I could stand my ground and let them know why I am right, or I could ask them how I could make the post better. I choose the later. I even go as far as offering them the chance to write a few paragraphs for me, which many end up doing.
The end result is a better post and having a new raving fan for life.
KW:
My wife is a Health Visitor and she goes to loads of training. She returned from one course with a No Blame poster that she put up on the wall in the kitchen. It was our no blame area.
I am pretty good on this one – I think!
I have found whenever I admit my mistakes it has worked out well. If I ever have an issue with product delivery online I will make a point of sending more than necessary to compensate. I have a grateful customer and usually a long relationship.
#17 Pro Bloggers Never Make Excuses
BG:
When you run your own blog, the buck stops with you. Most pro bloggers start out blogging while they are working a full time job or raising a large handful of kids. With all of this going on, it is real easy to make the excuse of not having time to get around to posting on a consistent basis.
Always remember what Ben Franklin once said…
“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
KW:
No Excuses – I am where I am and the way I got here was down to me alone. i am with great people and again that is choice and decisions. You are probably a person I should know – who knows. Life is a wonderful journey but it is down to us what we make of it.
Finale by Brandon
The strategies and techniques may change from year to year, but these 17 success habits are timeless. Make them part of who you are and you will be destined to go further than you could possibly imagine.
This post was inspired by a slideshow on the 17 ways successful people approach life by the Eliv8Group. The original slideshow, without the spin on how bloggers use them, can be viewed below.
Finale by Me Keith Watson
Now here is the bit that I don’t understand yet. If you go and look at Brandon’s complete blog – it is really great – with images and so on.
However the whole blog post was based upon a slideshow. Brandon doesn’t hide that fact and you can see that in his finale.
So I am wondering whether what I have done is correct? I thought Brandon’s blog was so good that I would comment on it in my blog. No hiding the fact and here is the blog post – https://brandongaille.com/17-success-habits-of-pro-bloggers/
That is the address to go and see Brandon’s blog. There are so many things I need to put in place to have my blogs working for me and finding me new mail clients.
I would love your comments.
Leave a Reply