If you’re anything like me, sometimes you want to punch the so-called “blogging gurus” in the face.
This is probably because you’ve done everything they’ve told you to do. You’ve implemented their social media strategies, and tweaked them for your own blog. You’ve written about controversial topics with a strong, original voice, and you’ve made your blog look clean and spiffy.
Yet no matter what you try, it always seems like a failure.
But guess what?
There’s something very important about all that work you’re doing, a blogging success secret that no one wants to talk about. And it all has to do with that ever-so-frustrating word: failure.
Never Heard of This Blogging Success Secret? Not Surprising.
A lot of people don’t want to admit they went through a period of failure, and in society in general, it’s pretty taboo to talk about this success secret. For some reason, it’s seen as shameful to fail.
Who cares that Steve Jobs was kicked out of Apple when he’d started the company in the first place? What matters to the world is that he found “success” in the end (which in this case means he started earning shit-tons of money).
Sure, his failure helped him accomplish this success in the long run, but that’s always the point, isn’t it? That perseverance and hard work can overcome failure?
But this is really just a distraction we keep telling ourselves as human beings, that we’re so awesome we can “beat” failure.
Have we ever stopped to think about the value of failure itself, especially in terms of blogging?
Success Sucks; Failure’s Freakin’ Fantastic.
When our blogging pursuits fail, we’re so eager to overcome this to prove that we can be “successful” that a lot of the time we forget to reminisce on failure itself.
We often want to skip the “what did I learn from this?” step and just move right on to the next blog project to prove our worth, and not feel ashamed. On the flip side, we might get so tied up in our blog’s failure that we refuse to move forward ever again.
However, there’s a far better way to deal with failure, and it’s one of the best-kept blogging secrets there is. To better illustrate how to deal with failure, let’s look at one of my favorite movies, Elizabethtown.
The film’s about a young shoe designer named Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) whose poorly designed product flops and loses his company $972 million dollars. Now fired, Drew refers to his failure as a fiasco:
As somebody once said thereโs a difference between a failure and a fiasco. A failure is simply the non-presence of success. Any fool can accomplish failure. But a fiascoโฆ a fiasco is a disaster of mythic proportions. A fiasco is a folktale told to others that makes other people feel more alive because it didnโt happen to them.
Ouch.
Fortunately, as typical Hollywood scripts have it, Drew meets an upbeat young woman named Claire (Kirsten Dunst) who gets to know him over the course of a few days. Once she understands his situation, she forces him to confront it instead of just commiserating over it. She sends him to pick up the latest issue of Forbes which covers his “fiasco” story, and then says:
You have five minutes to wallow in the delicious misery. Enjoy it, embrace it, discard…and proceed.
If you as a blogger listen to Claire’s advice, you’ll realize there’s not much wiggle room for wallowing in your blogging failures. And there’s definitely no command to just ignore them, either.
What she’s suggesting is that you acknowledge your failures, learn from them, and move on, because failure in blogging is only shameful if you don’t do anything about it.
Failure: The Secret of Our Success.
The reason failure is the shameless blogging success secret is because the successful bloggers are the ones who took the time to confidently embrace their failure in the first place.
These bloggers didn’t let themselves get stuck in the “Woe is me! I’ll never blog again” trap–which is really far more shameful than failing and learning from it, if you think about it. They’re the ones who took those five minutes (but no more) to wallow in their misery. They continued handling failure the right way by enjoying and embracing it (maybe they threw darts at a sheet of paper with their bad ideas written all over it or something).
Finally, they discarded their misery and proceeded to create those hugely successful blogs that you’re comparing your own failed one to (you are comparing, right? Don’t lie).
The point is that they dealt with their failures in a positive manner and then moved on to create something awesome.
Copyblogger’s Jon Morrow is one of the pro bloggers willing to talk about his failures, which is a great help in a world where people are afraid to talk about the value of failure.
It’s also why anyone who follows him knows that failure is one of the best, most shameless blogging success secrets. Jon started 3 blogs, all of which flopped, before he realized that he needed to take that vital step of addressing his failures and learning from them.
Now look where he’s at. You’re probably insanely jealous.
But you know what? He didn’t get there by wallowing in failure, or by ignoring it. And neither will you.
If your blog fails, consider yourself blessed to have the opportunity to learn how to fix your mistakes.
You’ll become a better blogger for it, one who people will relate to and gladly follow.
Then in the future, when a frustrated blogger asks you how you achieved blogging success, you can smile and say, “I experienced failure, but I took five minutes to wallow in it before I enjoyed it, embraced it, discarded it, and moved on.”
What’s your biggest blogging failure so far, and what did you learn from it?
Jawad Khan says
Great stuff Bree!
There are just too many bloggers out there projecting themselves as invincible.
It’s fitting that you’ve mentioned Jon as an example for someone who’s open about his failures.
I think that’s one of the major reasons for his success. He doesn’t mind failing, and is very open about how he manages to take positives out of failure.
Tom Ewer, leavingworkbehind.com, is another example.
Cheers!
Sofie says
I’m such a fan of Tom!
Also because he stays so approachable.
I think my biggest blogging failure up until now is that I can’t define my biggest blogging failure.
I’ve started travel blogging almost a year and a half ago and I know several travel bloggers who started later and now have (much) more readers, more social media followers, more whatever.
I research a lot about blogging; I test a lot of tactics; and yet I’m missing something.
There’s something I’m really not doing right that keeps people from showing up and coming back. Not being able to find what it is is my biggest blogging failure.
Or I could just be a terrible writer ๐
Bree says
I love Tom, too!
One of the biggest problems with bloggers is that they’re human, and ultimately that’s what it comes down to when they mess up. We’ll always mess something up — we’re human. And yet somehow that’s not acceptable in society? Odd.
Sofie, perhaps you need to start focusing on your blog and writing directly, not the tactics other people use? Ask YOUR readers what they want from you, put the work in, and deliver it!
Sofie says
I’m actually working on that atm:-)
jodanclary says
Loved this post! Timely, too as I’ve been working on revamping my blog lately. My first biggest failure was not having a focus for my blog. I was going to India for six months, and had no idea what to do with it when I came home. I do wonder, how do you know when it’s time to give up and move onto a new blog, different topic? I know it takes time to build an audience. What if we give up to soon?
Bree says
I guess it depends what you’re writing about, Jordan. You can only blog about a 6-month trip for so long, unless you’ve decided to continue the blog because you loved the country so much and the blog’s dedicated solely to ideas/inspiration from that part of the world. Also, why do you even need to ask when you should “give up?” Setting yourself up for failure with that one. ๐
Alicia Rades says
Such words of wisdom! I’ve had 4 blogs in the past, including the one I’m currently updating.
Obviously, I’ve had quite a few failures to leave three other blogs behind. Most of that was because I hadn’t given much thought to my niche and what I was really passionate about. I lost interest too quickly.
However, that’s not my biggest failure. My biggest blogging failure is the failure to market. I have the whole writing thing down, but I’ve never done much to market. This year, I’m aiming to comment on more blogs, engage more in social media, interview more people, and make more connections. I’ve learned in the past that NOT marketing, and not marketing right, is a huge mistake if I want to get anywhere with my writing and build an audience. I even wrote a post on it: http://thewritingrealm.com/2013/09/30/why-im-not-a-believer-in-the-content-is-king-philosphy/
Thanks for the motivational post!
Bree says
Looks like you have a far better grasp on how to get your blog rolling, Alicia!
Margaret McGriff says
This post reminded me of something my aunt always tells me: A pity party only lasts for 24 hours. After that, keep it movin’!” LOL
This post is so spot on. The best lessons are learned from the mistakes and struggles we make. And when you get through that and achieve success you can truly appreciate it. I wish a lot more success stories were more transparent with sharing what the blogger did wrong and what they learned from it.
One of my biggest blogging failures was when I first started my style blog and, with the help a friend, scored a spot on a conference call with big name bloggers to interview Reese Witherspoon on a new fragrance she was coming out with. I was completely unprepared, no tape recorder, hardly took notes, and got one question in. I felt like I totally screwed up a big chance at an awesome blog post. What I learned was that while its good to go after big opportunities, you have to be prepared and get yourself the tools you need to make it happen.
Now I’m struggling with getting my audience again. My traffic never really recovered since I had my daughter last year and I’m trying everything I can to expand my reach.
Bree says
Margaret, that word “transparent” is one of my absolute favorites. I do wish more bloggers, and more companies/people in general, would implement it.
Sophie Lizard says
I made that same mistake once, Margaret! The author William Gibson visited my town years ago and gave a group interview to local blogs / small press. I sat dumbstruck through the whole thing, feeling like I wasn’t important enough to ask questions. After that I went home with a dictaphone full of other people’s questions and I felt like such a dumbass I never published a thing about it.
Now, I’m a lot less twitchy – I can interview anyone without losing my mental faculties. Going all fangirl was often the fear that kept me silent, but I’ve realised I *am* capable of interviewing people I admire and I *will* have good questions for them. ๐
MJ says
My biggest blogging failure was not having the balls to correctly re-submit a post to Sophie and instead published it on my blog.
A few months ago, on a whim and a little wine, I emailed Sophie a post but didn’t read the guidelines until afterwards. I then sent a quick email profusely apologizing and told her to ignore it. I was completely embarrassed and just posted it on my blog, which I share with my best friend.
A month later, she emailed me and asked if she had ever responded to that email, and said she’d like to publish my post. *sigh*
I was super excited and kicking myself in the ass at the same time.
I really need to grow a pair and not be afraid of failure, as we need to fail to help us grow.
Thank you for writing such a great post, Bree. ๐
Bree says
Haha, well, apparently now you know what to do for next time, right? ๐
MJ says
Yep. ๐ Working on a post I want to submit, though, I have a difficult time with the outline requirement. When I write, I just write.
In high school, I used to write my paper first, then I’d write my outline. I used to hate when we had to turn in *all* the steps of our writing process.
Bree says
I guess it depends if you write concisely — the reason for outlines is to map out what you write so you stay on track, right? So if you already do that without an outline, it should be easy to pull out your main points and put them into an outline.
MJ says
I guess my problem is, since I don’t write an outline, when I write, I want that to be it. Done.
For me, writing an outline is like having to explain myself all over again, if that makes any sense. I feel it’s tedious. If the writing is done, then why do I need to take a step back and re-write it in an unfinished form?
I know it sounds stubborn, but my brain works differently than following the norm.
Am I digging myself into a hole? lol
I’ll do it if I have to, but by being difficult, I mean my brain drags its feet. I really don’t know how to explain it. I have ADD (professionally diagnosed), if that explain anything. ๐
Sophie Lizard says
For some people, writing an outline is part of the creative process. For others, the creativity comes first and the outline is just for the pitching process.
The way I see it, asking you to send an outline is like asking you to quickly show me that your post will have a logical flow of points in it, but without requiring me (or Lauren) to read the whole post.
The reason editors like to see an outline *before* you write a draft is so that, if we like points 1, 2, 4 and 5 of your outline but we’re not keen on point 3, we can let you know and you don’t waste half an hour drafting a point we don’t plan to include. ๐
MJ says
Ah, that makes sense. Thank you!
I always hated having to do it in high school because I didn’t see the point. ๐
Pinar Tarhan says
I love the article, Bree:)
My problem is that I don’t write and publish as much as I want to. I haven’t managed to maintain a constant schedule, like once a week. I have several blogs, and some go without a new post for months. I know I should carry out a plan and act accordingly. Or I shouldn’t try to run 4 blogs, have a freelance writing career along with fiction writing at the same time. ..:D
Bree says
Yeah… something’s gotta give there. ๐ Can you combine some of those blogs into one larger one? Or maybe just start thinking about one or two of those blogs as online diaries so you’re not so worried about how often they’re updated (yep, going back to the old-school reason for blogs)?
Pinar Tarhan says
I should try combining. They are not diaries, but they have a long, long way to go:)
Williesha Morris says
LOL Bree! This makes your comment on my blog post in G+ seem even more important! Haha I’ve now written 3 posts about how I’ve failed.
My biggest failure is that I beat myself up when a post doesn’t do well – as in doesn’t get any comments, shares. I don’t know why I get so hung up on that. It’s important, but it’s not the end of the world. So this year, I’m trying my best to not do that.
Bree says
Numbers definitely aren’t everything! (Eh, 3 failures in a week is better than 10, right?)
Daryl says
Not marketing properly.
After a year in the biz, I’m only now beginning to see what I should have been doing in terms of marketing, as opposed to what I have been doing.
This, along with other factors, led to the quick death of my first blog.
It’s also led to the start and stop growth of my other blogs – which really *should* have been further along than they currently are, but have been not growing the way that they should be.
Bree says
Good luck on improving that in 2014, Daryl!
Jasmine Watts says
My biggest failure was wasting my time writing for website that were paying me pennies! I wish I would’ve had the foresight to search for better opportunities sooner.
Bree says
Are you out of those websites now, Jasmine? I hope so!
JR John says
I’ve come across an interesting quote before:
“Learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others, because you sure can’t make them all!” ๐
Anyways, I’d have to say that I don’t really believe that success sucks. After all, if all I get from day 1 till the end of my freelance writing career is success, I’m not gonna complain! ๐
Just kidding, I know what you meant. ๐
Regards,
JR John
Gurwinder Singh says
Hello,
I guess my biggest blogging failure was not starting blogging earlier and secondly wasting too much of my time on Facebook doing unnecessary things.
Anyways life is full of learning experiences and I hope there are lot of things awaiting for me this 2014.
Bree says
Ugh, Facebook. For me, it’s Twitter. I actually stopped using it the last few months because I’ve been so busy, and I haven’t really missed it.
Julie says
I agree with this…..how do I manage to waste so much time, doing something that is actually nothing, I ask myself
Emelia says
Thanks for the encouraging post Bree!
I had a blog that only a couple of people commented on. I shut it down because I felt like it was boring only to regret it later when someone who has read it before asked me why he could not find it. I learnt that it is not always a good idea to shut down your blog, especially if you can have it live at minimal costs. I now can’t stop wondering how many leads I would have gotten through that one person who thought my blog was worth reading.
I’ve started a new blog which I think is hungry for attention. I love the topic I am writing about on this blog and I am willing to be persistent until someone takes notice.
Bree says
Is that your theonlinewritingbusiness.com link? If so, yeah, people are incredibly thirsty for it. ๐
I had a problem similar to you where I started a blog about general geek stuff and I felt like it was too much like every other blogger’s online. I’m revamping it now, though, to focus only on geek business/marketing and personal development. People really liked my blog before, and I even got my first client from my blog based on a business-related post I wrote, so hopefully this new direction will be spot on.
Emelia says
Thanks Bree, and all the best with your new plans.
Liz Patt says
My biggest failure by far is/was letting old burnout dictate my ability to start a new project, completely unrelated to the one that burned me out! Faiiiiil.
Shauna L Bowling says
I love this article, Bree. It gives hope to us all and reminds us that we have failed at so many things in life, yet we pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and get back in the saddle. How many times did we fall on our asses when learning to walk? How many skinned knees did we suffer before mastering the skill of riding a bike?
Blogging and writing are no different. We learn from our mistakes (hopefully) and use them to our advantage.
I just started blogging in the late summer of 2013. I’ve written for a while but had never built a website nor had I written for a specific audience. I knew I had to do something to promote my freelance writing business, so I strapped on my brass pair and jumped into the website building pool. I have few followers (I can count them on my fingers and toes) at the moment. I switched my niche in late November and, to be honest, haven’t been as diligent as I should in posting. Up until last week I could blame it on the holidays. Now there is no excuse, so I have revamped my game plan and will make every effort to gain readers, fans and clients. My biggest downfall is marketing. I absolutely hate it. Well, I don’t really hate it – it’s unfamiliar territory that intimidates the hell out of me. As long as I look at it as another hurdle to jump, I’ll be fine. When I stop jumping hurdles is the time to stop living.
Whew! I just wore myself out with this long comment. Time to take a breath.
Great post!
Bree says
Shauna, the holidays really screwed with my schedule and diligence, too. At least next year I know how to handle it now. (It also didn’t help that we moved cross-country in December and my husband got a back injury the Sat. before Christmas…)
Also, I appreciate your honesty about marketing because that’s where I started out and still feel I am in some ways, too. But when I start to feel like this entire process is worthless, I look at it as just a hurdle to get over and take one thing at a time. I also tell myself that if a company or site/publication simply doesn’t want my writing help, then they weren’t the client for me!
Chris M Cloutier says
Wow! I’m blown away by all the responses here. It kinda makes me re-evaluate what I thought was my biggest failure. Until now, I thought my biggest failure was not finding my audience, while many who have started after me have found large audiences.
It makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong and maybe I am, but that’s not my biggest failure. I think my biggest failure is not acknowledging my failures. Trying to cover them up and pretend they aren’t there, all of a sudden seems like a terrible idea, but that’s what I’ve been doing. Now I know better, thanks.
Rohi Shetty says
Thanks for the great insights, Bree.
My biggest blogging failure has been not investing in myself earlier, that is, not joining an online course and seeking the help of a mentor.
I joined Danny Iny’s Audience Business Masterclass a couple of months ago and it’s made a big difference already in many different ways.
Thanks again for your wonderful post.
btw, Carol Tice is very transparent about her failures – some of her posts describing her mistakes are very inspiring.
Bree says
I have a friend doing Danny’s course and she loves it. I would also recommend Jon Morrow’s guest blogging course – seems that with these two, anyone can build a successful blog.
Carol’s indeed open about her mistakes, but in terms of blogging, she found easy success and hasn’t really experienced failures. Even she will admit that she started her blog and it just happened to take off. She hit the jackpot so many bloggers think they will, but that’s not how it always happens. Which is why I wanted to use Jon as an example of blogging failures in particular. ๐
Mirta says
My biggest blogging failure has at least several points:
(1) wasting time on picking the right form (the ‘right’ website layout etc.) first, instead of doing as I do offline: content first, layout choice second
(2) starting too many ideas at once & taking my blog too serious (you know the guru talk and all the prerequisites you ‘need’ to make it perfect, widely popular and successful) – instead of picking one, working it out, and learning and testing things as I go.
vs.
(3) not taking myself and blogging as seriously as it should be, as if I didn’t have much to contribute, and do it regularly… so I made my blog an ‘orphan’ (in a way, because one of my colleagues took care of it), and gave up on it for a while (as in 5 years minimum) – I have started a WordPress related blog, and without much effort, it went to 100+ subscribers within a few months
(4) trying to make the content perfect right away – headlines, SEO, and everything;
(5) not starting a blog (yet) – feeling like a newbie regarding my desired topics, picking headlines, guestblogging, etc. Plus, if I am going to write for the audience (me + other people), are they going to like it enough?
(6) being busy with other things – such as being busy working and looking for ways to earn to cover my expenses + 200$ for the first installment of a writing course I want to attend (Jon Morrow’s GuestBlogging class starting on Jan 15th).
There are probably several reasons for that. E.g. when I had much more money, after I finish my daily work, I hadn’t had the energy (after working 10 or more hours a day), time or will to do anything related to thinking.
According to my previous experience, people loved my articles (used to write in some offline publications and ), but writing an up-to-500-word article (such as an event report etc.) would take me 3-4 hours, which is too much. On the other hand, I knew I could write a personal journal page in no time, except that would be for my eyes only. This is why I generally avoid writing, although I used to be very active on forums, etc. Even if it would take less time for a response or comment (and again, people would tell me how much they loved to read my thoughts), it would total to 3-4 hours a day in overall, as I would get too involved in staying on top of things there.
The funny thing is if I needed to write a PhD dissertation or a thesis on the university, or edit a book, or a paper, it . I had a professor who showed us how to do it, so I know the workflow, the structure, I can easily make a plan, concept, research and everything else. I’ve done more than 30 papers, probably, while on university, and even more later on. But when it comes to writing an article, such as the ones I like to read, e.g. here, or on Lifehacker, ProBlogger, Smashing Magazine, etc., I feel like a total newbie.
I could find several more reasons, but I feel the point (1), and the time it took me to write an article, are some of the most important reasons for not having an active blog right now, which I count as the biggest failure.
Aisha Shehu says
My failure is being too scared to take a chance. I always feel like I need more lessons to move ahead or that I am not ready – procrastination. But this year I am going to take the bull by the horn, map out a strategy and implement.
Bree says
DO IT, Aisha. ๐ We’re here to support you if you want us to kick you towards the bull.
Lynn Silva says
My biggest mistake was a doosey…and wowwww…so embarrassing…my cheeks are red even now just thinking about it! Okay, here goes:
On a guest post, I was giving examples of successful people that failed many times before success. One of the examples I used was that ‘Einstein’ had many failures before inventing electricity! Einstein??? Really???? Edison invented electricity!!! But here’s the worst part, I didn’t realize the mistake until someone pointed it out in the comments!!! It’s there, on the internet…for an infinity!
Bree says
LOL, Lynn. I love it.
Claire says
My biggest failure was fear of expressing my genuine thoughts and my real self, and hiding behind what I thought my writing and my site were “supposed” to look like!
Sarah Li Cain says
My biggest failure so far is skipping on a meeting with a potential client on Skype, which could have been my biggest contract ever. I stupidly agreed to a meeting despite having to stay up in the middle of the night and I ended up sleeping at the computer. I learned that my sleep is a priority and I can’t be doing that to my health. As well, if I’m super tired, then I’m not going to be my best when talking to someone anyway.
Bree says
That’s a hard lesson to learn, Sarah, but at least you know now that you can’t skip out on sleep!
Halona Black says
My biggest blogging failure is simply not blogging out of confusion. Rather than continuing to put some kind of content out there, I chose to stay paralyzed in fear of not writing the correct thing. My health blog continues to lie dormant and is guaranteed to not be successful so long as I continue to leave it that way.
Bree says
Where are you confused at, Halona? Seems like you know you want to write about health!
Brenda Spandrio says
Good point about LEARNING from failure instead of just ignoring it.
I used to be paralyzed by fear of failure and fear of making mistakes. And then the love of my life asked my why I thought I would never make mistakes or do things wrong. That change in perspective opened a whole new world for me. Prior to that, I lived in “victimhood” and to be proactive would have meant taking responsibility for my decisions. Since then, I’ve made a lot of bad decisions — but they were MY decisions — and the freedom is amazing.
My blog fail: Not writing. No excuse for that (although I’d love to pull some of the old ones out!).
Here’s to a prolific — and productive — 2014!!
Chris Peden says
Wonderful article, Bree. Can’t really identify where I have failed. I still see myself as a student, and look at the experience as one of discovery. I started my website to showcase my accounting and tax knowledge to not only potential writing clients, but to potential accounting and tax clients as well. I haven’t gotten any nibbles yet, but will be going hard in Sophie’s Client Hunting Masterclass to clarify the clients to go after, and how to go after them.
Please keep writing. I enjoy your posts.
Bree says
Thanks for the compliment, Chris. I’d challenge you to look for something you failed at, even if soon after you realize it was just one of those discovery experiences. Maybe you didn’t view it as a failure because you were able to move past it so quickly (which is awesome)!
Larry says
I suppose my overall hesitation of going for it or putting it all out there is my biggest failure. 1/2 way is not getting it done.
Craig Martin says
Wow, Bree. Just.. wow.
I’ve read some of those self-help, improve-your-life sort of things that tell you to embrace failure so you can learn and progress, but this.. just put it all into perspective now that I’m trying to work on my freelancing business.
Oh, and for me, my failure was letting the pressures (or lack thereof) get to me — marketing, social media, etc etc. I didn’t want to deal with it, but I thought Google Ads and paying for traffic to my site would boost its rankings and my readership would increase, right?
Shake your head with me.. yup. A little bit of cash down the drain for nothing but an average of 0.72 seconds per visit. Now I’m motivated to absorb the facts, embrace the reality (as well as lessons from failure) and just keep it going..
Scott Williams says
I think my biggest failure as a blogger comes from not being able to find my voice or niche, I’m not sure which. I have a few failed blogs including one that’s sort of a success because of 1 post. I have such a wide array of interest that I can’t seem to narrow my focus and that has me all willy nilly on my pages. Instead of one focused page, I have several neglected pages in its place. I’d love to find my true focus and put everything to 1 page but so far that focus has eluded me.
Raspal Seni says
I maybe late for posting here, but posting because Sophie didn’t officially close this yet.
I agree with you, Bree, that without failures, Success isn’t possible. Even though I haven’t achieved success yet, I’ve faced failures myself and have gained experience on the way. But, there are some things, I couldn’t change for myself at the moment. It just means success will take some more time for me.
My biggest blogging failure, I think, is money and time. In other words, having less money to start with. I had left usual 9-5 jobs already a few years ago, but due to some health issues, also wasn’t able to do online jobs till recently. Then, when I started my own blogs last year, I thought I only needed a few pennies for hosting and a domain name. Although I did get these two for about 20 bucks (for an year), combined, a lot of my time goes for taking care of the technical aspects of my blogs (which increased from one to three, now).
I find it difficult to do all the things myself but at this time, can’t hire a developer or get something like WPEngine hosting, which I’ve heard a lot of good things about.
What takes my time in addition to usual writing, social media marketing and searching for online jobs?
1. Blog designing and sometimes re-designing.
2. Blog themes+plugin updating and other maintenance tasks like optimizing WordPress for all three blogs. Sometimes it takes very long to do maintenance on something which breaks.
3. I can do it with a little research, but I’m not that good on coding which is sometimes needed. This does take some time too.
I’ve learned not to start a business with almost empty pockets and not to leave other jobs before starting the business. It was a different reason for me to not work, though. It feels like I’m bound, due to having no money to spend for things I need for my business.
Cassandra says
I’ve been so scared to fail, but one of the number one things I’m learning from “millionaire mind” type people is that failure is inevitable. They aren’t afraid to take risks, to fail, to give it their all, and sometimes over and over again.
Your blog post is so inspiring and oh-so true. We only see people’s highlight reels and forget or don’t ever see the real meaty stuff, the stuff it took to get them where they are.
Thank you for writing about this!
Sophie Lizard says
*Fantastic* comments here. The winner is MJ! Congratulations, Marisa, I’m emailing you about your prize now. ๐
For everyone else, the BAFB forums are always open whenever you need some advice or support from your fellow freelance bloggers.
Jo Gifford | Blogger & Blog coach says
I love this post, so true. Documenting a journey about failure in projects too is SO valuable to readers, and shows authenticity and personality. No one is a “guru” overnight, if ever ๐ x
Melisa says
This is a wonderful post! You can take it beyond that! Being vulnerable is what makes people relate! Maybe we haven’t failed, but we get the feeling!
It’s really hard to put yourself out and make yourself vulnerable, such as admitting failure. If you can do it, you probably have a really good outlook on life, and it will carry you through your hardships.
I’m really jealous of people that can tell the whole world their failures. I’m still hiding, but you and other people are making me see the light, Bree!
Julie says
I commenced a blog approx 12 months ago, after completing a blogging course which left me full of enthusiasm, although lost motivation, and recently closed it down.
In retrospect I believe my failure was; choosing to write about something which I had already moved away from in my life.
I used to have a ‘locally’ successful (in name not money) career in an alternative/paranormal industry, but lost my own identity, I became a ‘what’ instead of a ‘who’.
I gave up this career, even though it will always be a part of me, so commenced a blog relating to what I had learnt during that period of my life using a pseudonym, of course. However, as; in my mind I had already shut this door (albeit temporarily) I lost the ooomph required.
I guess, my failure was/is; I want to retain anonymity, but still be a success, writing about something which I have the expertise in………..time to look at a new blog, I guess…..any ideas ?