A Guest Post by Steve Martile from Freedom Education.
It’s normal to have a bad day, right? Well sure. But what if you have a bad week or a bad month?
I’ve been blogging for just over a year. And if there is one thing that I’ve learned is that you’ve got to be consistent. You’ve got to be consistently putting in an effort to build your blog. It won’t build itself.
So what about those bad days?
I’ve had them and they’re no good. You want to bounce back quickly. Get out of that rut. The quicker the better. So you can get back to blogging, life and other things.
And it all begins with the proper mindset. Here are 3 Mind Power Techniques to Become a Better Blogger:
Mind Power Technique #1: Overcome Writers Block With A Physical Change
When you’re writing and you get stuck, do this. Get up, walk around and sit in a different spot. See your screen from a different point of view. Sit in a different location and gain a new perspective.
Sound to hokey?
You see one thing that’s true for anyone is that a change in your mindset will change your physiology – your body posture, facial expressions, etc. When you think new thoughts, the chemicals in your brain change. But what many people don’t know is that the opposite is also true. A change in your physiology will also change the chemistry in your mind.
This the same reason why some writers will use exercise as a way to gain new insights and spark their creativity. A change in there physical state creates a change in their internal state. Body movement is an effective brain stimulator.
So get your body moving. Get up and go for a walk, get some exercise or just change locations to trigger that inner change – the place where you get all of those great ideas.
Mind Power Technique #2: Track Your Progress
I think over the past 3 months, 70% of the blog carnivals I submit to have either quit or stopped publishing. Which tells me one thing, that more than 7 out of 10 people will quit blogging within 3 months of starting. Don’t let that be you.
Keep your momentum going by using this mind power technique #2: track your progress.
Let me explain.
Recently, I spoke to a sales representative from iperceptions – a survey company that provides statistics and data for websites. What they do is survey people who navigate your website or blog. As part of their surveying process they tested different methods and found something really interesting.
What they did was add a status bar at the bottom of each survey page. That way users could see their progress as they went through the survey. When they did this, the survey completion rates increased by an astounding 67%!
Basically, this is what happened. When users new how well they were doing, they kept going. But if they didn’t have any signs of progress, they quit the survey altogether.
How can you use this technique with your blog?
Start tracking the traffic of your blog by creating a blog traffic diary. I learned this technique from Yaro Starak @ Entrepreneurs-Journey.com.
A blog diary is basically a way to track the unique visitors and pageviews for your blog. I thought it would be a good idea to track my Newsletter subscribers as well. Here’s a snap shot of my traffic and newsletter subscribers each month from November 08 to May 09.
What I found from following this process is that I instinctively became more proactive. I started to think ahead about how I could improve my traffic. If I saw that my unique visitors were down one month, then I would brainstorm ways to improve my performance: either by creating better content or putting more effort into my marketing.
I’ve been pretty active with my blog diary. I still keep it up to date because it’s such a great tool. I’ve pretty much shared what has worked for me and what has not worked over the past year. You can see my blog traffic diary here.
Mind Power Technique #3: Use Comparison To Give Yourself A Boost
Here’s a mistake I made from the very beginning. When I was surfing and commenting on other blogs I would compare myself to those A-List Bloggers:
ProBlogger, StevePavlina, Zenhabits and a few others.
This seemed harmless in the beginning. It started with subtle comments to myself like:
- “Oh, he has more RSS subscribers than me,”
- “She has third party ads on her site and I don’t,”
- “He writes way better than I do!”
Then after a while this self-talk started to grow like weeds in my mind. As time went by I found more and more weeds taking up the space in my head. Which put me in a real bad mood, to the point where I didn’t feel like doing anything anymore – not even blogging.
The important thing here is to catch this internal dialogue quickly. You never want to compare yourself to someone who is better than you (unless you’re looking for ways to improve).
If you’re going to compare, then compare yourself to someone who is worse than you. You can always find someone who is down a notch from your current position.
As you start to compare yourself to someone who is worse off, you’ll start to realize how good things are. You’ll start to feel better about yourself and your position. You’ll start to feel more confident. And when you feel more confident, you’ll start to take action.
If you’re going to compare, compare yourself against someone who is worse than you. At least that way you can bounce back quickly and get back to what you do best.
Steve is a Mind Power Coach and the creator of Freedom Education – Mind Power for Your Personal Growth. He is also the author of the ebook, The Genius Within YOU. You can download his ebook here.
I can understand that being consistant on blogging is a good thing that for sure.
I have totally slacked of on my blogging effort because I decided to focus on other thing for the moment. I never thought of cmparing myself to other blogger because I don’t I was the same caliber as them.
I know eventually I will go back to be more consistant on my blog but or the moment I am just to dumbfounded to write stuff on it.
Great Post!
I agree, 1 bad post/blog can spoil the reputation.
“Use Comparison To Give Yourself A Boost” I like this point. Find your mistake and write down where you went wrong.
And then you will be a better blogger.
I had a bad week last week…thanks. this blog helps.
I love your point about tracking your progress. I’ve read that before that surveys are completed far more often with status bars than those without. That’s an important concept.
I’ve also read that many of the most successful bloggers are those who have simply just stayed with it for the long haul. If we maintain a high quality blog for more than 3 months, as per the time reference that you made, I think that we will have great potential to grow our sites into something worth following.
Thanks for putting this article together. You’ve got some great information on here.
Just a note about writer’s block and how much I agree with the author: I have my laptop at a small desk upstairs lit by a small lamp…very comfortable and homey feel to it. When I find that I can’t write at the desktop, which is in a more business-looking setting, I go upstairs to the small desk and type.
Usually, the change works perfectly. I agree wholeheartedly with the idea to change your setting.
Tracking and comparisons really helps in refining your writings. But what I like the most is tip #1. Its almost always best to start from scratch if someone is stuck. Finding mistakes in own work is really difficult if not impossible.
Thanks for tips :)
It’s easy to become disillusioned in those vital first few months of building a blog. It’s important to keep writing whatever you need to do for inspiration.
Tracking stats is a great motivator while your making progress, but not if you start losing ground despite the hard work.
Comparing yourself to others is a great way to set yourself targets.
i think these are the most honest, direct to the point and “real” tips i got from a true blogger himself. i mean i’ve checked the results on the sidebar for the ongoing survey here at pro blogger on “how long a perosn has been blogging and on thing I’ve noticed is that numbers die down after 3 months or so. I will not be that one. I will continue and keep up and persevere. thanks for the encouragement!
I am a true believer in the power of the mind. If you truly believe something will happen – well then, by golly it does. And by the same token, if you are sure it *won’t* happen – sure enough, it doesn’t.
The trick is training ourselves to keep that positive focus, believe in what we’re doing so we can make it happen. I think your 2nd and 3rd points are very important. It’s so easy to start thinking negative things about your own progress – “nobody’s reading my blog, why do I even do it…” By tracking your progress and refraining from comparing yourself to those who have been doing it longer or have more experience, you can help keep that negativity at bay.
Thanks for the tips. They’re keepers!
Track your progress is really inspirational topic for me.
I do it while my blogging.
I think it’s useful to compare with the A list. I normally visit their site to learn how they write their headlines. It can be pretty useful in the long run.
Good post Steve. Thank you and Darren for sharing. I agree with your recommendations. The one technique I have some hesitation following however is the third one—at least in part.
I often look for sources that are in far better state than I am for motivation. By “looking up” I see what I can obtain if I do my work. By “looking down”, I feel better than at the moment—but unless I am constantly reminded of what can be obtained with hardER work, then I may never reach it. I never compare myself to people who have accomplished less than me. It’s a very competitive space and it will continue to get more in my opinion. If you’re tracking analytics than you are probably doing this “for real gains”. If you’re not being persistent, the next guy will be.
I understand you approach. I just fear that some may get stuck in one place if the challenge isn’t there—constantly. Specially when you are down. It worked for Rocky Balboa. It may be another technique that may work for some.
Thanks again.
I find it useful to routinely track my blog stats (Traffic, Alexa rank, search terms used to find my blog and which links were clicked per day. Maybe I should write up a quick post on which WP plug-ins you need to be able to track these metrics.
I’m getting ready to make a major overhaul if my WP theme from Amazing Grace to Headway, so I can get better at split testing more elements so as to gauge whether my topics, KW, meta data are in sync with what my readers care about.
great thanks
http://teratips.com
Consistency – I believe that is the most important.
Listen to yourself – what you want to and if it does fit with your lifestyle to blog.
Unfortunately, I listen to someone with “14 years of online experience” saying that blogging is waste a time.
I had few blogs and I stopped – Now I have to re-build them.
Learn from experience and move forward.
Great list of tips. I just past my one-year mark, and am constantly wondering how to continue improving. I’ve recently come to the conclusion that this will be a multi-year undertaking.
Glad I havn’t drenched myself in comparison like that. But I can say, I have gone to places like bloggerforum.com to see other people’s smaller personal blogs. You’re right. It does help me feel like I am in the game still at least on some level.
Nice thoughts… to me what matters is the writer’s block which takes out most of my time to overcome the same….
I started my blog a few months ago after reading Darren’s book.
I have to agree that these first few months is very tough.
Just when I get discouraged, I look at my progress from when I started. When I see the visitors, page views, and especially the feed subscriptions going up, I get motivated again to continue on because I know there are people who appreciate what I have to say and are waiting to hear more.
So “keeping track” is the definitely a huge source of encouragement for me.
-Arif
These are great tips. I’m a journalist and coming up with ideas isn’t one of my problems. I write for baby boomer consumers and there are a lot of topics for consumers daily.
Although my traffic has increasing steadily since I started blogging in January of 2008, I’d like it to grow faster. And I’d like to be wildly popular, like one of the big guys.
I write 11 posts a week for three blogs, two of which are mine. It’s hard to find time for marketing, but I’m working on it.
Rita
Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide at http://boomersurvive-thriveguide.typepad.com.
Each is great, but the first one is what works best for me in any writing I’m doing. I hit the AbLounge and get the blood flowing and blocks crumble. What’s stupid is it takes me half a day before I think to do it.
Thanks for the great tips!
Justine
http://justnibbles.blogspot.com/
Steve whenever I get stuck the technique I use is changing the way I write by using different words or sentence, and also by pretending I am writing for nursery school kids so as to make it as clear and simple as possible. Sometimes you might even have to start writing it all over again.
One more thing; the tracking your progress thing is cool, if you know where you are you will know how long it will take you to get to the promise land. I track my progress day-by-day and I can tell I am doing good.
Good tips. It also made me feel better about my little blog. I have good times/bad times, but it is better than 70% of them out there since it’s over 1 year old! =)
http://www.jeanniechan.com
@jeannie_chan
I would never ever compare myself with any other blogger. The sole reason is that if he is better than me I feel like oh my god, Blogging isn’t for me (The mistake you did first).
if I was going to compare myself with another blogger who is a lot less successful that I am, then what I will do is just be proud of myself and neglect what things are to be done.
From my perspective it is always better not to compare yourself with anyone else. try to absorb things which other bloggers have that you dont, but never try to make a comparison like he has Y RSS subscribers while I ave only 1/00Y subscribers….
I find it helpful to always have two or three other things nearby to do. If I can’t make progress on one thing, I move to another.
Good suggestions. Writers block comes far to easily for me since I’m building other peoples site all day. Becomes tedious to work on my own.
Measuring your progress is really important for a Blogger.
I always keep that in mind and it really helps.
Thanks for the Suggestions
I started out our blog with a blogging buddy. We took turns at posting on different days of the week. In the last few months, my blogging buddy has not kept to our schedule. I have been good about picking up the slack up until a few weeks ago. I think that I am resenting the fact that I have now become the one with all the responsibility for keeping the blog going. Writer’s block has definitely set in. I probably need a different set of techniques to get me back on track. Any suggestions?
Jenny
Thanks for sharing the tips. I think staying positive about a personal blog’s progress must be harder than a professional one.
It’s easy to see the same 5 visitors everyday & get discourged.
I had been simply viewing my stats everyday, but I’ll start logging them now to give myself motivation.
Thanks again – Much love from an overseas Army wife,
Jennifer
Your thoughts on “moving” physically when you’ve got writers block is excellent advice. Usually – when I’m having trouble writing – I’ll move myself to the piano, or go for a walk. It clears the head to just take a break.
I found your 1st and 2nd mind power techniques pretty good but I am not fully agree with the 3rd one. I think it all depends on your way of thinking.
You can compare yourself with those which are better than you and make more efforts to cross them or give up. Give up or being depressed is not a solution at all.
Just like this you can compare with the worse one, may be you got a confidence but can this confidence can boost your creativity, I don’t think so.
One should always compare with good one to achieve good quality and goal in fact.
Thanks for such a nice article.
Steve,
Don’t you think it will stop your progress if you gonna start compare yourself against someone who is worse than you?
I think it’s time people faced up to reality and instead of looking for lengthy mind altering solutions just get on with the job in hand. There is nothing worse than ploughing through a myriad of self improvement waffle when you have completed the task 5 minutes ago and be heading down the pub to let your batteries recharge.
This is some really great food for thought!!! I am working on my second blog now , I got lost and frustrated with the first.
I really enjoyed this article. I definitely have a boost of energy after yoga and/or a gym workout, which inspires me to sit down and write…write….write!!
And #3 is a good tip too. I do it all the time and I should know better. We would all be better off to only compare our blog’s present performance to where it was in the past, rather than trying to outdo our perceived (or real) “competition.”
Thanks for those tips on being a better blogger. I will be using them and yes, yes, so true I am guilty of comparing myself to others and I am a new blogger on the block (three months), that’s like comparing a new born baby to a ten year old or someone older. However, blogging is important to me and I am beginning to see some positive results. You need to be patiently confident and have the courage to stay the course.
Happy blogging fellow bloggers and focus on why YOU started to blog. You are unique and have something to share that no one else has and the world needs to hear – so share, share. and share some more.
Thanks for sharing that inspiring post Steve.
You’ve made some excellent points here, and I can surely relate to technique # 1, having used it many times. It really does work.
I’ll be trying the others as well.
It’s good to meet you.
@ Nicholas: Thanks Nicholas :)
@ Josh: that’s a great point about moving onto something else Josh. Sometimes I get too attached to one outcome and because of that attachment I don’t move onto other projects to give me that “space.”
The “space” usually provides me with with more of an insight or clarity, which gets me moving again; great point.
@ Jenny: It might be worth clearing up this resentment with your partner. As long as the other person knows where you’re at and how their behavior is impacting you, then this alone might give you the room to clear the block from your mind.
Sometimes writers block and all sorts of other unconscious blocks and barriers surface when there is tension in relationships. Generally speaking once the resentment or frustration is resolved in that relationship so is the block.
@ Vilmis: To your question, “Don’t you think it will stop your progress if you gonna start compare yourself against someone who is worse than you?”
What do you mean by that? How would that work?
Great list of tips. I am constantly wondering how to continue improving. I’ve recently come to the conclusion that improvement is a never ending process.
Mind Power Technique #2 is really serving me well. Having that “sense” of accomplishment when I see progress really keeps me going.
Hey Steve Great article..I have a very weird habit..When I get tired of Sitting and running out of idea..I carry my iPhone and sit in the Bathroom for hours…
I use a mindmapping tool for my iphone and somehow it helps me as lot to jot down the ideas and strategies….
Regarding A list Blogger thing, it used to happen with me as well..but lately I realize when darren, Amit, John have earned (reputation,fame and money) is with time.,…
There is no shortcut to Success…. So follow the basics and success will follow you…
I totally agree with changing the place of writing. It really gives the creative-mind back to head so that the author can write really well. However, I’m confused about comparing myself to successful bloggers. I think it helps me improve. So I do not agree with the third point. Can the author tell me on something behalf of the third point?
For me the biggest thing has been to stick with it and not give up. It’s sad that so many give up after 7 months. That’s about the time my traffic really started to go up on my fitness blog. Had I given up at 6 months, I never would have seen any real results.
I’ve really never heard of your first tip. That’s a great idea and will start implementing right away. Your second tip is great but I sometimes like not seeing or tracking the stats because I love the surprises or sales and traffic when I’m not expecting it. I don’t do this for all of my sites or my main sites.
Your third tip is awesome and is something I already do. Yeah like this blog “problogger” I learn and study from it. It’s a blog that I look up to and is a model of what I want in the future. If I compare any of mine to this one then I would go into a depression and quit. :) I find newbie blogs and I compare. It builds up my confidence and it also shows me that I am on the right track with my blogs.
thanks!
This is some worthy of gold advices, Steve. The first time I heard about how your physiology would affect your mindset is from Anthony Robbins but never really thought of using it when I have no mood to blog. Thanks
Excellent post Steve.
Loved the first chapter. I have learned this principle from Tony Robbins.
When you feel bad, sad, discouraged – just stand up, straighten up and smile. Smile the widest smile you have ever smiled – it will make you feel better, and in couple of minutes you’ll be very enthusiastic :)
Great practical tips. Totally agree with the exercise/movement idea. I’m still at the pre-blog stage but I know since I started exercising daily I have become more clear-headed and much more creative.
About comparisons, same question as Vilmis really, but doesn’t comparing yourself with the best help you to aim higher, doesn’t it work like competition, increasing standards? I understand that comparing yourself with someone worse can make you feel better, but isn’t it also good to look at the best to spur improvement?
Like the positive mental attitude Igor!
Hi Steve,
I can’t agree more to this post, bloggers will definitely experience a loss of drive multiple times and when it happens, a couple of trick to get to work mode again will be really be helpful. Personally, I take a short break during these times. I usually do some stretching or I’ll head outside to breathe some fresh air. Likewise, checking out your competition’s progress will also ignite your brain cells. Well, no one wants to be left behind. Use the feeling positively that will definitely yield to finished task with competitive results. I also may share what I read from another blog about overcoming writer’s block and that is to get inspire once you’re blocked.ss
These are all really great techniques to incorporate if your plan is success. I’ve ventured into the blogosphere on 3 separate occasions. First, I was just doing something to kill time. Boredom…is the invention of many wonderful things.
My second time around my blog was too topic specific. I focused completely on politics, politics and more politics (which was great during our last presidential campaign)
Once Palin had gone back to Alaska, McCain had gone back to the Senate, and Obama was heading for the White House, I found myself completely “lost”. So, I just shut the site down. A site that had over 200 readers and a google PR of 5!
But I’m back. Newly divorced and feeling a freedom I haven’t experienced in my adult life. So, it’s basically like letting your hair down and letting your mind take your fingers where ever you want to go.