“A man’s got to have a code, a creed to live by, no matter his job.” — John Wayne
Picture your favorite western and you have the idea—blogging is like the adventurous times of the Wild West.
If you are a seasoned blogger then you probably already know some of these rules and face them on a daily basis.
If you are a beginning blogger, here are some rules to live by in this era of transformation as we cowboys and cowgirls step out onto the range.
(1) Are you feeling like the Lone Ranger?
Often blogging creates a solitary work environment which can luckily be combated with Social media and networking with other bloggers as you sit at your computer desk.
The pioneers knew that to survive they would have to be kind, honest, accept responsibility, and lend a helping hand.
I would add that not just to survive, but actually thrive as bloggers, we must all do the same.
This is proven time and time again, as we read the track records of some of the most financially successful bloggers, even if they are running a one-man or one-woman blog, they certainly help others and get support from fellow bloggers.
(2) What Do You Need In Your Saddlebags?
There are many great articles at Problogger.net to give you the resources you need to start and maintain a blog.
Some of the tools that I found to be essential to carry in your ‘saddlebags’ are certain features like a “site map.”
After all you don’t want your blog to be a ghost town! So you need to work the Search Engine Optimization.
One way early on is to help your blog/site to get indexed by the major Search Engines is by building a site map. At http://www.SecretsForMoney.info I used a plugin called “Google XML Sitemap“.
I also used the plugin called “SEO Title Tag” at Secrets for Money to search engine optimize my blog’s title tags by creating a customized title tag for any post, static page or category page.
(3) Know Your Brand Or The Cattle Rustlers May Use Theirs
It is important that you have a written business plan for your blog if you want your blog to be monetized. And create a blueprint of strategies for developing your blog “brand” so you have clarity at all times and a forward-looking vision.
Just like the ranchers had to have a brand for their cattle and had to always have someone on watch so the cattle rustlers didn’t put their mark on the rancher’s cattle overnight while they slept.
How does this Old West wisdom apply to your blog?
Know your plan and brand for your blog, and stick to it. This position will help you make confident decisions when you are faced with all the temptations of the “latest this or that” promising to make your blog better.
Be discerning; there are a lot of great gadgets, but you will be overwhelmed very quickly and you will get off track in the technological world of blogging if you lift your head up from your work at hand every time a new item pops on to your computer screen or into your email inbox.
If it is applicable to your business plan and blog brand then research it, otherwise just make note of it if you have to, but mosey on along and get back to your blogging.
And above all, as all cowboys and cowgirls know “Never ask a Barber if he thinks you need a haircut.”
(4) Stake Your Claim And Avoid Outlaws
It was essential in the vast frontier that you stake your claim for a plot of land quickly. As depicted often in television westerns, pioneers had to hold to their belief in the land they chose, because if they doubted it for one moment then they were susceptible to hustlers who talked them out of their acreage by saying there was something wrong with the land.
The same is true for your Blog, you will run into “croakers’ as they used to call them back then (pessimists or doomsayers). These croakers turn up a lot as your blog becomes more popular.
(5) The Gold Rush: “There’s Gold In Them Thar Hills!”
Just as with a Gold Rush, there has been a flurry of fortune-seekers in the world of blogging too. And also similar to a gold rush, there is the feverish implication of bloggers striking it rich instantly.
Sure some strike it rich, some don’t. But remember, it is a process, a process that requires commitment.
Your chances to make an income are directly proportional to how you work smarter—more strategic, just like some gold prospectors—they worked hard, but some knew to not just use pans to find gold, in time, they developed other tools and methods to mine gold.
And let’s not forget the Old West saying “Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.”
(6) Keep the Code
Much like the Old West, we bloggers are modern-day cowboys and cowgirls bound by these unwritten rules—a code of behavior—that centers on hospitality, fair play, loyalty, and respect for the land.
The Code of the West didn’t need to be written down because the best of the west lived by it through their integrity, self-reliance, and accountability.
And in conclusion fellow bloggers, never pass anyone on the trail without saying “Howdy.”
Copyright © 2008 by Mara Rogers of Secrets for Money.info
Mara Rogers is the Founder of http://www.SecretsForMoney.info where she and her team work to empower you to freedom by helping you increase your capacity for all the wealth currencies: money, time, health, and love. Subscribe to the free Secrets For Money blog And if you want to give her a “Howdy” email her through the Contact Page.
