Being a very late bloomer as far as the blogosphere is concerned I am very proud of the inroads I have made as a blogger.
Many guru’s online tell you to market yourself, brand yourself, define who you are, create a space where you build your stage. Maybe they’re right. But in truth I don’t think so … well not if they are genuine bloggers. By creating a resource where I am publishing my different musings on subjects I have a complete passion for, I have developed a stronger brand and voice around my subject, than I ever could around just me. And the message and difference I make through that is far greater than me as a mere individual can ever make. My blog at Healthy Lifestyles Living is about Healthy lifestyles and personal development, it is a place for people to learn, for them to be motivated and inspired, it’s not about me.
I could laugh, if it wasn’t so sad, seeing people teaching others how to blog, when they simply don’t get genuine blogging themselves at all. Learn from other bloggers by all means, but make sure they really are bloggers. Not just some form of marketers who think because they have a blog they can call themselves bloggers. Check out their site, read their articles, is their part of the blogosphere so impressive, that you know you have something to learn off them.
There are tons of bloggers out there who will always be generous to help others learn about how to achieve blogging success. I can assure you, list building won’t be in their top 10 list of things to do at the start. Nor will wasting time, hours normally, visiting others sites in traffic exchanges to get a 10 second fleeting visit to your blog. This will never beat networking as a blogger. If you want to spend time building traffic to your blog, quality traffic, join a network. I’m not providing a link, especially not an affiliate link, because that’s not what I’m about. But what is a network? It’s a group of bloggers who get together and collaborate and bounce ideas off each other. Go look in facebook, you’ll find some great blogger groups. Message me I can introduce you, and it won’t cost you a cent.
I have been a busy chappie, and I apologise that I have been failing to keep this blog active. Well I’m back. I have been doing a redesign over at Healthy Lifestyles Living with my business partner Neil. But I admit I’ve loved every second of the work I’ve been doing on it and seeing it developing. I may be biased but I think it’s awesome.
I have been so immersed in everything we have been doing and genuinely enjoying the time, and the whole experience has been enhanced knowing that we are taking massive steps towards attaining our goals. It is so important to enjoy what you do not just focus on the outcome. Never forget it is the journey that counts, not reaching the destination.
A good design makes all the difference! It needs to be inviting to your readers. Everyone who blogs hopes others will read what they write. So its important toi keep your blog tidy, and the content easy to find.
We have done much more than slapped on a bit of pretty design. For those of you who remember the early days of Healthy Lifestyles Living, you will remember that we started out purely as a blog, just a simple Word Presss themed blog, with no bells and whistles. We started out by posting a few articles and just kept going. Although that is still a major focus area of our site, we have continued to develop by adding new features such as a members support area, a forum, motivational quote of the day, inspirational video of the week and a wellbeing store.. We are continually developing new and exciting features, some of which will be rolled out in the coming months.
People frequently ask me ‘how did you get this far?’ My answer is always the same: ‘one day at a time’. Since we launched in early 2010, we’ve been chipping away at it little by little. We knew nothing about blogging– which forced us to think fresh, listen hard, read lots, learn tons. We didn’t get everything right and we are still learning. But that path would have been a lot harder without the combination of our skills and our persistence. That’s Neil and me, and the friends we’ve made on the way.
But allow me to say that I feel privileged to be writing in such a vibrant, active and important niche as personal development and healthy lifestyle living. My mission has always been to make a difference, and now with the model with we have created over there we are doing that and have built a sustainable business around it.
When you start building regular traffic to your blog and you break out of that “average” you begin to feel some sense of responsibility. The responsibility to post with some regularity, the need to produce higher quality material than in the early days and staying in touch with your readers.
I may no longer be a hobby blogger, now my blog is more than a blog, but I’m still the same guy, and day by day I just love blogging that little bit more.
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