by Ryan Biddulph | Blogging, Guest Posts |
This is a guest post by Ryan Biddulph. He shares smart blogging tips at Blogging From Paradise.
The old me absolutely believed I needed positive reviews to become a successful blogger.
Think for one moment the dangerous precedent I set for myself. I believed I could only succeed if people posted positive, public reviews after reading my eBooks, listening to my audio books and receiving my coaching services. What happens if you deeply believe you cannot succeed on your own blogging steam? You do not succeed on your own blogging steam. Even worse; you base your blogging confidence, clarity and ability to sell on the opinions of other human beings.
Yet a high percentage of bloggers still teach that you need to get positive reviews, glowing endorsements or dazzling testimonials from either influencers or happy customers in order to build a thriving business. Why? Parrot-speak. One top blogger explains how you need positive reviews to succeed online. Followers profess how you need positive reviews to prosper. The cycle continues until a blogger like me tells you how obsessing over scoring positive reviews damages your blogging campaign.
Some people only buy stuff or hire people based on positive reviews. Many people buy stuff or hire people based on needing the product or service. If I see something I need I simply buy it without scanning reviews because I could care less about people’s opinions; I have clarity enough to purchase what I need. Knowing this, many humans buy what they need based on their need and not based on feedback from other human beings.
Customers and clients often grow to trust you through your valuable, free content.
Do any of my long time readers need to see a positive eBook review to buy one of my eBooks? No. Why? My long time readers know my:
- style
- delivery
- presentation
- worth
and simply buy what I offer because my loyal readers trust me and trust my content. People buy from trusted people. People hire trusted people. My blog, guest posts, videos and podcasts earn me credibility in the eyes of loyal readers who purchase my stuff without giving thought to positive reviews.
I covered a few reasons why people buy your stuff or hire you without scanning reviews. Humans do not need to be convinced or swayed to purchase something needed because people already bought in the moment they needed that thing.
But on a deeper level, the most damaging aspect of obsessing over gaining positive reviews is the belief that you are only:
- worthy
- skilled
- good at what you do
- credible
based on someone’s positive opinion of your work posted in a public setting.
How far will you go as a blogger if you believe you need positive praise in order to sell something? Not too far. What happens when you receive no positive reviews for a valued eBook or service? You automatically de-value something valuable, helpful, beneficial and inspiring. A high percentage of bloggers quit promoting genuinely helpful products and services because they believe the lack of positive reviews suggests a low quality offering which leads to scant sales. If the blogger simply got clear on selling the offering more people would buy it without the product receiving a single positive review.
Positive reviewers are simply big fans eager enough to speak up in a public setting.
For every positive reviewer fan, 10 to 20 or more lurkers buy your stuff, boost your profits and grow your bottom line without you ever knowing who they are or what they think about your work.
Every highly successful, confident, pro blogger believes deeply in themselves over the opinions of other people. Why would you need vetting if you believe in yourself? Why would anyone believe in you unless you believed in yourself? Basing your worth and the worth of your products and services on the opinion of an influencer or a lower profile reader is foolish because their opinion is none of your business. Making matters worse, believing that you need positive reviews to sell something adds layers of work, limiting beliefs and energetic anchors to your blogging campaign.
My name and skills speak for themselves.
Why would I need someone else to publicly review my blog, eBooks or services favorably before I could possibly generate a sale? Who needs positive reviews to buy something? Skeptics. I sell to people already onboard, not skeptics, because I do not convince, manipulate or influence through public opinion. Here is my content, eBooks and courses. Take ’em or leave ’em.
I deeply appreciate my loving readers and their positive reviews but never base my confidence, clarity and ability to sell anything on another human being’s opinion. Negative reviews trigger deep doubts in people pleasers. Negative reviews lower sales in the minds of bloggers who fear negative reviews lower sales. As you believe, it is so.
Negative and positive reviews do not stir clear, confident, skilled bloggers because clarity, confidence, posture and skills drive sales, not another human being publicly saying you are clear, confident, skilled and posturing.
You never need positive reviews to sell anything if you are clear, confident, skilled and armed with a loyal tribe because their endorsement comes in the form of purchases and/or hires.
Build your tribe to generate a built-in source of return customers and clients who pay little if any attention to positive reviews. Trusting members of your blogging community do not need to be told what they already know; you are credible, trustworthy and skilled.
by Ryan Biddulph | Blogging, Guest Posts |
This is a guest post by Ryan Biddulph. He shares smart blogging tips at Blogging From Paradise.
Freedom has been my prime intent for much of my 10 year blogging career.
I lost my way at times.
But I eventually observed the error of my ways and changed course.
I had to adopt the quality of having blogging posture to live a life of freedom through blogging by making freeing but sometimes highly uncomfortable decisions.
Examples include:
- saying “no” to opportunities eating into my freedom, including time and energy intensive coaching and freelance work
- keeping all interactions online genuine, warm but brief
- opening solely passive income streams
- building my day around personal development first then blogging second
- completely ignoring anyone online non-resonant with my values and core intent
I felt quite scared to make these decisions initially because I feared:
- being criticized for being rude, short, curt or not responding to all messages, chats or comments
- letting go active income streams
- building my business solely on passive income streams
- not putting in enough blogging work since I devoted 3-4 hours to personal development daily
but my love of freedom became stronger than these fears.
Pier Guard Job
I became disgusted working 6 days weeks and more than enough 16 to 18 hour days as a pier guard some 15 years ago. Trading time for money equated to trading my life just to cover the bills and to save a few extra bucks. I feel grateful because this employee experience gave me contrast leading into my professional blogging career. Gaining clarity influenced me to schedule a decent chunk of my entrepreneurial day:
- enjoying travel activities with my wife Kelli
- meditating
- doing Kriya yoga
- doing yin yoga
- sleeping and napping
Re-read the prior bullet points. Even established, pro bloggers sometimes email me inquiring into how I engineered a life of fun, freedom and travel as a pro blogger who circles the globe. Some pros attach themselves to unfailing internet connections, home offices and environments of order, precision and comfort. Meanwhile, many of these folks envy my digital nomad life of circling the globe, internet connections of varying quality, different home offices and regular schedule, routine and time zone changes. I am largely free. Many pros – and a majority of amateurs – are bound.
How do I do it?
I developed posture to live a life of freedom. I never intended to be held captive by an internet connection, client base, home office, blogging routine or NYC Eastern time zone because I observed how such attachments bind, confine and flat out hold most bloggers captive. I put in my time online then get the heck offline to enjoy circling the globe, napping, working on my mindset and spending time with my wife.
Freedom Appears Different to All Bloggers
Some bloggers feel absolutely free rendering service to clients through freelancing or coaching. Follow that path if it feels freeing, fun and fulfilling to you.
But beware when your heart tells you:
“I need to start releasing clients to enjoy a few more hours offline daily. I also need to downsize my client base to enjoy a 1 week vacation without worrying about the 15 hour days I need to put in to keep up with my freelancing or coaching demand the following week.”
At this point, opening more passive income channels or simply tightening your belt by cutting costs are two clear options. I prefer opening passive income channels like:
- writing and self-publishing eBooks
- converting the eBooks to audio books and paperbacks
- creating online courses
- engaging in affiliate marketing
to expand my freedom by not trading time for money.
I still work-blog quite a bit daily but always on my terms. Minus the rare interview I accept I simply never use my alarm, nor do I always remember the day of the week. Time is less of an object to me every day because I chose to do everything blogging-wise to promote my freedom.
Do you need to make the same blanket decision?
by Ryan Biddulph | Blogging, Guest Posts |
This is a guest post by Ryan Biddulph. He shares smart blogging tips at Blogging From Paradise.
Bloggers sometimes take it easy if business seems slow.
I take the opposite approach.
I help more people for free through more channels if blogging business seems slow for a short stretch. Why? Helping more people for free through more channels allows me to help more people for pay.
Helping people for free increases your skills, exposure and credibility. Skilled bloggers with great exposure and strong credibility profit handsomely over the long haul.
Guard against the backwards-thinking mistake of pulling back on helping people for free through:
- blogging
- guest posting
- promoting other bloggers on your blog and through social media.
Is Your Blogging Business Slow?
Blogging business seems slow because you have not helped enough people for free for a sustained period of time.
What do I mean by helping people for free? Creating content for free and building connections by freely helping fellow bloggers and asking for nothing in return both form the foundation of building a thriving blogging business. Imagine writing and publishing 1 blog post and 1 guest post daily for the next month. 30 days down the road you will have increased your:
- skills
- exposure
- credibility
by writing and publishing 30 blog posts and 30 guest posts. Writing 60 posts polishes your writing skills. Appearing in 60 more spots boosts your exposure. Being skilled and seen fortifies your credibly. Guess what happens when more people see your blog and trust your skills? Expect to see an increase in blogging business because skilled, credible bloggers with solid exposure profit through their blog.
As a rule, bloggers who struggle to build a thriving business hold back. Struggling bloggers publish one blog post, promote the blog post through a few channels then sit around and wait for business to grow over the following 1-2 months. Gaining sufficient skills, exposure and credibility is quite difficult for most bloggers who publish a post every 1-2 months.
Prospering bloggers generously help people
without holding back.
I have observed a number of highly successful bloggers who created and published blog posts and guest posts for years before hitting it hit. One millionaire blogger has published almost daily for the past 15 years, between himself and his guest bloggers. He admits he’d still be blogging 15 years later even if he had not made a penny because he blogs mainly for fun versus blogging mainly for money.
Another millionaire blogger published 2-3 valuable posts daily while building friendships with people who handled syndication at major business publications. He basically worked for free for quite a long time before his valuable content and business connections helped him become a millionaire through blogging.
Blogging business seems slow
not because of any specific cycle.
Blogging business seems slow because you have not created enough free content and made enough influential blogging buddies to increase your skills, exposure and credibility to thriving professional levels consistent with seeing ever-expanding blogging business success. After being incredibly generous for 1000’s of hours you will reach a tipping point where your blogging income increases consistently. Being seen as a credible blogger in a high number of spots allows you to profit handsomely over the long haul.
But prepare yourself to put in the time over 5-10 years of your life to reach a level of ever increasing blogging returns from a business perspective. Overnight success does not exist. Do not hold back after creating and connecting generously for a few months. Never be stingy. Highly successful, powerful bloggers can afford to be stingy but these folks continue to help people freely because being generous is in their DNA.
Give freely.
Receive easily.
Accelerate your blogging business growth by generously creating and connecting.
by Ryan Biddulph | Blogging, Guest Posts |
This is a guest post by Ryan Biddulph. He shares smart blogging tips at Blogging From Paradise.
11:49 PM on a Friday night.
I intend to slap another blogging single.
I built my career not on writing and publishing spectacular, viral blog posts but by writing short, simple blog posts over a decade. Help people with clear, simple posts. Solve problems. Develop a viral online presence versus trying to write a viral post.
Most bloggers swing and whiff because most bloggers put too much attention, energy, fear and attachment into a single blog post. For every viral post millions upon millions die in the cyber grave yard being virtually undetected.
Stop trying to hit a blogging home run every time you publish a blog post. Slap singles day after day to learn the secret of becoming a professional blogger.
The Legend Shares
Someone once asked online legend Gary Vaynerchuk how he landed an interview on the world-renowned Conan O’Brien Show. He shared how he completed over 2000 YouTube interviews. Gary Vee also explained how a decent chunk of the interviews registered zero views. He simply did not turn down an open mic. Gary did not land the interview on a world-famous show by hitting 1 or 2 home runs in the form of viral blog posts. He hit thousands upon thousands of singles by accepting 2000 plus interviews for virtually any YouTuber who asked to interview him.
Legends focus on being solid for 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 hours or more. Fools and failures try to be spectacular for a day, week, month or year.
Stop swinging for the fences. Start slapping singles. Embody the secret of happy, poised, professional bloggers. Go pro by writing simple, helpful blog posts thousands upon thousands of times as you build your friend network, open multiple streams of income and trust in the blogging process.
I Hit Singles for 10 Years
Bloggers sometimes ask how I got featured on Fox News, Forbes, Virgin and Entrepreneur.
I simply wrote and published helpful blog posts for years while networking genuinely, generously and persistently. My answer confuses new bloggers. Newbies believe pros do spectacular, eye-popping stuff to pop up on the radar screen of contributors from world-renowned blogs, brands and businesses. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Forbes, Fox News, Entrepreneur and Virgin contributors pitched me because I popped up on the radar screen of contributors from each business. I popped up on the radar screen of these contributors because I appear to be in tens of thousands of spots in my blogging niche. I appear in this many spots because I published 5,000 plus pieces of simple, easy to understand content.
This guest post may not knock your socks off but my clear, powerful message expands my presence more and increases the chances that I pop up on the radar screen of major media outlets, influencers or other powerful entities.
I hit singles for a decade by publishing basic, helpful content. I retired to a life of island hopping by keeping things simple, patient and persistent.
Blog Simply for a Long Time Versus Spectacularly
for a Short Time
Blog simply for thousands of hours to go pro.
Trying to blog spectacularly for a short time leads to struggles, failure and quitting because short-term bloggers gain no real skills, exposure or credibility. Unskilled bloggers with no real exposure and no genuine credibility struggle, fail and quit 100% of the time.
Listen to reader problems. Publish posts to solve the problems. Do this for years. Network generously for years. Open multiple income streams. Succeed.
Keep it simple for a long time to become a professional blogger.
by Ryan Biddulph | Blogging, Guest Posts |
This is a guest post by Ryan Biddulph. He shares smart blogging tips at Blogging From Paradise.
I own:
- a carry on
- a Chromebook
- a laptop
- shorts, t-shirts, sweats, socks and 2 pairs of sneakers; about 1 week before I need to do laundry
- a phone
Read my blog. Watch one of my videos. Read one of my eBooks. What you see is what you get. I do not act. Nor do I create a carefully crafted online persona. I do my best to be 100% authentic in all I do. I do not try to impress people; I have virtually no physical possessions save my clothes, carry on and minimal business equipment investments. No house. No car.
I am who I am.
Reach the next level of blogging.
Being genuine to the absolute core has helped me reach the next level of blogging. I feel grateful to have been featured on Fox News, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Virgin and Positively Positive but each feature merely reflected back my commitment to blogging and more importantly, my clarity in being as genuine as humanly possible.
Even established pros have a tough time being fully genuine because most try to convey a specific brand image non-resonant with who they are as a human being. Although this dissonance is OK, you can never reach the highest level of any venture unless you are virtually 100% clear on what you do. Being 100% genuine is the only way to be 100% clear on what you do.
I have met enough bloggers in person who profess that I am exactly offline how I am online. In the next breath, pros often explain how they have experienced a few awkward encounters where offline human beings behaved quite differently than carefully crafted, online blogger personas. I experienced this once or twice at offline events with a few well-known bloggers but my dear blogging buddies online always proved to be genuine when I meet them offline.
Stop Acting; Stop Trying
Some bloggers put on an act quite unlike their true personality. Other bloggers try to be a specific blogger quite unlike their true nature. People sense this split and largely stay away in most cases. In rare cases, online personas attract huge followings as a budding celebrity but every single one of these personas crashes and burns over the long haul.
Simply observe a high percentage of YouTube personalities; these actors make serious bank and generate clout but slam into a litany of problems because no happy, clear human operates primarily from an inauthentic stance.
Stop acting. Stop trying to be a blogger different than your genuine, true nature.
Be you. Blog you.
The world accepts bloggers who accept themselves. The world loves bloggers who love themselves. Note how loving and accepting yourself is different than being in love with yourself. Being in love with yourself sprouts from low self esteem and a blanket rejection of self. Only broken individuals who secretly hate themselves pump themselves up with some contrived online persona arrogantly full of braggadocio.
Loving and accepting yourself means hugging yourself as you truly are. My wardrobe consists of t-shirts, shorts and sweats because my true nature knows clothes, status and other ego-driven things are completely worthless, useless wastes of time and energy as far as using these things to impress human beings. I am not completely void of vanity but care little of impressing people because I accept myself.
Taking this general self-accepting attitude helped me reach the next level of blogging success because my self-acceptance, honest nature and authentic approach allows me to shine a bit more brightly than other pros who appear to be faking it a little bit, focusing a too much on trying too hard to be someone else while I am at peace with being me, blogging who I really am and allowing my authentic nature to permeate every aspect of my blogging campaign.
Be you.
Allow your true nature to bleed through your blog, brand and online business.
Reach the next level of blogging success.
