This is a guest post written by Frank McKinley. He is a published author, helps engage readers, sell their ideas, and build their tribes.
You’ve spent hours, days, or even weeks setting up your website. It’s beautiful. It’s uncluttered. It’s full of all sorts of neat stuff.You sit back, satisfied with your effort, and wait for the crowds. Besides, if you build it, they will come, right?
This is a guest post by Ryan Biddulph. He shares smart blogging tips at Blogging From Paradise.
Bloggers often scramble to publish their next guest post.
I am all for being prolific.
But before you submit your next guest post do you intend to:
Admittedly, I have not always kept the concept of boosting blog credibility in mind for my guest posting campaign. But honestly owning this oversight goaded me to begin guest blogging with increasing the blog DA through content but more importantly, linking to high DA, authority blogs in the niche. I hate to say anything is easy in blogging but spending 10-20 seconds to:
is easy.
However, your intent needs to be clear in wishing to improve the DA, credibility and overall trust factor on a blog through which you guest post.
Moss Clement has published at least 2 guest posts on Blogging From Paradise that have ranked on page 1 of Google:
Top 6 Blog Mistakes for Online Business
5 Powerful Steps that Will Help You Build a Loyal Blogging Community
His blogging success is not difficult to understand. Moss goes above and beyond to publish detailed posts both on his blog and through guest blogging opportunities fulfilled for other bloggers. He helps fellow bloggers and readers generously to experience blogging success. He helps me. I help him. I help Cori. Cori helps me. None of us help each other with heavy expectations, harsh demands or strong attachment to outcomes. We each know that being helpful:
Never have I felt any of my blogging buddies need or demand anything from me. My blogging friends help me generously and genuinely. I happily help them as best I can based on our harmonious relationship.
At the very least, submit guest posts with an intent to preserve the credibility, domain authority and overall trust factor aligned with the blog. Link out to trusted, relevant blog posts. Link in to valuable blog posts. If you really want to increase the depth and number of your blogging friendships hold an intent to improve the credibility, domain authority and overall trust factor aligned with any blog through which you guest post.
Bloggers deeply appreciate guest bloggers who do an excellent job publishing helpful content. Even a short-form, 600-800 word blog post that hits the mark in solving a specific problem and sports links in and out to trusted content can help fortify blog credibility. Google loves reputable links out and links in. Readers enjoy clicking through to trusted resources both onsite and offsite. Spending a few moments to link properly for boosting credibility goes a long way for improving the user experience.
Guest blogging with an intent to improve blogs also rockets you higher in blogging circles. Successful bloggers feel when guest bloggers genuinely want to help these pros achieve more success based on the generosity and mindfulness of the guest blogger. Moss and Cori are two successful bloggers who are awesome examples to follow in this regard. I’d add Zac Johnson as another high profile blogger who embodies this concept because he routinely shared his platform for over 14 years to aid fellow bloggers and to promote their success. He helped me move higher in blogging circles by mentioning me on John Chow’s blog:
3 Ways to Improve Site Content with Online Video
Once again, his worldly success blossomed from his generous, genuine, helpful spirit to empower and accelerate the success of his fellow bloggers.
Being generous has its benefits!
This is a guest post by Ryan Biddulph. He shares smart blogging tips at Blogging From Paradise.
Some bloggers blog for themselves without listening to what their readers want.
Oddly enough, most bloggers make this mistake at times. Some bloggers err in this fashion for the entirety of their blogging career.
One blog I visited 5 minutes ago greeted me with Christmas music and cyber snowflakes falling across the screen. I admire the cute touch but did the blogger poll their readers before making a holiday-themed edit?
I hate being a Grinch but I love being honest. As a rule, adding music to your blog – or any site – is a no-no. Readers tend to enjoy music-free blogging experiences. Being assaulted by unexpected, loud music turns off most readers.
Perhaps the blogger asked their readers before adding holiday-themed music and cyber snowflakes falling from the internet skies. However, most bloggers make dramatic blog edits without asking readers for feedback.
Trust your gut. But be careful about making big blogging edits before asking readers. Blog readers make a blogging community. Turning off most blog readers dissolves most of your community.
I shared a time sensitive holiday edit above. December 25th or January 1st marks the respective days most bloggers ceases adding holiday changes to their blogs. But other bloggers make fundamental edits for the long haul without ever asking readers for their feedback.
Why would you make big blogging changes without asking readers if they want you to make the change? Sans readers, every blogger runs a cyber-diary. Feel free to be the shot caller of your cyber diary. Ask readers for feedback before making significant changes to your blog.
Find the happy balance between trusting your gut and fielding reader feedback. Never solely become a slaver to reader needs. Why would you blog unless you partially honor your inner feedback?
Readers respect, clear, confident bloggers who make some decisions based on their gut. But listen closely to reader feedback to solve their problems, to inspire them to live their dreams and to set up a seamless user experience.
My blog is essentially free content with my eBooks links and embeds mixed in. I use no pop-ups. I do not even post an opt-in form on my blog sidebar. Blogging From Paradise boasts a lean, mean and clean design. I publish content, promote my eBooks and courses and add nothing else to my blog.
I receive virtually no feedback concerning any aspect of my blog. Receiving no feedback signals my readers enjoy what I have to offer. But if a high volume of readers begged me to add an embed for joining my email list I would add an embed to honor reader needs.
I listened closely to desiring commenters with an open mind. But each commenter rarely commented on my blog. I did not open comments because receiving a few comments monthly from legit commenters does not outweigh the huge load thousands of spammers place on my server every single month. I refuse to pay for spamming freeloaders to gobble up server space. I listened to reader feedback with an open mind but trusted my gut.
No blogger needs reader feedback to succeed but wise bloggers note reader feedback mirroring patterns. Blogging friends of mine nudged me to self-publish eBooks in 2013. I feared self-publishing up to that point. As more bloggers egged me on to begin self-publishing eBooks I honored their influence and wrote a few eBooks for my old blogs.
A few more trusted blogging buddies asked me to write eBooks for my Blogging From Paradise blog after I trashed my former blogs. I listened closely to their feedback, tuned into my intuition and 120 eBooks later, I never looked back.
Ask readers for feedback. Be cautious about making any significant changes to your blog unless you ask your readers if they desire the change, first.
Listen to your readers while trusting your gut to build a large, loyal blogging community.
This is a guest post by Ryan Biddulph. He shares smart blogging tips at Blogging From Paradise.
Or what you do “allow” to disturb your blogging campaign?
Observe elections. Pay close attention to politics. Assess the news headlines. How about trivial family matters? What – or who – do you allow to disturb your blogging campaign? What triggers agitation in you leading to you shirking your blogging duties?
I am hardly a blogging cyborg. I feel agitated in moments. Some rare peeks at news headlines on Twitter annoy me here and there. But I choose to blog versus detouring to focus my attention and energy on:
Even though I am no mindless blogging robot I have it in my power to choose to blog versus choosing to follow the news or to opine about the elections. I prefer blogging, fun and freedom over everything else. I appear to be like clockwork because I value blogging, fun and freedom over everything else in terms of potential disturbances, distractions and attention black holes.
Bloggers choose what bloggers decide to do. But most bloggers blog for fear-based drivers like money or popularity. Fear-based drivers influence you to backburner blogging at a moment’s notice; news, politics, elections, family matters and other events take precedence over blogging because you value each more than you value blogging for money and/or fame.
No thing disturbs you although the appearance seems real. You choose to give your attention and energy to people or events based on what you value. Humans who value blogging more than virtually all else in terms of distractions blog no matter what.
People who blog for fun, freedom and fulfillment value blogging over everything else. Note; I do not suggest valuing blogging over your family, of course.
Never make blogging some god or sole focal point of your life. But do blog generously, persistently and consistently no matter what because committing fully to blogging allows blogging to commit fully to you.
But giving blogging your all feels uncomfortable in moments because the common disturbances of politics, news, elections and small family issues feel too enticing, too tempting and too irresistible to turn down. Why? Suffering from the fear of missing out scares you into putting blogging on the backburner in favor of giving your attention and energy to these disturbances.
Bloggers whose minds seem dominated by fear allow fear-illusion to poison and weaken their mind. Weak-minded bloggers – or bloggers suffering through a weak-minded moment – seem disturbed by everything.
How do you commit to blogging in the appearance of politically chaotic times, wild elections, manipulative news headlines and seeming family drama?
Take control of your mind to become aware of fears triggered by disturbances.
I suggest spending 30-60 minutes or more daily managing your energy to expand your awareness.
I meditate, do Kriya yoga, do yin yoga and power walk to:
Blogging – and life – becomes easier if you take control of your mind, face your fears and dissolve illusory disturbances because you get the blogging job done and walk around the minefield of chaos crippling weaker minded individuals whose minds seem dominated by fear.
See through the illusion of disturbances to commit fully to your blogging campaign.
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
I felt quite scared to make these decisions initially because I feared:
but my love of freedom became stronger than these fears.
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:
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.
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:
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?