How I Can I Be A Successful Blogger If No One Tells Me What Success Really Means?

Go..... Blogging!

The one sexy thing about ‘blogging about blogging’ is that it’s probably the only niche that on the surface appears targeted, but yet has the leisure of covering a wide array of topics.

Despite this flexibility, many bloggers will still gravitate towards their ‘comfort zone,’ being  SEO, Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Making Money Online, etc.

Another growing area in blogging is motivation/inspiration. — It’s like having your own cheerleader to guide and support you through the process! In theory, it sounds great, but a concept you will grow weary of as you mature as a blogger. Source Blogger has a number of inspirational articles, but they’ve been cleverly designed to be more in the realm of effective preparation and mental toughness for blogging. I’ll pass on the pom-poms!

Do you ever feel sorry for those overweight people on TV who have a trainer screaming over them like a drill sergeant? Imagine you arrived on the show at 450 lbs. and are now a svelte 190 lbs. Do you still require the drill sergeant barking over you? No, you don’t! Why? Because the ‘teacher’ has become the ‘master’! — In blogging, THAT never stops!

With all the  incessant posts about success, you can’t help but feel there is something sorely lacking. And if you are as analytical as me, you will come to this one conclusion: “What the hell does success mean if no one truly defines it?”

Definition of Success

“Blogging success” is probably one of the most common, recurring themes in many blogs. Article after article, post after post is dedicated to it. Yet, one thing is missing: The definition of success. How could there be so much attention to a topic, yet the meaning is carefully “glossed over?” If I asked you to define it, could you answer that? You probably could come up with something. But, the tricky part is that if I asked 100 bloggers, I’d get 100 different answers.

In business, we know that goals are much more laser-specific in the pursuit of success. There are fixed dollar amounts based on projected goals. Which leaves little room for misinterpretation or speculation.

In sports, we check the score. You either won or lost.

But, blogging seems to be a different matter. Success appears subjective. Like “your perception (of success) becomes your reality”.

Here are some examples of what success may mean for different bloggers. Let’s see if you can relate.

Success Defined?

1) Creation — Simply the creation of a blog equates to success. Keyword search is complete. Title, Theme, URL, and Hosting Company has been selected.

2) Longevity —80% of blogs never see past their first few months. 

3) Enjoyment — What blogging does for you and means to you. 

4) Money — Conversions, Affiliate Payouts, Advertising/Sponsorship, “Building a List”, Product Launches, etc. Success is determined based on income generated online, and not necessarily from only  blogging operations. Regardless, results are tangible. 

5) Expert In The Field — May be either someone who created an online identify and following on their own or someone blogging as an extension to their business, brand, and social media campaign. 

6) Stats — Blog Subscribers, Twitter Followers, Facebook Fans, Comments Per Article, Inbound Links, PageRank, Alexa Rank, comScore, etc.

6) Fame & Notoriety — A household name; books, magazines, and the adoration of many.

Has anyone seen this exit? Does it exist?

Where The Motivation and Inspiration Fails

CREDIBILITY —

A major part of being successful is to assimilate the success of successful people. Bloggers will naturally gravitate to those who best portray that image.

Credibility is a major factor. In my personal job, I have to portray a lifestyle and an image, which like blogging, leads people to “qualify” you very quickly as being other a trust agent, a pretender, or a threat.

In summary, you can’t teach others about success if you are not successful. Does that make sense?

RELEVANCE & USEFULNESS —

If you have been blogging for any length of time, you will soon realize that 95% of what you read about blogging, you are already actively for yourself and your blog. The blogosphere becomes a system of  simply repackaging the same idea over and over.

Sometimes, you can be fooled by a digital product or the title of a blog article, but will eventually see its limitations for yourself.

For me, Source Blogger, I tend to gravitate towards great content than successful people. (In real life it, it is the opposite.) I like articles that can impact my blogging. For many of us, it’s not motivation that gets in our way. Or laziness. Or this other concept that I find ridiculous: “fear of success”.

I have the drive, tenacity, and passion to endure the ups and downs already. And so do you.

You and I are simply looking  for the right people and the best resources. When blogging becomes a chore and we need the encouragement of someone else to keep us going, that’s the day we should retire from blogging, for good.

Your Turn

How do you personally define blogging success? Do you quantify success in terms of traditional business models? If your idea of success is more personal, do you feel others in the blogosphere are trying to convert you to their idea of success? Do you feel respected?

Is success something that can be measured? When do you know you have crossed over? Online, if someone appears successful to you, would everyone have to agree in order to validate this for you?

Ask your blog’s author how he defines success in blogging. Is their perception of success the same as yours? If no, then why not?