Have you ever wondered why so many bloggers start off with a bang, just to disappear as soon as it seems like they are just getting started? This is happening all to often and I think it has a lot to do with people treating blogging like a 100 meter sprint. When in fact they should be treating it more like a marathon.
Here is how they differ:
- 100 Meter Sprint
- Short term goal
- Go as hard as you can
- No long term vision
- No planning
- Marathon
- Long Term Goals
- Pace yourself
- Looking at the bigger picture
- Has a strategy in place to make sure they are still in at the end
Can you see how many new bloggers take the ’100 meter sprinter’ approach?
They race out as soon as the starters pistol is fired. Blog like crazy for the first couple of weeks, go gung-ho with commenting and marketing, take the lead as they go over the 100 meter line – only to realise they still have about 40km left to run.
This is just a short ‘pep talk’ post for you today. I just want to encourage you to lift your head up and start looking at the long term.
- Where do you want your blog to be in 2 years time?
- What are the goals you have set in place?
- What is your strategy to achieve your goals?
- At your current pace are you setting yourself up for burnout?
I have met so many great bloggers over this past 6 weeks and I really want you all to still be around when StandOutBlogger is 2 years old – and by then I expect all of you to have over 1000 subscribers!
If you want to receive more little ‘pep talk’ posts likes this one then please subscribe to our feed or email updates. By doing this you will be voting for StandOutBlogger.com blog in Blogging Idol!
agreed with you. Blogging is like long term running.
One thing that I’ve noticed is you need to have patience. Don’t expect thousands of visitors in your first month or hundreds of new comments on each post. Don’t get discouraged either. If you have good content, eventually your statistics will show that.
This is very true, blogging is like a marathon, and you have to keep at it to succeed. I started a bit late after the start of the race came, in October I just wrote and didn’t promote. I started up again in December, for in November I was doing NanoWrimo and had no time for blogging. I think I am starting to pass people in this marathon and hopefully I will come out in a few years near the top. You have done both Tom, you have had a very fierce start but are still going. At some point I think you might get tired, so you have to really pace yourself.
well i don’t rush things on my blogger. I don’t get annoyed by poor results like many do. I prefer the marathon method as you describe.
Hahahaa….good job Tom, I was just thinking about a similar post, though, my analogy wasn’t with running, but, pretty much the same none the less….
I agree though, I’m here for the marathon, so my plans cater to that….and I expect some cake when you turn 2, you better not forget to invite me to the party :)
I know what you are talking about. I just started my current blog two weeks ago yesterday. It is my goal to set myself to do this for the long haul. The best part is my blog domain name is my name so it will prevent me from selling it like I did my last blog.
You make a great point here…unfortunately, unlike training for a marathon, I’m not aware of any good training programs to prepare someone to run a blog :S
I can certanily agree with your analogy. I have personally experienced that with blogs myself. Start off confident and energized and burn out quickly. Thankfully I have learned from these mistakes and will hopefully be charging the big money for ad spots and reviews soon!
Blogging is indeed like a marathon. Being like an energizer bunny and churning out quality posts is not that easy.
thanks for stopping by my blog and voting.
[...] to Tom from StandoutBlogger.com Blogging is not a 100 meter Sprint but a long Marathon, He said: They race out as soon as the starters pistol is fired. Blog like crazy for the first [...]
Really nice and informative post and i posted a story about this post on my Blog too.. But i am not sure if i will be with you after 2 years…:)
Tom,
I did a google search for “125×125 your ad here” and clicked on techtreak.com and saw a banner ad of standoutblogger in the side bar. I clicked it to get here.
Congrats man! You are blowing up quick.
I do agree to some extent, we should always save some GOOD stuff for tomorrow!
Don’t let it all out at once!
Wow, this is a great article Tom. you have stressed what most people who blog need to know.
I believe that I am taking the marathon approach, although, I do like running fast a bit more :)
Rajaie AlKoranis last blog post..Google PageRank Updated
It is, especially if your turbo blogging! hehehe…
I agree, bloggers should think long term. Finding niche is good. After all, blogging is has become more of a job than a hobby
Pikas last blog post..Great Day
This is a very good article. For me, blogging is a marathon. I want to make a special place in my own niche and make decent income over a period of time.
I think i will achieve it coz i have enough patience.
[...] from standout blogger really hit the target with this article called Blogging is like running a marathon. I mentioned it so many time: blogging is hard and it’s a long term run. Here’s a quick [...]
Bloggers should think long term. Their is no short cuts.
Johnathan Sable
http://www.thezombiereport.com
Yep that is really correct impression on blogging. Im a newbie in blogging but i felt running in the marathon..I enjoyed it!
backyard ni donglloyds last blog post..
Now this is the truth! So many bloggers “hit the wall” when they’re half way through the race… they’ve simply run out of things to say and run out of enthusiasm.
And a bunch more just seem to keep on posting any old thing, what they had for lunch.
It takes a special kind of mindset to break through all these things.