Being a 14-year blogging veteran, you would think that I have it all figured out.
But I do not know all there is to know about blogging.
Do you want me to share a little secret with you?
I have probably failed more times than all of you combined concerning various aspects of my blogging campaign.
Why?
I spent years listening to my ego versus uttering 3 words.
I still struggle to speak the 3 words sometimes but I have become more comfortable stating this talisman of blogging wisdom.
What 3 words will save your blogging career?
“I was wrong.”
I was wrong to state that I was a supremely confident blogger because I openly doubt myself. I still wonder if various aspects of my blogging campaign may take off.
I was wrong to write off optimizing my blog for SEO.
Most of all, I was wrong to stop commenting genuinely on blogs for years because after experiencing sweet success with my commenting campaign I stopped doing what worked to make room for what did not yield stellar results.
I was wrong on Amazon. After spending years trying to force sales through the platform I pulled every single eBook from the site to sell a select few through Gumroad and Selz. But I was also wrong to write and self-publish 126 eBooks in such a short period of time because I never gave enough attention and energy to promoting one effectively.
I was wrong in not meeting 10, 20, or 50 new bloggers daily solely because following this approach led to exponential success while shunning this duty held me back. I was wrong in ceasing to do what worked in order to begin doing what did not work through various elements of my blogging campaign.
Each admission feels awkward for the ego to admit sometimes. The ego despises being wrong. But either you admit being wrong to accelerate your success or claim to be right to increase your failure. No one gets ahead by refusing to admit being wrong because burying your blogging head in the sand makes problems fester.
Free yourself. Save your blogging career. Admit to being wrong.
Table of Contents
Dig Down to the Root
I experienced a handful of intense moments during my formative years, long-buried in my mind. Burying these strong emotions led to a series of destructive mental patterns severely damaging my blogging campaign. Each pattern blinded me to what I was doing wrong. More importantly, I could never see and act on the right way to blog being handcuffed by my pride, conceit, and vanity.
I still have a tendency to beat myself up mentally whenever I come up short because of some unfortunate experiences during my childhood still floating around in my mind. It is almost like that when I admit to being wrong some form of vicious punishment will await me instead of the truth: admitting your faults frees you to solve your blogging problems, to succeed, and to be happy.
On one hand, I apologize for the intensity of this post. But I also know that some of you are probably struggling because you are suffering through the same mental patterns I am still overcoming. You and I can sometimes only admit to being wrong when we become intimately aware of the mental patterns fueling these habits of self-sabotage.
I wanted to write this guest post for Anthony and you to forgive myself for past blogging mistakes, including being stubborn. I also intend to give you permission to speak the 3 words:
“I was wrong.”
Admitting to making mistakes with your blogging campaign frees you to find and act on solutions. Being solutions-focused turns failure into success. But the only path toward blogging the right way is by admitting that you are blogging the wrong way.
A series of blogging experiences during my 14-year career humbled me. I even felt humiliated, ashamed, and embarrassed about some of my blogging results. Don’t get me wrong. I have experienced some blogging success because some of my mental momentum goaded me to create helpful content at a maniac’s pace. But certain aspects of my blogging campaign lagged behind others.
The Turning Point
You have to see your errors through your own eyes in addition to owning blogging mistakes in order to admit to being wrong.
Success begins to unfold by admitting your failures.
For example, my eBooks never gained traction on Amazon because I never got clear on using the platform. Instead of spending 1 more day on the platform, I pulled all eBooks from Amazon. But before making the same mistake of mass self-publishing helpful eBooks that never gained enough exposure, I uploaded only a few to Gumroad and Selz. I was wrong to mass self-publish and promote a high volume of eBooks in the past. Admitting this error made me realize how not giving myself fully to blogger outreach is likely the only real problem I ever encountered.
A number of highly-respected, skilled bloggers genuinely love my eBooks. But not enough people have seen the eBooks. Blogger outreach is a genuine solution to my problem.
Some bloggers naturally think, feel, and act like entrepreneurs. I am no such blogger because I had to work in beastly fashion mentally and physically to forge my entrepreneurial spirit. I was wrong to believe I could succeed online with alarming ease because I seem to have been programmed to think, feel and act like an employee versus being an entrepreneur.
Pay Close Attention to Iconic Entrepreneurs
Iconic entrepreneurs admit to being wrong fast in order to change direction.
Icons seem to be the most nimble business owners in the world.
As a rule, some benefit a bit by being stubborn but refusing to admit to being wrong about business ideas bites them in the business behind over the long run.
I had a difficult time admitting my struggles to myself, but owning my struggles dissolved my stubbornness and positioned me to find smart solutions to my blogging ills. Pondering humble, open-minded icons like Richard Branson who hires smart people and remains open to feedback alerted me to my ego-induced mistake.
A few hours ago, I dove genuinely back into blog commenting for the first time in years. Deleting 1000 plus thin posts on Blogging From Paradise last week, deleting all of my eBooks from Amazon, and uploading only a few on various platforms all righted a few glaring wrongs.
Consider dwelling on this blog post deliberately for a few moments. Do any aspects of your blogging campaign hold back your overall success? How have you been wrong? Where did things go wrong? Or are you on the right blogging track as your online success expands?
Be Careful About Doing This
Some bloggers doing the wrong practical things struggle for years online.
Beware of doing the wrong practical things because no matter how long and hard you work you will never succeed. I erred horrendously through various aspects of my blogging campaign solely because I did the wrong practical things for years.
Never blindly charge forward as a blogger because you cannot admit to being wrong by mindlessly following unsound, unproven, practical blogging tips.
Admit to being wrong. Blog the right way.
Be Open to Feedback
SEO expert Nikola Roza dropped an encouraging comment on my blog recently.
He noted how deleting hundreds of thin blog posts likely did not hold my blog back in terms of Google traffic. Nikola also noted how optimizing future posts on Blogging From Paradise was definitely the way to go.
I am open to feedback from Nikola and other bloggers because blogging the right way means being open to skilled bloggers who offer sound advice for blogging the right way. Every blogger needs to find resonance with blogging advice offered by pros but first needs to be flexible in their blogging approach.
Do you want to prove people wrong? Or would you rather succeed? Can you admit to being wrong? Or would you rather fail?
Own Your Special Journey
Hollywood could make a movie about my life not because I am special, gifted, or talented but because I happened to align with seemingly special experiences on what may be a remarkable journey. I have circled the globe for 11 years. Minus the funny, bizarre, or death-defying moments tailor-made for a Netflix series, I have been blessed to enjoy some of the most mesmerizing spots on earth.
Most bloggers may be shocked to read this post because they believed that someone living my life seamlessly hop-scotched from blogging success to success. However, life does not work that way for unenlightened beings.
Everyone who lives a worldly life tends to mine some special experiences but experiences struggle too. Admitting to being wrong about your struggles also frees you to see the special experiences you have enjoyed.
Every blogger tunes into different special experiences. I slammed into massive resistance in some areas of life but feel good about my freedom. You will feel better about admitting that you have been wrong when you see how life has been fun and freeing for you in some regards.
Right now as a blogger, you are where you need to be. Accept this truth to move forward humbly, flexibly, and in a nimble fashion.
The Big Gulp
What should you do if every aspect of your blogging campaign seems to be one big struggle?
Take a deep breath. Visualize yourself taking a big gulp, swallowing your pride in one dramatic movement.
Admit that you have been completely wrong about your blogging campaign.
The only way to end your full-scale struggle is to forgive the struggle completely. Let go of all blogging struggles through the blanket admission that you have been wrong about it all.
For example, imagine being a struggling blogger who has only published thin, 500-word posts dripping with typos and grammatical errors and has done nothing else. Publishing thin content is the wrong way to blog. Publishing content littered with typos and grammatical errors is the wrong way to blog. You have been wrong about it all. Admit it. Free yourself to succeed by letting go of what caused the failure.
Did you refuse to engage in blogger outreach? Admit to being wrong about your stubborn insistence to blog solo. Did you charge the king’s ransom for an average course? Admit to being wrong. Did you charge 99 cents for a rich, detailed, in-depth eBook? Admit to being wrong, especially if you find yourself making $2 to $10 monthly in eBook revenue.
How can you ever make more money than $10 per month for eBook revenue if you do not admit to struggling because you are doing the wrong things to net 10 clams a month in eBook revenue?
Admit to being wrong.
Blog the right way.
Ryan Biddulph is the founder of Blogging From Paradise where he helps you grow your blog and become a professional blogger.
4 Responses
This is a really amazing post. I’m sure everyone who reads it will appreciate your honesty. I’ve been wrong about blogging as well, many times. Not knowing SEO as well as I thought I did, for example.
This is a time in the world when many, many people are realizing they were wrong. There’s nothing wrong with realizing you were wrong. In fact, it can really help you a lot. Just like admitting you have a problem is the first step in solving it, admitting you are wrong, is the first step in being right. When you realize you’re wrong you can start doing things different and get on the right path. If you never admit you’re wrong, you’re probably never going to be right.
I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks for writing it, Ryan!
Sabina thanks so much! Changing course towards greater fun, freedom and worldly success feels much better 😉
Hi Ryan, hey I’ve changed course too! No more Facebook for me, just biz pages, and one day those may go as well. Apparently, I’m not the only one with Meta losing users for the 1st time. Not only do they censor away til the cows come home but they also take down pages and people in an instant and even those not involved in anything political. Been there, done that, done!
I love commenting on blogs more and focusing on SEO to generate traffic over social media. I’m even helping more clients with SEO and blogging. Things change and we have to be willing to change as well 🙂 And admit that we have been wrong and move on.
Lisa, it feels weird to say this, but other than some light tweeting I believe my blogging career will be moving everything through Blogging From Paradise primarily in terms of publishing helpful content frequently then genuine blog commenting here and there with some light guest blogging. I used Facebook to make some blogging buddies over the years but now it is time to grow my blog into something expansive, to help bloggers with a thorough resource.
Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are not a part of my blogging campaign anymore save 1 quick share for new posts on Facebook. I did a live today with Kelli which was fun but mainly recorded the audio for a podcast to Anchor. My podcasts are doing well over there. I never promote them and some generate 100 plus listens organically. Spotting those signs.