I've been blogging since before there were blogs. Back when we just called it writing stuff on the internet. Once blogs existed, we had a name for it, and that felt pretty good. I've been a volunteer, a freelancer, a writer, an editor, and a webmaster. I've worked for free, I've been paid a pittance, I've blogged for a living for someone else, I've worked for myself, and I've hired others to blog for me. I'm a well known blogger, even now. I've been blogging for longer than some of you have been reading and what I know is this: Nearly everything everyone has ever told you about it is a lie.
Blogs come in all shapes and sizes. There are blogs about everything from finances, to movies, to sports, to being a mommy. I've written for some types, known others who did the ones I didn't, and even when I haven't done it, I've observed closely from afar.
And I can't stand the lies anymore.
Bloggers lie about what they really do, how it really works, the way everything truly happens. Not just to outsiders, or to each other, but sometimes even to themselves. For most bloggers, the moment they start to achieve success is the moment they stop listening to anything anyone has ever told them on the subject, face the facts, and start figuring things out for themselves. The moment you realize everything you've ever read or been told about what it takes to be a successful blogger is false, is the moment you become a successful blogger yourself.
Confused? This blog will help shed light on the subject. Let's start by explaining why everyone lies in the first place. It boils down to two simple reasons.
Why Help The Competition?
Thousands of people start blogs every single day. Every one of those blogs is a potential competitor. Anyone who knows what it takes to make a successful blog is already doing it, and anyone who doesn't already know is a potential competitor waiting to take away your traffic. Many bloggers will pretend to be friends with others, they may even offer to help them out, they may even think they mean it... but there's a line they won't cross. If they really told you how it was done, then by helping you they'd only be hurting themselves.
The Truth Hurts
Beyond the competitive, the truth about blogging success isn't as pretty as it seems. Everyone wants you to believe their blog is popular because they're great writers, because they work harder than everyone else, because they're doing something special and by extension are themselves special. No one wants to admit that's not what's going on, the truth about what's really happening would make them look bad. Some bloggers don't even want to admit it to themselves. Deep down they know how their success really works, but to face it would mean admitting something that they themselves, really just don't want to hear.
If this were another SEO blog or if I had a book to sell, this would be the place where I promise to tell you all the secrets of blogging and tell you that you too can become a success if you just follow what I'm about to tell you.
I won't do that. That too would be a lie. One of those ugly truths is that even if you know exactly what it takes to build a successful web brand based on content, you probably won't be able to do it, and even if you do it, odds are you still won't be able to make any money at it. Or if you do make any money at it, it won't last and you'll eventually be swept aside by some competitor backed by corporate financiers with the SEO power and Google contacts to destroy everything you've been working to build.
But those are topics for another post.
Read this blog. It won't tell you how to become a success, but it will tell you the truth.
