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How To Start And Run A Blog By Yourself

how to start and run a blog by yourself“How To Start And Run A Blog By Yourself” is a bit misleading as the title for this article.

In fact, if you want to start and run a blog, it’s next to impossible to blog successfully without the assistance of many other people.

Not only is it difficult to do everything on your own, but it’s the least effective way to go about it.

So to run your blog by yourself, you’ll first have to learn to work closely with others.

You can play this video to find out how blogging communities can help you start and run your own blog. It’s my interview with Lesly Federici, a top voice in the blogging world.

Lesly operates a blogging community called The Power Affiliate Club. Visit her there.

How To Start A Blog

When you first start a blog, you’ll immediately see that it’s not something to try to do by yourself.

Special: Start Your New Blog in 3 Easy Steps

Unless you have an unusual amount of technical skill, you’ll see that you need help with this.

You’ll want to find somebody to create your blog for you, to design it, and build features into it that you’ll need for doing business.

You need to have the right theme for your niche.

You’ll need an attractive header, an optin box to build an email list, sidebar banners, and all designed nicely enough to make the right impression on your readers.

You’ll need to create a domain, find the right hosting package and a reliable auto-responder to manage your email list.

Now, these are just a few of the things you’ll need to do to start doing business as a blogger.

Don’t think you can start it alone.

Connect with the right people and services to help pull it all together.

How To Run A Blog

Running a blog requires many things.

Special: FREE Guide… 4 Things I Did To Build My Blog Using Only Free Traffic

You’ll need to put good content on your blog.

It will need to appeal to your target audience.

You’ll want to manage and promote your content to get the right people to see it.

You need a steady flow of traffic to your blog, and a well conceived format for monetizing it.

Those are just a few tasks you to master.

You probably won’t be able to do these things without help, though, so you might as well understand right from the start… running a blog is running a business.

Nobody tries to run a business without a strong support team.

So running a blog is really about learning to make connections with many different people who can help you along the way.

How To Start And Run A Blog By Yourself

I think you can see that it’s a foolish undertaking, to even try to start and run a blog by yourself.

Special: Start Your New Blog in 3 Easy Steps

The first thing you’re going to need to be successful, is a blogging community.

That can be simply a gathering of all the various people you bring together to help you make your blog work.

Or it can be a formal community that you join to help you with all these things.

When I first started blogging, I read Seth Godin’s book, “Tribes.”

He describes a tribal connection between all bloggers seeking a leader and a way to communicate with one another.

That made an impression on me, and so I named my blog Donna Merrill’s Tribe.

I was determined to take a central role in a a community of other bloggers, and find ever new ways that we could communicate with one another.

We’ve communicated and helped each other grow and become successful within the structure of formal tribes, or blogging communities.

We all agreed to certain rules and protocol whereby we would visit eachother’s blogs, comment on them and share them on our social sites.

Special: FREE Guide… 4 Things I Did To Build My Blog Using Only Free Traffic

So it was a matter of creating, sharing and reciprocating with one another.

Outside of the formal tribes, though, I learned early on how to build my own connections with other bloggers and leaders in my niche.

These were people I wanted to form a relationship with.

Each of them helped me get traffic, develop better content or some other key part of my business.

Both the formal blogging communities I participated in and the informal tribes that I developed were a big part of my success.

They can be a big part of your success, too.

Don’t try to start and run a blog by yourself.

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Build connections with those who can help you right from the beginning.

It will make things go much easier for you, and will make you a far more effective and successful blogger in the long run.

-Donna

Donna Merrill
Donna is a well known blogger and creator of "Blogging Magic" - an intensive guide to blogging. "Blogging Magic" is for beginners who are trying to figure out how to bring their blogs to life with tons of visits, comments and social media interaction. It's even for advanced bloggers looking to reach new levels of authority and engagement with their audience.

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54 Responses to How To Start And Run A Blog By Yourself

  1. Ikechi
    Twitter:
    September 17, 2016 at 8:20 pm #

    Hi Donna

    On the surface, it might look easy to set up a blog buy as one goes deeper it is best to have help from the very start.

    Blogging is evolving everyday. It is not just a hobby anymore but can be used a way of promoting business.

    Thumbs up for the post. You have shared a Word for the wise. Take care
    Ikechi recently posted..4 Crazy Things You don’t Know When You Waste Your LifeMy Profile

  2. Amar kumar
    Twitter:
    September 15, 2016 at 1:25 am #

    Hey Donna,

    Every day, more and more people are getting into the exciting world of blogging for fun or profit. It’s never been easier to set up a fun, professional-looking blog.It must be desire to create blogs that inspire and help other people.If you don’t have a desire to help or inspire others, well, then it’s all about you and people will pick up on that.

    Not all traffic is good traffic, so don’t worry about getting thousands of readers right away.The funny thing is that all these things can happen. You could make a full-time income off of your blog. Being transparent is different from being honest. You needn’t share every detail about your life just for the sake of being honest.

    With best wishes,

    Amar kumar

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      October 17, 2016 at 8:30 pm #

      Hi Amar,

      Indeed, blogging is all about inspiring others however you cut it.

      And yes, not all traffic is good traffic. We want to have quality readership and not a quantity of bouncers.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Workspace Design For BloggersMy Profile

  3. Donna Merrill
    Twitter:
    September 14, 2016 at 12:25 pm #

    Hi Kim,

    You certainly have a grip on the situation… build your tribe through relationship building, growing your personal community/tribe and reciprocating consistently.

    This should be the priority in your blogging business, and if it is, you are creating something very powerful and self-sustaining.

    -Donna
    Donna Merrill recently posted..Create Your Own Product To Sell OnlineMy Profile

  4. Kim Willis
    Twitter:
    September 13, 2016 at 8:36 am #

    A lot of Nuggets (gold, not chicken) in here, Donna

    Here is one of them:

    “So running a blog is really about learning to make connections with many different people who can help you along the way’.

    Right on, momma!

    Blogging is not about backlinks. Nor is it about publishing content and hoping for miracles to happen.

    We have to promote, and what better way to do it than by making meaningful connections with quality people?

    Building our tribe should be a priority for all bloggers. And as you correctly point out, reciprocation is one of the key ingredients in a tribe building program.

    Thanks also for the interview – the Power Affiliate Club is a great idea

    You rock!

    Kim
    Kim Willis recently posted..The Fine Art of Directed ConversationMy Profile

  5. Dana
    Twitter:
    September 7, 2016 at 6:41 pm #

    Hi Donna, Hi Lesly,

    Loved this. I’ve heard about PAC, just haven’t delved into it enough.

    I completely agree about being part of a community – or tribe. I’m so lucky that I’ve gotten to know (and adore) people in the blogging community. A few have even become friends.

    Blogging can be a lot of work and sometimes it can take its toll. The relationships I’ve built over the last few years have been such a blessing. Your collaboration on this post is a perfect testament to how powerful it is to the benefits of working together for the benefit of others.

    Thanks for putting this together Ladies 🙂
    Dana recently posted..Adversity – Friend or Foe?My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 11, 2016 at 8:05 pm #

      Hi Dana,

      So glad you enjoyed my little “collaboration” with Lesly here.

      We had fun doing it, but more importantly, we really wanted to drive home the point of how important blogging communities are.

      People think they can run a blog all by themselves… it just never works that way because you are always blogging for and with others.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..4 Blogs That Rank High On Google SearchMy Profile

  6. David Merrill
    Twitter:
    September 7, 2016 at 12:50 pm #

    I think just about everybody starts blogging as a “solopreneur.”

    Then they can’t get traction and they don’t know where to turn.

    I think you’ve given them the answer here, Donna.

    Start building relationships with other bloggers first, then with your target audience through those connections. Tribes, blogging communities and co-ops… they’re all there. Just gotta start getting involved.
    David Merrill recently posted..4 Ways To Get Money From Your List | Optimized Email MarketingMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 11, 2016 at 8:02 pm #

      Hi David,

      I know you’re on the same page as me here, haha

      We actually have our own paid community as well as those we’ve been members of along the line.

      Thanks for your comment here, reminding people to get involved in the community aspect of blogging.

      It’s pretty much a “must do.”

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Grow Your Blog OrganicallyMy Profile

  7. Atish Ranjan
    Twitter:
    September 7, 2016 at 7:21 am #

    Hello Donna,

    Everyone needs help to do things better. When I was new, I was not having a blogging mentor but I did have a friend for technical things. About blogging, I learned everything by hit and trial.

    I felt that if I would have gotten much help, I would not take so much time to build my empire. But, that’s fine. this is the reason, I am always up to help everyone as much as I can so that they don’t face the issues which I faced.

    For this, I created the forum so that people can ask questions on a platform rather than on chat.. so that the solutions will be available for everyone too.
    But sadly, there are many guys who still want their problem to be solved in chat because they feel lazy posting in forums I think. But, I made my rules to send the responses only in Forum because I want to build it for everyone. Helping everyone through chat does take a lot of time, and it helps only one person at the moment. But, when it is done in Forum, it is useful other guys as well who have similar issues.

    I have heard the PAC community a lot.

    Thanks for writing such a thoughtful post, Donna.
    Atish Ranjan recently posted..KeepVid Pro – The Best Video Downloader of Its TimeMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 11, 2016 at 7:56 pm #

      Hi Atish,

      You have set the foundation for a great forum community and I wish you great success with it.

      It does take a while to get people on board, but that’s part of building a community.

      It’s the best way to build your business, though, because without a community you are always at step 1, never moving on to steps 2, 3 etc.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Create Your Own Product To Sell OnlineMy Profile

  8. Enstine Muki
    Twitter:
    September 7, 2016 at 2:01 am #

    Hey Donna,
    Good to be here today after some weeks break.
    A lot of things have kept me away but truth be spoken, I have read every of your articles since my last comment here.

    Good job my dear friend!

    I’m glad you are focusing on PAC in this post. You know we are both members and I like that it’s waxing strong. I started listening to your conversation with Lesly but will finish it later today.

    I have said it and I will keep saying that no one can succeed as an Island. No matter your level of skills, you can’t start and run your blog alone.

    I personally can do plugins, themes, etc but I always find the need to collaborate with many others. Even at the level of doing technical stuffs, I still need others.

    Even if you are an SEO king who gets tons of daily readers from Google, you still need to collaborate with others.

    Partnership works and that’s true in every business.

    Hope you are having a beautiful week
    Enstine Muki recently posted..How to create a blog that will generate increasing income!My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 11, 2016 at 12:32 am #

      Hi Enstine,

      You are so right about the power of collaboration.

      Blogging gives us so many great opportunities for collaboration and joint ventures, but not if you blog in a silent vacuum.

      Find communities that are active and dynamic in your niche.

      Get involved, stay in touch and make it happen every single day.

      So nice to hear from you my friend.
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Your Blog Is A Sales FunnelMy Profile

  9. Kimsea Sok
    Twitter:
    September 6, 2016 at 10:50 pm #

    Hi, Donna.
    How are you doing today? Hope you doing well.

    This’s an awesome article as usually you did. To start a blog is easy, but to start a successful blog is much more difficult, and it requires us to work both hard and smart.

    You have to put multi resources in your blog and the community.

    I love what you mentioned related to finding some people to build business stuff. It’s so essential and necessary for starting a blog in the right way.

    For sure. Blogging is more than just writing so you need to invent more time in creating quality content plus distribute the content variety social media channels and other networks to bring decent traffic to your blog.

    What’s more, if you don’t know how to do this, you have to hire some experts to teach or help you in doing it.

    Donna, I tried to listen to the interview, but cannot as the sound is really poor quality. I don’t what exactly the issue, but hope you will find some way to tweak it out.

    Thanks for sharing a very nice tips, by the way.
    Kimsea Sok recently posted..How to Become The Expert Blogger Even if You’re A Freshman to BloggingMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 11, 2016 at 12:21 am #

      Hi Kimsea,

      I hope you got your video working alright, it’s working fine on my end.

      You do need to put together, as you say, “multi resources” to get your blogging business in top shape, and put it in the success column.

      Those resources are available through blogging communities, and it’s one of the many reasons that you really need to start building those relationships.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Grow Your Blog OrganicallyMy Profile

  10. Monna Ellithorpe
    Twitter:
    September 6, 2016 at 6:53 pm #

    Hi Donna and Lesly,

    Great interview with Lesly. I’m still amazed how well PAC is doing and continues to grow out of a conversation Lesly and I had a couple of years ago.

    Lesly, you have done a phenomenal job of building, monitoring and running the community. I am looking forward to when I can be back with PAC full time.

    Donna, as always you and David have been a great “light bulb” in my life in the way you explain things and help with ideas and your motivation and encouragement. Bless you both.

    Have a wonderful week.

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 11, 2016 at 12:04 am #

      Hi Monna,

      It’s been a great experience to be part of PAC.

      It’s a perfect example of just how important it is to find the right community for you, and give it your entire focus and effort.

      No amount of Facebook or any other paid advertising can give you that kind of leverage in your business.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Create Your Own Product To Sell OnlineMy Profile

  11. Mark
    Twitter:
    September 6, 2016 at 6:03 pm #

    Thanks for sharing the secret sauce Donna!

    Your blog title, reinforces the old saying, you ‘re in business for yourself,
    not by yourself!

    Once again, the power of the proper network is revealed!There are many things
    we can definitely do on our own!

    But building a successful blog, is not one of them!I look forward to listening to and learning from your interview with Leslie!
    Mark recently posted..Why Extremely Savvy Entrepreneurs Rely Heavily On Marketing Leverage Not Cash!My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 10, 2016 at 11:32 pm #

      Hi Mark,

      It’s true… blogging is not something you can do alone. You are probably going to have a very rough time building a successful business if you try.

      Serious bloggers make a strong effort to find and develop communities to work with.

      It’s certainly the fastest way to move your blogging business forward.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Grow Your Blog OrganicallyMy Profile

  12. Don Purdum
    Twitter:
    September 6, 2016 at 1:53 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    It’s absolutely impossible to do it our own as there is just too much! Especially the grow your blog part! That community is priceless!

    In fact, I have to admit that I’ve dropped the ball on that part of it over the last six months. I wanted to see what the difference was with my community and without it. The proof is in… a community is a MUST have!

    I have all the skills to do much on my own as the owner of a previous web development company that sold websites in six figures.

    To be honest, the website is the easy part… it’s the relationships that make it all work that are the most challenging and time-consuming… but also the most important and priceless part of business.

    Your post is spot on.

    I’m excited to be back building those relationships again!

    Have a great week Donna!

    ~ Don
    Don Purdum recently posted..Is Content Dead or are You Just Missing Something That’s Promising?My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 10, 2016 at 11:14 pm #

      Hi Don,

      Nice to see you out here!

      You are so right that “he website is the easy part… it’s the relationships that make it all work that are the most challenging and time-consuming… but also the most important and priceless part of business.”

      Content is critical to building your brand among your audience, but your ability to build relationships with people is even more important.

      People only trust people they have developed some kind of relationship with, and they only buy from, hire, and join those whom they have come to trust.

      Glad to see you’ve developed a renewed vigor for this aspect of your business.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..10 Top Sources Of Blog Traffic That You Are Not UsingMy Profile

  13. Lisa Sicard
    Twitter:
    September 6, 2016 at 6:24 am #

    Hi Donna,
    This is SO true. It took me a year before I realized I could not blog all by myself. I met some wonderful people in the early days, Mayura, Brenda, Harleena, Adrienne and yourself. I have used both Mayura’s and Brenda’s services too recently as the longer you blog the more you need to outsource some of the things you do. The more connections you make on social media the more time you must put into those networks too to keep connected.
    Blogging really takes time and some money to stay current and up to date year after year. It’s been great to watch the transformation of many of the early bloggers from 5+ years ago. It’s sad to see many who have almost quit the blogging bandwagon.
    Thanks for sharing about this blogging tribe. I had not heard of her or the tribe before. I will be sure to check it out. Have a great rest of the week Donna.
    Lisa Sicard recently posted..How To Make Fun Twitter GIFS To Make You More TweetableMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 10, 2016 at 11:04 pm #

      Hi Lisa,

      Bloggers do come and go, don’t they?

      Blogging itself, though, not only remains, but is becoming more and more the standard and foundation for running a successful business.. certainly a successful online business.

      This is a great time for people entering the blogging world. There is just so much opportunity with the help of the many bustling communities alive and thriving.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..4 Blogs That Rank High On Google SearchMy Profile

  14. Sherman Smith September 6, 2016 at 12:12 am #

    Hey Donna,

    You’re bringing back a lot of memories about Tribes. Those Facebook tribes from about 5 years ago truly was a relevant education to get my blog going.

    But you definitely can’t grow your blog without a nice network of people. That is, a nice targeted network of people. This makes a big difference in your blog growth when you have people within your circle to support you.

    Luckily for me I was able to understand the concept of starting a blog since I work in IT. But as far as the graphical part, I was hurting when it came to that LOL. Thank God for plugins!

    Thanks for sharing Donna! You were definitely spot on with this post!
    Sherman Smith recently posted..What If You Can Only Blog Once A Month?My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 10, 2016 at 10:24 pm #

      Hi Sherman,

      You know the value of tribes and networking with other bloggers and people in your niche.

      It’s undoubtedly the single most important part of building a successful blog.

      Blogging, by nature, is a community project, not a solitary diary or personal notebook.

      Not if we’re trying to build a business, anyway.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..10 Top Sources Of Blog Traffic That You Are Not UsingMy Profile

  15. Cararta
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 5:38 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Just like children, It takes a village or community to grow a blog.

    It is something that many never really grasp.

    As you said, you can do the writing…etc. but beyond that you
    need help.

    Bloggers who learn and grow and share how they did it with the help of
    other bloggers are the secret to more blog successes than you will ever know.

    Thanks for once again sharing information that can make the difference between
    failure and success.

    ~Cararta
    Cararta recently posted..My Shared Pages Internet Marketing ReviewsMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 10, 2016 at 10:00 pm #

      Hi Cararta,

      Blogging is pretty much a community project… if we let it be.

      Trying to do everything on our own, without getting involved with others is certainly “a fool’s errand.”

      The deeper we reach into other peoples’ lives, the more our business becomes rooted in the needs of our readers and followers.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Grow Your Blog OrganicallyMy Profile

  16. Cori Ramos
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 3:02 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    As always you are spot on here!

    You know how they say “it takes a village” – that is so true when it comes to building a successful blog because we can’t do it alone. We need a community of bloggers.

    And we get so much out of it. Not only do they comment and share our blog posts but they’re there if we have technical issues we can’t solve, to exchange ideas for marketing our products, and they help us promote those products…I can go on and on, hehe. 🙂

    I was a part of the PAC but I didn’t think my content was fit for the club – at that time I was blogging more about working from home.

    I didn’t get to participate but I loved how it worked. The people in the group are some heavy hitters but were so friendly.

    I’m going to have to read Seth Godin’s book, it sounds like a great read. I always wondered about the story behind your blog’s name and now I know. 🙂

    Thanks for this great post Donna. Have a great week!

    Cori
    Cori Ramos recently posted..Make Money from Home: Work-from-Home and Blogger JobsMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 7, 2016 at 6:52 pm #

      Hi Cori,

      You mentioned some things I didn’t include in my quick run down of how blogging communities can help you grow your business.

      You’re right, you do connect with people who can help you solve technical issues, and they are extremely helpful in helping you to promote your products and your brand.

      I’m glad you brought these things into focus for all of us.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Rank Your Blog High In Google SearchMy Profile

  17. Marquita Herald
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 1:47 pm #

    Terrific advice Donna! Like so many others, when I first began blogging I tried to go it alone and thought if I followed the advice of the “experts” I’d be okay. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before I realized I needed much more and was able to find an awesome community to join. I’ve participated in several blogging communities through the years but have found Lesly’s PAC community to be the most dynamic and supportive. Thanks for sharing this great interview!
    Marquita Herald recently posted..Setting Boundaries: How to Make Yourself HeardMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 7, 2016 at 1:32 pm #

      Hi Marquita,

      We all find each other along the way… or else we fall off the planet, lol.

      Anything is tough to do in a vacuum, but especially blogging.

      I think that people forget that blogging is, essentially, a social media plaform. It’s whole purpose is to connect with people (we call them “readers”).

      Somehow, we too often think we can do this with our face turned toward the wall… won’t work 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..5 Top Newbie Blogger MistakesMy Profile

  18. Chery Schmidt
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 1:44 pm #

    Hello Donna! PAC is also the only community I am part of as well! Lesly has done an Awesome job with her community, I love her to death!! What An Awesome Video!!!

    Great Share..
    Thanks
    Chery :))

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 7, 2016 at 1:10 pm #

      Hi Chery,

      Thanks for you “insider” scoop … haha

      Yea, Lesly and the gals there have done a wonderful job.

      You need community… PAC or elsewise… but don’t try to do it alone.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Grow Your Blog OrganicallyMy Profile

  19. lisa thomson
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 1:04 pm #

    This is great advice. Definitely, there is so much to think about at the start as far as design goes. A professional tech/design person is a necessity. Building the community is an ongoing task. I’ve met so many wonderful bloggers since I started but it took at least 6 months to find my ‘tribe’. Thanks for the introduction to Leslie and the PAC site, Donna. I will check that out!
    lisa thomson recently posted..Can We Go Home Again?My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 7, 2016 at 12:57 pm #

      Hi Lisa,

      If you’re building your own tribe, it can take a while.

      Each day, just add people who are active and reciprocating when you comment and share things on their sites.

      It’s good to have a mix of low level, mid level and pro bloggers so that you’re addressing a cross section of your audience.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Your Blog Is A Sales FunnelMy Profile

  20. Renard Moreau
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 12:35 pm #

    [ Smiles ] Donna, when I first started blogging, I did it on my own and today, I still blog solo.

    However, one thing has changed since then; I participate heavily among various blogging communities.

    Without a community, you are all alone in the figurative wilderness.

    I have never read Seth Godin’s book entitled, “Tribes”; I would love to get my hands on that!

    Donna, I would like to thank you for sharing your expertise; you are the greatest!

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 7, 2016 at 4:55 pm #

      Hi Renard,

      You’re so right… newbie bloggers especially would be lost without finding their place among blogging communities, but you’d be surprised how many “pro bloggers” also find this to be eye opening stuff … it transforms their business.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Grow Your Blog OrganicallyMy Profile

  21. Bren Pace
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 11:35 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Very well said, my friend. When I started blogging, I had no clue how much “Community” helps. Maybe that’s why I struggled so much in the beginning. Now that I have a Community of wonderful peeps, it’s much easier. All the other steps you mentioned are spot on gf. Love the video!

    B
    Bren Pace recently posted..It’s Better to be Safe than SorryMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 6, 2016 at 11:17 pm #

      Hi Bren,

      Most of us have no clue about using blogging communities when we first start.

      I think most bloggers think they’re supposed to work in the closet and do their own thing.

      That’s fine for just creating some interesting articles, but that’s a minor part of blogging.

      Reaching out to people and helping them improve their lives and solve their problems… that’s the bigger part, and you can’t do that if you’re not connecting with others… and the best way to connect is inside of blogging communities and niche groups on social media sites.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Your Blog Is A Sales FunnelMy Profile

  22. Ryan Biddulph
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 9:57 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Amen on so many levels.

    All my success is our success. People buy and read my eBooks. People promote my blog. My tribe made me; without them I’d publish a diary.

    You embody this team effort concept well and hell, it’s THE ONLY concept to follow to run a successful blog.

    Back in the day folks could manipulate search engines to make a fortune without strong engagement. Thank God google got it together.

    Now engagement supercedes most metrics because Google and the online world in general wants connecting, helping, community building, assisting, chatting….all the energies that lift the collective ship of blogging, so we all succeed and prosper.

    The day I realized blogging is a team effort is the day this gig got so much easier.

    Ryan

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 6, 2016 at 11:14 pm #

      Hi Ryan,

      You’ve said it so well… blogging is a team effort.

      The sooner you learn to join the team, the sooner you’ll start crafting some real success out here.

      The days of being the “lone ranger” are past.

      The old SEO metrics of keyword stuffing and the like… are over.

      You’ve got to get involved with others, and yes, your business will even be much better for the effort.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..10 Top Sources Of Blog Traffic That You Are Not UsingMy Profile

  23. Harleena Singh
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 9:40 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Happy Monday 🙂

    You are so right about all that you mentioned – we cannot blog alone, absolutely not! Without having our own blogging community, and a tribe, just like you have here, it’s tough to exist in the blogosphere.

    I agree that we can join so many that exist, though few of them really are as interactive, which does matter a great deal where building relationships is concerned. I guess that is why we went ahead and created our own little one – the ABC (which soon would have a new home!)

    Yes, what has always worked for me and most of us, I’d say, is blog visits, which means reading, commenting, and sharing each other’s posts – that is the only way that really works, and how we further build those relationships further, isn’t it? I know so many friends ones made, and we are always there to support each other, because of this very reason. So, our blogging communities gradually become our online friend’s actually, and some of them stay with us for years to come – speaking of you and me :))

    Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
    Harleena Singh recently posted..7 Effective Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog without SEOMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 6, 2016 at 9:59 pm #

      Hi Harleena,

      Thanks for telling your story of how meaningful blogging communities have been to your business… and of course, mine too.

      It is so important to have that base of support that you speak of, but one other thing… we need to always work toward expanding our reach, too, not just staying comfortable with the crowd we’re in. That means to always include more and more people into your business and into your tribes and communities.

      Always look to expansion and outreach.

      Communities should not be stagnant, but always growing.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Grow Your Blog OrganicallyMy Profile

  24. Hussain Omar
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 9:14 am #

    Hey Donna,

    Loved your post!

    So true, with the help of the technical guys, things will much easier. The same for the blogging communities, where one can learn a lot of things from mates there, and PAC is great one to do so.

    Thanks for sharing this great post!

    Regards
    Hussain
    Hussain Omar recently posted..Top 54 SEO Quotes of 2016 | Experts RoundupMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 6, 2016 at 9:41 pm #

      Hi Hussain,

      I absolutely need to rely on “the technical guys” because it’s not what I do.

      If I were to stop producing good content and networking with others in my niche, I’d be changing my business altogether.

      I have to rely on the technical guys and others, too, in order to focus on what I do best, and what I am most passionate about doing. That’s why I learned a long time ago to join communities and let others help me.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..10 Top Sources Of Blog Traffic That You Are Not UsingMy Profile

  25. Sherab Tenzin September 5, 2016 at 8:25 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Thanks for this post. I have heard how important is networking in blogging cycle and more importantly how consistent interactions among bloggers is to get your blog and contents crawled and indexed by search engines.

    Therefore, it becomes quite imperative that creating a blog and keeping it live just by a single person would be near to impossible.

    And forming a community of like-minded people would be better for such purpose. In my country, we have something like ‘Community of Bhutanese Bloggers’. But since almost more than 90% of them aren’t into self-hosted and not-serious blogging, I cannot harness good result from it.

    I am instead thinking of creating another community of just self-hosted bloggers from my country.

    Your community also appears good. Hope people would join it and learn as much as they can from the members.

    Regards
    Sherab Tenzin recently posted..Be a PRO from day one-tips from Pro-bloggersMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 6, 2016 at 9:28 pm #

      Hi Sherab,

      It’s a great idea to start your own blogging community.

      Just set up the rules that everyone carefully for people to follow, and monitor it closely.

      It can be a great asset to your business and those of all participants.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Create Your Own Product To Sell OnlineMy Profile

  26. Reginald Chan
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 4:07 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Love the content. Here’s what I think. Most people think that starting a blog and managing one is easy. The truth is, it is way tougher than that and in most cases, we fail badly because we give up.

    Long story short, there are a lot of things related to blogging such as:
    – Marketing
    – Content
    – SEO

    And many more!

    Good write and thanks for sharing!
    Reginald Chan recently posted..Thrive Themes vs Genesis Theme Framework – Comparing Two Of The Best Premium WordPress ThemesMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 5, 2016 at 10:26 pm #

      Hi Reginald,

      You’re so right. There are many, many things involved in making your blog successful.

      That’s why it’s so important to start making connections, building relationships, and joining or creating communities that will be supportive to you.

      The key… don’t try to do all these things on your own. You might be able to, but at great cost in terms of investment and time.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..4 Blogs That Rank High On Google SearchMy Profile

  27. Ravi Chahar
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 3:54 am #

    Hey Donna,

    I have read about this community on many blogs and it seems that there are more people to get interacted.

    You have mentioned it right, that content is the key but when you add your power of human bonding with it then running a blog would be fun.

    Creating, promoting and reciprocating are actions you need to take to build a better blog. Glad to know about PAC.

    I am sure, people would to join it.

    Thanks for letting us know.
    Have a wonderful day.
    ~Ravi
    Ravi Chahar recently posted..How To Transfer SEO Settings From Thesis Theme To Yoast SEO Plugin?My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 5, 2016 at 10:17 pm #

      Hi Ravi,

      PAC is a great community, and, of course, there are many others.

      You can even build your own “community” simply by committing to following, say 10, 20 or 30 bloggers each week. Comment, engage, share… this becomes Your own personal tribe.

      Any way you look at it, don’t try to go it alone. Get involved with others in your niche… and thereabouts.

      Nice to hear from you 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Your Blog Is A Sales FunnelMy Profile

  28. Umesh Singh
    Twitter:
    September 5, 2016 at 1:52 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Great write up! Starting a new blog isn’t hard, the hard part is to make it successful and being consistent.

    However, you have covered almost everything that a new blogger need to know. I hope I will get some more on this topic.

    Thanks for sharing.
    Umesh Singh
    Umesh Singh recently posted..7 Incredibly Simple Ways to Double Your Audience Engagement in 10 MinutesMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 5, 2016 at 10:06 pm #

      Hi Umesh,

      I’m glad you found some valuable guidance here.

      You’re right that starting your blog is just the beginning, yet I know so many bloggers who get stuck there.

      They set up their blog, then “tweak” the design, then add a plugin, then change the design… on and on it goes, while the critical part of connecting with people and actually “running” the blog… get’s overlooked.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..5 Top Newbie Blogger MistakesMy Profile

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