Many struggling bloggers live in fear.
These are the ones I’ve worked with who come to me because they can’t get things done.
They can’t seem to get the traffic, following or income they want.
Sure, many of them have half a notion of what to do… dabble in dabble in that.
But they just don’t know how to put all the pieces together to create a successful blogging business.
The fact is that most of these people don’t lack anything other than the ability to take action.
Most of them are very smart in fact.
But maybe too smart for their own good.
Do you think you need to know more and more before you can pull the trigger on even a simple tactic?
Or, do you stammer and stall each time you get to the tipping point of something that you’re trying to accomplish?
What holds struggling bloggers back is their fear to move forward.
Most find a place that they’re comfortable in, and just stay there.
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They won’t put some money on the table or complete a significant task at hand.
Just can’t do it.
Instead, they lock up in fear and curl up in a cozy corner called familiarity.
There is no
- growth
- exploration
- expansion
Does any of this resonate with you?
Are you a struggling blogger?
There is a way out.
The Leap of Faith
The biggest fear is taking the leap.
Result: no action.
I guess the biggest fear is simply what I called jumping off the cliff.
That’s when you don’t really know what the results of implementing a new strategy are going to be.
- Maybe it will work.
- But maybe it won’t.
You’ll never find out, though, if you don’t have faith in your ability to make it work.
So instead, you procrastinate.
And you might never think this procrastination is just another form of fear.
You might think it’s being careful or clever or doing due diligence.
But it is usually just plain old fear.
Before jumping off the cliff you have to study more, right?
Or maybe you have to see how many other people have succeeded at some strategy you’re about to launch.
Social proof, I guess you’d call it.
I often call it “consensus taking.”
Consensus Taking
Perhaps you want to spend some time talking to other people about it.
Do they think it’s a good idea or a bad one, and so forth.
You might want to ask your friends what they think of it.
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Perhaps you’ll put out feelers to your email list.
Run a survey asking them if they’d like to have you implement this new strategy that you’re considering.
Keep asking, that’s fine.
But in the meanwhile, start taking action to see how people actually respond, not how you think they will.
Just Try It
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve discussed a new plan of action with a struggling blogger.
You see, I’m actually answering a question they have.
Trying to help them solve a problem.
They’re stuck somewhere in their business and need direction.
This might happen in a webinar or during one of my live coaching calls.
Then, 3 months later, the same person attends another event and asks me the same question.
“I’m stuck. What can I do?”
When I ask how they made out with the strategy I had outlined for them 3 months ago, I get silence.
Then, an answer like this… “Well I didn’t get around to trying that yet.”
So why are they asking me again 3 months later when my answer is going to be the same?
I think the answer is that they’re just frozen in fear of pulling the trigger.
So they make excuses.
- Maybe this strategy is going to fail.
- Maybe they’re going to spend a few dollars on advertising or whatever and lose that money.
- They are not absolutely 100% sure that this is the right strategy to take so instead they take no action.
- Or, the strategy sounds like it will work, but it requires too much work.
Then there are those who will actually take a quick stab at implementing it, but after 5 days of not getting earth-shaking results, they decide it’s “not working.”
Most of these struggling bloggers will usually will go on to something else.
They hear about some “new” thing, and they try that.
When all these things fail, then they contact me again.
Again, they ask “What can I do to solve my problem?”
When I remind them that we discussed this before and I’ve already answered that question, they’re not happy.
They thought…
- Maybe they would get a shiny new answer.
- Perhaps something easier.
- Maybe something that doesn’t require work.
- Or a strategy that is risk-free.
- Maybe an automated “push-button” solution they can use to make money in their sleep.
When I assure them that none of those things will work, they often resort to magical thinking.
Maybe if they just wait long enough, time itself will change things.
Whatever they’re doing that leads to failure, will suddenly start working.
But you know what.
Nothing is going to change.
Not as long as you’re afraid to take action, risk failure and even accept failure.
So, you know what?
Get over the fear and procrastination.
Just try it.
If it doesn’t work, then, believe me… you’ll be a step closer to success.
Lack of Knowledge
A lot of people are afraid that they don’t have enough knowledge.
They just think they have to learn everything about a strategy before they can implement it.
Ryan Biddulph discusses this common fear
in his guest post on Build Your Own Blog:
Read the full article here: 4 Common Limiting Beliefs…
People think that if they want to write a 10-page eBook on a topic in their niche…
- they’ll spend 6 months researching it.
- then they might spend another 4 months writing it.
- after all that they probably think it’s still not good enough, and so they start all over again.
But before restarting, they…
- buy a course,
- spend time reading
- spend time talking in forums
- take notes.
Oh yeah, notes… they take notes upon notes upon notes.
And they get real good at collecting knowledge about what hurdle they need to clear.
They probably even spend a fair amount of time looking for the perfect app to organize their notes.
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But because they’re so afraid of doing it wrong, they never actually take “the leap.”
They never take that leap of faith because they have no faith in themselves.
I keep asking this, but again…
Does any of this sound familiar to what you’ve done?
CASE IN POINT
I’ll give you a quick example of what I’m talking about, just so you can see that I screw up, too.
And when I do, it’s usually because of fear.
A few years back, I decided that it would be a good idea for me to take my business a step further.
I thought a great strategy for me, would be to use webinars to deliver conent in my training courses.
Well, of course, there was some technology to struggle with.
And so I spent some time doing that.
Actually, I spend a LOT of time doing that.
But it didn’t end there.
Next, I had to learn the best way to put together a slide presentation.
So I dealt with that for a while.
Then there were different webinar platforms that I could use.
I tried out one then another then another.
None of them gave me everything I wanted.
And my slideshows were not perfect.
So I watched some other people doing webinars.
Their presentations were so much better than mine 🙁
I was convinced that I could never do it as well as them.
So I stopped altogether and just decided I wasn’t going to do webinars.
Several times I went back and forth with this “maybe I should” vs “maybe I shouldn’t” struggle.
To this day, I’m not sure of everything that made me so afraid.
But I’ll tell you what got me past it.
One day I just decided I had to do it.
So I actually sold a course that promised to include webinar training.
Mind you, I had no idea how to do a webinar yet.
But as soon as I released the sales page and started making sales, I knew I was going to have to do it.
My wakeup call: my first webinar was going to happen.
In fact, there was a date on it.
I had promised people that I’d be delivering content via live webinar on a specific date.
Well, I don’t know how I did it.
But somehow, when that date that time came, my webinar went forward.
I had found a good platform and my slideshows were prepared.
It was not perfect.
I’d probably be embarrassed for you to see the replay.
But I did it.
PS: I’ve done so many webinars since then, that I’ve lost count.
Replace Fear With Action
Webinars have become just a normal part of my business, now.
No more fear to tell people that I’ll be delivering content by live webinar.
And I’m not even afraid when I do the webinar.
It just rolls.
So…
What was the difference between then and now?
Here’s the deep secret: the difference is that I finally just did it.
How?
I finally just rolled up my sleeves and let it happen.
That’s all.
I simply stopped being afraid and started taking action.
It was never perfect and it is not perfect now… a lot better… but far from perfect.
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Webinars have become a solid part of my business.
People thank me all the time for doing them.
So, what’s your story?
- What’s your big fear?
- What action can you replace it with?
No Technical Skills
Okay, so I know a lot of people do not have the technical skills they need to run a great blogging business.
Are you afraid of some technical aspects of your business?
Maybe you can’t build a sales page.
Perhaps you don’t know how to put together a sales funnel.
You know, the front ends, redirects, download pages and all that.
You might not even know how to create a squeeze page.
And that’s probably the single most important thing you need.
Then there’s WordPress, or whatever blogging platform you use.
Maybe you don’t know how to fix things when they go wrong.
Or you might not know how to
- center images
- create infographics
- stick a video up on your blog.
All these things, and many, many others require some technical know-how.
Does that scare you?
That’s fine.
As long as it doesn’t stop you.
You see, it’s okay to not have that technical knowledge.
It’s not okay, though, to stop yourself from progressing because of it.
If you don’t know how to do something, you can always hire somebody to do it.
You can even ask for help from somebody, like a blogging buddy.
There’s always a way to work around your lack of technical skill.
But there’s no way to work around a fear so profound that it prevents you from taking necessary actions.
I don’t have a lot of technical skill.
I know how to do some things.
But most things I get help with.
Technology scares me sometimes.
But it doesn’t scare me enough to stop me from doing things.
I just make sure to get things put together one way or another, and then move forward.
Don’t Get Stuck In The “Do-It-Yourself” Trap
Struggling bloggers, however, very often never get past their lack of technical knowledge.
Instead, they dwell on how to do things.
They take courses on how to do them.
Maybe they take a course and how to edit videos.
Special: FREE Guide… 4 Things I Did To Build My Blog Using Only Free Traffic
It’s pretty easy to spend months learning to master WordPress.
But these are not the things that will make your business successful.
Help your readers improve their lives.
That’s what will help your business move forward.
And those people that you help, don’t care how much technical knowledge you have.
Not one little bit.
They only care that you can deliver solutions to their problems.
Afraid of Selling?
There may be no bigger fear in blogging than the word selling.
Nobody wants to sell.
Everybody wants to teach, inform and entertain.
But nobody wants to sell anything.
By the way… they all want money.
Most struggling bloggers want to earn a living from their blog.
Don’t you?
Most bloggers go from one technique to another…
- one tactic to another
- just trying to learn how to make money blogging.
But they don’t want to sell anything.
Selling is a scary word.
Did you ever build an email list…
…and then freeze up because you felt pressured to start selling things to your subscribers?
Lots of bloggers have been there.
Why?
Because everybody loves to give value.
It makes them feel good about themselves.
They feel like they’re adding substance to their business.
And they actually believe that by
- just adding value
- being nice
- making friends…
…that somehow they’re going to have a profitable business.
But they don’t.
Why?
Because they’re afraid to sell.
They’re scared to death to bridge the gap between
‘I’ve been giving you all this great valuable information’
-to-
‘How about now you buy this from me?’
The dreaded moment has come.
It’s time to ask your followers to buy your course, training, service, coaching or whatever you have to offer.
Struggling bloggers or very often so afraid of the “S” word that there’s just no way they’re ever going to ever bridge that gap.
They’re never going to stop giving and start selling.
And if they’re not going to take action on selling, then guess what.
They’re probably not going to get the results that they want from their blog.
Instead of being a pro blogger, they’ll be stuck being a struggling blogger.
Bloggers who
- dwell on giving valuable information
- but never learn how to sell
- and never take the leap to asking people to buy something from them…
… are what we call a “hobby bloggers” … not professional bloggers.
Fear Of Investing
Another big fear is that of investing.
That means spending money.
But it’s not spending the money that scares people so much.
Most bloggers will buy things like courses and software and cool automation services.
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But they don’t want to spend money investing.
They’d rather just start buying stuff promising…
- a quick fix to an immediate issue, or
- some “secret system” that will create sudden profits.
But investing means spending money on learning the real work and strategies involved in building a business.
This kind of spending is an investment.
- It’s an investment in yourself.
- It’s an investment in learning how to build and grow a business.
This usually means coaching or mentoring of some sort.
Few struggling bloggers will ever succeed unless and until they finally get some professional coaching.
They don’t know how to put all the pieces together.
But they try.
It’s not usually a very happy ending, though.
You just can’t build a really successful blog if you’re not ready to invest in yourself.
If you’re afraid to take some money out of your pocket for things that really matter, then you’re probably going to get stuck in neutral.
But like I said before, struggling bloggers are not usually afraid to spend money.
They’re just afraid to invest in the coaching, consulting and training that they really need… as opposed to the
- gimmicks,
- sexy software, and
- trending apps
…that they won’t even remember buying a few months down the road.
It’s easier to spend money on magical promises and 7-step systems that lead you down a dead end street.
Often, bloggers fear investing in coaching because they don’t want to be pushed into doing the real work required to build a blogging business.
They have a knee-jerk fear of actually making that commitment.
And I don’t even think it’s because they’re afraid to work hard.
I think they’re afraid to invest time, money and effort into something that may fail.
They want to avoid the possibility of friends and family thinking they are “a failure.”
Somebody might call them “dumb” for putting money and time into something that never had a chance to succeed.
They’re afraid to look foolish.
So they don’t invest in quality consulting.
Instead, they just skirt around the edges of their business by
- learning a few things
- buying a few courses, but
- never really taking meaningful action.
They’ll buy, but they won’t invest.
Make it your job to find a good mentor and start getting things done.
There are many good mentors who can help you get on the right track.
In fact, you might want to check out one of my popular mentoring programs…
Struggling Bloggers Live In Fear
It all pretty much adds up to this.
If you’re afraid to
- take action,
- put yourself out on a limb,
- take a chance, or
- risk failure…
… then you’re probably going to continue struggling as a blogger.
Not ready to take some risk yet?
Well, if you’re just standing on the edge of the cliff saying “I’m gonna jump,” but yet you never do…
then you’re just going to continue struggling.
If you never jump off that cliff, you’ll never find the success you’re looking for.
But you can be one of those bloggers who will.
If you’re struggling because you’re afraid to implement things, that’s okay.
Every blogger has struggled with the fear of taking action.
Just know that it’s time for you to put those fears behind you.
Start putting things into motion, no matter what the results are.
You can be one of those bloggers who will do
- something
- anything
- even though you know it’s not perfect.
Stare down your fears and overcome them.
Not because you’re not afraid… but because you are determined to succeed.
So again, what are your fears?
What holds you back?
How do you plan to get past those fears?
Do you agree with me when I say that most Struggling Bloggers Live In Fear?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
I can’t wait to get some feedback on this topic.
It’s one that’s so important, and I want to know what you think about it.
–Donna
PS:
Be sure to share this article on your social sites.
Many of your friends and followers on social media know first-hand that… struggling bloggers live in fear.
Twitter: mattresstouch
May 16, 2018 at 2:26 am #
Hi Donna Merrill,
First of all, I want to say that you have described this article in a great way, which connect every newbie or struggling bloggers.
I am also a newbie blogger and I am also live in a fear like if I want to implement some new things on my blog the things which come to my mind and that is
Maybe it will work.
But maybe it won’t.
which you have also mentioned.
But after going through this whole article, really it motivates me.
The one thing which I like the most in this article which you have mentioned “Replace Fear With Action”.
Thank you so much for sharing this great article with us.
Twitter: alphatradingnif
November 29, 2017 at 9:07 pm #
This is what brought me to this post.”Nothing is going to change. Not as long as you’re afraid to take action, risk failure and even accept failure.” An article like this is the need of the hour. I am going to tweet this right away.
Twitter: rahulkshandilya
July 29, 2017 at 1:27 pm #
Fear?! Yes, there is fear for everything. And I am a firm believer that fear takes you everywhere. When I got the idea of blogging, the first fear was that this is just waste of time and I should not be involved in it. But as I have progressed and started blogging, basically started taking action. I realized the potential behind my writing and here I am. Thank you, Donna, for putting this article loved it.
Hi Rahul,
Anything new will come with a bit of fear. Like blogging for the first time….we do ask ourselves is it worth it? But as we persist we find it is. As long as you take action, there are no limits.
Glad you loved this article.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..8 Expert Blogs Reveal How Passion Impacts Your Blogging Business
Twitter: manishkumar8391
July 18, 2017 at 12:16 am #
Hi Donna,
Inspirational Post!
Yes, faith can move mountains!
Blogging doesn’t work for every niche, and you need to find out if your niche is great for building a blog. If people aren’t interested in that topic, then no one will read your posts. Which is why you have to find your target audience before you start your blog to see if this will work for the niche that you want to blog for.
I will tweet your post.
Thanks a lot for sharing.
Hi Manish,
Indeed, faith can move mountains.
I started with a target audience of affiliate marketing. But I wanted to have my own products, so several years ago, I started creating them and it is such a better fit.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..8 Expert Blogs Reveal How Passion Impacts Your Blogging Business
Twitter: joyhealey
July 13, 2017 at 10:05 am #
Hi Donna,
You’re very right. I wasted so much time in “Do it yourself” mode., but every time I learned how to do one thing, there seemed to be something else I needed to learn.
I have started a little out-sourcing, but now I need to overcome my perfectionist / control freak mode and stop re-doing whatever I outsourced LOL.
The one triumph is that I learned a while ago that doing it “free” or “on the chap” is a recipe for failure.
Work in progress!
Joy – Blogging After Dark
Hi Joy,
We all are a work in progress! That’s what is so much fun in the business we are in. Keeps me young lol.
Indeed the free or cheap way is a recipe for failure.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..8 Expert Blogs Reveal How Passion Impacts Your Blogging Business
Twitter: marquitaherald
July 10, 2017 at 4:22 pm #
I especially relate to your point about “consensus taking”. It is so easy to fall into the habit of seeking validation this way when sometimes you just have to take a leap and trust you’ll either learn to fly or land on something soft. Thanks for the advice and inspiration. 🙂
Marquita Herald recently posted..Who Do You Want to Be?
Hi Marquita,
It is so easy to be seeking “validation” but that mindset can hold us back. I like to jump in the pool and not tip toe in.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..1 Terribly Crippling Mistake Made by Struggling Bloggers – and How To Correct It
Twitter: learn_to_blog
July 10, 2017 at 8:03 am #
Yes, it is easy to get caught in an ‘I can’t do it’ trap. For me one way out is outsourcing. I try to learn what I can but if I can’t then outsourcing works well. I think some people have a fear of outsourcing too, they are worried their money may get eaten up and they won’t get anything valuable in return. You just need to be discerning in your choices when you outsource.
Enjoy the journey!
Mandy Allen recently posted..How To Use Influencer Marketing To Build Your Business
Hi Mandy,
I had my share of outsourcing that bombed out. But I kept on doing it until it worked. When running a business, it costs money. Some things work and others don’t. No matter how careful we are, we do need to invest in our business and outsourcing can save us time….and time is money.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..1 Terribly Crippling Mistake Made by Struggling Bloggers – and How To Correct It
Twitter: vanmarciano
July 10, 2017 at 5:49 am #
Hi, Donna, what a blinder of a post.
We all fear of something to a degree in blogging I think, even though some of us have been doing it for years and years.
Your story about doing webinars really resonated with me lots.
I’ll try and make this short lol.
A few years back, I decided to do some videos for my YouTube channel, and yes, like you I faced similar challenges with using various technology, recording equipment, editing tools, and all the rest of it.
Then there was the fear of putting my mug face in front of the camera, and the fear of opening my mouth and talking lol.
I feared most of what others would think of me and my videos, and whether my stuff would be of any value.
I watched a couple of videos from other similar YouTubers and bloggers I was subscribed to, and yep, I instantly felt like I wasn’t very good at and of this video malarky in comparison, and I stopped.
What made me go back to doing videos and actually becoming better at it, was learning how to properly use the tools, seeing where I made mistakes before. I even signed up for a course I found on Udemy for Vloggers.
I invested in some new camera gear and software. Actually, I invested quite a bit of money. So I had to make this work.
Now I love creating videos on YouTube, and as for the fear of showing my face on camera, that’s slowing diminishing, because I’m having so much fun and getting results from what I’m doing.
Fear is a terrible thing, and as you say, it can stop us from taking action and helping us to move forward in blogging or online business.
Have a fantastic week ahead Donna.
– Fabrizio
Fabrizio Van Marciano recently posted..How To Do Effective Website Conversion Rate Optimization
Wow Fabrizio,
Thank you so much for sharing here. I too was so fearful of showing my face on video. Make up – hair -lighting, etc. But then like you, I was looking at others in my niche. What hit me was a few of the “gurus” weren’t polished. When I seen that, I knew I could do it too, even with my Brooklyn accent lol.
But I learned a lot about me in the process. Where the hell was my self esteem? What did I expect to look like? Well, I’m not a twenty year old bomb shell, and I had to check that self esteem issue. It took me to a very deep level about myself. Then I looked in the mirror an said F**& it! (I love saying that) I opened my computer and started doing my video. I did it for the sake of my business. That always helps me out.
I knew I had to move forward, and now I can pop a video off the cuff with no problem at all.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..1 Terribly Crippling Mistake Made by Struggling Bloggers – and How To Correct It
Twitter: DrErica
July 9, 2017 at 8:28 pm #
Donna,
I do know several people who have such intelligence and creativity. They come up with ideas and get started. And just when it seems they are about to move forward, I hear them talking about another “guru” they just listened to. Sometimes they send me the link to this “must have” teaching. Then they sign up for another course, watch a few more webinars, have so much required stuff they have not completed. And then, they say they do not have the time to create their product or course.
The key to creating webinars, blogs, or anything else you want to create, is to JUST DO IT. Even if nobody purchases it and nobody shows up for your free webinar. Each time you create something and do it, you learn and discover your mistakes and have the opportunity to improve it.
But I must add here, that sometimes life gets in the way for a while. I just moved to a new location and My mind seems temporarily unclear and unfocused. The move, and all the mishaps involved, took so much of my energy that I have to ease up for a few more days. Illness and family problems, issues at work, etc., life concerns can temporarily interfere. But a successful person is able to weather the storms and then just get right back on track – doing.
Warmly,
Dr. Erica
Dr. Erica Goodstone recently posted..Breaking Into Brilliance An Online Experience
Hi Erica,
Moving is high on that stress list so you take care of yourself my friend.
It is so true that the key to do webinars, or anything else, we must JUST DO IT. My first webinar one person showed up. But that was fine with me because I recorded it. I repurposed it and sometimes if a person has a question I can send them the link to it. I really didn’t expect much the first time, but I learned so much along the way.
Oh yes, life sure does get in the way sometimes. But running our own business we have to be strong to weather that storm. As long as we are self-caring, we can find the strength to do so.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..1 Terribly Crippling Mistake Made by Struggling Bloggers – and How To Correct It
Twitter: cheryschmidt
July 9, 2017 at 9:25 am #
Hello Donna! Wowsy Girlfriend this is a wonderful post! One you should make into a PHD! It is power packed FULL with some Awesome tips! FEAR! Yikes! We all have this, don’t we? I loved how you shared your story with us, Somehow I cannot imagine you being afraid of anything LOL
As for me well, I Used To Have No Technical Skills What So Ever! I actually spent over $5000 hiring people to do things for me! I hired a company to set up my first blog and brand with this with a few of the Social Media Sites! Well it really sucked when the company went under, and everything disappeared.. I also hired someone to set up a whole funnel for me one time, well that ended quickly as nothing was branded to me. Yikes! From there I went on and learned how to to do these things myself! Can you believe it? ME? HEHE
Yes life is all about getting over our fears and as you said Just Do It!
Great Share
Chery :))
Chery Schmidt recently posted..Are You In Control Of Your Financial Freedom?
Hi Chery,
Ha Ha…so many people say they can’t imagine me being afraid of anything! I can be a scared little rabbit at times lol.
My goodness, that company that went down sounds familiar to me. I too spend thousands on stuff like that when I began blogging. Only because I looked up to people in the industry. Lesson learned: we all put our pants on one leg at a time and no one is better than anyone else.
Indeed, we do have to learn things ourselves. I don’t like the technical part of things, so I do hire out to manage hosting. I just don’t have the time, but I want to know what it is that I’m paying for so I read those technical blogs and learn as I go along.
Thanks for coming by my friend,
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: TalwarSonal
July 9, 2017 at 4:48 am #
Hi Donna
Very important post here. Fear is something that takes us away from success. What I believe is that we should keep trying. No doubt, we will fail at times but at the same time we get to learn something new and we don’t make that mistake again.
You are very right that lot of bloggers suffer from this fear and the truth was that even i was afraid of blogging initially.
Thanks for sharing this amazing post!
Sonal Talwar recently posted..5 Morning Habits to Help You in your Weight Loss journey
Hi Sonal,
Indeed, fear will always be there in one way or another but it is a killer of dreams. If we set out to do something, we cannot make excuses for ourselves, but rather look fear in the face and find ways to overcome it. Like Nike says: “Just Do It”
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: shivkumarlohar
July 9, 2017 at 12:48 am #
Hi Donna,
This post had just reminded my days. Where I give excuses of not getting time to work on my blog. Though most of the time was going with no worthy task.
This has motivated me and remind me that ‘There Is No Substitute For Hard Work’. If you dream it then you can do it, just put your efforts which eventually will pay you back.
Thanks for such wonderful post.
Have a great day! 🙂
>SK Lohar
Hi SK,
So true… there is NO substitute for hard work. It is a pity that some people don’t realize that. I strongly believe that if you have a dream, it can come true only if you take the time and energy to apply yourself to it.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: atishranjan
July 8, 2017 at 3:58 pm #
Hello Donna,
Good one!
When someone you taught the strategy 3 months ago, comes and ask the same question, and you ask him if he did what you explained. And you get silence! Isn’t it like not doing homework?
I agree that until you try you cannot overcome your fear, and when there is fear, you always avoid to take a leap forward. When I started blogging, I was having zero knowledge of WordPress but without any fear, I tried a lot of things on my own, and believe me many times I made my site down because of those tries. but, at the end, I used to learn something after each try.
That is how I learned everything one by one.
Similarly, everyone should at least try rather than having a fear and not starting out.
Thanks for this awesome piece of content, Donna. Have a good day!
Atish Ranjan recently posted..How to Install WordPress Using cPanel?
Hi Atish,
I remember way back when you first were blogging. I loved your blog then as I do now. It is amazing how you taught yourself WordPress and now are teaching others. But you weren’t afraid to do it…even when your site went down, you continued on after each try.
This is how we all learn by doing things one step at a time. We can’t run away because we have “failed”….we just have to find a better way to do it.
I should write a book on how many things I have tried in my life lol. Some things I found out just wasn’t a good fit for me. Others, I had to take time to dig into the base of the fear and keep on going no matter what and yes succeeded.
I still learn something every day!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: atishranjan
July 9, 2017 at 2:57 pm #
Hi Donna,
Learning is a continuous process, and we learn till our end. And, that’s how we should live our life. 🙂
Atish Ranjan recently posted..What is WordPress and Why Should You Choose it?
Hi Atish,
Absolutely…I just feel sorry for those people who don’t like to learn. It keeps me young!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..1 Terribly Crippling Mistake Made by Struggling Bloggers – and How To Correct It
Twitter: usmile
July 8, 2017 at 3:45 pm #
Of course I’m afraid of success… but success doesn’t look the same to me as it once did. I have my lollipop as you know, now it’s just turning it into one of those huge sucker pops or larger that you get at a carnival.. and injecting growth into it.. I’m getting there… good exercise too … thank you and as always appreciate you..
Lesly T Federici recently posted..3 Quick Facebook Marketing Tips To Apply To Your Business
Hi Lesly,
I love your lollipop analogy. I am so glad success doesn’t look the same to you as it once did. Just look how much you have done creating the ONLY Facebook group I chose. You created PAC which is helping new as well as seasoned bloggers. There is something to learn every day from you. I call that success already and now you are expanding it.
Whenever I find a lost blogger that needs a good and respectable place to join….I point them in your direction.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: fetchprofits
July 7, 2017 at 10:56 am #
For a long time, until only recently, I had all the trappings of the “struggling blogger”.
I was a cheapo and I would not want to invest in anything at all. Today, I realized how much I was holding my own progress back by doing this. This is a business and it has to be treated as such. Now, I invest in anything that helps grow my business ( but boy, was I cheap?)
The leap of faith. You know my story, right? I used to write for everyone else except for my own blog (including some of the biggest names we both know). Yet, when it came to doing what I needed to do for myself (like writing guest posts, neither did I have the courage nor did my creative juices flow — just goes on to remind myself how I used to treat myself).
As for the journey, we just have to keep doing what we need to do. Eventually, we’ll break out the silver.
What Say, Donna?
P.S: What are you going to do with the sidebar 🙂
Ash recently posted..Content Marketing: 22 Companies That Grew With Content & Sweat
Hi Ash,
So true….this IS a business and we do need to invest in it. We cannot be cheap about it if we do have the money we have to make the choice where we are going to spend it. I did from the start only because I had experience many years with my off line business. The more I invested, the better it got. I realized way back then that going a free or cheap way only wastes time and time is money.
Sometimes we forget how to treat ourselves lol. Thank goodness you have learned to do for yourself as well as others lol.
What a good reminder you have to look back on and how you have overcome it. We all have one thing or another to overcome and it is a constant journey. We cannot be brave all the time. But when we realize that we are not moving forward, it is time to face it and find a way.
Hmmm my sidebar? I’m not sure…just testing it for now. I’m trying to figure out what works best.
Cheers!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: fetchprofits
July 10, 2017 at 1:36 am #
Hey Donna,
You’ve been blessed in a way with that offline business. You already did all that investment that those offline businesses demand. You are right “The more you invest, the better you get”.
I took a while to understand how important it is to invest in a business, to invest in ourselves (education), and to connect with people. Thank goodness I did learn to treat myself, my business, and others better.
Please do keep me posted on the Sidebar thing. I already jumped the gun and I have no sidebar now 🙂
Ash
Ash recently posted..Content Marketing: 22 Companies That Grew With Content & Sweat
Hi Ash,
Yes, my offline business was a blessing to me. I learned so much but I did have to invest and invest in me as the service provider. Always learning and sharing with my clients. Word of mouth worked the best and I know the same applies here online.
Will keep you posted on the sidebar thing 🙂
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..1 Terribly Crippling Mistake Made by Struggling Bloggers – and How To Correct It
Twitter: fetchprofits
July 11, 2017 at 7:24 am #
When I started, I actually started with an offline business. I gave up on it even before I started due to high overheads and almost no returns after a full year in business.
I don’t think of it as a failure, though. I think of it as a valuable lesson. In fact, it’s because of that loss then that I was a little averse to investing again in business and it took me a while to get over it.
Word of mouth is indeed powerful, no doubt 🙂
Ash recently posted..Social Marketing: 10+ Tools Guaranteed To Boost Engagement
Twitter: CopyWarner
July 7, 2017 at 7:56 am #
Hey Donna,
Very important post here. I think a lot of bloggers suffer from this type of fear. I know I had a fear of video not because I was shy or anything, but because I didn’t think I’d come across as natural as people with more experience. So I just started creating test videos to better myself and get more comfortable.
The webinar thing is another level for me. And I’ll have to cross that bridge one day. Thanks for this motivational post.
Hi Andrew,
It’s so great to see you again. I did the same thing with videos…a few test ones and then I started publishing them. Webinars are quite the same. What helped me get over that fear was studying other webinars. There were technical failures, and other mishaps by the great gurus out there. So if they can do it so can I. That was my segway into it.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: prosper_noah
July 6, 2017 at 6:58 pm #
Hi Donna,
Detailed Article you shared here once more. It’s been a while since I commented on your posts, just guess its been due to time.
I believe we once experienced that word “Fear” in on e time of our blogging career but the goodnews is we got over it as time went on!
Fear really stops many bloggers, there’s been a time; sometimes though when I would feel like quitting but it’s not so anymore.
There are many who are still in fear and would definitely need this post, I’d be sharing!
Have a nice day!
Prosper Noah recently posted..KeyCDN Review 2017: The Best CDN for WordPress + Full Setup Guide
Hi Prosper,
We all experience fear but it comes down to fight or flight. We can fight our way through it or run from it all together. I’ve seen too many wonderful bloggers quit because of one thing or another.
Whenever a blogger feels down and afraid, it is a good signal that something else has to be done.
Thanks for coming by,
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: ravishingravism
July 6, 2017 at 3:48 pm #
Hi Donna,
Struggling bloggers lives in fear and you can easily see that fear in their writings also. They write what they think is viral without even thinking if that is relevant for their readers or not.
I always say,”When fear arises, creativity dies”.
Lack of skills, lack of knowledge and afraid of investment is the features of bloggers in fear.
If you can’t invest in your own blog, How can you think that people will invest in your blog.
Everything that you do, shows in your writings. If you are in fear the feeling u pass is the lack of interest and no one want to visit such blogs.
A blogger should be in passion with his blogging business and devote everything to it.
Thanks for sharing.
Gaurav
Gaurav Kumar recently posted..How I Made $1000 from a Single Post: You can also do it
Hi Gaurav,
I like your quote of “When fear arises, creativity dies.” It is so true, that fear can gobble up all those creative thoughts we have.
I find many new and seasoned bloggers that fear investing. There is so much out there to learn and as a blogger we need to keep learning so we can share it with others.
There is a psychology to investing too. The more you pay, the more you will cherish the teacher. I’ve seen it in my own journey. I’ve been on both sides of it. Yes I was fearful when I first started giving 3K to a company that started me out. But I learned so much.
To this day I still will invest in my blogging business – Indeed I’m passionate!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: ebusinessroom
July 6, 2017 at 12:52 pm #
Hi Donna,
You are at it again. Awesome post, great guide and perfect ending.
A friend on Facebook called my attention back today of a post I made a year ago that was inspired by Nike’s slogan, “Just Do It.” And seeing that your post today also revolves around the same ideology is a proof that this is a word for the season.
Bloggers, newbie and experienced not excluded have so many fears holding them down. Sometimes we think we’re trying to be thoughtful but that’s just fear simply playing out.
But do we have to continue that way?
No. Taking action is always the best option. What one might be thinking needs more plan to be sorted out may not necessarily need more that the capacity we have at the moment.
You nailed it indeed – if a blogger is struggling, he or she should check their fears. What one fears most is what comes upon them.
Cheers.
Emenike
Emenike Emmanuel recently posted..5 Signs a Blogger Will Not Succeed
Hi Emenike,
Having that “Just do it” old post of yours and now this one is like a message from the universe lol.
We can be a seasoned blogger, but there is one thing we can always count on and that is change. We can fear it, then procrastinate, but worse to leave it. We have to always ask ourselves what are we fearing. When we do that it is the first step of change. Then we have to find ways to fight that fear.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: shantanusinha83
July 6, 2017 at 2:14 am #
Hello Donna,
WOW!! Something that we all need to keep with us and read it so that we can learn a lot from this post.
I am a newbie too, learning all the major steps of how to get success and to move forward. There is a lot of
things for me to learn still. One is never too old to get learn things, any one can give us a lesson which we had
lack it for our life time.
Yeah blogging do need time, its not an one day play. It is long time investment, failure do come in our way, but
its nothing to get afraid of, if we get afraid the whole set up will be towards the downfall.
Thanks to all you guys, whenever I feel de motivated buy reading your posts, interacting with you all give a me
huge boost up and it help me in keep going towards my goal. ‘Fall seven times, stand up eight”
Thanks for the share
Shantanu.
Shantanu Sinha recently posted..17 Things You Should Know Before Starting App Marketing
Hi Shantanu,
So good to know that you are motivated by this.
We all fear something or another especially when blogging. And if we are new to the game. lol. We have to be patient and know that blogging, just like any business will take time.
I did have an offline business before I was online, so I do understand that things take time. I had many fears back then and still have some now.
The main point is to recognize them and find a way to beat it.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: notnowmomsbusy
July 5, 2017 at 11:44 am #
This is a great post Donna!
You know I have a fear of getting in front of the camera – and I’ve yet to conquer that. But you and Ryan have been blogging about facing our fears and it’s fueling me up to face that fear head on once and for all.
When you talked about webinars and how there were other webinars better than yours – that’s exactly what I’m afraid of. That and that the audience won’t like me.
I used to be afraid of HTML but I faced that fear – like you said, I just did it. I made myself learn it. And now I’m designing websites…I can’t wait for the day I can write something like this about video. 🙂
I admire your perseverance and you are living proof that it pays off because you’re a blogging star! 🙂
Thanks for this encouraging post!
Have a great rest of the week!
Cori
Cori Ramos recently posted..12 Companies That Offer Benefits to Their Work-from-Home Employees
Hi Cori,
I know your fear quite well.
Look at your fear of HTML and now you are designing websites. The same applies with webinars and just about anything else. All you have to do is take that one leap. So what if you mess it up? You can always delete it. He He He
Getting in front of that camera is a frightening thing to do. I remember spending time with make up and what to wear….Oh my gosh what a time waster. Now I just get in front of the camera with just lipstick on lol.
Hope that helps!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: SusanWPTutorial
July 5, 2017 at 9:07 am #
Hi Donna,
I loved it and loved your story about your webinars. That’s how I felt when I started my YouTube channels. I was extremely scared to get in front of the camera and record my videos.
While my videos aren’t perfect and I know a lot of people who make a lot better videos than I do, it doesn’t stop me from recording mine.
I know that eventually, my videos will get better. It’s just like anything else, the more you do it, the better you get.
As for blogging, you’re definitely correct, you just have to continue taking the necessary steps. It takes time to grow a blog, you can’t do something for 5 days and expect to see results right away.
I so agree with you about investing in your business. I see so many people who always want everything for free. If you’re trying to grow a business and become a professional blogger, then you’re going to have to make some investments.
Thanks for sharing, have a great day 🙂
Susan
Hi Susan,
Indeed, the more you do the better you get, especially videos. We have to just do them the best we can.
Yes…blogging – it is not for those who expect something magical will happen in a short time. Results will take time and effort. And it is always a good idea to invest in your business. Getting things for free will help, but not all the way. I’ve invested from the start years back and still will as I need a good learning curve on something new.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: Lisapatb
July 5, 2017 at 6:33 am #
Hi Donna, my biggest fear now is doing video. Like you, I’ve watched many other bloggers doing video and think I cannot do better than that so I stay idle in that department. I’ll somehow have to get over it and get going!
When I first started blogging my fear was of having my photo out there. I finally got past that one.
I loved Ryan’s quote about not knowing SEO from a CEO – that really made me laugh.
It is amazing how much learning there is to this thing called blogging. Non blogger friends think you just write and that’s it!
Thanks for the encouragement today Donna and I hope you had a nice 4th of July there!
Lisa P. Sicard recently posted..How to write a blog post that your readers will LOVE to read?
Hi Lisa,
Did you ever know the story of my first public picture? Well here goes anyway: it was way back before the internet days and I was running my own business offline. I relied on snail mail and had learned the importance of having my pictures on the post cards I was sending out. I did a professional shot by the beautiful waterfalls I was living near. I too one look at it and cried. I locked myself in my shop. I wanted to rip them all up. But instead I put them all in the basement.
It took me one year to work on that fear. But I was licking stamps and putting it out there for my business. Moral of the story: Business doubled by that mailing.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: Lisapatb
July 8, 2017 at 6:11 am #
Donna, I never knew that about you! I do cringe at many of my photos….Did you use the ones you put in the basement? Thanks for sharing on that one Donna.
Lisa P. Sicard recently posted..Your Domain Name â 9 Tips to Get It Right Today
Hi Lisa,
It took me a solid year to talk myself into using them. I kept repeating to myself “I’m doing this for my business” over and over again instead of “I look terrible” You see….I replaced a negative thought with a positive one and was able to mail them out. I did make more money than ever when I did that!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: harleenas
July 5, 2017 at 2:58 am #
Hi Donna,
You are so-so right in all that you mentioned! I was nodding in agreement, right through the post!
Yes, our biggest fear is taking action and just going ahead and doing IT – no matter what the results! We need to overcome our fears, somehow! Agreed we need to make a plan and move ahead, but the barriers that stop us, have to be crossed, and that can only be done when we tell ourselves – “Ok, you can do it!”
I Loved your details about how you overcame the fear of your first webinar, and similarly, one fine day I need to do that myself! One’s just caught up with a lot of family and personal stuff presently, but yes, a lot of things are on my agenda!
Thanks for sharing so many good points with us, which will help so many bloggers who struggle to cross over to the next level. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Harleena Singh recently posted..How and When Should the Divorcing Parents Tell their Kids about Separation
Hi Harleena,
I wanted to share my fear of my first webinar in this post as an example to others that it doesn’t come easy. I had a client the other day tell me that It is easy for me because I get all this stuff done and this person couldn’t. HA! If people only knew the half of it lol.
One thing for sure is that life will get in our way. One thing or another will happen, but we have to overcome it. Finding ways to do so can be a trial and error approach, but well worth it.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
You are so very right, Donna – NOTHING happens without putting one foot in front of the other!
Also, appreciated your story about doing your first webinar. People don’t want ‘perfect’, they want it ‘done.’ The cake won’t taste any different without that cherry on top! 😉
Hi Ana,
Indeed, people don’t want perfect, rather they want it done. Whatever fears we have especially in the blogging world, we owe it to ourselves to look fear in the face and learn how to overcome it.
Once it really got bad for me as I mentioned to Chris above … I couldn’t focus at all because my crazy creative mind had me going all over the place. I purchased an app to focus while meditating and within 30 days it became a habit.
Where there’s a will there’s a way.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: ChrisDeeWaard
July 4, 2017 at 9:50 pm #
Hi Donna,
Great post. Whew, was scared to leave a comment. 😉 Oh, that was the me from two+ years ago when I first started blog commenting.
I’d say my biggest fear was not knowing enough to be of any help to anyone. But, as I’ve mentioned in other comments and posts, I know more than someone new to blogging, so that fear falls by the wayside. As you know, I wrote a pretty good post about facing and kicking fear in the butt. I haven’t let fear stop me, just my own laziness.
That and everything that’s gone on in the last year+, I couldn’t focus as much as I should have. Things still aren’t perfect, still looking for a permanent place, but am taking a more proactive approach, blogging-wise. I actually wrote two posts in less than a week. Published the first one yesterday. Still need to get of my butt and get back to writing my first ebook. 🙂
Next will be doing a live broadcast, hopefully within the next month or so. Baby steps.
Thanks for sharing these insights. We’ve all been there in one form or another.
Have a good one……Chris
Chris DeeWaard recently posted..Targeted Traffic Defined
Hi Chris,
Oh that first comment we have to make ….That one can get your heart beating fast and palms sweating. I was blessed to have a good teacher in the beginning long ago and far away. Comments were important way back then as they are now. It took a while, but like anything else, the more we do the better we get at it.
You have come a long way my friend. But let me ask you this? Is it “laziness” or “fear?” Whenever I plan to write a book or do a digital course, I too get “lazy” only because deep down inside there is some kind of “fear” that stops me. Just say’n….. So get that book done no matter what!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: ChrisDeeWaard
July 5, 2017 at 1:16 pm #
Trust me, Donna, it’s laziness.
I am a master procrastinator. I start things and then don’t finish them. I actually have 980 words done on my ebook, but thinking about trashing it and starting over from a different angle. I don’t like the feel of it. I need to go back over it before making the final decision.
I also had started creating a traffic training course, but, again, stopped working on it.
I don’t fear much, I just don’t stay focused as much as I should. May be time to start meditating like Ryan and others have mentioned, to get clarity. 50 years worth of bad habits. Lol.
Chris DeeWaard recently posted..How to Write Killer Blog Posts
Awww Chris,
Maybe you have such a creative mind it gets you tired lol. I have a mind like that and don’t finish things…Until…. A few years back there was an app that was geared for meditation on focus. 30 days later I was getting more done than ever. So yes, meditation works, especially guided meditation.
It’s not 50 years of bad habits, but rather learning new ones – I wish you all the best!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: msellithorpe
July 4, 2017 at 6:44 pm #
Hi Donna,
So you were that little fly on my wall watching me do all the stuff you wrote about? LOL I guess I’m not so different than many others with the “fear.” Usually when I think of doing something, my first thought is “I’ll never get it done in time or they won’t like it.”
I’m slowly coming back and realizing there is nothing to be afraid of. While I’m still uncomfortable with doing videos I’m trying to do more of them and trying to keep more active on my blog.
I still remember the evening when I talked with you and David about some ideas I had and David leaned into the monitor and looked straight at me and said, “You are ready, girl, go do it.” That’s always stuck in the back of my mind and I’ve never forgot it. It’s slipped my mind a few times but never totally forgotten.
Thanks to you both, Donna and David
Monna Ellithorpe recently posted..Weekly Writing Prompt 7-4-2017
Hi Monna,
It just warms my heart that you never forgot that moment when David said that to you. You ARE ready! You ARE doing FB videos.
When it comes to the question “what will they think” … who the heck is they anyway!!! You are a kind person by nature. So anything you share with others comes from your heart. There is no better way to do that.
You are knowledgeable about so many things. So Go for it!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: Astutecopyblog
July 4, 2017 at 5:22 pm #
Hi Donna,
Wow, what an awesome blog post! Fear cripples. Fear destroys. Sometimes we just need to take action or as you put it so beautifully, “just try it”. Kind of reminds me of the Nike slogan, “Just do it”.
We all struggle with fear because it is a normal human emotion. However, while successful bloggers use their fear as fuel to move ahead, struggling bloggers live in fear; the fear crippling and causing them to avoid the very things they need to do to move forward!
You are so right that we need to just try it. As Francis of Assisi put it beautifully, “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
Thank you again for a beautifully written and thought provoking blog post.
I am off to share on Facebook and Twitter!
Best regards
Pedro
Hi Pedro,
Indeed, fear does cripple us to so many things. I do love the Nike slogan “Just do it” because that is the mindset we need when facing fear.
I do go by that quote of St. Francis of Assisi in my life because it is so true. When we think of it, we have to start each day to doing things that are necessary. Then we can work on what is possible and realize we are doing the impossible. It is growth and I rather be on a growing journey while I spend my days on earth than be stagnant.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money
Twitter: ryanbiddulph
July 4, 2017 at 5:04 pm #
Hi Donna,
Thanks for the shout!
“It was not perfect. But I did it.” This is why you succeed Donna. Doing it. Being the person. Letting go the Perfection Complex. Writing. Publishing. Shipping.
Even when I had a horrible time of blogging many years ago I developed the skill of knowing my work was far from great, but doing it anyway. Like Emerson’s advice:”All life is an experiment; the more experiments, the better.” Just wrote a guest post on Blogging Tips discussing the idea that you can build a rocking blog even if you are a nobody from nowhere, through bursts of bravery. Short brave acts here and there; a blog comment, a social share, a guest post…..inject these short, quick bursts of bravery, feel the fear, dive in and do it anyway.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ryan
Ryan Biddulph recently posted..14 Successful Bloggers To Follow
Hi Ryan,
You are quite welcome for that shout out my friend. I love your phrase “bursts of bravery” because we cannot be brave all the time. And on the other hand, if we don’t give ourselves that “burst” then we will succumb to procrastination. That will cause either anxiety, depression or low self esteem. It’s like a rabbit hole you can’t get out of.
It just takes a little “burst of bravery” to move to the next level. We all have to do it from personal life to our blogging ventures. Life is a learning curve and it is so exciting to be able to do that. Once we get that little burst and do something about it, we feel wonderful!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Side Hustles For Bloggers To Make Extra Money