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Decide Now if you want to be a Good Blogger or a Bad Blogger

Be a Good Blogger or a Bad BloggerYou have to decide now if you want to be a Good Blogger or a Bad Blogger.

Why now?

Because you are blogging now… today… every day.

You may not even realize it, but you make decisions every day based on the little voices in your head.

Those are the voices of the “Good Blogger” angel on your right shoulder, and the “Bad Blogger” demon on your left shoulder.

Remember the cute cartoons depicting how your guiding angel (your “good angel”) sits on one shoulder telling you the right thing to do, while the little demon (your “bad angel”) sits on your other shoulder trying to get you to go down the wrong path?

Well you might want to keep that image in mind each day that you sit down to work at your blogging business.

You see, when you get to work today, you’ll have to make choices.

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Tough choices as to what to do and which path to go down.

So, yes, you must decide now… today and every day… if you want to Be A Good Blogger or a Bad Blogger.

Which one will you decide to be?

I’ve put together some of the bigger issues I’ve seen bloggers confront.

And a lot of the things they tell me about their challenges are the basis and inspiration for what follows.

1. Creating a powerful blog

The Good Blogger says:

I’m ready to blog on a powerful platform.

I will invest in creating a site that tells the world I’m serious about my blogging business.

The Bad Blogger says:

I don’t really want to go out and buy a private domain.

Everybody tells me to get my own domain.

But there’s a lot of free places I can blog.

That way I don’t have to buy hosting.

I don’t have to figure out how to set up a blog or how to do plugins or any of those other technical things.

I just want to sit down and start writing articles that people will read.

And even if I did decide to get my own blog, then I’d have to come up with a name for it.

I have no idea what’s a good name.

Some people tell me that I should use my own name for a domain name.

Other people tell me I have to focus on a niche topic name.

So I don’t really know which is right now, so I would just rather use a free blog.

Another problem with getting my own domain is that I have to buy hosting.

I have no idea what the best hosting plan is to buy.

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If you start reading up on other blogs about the best hosting plans, you hear all kinds of different things.

Seems to me that everybody just wants to tell you that their own hosting plan is the best.

I don’t know.

Maybe they just want to make a sale if I click on their Link.

It just seems all too complicated.

I think I’ll just stick with a free blog for now.

2. Publishing great content

The Good Blogger says:

I am determined to do whatever it takes to publish great content on my blog.

Consistently.

Creatively.

Constructively.

The Bad Blogger says:

Of course I want to have great articles on my blog.

That’s what it’s all about, right?

But I don’t want to have to write them all myself.

That’s way too much work.

And I don’t really know a lot about any one thing.

So I wouldn’t begin to know how to write 100 articles on some topic.

I like the idea of those “article spinner” things.

I’ve heard that all you have to do is get somebody else’s article and put it in a spinner.

It changes the words around and you come up with your own article.

I think that’s a great idea.

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Maybe I should look into that.

I’ll try to find a free one.

But there’s other things I could do, too.

For instance, I’m thinking of making really short blog posts.

Like maybe one or two hundred words.

That way I could keep fresh articles always going up on my blog.

But I wouldn’t have to spend a lot of time writing them.

Another thing I’ve seen some people do is that they just put up videos or images on their blog.

So their blog posts only has a few words.

But it either links to a video or maybe has a whole lot of pictures on it.

That might be a better way for me to go.

I just have to find a way to get free stock images and I know they’re out there.

One of the first jobs I’ll do is figure out how to get free images.

Then for videos, I can just go to YouTube and find ones about my topics.

That should be pretty easy to do.

And YouTube videos are free to put on my blog.

Score!

3. Establishing a loyal readership

The Good Blogger says:

I am ready to reach out to my readers and create a steady flow of traffic to my blog.

A loyal readership is the cornerstone to a successful blog.

The Bad Blogger says:

One of the big problems with blogging is that you need a whole lot of people coming to your blog to make it popular.

That’s one of the reasons I never started one before.

But now that I’ve decided to blog, I’ll have to get some traffic to it.

I hear that commenting on everybody else’s blogs is a good way to start getting people to reciprocate by visiting your blog.

I don’t really have the time or patience to do that all the time, but I guess I can do it for a while.

At least I can do it just to get my blog to be popular.

Then, I can just focus on writing my blog posts and not worrying about the traffic thing.

So you see what I’m saying is that really, I just want to be a blogger not a promoter.

I mean I’m pretty creative and have lots of good ideas.

But I don’t feel like I should have to become a professional marketer just to get people to start reading my blog.

Of course I know that when people leave comments on my blog post that I have to reply to them.

I can’t make this a big chore though.

I’ll just reply to some of them.

Or maybe I’ll just do really short replies like “thanks for your comment.”

I guess that would be alright.

I could keep up with that.

So now, another good idea to get the word out about my blog is to share my articles on social media sites.

I see most of the big bloggers do that.

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It would take forever, though, for me to copy and paste links to my blog posts all over the place.

So maybe I’ll find some kind of free or really cheap automation thing that can do that for me.

I’m definitely putting that on my list of things to do.

Now another thing I see people do is this.

They go on Facebook groups and forums and things like that.

They chat with people and put their links there.

That seems like a pretty good idea, but I have no clue as to what groups or forums to join.

I think I should just go on Facebook and find some groups in my niche and start saying “hi” to some people.

Maybe give some “likes” and things like that.

Then I can start putting links to all my blog post out there.

There might even be an automation tool for to do all that for me, too.

That’s another thing I’ll have to look into.

4. Connecting with other Bloggers

The Good Blogger says:

I do want people to share my blog posts.

So I’ll make strong connections with other bloggers, and together, we can help each other out.

The Bad Blogger says:

I don’t want to be in any kind of a blogging community.

I mean, I just want to get my ideas out there.

But one of the main reasons I want to be a blogger is so I won’t have to deal with people.

I just want to sell products and things and not have to get all caught up in connecting with other people.

Besides that, most of those other bloggers are just my competitors.

So why would I want to be doing anything to help make their blogs do better than mine?

I hear there are blogging communities I could join.

And I suppose that’s not a bad idea… just so I can put my links there and promote my articles.

But I don’t want to get all caught up in doing this reciprocation stuff.

It just takes so much time that I won’t have enough time to write my own blog posts.

And another thing I’ve heard is that you could start your own blogging community by connecting with other people in your niche.

But then again, like I said before, these people are just my competitors.

So why would I want to start connecting with them?

After all, I want to be a popular blogger so that I can get my own ideas out there, not other people’s ideas.

5. Make money blogging

The Good Blogger says:

One of the big reasons I’m blogging is to make money.

So I’ll explore all the ways to do that, from affiliate blogging to creating and selling my own products and services.

And anything else that makes sense.

The Bad Blogger says:

I want my blog to make money, but I really don’t like the idea of selling stuff.

You know what I mean?

I don’t want it to be too “salesy” with a bunch of ads and pitches all over the place.

Besides that, I’m not even sure what I would want to sell.

I know I could create my own products, but that’s like, way too much work for me.

Things like writing ebooks or doing video trainings are just way beyond what I’m capable of right now.

I don’t even know what I would do trainings about, even if I could do them.

Another thing I could do is to offer my own services to people.

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But I really don’t do anything that people would pay for.

I’m not a web designer, graphics person, freelance writer or photographer or anything like that.

So I don’t really have any services to sell.

So I guess the best thing for me to do is to sell other people’s stuff.

But the problem with that is that I see a lot of bloggers just spend so much time doing things like review posts for affiliate products, and then they don’t sell anything.

Or at least they don’t sell enough to make it worth their time.

And it seems like it would take a lot of time to write this whole long blog post about some product or service.

And then what happens if nobody comes to read the article?

Or even if they do read it, what’s the guarantee that they’ll click on your affiliate link and buy it?

So many people read an article about something they like to buy and then just Google it and buy it directly from the company.

So it seems kind of pointless.

Then I hear that there’s even a lot of people who are out there stealing affiliate links all the time.

So I’d have to really think about how much time to invest in writing affiliate blog posts.

I guess I’ll worry about how to make money on my blog after it gets really popular and lots of people are visiting it.

6. Alternate blogging content

The Good Blogger says:

I know that not everybody wants to consume information purely in the form of text.

In fact, multi-media blogging is becoming more and more popular all the time.

So I’ll commit to learning how to give my audience a variety of content forms, not just text.

The Bad Blogger says:

I know there’s lots of things you can do to make your blog posts look better.

And more interesting to your readers.

From what I understand, videos and images are especially important to have on your blog posts.

But first of all, I really don’t like doing videos.

I mean, I’ve never tried it.

But I can’t imagine getting in front of a camera and talking about stuff.

That’s just not something that I would want to do.

And I really don’t want people judging me from my videos.

I just want to get my ideas out there on my blog.

To promote it, and get it to be really popular.

Now, images are another thing I could do.

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I’d be more likely to do that.

But I need to find free sources for images.

There’s certainly no reason to carry an overhead before I’m making money from my blog.

I could do images myself, of course, but I don’t really know how.

And I don’t even know where to begin…

I know there are free services out there that help you create images to use on your blog.

I suppose I should look into that.

Because images look good on your blog, and you can also use them on your social media posts.

So, if it’s not too hard, I’ll try to figure out how to create some of my own images.

I guess that’s yet another thing for my “to do” list.

7. Becoming a Pro Blogger

The Good Blogger says:

I’m ready to do whatever it takes to become a pro blogger.

Today.

Now.

The Bad Blogger says:

I definitely have decided I want a top ranking blog.

But I don’t want to work too hard to make it happen.

And I have no intention of spending money to create a blogging business.

When people try to sell you things to make your blog better, it’s usually just a scam.

Maybe one day, when my blog is really popular and making money, it will make sense to put more time and money into it.

But not now.

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Decide Now if you want to Be a Good Blogger or a Bad Blogger

So what’s your take on all this?

What other things do you think would determine if someone were to be a “good blogger” as opposed to a “bad blogger?”

So, tell me.

Are you ready to “Decide Now if you want to Be a Good Blogger or a Bad Blogger?”

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

And don’t forget to share this post on your favorite social sites 🙂

-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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32 Responses to Decide Now if you want to be a Good Blogger or a Bad Blogger

  1. Amar Kumar November 7, 2019 at 4:21 am #

    Hello Donna,

    Amazing analysis, Content creation is the ultimate inbound marketing practice. When you create content, you’re providing free and useful information to your audience, attracting potential customers to your website and retaining existing customers through quality engagement.

    I think you have really great experience about people truly these things are common in our environment but thought process mainly decide how you get successful in your life.

    Eventually, thanks for sharing your wonderful experience with us.

    Amar Kumar

  2. Shradha March 6, 2019 at 4:37 am #

    Hi Donna,
    I have recently started writing blogs and your article has helped me a lot. it is very informative for bloggers like us who are muddled when it comes to blogging.
    Please keep sharing such blogs. It’s a great read. thanks again.

  3. Herbert Wright February 7, 2019 at 3:12 am #

    Thanks a lot Donna for this wonderful article, it’s a great help for a person like whose just starting. Cheers!

  4. Anil Agarwal
    Twitter:
    January 18, 2019 at 1:13 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Great topic again. Bad bloggers don’t invest money or time. All they want to seek is quick results without actually working hard. They also procrastinate a lot and wonder why they are not getting any results.

    The key here is to take action (if you’re a good blogger) and start taking consistent steps to build a blog that helps others (including Google).

    One of the main reasons to blog is to be helpful and provide highly useful content. Make sure to think big and start small and look out for ways to network with other bloggers.

    If you want to succeed in blogging, stop waiting for the perfect time, invest both money and time to build a better blog. Thanks for your insights!

  5. Anoop Kumar December 31, 2018 at 4:35 am #

    I decided I want to be a good blogger. Now onwards I focus on my blog more than anything. Thank you so much, Donna, for the inspiration. You’re a genius.

  6. Bhawna Kaushik
    Twitter:
    December 27, 2018 at 6:04 am #

    Hey Donna,

    Awesome post, and interesting take on being best at what we are passionate about.
    Sometimes our passion can move us on the sidelines while trying to stay on the good side.

    Regards
    Bhanu

  7. Emenike Emmanuel
    Twitter:
    December 11, 2018 at 4:51 pm #

    Well-said, Donna.

    I stopped being a bad blogger the day I discovered that it was costing me more.

    Bad blogger with free hosting are one set of people I don’t pause for a while to offer free blogging advice no matter how less busy I am.

    My take is, if you need professional blogging advice you should be ready to own a self-hosted blog.

    Thanks for this differentiation.

    Emenike
    Emenike Emmanuel recently posted..4 Businesses You Can Launch Today With No Investment Or ExperienceMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      December 15, 2018 at 1:04 pm #

      Hi Emenike

      Ha Ha… so true, too.

      Bad Blogging Is Expensive!

      You either spend too much money on junk you don’t need, or you don’t ever take the time to really use the stuff you do buy.

      All because you “don’t want to spend too much” on YOUR business.

      Get a professional blogging coach… always the #1 thing that will help you achieve your goals… faster, easier, less stress, far far less money than the few bucks you’re afraid to spend on coaching.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..How to Find People Interested in What You DoMy Profile

  8. Sara Smith
    Twitter:
    December 11, 2018 at 9:29 am #

    In my opinion, many bloggers failed because they think that it’s a part-time job. If you see the top bloggers, like Neil Patel, Brian Dean, Pat Flynn, and Brian Clark (many more) none of them are part-timers, and they took blogging very seriously and take it to the next level. Thank you for sharing great tips with us. Anyone who wants to become a top blogger should read this guide carefully.

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      December 14, 2018 at 7:39 pm #

      Hi Sara

      Yes, the top bloggers, like the ones you mentioned, are serious about blogging.

      And they do it full time.

      Yet, I’m sure even they have all done “bad blogger” stuff, especially when they were first starting.

      The key is to start doing more and more “good” things to replace the “bad” habits.

      Full commitment, consistency and never look back 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Top 5 Hacks to Create Smarter Blog Content that Sells in 2019My Profile

  9. Lesly Federici
    Twitter:
    December 10, 2018 at 8:55 am #

    Hmm …. well you spelled it out . What it takes to be a serious blogger. I wonder how many have the “Bad” qualities and attitudes … I just tried explaining to someone why it’s best to own your own blog instead of using a freebie… went in one ear and out the other. Experience teaches us , right?

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      December 11, 2018 at 8:19 am #

      Hi Lesly

      We’ve all done the “Bad” right?

      I still do stuff that is off track, and I have to immediately remind myself of the better route to take.

      It’s all part of growing as a blogger.

      Keep makin’ it happen every day, my good friend 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Welcome – How Is This Blog Different?My Profile

  10. Davida Chazan
    Twitter:
    December 9, 2018 at 1:50 pm #

    I may never make any money from my blog, but I’m going to try to be a good blogger all the same!

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      December 11, 2018 at 8:11 am #

      Hi Davida

      Profits result from following a plan, and sticking to the process consistently.

      Blogging will bring you the results you are looking for, to the extent that you find the right path and stay on it.

      Good luck in the upcoming new year 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..How to Accelerate Your Productivity in 2019 to be a Top BloggerMy Profile

      • Davida Chazan
        Twitter:
        December 11, 2018 at 8:31 am #

        Thanks, but right now, I have a “day job” and I only work on my blog as a hobby. My new site doesn’t even have adsense (yet), so the only “income” I’ll get there is from my affiliate links. That’s fine with me.

  11. Joe Elliott December 8, 2018 at 5:34 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Hope you are well!

    Great post and I think you have just documented a lot of peoples journey. Personally, I have struggled with all of these at some point but showing up and making a commitment to change is the best way forward. A lot of these mindsets will continue to arise even when you have a great blog but you have to focus and keep going.

    Investing in your own self-development can help immensely.

    Thanks for sharing Donna

    – Joe

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      December 9, 2018 at 4:54 pm #

      Hi Joe

      Yes, for sure… investing in your own self-development is huge.

      And, I should add, investing in good coaching and mentoring, too.

      I think those are the real cornerstones to good blogging, and running a profitable blogging business.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..What is the Best Way to Make Blogging Easy?My Profile

  12. Jason Smith December 7, 2018 at 2:53 am #

    Hi,

    Actually to became a bad blogger it is pretty easy but to became a good one it is very difficult.And you are correct there are lot of free blogger site where we can post.So a good blogger is the only option as it improves your skills to write and think.You can generate your creativity and art by writing a good blogs and also share a new information to the viewers who will read your blogs.

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      December 7, 2018 at 10:50 pm #

      Hi Jason

      You’re right… it is easy to be a “bad blogger” because the bad blogger is always looking for the easy and cheap way out.

      Being a good blogger is harder, but you can actually build an audience and a business by doing the hard work involved.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..3 Productivity Hacks to be a Top BloggerMy Profile

  13. Moss Clement
    Twitter:
    December 5, 2018 at 12:33 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Interesting points you have here. The characteristics of a good and bad blogger are clearly seen in this article, and there is no better way to describe them. A good blogger does all he can to consistently create and share value, while a bad blogger doesn’t care what he share on his blog.

    Thanks for sharing!

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      December 7, 2018 at 4:46 pm #

      Hi Moss

      Yes, a good blogger is squarely focused on delivering value and problem solving to his readers.

      That’s what build his/her audience, and loyal readership.

      The “bad blogger” is blogging about whatever they think might be interesting to themselves.

      And probably only when the mood strikes.

      Yes, blogging is work and the good blogger takes it seriously.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..3 Simple Ways to Get Way More Prospects with Far Less WorkMy Profile

  14. Lisa Sicard
    Twitter:
    December 5, 2018 at 8:19 am #

    Hi Donna, I’m getting there – doing more video finally! It took me long enough, right? I’m struggling with blogging communities lately as I’m doing more client work. It gets harder as you are full time because you NEED to make a living now. So I do my paid stuff first then my blog stuff 2nd. I’m working on a marketing budget for 2019 and it seems strange. I used to help people with their budgets and now I’m doing mine 🙂 Odd, indeed.
    I’m hoping to get to the problogger status soon Donna, thanks for the inspiration in this piece! You are right – we have to get out of our comfort zone to achieve success and even if we fail along the way, we pick ourselves up and move on!

    Lisa Sicard recently posted… 13 Surefire Ways To Thrive With Your Blog Today Amongst Many Blogs

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      December 7, 2018 at 10:42 am #

      Hi Lisa

      Seems like you are “getting there” fast 🙂

      There’s nothing like the power of commitment… like the commitment to make blogging your full-time profession… to force you into the “good blogger” mode.

      Of course, we’ve all been the “bad blogger” because obviously this blogging thing is really easy when you make all the easy choices.

      But we roll into the “good blogger” role more and more as we take the more serious, and usually harder choices.

      I guess it’s another case of “nothing good comes easy” – ya think?

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..How To Gain Massive Traffic Through PinterestMy Profile

  15. Vishwajeet Kumar
    Twitter:
    December 5, 2018 at 7:48 am #

    Hello Donna,

    You have mentioned some great points here. I always love to do blogging and make blogging my full-time profession after completing my graduation. You are so true. A successful Blogger always makes things consistently and keep adding quality content on regular basis. I hope I will continue to keep things organized and be a good blogger. Share the post on social networks. Thanks again for sharing these amazing tips here.

    Have a Great Day 🙂
    Vishwajeet
    Vishwajeet Kumar recently posted..The best Android games of 2019My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      December 7, 2018 at 10:38 am #

      Hi Vishwajeet

      Thanks always for your support, my friend.

      Pro Blogger you are 🙂

      So you know the value of Consistency.

      Anybody can be a great blogger for a day, right?

      It’s truly (sorry for the cliche)… a marathon, not a sprint.

      So many people say it, that’s what makes it a cliche I guess.

      But how many do it?

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..When Bloggers Should Not Follow their PassionMy Profile

  16. Kathryn Maclean
    Twitter:
    December 5, 2018 at 7:39 am #

    Yes, there are bad bloggers out there.
    We have all experienced them.
    Great post on the difference between the two.
    A good blogger is someone like you, Donna.
    Passionate, caring and so prolific with your blog posts.
    I will be passing this along.

    Kathryn Maclean recently posted… 10 Steps Setting Up Google My Business

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      December 5, 2018 at 3:01 pm #

      Hi Kathryn

      You’re so right… we have all met with the bad bloggers.

      In fact, I believe we have all done some degree of “bad blogging”.

      But in time, we strive to move our game more and more over to the “good” side, right?

      That’s called progress.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Who is your Perfect Client for your Blog?My Profile

  17. Saurabh
    Twitter:
    December 5, 2018 at 7:39 am #

    This year will be a great blogging year for me because I left my full-time job and focusing only on my blog and freelance works and finally made a system to have consistent blog posts of great quality.

    Good blogging has a lot to do with SEO, quality content, make blogging friends, social engagement and many more thing, Good bloggers accept this fact and try to make the most out of it.

    Saurabh recently posted… 5 Effective Ways to Capture Better Quality Videos Using Screen Recording

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      December 5, 2018 at 2:58 pm #

      Hi Saurabh

      Good luck this year with the major commitment you are making to your blogging business.

      If you accept the challenges that arise, and determine to meet them head on, you will be on the right path to blogging success.

      I’m excited to see the progress you are about to make 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Top 5 Hacks to Create Smarter Blog Content that Sells in 2019My Profile

  18. Gaurav Kumar
    Twitter:
    December 5, 2018 at 2:45 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Blog of a blogger tells how good, bad or ugly his mindset is. Where good bloggers focus on adding value, bad bloggers focus on copying content and ugly bloggers do everything what it takes to make things easy without caring about anything else.

    Blogging is fruitful for only those who are serious, passionate, creative, positive, and researcher, in short good bloggers.

    Glad you have shared this.
    Gaurav Kumar recently posted..Eagle Eye Concept for Bloggers and SEO: Everything You Need to Know About Eagle Eye RuleMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      December 5, 2018 at 2:56 pm #

      Hi Gaurav

      Somebody’s blog really does give you a glimpse into his/her mindset.

      Good bloggers add value because they are more concerned with helping people than scoring high search ranking or earning commissions.

      And, yes, that really does show through, even if they try to mask it.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Welcome – How Is This Blog Different?My Profile

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