by BluePop13 on August 31, 2010
It seems that just about any web page you open nowadays is a blog. Seriously. There a few actual static web sites out there from what I’ve seen. And what’s the number one (or close to it) thing every successful blogger says you need to do when starting your blog…? C’mon, you know what it is, don’t you?
That’s right, build your list.
Because so many people know this and are doing this and quite frankly there’s nothing wrong it it, I have just realised that if I actually signed up with even half of the sites that pop up “Sign Up blah, blah, blah…” I’d have newsletters coming in from every direction all the time. Not good especially since email is a big time waster if you’re not careful with it.
So what is this all about and what is the one big reason to continuously improve your blog?
Trusting output that grows.
That’s what I call it anyway. Let me explain.
You need to build trust in order for someone to want what you have to offer. It’s great that they check out your site and read what you’ve said and maybe even left a comment. Hell, most people probably do sign up for the list so they don’t forget to “remember” to come back later on. But the reality is, you need to trust first.
The output is what you’re giving your readers who are on your list. Again, if you’re not giving them anything worth their while then they really can’t trust you. Ah, that lovely word just pops up all over doesn’t it?
If you allow your readers to trust you and give them great output and continue to build up that trust, it grows. Simple. So how do you make all this work? Let me just say I’m no expert on this and am still focusing on multiple tasks all the time as a blogger. So much in fact that I’m not even posting on my regular schedule like I should be.
What it comes down to is action, learning, mistakes, more learning, and time. That’s about it. Use each one of those wisely and you will surely be in the lead when it comes to being a better blogger and building up your list.
So what is the one powerful reason in all this? You.
You have to keep learning and keep going and show that you’re doing this to help others and that you want others to succeed. You have to be willing to make mistakes and keep going and be willing to build up something great that just doesn’t happen over night, ever.
Again, just be willing to take action each day (just a little big, really) and to learn and once something starts to really work, stick with it.
I’m not saying don’t sign up for a bunch of lists. What I am saying is sign up to learn more about the ones that are going to truly be beneficial to you and what your goals are in life. Filter out the ones you just don’t need anymore.
All that being said, what powerful ways do you find being a great blogger is doing for you and do you even know how many lists you’re currently subscribed to and what they’re doing to help improve your real life in some way?
by BluePop13 on August 23, 2010
Want to Pop (Guest) Post here at BluePop13.com? Just visit the Contact page and send me your article and we’ll work something out.
I received a wonderful comment on my blog from Jeffrey over at BloggersMarket.com and he mentioned the fact that he visits BluePop13.com for me and that he can’t find me anywhere else. That’s true. BluePop13.com is exactly where you’ll find Eric Heavilin. It’s my blog, after all.
After reading some wonderful posts around the blogosphere and realising that it’s all about people AND products I came up with this post.
SEO I’m not too familiar with yet. I admit that. Though I know it’s important if you want to increase traffic, or at least that’s what I’ve heard. People are also important and need to be taken care of.
If you build up relationships with people and show the best of who you are always, great opportunities can present themselves where they may never have before. It takes a lot of work but is well worth it in the end. And the action takers will always be the people who win in this case because taking action to the point of doing everything it takes to get what you want and make other people successful is what will get you much further down the path you want to be and will prove to be a great value.
People want your products. Yes, the product you have yet to create even. They want what you have to offer if you have something that they actually think would help them in their lives. So ask them and create something. Put in the time and effort AFTER finding out what they WANT from YOU. See how this all works?
Ok, so I have no product just yet but actually I do have my Killer Content Guide which you can get for free by signing up for Pop News and that’s something people want. They want to know how to create better content and that goes on and on with many different ideas I will be creating in the future.
So if you connect with people, I mean really connect with them, amazing things can happen. And if you give products away and even promote other’s products it makes THAT person look good AND you look good.
So, what people do you really know and what products do you really support?
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by BluePop13 on August 20, 2010
Want to Pop (Guest) Post here at BluePop13.com? Visit the Contact page and we’ll work something out.
When I first started blogging I knew there was quite a bit I was going to learn. I was up for the challenge and still am today. You should always be up for the challenge of learning more because there is always more to learn. What makes successful bloggers different from unsuccessful bloggers is the simple fact of quitting or continuing to do everything wrong and never learning from your mistakes.
Some mistakes new bloggers might make because they might not see the point in acting on these simple and powerful tasks are as follows.
- Start your mailing list right away.
I didn’t see a point and just love publishing articles and was hoping for traffic. Well, it took months but I finally hoped on the idea that MailChimp is free and started my mailing list soon after. Maybe not as great to some people as Aweber but still a good start and I actually quite like MailChimp myself.
- Write killer articles up front.
This should be done before even putting up a sign up for on your site. Write articles on any niche you love and write about ten of them that you put your whole heart and soul into. Make them interesting and creative and outgoing. Speak to your readers in such a way that they’ll be dying to know what’s coming next. Do this and you’ll absolutely have an audience and even more so subscribers to your mailing list.
- Visit other blogs.
Leave useful comments there, consistently for months and build up a relationship. Your readers aren’t going to just appear on your blog some day… You actually have to go out there and find them for the purpose of delivering value.
- Reply to comments on your own blog as if those comments are what hold your blog up and going like the tires on your car. This is crucial to showing you care and saying thanks for coming to my blog and taking time to leave a comment.
- Be social. Not much more needed to be said here. Use Facebook, Twitter and others for what they’re there for. Create relationships that will take you places.
These are just a few things you can always do to improve your blogging efforts day in and day out. To be quite honest, if there was a great way to build traffic up on your blog without going out and getting it and bringing it back then I would absolutely be selling a product that explains how to do this. Forums and guest posting are great ways to also build up traffic and actually offering something your readers really want.
What actions have you learned since you first started blogging? I know there are so many more ideas out there but I just wanted to lay out a few here.
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by BluePop13 on August 16, 2010
The Universe Has Unknown Powers
My favorite day of the week is Friday. And Friday the 13th was no exception. I absolutely love Fridays because they’re the beginning of a brand new weekend and the beginning of a new way of thinking and as of right now the last day of the week I post to my blog.
Thirteen has always been a lucky number of mine and more than now I realize that the more I do and experience in life. Today my girlfriend (Samantha) and I went to Wall-Mart here in town and walking in she and I were talking about how I got back into blogging and how passionate I am about helping others achieve success in their own adventures. We got to talking about making money online and how I would love to be able to give something of such value to receive money in return for my efforts.
I’m stubborn and bull headed sometimes and she said because I’m so driven to make this work that she just knows it will. I thought about that for a second, realised all the greatness I’ve done on here for about a year now and all the people I’ve met and helped and relationships I’ve gained from blogging. Then I felt a lot of confidence and let it all go as we did our shopping and just enjoyed being together.
What The Universe Brought To Us
Coming out of Wall-Mart I was thinking about what I could do to improve my blog and be able to give even more to others. Just before we got in our car to get home a lady parked right behind us and mentioned how much she loved our bumper sticker. We talked with her for about 45 minutes it seemed and she had a lot of positive energy about her and was talking about how if we ask the universe for something and believe it strong in our mind that it will deliver what we want.
While not everyone believes that and it may not work for everyone, looking back I believe it happened to me as Samantha had mentioned I will keep working hard on my blogging until I achieve the results I’m looking for. In my confidence and inner thoughts and belief, the universe brought more great energy through this woman and great spirit and thoughts and inspired me even more. I thought, this is really something else and after talking with her I realised that I had just experienced (without knowing it first, actually) what she was mainly talking about the entire time of our new visit.
I gave her my blog address and I’m glad that experience happened.
What has the universe brought you and what are you allowing the universe to bring more of into you and your family’s life?
Hi, my name is Eric Heavilin and welcome to BluePop13.com. Here you will find the latest information on how to improve your blog using three simple techniques I've been using since I started this blog in 2010. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Thanks! :)
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What I Learned From My Break From Blogging
by BluePop13 on August 13, 2010
I’ve actually written a post for myself coming back to the blog several times now and this is just one more. Obviously I’ll be using this one as it’s now published for all to see. I took a break because I wanted to see if I would miss blogging and see if there were others ideas that I might have to be able to make some extra money from a bit quicker. I realised a few things and I’ve outlined those here.
The Break
Comments And Interaction
I enjoyed the break a lot. It was nice to just get away and not have to worry about posting articles but I did miss doing it. I missed seeing people comment on my blog and being able to reply to those comments.
Social Media
I was still active on Twitter here and there (have never been too active on Twitter though) and still signed onto Facebook a lot. I have found some new places to create accounts for to allow me to meet even more people and spread the word about my current efforts here at BluePop13.com.
Thoughts While Gone
I was able to really give myself time to think about where I wanted to take this site. I want to share what I know about blogging and what I learn about blogging. I’ve been doing this pretty steadily now for around a year or so.
I discovered blogging as an escape from feeling the pain of heartbreak and also wanted to see if I would feel any better about the situations of the past if I stopped blogging.
Coming Back
Money
I have no idea how much money this site might make in months or years to come but I’m going to work my ass off and experiment while continuing to provide insane amounts of great value. Obviously I don’t expect to just throw up crap and make even a penny, literally. I want to add value to each and every person who finds my site, however they discover it. After that, hopefully with my continued efforts I’ll make some money and will (hopefully sooner rather than later) be able to call this a part time job and eventually a full time job.
Design
I understand that I need a much better design and am working on saving up for that. No, I don’t need to actually make any money from this blog in order to have a design made. My girlfriend is currently working full time and we share our money. I just would like to have something decent when we can afford it and improve it over time. Right now I think things are looking somewhat better than ever before but there’s always room for improvement, I know.
What You Want
All this being said and now with my return I would like to know what you would like from me. Anything really. What do you want more of or less of? Just name it so that I have some ideas to work with and can work on giving something to my readers that they want so I’m not wasting my time or yours.
That’s what this is all about in the first place, isnt’ it?
P.S. If I switched to Aweber (if you’re already on my list and if so you know who you are) would you resign up for Pop News? If so or if not, why, why not?
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