My Blog BFF kicks off the “Your Social Media Journey” series today with an awesome post about traveling from failure to success. Stanford Smith obsesses about how to get passionate people’s blogs noticed and promoted at Pushing Social except when he’s chasing large mouth bass. Check out his new Blogging Bootcamp to learn how to whip your blog posts into shape.
It’s a strange feeling at first. It’s kind of like dunking a basketball for the first time or catching a monster largemouth bass. You can’t believe it just happened but the evidence is staring back at you.
This is how I felt when PushingSocial.com got it’s first mention by Brian Clark at Copyblogger. Instantly my blog was on the fingertips of hundreds of people. I watched the Tweetmeme button in shock as it climbed north of 100 in one day.
At that moment, I realized that this blogging “thing” could be fun.
That happened late June 2010 for my “Lady Gaga” post. I’ve had a blast ever since.
Margie asked me to kick-off her series on “Your Social Media Journey” and I had to agree. You see, Margie and I have talked a lot about the journey and I have been fortunate to learn from her. So I thought I would return the favor by writing this post to you.
What I Learned from 3 Blogging Failures
PushingSocial isn’t my first blog. It’s just my first successful blog. I failed at blogging for 3 years before I got it right.
The first time I spent tons of money on fancy designers and themes but couldn’t write a lick. My posts were generic and hollow. I hated writing them and it showed.
The second time I tried to outsmart my readers. I needed to make money and thought I can wow them with fancy copywriting. I was wrong. I learned that readers have a sixth sense for authenticity. I was a con-artist and they knew it.
The third-time I wrote from the heart. My posts were deeply personal diatribes that plumbed the depths of my soul. I enjoyed those posts. My readers felt they were a third-wheel. That was failure #3.
I should have given up but when I looked back I learned 3 key lessons:
1. You can’t fake authenticity
2. You can’t con your readers. They always know if you are the real deal
3. Posts must solve reader problems
Pushing Social is Born
In May 2010 I tried blogging again. This time, PushingSocial would be focused on helping new bloggers get noticed. It was an experiment to see if I could be authentic, helpful, and relevant to a tough crowd of business people and writers.
I resolved to keep writing no matter what for one complete year. Every week I would publish a post even if I was on my death bed. I would ooze passion and be ferociously optimistic.
My topic wasn’t unique – but I was.
9 months later, PushingSocial is doing “alright”.
If you want to succeed in blogging you have to decide to not quit. You can evolve. You can fail. You can rant and shake with homicidal rage. But you can’t quit.
I’m convinced that our best bloggers quit one post away from greatness.
Think about it.
What Makes My Journey Fun
PushingSocial taught me how to be human.
I have over 1,000 subscribers who rely on me to deliver inspiration and practical information every week.
I have 3,000 Twitter followers who trust me to filter the world through my lens of passion and Midwest honesty.
I co-run a greasy digital after hours joint called #Tweetdiner that is home to misfits, dreamers, intellectuals, and artists.
I’m an introvert so all of this attention and commitment makes me nervous.
Fortunately, I reached out to people who understand what I face everyday and are quick to offer encouragement. These blogging buddies keep me genuine and make the journey fun – even on the bad days.
Margie has helped keep me sane on bad days and made me better on good days. You need a Margie too, So, find them sooner rather than later.
What Lies Ahead.
I am a strategist. I have 2011 planned out in excruciating detail. But it’s just a plan. My readers are my real compass. I will go where their problems take me.
How about you? What does your 2011 journey look like?
Image by Kaylie Horch. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/klie17
I feel hopeful & excited reading this post! I am a psychologist writing an e-book and blogging as a labor of love. I truly believe in what I’m doing and would continue to do it whether I ever achieve outward success with it…although it is a goal for my website to one day be able to pay for itself.
I decided to leap first and figure out what I’m doing afterward…as a technophobe, the only way to get myself to start sharing what I have to offer. It’s a blessing and a curse to be so ignorant of social media, etc…I don’t even know what to be concerned about!
I guess I believe at some level that going slowly is allowing me the time to learn what I need to learn, so I can get better at blogging. Thanks so much for writing this!
Anita,
I’m glad you found the post helpful. Just keep plugging away on your blog. The most persistent wins in the social media space. One suggestion – shoot for your best outcome for your blog now. It’ll take a while to achieve your goals – so shoot high NOW …and read every post on Margie’s blog 😉
Excellent post… and I’m glad you’ve found your blogging niche!
100 tweets for one post? Oh my! I can only dream!
I’m sure you’ll do the same. Thanks for commenting!
01/24/2011
Hi Stanford. Good work! I appreciate your information & admire your persistance. Persistance is my favorite trait!! It’s the primary reason I’m starting my 30th year in my
own business.
I’m looking forward to your posts this week.
Cordially Mike
This reminds me of that famous Michael Jordan quote: “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”
Thanks, Mr. Smith, for sharing both the obstacles and the perseverance. Best of luck to you with PushingSocial, with #tweetdiner, and beyond. Maybe we’ll bump into each other at some point in the near future.
One thing I have loved about watching the social media space for the past 6 years is that every once in a while you start to hear people begin to buzz about a certain blogger. I remember the 1st day I found a post on Grasshopper Factory about this guy named Chris Brogan that loved his Saturn. Then everyone wanted to know where in the world did the brilliant Beth Harte come from? Now I am starting to hear more of my peers talking about this Stanford guy that ‘gets it’.
Love the post, and love how you illustrate how you LEARNED from your MISTAKES. That’s content that’s incredibly valuable to readers, and helps them keep their noses down and keep plugging away.
Congrats Stanford on how all your hard work is starting to pay off. I just this is just the start, so enjoy the ride 😉
Mack – I still remember watching #blogchat in awe for the first time. I didn’t think it was possible to get 30 twitter followers in one hour . Boy was I wrong! Anyways, You my friend have been instrumental in getting my feet wet in this whole Social Media thing. So…Thank You!
Stanford – Thanks for sharing this journey with us. It’s been awesome to watch you come out of nowhere and take the social media space by storm. I remember learning about you too and wondering how I didn’t know about you sooner. Ever since you came on the scene, you truly have stood out from the crowd and made your blog uniquely your own.
There’s a reason why there’s a saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” It’s so very true. Congrats on all of your success with blog #4! It’s well deserved!
Thanks Laura. I sincerely feel that ANYONE that has a great idea and a passion for their reader can “come out of nowhere”. What I learned over the last 9 months is that their are two keys to success: 1) Dogged Persistence 2) Willingness to learn and experiment.
I’m not an A-List Blogger (yet) but I’m happy to know that the journey isn’t impossible. In fact, it’s simpler than many people think.
Stanford,
Thank you for the honest look into your blogging past. Like you, I made a commitment to writing for one solid year and seeing what happened. It was a blast and ended up being one of the more valuable learning experiences I have had.
Here is some of what I learned:
1. Content matters; passion matters more.
2. You have to be relevant.
3. Patience and humility are a must.
4. The secret to success has way more to do with community building and engagement that I ever would have realized.
5. You cannot allow yourself to get too wrapped up in analytics. They will drive you nuts.
I will be adding your blog to my RSS reader. Thanks again for all the great advice.
Jason
Let me start with what a great line:
“I’m convinced that our best bloggers quit one post away from greatness.”
I think many of us focus on hitting a home run instead of trying to hit many doubles or triples. That is when you run into trying to do so much and run into getting style and appearance over content.
On the other side I think just as many bloggers quit before time many don’t recognize that you need to learn from your mistakes. One the things I find funny is that on many occasions I review an old post and I see that I could have done a better job. But after reading this post it makes me realize that by identifying flaws in my past work I can reach the conclusion that I have kept going at it and that I am trying to fix my past mistakes.
Great 3 lines of advice to help anyone with writing and many other things.
Dear Margie –
I had the great honor of your writing a spectacular guest post on my blog.
I hope your many subsribers will come over. They will enjoy it. I loved it.
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http://www.personal-growth-with-corinne-edwards.com/is-online-beauty-just-screen-deep-margie-clayman/