Hang In There – The Turning Point Might be Just Ahead!
Are you struggling with your blog that does not seem to be progressing in any direction? Are you on the verge of giving up? If so, this post is for you.
Many years ago, at the 1988 Democratic National Convention, the Jesse Jackson ended his speech with the following timeless words, that set the convention on fire:
“Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive! Keep hope alive! On tomorrow night and beyond, keep hope alive!”
Why did I tell you this story? To give you the encouragement, courage and spirit you need to not give up and to keep working hard on your blog, no matter what.
Blogging Is Just Like Any Other Profession
Doctors in some fields like neurosurgery have to literally study for half their life before they’re officially certified to practise. That’s a long period of time. They cannot just give up halfway and say they are fed up, can they? They have picked something they want to do, and they have to stick to it.
Blogging is just like any other profession. You don’t become an expert or an authority over night. It takes hard work, time, patience and a lot of grunt to become successful. You just have to keep doing what you do, and there will surely come a turning point, when all your hard work finally pays off.
My Point
If you are a blogger struggling to establish yourself, I have this piece of advice: don’t give up; keep blogging; keep writing great content. There will come a turning point, sooner or later, rest assured. Think of that turning point as a destination. All the hard work and patience and time is the journey. Sure there will be obstacles (failures, let-downs, lack of motivation…) but you have to jump over those and keep going.
Who knows, the turning point might be footsteps away! Your next article could get on the frontpage of Digg. You cannot just give up at this point can you?
Things That May Help
There’s no way you cannot be successful if you’re doing everything right. You could be doing everything right, but if you’re still worried that you’re doing something wrong, here’s a small checklist to go through (You never know, you might be missing out on something):
The Content – Is your content read-worthy? Is it on topic and something people will want to read? Is it presented impartially? Have you researched your stuff well enough? Are your ideas new and fresh?
The content is what represents you online. Well researched and well presented content goes a far way in helping your cause than does mediocre content. The time you spend researching is well worth it. Remember, nothing you spend time on goes to waste, for it will all help your cause in one way or another 
.
Your Promotion Strategy – Are your marketing strategies sound and ethical? Do you employ black hat tactics? (such as gaming social media sites). Do you have a strong presence at social media networks? Do you actively take part in the community or just keep submitting your own articles? Are you exploring other mediums of marketing? Are you unique in your approach?
You need to make sure that you’re using the correct marketing and promotion (and ethical) strategies. It’s no use promoting a tech blog on a environmental social media network. You also need to make sure you’re not using black hat techniques: that you’re not gaming the social media sites, or spamming the search engines.
Become active on social media networks: find new friends and interact with them. Don’t make friends just for asking them for Stumbles or Diggs. Offer to share and spread their posts: they’ll appreciate it. Develop strong friendships. A big, loyal following will be willing to help you in many ways.
Your Design – If your blog design usable? Is it easy to navigate? Can the user simply go from point A to point B without having to first go through point C? Is your design simple enough for an eighty year old to read with ease? Is it splattered with ads? Does it have proper structure? Is it free of technical errors?
The design of your blog is very important. This may sound an obvious thing to say, but is important nonetheless. You need to ensure that your design is user friendly, as much as possible. It needs to be easy to navigate also; for people don’t like to have to journey from to there all over the place, just to get from Point X to Point Y. Come on, you knew that! 
You Yourself – This is the most important thing. Do you love what you blog about or are you in just for the money (which you’ll never be able to earn, this way)? Is this a half-hearted effort?
Finally
Blogging is arduous work. You need to be ready to continuously produce articles day in and day out for years. Therefore, your blog should not be about something that’s just a fad – something that will pass go away soon. You need to find a definite, specific niche; something you’re comfortable with and are knowledgeable about. It could be anything: sport, politics, money, celebrities, and what not. So, you have to choose your niche carefully…
Your Thoughts?
Do you believe that persistence and hard work is important for someone to be successful? Please do share your views with us
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Been there, done that
I realize how important it is to keep blogging, after having seen my blog on Digg front page, getting consistent search traffic for several posts, and now having a good income that is more than adequate for costs associated with daily life (at least in my country).
The problem is that the turning point might be very far or very near. My advice would be to take ocasional breaks when you feel stressed out due to blogging, or if you feel returns are not justifying the investment of money, time and effort.
@Sumesh Thanks for dropping by… your advice is inspirational