Competing With Other Blogs
- 29 Comment
I find myself trying to bring this blog back to life. While doing so it seems like there is even more competition. So how do you compete with other blogs, other bloggers, and the internet in general?
Set Yourself Apart
That is always the key with any blog new or old. Answer the question, why should I read this? If you can do that for your blog, thats important. Many bloggers have run gigantic contests to ‘get ahead’ in the blogging world. However, with so many going on every day, even that’s not enough.
Incentive
Even though there are lots of contests, you should give your readers incentive to read, comment, and share your blog. Whether it’s directly paying them, offering something in return like a service, or just noticing them in a special way.
Build Relationships
This is another important factor. While this blog was thriving I was constantly in contact with other bloggers via email and IM. We’d read each others articles, comment, and share them. I’ve noticed my IM list get smaller, and fewer emails going out. That has directly impacted the traffic levels. Feel free to drop me an email or AIM me at tinka5787.
Motivation
Without it, your blog can die. I haven’t been motivated to post, and I’ve dropped the ball on several projects. Maybe it’s time to lighten your load to get back into the swing of things. I have contemplated selling off a few domains and websites to hopefully get me motivated again and improve this blog as well as my others.
The It Factor
You know, some bloggers, just have “It”. They have the dedication, determination, and motivation to run a successful blog. Some bloggers have been able to surpass my success in less time and done a lot better. They have ‘it’. The internet savvy to really rise to the top, interact and engage readers, and take it to the next level.
Do you have It?
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29 Comments on this post
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Carol said:
Inspiration waxes and wanes for all of us. And, everyday life gets in the way of blogging. And, you know what? That’s OK. Personally, I’m not relying on my blogs to make a living, and I think you are right, some people (John Chow?) just have “it”. I think every point you touched on is important in itself, but building relationships is most likely at the top. I’m not sure if I have “it” or not, but I am slowly building a fan base and having fun in the process.
Carols last blog post..Unearthing Genealogical and Historical Photos
December 11th, 2008 at 12:54 am -
James @ Total Web Review said:
It is hard to keep the motivation up when trying to develope multiple internet properties and it becomes easy to neglect one for the other. I have seen my site approaching the top 100,000 in Alexa only to get neglected and drop into the 300,000 range. It takes a lot of work, dedication, and focus to ensure a blogs success. I find myself writing to do lists and constantly ignoring them but I guess that is the way things go when blogging is only a side occupation that has to take a backseat to a “real job”.
December 11th, 2008 at 11:47 am -
Online Home Based Business said:
I find the change of season effects my motivation. When we come into summer i find it really hard to keep my blogs and sites firing while in winter it is a lot easier.
Jason
December 13th, 2008 at 11:25 pm -
Mara said:
The only incentive I could give right now is crediting and acknowledging them in my blog. š
Some bloggers really have IT. I wish I could get more traffic than usual since I’m working on my blog every day now this past week. I know I still have a long way to go but I’m willing to wait since I have nothing else to do here at home.
December 14th, 2008 at 2:59 am -
John @ AffiliateObsession.com said:
I would tend to agree. I would have liked to be in another place right now on the internet, at least that was my plan about 6 months ago. There weeks that go by before I do anything with any of my projects, but then there are weeks that go by were I barely go outside because I bust ass.
Oh well. It is what it is, and I would say I have it 50% of the time š
December 14th, 2008 at 10:58 pm -
Paul Leadbetter said:
yes, I totally agree with your post, I think your best point is motivation, without it your sunk. It is hard to turn up everyday if you are not getting the traffic, responses etc.
But it is by turning up everyday that you will turn the tide. Keep going my friend. “You can do It”
December 16th, 2008 at 12:40 am -
ziff said:
In order to compete with others, I agree with the five points which you have mentioned above. I think the two key important factors which make others bother to read or even comment in ones blog, are informative or entertaining.
December 18th, 2008 at 2:11 am -
Online Printing said:
Super post as usual, thanks!!
December 19th, 2008 at 5:02 pm -
Trevor - 14 Year Old Money Blogger said:
Critical tips.
Motivation is the most important. If you aren’t motivated to do what you are doing, then you won’t be doing it well.
December 19th, 2008 at 9:30 pm -
Minnesota Attorney said:
“Set Yourself Apart” is a great point. It can be tough to find an untapped niche, but when you do, the blog meets the needs of others and Google rewards the uniqueness of your website.
Another concept that seems to hold true for most long term successes is based on “accumulation with time.” That is, success accumulates with time, and often starts multiplying success as time goes on.
December 20th, 2008 at 8:56 am -
Chris said:
Part of it is the slump after the initial burst of enthusiasm. I started at the end of 06 like a lot of people, but gave almost completely in the summer of this year. I didn’t delete anything though, and have gradually drifted back to it with a more relaxed attitude.
So I don’t ‘compete’ with anyone. I post & comment when I want to, and what will be will be.
I’m certainly more comfortable with that, than the old ‘8 posts a day and 15 hours in front of the PC networking’ of a while back š
Really like this theme BTW (I remember the Blogger days!)
December 23rd, 2008 at 5:56 am -
freeadlists said:
I started blogging (Unix niche) mid-Sept ’06 with great enthusiasm. But after 12 months or so, my motivation was shot due to limited results. I didn’t quit entirely though. Nowadays, I’m blogging but at a much slower pace (admittedly too slow at times) and surprisingly getting further along.
December 25th, 2008 at 10:55 am -
Tom @ The Home Business Archive said:
Nice read.The competition is getting bigger all the time.There are several benefits to building relationships as you promote your web site.One problem entrepreneurs have is opening up and showing their true self.You cannot hide behind your company name because people have no way of knowing who they are working with.But if you build relationships, people know who they are working with.
December 28th, 2008 at 12:38 pm -
Ed said:
I noticed a weird trend where my traffic went up when I wasnt posting! Crazy but true.
I have been back into my site these past few weeks, trying to make sense of the huge raft of material, trying to monetise it. I just assumed that with 10000 uniques a month I would make money naturally. No!
I feel like i am starting again, but at least I have a big lump of material that I can edit and refocus.
December 30th, 2008 at 5:14 am -
freeadlists said:
Ed,
“I noticed a weird trend where my traffic went up when I wasnt posting! Crazy but true.”
Yes, I noticed that odd trend, too. Maybe the search engines interpret frequent posting on blogs as possible blog scraping.
December 30th, 2008 at 10:40 am -
Home Business Tom Lindstrom said:
Good post.What about learning from your competition? Is there any better way that visiting related blogs to yours and see how they have done things? DonĀ“t copy what they have done, learn from them and do it better.
December 31st, 2008 at 10:04 am -
Minnesota Attorney said:
Ziff, good point: blogs that are informative or entertaining attract many more readers and comments.
January 1st, 2009 at 9:02 am -
AverageGal said:
It’s simply amazing how many blogs are popping up each day. The competition is only going to get larger as blogging becomes more popular. So how do you separate yourself from the competition?
I believe that having a true passion about your blog niche is ultimately the key. Time and time again I’ve read and heard top bloggers convey that they would be writing about their blog topics even if they weren’t making any money. You need to enjoy what your blogging about, bottom line.January 6th, 2009 at 8:22 pm -
Mr Javo said:
I disagree with you with the main idea of this topic. Blogging is not about competing, it’s about networking.
If you try to compete with your fellow bloggers, you will be burying your blog! Networking is the way to be successful in this activity ;).
January 8th, 2009 at 8:10 am -
Rahul said:
cool , setting yourself apart is important in bogging. learn earn by fun this is blogging all about.
January 11th, 2009 at 11:12 am -
Minnesota Attorney said:
Mr. Javo, I agree with your point that blogging is about networking, but I think that we should recognize that competition exists in each niche and distinguishing your blog within a niche requires applying some of the principles in this post.
January 12th, 2009 at 8:43 pm -
Gennaro said:
Blogging, like life, is about networking and relationships. Build upon those and your blog has a major leg up.
January 21st, 2009 at 6:44 pm -
Troy - VIPMillionaireLeague said:
I like this. I have always wondered what exactly (not exactly) but what some concrete points where, concerning competition with other blogs. The “build relationships” part tripped me up, but I’m intrigued.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:11 pm -
pays to live green said:
It’s tough to separate yourself from the crowd of blogs out there. There are so many and so many good ones. I think the biggest factor is quality content. If you write quality content, no matter how many other similar blogs are out there, people will come. The factors you mentioned all are extremely important though, especially motivation. It can be hard when there are so many other things going on life, but you just have to persevere.
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:43 am -
seo india said:
Motivation always needed for any work and to maintain that motivation for competing with other very helpful you being week compare to others.
March 21st, 2009 at 12:05 pm -
Mp3 said:
I like this. I have always wondered what exactly (not exactly) but what some concrete points where, concerning competition with other blogs. The ābuild relationshipsā part tripped me up, but Iām intrigued.
June 13th, 2009 at 4:10 am -
gas card said:
The “it” factor is definitely important, for me its about being unique and setting yourself apart from the rest of the competition. What is your hook that draws people into your site, cookie-cutter rehash blogs just donāt quite cut it for me. Most people who have the initiative to make themselves seem unique and worthwhile, will have the motivation, other then that, just work on relationship building, etc.
-Randy
June 14th, 2009 at 7:49 pm -
Mind Ruin said:
Hey Mathew, I agree that you need to build strong relationships to have the edge over competing blogs. Thanks for all the other tips you give as well.
June 18th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
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