Why Bloggers Rule the World
Coca-Cola recently flew me to Shanghai business class and treated me like a queen because they “liked the tone and topics of my blog.” It seems incredible, even to me, but it’s true ~ check out my Shanghai slideshow if you don’t believe me.
That trip to China practically saved my blogging life because it took me a while to kick start my blog and it’s been a roller coaster ride.
I set up my blog as an experiment in the vague hope of finding a literary agent for my fiction manuscript. At this point I need to confess that I was a bit smug. I thought that if anyone could succeed at blogging it had to be me with my 15 years of web design experience and a proven track record with web copywriting.
But them I fell back to earth.
Unfortunately, with all the excitement of starting my blog, I didn’t draw on the web design experience my clients benefited from when it came to my own blog. In fact, my blog was a case study in how not to blog:
- I had no real plan.
- I threw the design together myself in 30 minutes.
- I changing topics three times.
- I changed my domain name three times too.
In retrospect it’s no surprise that six months after I started blogging my blog was tanking.
Check out this graph of my RSS feed subscribers and you’ll see what I mean. Six months into my blogging journey I still had less than 100 subscribers.
But I’m a proud and stubborn woman. The one thing I did know was that blogging’s a long term plan and in the short term the benefits will be quite limited. So to make sure I stuck at blogging I set myself a challenge of getting 1000 subscribers after the first year. I like a challenge and I work well to deadline so that helped me pull my finger out and really assess how I could do it.
Having tried just about every other method known to blogging for getting new readers including, but not limited to forums, networking, commenting, Facebook, Twitter and begging my friends to sign up I eventually saw the light and started guest posting.
Fortunately all that commenting, retweeting and networking with other bloggers paid off and I was able to persuade Darren Rowse at Problogger and Leo Babauta at Zen Habits into featuring my posts on their uber-popular blogs.
The first time my one of my guest posts got published on a big blog I thought my stat counter had broken because it was rushing up at such unprecedented speed. Check out this spike:
I was still naive at that point but I quickly twigged on and started guest posting as much as I could, cutting down blog posts on my own blog so I had more time to write guest posts.
During this time I was constantly tweaking my blog, trying to improve the conversion rate of new readers into subscribers and praying that I could reach my goal. If I didn’t I’d promised to hang up my blogging hat for good but I really didn’t want to do that, I’d fallen in love with blogging and there was no looking back.
Suffice to say I met my goal of 1000 subscribers after 12 months of blogging and am still blogging. In fact after all the chopping and changing I’ve only had my blog at the current Get In the Hot Spot domain name for 10 months and now have a grand total of around 1,400 subscribers – about 60% of them to the RSS feed and 40% email subscribers.
These days my blog is focused on entrepreneurship, blogging and success, three topics that are dear to me and increasingly overlap in the real world too.
But it wasn’t until Coca-Cola contacted me and took me to Shanghai for a social media conference with bloggers from Australia, China, Singapore, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan that I began to appreciate the real opportunities that can come from blogging.
And these days I’m more interested in developing my own ebooks to sell through my blog than I am in finding a literary agent and I’m spending more and more time researching the relationship between bloggers and brands.
Bloggers and Brands
While the popular press remains sceptical about blogging big companies like Coca-Cola are taking bloggers seriously. That’s because one influential blogger has the power to sway their readers that an advert never will.
As social media grows blogs are becoming our preferred means of getting information.
These days we want advice, including product advice, from real people, people who get us and who we can relate to, not from adverts or boring experts.
So blogging is becoming a lucrative business and a new found testing ground for marketers with smart companies following social media developments and forging alliances with bloggers.
But no matter what perks are offered bloggers need to remain true to themselves and their readers first. It’s a precarious balance where bloggers need to make sure they don’t sell out while also making money from their blog.
The best part is that now bloggers can talk to large corporations and be listened to. Instead of being voiceless consumers, bloggers are being empowered and asked to share our opinions and play a part in shaping the future of products and how companies do business.
Money is power and big businesses are powerful but they need bloggers to help them maintain that position so that makes bloggers powerful too.
That’s why bloggers rule the world and why I’m proud to be a blogger. At the moment blogging’s still spurned by the general public and the media as a fad, a waste of time and a sad activity for friendless geeks.
It won’t last. We bloggers are in on the secret already but one day I predict that everyone will agree: bloggers really do rule the world.
Do you think bloggers are getting more respected and powerful? How do you plan to use your influence as a blogger?
Annabel Candy motivates people to succeed in life and work. She writes about self employment, blogging and self improvement at Get In the Hot Spot. If you check it out and subscribe for free updates by RSS or email she promises to keep you motivated on your road to success.
Wow! You are all over the internet. Another great post.
I especially like the transparency that you display. We can see your journey and setbacks. It give hope to those who are trying to do the same.
Thanks Annabell
Hi Randall, great to hear you find it motivfating! I hope your blogging brings you as many opportunities as mine has me:)
Annabel you are an inspiration, for sure. As you know my blog is about my journey to 60 years of age, and now I’m into the beyond. I want women, and men too, to realize that age is just a number. It’s so much about attitude and how you continue to live and enjoy life that matters most! Even when you’ve had difficulties along the journey, you have to rise above it and carry on. You’ll be so much better for it!
Thanks for sharing your blog journey!
Great Post
now, that’s a very intriguing and inspiring story. I was wondering how Annabel is using her blog in combination with an autoresponder list system [if any] to provide value and squeeze revenue from her audience… is you’re reading this, please respond
Great stuff Annabel. I too would be interested in your response to Codrut’s question about how you’re using your autoresponder and blog.
This is nice hope to read more info about it
Hi Annabel,
An intriguing post and motivating. I now have one more reason to continue blogging, because it is the best platform ever conceived for an individual “to publish” and build a following and a presence, and working towards being noticed.
Giofranco
Hi Annabel,
Awesome post – very inspiring. The greatest advantage of blogging I think is that it cuts across all markets and niches and it is such an inexpensive way to set up one’s own “online real estate voice”. I too believe that those of us who are already blogging have already discovered the key to future personal and business power.
~Marcus
Hi!
Off-course you bring the post with depth on the life-cycle of your blog that how you overcame and achieved grace in the web. You have a position now which separate you from so called struggling blogger. The worth thing you are giving here is only ‘mentioning’ about ‘guest posting’ on already stable and famous blogs and (the fact) who only accepts post from known or least known than them not from a newly created or newbie like me, the reason behind is ‘you know already’. Rest from the point ‘guest posting’ sorry to say that the particular post shows only the stats of your blog. No tips for a blogger. No tricks, no techniques and I am not forgetting to mention no motivation. But I visited to your blog and found some interesting topics, which are really worth.
This post kind of resoonates with me….I am a qualified journalist, but I am very into ‘citizen journalism’ and I think that having a ‘real voice’ rather than just an expert voice is so important in the democratic process…
I run my own citizen journalism foodie site
http://www.plentyonyourplate.com
Great Journey on your post, My blog is also about success it seems hard at first…. getting small subscriber… but it worth when you see the traffic increased
Hey Annabel, it’s awesome to see that persistence pays off.
1000 subscribers is a awesome target to reach. Do you blog everyday or just randomly?
Hi Barbara, yes, I think we do keep getting better with age. Brilliant that you can share this through your blog.
Jabin and Ola thank you! And thanks for leaving a comment too:)
Hi Codrut and Jim, I don’t use email auto-responders! I reply to all my emails personally – old school but each reader is important to me and deserves a considered and individual reply. I’m not comfortable with squeezing money out of people either. I prefer to build a loyal following by providing useful and actionable information.
Hi Giofranco, I agree with you, keep up the good work:)
Hi Marcus, thanks for the great comment, that’s inspiring too. I hope to use my “power” in a responsible and ethical way:) It’s a great position to be in and I wish you every success.
Hi Maheroo, I think this post should motivate people to keep blogging and that is one of the main problems with blogging so I hope this post provides a useful service and keeps bloggers blogging:) There’s a link to an article on guest posting on my blog and great you’ve found more concrete tips there:) Thanks for visiting it!
Hi Chris, thank you – glad you heard my voice and hope your blog brings you as much fun and as many opportunities as mine has me!
Hi Andika, yes, it is hard in the beginning, perseverance is key.
Hi Terje, thanks for your questions. Currently posting twice a week on Tues and Fri – it’s as much as I can do at the moment and still allow time for writing guest posts and running my web design business and the three kids and husband:) Busy times!
Annabel,
Another helpgul guest post from you. Bloggers rule! I’m glad to be blogging at my age. I think I’m going to follow in your foot steps and go for a goal of 1K subscribers in one year. Perhaps I should begin guest posting more frequently
-Sean
Annabel,
Another helpful guest post from you. Bloggers rule! I’m glad to be blogging at my age. I think I’m going to follow in your foot steps and go for a goal of 1K subscribers in one year. Perhaps I should begin guest posting more frequently
-Sean
Thanks for sharing guys, good luck
wow, this is really an interesting article, thanks for sharing this.
hi Annabel, thank you for replying
Hmm… what’s wrong with “squeezing” money out of people if they like you and your “product or service” recommendations?
and email responders help you put that “on auto-pilot” while keeping your human interaction at the same, or higher level… just ask Pawan about how incredible easy, enjoyable and “profitable” [more in your readers benefit, than to you] it really is …
Thanks for another great article; MaxBlogPress really find ‘real’ people and articles for their site to motivate the rest of us.
Annabel thanks for some great ideas to structure into our blogs, and pointers to implement in growth.
Awesome post, I can totally see something like that happening. Thanks for getting a lot of heads back in the game.
Great post, very inspiring and motivating to keep going.
Fabulous that you give a no-holds-barred account of your journey and not some sweetened, glossed over version.
You definitely deserve the icing on the Coca Cola cake.
I agree, finding focus and developing a strategy for your blog is key. Without it, it goes nowhere. Definitely a lesson that I’ll take on board.
Well done and well deserved success.
When I am writing, I always try to remember that you never know who is going to read your blog. One day your traffic is terrible, but one of the producers from Oprah was a visitor…Hey, could happen!
That kind of thought, and stories like this, really keep me going!
Its nice to hear stories like this it makes you not lose hope..Thanks for sharing your successful story it also helps us to get ideas and experiment on our own.
Hi Sean, I’m cheering you on:)
Joan & Vitaly, great to meet you here and glad that motivated you.
Max, thank you! It’s been a rocky road. Sometime I wish someone would just hand me the results on a plate but then I wake up:)
Joshua, heck, why not Oprah herself?! Beautiful image isn’t it? Thanks!
If anyone is feeling a bit down then they want to read your post….fantastic. Getting started is the biggest problem/fear. Bit like the ball rolling down the hill, once it starts……BTW what a great trip!!
To your continued success.
Great story and I am glad you reached your goal of 1,ooo subscribers. I use adswaps they are a quick way to build up your list. And thanks for your success story it inspires everyone. Great post and keep on blogging!