5 problems new bloggers face, and how to conquer them – Fred from Prairie Fire Canada

Today’s episode is a blog coaching call featuring new blogger Fred from Prairie Fire Canada, and the legendary blog coach/mentor Jillian from Montana Money Adventures. Jillian brings a GOLD MINE of knowledge for new and aspiring bloggers.

In this podcast (and the blog post below!), we dive into:

• the single biggest mistake new bloggers make
• how to WRITE like you SPEAK
• how to approach turning a blog…into a business
• balancing the hustle with real life 🙂

There were several really memorable moments from this call. Let’s dive in:

1 – “You can not wait for people to invest in you. You need to invest in other people.”

This is the single most important piece of advice that anybody has ever given me (and it was given to me 2 hours before I met my wife).

This ABSOLUTELY holds true for other aspects of life as well, such as business and blogging.

As a new (or hell, experienced) blogger, you can NOT wait for people to invest in you, collaborate with you, find you. You must be the one to get out there and make things happen.

This is so crucial.

• Guest posts
• Traffic
• Sponsorships
• Collaborative projects
• Fans/followers
• Pinterest group board invites

These will not happen to you on accident.

Opportunities will happen based on your gumption to put yourself out there and make things happen.

As a marketer (of both your blog AND yourself)…this is one of the biggest fears you’ll need to work through every single day.

Don’t wait for others to invest in you. Invest in other people.

2 – The single biggest mistake new bloggers make…

is NOT knowing exactly who they’re writing to.

Jillian nailed this one…

As bloggers, it is OUR job to sheperd out readers from where they currently are, to where they want to be.

The transformation, as problogger Darren Rowse would put it.

It’s vital we nail down two specific things:

1. Our “avatar,” I.e. a fictional representation of our EXACT target reader, and
2. Their transformation.

We take broke people to financial independence. We take new bloggers to experienced difference makers making bank. We take nervous new mothers to strong and wise parents.

Even though let’s be honest: parenting will ALWAYS be hard as hell 😉

If your content isn’t producing a transformation for somebody, it doesn’t matter if you get a million page views in month one, you won’t get them in month 2.

3 – Another huge mistake new (all) bloggers make…

is spending entirely too much time on site design.

I get it. You have tastes, and a very specific idea of WHAT you want your new site to look like. However, in the grand scheme of things, your blog design is FAR less important than whether or not your content matters to people.

I mean just look at https://www.getrichslowly.org/ (sorry J.D. I love you buddy). Insanely big blog, insanely loyal readers, site design is basic.

WordPress theme Pro Tip: If you want to make it easier on yourself when you’re just learning WordPress, blogging, etc….choose a theme with a lot of white space. You can search for “minimal” or “typography” themes. These themes will likely be much quicker to get up and running, and look better with a minimal amount of work.

4 – How to write like you speak

Fred had heard from friends that his blog posts didn’t seem to convey the same PASSION as he had when he spoke to other people.

This is a real pain for most bloggers, and the answer kinda sucks:

How do I write more like I speak?

You don’t.

At least not at first. It takes a LOOOONG time to “find your voice.” Maybe even years. This is something millionaire blogger Grant Sabatier said on our podcast interview as well.

Writing is a muscle, and it takes a long time for you to be able to sit down and BANG OUT blog post after blog post….without thinking about the actual writing aspect.

Your voice comes with time. Be patient, and do you the best you can to WRITE every single day.

Build your writing muscles.

5 – How to transition into running a business from your blog

Honestly, this depends entirely on your goals.

Are you like Bobby Hoyt, who is aiming to build an 8-figure empire from his blog? Or like J from Millennial Boss, who is mainly seeking a steady flow of income so she can focus on the things she wants to do in life?

Those two approaches require two totally different monetization strategies (and marketing strategies too).

Knowing EXACTLY how you want your business to go, and knowing your revenue goals, is the 1st step to turning a blog into a business.

Without writing another 3,500 words on this topic (which this could easily turn into), let’s throw out 2 different strategies for both short-term and long-term monetization:

Long-term big bucks –>

Create a brand that can evolve into much more than just readers consuming blog content.

Brand is kind of a terrible term though. Ask 100 people what “branding” means for their business and you’ll get 120 answers…

For now, let’s leave it as two things:

1. Create something bigger than yourself
2. Expand into different territories and/or products.

Bigger than yourself – have guest contributors (or guest posters). Tie in your brand identity (tone, language, logo, colors, graphic/pin style, etc to across EVERY channel.

Build a truly unique (and I mean that in the true sense of the word) identity, and will be easier to offer paid products down the road (as it’s totally common for a BRAND to sell stuff. Not so common for a common blog to sell things)

Short-term medium bucks –>

The FASTEST way to make money blogging is to perfect one or two specific skills, and then find other entities willing to pay you to perform them. I.e. Freelancing.

Want to keep it in blogging?

Great! What are you really good at? (or heck, what do you WANT to get really good at?)

• graphics? Pin design?
• writing?
• copywriting?
• hustle-style 1 to 1 promotion?
• Pitching/outreach? (Yes, people pay for this all the dang time)

Choose 1 or 2 skills you’re good at, then spend some time FINDING other people who will pay you to PERFORM those skills.

Pro Tip: Wondering how to FIND those people? This won’t be a satisfying and easier answer…but the truth is BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS with others bloggers is going to be the best way to eventually discover blogging clients.

Yes, it could take a while, but putting a focus on building relationships almost ALWAYS pays off 10x in the long-run. (Short term? Start with your network and ask for referrals! Tell people WHAT you’re trying to find, specifically, and ask if they know anybody.)

New Blogger and still with me?

Or heck, a member of the DYET and just looking for some extra juice?

I’ve put together over 35,000 words for the New Blogger Bootcamp: A 10-day free course PACKED with step-by-step walkthroughs for new (and somewhat new) folks.

Grab it here!