So I’ve been writing and blogging for over four years now.
And it has been a real struggle.
No doubt, business is tough. It’s tough for every entrepreneur.
As much as the responsibility is on me for my own success, sometimes, I wish I didn’t have to have it so hard.
To be honest, I blame a lot of the hardship on other so-called successful people I’ve encountered online.
They make a lot of money. They’re also well known in their field. But a lot of them are conniving douchebags.
I won’t give away the plot now. Just read on.
4 Good And Ugly Lessons I Learnt As a Struggling Blogger
1) Many entrepreneurs out there don’t produce their own work
I’ve no idea how many bios and ‘about me’ stories where I read of some blogger claiming they love what they do.
And then they outsource their writing completely to some dude from India for a low price. It is very doable with services like Fiverr around.
That to me is downright hypocritical.
The ugly: Yes many entrepreneurs do this. It’s rather disillusioning especially when they claim they’re really passionate. I think it’s one thing to accept guest posts, but it’s another altogether to say you love what you do but never do it. That’s lying. I was once approached by a writer to ghostwrite for him under his name at Huffington Post.
The good: Take pride in your work and do it yourself for authenticity’s sake. In today’s world, a customer can smell bullshit from a mile away. A good piece of writing comes from honesty and the highest feeling a writer puts in. People can feel it. They know it. They always do. So if you want to stand out, take the time and effort to produce your own work.
2) Talk is very cheap and people will exploit that
I once connected with an internet marketer. We were both initially sharing our entrepreneurial stories when he started criticising my blog to no end. He thought he was doing me a favour.
Then he said, “You’re lucky I can do this for now because I am on my break”, complete with a smiley face.
The ugly: People will use cheap talk, flowery language and appear really nice to you just so they can make you feel that they’re helping you, when they’re really not. This guy tried to sell me his coaching package right after that, which was ridiculously expensive. I ignored all his emails then.
The good: When somebody acts too nice to you for no reason, it means that they’re trying to sell you something or make use of you. Listen to your gut and follow your instincts. Don’t fall for it. Action speaks for itself. Use this to start connecting with the right people. Trust me, this will save you a lot of time and money.
3) Money is the only thing that matters to many entrepreneurs
I was once told, “If you know your product is going to help somebody, it’s your job to make the sale then.”
Then I was also told, “It’s okay to deliver an unfinished product. It can’t be perfect. This means your product will improve in the future!”
You can bet that many entrepreneurs exploit the latter idea. I know of some who lie outright on their sales pages just to make the sale.
The ugly: Yes, many entrepreneurs will use every tactic or psychological subtlety to make the sale. Some lie and scam openly. That’s just the way it is.
The good: Honestly though, there’s something you can learn here. Making the sale is that important in any business. Unless you’re non-profit, you need to make money. Inspiration and passion do not pay the bills. You should borrow ideas from these entrepreneurs and see how they make money. Don’t cheat people though.
4) The work is the goal
Acclaim author and blogger Ryan Holiday told me this himself.
“The work is the goal.”
The ugly: There’re no shortcuts in business. There’re no tricks or tactics that you can use to make you easy money or help you to go instantly viral. There’re many people in the business field who would make you false promises that you can achieve this.
It’s going to be tough and a huge struggle all the way.
The good: Use this idea to keep moving forward. The work is the only goal you should have. Wake up, get to work, finish up your daily tasks and you’re good. Stop working for a milestone, a breakthrough or hoping to be discovered. All of that will come, but only if you do the work every day.
Photo credit: Pexels.com
