I’m going to start this post off with a few blogging statistics.
- Technorati has indexed 133 million blogs.
- Only 1.1% of blogs online have posted in the last week.
- Approximately 130,000 new blogs are launched every day.
Looking at those numbers it sure seems like new blogs are almost set up for failure before they ever get started. So many blogs to compete with and and at the same time so many that seem to have already failed. The truth is blogging is not easy and every blogger will face numerous failures. Whether it be a missed opportunity, a post that gets criticized by commenters, a hosting outage or a factual oversight, failures are going to happen. How a blogger manages failure is what is important.
Notable Failures
To get us started in the right direction lets take a look at a few failures of successful people.
Michael Jordan - Cut from his high school basketball team.
Rush Limbaugh - Dropped out of South East Missouri State University his freshman year after failing 2 speech classes.
Walt Disney - Fired from a newspaper job because he didn’t bring original ideas and lacked imagination.
Kurt Warner - Worked at a grocery store stocking shelves for minimum wage after being cut by the Green Bay Packers.
Abraham Lincoln - Defeated in 8 elections and had 2 failed businesses.
To add some blogging perspective lets look at one of the top internet marketing bloggers Jeremy Schoemaker. Jeremy recently posted some of his failures at Shoemoney.com with a notable tongue in cheek comment that he is, “about 5 for 500 when it comes to successful ideas vs flops”.
Making it Work For You
So yeah, we’re all going to have moments of failure to challenge us. It’s what we do in response of failure that determines our fate. With that, lets take a look at what can be done to mitigate setbacks and use the failures we experience as a catalyst for success.
Look at The Big Picture
Setbacks can do a lot to derail momentum so it is important to have focus on the big picture. I recommend writing out short and long term goals and keeping them in a visible place. Reviewing these goals after a setback can help you shake out of a funk and refocus. When you blog hits Technorati’s top 50 no one is going to care about that crappy post you made 2 years ago.
Take Action
One of the biggest reasons for failure is doing nothing at all. Don’t spend all your time looking for the best niche or perfect posting posting opportunity because you probably aren’t going to find it. Get out there, take action and see what sticks. Personal experience will always trump anything you can learn on a blog or in a book.
Analyze and Improve
Once you realize and accept there will be failures along the way you need to focus on learning from them. Accepting that failures will happen is not enough. It is important to take a step back and ask: Why did the failure occur? What can be done to prevent it from happening again? How can I use this failure to improve?
Don’t Be Afraid
Most blogs don’t become successful by copying a blueprint from others. They take a unique approach and execute it in a fearless and compelling manner. If you like what you are doing there’s a good chance others will too. Playing it safe and laying up is only going to make the failure you are afraid of more likely.
Slow and Steady Wins The Race
Cliché but so very true. At the beginning of this post I mentioned only 1.1% of blogs have posted in the past week. That’s because blogging on a consistent basis is tough. People hit a road block for numerous reasons and just give up. Keeping a steady pace through the bad spots will get you ahead in the long run. Think of it like the stock market. There will be peaks and valleys but the long term trend is always up.
In the end it comes down to your mentality. If you want to succeed and are persistent enough you will eventually succeed despite any failures that occur along the way.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Tom Krause:
“There are no failures - Just experiences and your reactions to them.”
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