Guest Post by Jedha Dening
A few days ago it was my blog's one-year anniversary over at Paleo Weight Loss Coach, woohoo!!! It’s really an exciting achievement to get this far. 😀
For a couple of years I spent so much of my time confused about what I wanted to do, jumping from one thing to another, and busying myself with ‘learning’.
Or maybe it was getting lost and more confused, LOL.
If you are in the same boat, I’m sure you can relate. 😉 But then one year ago I decided to stop procrastinating, make a decision, put my head down, do the hard work, and create the vision I wanted...
I thought I'd share a few things I've learned along the way.
10 Things I’ve Learned My First Year of Blogging
1. There is a lot to learn, but it's better to stop 'just' learning and start 'doing' what you are learning as you go.
2. It's scary and nerve racking, but just throw yourself in there and put yourself out there anyway.
3. You feel like jumping ship along the way (several times) but sticking to one thing is what will bring results. You have a better chance of 'making it' with one thing over time because if you don't apply yourself you are just dreaming.
4. Consistency with your routine is very important.
5. You can surprise yourself at what you can do - if you just do it!
6. You really have to enjoy what you're doing because if you are anything like me it will become an obsession and you will spend A LOT of time on making your business a success.
7. This stuff really works and you can make money online, but you probably won't make a million overnight like many internet marketers tell you.
8. The long haul is the hard part but never lose sight of how far you've come. We all want it faster, quicker, more...but we have to have patience and keep doing the things that will get us there. The law of delayed gratification! Keep sowing the seeds and the harvest will come.
9. Use Lynn’s private brainstorming forum. This is my ONE go-to place for info. Read stuff; then apply it. Ask as many questions as you can, even if you think they are stupid or out there.
10. Being part of a supportive community is awesome! You NEED somewhere you can get stuff out of your head because your partner gets tired of listening to you. 🙂
My one piece of advice… stop procrastinating, stop thinking about it, stop saying I can’t, stop looking at everything ‘out there’, make a decision, and just take action and do it!
I really thank everyone in the ClickNewz Community for their support, help, and input during this first year of blogging. And a BIG heartfelt thanks to Lynn for setting the overall vibe in the community as one of openness, support and encouragement.
And an even BIGGER heart felt thanks to Lynn for all her input and advice. I followed her methods and advice - and have taken my site from start to profit...
Happy Birthday Blog! 😀 ~Jedha
About Lynn Terry
Excellent guest post by Jedha about something most of us have fallen prey to. The "Easy Button" only works on TV, online &/or offline marketing requires time, effort, focus and even a bit of luck in picking a profitable niche.
Such a good point Robert, there definitely is no "easy button" even though we'd all prefer it that way 🙂
Excellent post and advice, Jedha and great to see it as a guest post.
Caroline
Thansk for reading Caroline 🙂
Hey Jedha,
It would appear that you are following Lynn in your writing style as well.
Nice post and congrats on your first year milestone. Wishing you continued future success.
smiles, 🙂
Gary
I haven't tried to follow Lynn's writing style but I do observe the way successful people write and try to model it. Thanks for your support 🙂
Wonderful guest post from Jedha and good reminders for us all! I thoroughly loved reading it and thank you Lynn for letting Jedha share her one-year thoughts and lessons as an encouragement for us all. I love the 'from start to PROFIT' part! Oh yeah!
Glad you picked up on that one Sherie, I'm so glad you found it encouraging 🙂
Congrats on your blog anniversary! Thanks for sharing your experience. It's always best to learn from others' experience rather than theory.
Glad you enjoyed it Christian and hope it gives you some new found inspiration 🙂
Hi Jedha,
Awesome and inspirational message you have shared here. I have many times falling into the procrastination zone and not easy to be back again.
But with your post today, I felt a new energy to do it without thinking about others and as you say I will be going over the FORUM more to learn and also apply
Thank you Jedha and best wishes
That's so good James! We all fall into the procrastination zone sometimes. I find setting myself targets and deadlines helps. Even if that simply means writing 3 blog posts and I push myself to get them done. Thatnks for your wishes, same to you 🙂
Hey Jedha
Thanks for the great encouragement, great post, and great help.
Thanks for reading Ian 🙂
Hello Jedha,
Excellent blog post. I am in the process of moving my blog to another blogging platform and I have been dragging my feet a little because all the stuff I have to do. Your blog post is a good reminder to just keep on moving no matter what.
It's all about small consistent steps Maketta because there is ALWAYS a million things to do. Good luck with the blog moving process, hope it all goes smoothly 🙂
Great Job, Jedha. Love to hear the updates on the forum about the progress on your blog, as they are very inspiring (and educational). 🙂
Glad you shared your awesome website success story here on the Clicknewz blog, so more people can see the great job you've done and continue to do.
Cheers!
Thanks for following along Missy 🙂
Jedha,
Congratulations! Your journey has been inspiring!
Congratulations getting through the first year. I believe your point about doing, not just spending time learning is spot on. It is easy to convince yourself that you are working when really you are acquiring knowledge - they are not the same thing. One thing that I have learned recently is that you need to decide which direction you are going and then measure everything against that. A mission statement works very well for that.
I can definitely relate to convincing myself that I'm working when all I'm doing is acquiring knowledge. In fact, I dragged my feet the first year I decided to venture online doing nothing but reading, sort of implementing, and getting more confused than ever. Writing down my goals in a mission statement has really helped by buckle down the past few months - that, and removing myself from forums and unsubscribing to all of the newsletters that were only serving to clutter my inbox (really anything that was causing information overload).
I really enjoyed this post - reading it only helped affirm my goal of staying consistent and just getting out there and 'doing' it!
I'm sure loads of us can relate to it! Busying ourselves does not equal productivity and getting distracted on the internet is VERY easy. Great point CaterpillarArts-unsubscribing and removing yourself from distractions is also something I do 🙂
Consistency plays a big role in a blogger's success. A lot of bloggers blog in their own time and from their own home, relishing the idea that they work for themselves, but they need to realize that once they have an established base of readers and advertisers, these people have expectations of them. For bloggers, this comes into play when dealing with the frequency of their posts, and so on.
Congratulations on your anniversary Jedha 🙂 Your persisitence and hard work have paid off, and you are such an inspiration! Thank you for sharing your journey with us-- your future is bright!
Thanks Jill, being consistent and persistent are definitely 2 key factors to success 🙂
Congratulations on your blog's anniversary, and especially because you've worked hard and made it a success.
Your tips are great and I'm very pleased for you.
Rhonda
Thanks Rhonda for the congrats 🙂
Also offer my congrats on the one year anniversary. As I leave Dunkin Donuts this morning I am probably not a power user of your weight loss information. Although I could use the info.
However, I absolutely love the great advice on business and blogs you offer on this site. So I will keep eating my donuts and digesting your articles.
Thanks and keep up the great work.
Wayne Melton
Don't eat too many donuts Wayne, the business mind is clearer when we eat clean food 🙂
Hey Jedha, congratulations for successful completion of your blogging year and I must say reading your article was quite inspiring. I too am thinking of giving my career a kick start but was seriously confused with what to begin. I think blogging might help my situation too. Thanks for all the tips that you outlined, I might be needing them on and off, and I will make it a point to use Lynn's 'private brainstorming forum' to enhance my performance.
Glad you found it inspiring James. Blogging will help your career for sure but just like anything in life, it takes the commitment and dedication to make it work. I wish you the best of luck 🙂
Nice post Jedha! I especially agree with the "stick to one thing" line of thought. There is no use jumping around before you have made the most out of what you have.
I learned that from Lynn. She teaches 'take one site from start all the way to max profit'. It's about time I started listening to good advice 🙂
Ah, the many pitfalls of business ownership. These are all great points.
Among the most important are the ones pertaining to "just do it", stop looking "out there" and "stay consistent".
Easier said than done, especially for those with a full time job, doing an Internet based business on the side. It IS possible 🙂
I definitely IS possible, with a good plan of action and pushing yourself to do it. If we want something bad enough, we will make it happen 🙂
Excellent post jedha!
Thanks for sharing your journey and expriences, it is very encouraging. you have my congratsulations on your first year aniversary and good luck in the future!
Thanks for the encouragement Alex, thanks for taking the time to wish me luck, same to you 🙂
Great post, really nice to hear about your experiences, I think these are great tips especially for any beginners. Many people will be able to relate to this so thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the post Jedha!
I must give a shout out for all of those 10 "things" that you learned, but especially #1 Learn as you go and #4 Consistency with your routine is important. I don't know how often it is that I tell my own students about being consistent, but I'll just bet I sound like a broken record!
Thanks again.
Happy Anniversary to your blog, Jedha! That is wonderful news!You point out so many great tips that many people face when starting a blog. Ironically, most people think they are facing the issues alone and that no one else has ever before experienced them! Thanks for paving the way!
Hey Jedha - such a great post, and so true too, but remember, IM's dont' say you "Will" make millions online, they only say you "can" - LOL
🙂 See ya at problogger babe!
Congratulations on your one year blogoversary! That first year just flies right on by. You've been doing great work with it and I've enjoyed watching the whole vision come together for you. Thank you for sharing your journey with us 🙂
Hey Jedha congrats for your achievement. I personally know how it feels to achieve something after struggling for long. I would like to tell you that I too had been at war with my mind thinking what would be the right career move for me. The answer came late but it did come at last. I too have celebrated the 1st anniversary of my salon last month and believe me it felt great.
Jedha, congratulations on your big achievement. I've been watching as you climbed that ladder to reaching your goals. Now, I'll be following your lead and moving forward to actually making some money on my diabetes site.
Being involved in Lynn's Elite Mastermind has already helped me, because for over 1 year I have been procrastinating, grabbing those bright, shiny objects, and generally fooling myself into thinking I was actually working.
So thanks for the great tips, you certainly set a fine example.
Congrats Jedha! I love numbers 6, 8, and 9. They are so true. If it's not fun, don't do it.
I shared this article with my teen. Thanks so much for the inspiration.
Hey Jedha,
So happy for you! Love your blog by the way. You've done an awesome job. But more importantly you're such an inspiration.
Thanks for sharing...
Liz
First of all, congrats on doing well on Paleo! Long time Mark\'s Daily Apple reader, I\'ll have to go check out Paleo Weight Loss Coach. Second, these tips are great. I went from a creative writing grad to a manager at a marketing agency within a few months, and one of my duties is blogging for our agency and for our clients. It\'s much larger undertaking than I originally thought. The science of blogging is constantly changing, the best practices target is always moving, and I\'ve learned a heck of a lot while assembling an airplane mid-air.
Good post Jedha. I have to agree with #3 the most. I've got a wicked case of ADD. So if I don't see results quickly, I tend to want to jump ship and go elsewhere. However, as you point out, the long haul is where you see profits. Good for you! Cheers!
Jedha, congratulations on your success. The biggest step is to just get started. I was "going" to start an internet business for 5 or 6 years before I finally decided, a couple of years ago, to just do it. Sure wish I wouldn't have waited so long!
Excellent post.I agree that consistency play a very big role for a bloggers success.Jedha this post has been quite interesting for me.I firmly believe that this post will help me keep a tab on my consistency and check my performance each day.I also felt inspired reading that the readers are expecting something from the blogger and this promotes a sense of belonging to me
Excellent post and congrats. Not getting distracted and sticking to the course is key.
Jedha,
I loved your post! I think #4 and #6 are crucial for ANY business. I've visited your blog and I will be checking it out further as I have the time. Thank you so much for sharing with us. =)
Congrats to you with your 1 year of blogging! 🙂
Sorry to be so 'negative' but I'm suffering from point 3 and point 8. 😉
This blog post didn't really tell me anything new, so I'm surprised so many people are saying 'great post!' It tells me to work hard at it (...that might be motivational, but it lacks guidance)...just like every other internet marketing post. I'd like to see a 'great post' that says more, like:
How many articles were posted in your first year?
How many keywords were targeted? How many are ranking?
How much time did you spend back-linking?
Did you outsource work? What type of things did you outsource?
When were profits realized? What kind of profits are we talking about?
I wish someone would write an article like that. 😉
Eileen