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The Most Critical Characteristic for Bloggers

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During my time as a blogger I’ve come to believe that the most important characteristic or quality that a blogger can have is simply to be proactive. Sure, having the knowledge of an expert or exceptional writing ability will help your chances of success, but knowledge and ability will do nothing for you if you don’t put it to work. Growing a successful blog is hard work and it requires dedication. The proactive blogger will be aggressively finding new opportunities and new ways of doing things while others will be watching from the sidelines.

Any ability, talent, or connection that blogging requires can be learned, gained, or improved by someone who is willing to make the effort. There are plenty of different ways to be successful or make money with a blog. What separates those that are successful from those that are not? In most cases it’s action.

There is so much free and readily available information online about making money that it’s tempting to want to learn more before jumping in. Sometimes you just need to take the plunge and learn as you go. You’ll almost always learn more from doing things yourself than you will from simply reading what others have to say (don’t take my word for it, test me and find out if I’m right).

4 Ways That Bloggers Benefit From Being Proactive:

1- Networking

All successful bloggers are surrounded by a strong network of other bloggers. Your network can help you in so many different ways, including links, comments, social media votes, advice, referrals, guest posts, collaboration on projects, and much more. There really is no limit to the impact your network can have on your success.

The best way to meet other bloggers is to be proactive. Keep in mind that other bloggers are also interested in networking, so it really is not as intimidating as it may seem at first. While a passive and non-assertive blogger will be missing out on great networking opportunities, you can be making an effort to build relationships with others in your niche.

2 – Learning from Mistakes

One of the biggest things that holds people back from being proactive is a fear of failure. While this is understandable, it’s also important to realize that your shortcomings provide the best learning opportunities. Personally, I’d rather fail first, learn from my mistakes and eventually succeed than never try at all because I was afraid of making a mistake.

3 – Learn Faster and Better

Most of us learn more effectively when we are proactive. This doesn’t just apply to learning from your mistakes. A good example would be on online tutorial, take for example a Photoshop tutorial. You could read the tutorial 5 times, and you would probably not learn as much as you would from reading it once and actively performing the tasks in Photoshop as you were reading.

Those who are active will have far more opportunities to learn and they’ll be able to gain knowledge much faster. The learning curve for a proactive blogger can be pretty short, and then all of the lessons that you have learned will be able to help you in all of your present and future blogging efforts.

4. You’ll Be Further Ahead in the Long Run

If you want to achieve your long-term goals, you have to start making steps towards achieving those goals. The proactive blogger will be willing to do what is necessary to grow the blog and accomplish the goals. Even if you make mistakes along the way you’ll be further ahead in the long run because of your willingness to take action.

4 Easy Ways That You Can Become More Proactive:

1. Just Get Started

If you have an idea for a blog that you have been putting off, just get started. Buy a domain name and sign up for web hosting. The idea will never come to fruition without you taking that next step.

2. Write Guest Posts

One of the best ways to build your network and gain some exposure for your blog is to write guest posts. By writing for other blogs you’ll be able to get to know other bloggers, provide something of value to them, start to get your name out there, and build some inbound links to your blog.

3. Comment More

Commenting on other blogs can bring traffic to your blog, but just as importantly it can put you into contact with other bloggers. All bloggers like to receive comments, so if you comments regularly people will take notice.

4. Get Involved with Social Media

It’s called social media for a reason, and it’s a great way to get to know other bloggers. StumbleUpon is especially good for networking with others. Once you’ve built a network and learned more about social media you will be able to use the two to build significant traffic for your blog.

What Else Would You Add?

I’m sure there are more benefits of being proactive and more ways to become proactive, so please add your suggestions. What has brought the best results for you?

Remember that blogging is an ongoing learning experience. None of us will ever be close to knowing everything, but those that are proactive will at least be able to put what they have learned into practice.

Steven Snell
 

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