Starting to blog is an exciting time. Buying a domain, setting up the website, choosing a theme. It’s like Christmas when you were a kid all over again. Then reality strikes. Like going back to school after the holidays, you soon realize there are gonna be big boys in the schoolyard! According to Blogpulse, in January of this year, there were 126 million blogs on the internet. A staggering number, I think you’ll agree. So how, in hell’s name, is little Joe Bloggs from Nowhereville going to get noticed amongst that lot?
Difficult if not impossible to achieve. So where do you go for advice? Who will you pay to get the information you need to blog to the world and make the world want to read you? Well, for one thing, it’s not me. I’m in the same boat as you. Writing and writing and writing. Day after day, week after week, month after month with little or no recognition save for the (very welcome) encouragement from ezine.
Sure the guys at the top say, ‘stick with it, and eventually, you’ll come good, but you’re in competition with 126 million blogs, for God’s sake! I racked my brain for an edge and decided to frame one question and send it to my favorite bloggers. That question was: What was the defining moment in your development as a blogger/entrepreneur that raised you from an average ‘Joe’ to an A-list blogger?
I contacted 19 bloggers and got replies from 5. Disappointing? Maybe, I suppose, but these people are busy, so I’m not going to hold it against the guys who didn’t reply, and I’m certainly not going to name them. I wonder what I’d do in the same situation?
The first to reply was from Joost de Valk, who did so in under two hours which was totally awesome from a guy at the top of his game. Joost is well known in the blogging community, especially as an SEO expert and Internet Marketing Strategist for over 300 companies. He graciously replied with the following email:
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Thanks for reaching out! I’ve never really considered myself an A-list until like a year ago, and I still think there are loads of bloggers who are “more A-list” than I am. Getting there has been mostly a process of incremental growth, though, with some specific moments that boosted a bit harder. Some moments that come to mind are my WordPress SEO article being released and the release of Quix, but in reality, these are all just small steps on a larger road.
It takes work to become a well-known blogger, a lot of work, and something that makes you unique; in my case, that’s my combination of coding skills with search & online marketing knowledge and experience. (Joost de Valk October 31st, 2010)
The next to reply, also within a few hours, was Chris Garrett. To directly quote his website description, ‘Chris Garrett is a professional blogger, internet marketing consultant, new media industry commentator, writer, coach, speaker, trainer and web geek.’ I can also vouch that Chris is an excellent writer and communicator who provides some great content on his blog, which I recommend most highly.
His email was short and to-the-point but gave another clue as to the method employed to succeed in internet marketing, particularly in respect to collaborative exercises with other bloggers in your particular niche Vinzite. I wouldn’t define myself as an a-list blogger, more one of many in the middle of the pack. If I had to choose a defining moment in my blogging career, I would co-author the ProBlogger book with Darren Rowse. (Chris Garrett. Oct 31st, 2010)
I received the third email from Erica Douglass, whom I have followed quite closely since I embarked on my blogging adventure. Erica sold her web hosting business at the tender age of 26 for over $1 million and came to blogging with a definite plan to assist people along the road to success by providing some of the most valuable and ethically sound material that’s available.
