The 5 Big Hurdles Facing Bloggers On The Path To Revenue

So, you want to build up a popular blog. You want to make some money from it. You want to feel that sense of accomplishment. Plus, this stuff is fun!

So, you sit down at the computer. You open up Firefox. You check your email. You check Google Reader. You read other blogs and get some ideas for your own blog. This is exciting stuff!

Oh, crap. It is late. Time for work, life, sleep.

Next day, perhaps you feel like tweaking your blog. So, you spend a few hours on it, messing around with code. You research PHP stuff. You go through a ton of trial and error with your Wordpress theme. After many hours, your blog might look a little different. But, traffic hasn’t changed. You haven’t even written anything yet.

Oh, crap. It is late. Time for work, life, sleep.

Get up. Do it all over again. Fast forward a few months – same shit.

This is the typical blogger.

The wheels spin, but the scenery is the same.

Something has to change.

Well, I’ve identified what I believe are the 5 big reasons why most bloggers never get off the ground. Here they are…

#1 – Shiny Object Syndrome

Bloggers are particularly prone to this disease because of the reflexive addiction to reading other blogs and hanging out at the Twitter water cooler.

You see so many interesting things out there that you end up consuming media all day rather than producing any of your own. And the stuff out there is SHINY! Attention is the new currency out there and everybody is vying for it. But, at the same time…

Your attention is a valuable resource. Spend it wisely.

#2 – Self Doubt

For some reason, many people have this hidden demon over their shoulder that injects negative thoughts.

You see something cool. Your mind starts racing at the possibilities. Then, this little demon rises up and tells you it is a waste of time, it’ll never work – blah, blah, frickin blah.

Don’t be your own worse enemy. Even if it takes a serious push on yourself, learn to disagree with this stupid little voice, realize it is BS, and go against it.

The road to success is often the least comfortable.

#3 – Over Analysis

I see too many bloggers making big things out of small things. A lot of this is because of my next point (see below), but the fact remains – you’re making way too big a deal of things.

Thinking about things isn’t the same as doing them. I, myself, fall into this trap sometimes. But, I’ll also tell you from experience that the most forward movement I had in my business was when I practiced “shoot from the hip” blogging. In other words, just do it until it is good enough and throw it out there. Don’t think about it.

The world rewards fast movers and action takers. People who over-analyze get left in the dustbin of history. Or get stuck in academia and hide behind a bunch of useless acronyms after their name.

Success gravitates to people on the move.

#4 – Do-It-Yourself Paralysis

I see this ALL the time.

Bloggers get hung up on the technical part of setting up a blog. Or tweaking it. Or making little graphics. And because they are so averse to parting with any cash, they don’t outsource.

I got the cover of the Six Figure Blogger Blueprint designed, with multiple sizes, both flat and 3D versions – all for $35. When you think about the time I would have had to spend to do that – ugh. I’m also guessing that most people who read this post are able to afford to do the same thing I did. It is just a matter of finding the right person, but you can find people who will work on pretty much any budget.

If you are honestly at a point where spending ANY money to speed up the process is just out of the question, then I would recommend you just change your assumptions on what you need done. Realize the blog doesn’t have to look perfect. Just make it good enough. Some of the most read blogs out there look like hell. 🙂

It is easier than ever to outsource. Programmers and designers are out there practically falling all over themselves looking for clients. If you are AT ALL serious about making things happen as a blogger, then stop doing everything yourself! It is NOT expensive to outsource.

Sure, you may deal with some speed bumps when dealing with other people. However, you get better at it over time.

Every successful entrepreneur is where they are today because they learned this lesson. The longer you cling to the idea that you should do everything yourself, the longer you are delaying your success.

Trying to do stuff you’re not good at is the most efficient way to fail.

#5 – Dreaming, Not Doing

Some people love to read blogs about making money rather than actually go do the work to make money. They’d rather hunt for a magic bullet, reading blogs and sales letters full of big dollar signs. In other words, they’d rather dream about it than actually do it.

As a person who creates information products, I see this all the time. People will buy one of my programs, full of hope, then the excitement fizzles when the work starts.

Marketers will sell the dream and the hope. There isn’t anything wrong with that, because that’s what the customer is shooting for. But, you as the customer need to be aware that the ACTUAL business of making money requires real work.

Successful people dream, then hustle to make the real world match that dream. Unsuccessful people dream, then blame the world when it doesn’t work out by itself.

The Truth About Making Money Online

The truth is that making money online is actually more about proper mindset than it is tactics. Those who do it aren’t always the smartest people in the room.

The biggest barriers out there aren’t traffic, niche selection, or any of the rest of it. At the end of the day, it comes down to mindset. The rest follows.

So, let me know what you think!

As you guys can always expect from me, I tell it like I see it. But, I want everybody to achieve their goals, both online and off. My job, though, is to help bloggers. And too often, I’m seeing bloggers fall prey to these things.

I look forward to hearing from you.