Do I Have An Unfair Advantage As I Try To 10X My Blog Traffic?

I am now working on a “side hustle” to grow my RV blog traffic by 10X and do it openly so that you guys can see what I’m doing.

This is the 10X Challenge and so far I’ve only posted 2 updates here and here.

But, I got an interesting comment that I thought might be fuel for a post which others would find interesting. I will keep it anonymous, of course, but the question was:

Great that you are doing this project. But for some of us it would be better if you took the viewpoint of a person who does not have all your experience with all the high end softwares that you have. And doing it with a minimum of softwares. One difficulty beginners have is that they don’t have time or technical inclination to become proficient in the things you already know. You have a wealth of information. What are beginners or intermediate users going to need to do to get the same results you are trying to achieve?

The questions that here are:

• Does my experience give me an unfair advantage?
• Does the software that I am using make or break my chance of success? Is it the software that will help me achieve the goal?
• Does my time and technical skills give me more advantage over a beginner?
• Can others achieve the same thing?

All fair questions.  So, let’s dive in…

Does My Experience Give Me An Unfair Advantage?

Sure, I’ve been blogging for a long time now. I don’t have to spend much time figuring out how to do some things because I’ve done it time and time again already.

That is true.

However, my success at this project is in no way guaranteed. Not by anything other than… tenacity. I actually do not yet have the whole thing planned out and I don’t have any idea how long this will take.

The RV niche is something that I have a personal passion with, but I am not an “RV guru”. I am a nobody when it comes to the RV niche. From that perspective, I am pretty much in the same position as anybody else who might be looking to start a blog in a niche where they have a solid interest, but no presence.

The fact that I know something about blogging is actually WHY I have decided to do this project openly for you guys to follow along. To watch me figure my way through it.

How Much Does Software Choice Have To Do With My Chance Of Success?

He mentioned my “high end software” that I am using as if that gives me a higher chance of success. I assume he is referring to the fact that I set up using Thrive Theme Builder and that I am going to be using ConvertBox and Drip for list building.

I am going to be using the tools which I have. Since I have been in this business for a long time, I do have access to tools which the average beginner will not. Mind you, they could easily buy them, but it doesn’t mean they will. 🙂 I get that.

But, how much does it matter?

Truthfully, barely at all. At least not at this point.

I decided to re-build the site on Thrive Theme Builder. This just makes life easier. Thrive Theme Builder is pretty easily accessible to anybody. It is not expensive at all.

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Choosing Thrive Theme Builder will have no impact on the ease at which I can grow my traffic. It’s just a theme. The tool is designed to make things easier for me, but it has zero impact on chances of success. You could do the exact same thing with another theme (or even a free theme). You will just spend more time attending to tech matters rather than building your traffic.

ConvertBox? Drip as a marketing automation platform? Sure, your average beginner isn’t going to have that. But, likewise, it doesn’t make much difference yet.

Any list building tool will work. For most, I’d say use Thrive Leads if you’re just starting out. ConvertBox is awesome, but total overkill if you’re just starting from scratch.

Drip for email? Again, there’s no advantage. It is just an email list host at this point. If I didn’t have Drip already, I would probably use ConvertKit.

Related Reading: Check out my comparison of Aweber, Mailchimp and ConvertKit.

Most of the advantages of those tools are when it comes to CONVERSION. And right now, my RV site has nothing for sale. I’m just looking to build the list like anybody else.

Does My Time Or Tech Skill Give Me An Advantage?

Well, I giggled a bit at the idea that I have more time than the average beginner. 🙂

Happily RV went dormant for a year because I was so busy with the Blog Marketing Academy. BMA is a full-time job. Between BMA and living life, I have the same time constraints as anybody else.

It is true that if I decide to spend some time on Happily RV in the middle of my work day, I have no boss breathing down my neck. But, rest assured, it isn’t as if I can go “all in” on working on my RV site without BMA revenue being affected.

As for my tech skills…

Yes, I am definitely more tech inclined than most. And that helps when it comes to technical matters such as my ability to re-build the site theme in a few hours with Thrive Theme Builder.

But, then what?

The things that will need to be done to grow my traffic by 10X are not anything that is benefitted much by my tech skills.

I am going to need to produce content. I am going to need to communicate to my list. I am going to need to build some backlinks and network within the community.

Very little of that requires tech skill.

My tech skills help at the speed of getting the site up and running, but very little about 10Xing my traffic.

Here Are The Advantages I Do Have

I’m not going to pretend I have no advantages here.

First, I do know that some beginners can get mired down in technical stuff so much that they take their eyes off the ball. I don’t have that problem because I can do whatever I want with Wordpress. This does not give me an advantage when it comes to traffic generation except that I don’t mentally get distracted by it.

Too many beginners put too much emphasis on the tech. They get too serious about it because it all seems like such a mountain to climb. And they make their problem worse because they often refuse to spend any money whatsoever to get the right tools, so they end up wading in the deep end and drowning as they try to re-invent the wheel.

I’ve been doing this long enough that I don’t have any back-off in buying the right tools for the job. I happen to already have them. But, many beginner bloggers DO have enough money to buy the very few (and inexpensive) tools they need, but they just won’t do it for whatever reason.

My “advantage” is just that I don’t have that mental block there anymore.

Yes, I’ll be faster at the tech stuff than a beginner, but there’s tons of places to get help for that. Plus, I help people with tech stuff all the time.

Want direct, personal tech help to guide you through the speed bumps? As a LAB PRO member, you have access to numerous support resources and I’m always available to answer your questions.

Want us to just do it for you? That’s an option, too.

Next up…

I have been creating content for a long time now. I think I’m good at it. Not the best, but I’m OK. And, I also don’t have any “back off” on creating content and putting myself out there.

For instance, I know that video is going to be important in this project. Some beginners will have back-off at the idea of pointing their phone at themselves and recording a video. I do not. I’m perfectly comfortable on video.

Is this because of my equipment? No. Almost any RV video I’ve ever recorded and posted was just done with my iPhone. Nothing special at all. In fact, I cringe at some of the videos I’ve made. My recent one, I hadn’t even shaved! I plain forgot! 

So, the advantages are just… I don’t have the back-off.

I’m not going to get in my own way by being afraid of things or wondering about “what ifs”.

A lot of beginners waste a whole lot of time doing that. They take this stuff seriously. They worry about perfection. They worry about having anybody complain.

I don’t.

That’s my advantage.

One last thing…

Can Anybody Follow Along And Do What I’m Doing?

Yes. And that’s the point.

I will tell you about tools I use during this project, but in most cases, it won’t be the tools doing anything to 10X my traffic. It will be what I DO with those tools that matters. And you will be able to see it all.

To the degree that my “wealth of information” is an advantage because I don’t have to simultaneously learn everything as I do it… well, I get that.

But, that’s why I created THE LAB. To help beginners (and beyond) past all that and remove the barriers.

There’s no getting around the fact that it requires knowledge to do something. And obviously it would be rather weird to expect me to act like I don’t know anything as I execute this project. It also wouldn’t be much help to any of you.

So, I’m going to work on increasing my traffic on that site up to 1,000 page views per day. I don’t have some formula here. I’ll be figuring it out as I go, just like anybody else.

You’re welcome to follow along. 🙂

If I do something that you think is because of my experience and you don’t understand it, just ask. 🙂

If you have any suggestions for me on how I can make the 10X Challenge more useful to you, post a comment below and let me know!