The Biggest Mistake Bloggers Can Make

Blogging is one of the most competitive industries out there right now. Sure you can argue real estate, entertainment, and fitness are competitive industries but blogging is just everywhere. Even within those industries, there are bloggers. Yes, there are real estate agents that also blog. It’s crazy, there’s no escaping it!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m super excited about this because I’m a huge believer that everyone should have a blog but sometimes it gets to be too much, you know? Sometimes you just want to browse Instagram or your local drugstore without seeing a blogger pop up, but you can’t.

Here’s a fun scenario: You walk into Duane Reade only to see a familiar face on the Maybelline poster and low and behold it’s a beauty blogger. So then you find her on Instagram because you’re determined to know her life story and it turns out she’s livin’ the dream – jet setting here, vacationing there, getting gifts from all kinds of brands, buying herself a new car after she just got the keys to her new beachfront apartment… you get the picture.

While I love a strong independent female entrepreneur, getting sucked into their picture perfect lives on social media sucks. It sucks because it’s a huge waste of time wondering how someone got somewhere instead of trying to get there yourself.

the biggest mistake bloggers can make

There are 2 ways bloggers’ businesses suffer: 1. when they focus on what other people (bloggers in particular) are doing and 2. when they care what other people think about them. Here’s a little reminder that helps me with that last part…

What other people think of me is none of my business.

Truly. Who cares what other people think? Like I mentioned before, people hate on me all the time, (read this blog post for more on that) but it comes with the territory. People are going to have their opinions no matter what and there’s nothing you can do about it. I stopped trying to please people a long time ago and you should too.

Obviously you should care about your readers and followers to a degree but for the most part, don’t focus on other people’s opinions of you. It will drive you nuts.

You’ll also drive yourself nuts focussing on other people’s lives. While you’re sitting on Instagram living vicariously through a blogger’s fully paid for trip to Bora Bora, you’re losing momentum on your own stuff that will get you your own trip to Bora Bora.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

The more you focus on other people and what you don’t have, the more it takes away from using what you do have to get the things that other people have. I always say, if you want what someone else has, do what they do.

Do you think these bloggers and entrepreneurs sit around all day comparing themselves on Instagram? Probably not. I mean, sure they get tripped up every once in a while but they don’t obsess over it otherwise they wouldn’t be where they are today.

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what bloggers should do instead

The best thing you can do for your blog and business is to stay in your own lane. Worry about keeping your side of the street clean and hustling your ass off. Really. It’s the only way you’ll get to where you want to go.

Give all your attention to putting yourself out of business not being put out of business by other people. Doing this will force you to innovate your craft over and over again, which takes time and leaves little room to be thinking about what everyone else is doing.

Sometimes you need a new tactic to get the engagement up or the collabs you want, in which case you’d do some light blogger stalking. There’s nothing wrong with that. There is something wrong when you’re paralyzed by other blogger’s success. Don’t let that happen!

You should always be evaluating what and how you’re doing things and if you’re doing them to the best of your ability. But the only time you can look at other bloggers is to study their techniques and strategies and apply it to your own stuff. Then you can brainstorm ideas and start to develop products or services that are going to better the lives of your readers, (because that’s what the pros do).

 

What it comes down to is this: it’s your blog biz and only you can decide the best way to grow it, but I’ll tell you one thing it won’t happen by comparing yourself and dreaming of a life other than your own.

 

What was your biggest blogging mistake? Let’s chat in the comments!

xx