When I was in high school, I ran the mile in a solid 15 minutes and 45 seconds! So speed demon I am not. In fact, I can still hear the voices from my Pee Wee baseball career shouting from the stands, “Run, Brandon, run! Faster, Brandon, run!” The 30 feet to first base was quite the distance!
One thing I do know about running is that there is a big difference between a sprint and a marathon. In a sprint, the goal is to get across the finish line as fast as possible. In a marathon, the goal is to get across the finish line alive and hopefully just slightly faster than the guy in second. One is all about the start, the other is all about the finish.
Blogging should be viewed as a marathon, not a sprint.
There are a lot of bloggers who start, but few who have a long term view in mind when it comes to their strategy. So we see a lot of burnouts and blogs left dying. Or we see schemers who label themselves as bloggers, but their primary goal is to make a lot of money fast, regardless of how much trust they lose in the process. Either way, it’s a sprint.
The two greatest factors in success, not only in blogging but in any field, are hard work and time. Look at the guys doing very well with blogging and you’ll normally find people who have worked hard over the long haul.
Here are a few thoughts about how to blog better for a long time to come…
- See your blog as an extension of your identity that you don’t want to allow to die prematurely.
- Pace yourself – retain some good ideas for next week.
- Feed yourself – make sure that you’re reading and observing so that your creativity is continually stimulated.
- Get help – network with peers, lean on their advice and assistance, and even their guest articles from time to time.
- Check your stats less often – don’t get discouraged that today you saw less visits than yesterday. Worry about a decrease over a month instead.
- Plan in advance – have a place to keep ideas, be it a task list, drafts folder, or a moleskine.
- Do it with purpose – answer the “why” question and think in terms of an ever-expanding influence.
Marathons are exhausting (I assume), but everybody I’ve ever known that has run one has considered all the training, conditioning and wearying run worth every ounce of energy expended once they cross the finish line. Keep your eyes focused out front!
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YES! Definitely. I wrote something similar a while back:
http://churchcrunch.com/there-is-no-overnight-success/
John (Human3rror)´s last blog ..Caption Please.
Thanks, John, and cool video in your article by Chris, who has since said even more about the subject.
Brandon,
I fully agree blogging is like a marathon than a sprint.
When I first started blogging I treated it as if it was a sprint. Always checking my stats, being worried about decrease in traffic from one day to the other, and basically getting overwhelmed and always wondering if I will “finish the race”.
I then noticed this is not the proper mindset to have in order to have your blog be successful. So, looking at stats and their status on monthly basis and then running my blog with purpose are just somethings I have done with mindset change to running my blog as a marathon.
Thanks for your points on why blogging should be a marathon, not a sprint.
Best Regards,
Derek
No problem Derek, and you’re realizing all of this at a great time – you’ve got a great future ahead!
Great analogy, Brandon. 15-minute mile. Man you are smokin’!
As both a blogger and a one-time marathon runner (ran one five years ago to celebrate my 40th birthday — using both the terms “ran” and “celebrate” very loosely) I only disagree on a minor point:
The goal of marathoning is not to go faster than the second runner. It is simply to finish all 26.2 miles without liver failure and/or acute myocardial infarction. Period. End of story. :)
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Haha! I stand corrected. Maybe someday I’ll experience that firsthand! (I mean the finishing, not the acute death thing.)
Being a marathon runner I have a great appreciation for this post. Training for a marathon is actually a lot harder than the actual race…LOL ;)
Ms. Freeman´s last blog ..Unemployment Can Be the Entrepreneurial Spark Needed
Yes, I’ve been training very, very slowly for 32 years. I am going to run my first one at the age of 214!
This is a tough one for me. I don’t understand the concept of pacing yourself. I think go all out and rest when I’m dead :)
Seriously though, persistence is the key. Keep at blogging no matter what. Take breaks for a day or 2 but get back in the game. If you feel the urge to post 10 times a day, do it! If you feel like taking a week off, do it!
So much of blogging, or life for that matter, is ignoring conventional thinking and following your intuition. Wildly successful people do little ‘logical’ thinking.
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You make a pretty good point, Ryan, especially if you want blogging to be fun… and I do!
Totally true article. There are no quick fixes in blogging, it does take a lot of time. Like for a marathon, you have to prepare and train. Only then you will have some chance of any success.
Blogidy – Blog Guide´s last blog ..The Silver Bullet for Blogging Success
Good way to put it!
I feel like I’m on the run/walk plan. I get into a zone of several good, targeted posts, get distracted, and go AWOL for a week or so. Then re-commit and do a couple more good posts, then the work that actually pays me gets in the way again. My original plan was 3x/wk, but I am beginning to think my “personality” is more a 1x/wk type. Then I come up with a great plan for shorter posts in between, but quit before I start it. And I NEVER check my stats because I will get discouraged. But, all in all, I think it has taken me almost a year just to get a real feel for what blogging is all about. 2009 was a learning year, 2010 will be a break out year. Unless, of course, it doesn’t.
David, I hope 2010 will be a stellar year of success!!
Another way to look at it is a marathon that NEVER ENDS.
You could look of it in a way as an extension of your personality that will never die. If for some reason your interests do change in the area you are blogging in then it might be time to move your blog onto someone else that can carry your blog on.
If you want to be successful at it however you need to continue at it, and no-one can really replace the personality you’ve brought to your blog in the first place.
Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com
Very true, Sarge. We can’t downplay the importance of letting our personalities shine through.
It’s like the story of the tortoise and the hare, but I think the wisest advice you offer is to allow your blog to be an extension of you: no more and no less. If you do that you are the path to sustainable and consistent effort which can yield success.
Marathons always struck me as somewhat ridiculous. Fine, the goal is to have the fortitude to finish, but what is your destination and what have you achieved precisely.
I think in blogging you have to be flexible with your goals and persist without a defined end point. A marathon is not a bad analogy, but it doesn’t hit the nail on the head for me. Still, the analogy is close enough to offer some valuable insight on what it takes to be a successful blogger.
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Jay, that’s a pretty good point. It’s hard to define what a winning week or day looks like when we’re only focused on the long, long term.
Reminds of a fable from when I was a child “The Turtle and the Hare” :-)
I actually try to break from by sites for a week at a time 2 or 3 times a year scheduling posts to automatically post and I TRY my best to stay on a golf course and away from my computer except for emails. I find that I can have a fresh mind after this “vacation” of sorts.
Persistence is the key, you can look at any successful blogger and see they have been around for at least several years and persistently, even relentlessly, blogged and networked with other bloggers.
Actually this works with most goals you set for yourself.
The not checking stats as often, though. Sheesh! Can you say self control…..I wrestle that one still after almost 2yrs of doing this :-)
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Excellent point, Keith. Persistence is key!
Brandon,
“Marathons are exhausting (I assume)” I have tears welling up I am laughing so hard at this. Me too, buddy – assume that is.
What great advice as usual. I need to a lot less checking of my stats. As a CPA and spreadsheet lover it is hard not to track the details down to the nth degree. As a blogger though, it is driving me nuts.
Thanks for the reminder.
Brad
Brad Harmon´s last blog ..All I Want for Christmas is Your Blog Engage Votes
No problem, Brad – whatever I can do to help!
Hi!
What a great advice. You still need to run on both, just make sure we still keep on running. My blog has been on the run for over a year now. Will try to run as far as I can.
See you around.
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Yep, see ya around, and do keep running!
This is so true… some people expect things to happen quickly in blogging, and when you’re just starting out, you have to really commit yourself for the long haul if you want to make blogging a successful venture.
~ Kristi
Kikolani´s last blog ..Best of Blogging on Kikolani in 2009
Absolutely right, Kristi!
I cannot sprint well. Luckily, my blogging is a slow walk. Slow but I will reach the finish line at the end. :)
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Stick with it Jayce. I’m a slow walker myself.
I disagree with the basic premise of this post. People are either built for marathons, or sprints due to the unique way our muscle fibres are apportioned.
However, it is quite possible to blog for marathons and sprints. I agree that keeping your best ideas less frequently and promoting that blog in all the usual ways but you can get great authority to your blog if you write with a higher frequency too.
I’m not saying write trash punctuated with golden nuggets, but write with consistency.
Tim, I actually don’t think you disagree with me. I didn’t actually say anything about post frequency. There are plenty of great blogs who have editors that post multiple times per day.
The point is that at the end of a 100 meter sprint, you’re out of breath and can’t go any further. I agree with you on consistency, but consistency over the long haul is important.
I guess we agree then! After the 100 meter sprint I can have a quick rest and do it again!! Okay, so maybe not quite as fast!
I am loving writing in metaphor by the way!!
Great thread too..
Thanks so much, Tim!
Pacing yourself is an essential part of marathon training and completion. It’s always nice to finish with a good time, but at the end of the day it is always better to finish full stop.
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And I understand if you stop quickly, you can die instantly… has nothing to do with what you’re saying, just becomes the excuse for me not running.
Great analogy – that’s exactly what it is … requires a slow steady grind to get results
After for blogging two years, I can tell you blogging is like the Tortoise and the Hare, slow and steady wins the race (at least I keep telling myself that after seeing blogs who started less than a year ago and rapidly outpace my own).
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Hi Justin,
Yeah – I used to run track, too – I was a distance runner – I couldn’t sprint to save my life. But, I always finished – I was exhausted, but I finished. I’ve been blogging for almost a year and a half and I’ve already seen so many bloggers come and go – my progress may be slow, but that’s better than no progress – any day! :)
I agree with this! Blogging requires passion to continue and be successful. It requires so much hard work and patience. Starters should not look at it as an easy-money job.
Hi fjordz,
Yeah, there’s no such thing as quick – easy – passive money when it comes to blogging. At least not if you plan on having longevity.