Jan
23

When The Student Is Ready the Right Teachers Will Appear – But Don’t Pick Them All

By | Blogging

33 Comments

WelcomeThere you are – sitting in front of your laptop – and you are confused. Just some time ago you started blogging, but there is this fundamental question that you haven’t found an answer to: how many times per weeks you should post on your blog?

The advice that blogging guru A gave in his blog sounded solid: post on your blog blog everyday. So, that’s how you got started until you heard another guru, blogger B, telling you that you should post only once per week to your blog.

To make things even more confusing, there was this third guru who told you to post only once per month to your blog. According to him, this strategy was working and he was able to grow a successful blog that way.

But yeah … you are confused for a reason and I don’t blame you. However, it’s your decision to make: is it posting every day, once per week or once per month?

Confusing … indeed! Especially when all the gurus you follow are giving the exact opposite advice.
Whose advice do you follow?

Too confused to take action

I bet every blogger has faced the same problem: since they follow many blogging gurus and they hear a lot of advice, the advice becomes conflicting at some point.

Guru A is telling you to do things this way while guru B is telling the completely opposite. Since your trust both of the blogging heroes, it is impossible for you to know which advice is correct and which one to implement in your own situation.

The “multiple guru syndrome” leads to another problem: you want to learn everything these people are telling you.

Since follow so many gurus and trust their word, you are most likely to be on their mailing lists too. And what this means is that all the gurus keep sending their own sales messages to your inbox.

Of course, that’s not necessarily what they do all time. However, they all have their buddies, whose products they like to recommend, tools that they have found to be the best and their own products that solve the same problem (except that the author is different).

If you keep buying their stuff all the time, here is what happens:

a) spending a lot of money to training
b) the more training you have on your hard drive, the less likely you are going to take action on them
c) you are jumping from one strategy to another which leads to increased confusion and even resistance to take action (read: procrastination)
d) you are not giving any time to implement any of the strategies properly, thus seeing if it really works for you or not

Now tell me, do you think this is the way you can reach blogging success? Are you letting those gurus to leave your head spinning without knowing what to do next? Because that’s how it looks like to me!

You want them all but you still can’t have them all

The confusion is mainly a result of two things and the lack of strategy is the first one of them.
Since you are listening to everyone in your niche, you are tempted to try every strategy out there. However, doing this is the worst strategy of them all!

No matter if you know your end goal, but the right strategy to get there matters too! That’s why without any proper path to follow, the destination becomes unreachable.

The second reason is just plain old fear. You are grabbing all the information out there, since you feel that this is the only right information you’ll need (since the guru told you so). However, this leads to the information overflow and your brain can’t handle the situation.

I understand that being afraid of the stinking office job still in 5 years is a great motivator for buying yet another info product – that could be your escape ticket!

However, it is also the wrong way to deal with the situation, since it leads to even more confusion.

Simplify your strategy

In the state of confusion, you need to make some hard choices, but I’m here to help you out.

First, know what you really want to achieve. What is your end blogging goal you are after? Decide that first and only then you are ready to continue with this post.

Did you define your end goal? Good! It’s time to continue.

The next step is to be picky whose advice you follow and go to so called “guru diet”. Now, how do you know who to choose and whose advice “sounds” the best?

Well, what kind of values and advice resonates with you? Only you’ll know this when you listen to many gurus out there.

I would say that it all comes down to a handful of people whose advice you find practical and something you could commit to.

When you pick only handful of bloggers to listen to, all of a sudden you have more available time in your hands. Since you are not chasing the latest tactic or strategy to learn, you’ll be more focused and you can cut all the strategies that don’t apply to your situation.

The additional time is needed to see if a strategy works or not. You see, not all of the advice a blogging  guru says – even the ones you decided to follow – is working in your scenario. That’s why it is absolutely fine to listen to yourself too.

Remember: you are always the last person who makes the final call about your next action. It is also fine not to implement the advice your “hand-picked” guru taught you to.

Finally, to take the guru-diet strategy even further is to hire a coach. This fact itself can cut out the majority of “guru-advice” that you tend to get exposed to.

Sure, this is the most expensive option, but on the other hand it is also the most personal and most effective way to reach your blogging goals.

Let’s fix the ”multiple guru syndrome” and pick your leader

Ok, it’s time to stop your confusion and overwhelm with this step-by-step advice.

Are you ready? Good, let’s start!

1. Know your goals. First and foremost, you should know your end goals.

Do you know what do you want to achieve with your blog in the coming years (1, 3 or 5 years)?
Whatever it is (money, expertise, recognition in your industry ..), write it down! Only that way you know what you are reaching for. And yeah, the more detailed this information is the better.

2. Pick one guru or just handful ones. It’s time  to pick your guru or gurus. Choose the one person (or just a few persons) whose advice and values resonate with you.

Comment on their blogs, interview them on the Skype or through e-mail to get a better idea what the persons are like. If your values resonate with them, you are more likely to follow their advice.

I also recommend of unsubscribing from all the other lists or RSS feeds that you currently follow except from your selected guru’s, so that their advice is not lost in the noise.

There is one thing that I keep as a rule of the thumb when following to multiple people: is their advice conflicting or solid?

For example, I follow guys like Danny Iny, John Morrow and Derek Halpern, because their message resonates with me and their advice is solid and practical. The advice is also a bit different than what the rest of the top bloggers are saying and I find it very refreshing.

3. Implement and test what works. The fewer gurus you follow, the more time you have to implement their strategies.

Pick the strategies that serve you the best when your blogging goals are concerned and implement them in action. This way you are making steady progress and the fear of having that stinking office job still in 5 years fades away.

4. Use your own brain.The part of any strategies is to test and see what works and what not. So, don’t be afraid to dump a strategy if it’s not working.

However, make sure you commit to the one you are currently working 100% and give it enough time, before you decide it’s time to do something else.

5. Hire a coach. If the budget is not an issue, I strongly recommend of hiring a dedicated advisor, also known as a coach.

This is the person who can give you personal guidance on your journey to your goal. Also, this  advice is much more than any blog or information product can give you – because the information is personal.

You get to access a successful person’s brain (considering that he/she has a proven track record of accomplished things) and take advantage of his/her expertise. This is something that’s very rare with information products geared towards general public.

Conclusion
As you can see, following too many gurus can lead to confusion. In the worst case, your blogging progress slows down and you are left in a state of overwhelm.

To fix the situation, just pick one guru (or only a handful of gurus) who you trust and who you listen to and the implement their advice with 100% commitment. Ultimately you can also hire a coach, who can cut down the overwhelm and confusion even further.

This way you are saving time and reach your blogging goals faster – without the horror picture of having that boring office job still in 5 years.

Over to you: whose advice you listen to? Why did you choose just that particular person to listen to?

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About Kiesha Easley

This is my blog - where I love to encourage bloggers. My hope is that you'll leave this blog with more than you came with; you'll learn something new or will at least be engaged and entertained.
In addition to teaching others how to blog, I'm also a college instructor who teaches students how to write for mass media.
I've guest posted on Problogger, DIYThemes and many others. I'm also the author of Highly Favored, a blog devoted to Christian inspiration & encouragement. Please follow me on twitter @weblogbetter or on Facebook.

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Comments

  1. Carol Gyzander says:
    January 23, 2013 at 4:35 am

    Timo, this is so true – having too many coaches turns into a full time job and leaves no time for our own business! I have also streamlined those that I follow: Danny Iny, Jon Morrow, Paul Wolfe (video) and John Sanpietro (master list-builder).

    You remind me of the story of the golf buddies who were very competitive with each other. One guy beat his buddy by giving him not one, but TWO books on improving your golf game!

    Carol

    Reply
  2. SIRI says:
    January 23, 2013 at 5:38 am

    Thanks a lot for such wonderful post that will help people like me before getting fooled because of the many gurus. I was in my early stages of blogging and thought of learning seo and blog promotion techniques in 2011. I built a good blog and was following many gurus. In the end i landed up in the same thing called confusion. I decided to give up everything and this is now where i am learning everything on my own. I am now blogging completely according a strategy that has been written by me. I am now following my guru inside me and i am very happy with my blog. I mean it is not even making a single penny, but whatever it is, it is making me happier. Hope it does better in the future. Through this comment, I would just like to appreciate you for your valuable advice that is worth a ton for newbies before getting fooled and wish to give an advice that believe youselves and follow someone whom you sincerely trust and who is able to solve your query in case of any trouble, Happy blogging :)
    SIRI recently posted…A List Of BuysellAds Alternatives That Will WorkMy Profile (dofollow)

    Reply
  3. artificial grass las vegas says:
    January 23, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    I agree with much of the views you express in your article. I am impressed with your style of writing and how uniquely you wrote this content. http://www.artificialgrasslasvegasnevada.com/

    Reply
  4. sanchit says:
    January 23, 2013 at 8:42 pm

    Hello frnds,
    A real fact is describe here, a lot of guru, advice is present here that most of the person confused,
    everybody must prepare the mind for best and selective guru.
    and follow for a specific time.
    Its really a woundrful stuff for every body.
    sanchit recently posted…Travel Management SystemMy Profile (dofollow)

    Reply
  5. Joseph Chua says:
    January 23, 2013 at 11:11 pm

    Oh man, this article really speaks my mind. I am really at the stage of confusion after reading so many SEO article online. Your tips have been really valuable. However can i request you to recommend a few authoritative SEO articles that i can read and learn?

    Anw thank you so much for sharing such informative article.:)
    Joseph Chua recently posted…5 Surefire Ways to Lose Your Money in Forex TradingMy Profile (dofollow)

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  6. Pankaj says:
    January 24, 2013 at 12:11 am

    Nice points Timo,

    It’s important to focus on few things at one time, never focus on too many things else you would waste all your time and never see any good result.
    Pankaj recently posted…Online Recharge Software DevelopmentMy Profile (dofollow)

    Reply
  7. Max says:
    January 26, 2013 at 11:44 am

    U can’t plan when u are going to write a blogpost in my opinion. U have to write the moment u get inspiration!

    Reply
  8. Purnima says:
    January 27, 2013 at 5:20 am

    Hey .
    Facilitative tips. I have learnt over a period of time that blog readership immensely depends on the writing skills . Apart from this communication in the niche also plays a pivotal role to build up an audience.
    Purnima recently posted…Using Charms in Microsoft Windows 8My Profile (dofollow)

    Reply
  9. Vianney says:
    January 27, 2013 at 8:40 pm

    Cool read! I had an amazing time reading this. I so look forward to reading more of your posts. And yes, I agree! It takes two to tango. We attract the same level of what we give. Awesome!

    Reply
  10. khusi singh says:
    January 28, 2013 at 8:33 pm

    I like your views. Thanks for sharing such good article with us.
    khusi singh recently posted…Kushagra BajajMy Profile (dofollow)

    Reply
  11. Ardiv Jauhari says:
    January 30, 2013 at 6:23 am

    Sound advice Timo! I personally thought that blogging was easy too until.. I really start blogging. I had all the advice anyone could get and got confused as well, but now I’m finally able to sort them out and actually start to see decent progress. Funny how a little organization can help fix a lot of the problems you’re facing! :)

    P.S I LOVE your sales page, even though I’m not quite interested in the offer, I decided to opt in anyways because I’m sold by the sales page!
    Ardiv Jauhari recently posted…What Is Social Networking? 3 Words: You! Popular! Internet!My Profile (dofollow)

    Reply
  12. Julia Spencer says:
    January 30, 2013 at 8:40 am

    Probably, the safest, and the best idea is to hire a coach. I think that it can be a guarantee or a pledge of future success

    Julia Spencer’s recent post.. Popular Bummers about Facebook Timeline Introduction: Are They True for Brand Pages?

    Reply
  13. Amar Ilindra says:
    February 8, 2013 at 10:41 pm

    Posting regularly or Weekly or Monthly completely depends on site niche according to me. If you’re managing a tech blog, then posting daily is a good deal but this is not same in case of Blogging niche.
    Amar Ilindra recently posted…Top 5 Best Android Tablets under $200My Profile (dofollow)

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Trackbacks

  1. BizSugar.com says:
    January 23, 2013 at 7:37 pm

    How to Find the Right Blogging Teacher…

    There are lot of blogging / internet marketing gurus out there. Just make sure you are not following too many of them at once….

    Reply
  2. WordPress Company Automattic Buys Popular Synced Note-Taking App says:
    January 25, 2013 at 12:30 am

    [...] Too many gurus. One of the most important steps toward blogging success, as in all business, is to find your own path and follow it; but if you’ve listened to a lot of advice along the way, you may find yourself paralyzed when looking for the right path forward. Blogger Timo Kiander has some suggestions to avoid this plight. Just pick the right teacher and don’t look back. Weblogbetter [...]

    Reply
  3. WordPress Company Automattic Buys Popular Synced Note-Taking App says:
    January 25, 2013 at 9:22 am

    [...] Too many gurus. One of the most important steps toward blogging success, as in all business, is to find your own path and follow it; but if you’ve listened to a lot of advice along the way, you may find yourself paralyzed when looking for the right path forward. Blogger Timo Kiander has some suggestions to avoid this plight. Just pick the right teacher and don’t look back. Weblogbetter [...]

    Reply

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