15 days, 15 people, 5 lessons learned
At the time of writing this article, today will make it 15 days since I (re) launched my blog. It’s gone by so fast and I’ve got the pleasure to come across a whole lot of interesting people via my strategy of getting an audience.
These people I have had the chance to talk with once or twice or maybe even more but without their knowledge I’ve been studying their every movement, every footprint they leave, every blog post they made, every guest post, every tweet and every comment. This might sound silly or crazy to some but what I’ve noticed in life it’s to
LISTEN first
LEARN second
And then finally LEAD.
This 15 days and even prior to that have been consumed in the first process which is to listen, and here are those I’ve had the pleasure to be listening to :
1. Bojan Djordjevic from Increasing Workplace Productivity
2. Stacey Herbert from my Lifestylemax
3. JK Allen from the hustlers notebook
4. Ryan Biddulph from CashWithATrueConscience
5. Sean Ogle from Location 180
6. Adam Stanecki from The Business Jolt
7. Lori Gosselin from LifeForinstance
8. Sherryl Perry from keepupwiththeweb
9. Julie Walraven from Web Marketing Results
10. David William from almost bohemian
11. Christina Crowe from Cashcampfire
12. Francisco Perez from iBlogzone
13. Eugene Farber from RealityBurst
14. Salvatore Greco from SurfLifeStyleDesign
15. Jeffrey Morgan from BloggersMarket
Long list hein? Not so long when you compare it to the other 100+ blogs I’ve got on my google spreadsheet.
But these people might not have meant to say, think or do whatever they did and are doing but either ways I
learned..
I am learning…
And I will keep on learning..
… a lot from them
What I learned
1.Its not EASY
Yes the harsh truth! It isn’t easy to do what they do at the rate at which they are doing it. The most important think I learned to keep in mind is, “it’s not easy, and it never will be”
Just like those great comedians come up each night and perform like they had never rehearsed to the amazement of the public, little do they know that it takes them months and months of practice to prepare for a show that lasts at most 40 mins. Perfecting every single word and gesture they say or make. And so do these bloggers give the same impression. The same impression that makes what they do seem so simple and easily accomplishable. And guess what?it’s not! And Thats what makes it so beautiful!
2. Patience
Before starting off I had a well laid out strategy on how I’ll move from each step to the next. Amongst the first was to garner an audience, a community of readers who will be there during the high and lows, readers who will be there to share/retweet my article just to support me even if the article or post wasn’t worth one.
With this in mind,I set out looking for people who had already accomplished this, and were else to find them than where they are: COMMENT SECTIONS OF A LIST BLOGGERS.
I started going through the most popular posts of those a list bloggers and started looking through the comments. While doing that I stored the name, website, and twitter usernames of bloggers whom I will be looking to learn from.
What I noticed, lots, around half of those commenters and bloggers with all their enthusiasm had QUIT! yes QUIT, less than 12 months from leaving their comment. The must have been various reasons behind their exit but what I assume is, they lacked the PATIENCE to out see their success! Many at times we quit just when the tides are about to turn in our favour, and what I’ve learned from the above 15 is their patience and willingness to out see their success! Some of them have and some are on their way!
3.Passion
It takes a lot of passion to do what these bloggers do and thats what I’ve learned from them. Passion for me is the only substitute for handwork to get you places. In fact they are so closely related that each leads to the other. With every post they write and every comment they reply to, passion feed through them through and through.
The point to take away from this is develop passion for whatever your doing, do it like it were the last thing people will remember of you.
4. Kindness
“You must give in order to receive!” There’s no simpler way to put it. By giving it, must be something genuine, something dear to you!
What these bloggers have given is their time,
Time to leave an insightful and helpful comment on our blog
Time to reply to your tweets
Time to reply to your emails personally
Time to help and support you along the way. Yes time is free you say, but these are people with lots of real life commitments, people to whom more time spent helping you online means less time spent with their off-line networks. But they do it anyway, because they’ve learned the secret of “giving in order to receive”
5. This one is a secret I can’t share openly
Lastly, if you’ve learned something from these bloggers share this article by clicking here or here and let THEM know in the comments below.
You have a great approach to creating audience, which is crazy important. Especially your Twitter efforts. But what I don’t seem to get from you is something that I would “bring back home” from your place.
Your networking efforts are more than insane and will pour in the results, but in order to maintain your audience you need content, that I will benefit from.
And I know exactly what kind of content I want to get from you. How you manage your blog entirely on your phone.
Challenges, difficulties… All the good stuff
Bojan recently posted..Blessing and the curse of Samsung Galaxy S in depth review
Thanks for all the support Bojan! I know what you mean by content you can go home with. Content which is actionable and can help the audience in their daily endeavours. This content trust me is on it’s way
Martinsays: Thanks
YEAAA DUDE!!!
LOVE the mention, thanks so much!!! I really agree with Bojan above…
I hope (and from studying us assume) that one of your next steps in this blog is to launch something we can take away. A piece on how to manage on your mobile would be killer…. “How to Manage without MicroManaging from Your Mobile Device” HAHA
Either an eBook, but I say you go with a FREE email series. There are SO many eBooks flying around these days, it could be easy to get lost in the digital pile on peoples computers. That’s why I went with email for my Free Lessons to Charge Life Like A Surfer eSeries. AND as a bonus, you create a small sales funnel for yourself. At the end of your series you can promote a product, or have your own waiting… (with a discount for your readers of course)
YOU ARE DOING BIG THINGS ALREADY…. Surfs up!!!
Salvatore Greco recently posted..Increase Productivity- Quality- and Overall Happines GUARANTEED
Hey Salvatore!
I’ll keep you in the know definitely!
Sorry for the typo earlier , I’ve rectified it though. Yep and the feedback is taken into great stride. I know what you mean by getting lost in the immense digital piles of ebooks and other materials. What will be released is already been thought of
Martinsays: Thanks
Hey Buddy
what a pleasant surprise to find myself included in your list. Thank you and this sa a wise and well thought out strategy you are implementing. Why am I not surprised that so many blogs have bitten the dust within a 12 month period? This blogging thing is not easy, even though some people make it look like it. I can spend hours, sometimes days with a post, before I feel ready to share it. Sometimes you give your all, and if there is not instant gratification, it can be easy to give up. Who knows where My Lifestyle Max will be in 12 months, I don’t think it will be the bloggers graveyard though. Good work here Martin, and even nicer to be included
Stacey Herbert recently posted..Silence- The Breakfast Of Champions
Thanks for stopping by Stacey. It’s lovely to have you around. Definitely with persistency and all the great work your currently doing Mylifestylemax will definitely be there in months to come.
I guess this was a nice post to get up to?
Martinsays: Thanks
Martin,
I wish I had HALF your vision when I started blogging! You have such a clear plan and sure way of executing it. I first noticed you when you tweeted out one of my posts and was curious about you because up to then, most of the Tweets came from visitors who had commented. Appreciation is a precious commodity and you had mine from the start, and even more when you weighed in from time to time (I want to hear your thought, not just make you listen to mine LOL)
Now this! I’m humbled and honored to be included with these people, some whom I know and others who I’ll be checking out (if Martin says to!)
I love this line from your post: You say it’s not easy and “Thats what makes it so beautiful!” So true! Keep up your great work – you’re a natural in my books!
Lori
Lori Gosselin recently posted..Online- Offline- Are You the Same
Hi Lori,
I’ve had the opportunity to watch what you all are doing as bloggers and learn. Seems like the getting and audience is working and am already in some good books I presume 
Thanks for the comments and flattery
Either ways it’s very true, it’s not easy. When bloggers like you and others make it seem so simple on the front end, lots of hassles are hidden in the back which makes all but easy. And successfully pulling off this “easy” look is what makes it all the most beautiful.
Those listed here are definitely people you’ll love to check out.
Martinsays: Thanks for the support.
OMG, this is just a great list and indeed some very inspiring lessons learned. You developed a plan, craeted a strategy and implemented them with the right tactics, can’t beat that. Thanks for the mention my friend. Have a great day
DiTesco recently posted..How To Build High Quality Sites
Thanks for dropping by Francisco! I’ve indeed learned, listened developed and plan and implemented the strategy. But all this is part of a continuous listening and learning from the 15 bloggers included above and others I’ve had the pleasure to meet.
Martinsays: Thanks
That’s a great list and some of those people I’ve seen their blogs and interacted with. Some are new to me. I’m on the same early path too and it does take patience. There are no overnight success blog stories that I know of.
Yep and they make it look easy now because they put in all the hard work earlier. Building community. Networking. Writing great content. All that stuff.
Keep it going and I’ll follow along with you!
Thanks for the support and comment Benny! We’ve got a lot to learn and listen too and this is a never ending process but with a lot of persistence and well thought out plans well get there. Glad to have you on board!
Martinsays: Thanks
Come on Martin! Who are you trying to kid? Number 5 is a secret you can’t share openly?! Out with it man ……… no shame …….. you’re not the first one to notice that I strangely look like the letter “B” and I have a giant red nose.
Jeffrey Morgan recently posted..Pro-Blogger Derek K Miller
Haha! You might just look like the letter B and have a red nose! Still appreciate you stopping by Jeffrey! How’s the transfer being going?
Martinsays: Thanks
martin,
So glad I found you. Love following you on twitter. You’re inspiring most when you share your process (like this post).
Like the others above, would love content on how you blog from your phone, etc. Also, would love content about your journey. I really enjoyed reading about how you started and why. Would love even more content about what’s happening in your head.
You have such a unique passion and presence and so much to give. Can’t wait to see all that you accomplish. Great work!
Steven Rice recently posted..Challenge Your Beliefs!
Thanks for all the kind words Steven. I try my best to share awesome posts I find over the web from other blogs. I rarely tweet out my own articles mainly because there are so many great articles out there that deserved to be shared.
Indeed in the nearest future I intend to come out more personally but the next plan is to roll out actionable content for my readers.
BTW: Goodluck with your book, let me know when it’s out in the UK please.
Martinsays: Thanks
Man this is great! I am really excited to see what you come up with. You have some intensity and tricks up your sleeve that I really want to keep seeing.
Also, I’m loving secret number 5! Man you nailed it! And in 15 days?!!! Truly, this was great!
David | Almost Bohemian recently posted..Sleep without Sleeping
Thanks David! You all have acted in one way or another unknowingly or not and permitted me to listen better and learn more. It’s been a fast 15 days but this shows how much you all have provided as value. Think of what you’ll do in more time. I trust you all to keep on kicking ass!
Martinsays: Thanks
Almost Bohemian is my boyfriend and my inspiration. I am so happy he made the list. I am very proud. I am happy to also come across your blog. I will be checking out the others on the list as well. Thanks for the info!
Thanks for dropping by Meg. David is a great guy and am happy he inspires you! I strongly advice you to definitely check out the other blogs.
Martinsays: Thanks
OK …….. I got it. Hey, I’m the first to admit that I’m a slow coach.
I realized what was happening right when I clicked. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Number 5! I thought to myself, man ……. very cleaver and very good. How Smart.
You are well on your way to making a place for yourself within the Blogosphere.
I’m right behind you Martin. I learn fast!!! And you are a great teacher!
Jeffrey Morgan recently posted..Pro-Blogger Derek K Miller
Haha! Caught you on that one
thanks for the encouragement Jeffrey! Glad you liked #5 though!
Martinsays: Thanks
Hey Martin! Great post! Love all your lessons, especially #5! I was very curious and I totally wasn’t expecting that! How true it is, now that I think of it.
Cheers,
Gloson
Gloson recently posted..The BlogEngage 500 Guest Blogging Contest – Support Me!
Thanks for the support Gloson! And I’m happy you loved #5
Martinsays: goodluck with the contest!
Hey Martin,
Good stuff, man. I think it’s kind of cool that you’re looking to get to the level that these 15 have reached, and I’m looking to get the kind of readership that you’re at. We just gotta take it one step at a time and we’ll reach our goals. Then we’ll get to set new ones!
Keep up the good work,
Brent
Brent recently posted..7 ‘Not-So-Secret’ Ways To Success
Thanks for the kind words Brent. Yes I look upto them and hopefully ill be able to accomplish what hey have succeeded in doing. And thanks for sticking around man, really appreciate the presence.
Martinsays: thanks
Hey Martin – What great lessons. I’m actually familiar with a handful of the people you’ve mentioned here and I must say that I too have learned from them.
I’m horned that you added me to your list. Thank you for that.
Sorry I’m so late to the party…it’s been a crazy week my friend (but they all kind of are!)
Well, I hope your week is going well. I’ll be in touch!
PEACE
Jk Allen recently posted..Reality Check! Physical Fitness is a Serious Aspect of Personal Development
Youre never late till you show up JK! I couldn’t have done this list without including you! Everyones got busy weeks man, but we love it! The hustle and tussle of trying to follow out passions!
Martinsays: you’ll always he welcome!
Wow, thanks for the mention Martin, I really appreciate it! You’ve included me with some wonderful company on that list.
I have to agree with Bojan here, your networking efforts are greater than anyone I’ve seen in a long time (probably ever). You will surpass my blogging efforts in no time the way you’re going. And deservedly so.
I’m going to have to step my game up because of you
Thanks again!
Thanks for stopping by Eugene; it’s always a pleasure having you around. The kind words are really flattering and I believe I will keep on taking things one step at a time and keep on listening and learning from all of you.
Martinsays: Thanks
This is so inspiring.
I started reaching out to people only 2 weeks ago too. And it’s amazing how much more meaningful my experiences have been. I have more drive, i feel inspired to really push myself to my max potential based on what other people are doing. I’m going to put up the list of people who have inspired me and who i aspire to learn from too.
p.s.
I know of a phew people but David is someone i connected with online. I love his dedication and passion. It really shows through in his writing.
I’ll be following you and hopefully connecting too…
Thanks for the dropping by! I definitely feel you when your talking about the zeal you get when you look upto those bloggers.
It will definitely be a great move to express your gratitude. David nice guy and I only have good words for him. Its pleasure to have met and connected with him.
Martinsays: Thanks
yo, i love these kinds of lists. they are great for helping bloggers and readers connect with other bloggers that we might not have heard of otherwise. i’ve already found a couple new interesting blogs that i’m going to check out.
ps. the new plugin bar looks great. i run firefox using the NoScript Add-On, so actually it is blocked in my browser – FYI. after I saw your email, I came back to your site and turned off NoScript for your site and now the bar is visible… maybe something you might want to look into working around if possible. I know quite a few people that browse with adBlock and NoScript turned on…. Also, would it be possible to make it float at the top even when you scroll down further into the page? kind of like the ShareBar sidebar plugin does? that would be cool. just a suggestion..
good work.
mike
Thanks for the feedback Mike! I knew I could count on you! I’m currently working on finding out what my be causing that problem and it should soon be solved.
I agree this is a great way to find other interesting bloggers and I al glad you could interact with some!
Martinsays: Thanks
Martin,
This was a great list as I am familiar with a lot of the people you included. I also enjoyed the 5 lessons that you learned. The one that sticks with me the most is the hard work. I never knew how much commitment one would need to reach for the stars. Some days I feel like I am trying to build a real rocket ship with legos. It just won’t work but as I practice my craft and give it my all I am getting the materials necessary to be able to put some real fuel in my tank and take off towards my dream.
You couldn’t make it 16 huh? I think there is a least one more person that should have made the list. lol! Great post!
Definitely should have been 16
From the front end all of this seems really easy until you get in and start the hustle and thustle in the back end! The good thing is at the end it’s all a pleasure when you see others appreciate your work.
Martinsays: Thanks for stopping by!